Great Martyr 1st century

Photini the Samaritan Woman

1st century; martyred c. 66–67 AD

Also known as Svetlana · the Samaritan Woman · Photine · Victor · Photinus · Joses · Anatole · Photo · Photis · Paraskeve · Kyriake · Sebastian

The woman at the well (John 4); later evangelized and was martyred under Nero.

Feast Day

February 26

Also Mar 20

Draft

Draft — pending review. Not yet verified for publication.

Hymn / Apolytikion Icon gallery Video / Media

Commemorated as

The Holy, Glorious Great-Martyr and Equal-to-the-Apostles Photini, the Samaritan Woman

Come to them for

Missionary Work

Life

St. Photini is venerated as the Samaritan woman whom Christ met at Jacob's Well near Sychar in Samaria, an encounter recorded in the Gospel of John (4:4-42). Her name at the time of that meeting is not preserved; according to tradition she received the name Photini, meaning 'enlightened' or 'luminous one,' at her baptism by the Apostles.

During their conversation at the well, where Jesus had asked her for water on his journey through the region, he spoke of the 'Water of Life' and revealed himself to her as the Messiah. She afterward returned to her town and proclaimed what she had seen, becoming by tradition the first to announce the Gospel of Christ to her townspeople.

For her tireless witness, which is said to have brought many to the Christian faith, she is honored in the Eastern Orthodox Church with the title Equal-to-the-Apostles. Tradition holds that she and her family were martyred under the Emperor Nero, and her anchor commemoration falls on February 26, with a further feast on March 20 and a place in the Paschal cycle on the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman.

Timeline 4 moments Read Hide

c. AD 30 The meeting at Jacob's Well Jesus, journeying through Samaria, meets the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well near Sychar and reveals himself to her as the Messiah (John 4:4-42); she proclaims him to her townspeople.
After Pentecost Baptism and evangelism By tradition the Apostles baptize her with the name Photini ('enlightened one'), and she devotes herself to proclaiming the Gospel as Equal-to-the-Apostles.
c. AD 66 Mission to Carthage After the martyrdoms of the Apostles Paul and Peter, Photini and her family leave Sychar in Samaria for Carthage to preach the Gospel.
c. AD 66-67 Martyrdom under Nero Brought before the Emperor Nero, Photini endures many tortures and, by tradition, is martyred by being cast down a dry well; her family receives the crown of martyrdom with her.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributions Read Hide

The Encounter at Jacob's Well

The Gospel of John relates that Jesus, passing through Samaria, came to Jacob's Well near the town of Sychar (also identified with Shechem). There he asked the Samaritan woman for water to drink. Their exchange turned from physical water to the 'Water of Life,' and in the course of it Jesus disclosed himself to her as the Messiah.

By tradition the woman believed and carried the news to her townspeople, telling them she had met the Messiah, so that her testimony drew many of them to faith. This role as an early proclaimer of Christ is the foundation of her veneration as Equal-to-the-Apostles.

Mission and Martyrdom

After her meeting with Christ, Photini became an eager evangelist, and tradition records that her missionary success eventually drew the attention of the Emperor Nero. According to one account, after the Apostles Paul and Peter were martyred, Photini and her family left their homeland of Sychar in Samaria and traveled to Carthage to proclaim the Gospel there.

She was brought before the emperor to answer for her faith. Tradition relates that, after enduring many tortures, she suffered martyrdom by being thrown down a dry well. Eastern Christian tradition places her death about the year 66 or 67 AD, during the persecutions under Nero, when she and her family received the crown of martyrdom.

Veneration

St. Photini is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches, and is also commemorated in the Roman Catholic Church and the Episcopal Church. She bears the title Equal-to-the-Apostles in recognition of her evangelistic witness.

She is commemorated on February 26 in the Greek tradition and on March 20 in the Slavic tradition, and she is honored within the Paschal cycle on the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, the fourth Sunday after Pascha in the Pentecostarion.

Notes

Name often rendered Svetlana/Fotini. Principal feast Feb 26; also commemorated Mar 20 (OCA) and the movable Sunday of the Samaritan Woman.

Sources: Synaxarion