Martyr Crispina of Thacora

Crispina was a Christian woman of Roman North Africa who was martyred during the persecution under the emperor Diocletian. By tradition she came from Thacora (also rendered Thagara or Tagora), a town in the Roman province of Numidia, and the sources describe her as a wealthy matron of a distinguished family who had children. She is commemorated on December 5, the day of her death in the year 304.

When the persecution reached her, Crispina was brought before the proconsul Annius Anullinus and ordered to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods on behalf of the emperors Diocletian and Maximian, as required by the imperial edict. She refused, declaring that she honored only one God and would obey the commandment given her by Jesus Christ. According to the account, the judge commanded that her head be shaved and that she be exposed to public mockery, but she remained steadfast and was not moved even by the tears of her children. She was put to death by beheading at Theveste in Numidia.

The Acts of her martyrdom, written not long after the event, survive as a valuable historical document of the persecution. Her memory was held in high regard in the African Church: Saint Augustine of Hippo repeatedly mentions her in his sermons, presenting her as a martyr well known throughout Africa and worthy of veneration alongside Saints Agnes and Thecla.