Virgin Martyr Helen of Sinope

Saint Helen lived during the XVIII century at Sinope (Σινώπη), Pontus (in Asia Minor). She was a member of the pious Bekiaris family, and her parents raised her in the fear of God. She was especially influenced in her upbringing by her uncle, her father's brother, who taught at that time in the secret Greek school of Sinope. Under the Turkish yoke it was necessary to hold classes in the Orthodox Faith and the Greek language and history in hidden locations, often at night. The Moslem overlords did not forbid such schools, but they certainly discouraged them. School buildings could be seized and pupils were often harassed. Under such conditions, it was better to have clandestine schools in order to avoid persecution.

Saint Helen was fifteen years old and very beautiful. She was known for her obedience to her parents and by her fervent love for Christ. One day her mother sent her out to buy some thread from a shop in Kryonas. Helen had to pass by the home of Oukouzoglou Pasha, the governor of Sinope, who chanced to see her from his window. Her beauty inflamed his debauched soul, and he ordered that she be brought before him. When he found out who she was, he attempted to defile her, but an invisible force prevented him. Helen prayed silently to God, and He protected her.

The abominable man ordered his soldiers to lock Helen up in his house, but the Saint managed to escape and return to her family. When he discovered her missing, the Pasha became enraged and threatened everyone. He summoned the elders of the Sinope community and told them that unless Helen was brought to him, he would order a general slaughter of Christians.

The elders went to the Greek school to discuss the matter. They convinced Helen's father that he must sacrifice his daughter in order to prevent a massacre. He wept, but he was forced to accept this decision and so he brought Helen to the Pasha. The Pasha welcomed her with unspeakable joy, but again an invisible power hindered him when he tried to satisfy his lewd desires. During her ordeal, Saint Helen prayed to God, silently reciting the Six Psalms which she had learned at school from her uncle.

The Pasha renewed his efforts the next day, but yet again he was prevented from accomplishing his vile purpose. In his rage he had Helen thrown into the horrible damp prisons of Sinope. The following day he went to the prison and made another attempt to satisfy his unquenchable passion, but once more Christ protected the holy virgin. The Pasha then ordered that Helen be tortured and put to death. Her body was sewn up in a sack and was thrown into the sea. The sack did not sink, however, but floated upon the water while a light came from Heaven and illuminated her holy relics. The Turks were frightened and began to shout, "She's burning! She's burning!"

The sack floated to a spot called Gaei where, because of the depth of the water, the sea appears to be black. Here it sank. A few days later a Greek ship anchored near Gaei. The night watchman noticed a light coming from the bottom of the sea. Thinking that there was a treasure of gold, he informed the captain. Divers were sent down to bring up the treasure, but instead of perishable gold they discovered the holy relics of the Virgin Martyr Helen.

When the lawless Turks tortured the Saint they drove two nails into her head, and then they beheaded her. When the sack was opened they found a nail sticking out of her head and the hole that had been made by the second nail. The captain took Saint Helen's relics to Russia, and secretly brought her head to the church of the Theotokos at Sinope. The skull of the New Virgin Martyr Helen has worked many miracles at Sinope, particularly for those afflicted with headaches. At the place where the sack sank in the ocean fresh water came forth like a fountain of holy water (agiasmos). Ever since then, the spot has been known as Agiasmata.

During the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey in 1924, the president Christos Kapharopoulos took the holy skull of Saint Helen to Thessaloniki. Today the skull, which emits a fragrant odor and works miracles, is preserved in the church of the Holy Great Martyr Marina in Ano Toumba. The relics of Saints Cosmas and Damian of Asia are also in that church, and their memory is celebrated together with that of Saint Helen on November 1.

A Church Service in honor of Saint Helen was composed by the learned monk Gerasimos of the Small Skete of Saint Anne on Mount Athos, the hymnographer of the Great Church (Constantinople). The Saint's skull continues to produce a fragrance, and works miracles up to the present day.