Saints Xanthippi and Polyxeni of Spain
The righteous women Xanthippi (Xanthίppē) and Polyxeni (Polyxénē) were sisters by birth and lived in Spain at the time of the Holy Apostles. They were among the first to hear the divine teaching of Christ the Savior from the Holy Apostle Paul, when he preached in their land (Romans 15:28). Saint Xanthippi and her husband Probus converted to Christianity, but before her Baptism Saint Polyxeni was abducted by a licentious man, who took her to Greece on a ship. God's grace protected her, however, and did not permit her to be defiled.
Moving around from place to place, Polyxeni heard the preaching of the Apostle Philip in Greece. After her arrival in Greece, Polyxeni turned to the Christians for protection, and they hid her in the city of Patra in Achaia. There she formally accepted Christianity and was baptized by the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called (November 30). Saint Polyxeni was a witness to Saint Andrew's miracles, and how patiently he endured his sufferings and death. She stood by the cross upon which they crucified him.
After Saint Andrew's martyric death, Saint Polyxeni returned to Spain, taking with her the Apostle Onḗsimos (February 15) and her traveling companion Rebecca, a Jewish slave, with whom she had been baptized. There she and her older sister Xanthippi converted many pagans to Christ.
Saint Polyxeni labored for about forty years preaching the Gospel in Spain. Saint Xanthippi shared in her sister’s work and preached in the populous city of Toledo.
Saint Polyxeni reposed around the year 109, having preserved her virginity until the end of her earthly life.
In Slavic usage Saints Xanthippi and Polyxeni are commemorated on September 24.