High and low, rich and poor, friend and enemy - Saint Olympia the Deaconess cared for all.
Also known as Olympias or Olympiada, this wise and courageous woman knew and assisted many hierarchs throughout her life. However, she is most well known for her friendship with St. John Chrysostom and as the recipient of many of his letters during exile.
St. Olympia was born around the year 362 into a pagan family in the upper aristocracy of Constantinople. Olympia's parents died when she was still young, and she was brought up under the guardianship of an uncle and a governess, who were both devout Christians. Together, they raised her in a loving and nurturing atmosphere that inspired her to have a burning love for Christ.
This period of her life also brought her in contact with some of the most revered leaders of the Church, many of whom later became saints. Her governess, Theodosia, was a sister of St. Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium, and a close friend of St. Basil the Great. Olympia's uncle Procopius was a close friend of St. Gregory the Theologian, who took a great interest in her after he came to Constantinople in 379. St. Gregory of Nyssa would eventually write his Commentary on the Song of Songs to her, dedicating it to her in the Prologue.
At the age of twenty-one, St. Olympia’s uncle arranged a marriage for her with a wealthy man of high rank. Her bridegroom died soon after, leaving her with property and the conviction not to remarry. This conviction required her to stand down many who sought to control her wealth and inheritance, including the Emperor Theodosus the Great. In the end, she was allowed to dispose of her wealth as she saw fit. She promptly used it for charitable work and establishing a women’s monastery in Constantinople.
In this monastery, she began to live an ascetic life along with several of her relatives. In time, the house grew to hold about 250 female ascetics. For over a decade, she lived and worked among these women from all walks of life, seeking to know more deeply the Christ she had loved since childhood. She was known throughout Constantinople for attending to all in need with genuine love, distributing aid not only to “good” people but to their enemies as well.
Nectarius, the Archbishop of Constantinople, recognized in St. Olympia the qualities mentioned by St. Paul in 1 Timothy 5: “Well attested for her good deeds, as one who has…shown hospitality, washed the feet of the saints, relieved the afflicted, and devoted herself to doing good in every way.” He ordained her a deaconess, and in addition to overseeing her duties in serving the community, he is said to have consulted her wisdom for ecclesiastical advice.
It was while serving as a deaconess that St. Olympia first met St. John Chrysostom, who eventually followed Archbishop Nectarius as the next Archbishop of Constantinople. St. Olympia and St. John became close co-workers in their service of Christ. Much of what we know of St. Olympia’s life, particularly at this period, comes from Chrysostom’s commentators. Even among the letters they wrote to each other, only his have remained. However, their words still give us a valuable insight into her life and way of holiness and remind us how much she was held in honor for her wisdom, generosity, and love for Christ. J.N.D. Kelly, a biographer of Chrisostom, writes, “There was no one in Constantinople with whom he was to have a deeper or more sympathetic understanding, no one with whom he was to feel more at ease or to whom he was to pour out his heart more unreservedly.”
W. R. W. Stephens, a translator of St. John Crysostom’s letters, writes about St. Olympia’s service as a deaconess in this period: “Henceforward her time and wealth were devoted to the service of the Christian religion. She ministered to the necessities of the sick and poor. She supported the work of the Church in Greece, Asia Minor, and Syria with such lavish donations, not only of her money but of her land, that even Chrysostom, who might be called the great preacher of almsgiving, warned her against indiscriminate liberality”.
After St. John was exiled, St. Olympia and many other Christians in Constantinople faced persecution. St. John’s letters to her in this period are full of encouragement for her to stay steadfast in the midst of discouragement, and we can imagine that her replies to him contained much of the same.
Twice, St. Olympia was put on trial for the absurd charge of having started the fire that broke out when Chrysostom was seized in the cathedral and led off into exile for the last time. “I, who have helped build so many churches, am not in the habit of burning them down,” she is reported to have declared in a spirited defense of herself. Although she was clearly innocent, she was fined a large sum of money for the crime of arson, after which she left Constantinople and settled in Kyzikos.
Now she, too, was an exile like her friend Chrysostom, and their letters of mutual support and encouragement meant more than ever. However, even then the persecutions against her did not cease. In the year 405, she was sentenced to prison at Nicomedia, and it was here in the year 409, St, Olympia entered into eternal rest. She accompanies us now as a woman who moved between spaces of power and humility, poverty and privilege, and found ways to love and serve Christ in them all. And in her wisdom, courage, and example to care not only for the “deserving” poor but also for their enemies, we see a model of who Christ was for all of us.
On the New Calendar, we celebrate her feast day on July 25th.
Holy Mother Olympia, pray to God for us!
Apolytikion in Plagal of the Fourth Tone
Most Holy Olympia, counselor to patriarchs, deaconess, and friend of the divine Chrysostom, you are like a tower, a haven, and a wall of defense–and you speak to all of us by your eloquent example. You are rich in the fruits of courage, patience, and serenity, and you use virtue as your rudder. You are a patron of the poor and a defender of the faith. Intercede with Christ our God through the power of your philosophic soul to save our souls.