Today we honor a saint and disciple of Apostle Matthew, St. Ephigenia (or Iphigenia) of Ethiopia. Although we know little about her life, tradition tells us that Ephigenia was the daughter of Ethiopian King Egippus. At some point after meeting St. Matthew, she formally dedicated her life to serving Christ and being formed by her new-found faith.
Several years later, her father was succeeded by a new king, Hirtacus, who wanted to marry Ephigenia and asked St. Matthew’s help in bringing this about. According to tradition, Matthew explained that she was already betrothed to the Eternal King and therefore could not marry him. Enraged, King Hiraticus sent a swordsman to kill St. Matthew who was serving at the church's altar at the time, resulting in his martyrdom.
How did Ephigenia serve the early church of Ethiopia after St. Mathew’s death? We don’t know, but we do know that she remained faithful to her commitment to God for many more years. After Hiraticus's death, the people chose Ephigenia's brother as their king, who reigned for seventy years before leaving his kingdom to his son, who filled it with Christian churches. It is said St. Ephigenia passed away peacefully at the end of a long and fruitful life. We commemorate her life along with St. Matthew the Apostle on November 16th.
St Ephigenia accompanies us as a woman who remained steadfast to her commitment to Christ - who, as one source put it, “refused to bend her will to the king’s” but instead bent her will to the love and service of her eternal King, whom she served to the end of her days. We honor her for this awakening of love that took place in her heart and her influential role in the early church of Ethiopia.
Holy Mother Ephigenia, pray to God for us!
(If anyone knows of Ethiopian or other sources where we can learn more about St. Ephigenia’s life, please share!)