March 20 Saint Photina of Rome (Svetlana, Photina the Samaritan, Fotina) The Woman at the Well, Holy martyr of the Church.

March 20 Saint Photina of Rome (Svetlana, Photina the Samaritan, Fotina) The Woman at the Well, Holy martyr of the Church.
died 66
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Holy martyr of the Church, better known as the Samarian woman Jesus encounters at Jacob’s Well:
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He cometh therefore to a city of Samaria, which is called Sichar, near the land which Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob' s well was there. Jesus therefore being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well. It was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria, to draw water. Jesus saith to her: Give me to drink. For his disciples were gone into the city to buy meats. Then that Samaritan woman saith to him: How dost thou, being a Jew, ask of me to drink, who am a Samaritan woman? For the Jews do not communicate with the Samaritans. Jesus answered, and said to her: If thou didst know the gift of God, and who he is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou perhaps wouldst have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
The woman saith to him: Sir, thou hast nothing wherein to draw, and the well is deep; from whence then hast thou living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered, and said to her: Whosoever drinketh of this water, shall thirst again; but he that shall drink of the water that I will give him, shall not thirst for ever: But the water that I will give him, shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into life everlasting. The woman saith to him: Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come hither to draw. Jesus saith to her: Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered, and said: I have no husband. Jesus said to her: Thou hast said well, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands: and he whom thou now hast, is not thy husband. This thou hast said truly. The woman saith to him: Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers adored on this mountain, and you say, that at Jerusalem is the place where men must adore.
Jesus saith to her: Woman, believe me, that the hour cometh, when you shall neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, adore the Father. You adore that which you know not: we adore that which we know; for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true adorers shall adore the Father in spirit and in truth. For the Father also seeketh such to adore him. God is a spirit; and they that adore him, must adore him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith to him: I know that the Messias cometh (who is called Christ). Therefore, when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith to her: I am he, who am speaking with thee.
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(John 4: 5-26)
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Following these events, we know that Photina returned to her village, and many came to believe in Jesus through her testimony. The life of Photina following her encounter with the Lord is one of great love for Him, constant preaching despite fear of persecution, and eventual horrible torture and death. She is highly venerated in the Eastern and Orthodox traditions, and recognized in the Roman Catholic martyrology.
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Following her encounter with the living Christ, Photina and her son apparently lived in Carthage, where they preached the Gospel to all who would listen. Her eldest son, Saint Victor, a soldier, had demonstrated his bravery in battle, and was therefore rewarded with a prominent station in the city of Attalia. Following a conversation with the city’s administrator, during which Victor was encouraged to renounce his faith and warn his mother and sisters not to preach the Gospel, the city administrator was struck dumb and blind for three days. Upon recovering his senses, and seeing Victor still with him, the administrator converted to Christianity, along with his servants. News of this miraculous conversion eventually reached Emperor Nero, an active and sadistic persecutor of Christians, who ordered them brought to Rome for trial.
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Hearing of the trial, Saint Photina, her sisters, and several other believers, traveled to Rome to join the confessors in their time of trial. The trial was short, and torture began almost immediately upon the accused refusing to renounce their belief in Christ. Each of the martyrs had their wrists crushed in an anvil, but reported feeling no pain. Photina’s wrist, however, was miraculously unable to be crushed. The men were thrown into prison, where they continued to preach to all who would listen, the prison itself transforming into a place that was glowing with light and sweet in odor. The women were confined to the service of the Emperor’s daughter, who promptly converted to the faith through their witness, as did her servants.
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Incensed with rage, Nero ordered the martyrs executed. The men were crucified upside down and beaten for three days, still refusing to die. They then had their legs severed below the knees, their limbs thrown to dogs, and were beaten until the expired. The women were mutilated, tied to two bent trees, and upon their release were split in half. Saint Photina was thrown down a well, fittingly, the place she had first encountered the Lord. After 20 days of freezing water, no food, or sleep, she was called before the emperor. Again, she was asked to renounce her faith, but replied, “Most impious, blind, lost mad man! Can you possibly think me so stupid that I would agree to renounce my Lord Christ and offer sacrifice to idols as blind as you?!” Without hesitation, Nero had her thrown back into the well, where she died at peace with the Lord.
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We read throughout the New Testament about the life of Jesus, and the individuals he encounters during his ministry—the blind man who has his sight restored, countless individuals cured of leprosy, possession, and illness, those He dines with, those He teaches, those He challenges. Like the woman at the well, these are the first Christians, those who risked life and limb in the propagation (and promulgation!) of the early faith. Yet, we rarely pause to consider what their lives were like, following their encounters with Christ, recorded in the Gospels. Photina's martyrdom, recorded in history, offers us a glimpse into the lives of these early Christians.
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Photina, so moved by the Lord, so thirsty for the water of life, gave all she had to spread the Gospel to others. So loving and charitable was she, she chose to give her life so that others might hear the words of Christ and come to believe. It is certainly a challenge in our lives to live our faith openly, witnessing to those we encounter—not because of threat of death in most cases, but because of the judgment and hostility exhibited by many in the world. The question is, should we let that stop us? The love of Christ compels us to call others to Him, so that they too may be saved. How, through our lives, words, and behaviors, are we serving as witnesses to the glory and redemption of Jesus Christ? We pray that we may courageously live our faith, so that all may see and believe!
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By the well of Jacob, O holy one,
thou didst find the Water of eternal and blessed life;
and having partaken thereof, O wise Photina,
thou went forth proclaiming Christ, the Anointed One.
Help us to follow thy example,
and through our lives bring glory to the Lord and believers to the Church. Amen.
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Eternal Father, I wish to honor St. Photina of Rome, and I give Thee thanks for all the graces Thou hast bestowed upon her. I ask Thee to please increase grace in my soul through the merits of this saint, and I commit the end of my life to her by this special prayer, so that by virtue of Thy goodness and promise, St. Photina of Rome might be my advocate and provide whatever is needed at that hour. Amen.