Fr Ben Garren

And Zoe, the wife of Nicostratus, in whose house the youths were under guard, came and threw herself at Sebastian’s feet, and implored his aid with gestures, for she had lost the power of speech. Then the saint said: “If I am the servant of God, and the things I have said are true, O Thou who didst open the mouth of the prophet Zacharias, open the mouth of this woman!” And the woman, her tongue loosened, cried out: “Blessed be thy words and blessed those who believe them!” —The Golden Legend

Siblings in Christ,

Amidst the Old English Martyrology we find for the month of July that “on the fourth day of the month is the commemoration in Rome of the holy virgin St. Zoe”. This is one of the earliest known Christian Devotional books in English and the partial remnants we have describe over two hundred saints whose life should be pondered in meditation… not a very different practice from our Daily Bread emails. The author of this text was drawing from any source they could find, and often little details are askew. The Old English Martyrology recalls Zoe’s miraculous healing by Sebastian but the author seems unaware of the greater story, misdescribing Zoe as a virgin, and also gets the date of her martyrdom off by a day.

Zoe was, by most accounts, the wife a roman official, Nicostratus, who was imprisoning Sebastian and several other Christians. As the story plays out Zoe and Nicostratus find themselves amazed at the lives and words of those they are imprisoning. Zoe, who has been mute for years, has hope that they have the authority to heal her. Thus the first words after her miraculous healing are a hymn of praise. She and her husband quickly convert. This eventually brings Zoe to her own imprisonment and eventual martyrdom, which is still commemorated by many Christians on the fifth day of July.

While the Old English Martyrology may have confused the dates of the feast and left out some key details in the Episcopal Church we have placed aside the celebration of Zoe as too esoteric. An overall understandable action but there is something particularly pressing about her story that we need to not forget amidst our current reality. Meaningful Christian witness comes from spaces of imprisonment, marginalization, and abandonment. Christians too often seek to be Nicostratus and Zoe, those making judgements and holding the keys to the prison cells. What this story reminds us is that those in power often need to submit to the wisdom of the very people they imprison and deride if they are to be healed and converted to right action. Consistently through history, it is solidarity with those the world, and often the church, seek to condemn that the greatest moments of Christian witness have occurred. The Martyrology of Zoe reminds us of this essential fact which Christians are always called to ponder in prayer.

Blessings,
Ben