likely that she lived and died in the East, as her story only comes to us through the Greek Church. R.M. Stilting in AA.SS.
St. Agathonia (l), March 30, M. AA.SS.
St. Agathonia (2), April 13, M. AA,SS.
St. Agathonica (l), April 13, M. 251. Sister of the deacon Papylus, martyred under Decius; after many tortures he was burnt with Carpus, bishop of Thyatira, and many others. Agathonica, seeing her brother in the fire, threw herself into the flames and died with him. Their Acts are quoted by Eusebius. li.M. Men. Basil, Oct. 13. Baillet. Guénebault, Dic. Icon, says sister of Bishop Agathodorus; M. with him and their servant in the 3rd century.
St. Agathonica (2), Aug. 10, M. at Carthage, with Bassa and Paula. R.M.
St. Agatia. St. Agatha is so called in the Ruthenian Calendar.
St. Agatodia, Sept. 17. In the Biografia Celesiastica, Agatodia appears to be a clerical error for Agathoclia.
St. Agetrue or Agertkudis, Gertrude of Nivelle.
St. Agia (1), Sept. 1 (Aga, Aie, Augia, Austregild). c. 609. Mother of St. Lupus, bishop of Sens. Wife of Betto, a lord of the court; and sister of two holy bishops, Austrenus of Orleans and Aunarius of Auxerre. There are about 10 saints called Lupus, or Leu, or Loup. This one was born at Orleans. He was banished from his see by king Clothaire, through the covetousness of a minister to whom he would not give bribes, and of an abbot who wanted to take his bishopric. The king afterwards recalled St. Lupus, kneeled at his feet to ask his forgiveness, and treated him with the greatest honour. Lupus died at Sens in 623. AA.SS. Baillet. Butler.
St. Agia (2), Aya.
St. Aglaé (1), May 14 or 8. Penitent. c. 317. A woman of great wealth, so fond of the luxuries and the pomps and vanities of the world as to give public games to the people at her own expense. She lived at Rome apparently about the beginning of the 4th century, but she is supposed to have been a foreigner. She led a sinful life with Boniface the manager of her affairs, a drunken and dissipated man, who, though stained with many vices, had three good qualities—pity for the unfortunate, liberality to the poor, and hospitality towards strangers. After many years it pleased God to touch the heart of Aglaé with compunction, and she said to Boniface, "We are living in sinful pleasure without reflecting that wo shall have at last to give an account to God of all that we do in this life; I have heard some of the Christians say that those who honour Saints and Martyrs who fight for Jesus Christ shall be made partakers of their glory in the other life. I hear that a great many Christians are tortured and put to death now in the East for Christ's sake. Go there, and bring back some relics of these holy martyrs, that we may build oratories to them here and honour their memory that so we may escape the punishment of our vices and be saved with them." This was probably in 307 or 309), under Galerius Maximianus, who continued, in the East, to persecute the Church which had already had peace in the West since the abdication of Diocletian, 305. Boniface obeyed her, and as he took leave of her, he said he would bring back the bodies of some martyrs if he could find any, and added, "But what if my body should be brought back to you as that of a martyr, would yon honour it as such?" Aglaé rebuked him for what she considered an untimely jest, and said that ho must reform his life, and consider that he was going to seek for holy relics. Boniface was so impressed by the earnestness of his mistress that he fasted from wine and meat during the whole of his journey, and prayed to God for grace to repent and reform. Ho arrived in duo time at Tarsus in Cilicia. Leaving his servants and horses at the inn, he went at once to make inquiries about the Christians, and see what was going on with regard to them. Ho was soon satisfied on this point, for he saw 20 of them undergoing different forms of torture in the Forum; one of them was hung up by the feet over a fire. The spectators, instead of being imbued with a horror
