Golindouch, Golindukht, Golindokht, or Dolindokht (Greek Γολινδούχ, Γολιανδοὺχ) (died 591) was a noble

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

lady who converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

, took the name Maria, and became a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

and

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

. She converted from

Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...

to Christianity in the reign of

Khosrau I Khosrow I (also spelled Khosrau, Khusro or Chosroes; ), traditionally known by his epithet of Anushirvan ("the Immortal Soul"), was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 531 to 579. He was the son and successor of Kavad I (). Inheriting a rei ...

. She was persecuted and tortured under

and

Hormizd IV Hormizd IV (also spelled Hormozd IV or Ohrmazd IV; ) was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 579 to 590. He was the son and successor of Khosrow I () and his mother was a Khazar princess. During his reign, Hormizd IV had the high aristoc ...

, and later she died in the Roman city of

Mabbog Manbij (; ; ) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, west of the Euphrates. The 2004 census gives its population as nearly 100,000.

(Hierapolis Bambyce) in 591.

Sources

There is a ''Passion'' in Greek by

Eustratios of Constantinople Eustratius or Eustratios (; 582–602) was a hagiographer, theologian and priest of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.Oliver Nicholson, "Eustratius", in Oliver Nicholson (ed.), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity'', Volume 1: A–I (Oxford: Oxfo ...

, which may be based on a lost version by

Stephen of Hierapolis Stephen of Hierapolis (, fl. 600 AD) was a bishop of Hierapolis Bambyce, Byzantine Empire. Stephen was the author of a hagiography of St. Golindouch, who was his guest in Hierapolis after escaping martyrdom under Hormizd IV. Based on that text, ...

written in Syriac shortly after her death. The author of this document writes that he heard the facts from persons acquainted with the saint herself, in particular Saint Domitian, her bishop. In Greek, she is known as Αγία Γολινδούχ η Περσίδα που μετονομάστηκε Μαρία, meaning 'Saint Golindouch the Persian who was renamed Maria'. Her

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

is July 13. There is also a medieval ''Passion'' in Georgian.

Theophylact Simocatta Theophylact Simocatta (Byzantine Greek: Θεοφύλακτος Σιμοκάτ(τ)ης ''Theophýlaktos Simokát(t)ēs''; ) was an early seventh-century Byzantine historiographer, arguably ranking as the last historian of Late Antiquity, writing in ...

discusses Golindouch at length.

Evagrius Scholasticus Evagrius Scholasticus () was a Syrian scholar and intellectual living in the 6th century AD, and an aide to the patriarch Gregory of Antioch. His surviving work, ''Ecclesiastical History'' (), comprises a six-volume collection concerning the Chu ...

mentions her briefly in his ''Ecclesiastical History'', referring to Stephen of Hierapolis's ''Life'' of Golindouch and called her Golianduch (Γολιανδοὺχ).Evagrius Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History, 6.20
/ref>

Notes

Bibliography

* * L. Bardou, "Sainte Golindouch", ''Échos d'Orient'', 4''
18
(October 1900-October 1901) * P. Peeters, "Sainte Golindouch, martyre perse", ''Analecta Bollandiana'' 1944
Imperial power and its subversion in Eustratius of Constantinople's "life and martyrdom of Golinduch" (c. 602)
591 deaths 6th-century births Converts to Christianity from Zoroastrianism 6th-century Christian saints 6th-century Christian martyrs Christians in the Sasanian Empire 6th-century Iranian people Christian female saints of the Middle Ages 6th-century women 6th-century nobility Persian saints Byzantine people of Iranian descent 6th-century Byzantine people Eastern Orthodox saints {{saint-stub