Virgin & New Martyr
Saint Chryse the New Martyr (Zlata of Meglena)
A young Christian woman whose confession of Christ endured captivity, coercion and martyrdom.
Core account checked against Orthodox Church in America — New Martyr Zlata of Meglena, Orthodox Synaxarion — Saint Chryse the New Martyr and liturgical texts. Additional ecclesiastical references appear below.
Life and Witness
A Christian Daughter of Slatena
Saint Chryse, also known as Zlata of Meglena, came from Slatena in the region of Meglena. She belonged to a poor Christian family and was one of four daughters. Her received Life remembers her firmness of character and her attachment to Christ.
She lived under Ottoman rule in the late eighteenth century. The Church honors her as a virgin and New Martyr, preserving the memory of a young woman whose faith endured prolonged coercion.
Abduction and Refusal
While gathering firewood with other women, Chryse was abducted by a man who wanted to marry her and compel her to accept Islam. Promises and persuasion were followed by threats. She refused to abandon the Orthodox faith.
The account presents Christ as her Bridegroom: her answer arose from a dedication that her captor could not obtain or undo by force. Her resistance continued despite the danger to her life.
The Pleas of Her Family
The OCA account describes approximately six months of attempts to force her conversion. Her parents and sisters were then brought into the ordeal and threatened themselves. In fear, they urged her to deny Christ outwardly so that she and they might survive.
Chryse would not consent. Her response expressed her belonging to Christ, to the Mother of God and to the communion of saints. The episode reveals the painful pressure placed upon her family as well as the resolve with which she endured it. The family’s pleas arose in circumstances of intimidation and fear.
Suffering and the Prayer of Her Spiritual Father
The longer account describes a further period of severe torture. Chryse continued to confess Christ throughout it. The Church’s remembrance centers on her steadfastness rather than on the cruelty inflicted upon her.
Her spiritual father, Hieromonk Timothy of Stavronikita Monastery on Mount Athos, was nearby during the final period of her suffering. She asked him to pray that she would remain faithful to the end. The OCA identifies him as the recorder of her martyrdom, connecting the received narrative with the pastoral witness of an Athonite monk.
Martyrdom on October 13, 1795
On October 13, 1795, Chryse was bound to a tree and killed. Christians subsequently gathered her remains in secret and buried them reverently. Both the Greek Synaxarion and the OCA commemorate her martyrdom on October 13.
Her title of virgin martyr joins her personal dedication to Christ with the witness of her death. She is also remembered among the New Martyrs who suffered during Ottoman rule.
Her Remembrance in the Church
The Greek service honors Chryse through imagery of gold, purity and faithfulness to Christ. Her Greek name and the name Zlata both carry the sense of gold. Her remembrance belongs to Orthodox communities that preserve her name in different languages.
The sources consulted here do not provide a detailed catalogue of later healings or an authenticated account of the present location of her relics. Her biography therefore concludes with the recorded burial, her liturgical commemoration and her confession of faith. Holy Martyr Chryse, pray to God for us.
Biographical information on this page is based exclusively on the Orthodox ecclesiastical sources listed below.
Orthodox Church in America — New Martyr Zlata of MeglenaOrthodox Synaxarion — Saint Chryse the New Martyr and liturgical texts