Virgin Martyr

Holy Martyr Cyprilla of Cyrene

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The aged Christian woman of Cyrene who refused incense to idols and endured martyrdom for Christ.

Core account checked against Orthodox Church in America — Lives of the Saints, July 4. Additional ecclesiastical references appear below.

Life and Witness

Life and Historical Setting

Saint Cyprilla was arrested during the persecution of Christians at Cyrene. When burning coals and incense were placed in her hands to force an offering to idols, she would not cast them down. Remaining steadfast in her confession, she endured torment and received the martyr's crown.

Miracles, Relics and Places of Veneration

Her commemoration belongs to the local martyrological tradition received by the Church. Because the surviving material is limited, the article states that limitation openly rather than filling gaps with details borrowed from similarly named saints.

Iconography and Spiritual Meaning

Orthodox iconography presents the saint with the Cross of confession. The image does not glorify suffering by itself; it proclaims fidelity to Christ, forgiveness of persecutors and the victory of resurrection over death.

Feast Day

July 4 — Holy Martyr Cyprilla of Cyrene.

From the Orthodox Synaxarion

The Orthodox account emphasizes the aged martyr’s refusal to let the burning incense in her hands become an offering to idols. Her steadfast endurance made an apparently small imposed action into a clear confession of exclusive worship of Christ.