Today we commemorate Irene, Great Martyr. She was born in Persia in the 4th century, the daughter of pagan rulers who named her Penelope. She was isolated from Christianity at a young age, but her tutor, a Christian, secretly taught her about Christ and the Christian faith. As a teenager, she refused to marry any suitors her father was arranging for her. Her father, after learning she refused to worship the pagan gods, had her tortured by wild horses trampling her. Instead, the horses, attached the father, but her prayers restored him. He and his wife were then baptized Christians. She continued her Christian teaching and preached to the pagans of her community and converted many. Later, a new prefect, came to the city and heard of her. She refused to worship as a pagan and, thus, thrown into a pit of vipers and was also tortured. She was unharmed and continued to preach and heal and converted many more to Christ. She continued to perform miracles and convert more to Christianity, until her death. In Greece, she is the patron saint of policemen.
