Saint Akylina the New Martyr

Akylina was born in Zagliveri near Thessaloniki. Her father converted to Islam after killing a Turk to escape punishment, but her mother remained steadfast in Christ and taught her daughter the faith and virtue.

Despite her father's pressure and Turkish threats, Akylina refused to change her faith. She was led to martyrdom accompanied by her mother, who encouraged her, and died after many days of flogging on 27 September 1764, at the age of 19.

According to tradition, the Turks buried her in their own cemetery, but a light that appeared over her grave led local Christians to secretly steal her relics and hide them, though their location was never revealed again. Her feast has been kept on 27 September since 1957.