8th–9th century
Saint Anthousa, daughter of Emperor Constantine V
Daughter of the iconoclast emperor Constantine V who declined marriage, gave her wealth to charity and became a nun in Constantinople.
Biography
Anthousa was the daughter of the iconoclast emperor Constantine V and his wife Eudokia. Despite her father's pressure to marry, she remained unmarried and devoted herself to works of charity, unwilling to take a husband who shared her family's iconoclast views.
After her father's death, she distributed her wealth to the poor, to charitable institutions and to churches, and became a nun under Patriarch Tarasios, despite pressure from Empress Irene to remain at the palace as co-regent.
She lived an ascetic life at the monastery and died in the early 9th century, at about the age of 52.