9th century
Saint Irene Chrysovalantou
Ninth-century abbess of the Chrysovalantou monastery in Constantinople, originally from Cappadocia.
Biography
Irene came from a wealthy Cappadocian family known for her piety and upbringing. Asked in marriage by an official of the imperial court, she set out for Constantinople, but on the way stopped at the Chrysovalantou monastery and decided to remain there as a nun, giving her wealth to the poor and to the monastery.
She lived an ascetic life and, despite her own reluctance, became abbess after her predecessor's death. According to tradition she received the gift of prophecy and healed those troubled by demons, and once, after a fast, tasted apples said to have been sent to her from Saint John the Theologian on Patmos.
She foresaw her own death, which she welcomed with joy, having lived, according to tradition, past the age of a hundred.