9th century
Saint Kassiani the Hymnographer
Ninth-century Byzantine hymnographer and nun from Constantinople, known for the Holy Tuesday hymn that bears her name.
Biography
Kassia was born in Constantinople around 805-810 into a wealthy family, and stood out for her beauty and intelligence. Tradition holds that she took part in the "bride show" organized for the young Emperor Theophilos, who ultimately chose Theodora instead.
In 843 she founded a convent in the west of Constantinople and became its first abbess. She openly defended the veneration of icons during the persecution of the iconoclast Theophilos, even enduring a scourging.
She wrote hymns and epigrams, of which about fifty survive, the best known being the hymn of Kassiani sung in churches on the evening of Holy Tuesday.