FEBRONIA, saint, martyr. - The information concerning her person and her martyrdom is uncertain; the earliest accounts date from the 7th century. She was venerated at Constantinople, in whose Synaxarium she is commemorated on 25 June.
The highly legendary Passion, purportedly written by a disciple of F., relates that the Saint lived in a monastery at Nisibi. When the persecutions of Doceleziano broke out, while all her companions fled in fear, F. remained. She was therefore seized and brought before the tribunal. Urged by promises and inducements to sacrifice, she resolutely refused; she was consequently horribly scourged, flayed, mutilated, and finally beheaded. A large church was built in her honour, but her body remained buried in the monastery where she had lived, since it could not be transported.