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The holy and glorious [[Virgin-Martyr]] [[Saint]] '''Pelagia of Tarsus''' was a resident of Tarsus in Asia Minor during the reign of the Emperor [[Diocletian]]. She is commemorated [[May 4]].
According to the tradition of the [[Church]], the son of Diocletian fell in love with the holy maiden, wishing to seek her as his own. When he made advances towards her, Pelagia replied that she could not love him, having sworn herself to [[Jesus Christ|Christ]], the [[Bridegroom]]. In passion, anger, and sorrow, Diocletian's son killed himself. Pelagia was then sent to Rome by her pagan mother, where Diocletian himself asked her to become his wife. She refused, and seeing the cruelty of the tyrannical emperor, she called him insane. The emperor had her burned at the stake, and as her flesh melted like wax, the incense of [[myrrh ]] emitted from her holy flesh, perfuming the city.
The pagans sent four lions to surround her bones, but instead of consuming them, they protected her remains from vultures until Bishop Linus recovered them. After the [[Edict of Milan|legalization of Christianity]], [[Constantine the Great]] built a church on the site of those [[relics|remains]] in her honor.
