Saint Anysia was a native of the city of Thessaloniki. She was endowed with all earthly goods. Her parents were good, pious and very wealthy, they took great care of her upbringing, and from childhood she loved God more than anything in the world.
She happily studied His law, diligently tried to fulfill His will. Her mind and beauty were extraordinary; she quickly advanced in all sciences, and her parents could not be happier with their daughter.
But from an early age, Anysia experienced great sorrow: she lost her good parents. After their death, she remained the sole heiress of a huge estate. An incredible amount of all kinds of wealth fell to her: property, money, gold and silver vessels, multi-colored clothes, decorated with gold and pearls. But this wealth did not please Anisia, but rather frightened her. She knew that there were many temptations in wealth, that it often aroused pride and vainglory in a person, and that it easily led away from God. Fearing these temptations, Anisia constantly prayed to God for help, asking Him to guide her to use the wealth bestowed upon her for good, and not for the destruction of her soul. Finally, she decided to give everything to the poor. When selling her property, she did not set a price for it, but said to the merchant:
- Remember that the property that belongs to the poor and needy is being sold! And therefore, give such a price as is due, because the Lord loves justice and repays with justice!
After the sale, Anisia began to give money to the poor. She visited hospitals and prisons, bringing generous help to the unfortunate. But Anisia did not only help with money – She served the sick, gave them medicine, bandaged their wounds, and served them with zeal and love. Having given away her wealth, she herself began to live in extreme poverty, spending her days in work and her nights in prayer. In this voluntary poverty, amidst deprivation of all kinds, she felt more joy of soul than many rich people in their luxurious palaces, because it is not wealth that makes a person happy, but a clear conscience and inner peace.
At that time, there was a terrible persecution against Christians, and whoever killed a Christian was not considered guilty of murder by law. Once, Anysia was going to church and noticed an unusual phenomenon on the street: that day the pagans were celebrating some kind of idol festival. A soldier saw Anysia and shouted to her to stop, because he wanted to force her to offer a sacrifice to the idol. The frightened girl crossed herself. The soldier asked her:
- Who are you and where are you going?
– I am a slave of Christ and I am going to church – Anisia answered meekly.
– I will not let you go – said the soldier. – Offer a sacrifice to our gods! – and then he seized her to take her to the pagan temple.
Anisia resisted. Then he drew his sword and killed her (298 AD). The pagans themselves reproached the soldier for his cruelty, seeing the innocent young girl killed. The Christians reverently buried her body.