The life of St Matrona of Thessalonica
She continued attending the Christian church in secret, and when Pautila learned of it and pressed her to worship instead at the synagogue, Matrona answered plainly that God was present in the church her mistress scorned, but had departed from the one she kept. Enraged, Pautila had her beaten and confined, and accounts of what followed differ in their particulars, though all agree that the beatings continued until Matrona died of what she had suffered for her faith.
Christians recovered her body and buried it, and in time Bishop Alexander of Thessalonica built a church in her memory, where her relics were kept and where the faithful reported many healings through her intercession. A monastery bearing her name stood outside the city walls within a few centuries of her death. She is remembered as a servant who would not trade the freedom of her faith for the favor of an earthly mistress.
