Xenia of Rome

{{Short description|5th-century Christian saint}}

{{Infobox saint

|honorific_prefix=Saint

|name=Xenia of Rome

|image=Icon of Saint Xenia of Rome, San Remo.jpg

|imagesize=200px

|caption=Icon of Saint Xenia; crypt of the Russian Orthodox Church {{Interlanguage link|Chiesa di Cristo Salvatore|it}} San Remo, Italy

|death_date=c. 450

|feast_day=January 24/February 6

|venerated_in=Eastern Orthodox Church
Roman Catholic Church

}}

Xenia the Righteous of Rome ({{langx|el|Ξένια της Ρώμης}}) was a saint of the 5th century, honored by some Christian Churches, including Orthodox and Catholic.Our Holy Mother Xenia of Rome, Holy Protection Russian Orthodox Church web-site Xenia, originally born Eusebia, was the only daughter of a wealthy Senator in Rome. She and two devoted servants of hers, left to avoid an arranged marriage. She escaped to Mylasa, on the island of Kos, where she accepted name "Xenia" (stranger). She wanted to hide in a deserted place not to be discovered by her parents.

Upon arrival, Xenia began a church dedicated to the Saint Stephen and a woman's monastery. Soon after, she was made a deaconess by Bishop Paul of Mylasa.{{Cite web|url=https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2017/01/24/100286-venerable-xenia-of-rome-and-her-two-female-servants|title=Venerable Xenia of Rome, and her two female servants|website=www.oca.org|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-01}}Poulos, George. [http://www.antiochian.org/1116816361 St. Xenia]. Orthodox Saints. qtd. in [http://www.antiochian.org/AW-WomenSaints Orthodox Women Saints]. The Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. Accessed on 2007-12-10.{{Cite web|url=https://www.goarch.org/chapel/saints?contentid=401|title=Xenia, Deaconess of Rome - Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America|website=www.goarch.org|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-01}}

It is written of her that she "helped everyone: for the destitute, she was a benefactress; for the grief-stricken, a comforter; for sinners, a guide to repentance. She possessed a deep humility, accounting herself the worst and most sinful of all."{{Cite web|url=http://www.omhksea.org/archives/3841|title=Saint Xenia the Righteous of Rome : OMHKSEA|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-01}}

The Feast of St. Xenia is celebrated in the Orthodox church and Catholic church on January 24, the day on which she died. It was alleged that "during her funeral, a luminous wreath of stars surrounding a radiant cross appeared over the monastery in the heavens."{{Cite web|url=http://www.orthochristian.com/100665.html|title=Venerable Xenia of Rome, and her two female servants|website=Православие.RU|access-date=2020-02-01}} She is said to have foreseen her own death.{{Cite web|url=https://catholicsaints.info/saint-eusebia-of-milas/ |title=Saint Eusebia of Milas |website=CatholicSaints.info|access-date=2022-01-07}}