Menodora, Metrodora, and Nymphodora
Encyclopedia
Menodora, Metrodora, and Nymphodora (died c. 305-311 AD) are virgin martyr
s venerated by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. According to tradition, the three women were sisters from Bithynia
in Asia Minor
. They chose not to marry and to forsake the world. They found a home in a remote location and spent their days in fasting and prayer. When reports reached the governor of the region, Frontonius, that the ill had supposedly been healed as a result of their prayers, he ordered that they be arrested and brought before him. When they refused to forsake Christianity, the governor ordered that they be tortured and then killed. After their deaths, the governor was supposedly struck by lightning and killed as well. The sisters were buried at the Warm Springs in Pythias. Some of their relics were preserved at Mount Athos in the Protection cathedral of the St. Panteleimon monastery in Russia and Metrodora's hand is at the monastery of the Pantocrator.
J.K. Rowling named the character Nymphadora Tonks in the Harry Potter
series after the ancient martyr Nymphodora.
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
s venerated by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. According to tradition, the three women were sisters from Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
in Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
. They chose not to marry and to forsake the world. They found a home in a remote location and spent their days in fasting and prayer. When reports reached the governor of the region, Frontonius, that the ill had supposedly been healed as a result of their prayers, he ordered that they be arrested and brought before him. When they refused to forsake Christianity, the governor ordered that they be tortured and then killed. After their deaths, the governor was supposedly struck by lightning and killed as well. The sisters were buried at the Warm Springs in Pythias. Some of their relics were preserved at Mount Athos in the Protection cathedral of the St. Panteleimon monastery in Russia and Metrodora's hand is at the monastery of the Pantocrator.
J.K. Rowling named the character Nymphadora Tonks in the Harry Potter
Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
series after the ancient martyr Nymphodora.