Story
The account of the martyrdom of a king's daughter at the hands of her own father, who loved her with all his might, yet would not accept the Christ at work within her, and so delivered her to a fiery furnace to be rid of her.
Her Upbringing
Adrosis, also called Atrasis, was the daughter of the emperor Hadrian (117–138 A.D.). Her father loved her dearly, and built for her a private chamber where she might be screened from the eyes of others.
For all its resources and grandeur, the palace could not enter the heart of this pagan girl, nor could her father's high standing make her proud. Rather, she sensed the passing away of the whole world, and the end of this life with all its glories, its delights, and its troubles as well; and she would cry out to God to guide her in what she ought to do.
Then in a vision of the night she saw one who said to her, "Send for Youanna the virgin, the daughter of Philosophon (that is, the Philosopher), and she will teach you the way of the Lord."
Martyrs Saint Adrosis (Atrasis) and St. Youanna: the two holy martyrs, the martyr Adrosis and the martyr Youanna.
Adrosis awoke from her sleep, and felt joy filling her depths, so she sent to the holy virgin Youanna to ask to meet her. And indeed, when she came to her, Adrosis fell down before her, but Youanna raised her up and they embraced in love. Youanna began to speak with her of God the Creator, who loved mankind and established the whole inhabited world for his sake; and how, when man fell, God sent him the Law and the Prophets; and then she unveiled to her the mystery of the divine Incarnation, the work of the Cross, and the power of the Resurrection, and the glories that God has prepared for man unto eternity. The soul of the princess rejoiced greatly, and she believed in the Lord Christ. The two became as two bodies with one spirit, sharing in fasts and prayers, of one mind, one hope, and one longing.
The Rejection of Paganism
At that time her father was away at war, and when he returned he asked her to offer incense to the god Apollo before her wedding was completed. But he found his daughter speaking to him of the worship of the living God, of the rejection of paganism, and of God's saving work.
The king could not bear to hear such words from his daughter; instead he inquired into the cause of her turning away from the worship of the god Apollo, and learned that it was Youanna the daughter of Philosophon who had changed her mind. At once he ordered that the two of them be burned together.
The whole city went out weeping bitterly for these two brides, who came out beyond the city clothed in splendid garments and adorned with jewels, as though setting off to their own wedding feast. Everyone was weeping, but the two of them were full of joy.
The flame of the furnace rose high, and with it rose the cries of many entreating them to consent to the king's command for the sake of their youth. But the two took hold of one another's hands and, in calm, entered the furnace, and turned toward the East to pray together. When the fire had died down, the faithful found their two bodies clinging to one another, with neither their garments nor their jewels altered; so they kept them until the time of persecution had passed, and built for them a great church.
The Coptic Church commemorates them on the eighteenth of Hatour