Story
Lives of the Saints and Martyrs in the Coptic Orthodox Church
Her life portrays the soul that lived for a season pampered amid the lusts of the flesh; yet, having tasted the sweetness of communion with God in Christ Jesus her Saviour, she draws her own household to the faith, and stands boldly to face the sufferings of persecution, rejoicing in the Spirit.
Her Upbringing:
According to tradition, Afra was a harlot living in Augsburg at the beginning of the fourth century. She repented at the hands of St. Narcissus of Gerona in Spain, and her mother Hilaria repented along with her. She also won the souls of her three maidservants, Digna, Eunomia, and Eutropia, who had walked with her in corruption.
Her Martyrdom:
When the fires of persecution blazed up in the days of Diocletian and his colleague Maximian, Gaius, the judge of Rhaetia, summoned her and entered into the following exchange with her:
"Sacrifice to the gods, for it is better for you to live than to die by torments."
"Enough are the sins I committed in my ignorance; I will not add to them what you command me."
"Go to the temple and offer a sacrifice."
"Christ is my temple. I see Him always before my eyes, and I confess my sins to Him every day, and I offer myself as a willing sacrifice."
"I have heard about you, that you are a harlot. Sacrifice, then, for you have no portion with the God of the Christians."
"My Lord Jesus Christ has said that He came from heaven for the sake of sinners."
"Sacrifice, and you will gain the love of those who love you, and they will pour out their riches into your purse."
"I will no longer accept their loathsome money, that money which I have cast off from me as refuse."
"You cannot become a Christian, for you are a harlot."
"All that I have to offer in order to obtain the title of Christian is the mercy of God."
"How do you know that Christ has accepted you?"
"In that He permits me to confess Him before the seat of your judgment."
"All this is feebleness, mere fancies; offer a sacrifice!"
"Christ is my salvation, who was hung upon the cross, and promised paradise to the thief who confessed Him."
"Do not make me argue with you at length; only offer a sacrifice, or else, if you persist in folly, I will torture you and burn you alive."
"Would that this body of mine which sinned might suffer!"
When the judge issued his sentence to burn her alive, the soldiers seized her and dragged her to an island in the river Lech. There they scourged her and bound her to a post to burn her; and behold, she spread out her hands and lifted her gaze to heaven, the tears running from her eyes, as she offered a prayer to God, saying: "O Lord Jesus Christ, Almighty God, who came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance, accept in this hour the sufferings of my repentance, and through this temporal fire, prepared to destroy my body, deliver me from the eternal fire that burns both body and soul together."
And as the flames began to take hold, she was heard saying: "I thank You, O Lord Jesus, for having made me worthy to suffer for the sake of Your name, O You who offered Your body upon the cross as a ransom for the whole world, the Righteous One redeeming the unjust, the Good One redeeming the wicked, the Blessed One redeeming those under the curse, the Sweet One redeeming those who are in bitterness... To You I offer my sacrifice, O You whose is the kingdom with the Father and the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen."
When she had said this, she fell silent, and her soul departed to paradise rejoicing in the crown of martyrdom. In the evening her mother and her three maidservants came, bearing her body and burying it... And when Gaius heard of it, he sent his soldiers to burn them with fire.
Some scholars hold that this Afra came with the Theban Legion from Egypt to Germany, for it was the custom of the soldiers, when they journeyed, to take their wives and children with them at times. Others held that she was a harlot girl who came accompanying one of the soldiers and remained there practicing her wickedness.
Her feast is kept on the 5th of August