Today the Primitive Catholic Community commemorates Olympias, a widow who served as a Deaconess in the Church.
Olympias is described as the ‘beloved daughter’ born to Seleucus and Alexandra. In her adult years, Olympias would later go to marry a nobleman called Nebridius who served as Prefect of Constantinople. After her husband died and refusing many offers of marriage, she dedicated her life to the church, serving as a deaconess. Her good works included building a hospital, an orphanage and even looking after Monks who had been led in exile from Nitria. All of this even led to John Chrysostom telling her that she had done almost too much. Her support for John Chrysostom led her work being shut down and her personally being exiled in the year 404. She spent the rest of her life in exile at Nicomedia, where she would die on July 25, 408, after a long illness.
