On this day, July 4 according to the Julian Calendar (July 17 civil calendar), the Georgian Orthodox Church commemorates the Venerable Martha, mother of Saint Symeon Stylites the Younger (commemorated May 24), who reposed in the year 551.
The Venerable Martha was born in Antioch in the sixth century. From her youth she aspired to the monastic life, but her parents persuaded her to marry. Her husband, John, was a pious man of great virtue. To this couple was born a son — the future Saint Symeon Stylites the Younger, who would become one of the greatest ascetics of the Christian East.
When her son Symeon was still very young, his father John died. The widowed Martha devoted herself entirely to the upbringing of her son in the faith and to her own ascetic life. As Symeon grew and began to manifest extraordinary gifts of the spirit, Martha encouraged him and later supported him in his extraordinary ministry as a stylite on the Wonderful Mountain near Antioch.
The Venerable Martha herself withdrew to a life of prayer and asceticism. She lived for many years near her son’s pillar, praying, serving pilgrims and the poor, and guiding women who came to the mountain seeking spiritual direction. She became a mother not only in the flesh to Saint Symeon but also a spiritual mother to many souls.
She reposed peacefully in the year 551, having spent her life in prayer, humility, and service to God and neighbor.
May the intercessions of the Venerable Martha be with us all.