Living Water

and the bitter cup of martyrdom.

On the Sunday of the Samaritan woman, we remember Christ’s remarkable conversation with St. Photina at a well in Samaria. In it Christ reveals to this fallen woman—who has had five husbands!—that He is the Messiah, and that He will give to her and all those who follow Him, “living water.”

But according to the tradition of the Church, this isn’t the last we know of this Samaritan woman, St. Photina (or Photini). She went on to live and preach the Gospel in Carthage with her son Joses. Her eldest son Victor was a highly regarded soldier in the Roman army under the Emperor Nero.

From the Life of St. Photina:

Sebastian, an official in Italy, said to Saint Victor, “I know that you, your mother and your brother, are followers of Christ. As a friend I advise you to submit to the will of the emperor. If you inform on any Christians, you will receive their wealth. I shall write to your mother and brother, asking them not to preach Christ in public. Let them practice their faith in secret.”

Saint Victor replied, “I want to be a preacher of Christianity like my mother and brother.” Sebastian said, “O Victor, we all know what woes await you, your mother and brother.” Then Sebastian suddenly felt a sharp pain in his eyes. He was dumbfounded, and his face was somber.

For three days he lay there blind, without uttering a word. On the fourth day he declared, “The God of the Christians is the only true God.” Saint Victor asked why Sebastian had suddenly changed his mind. Sebastian replied, “Because Christ is calling me.” Soon he was baptized, and immediately regained his sight. Saint Sebastian’s servants, after witnessing the miracle, were also baptized.

Reports of this reached Nero, and he commanded that the Christians be brought to him at Rome. Then the Lord Himself appeared to the confessors and said, “Fear not, for I am with you. Nero, and all who serve him, will be vanquished.” The Lord said to Saint Victor, “From this day forward, your name will be Photinus, because through you, many will be enlightened and will believe in Me.” The Lord then told the Christians to strengthen and encourage Saint Sebastian to peresevere until the end.

All these things, and even future events, were revealed to Saint Photina. She left Carthage in the company of several Christians and joined the confessors in Rome.

At Rome the emperor ordered the saints to be brought before him and he asked them whether they truly believed in Christ. All the confessors refused to renounce the Savior. Then the emperor gave orders to smash the martyrs’ finger joints. During the torments, the confessors felt no pain, and their hands remained unharmed.

Nero ordered that Saints Sebastian, Photinus and Joses be blinded and locked up in prison, and Saint Photina and her five sisters Anatola, Phota, Photis, Paraskevḗ and Kyriake were sent to the imperial court under the supervision of Nero’s daughter Domnina. Saint Photina converted both Domnina and all her servants to Christ. She also converted a sorcerer, who had brought her poisoned food to kill her.

Three years passed, and Nero sent to the prison for one of his servants, who had been locked up. The messengers reported to him that Saints Sebastian, Photinus and Joses, who had been blinded, had completely recovered, and that people were visiting them to hear their preaching, and indeed the whole prison had been transformed into a bright and fragrant place where God was glorified.

Nero then gave orders to crucify the saints, and to beat their naked bodies with straps. On the fourth day the emperor sent servants to see whether the martyrs were still alive. But, approaching the place of the tortures, the servants fell blind. An angel of the Lord freed the martyrs from their crosses and healed them. The saints took pity on the blinded servants, and restored their sight by their prayers to the Lord. Those who were healed came to believe in Christ and were soon baptized.

In an impotent rage Nero gave orders to flay the skin from Saint Photina and to throw the martyr down a well. Sebastian, Photinus and Joses had their legs cut off, and they were thrown to dogs, and then had their skin flayed off. The sisters of Saint Photina also suffered terrible torments. Nero gave orders to cut off their breasts and then to flay their skin. An expert in cruelty, the emperor readied the fiercest execution for Saint Photis: they tied her by the feet to the tops of two bent-over trees. When the ropes were cut the trees sprang upright and tore the martyr apart. The emperor ordered the others beheaded. Saint Photina was removed from the well and locked up in prison for twenty days.

After this Nero had her brought to him and asked if she would now relent and offer sacrifice to the idols. Saint Photina spit in the face of the emperor, and laughing at him, said, “O most impious of the blind, you profligate and stupid man! Do you think me so deluded that I would consent to renounce my Lord Christ and instead offer sacrifice to idols as blind as you?”

Hearing such words, Nero gave orders to again throw the martyr down the well, where she surrendered her soul to God (ca. 66).

Lord, preserve us from this kind of martyrdom! But every Christian is called to some kind of martyrdom, some “bitter cup,” whether it is the everyday martyrdom of trials, external or internal, or a great suffering one bears for a season or for a lifetime.

Saint Seraphim Rose writes of suffering with Christ—sharing in His bitter cup—as the only path to holiness. Christ is closest to us in our suffering.

“The more you are in suffering and difficulties and are “desperate” for God, the more He is going to come to your aid, reveal Who He is and show you the way to get out. This is why it is not spectacular things like miracles that we should look for. We know from the story of St. Nicetas related earlier that this is the worst possible approach and leads to deception. The right approach is found in the heart which tries to humble itself and simply knows that it is suffering, and that there somehow exists a higher truth which not only can help this suffering, but can bring it into a totally different dimension. This passing from suffering to transcendent reality reflects the life of Christ, Who went to His suffering on the Cross, endured the most horrible and shameful type of death, and then, totally to the consternation of His own disciples, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, sent His Holy Spirit and began the whole history of His Church.” - St. Seraphim Rose, God’s Revelation to the Human Heart

Bitter herbs, the kinds used in making some of the most interesting amaros and liqueurs, have been studied for centuries for their medicinal and healing properties. Every amaro should have a balance of bitter, herbal, and floral/spice components, often derived from the local terroir of the region where it is produced. We discussed myrrh before as a bitter component; gentian root is a similarly common bittering agent, used in all kinds of bitter liqueurs. Gentian was named for the discoverer of its properties, King Gentius of Illyria, who reigned from 181–168 BC. Gentian has been widely used for centuries as a digestive aid, but also for fever, hypertension, muscle spasms, parasitic worms, wounds, cancer, sinusitis, malaria, and even gout.

Gentian thus produces healing tonics—a kind of healing water, one might say, though it does not give us the eternal life the Lord’s living water offers the Samaritan woman, and all of us.

One of my favorite bitter liquers is Suze, a French gentian liqueur that is quite bitter, but also bright and vegetal. Perhaps today you might try one of these “bitter cups,” though not so bitter—or sweet, depending on your perspective—as the trials we suffer with Christ.

The Samaritan Woman

This is an Orthodox Table original cocktail, a riff on a Corpse Reviver #2.

• .75 oz gin

• .75 oz Suze

• .75 oz Grand Marnier or Cointreau

• .75 oz lemon juice

• 1 dash absinthe or rinse (optional)

1. Chill your glass: Pop a coupe in the freezer, or fill it with ice water while you prep.

2. Absinthe rinse: If using, add a few drops of absinthe to your chilled coupe, swirl to coat, and discard (or drink) the excess. This is optional but adds a lovely anise whisper in the background.

3. Build and shake: Combine gin, Suze, Grand Marnier or Cointreau, and fresh lemon juice in a shaker with plenty of ice. Shake hard 40 times or for 15 seconds.

4. Strain and serve: Strain into your chilled coupe. Express a lemon twist over the surface and either drop it in or perch it on the rim.

White Negroni

• 1.5 oz gin

• 1 oz Suze

• .75 oz St. Germain

1. Fill a mixing glass with ice. Add gin, Suze, and St. Germain.

2. Stir for 30 seconds.

3. Strain into a rocks glass containing ice.

4. Express a lemon twist over the glass, run it around the rim, and drop it in.

To your health and holiness! St. Photina, pray to God for us.

The Samaritan Woman came to the well in faith;
she saw You, the Water of Wisdom, and drank abundantly
she inherited the Kingdom on High and is ever glorified!