Memorial Day of St. Euphemia (16/09)

Since the marble sarcophagus with the body of the Holy Great Martyr Euphemia miraculously sailed to the city of Rovinj on July 13, 800, this city has become inextricably linked with her name.

Saint Euphemia, who suffered in the persecution of Emperor Diocletian, died in 304. There is a legend that at the 4th Ecumenical Council the relics of St. Euphemia were used to resolve the dispute over monophysitism: scrolls with Orthodox and heretical confessions of faith were placed side by side in the coffin of the great martyr, and at the new discovery of the relics it turned out that the Orthodox scroll was in the right hand of St. Euphemia, and the heretical lay at her feet.

The city of Rovinj is located in Croatia in the northern Adriatic Sea. The Church of Saint Euphemia's basilica, created in the Baroque style, is located in the very center of the historical part of Rovinj. The church was built in 1736 on the ruins of an old, early Christian building. The facade of the church dates from 1883.

The relics of Saint Euphemia have been preserved in the Roman sarcophagus since the 6th century (but transferred in the 15th century). The church contains several treasures and works of art. The bell tower was built in 1654-1680, on top of the 60-meter tower rises a statue of St. Euphemia, which serves as a weather vane.

Every year on the day of remembrance of St. Euphemia — September 16 —, thousands of people flock to her sarcophagus.

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