Anthusa of Mantinea was an 8th-century Byzantine anchoress and abbess who lived near Constantinople. After practicing asceticism in mountain solitude, she established two monasteries, one for men and one for women. As the leader of the female community, she oversaw ninety nuns noted for their spiritual discipline. Because she resisted the iconoclastic policies of Emperor Constantine V, she faced arrest and torture alongside her followers and her nephew, the abbot of the male monastery.
Life and resistance
Anthusa's defiance of imperial iconoclasm led to severe persecution. However, her life was spared after she prophesied the safe delivery of the empress's twins. Following this event, the empress provided her with several estates. Anthusa eventually returned to her monastery, where she lived until her death in 759. She was laid to rest within her own cell.
Legacy and veneration
The empress's daughter, who was named after Anthusa and educated by her, later became a saint and established the first Christian orphanage. Anthusa is remembered as a confessor for her endurance of suffering. She is commemorated in the Orthodox tradition on her feast day, which is observed on 27 July.