How Saint Boniface of Tarsus and Aglae Found Compassion and Christ. By Dr. Chapman Chen

Influenced by his beloved girlfriend Aglae, Saint Boniface of Tarsus (d. AD 307) embraced veganism and Christianity, ultimately dying as a martyr.

1. A Pair of Lovers in Rome

According to Butler’s Lives of the Saints Complete Edition (Butler 2012, 305–306 https://archive.org/details/ButlersLivesOfTheSaintsCompleteEdition/page/n1077/mode/2up?q=aglae ), a wealthy and strikingly attractive noblewoman named Aglae (aka Algaida or Algaia) lived in Rome at the dawn of the fourth century. Known for her desire to be admired, she famously hosted three lavish public spectacles at her own expense to impress the citizens. Her chief steward and household slave was a man called Boniface, with whom she lived on terms of romantic intimacy. Initially, both were pagans. Despite his reputation for dissoluteness and overindulgence, Boniface was generous, welcoming, and deeply charitable toward the needy.

2. A Relics Quest

One day, Aglae summoned Boniface and tasked him with travelling east to collect relics of Christian martyrs. “For,” she told him, “I have heard it said that those who honour the sufferers for Jesus Christ will one day share in their glory. In the East, His faithful servants are tortured and give their lives for Him every day.” Boniface agreed to the mission. After gathering a large amount of money, he bid Aglae farewell, remarking, “I shall surely return with relics if I can find any—but what if it is my own body that is brought back to you as one of them?”

3. Conversion to Veganism

From that moment on, he underwent a deep transformation. He dedicated himself to prayer, shedding tears of remorse, and resolved to give up both the flesh of animals and the drinking of wine (Butler 2012, 306; Roberts 2004, 209 https://archive.org/details/vegetarianchrist0000holl/page/208/mode/2up?q=%22Boniface%22 ).

4. Outcry against Torture

At that time, while the Church experienced peace in the West, violent persecution persisted in the East under the reigns of Galerius Maximian and Maximinus Daia, successors to Diocletian. The province of Cilicia (present-day Turkey) was especially afflicted, suffering under a brutal governor named Simplicius. Boniface journeyed to Tarsus, the provincial capital. Upon arrival, he went directly to the governor’s court, where 20 Christians were undergoing torture. Boniface rushed forward, crying aloud, “Great is the God of the Christians! Great is the God of the martyrs! And you, servants of Jesus, pray for me, that I may join you in battling the Devil!”

5. Fearless Martyrdom  

Infuriated, the governor ordered Boniface’s arrest. He was tortured with sharpened reeds driven beneath his fingernails, and molten lead was poured down his throat. The public, horrified by such savage treatment, began to shout, “Great is the God of the Christians!” Alarmed by their outcry, Simplicius quickly withdrew, fearing an uprising. But the next day, he summoned Boniface again and sentenced him to be plunged into a cauldron of boiling pitch. Miraculously, Boniface emerged unharmed. At last, a soldier was commanded to behead him.

6. Final Reunion of Lovers

Boniface’s servants purchased his body, had it embalmed, and brought it back to Italy. Aglae, accompanied by a torch-lit procession, met the remains half a mile outside Rome along the Latin Way. There she built a church to house his relics. Aglae herself had by then embraced Christianity. She gave away her wealth to the poor and entered a monastery, where she lived as a nun for the next eighteen years. She was said to have received the divine gift of casting out demons. At her death, her body was buried beside that of Boniface.

In 1603, the supposed relics of Boniface and Aglae, along with those of Saint Alexius, were rediscovered in the church formerly dedicated to Saint Boniface, now known as Sant’ Alessio.

7. Learn from Boniface & Aglae

Saint Boniface is commemorated on 14 May. He is the patron saint of Cerchiara di Calabria in Italy and is invoked as a protector against drunkenness.

We and our partners, if any, had better learn from St Boniface and Algae’s great example, repent, put down our evil knives, and follow the Vegan Christ! #VeganChrist #VeganGod #VeganChurch #VeganTheology

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