Very Rev. Dr. Edward Pehanich
St. Sophia was born as Sophia Saoulidi in 1883 in the village of Trebizond in present-day Turkey. In 1907 she married Jordan Hortokoridou but in 1914 he disappeared (likely against his will) leaving her as the single mother of a new born son. She faced another tragedy shortly after the loss of her husband when this her only child died. Sophia became totally dependent upon God and began to spend increasing amounts of time in prayer on a nearby mountain.
