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Philothea's mother gave her an excellent spiritual upbringing in the love of Christ before she died, leaving Philothea in the care of her father. Her father remarried but as often is the case, Philothea was sometimes oppressed, punished and accused to her father by her stepmother on the pretext that she was not obedient to her, but instead went to church and squandered the household goods, giving them as alms to orphans and poor children. Her father scolded her for this.
One autumn when her father was working in the fields, 12 year old Philothea was sent everyday to bring her father food, but Philothea was accustomed to give a little of the food to the poor children who came to beg from her in the street. Her father became angry and scolded his wife, asking her why he didn't receive all the food. "Ask your daughter what she does with the food, I send plenty of it to you in the field," was her reply.
Becoming angry with Philothea, her father decided to spy on her to find out
what she did with his food. One day at noon, he was hiding behind a
thicket, he spied Philothea distributing the food to the poor children.
Being moved to fury like a wild beast, at the instigation of Satan, her
father threw a hatchet he always carried with him at Philothea, cutting
her in the leg. Mortally wounded, she soon gave up her soul into the
hands of Jesus Christ.