Tatyana's Day, who is this saint? Temples in the name of the holy martyr Tatiana

The Holy Martyr Tatiana was born in ancient Rome from noble parents. Her father, who was consul three times, was a secret Christian and was distinguished by his fear of God. He raised his daughter, Saint Tatiana, in piety and fear of God, and taught her the Divine Scripture. When Saint Tatiana reached adulthood, she wanted to spend her life in virginity and chastity; she was the bride of Christ; flaming with love for Him, she served him alone day and night, mortifying her flesh through prayer and fasting and enslaving it to the spirit. For her virtuous life, she was honored to serve the Church: she was ordained a deaconess and, like disembodied angels, served God in the flesh. And Christ God crowned His bride with the crown of martyrdom.

She suffered as follows. When the wicked king Antoninus Heliogabalus was killed by his own Romans, and his body, dragged through the hail, was thrown into the Tiber River with desecration, Alexander, a young sixteen-year-old boy, was elevated to the royal throne. He had a Christian mother named Mammaya; from her he learned to honor Christ, but in disagreement with the faith of Christ, for at the same time he continued to serve idols and worshiped them as the ancient Roman gods. In his palace there were images of Christ and the pagan-venerated Apollo, the Old Testament Abraham and the pagan Orpheus, and many others. Alexander himself, as the son of a Christian woman, did not persecute Christians, but his governors, regional governors and consuls, greatly oppressed Christians. Since Alexander himself was too young, the government of the state was entrusted to some of the council members; Chief among them was the city eparch Ulpian, cruel in temper and a great enemy of Christians. These advisers managed everything on behalf of the king. It was they who sent out orders everywhere to force the Galileans (as they called Christians) everywhere to worship the Roman gods, threatening them, in case of disobedience, with severe torment and even death. The following fierce enemies of Christians and faithful servants of the devil were chosen to observe whether this command was being fulfilled by Christians: Comite Vitaly, Cuvicularius Vass, Domestic Kai. Then in Rome and in all areas of the Roman state, the blood of Christians flowed like water. They were not spared, but were tortured and put to death.

At that time, the holy virgin Tatiana was captured by the pagans and brought to the temple of Apollo. They wanted to force her to bow to this idol. She prayed to the true God, and suddenly an earthquake occurred: the idol of Apollo fell and broke into pieces, part of the temple also collapsed and crushed many pagans and priests. The devil, who lived in the idol, fled from that place with a loud cry and sobbing, and everyone heard his cry and saw a shadow flying through the air.

Then the wicked dragged the holy virgin to trial and torment. First they began to hit her in the face and torment her eyes with iron hooks. Due to the long torment, the tormentors themselves became exhausted, for the body of the sufferer of Christ was hard for those who inflicted wounds on her, like an anvil, and the tormentors themselves suffered more torment than the holy martyr. And the angels invisibly stood near the saint and struck those who tormented Saint Tatiana, so that the tormentors cried out to the lawless judge and asked him to order an end to the torment; they said that they themselves suffered more than this holy and innocent virgin. Tatiana, courageously enduring suffering, prayed for her tormentors and asked the Lord to reveal to them the light of truth. And her prayer was heard. Heavenly light illuminated the tormentors, and their spiritual eyes were opened. They saw four angels surrounding the saint, heard a voice from heaven that came to the holy virgin, and fell to the ground before her and began to pray to her:

Forgive us, servant of the true God, forgive us, for it was not our will that we caused you torment.

All of them (there were eight of them) believed in Christ and were baptized in their own blood, for they were cruelly tortured for confessing Christ and, finally, their heads were beheaded.

The next day, the unrighteous judge, having sat down at the judgment seat, again ordered Saint Tatiana to be brought to torture. She appeared before her tormentor completely healthy. Her face was calm and joyful. The judge began to convince the holy virgin to make a sacrifice to idols, but his efforts remained in vain. Then he ordered the saint to be naked and cut with razors. Her virgin body was white as snow, and when they began to cut it, instead of blood, milk flowed from the wounds, and a great fragrance spread, as if from a vessel with aromas. The saint, looking up to heaven, prayed in the midst of this torment. Then she was spread out crosswise on the ground and beaten with rods for a long time, so that the torturers were exhausted and often changed. For, as before, the angels of God stood invisibly near the saint and inflicted wounds on those who struck the holy martyr. The torturer's servants were exhausted, declaring that someone was striking them with iron sticks. Finally, nine of them died, struck by the right hand of the angel, and the rest fell to the ground barely alive. The saint denounced the judge and his servants and said that their gods were soulless idols. Since evening was already approaching, they threw the saint into prison. Here she spent the whole night, praying to the Lord and singing His praises. Heavenly light illuminated her, and the Angels of God glorified with her. In the morning she was brought to trial again. Seeing the holy martyr completely healthy, with a face even more beautiful than before, everyone was amazed and surprised. At first they began to gently and flatteringly persuade her to make a sacrifice to their great goddess, Diana. The holy virgin showed that she agreed to follow their advice. She was taken to the temple of Diana. The demon that lived in the idol of Diana sensed the approach of the holy virgin and began to cry out loudly:

Woe is me, woe is me! Where can I run from Your Spirit, O Heavenly One, for the fire that flares up from all corners of this temple drives me away?

The saint, approaching the temple, marked herself sign of the cross and, raising her eyes to heaven, began to pray. Suddenly there was a terrible thunderclap and lightning flashed: fire that fell from the sky burned the temple with the idol, the victims, the priests; Many of the unbelievers, scorched by lightning, fell to the ground dead. Then they took Saint Tatiana to the praetor, hung her there and tormented her with iron hooks and even tore out her nipples. After this, the saint was imprisoned, and again the luminous angels of heaven appeared to the holy passion-bearer, completely healed her of her wounds and praised her courageous suffering.

In the morning, Saint Tatiana was brought to the circus and a terrible lion was released on her so that he would tear the saint to pieces. But the fierce animal did not touch the saint. The lion caressed her and obediently licked her feet. When they wanted to take the lion back from the theater to the cage, he suddenly rushed at one noble dignitary named Eumenia, and tore him to pieces. They hung Saint Tatiana again and again began to plan her body, but again the Angels invisibly struck her tormentors, and they fell dead. Then they threw the saint into the fire, but the fire did not harm her: the power of the fiery flame subsided, as if honoring the servant of Christ.

The wicked attributed all these wondrous signs not to the power of Christ, but to sorcery; They cut off the saint's hair, hoping that her spell would no longer be effective. They thought that the saint had some magical power in her hair, so that nothing could harm her. Therefore they cut off her hair and imprisoned her in the temple of Zeus. The godless thought that the saint could no longer harm their deity, because with the loss of her hair she also lost the power of sorcery. The saint spent two days imprisoned in that temple. The heavenly light, which always shone upon her, poured into the temple, and the Angels encouraged and consoled her. On the third day, the priests and the people came to sacrifice to their god Zeus. Having opened the temple, they saw that their idol had fallen and broken, and Saint Tatiana remained in joy in the name of the Lord God. Then she was brought to the court. The judge, not knowing what else to do with her, pronounced a death sentence on her, and Saint Tatiana was beheaded with a sword.

Her father was executed along with her, because they found out that he was also a Christian. First, the torturers deprived him of his honorary title and took away all his property. Condemned to death, he died by the sword along with his daughter for the name of Christ. Both of them were honored by the Lord to receive the crowns of martyrdom from Christ God, to Him be glory forever. Amen.

Kontakion, tone 4:

You shone brightly in your suffering, the passion-bearer, covered with your blood, and like a red dove you flew to the sky, Tatiano. In the same way, pray constantly for honoring you.

Antonin Heliogabalus, Roman emperor, reigned 218-222; was an extremely depraved person, which is why he soon incurred the contempt of the soldiers. He adopted his cousin, the noble Alexander Severus, but when he repented of this and began to make attempts on the latter’s life, he was killed by soldiers.

Tiber- a river flowing from the Apennines, near which the city of Rome is located.

Alexander Sever reigned from 222 to 235.

Apollo- one of the most revered Greco-Roman pagan gods; was revered as the god of the sun and mental enlightenment, as well as public welfare and order, the guardian of the law and the deity of predicting the future.

Orpheus- a singer-hero of Greek myths, the power of whose singing, according to the Greeks, was so great that he set trees and rocks in motion and tamed wild animals.

Eparch- regional governor; sometimes this name meant the head of the fortress, the commandant. - Ulpian was one of the nobles closest to the king.

Komitami Initially, the companions of the highest official in the province were called, and later the companions of the emperors, who made up their closest retinue.

Cuvicularium- royal bed sheet, sleeping bag.

Domestics- security guard of the Roman emperors.

Diana, otherwise Artemis - greek goddess moon and hunting.

Praetor- a judicial place where the Roman chief, or judge, sat.

Circus An area enclosed by a row of benches or a wall was called. There, competitions between fighters and animals took place. Christians were also thrown into this square or arena and then wild animals were released, which were kept in special cages at the circus.

Zeus or Jupiter- Greco-Roman god, revered by pagans as the ruler of heaven and earth, the father of all gods and people.

The holy martyr Tatiana suffered during the persecution launched against Christians in the fourth year of the reign of Alexander Severus, in the year 226.

R Saint Tatiana was born in Rome around 200 A.D. Her parents were rich and noble citizens, who at the same time were also secret Christians.

It was difficult to be a Christian then. Rome was full of pagan temples, and social life was then closely connected with religion. Whether the Roman legions returned after defeating their enemies, everyone had to make sacrifices to the gods. When a new emperor ascended the throne, everyone went to the temples and burned incense before the “genius of the emperor.” Has it started New Year, - everyone had to appease the gods with sacrifices. And how many other cases have there been in life when you had to show in front of everyone that you are not an atheist, that you honor the gods, that you perform all the rituals of the folk religion!

It would seem that it was of great importance to throw a pinch of incense on the altar or swear by the genius of the emperor, but Christians also considered this a betrayal of Christ, an act of renunciation of Him, and therefore, under various pretexts, they tried to avoid participating in national holidays; they had to hide and hide their faith in the true God. When the next persecution of Christians broke out, when they were forced to openly, in front of everyone, blaspheme Christ and make sacrifices to idols, then even secret Christians declared their faith, suffered suffering and lost their lives, as happened with the father of Saint Tatiana.

Tatiana from the very early years parents began to teach piety. They took her with them to secret services held at night in the catacombs. Making her way through the narrow corridors of the catacombs, barely illuminated by oil lamps, she saw that the walls of these corridors contained the relics of martyrs, the bodies of those who had died in faith and devotion to Christ. In the days of their memory, she heard hymns glorifying their exploits, and with a trembling heart listened to the stories about their holy life and suffering. She herself wanted to be the same as these holy martyrs, to love Christ in the same way and to give her life for Him in the same way.

Often, while still a little girl, St. Tatyana, waking up in the middle of the night, raised her hands and brought her childhood prayers to God:

“I want to be a saint,” she whispered. - Teach me, Lord, not to love anything or anyone as deeply as You! Teach me, Lord, to do only what You please; make me Your servant! When St. Tatyana grew up, this dream of hers came true. Because of her pious life, her devotion to God and constant willingness to do something for others, she was ordained as a deaconese. Her duties included teaching the faith to catechumens women and girls, preparing them for holy Baptism, serving during the celebration of this sacrament, caring for the poor, the sick and orphans.

At this time, persecution of Christians broke out again in Rome. It was ordered that all citizens make sacrifices to the gods, and everyone who refused to fulfill this order was seized. Among those captured was St. Tatiana.

Make a sacrifice to Apollo! - they told her. Instead, St. Tatyana began to pray to Christ. And suddenly the earth shook, the statue of Apollo fell and broke into small pieces, the walls of the temple shook, and groans were heard.

These are the spirits of evil and lies groaning, the Christians said to themselves, they feel that the end of their deceptions is coming. Meanwhile, St. Tatyana was taken to the place of torture. There they began to beat her in the face and torment her with iron hooks. Courageously enduring suffering, the holy virgin prayed for her tormentors and asked the Lord to open the eyes of their souls and teach them the truth. Her prayer was heard: heavenly light illuminated them, and they saw four angels surrounding the saint. Then they fell at the feet of Saint Tatiana and began to pray to her:

Forgive us, servant of the true God! Forgive us, for it was not our will that we tormented you. The angry judges ordered to immediately seize these repentant soldiers and put them to death. The newly converted martyrs loudly praised Christ and after a short but cruel torment, all of them, eight in number, were beheaded with a sword and went to the Lord, having been baptized in their own blood.

The next day, the ruler of Rome, Ulpian himself, undertook to judge St. Tatyana. When she was brought out of prison, everyone was amazed that not even a trace of yesterday’s torment was visible on her. Her face was calm and joyful. Ulpian began to convince St. The maiden was offered a sacrifice to the gods, but she refused. Then he ordered to strip her naked and cut her body with sharp razors. As a sign of her purity, milk flowed from the wounds along with the blood, and the air was filled with a fragrance similar to the fragrance of St. peace, for Tatiana, like St. the world was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Then they stretched her out on the ground and beat her with rods for a long time, so that the torturers themselves quickly lost strength and were often replaced. She remained unshakable, since the angels of God, as before, stood invisibly near her, encouraged her and diverted blows from her to those who tried to cause her suffering. Finally, nine of the executioners fell dead, and the rest, barely alive, remained motionless on the ground.

The saint, standing up, exposed the judge and his servants in lies, saying that their gods are soulless idols, but she serves the one true God, who works miracles.

Since evening was already approaching, the Saint was sent back to prison. There she spent the night praying to the Lord and singing His praises. Heavenly light illuminated her, and the angels of God glorified the Lord with her. In the morning they brought her back to court and again everyone was amazed by her beautiful appearance. On this day, the saint destroyed the temple of the goddess Diana with her prayer and again suffered terrible torment for this. The next morning St. Tatiana was brought to the circus and an Atlas lion was released on her. The arena of the Colosseum, like the arenas of many other Roman circuses, was already abundantly filled with martyr's blood. Bloody spectacles were constantly performed there: fearless Christian martyrs were given over to be torn to pieces by beasts. But now the daughter of one of the most noble and respected Romans was thrown into the same arena. This aroused everyone's curiosity more than usual.

However, to the surprise of everyone, the lion released from the cage did not tear the Saint to pieces. Instead, he caressed her and submissively licked her feet. The crowd, thinking that it was some kind of tame or weak lion, became agitated and demanded that it be removed from the arena. Some spectators, led by one noble dignitary, rushed to fulfill the wishes of the crowd. But the lion, rushing at the dignitary, immediately tore him to pieces. After that, Saint Tatiana was taken from the arena and again subjected to torture; Finally, she was thrown into the fire. But the fire did not touch not only her holy body, but even her luxurious hair, with which, like a cloak, the holy martyr covered her nakedness during her torment. The pagans then came to the conclusion that these miracles were performed only by the power of Tatiana’s hair. She was shaved and imprisoned in the temple of Zeus.

When the priests came to the temple on the third day, they saw that the idol of Zeus lay broken into small pieces, and the saint was in joy, praying to God. Then Ulpian pronounced the death sentence, and St. Tatiana was beheaded. Her father, who declared himself a Christian, was executed along with her. Seeing his daughter’s suffering, he did not want to remain a secret Christian and decided to suffer with her. All this happened in 225.

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“Who will separate us from the love of God: sorrow or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword?” (Rom. 8:35). These words of St. Apostle Paul were literally fulfilled in the life of St. Tatiana: nothing could shake her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom she gave her young life.

Holy Martyr Tatiana: prayer

First prayer

O holy martyr Tatiano, now accept us who pray and fall before your holy icon. Pray for us, servants of God (names), that we may be delivered from all sorrows and illnesses of the soul and body, and may live piously in this present life, and in the next century grant us, with all the saints, to worship in the Trinity the glorious God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and ever. Amen.

Second prayer

O holy martyr Tatiano! Bride of your Sweetest Bridegroom Christ, lamb of the Divine Lamb, dove of chastity! In suffering, as if dressed in royal robes, numbered among the heavenly faces, now rejoicing in eternal glory! From the days of her youth, the holy servant of the Church who was promised to God, who observed chastity and loved the Lord more than all the good things! We pray to you and we ask you: heed the request of our hearts, and do not reject our prayers! Grant purity of body and soul, inspire love for Divine truths, lead us on the path of virtues, ask God for us to receive Angelic protection. Make our bodily wounds and ulcers painless, grant patience in suffering. Heal sinful ulcers. Protect our youth, grant us a painless and comfortable old age, help us in the hour of death! Remember our sorrows and grant us joy! Visit us who are in the prison of sin: instruct us to repent quickly, kindle the flame of prayer! Don't leave us orphans! May your suffering glorify, we send up praise to the Lord of hosts, always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Holy MartyrTatiana

January 12, Art. / January 25th New Year

As presented by St. Demetrius of Rostov

The Holy Martyr Tatiana was born in ancient Rome from noble parents. Her father, who was three times consul, was a secret Christian and was distinguished by his fear of God. He raised his daughter, Saint Tatiana, in piety and fear of God, and taught her the Divine Scripture. When Saint Tatiana reached adulthood, she wanted to spend her life in virginity and chastity; she was the bride of Christ; flaming with love for Him, she served him alone Day and night, mortifying her flesh with prayer and fasting and enslaving it to the spirit. For her virtuous life, she was honored to serve the Church: she was ordained a deaconess and, like disembodied angels, she served God in the flesh. And Christ God crowned His bride with the crown of martyrdom. She suffered as follows. When the wicked king Antoninus Heliogabalus 1 was killed by his own Romans, and his body, dragged through the city with desecration, was thrown into the Tiber River 2, Alexander 3, a young sixteen-year-old boy, was elevated to the royal throne. He had a Christian mother named Mammaya; from her he learned to honor Christ, but in disagreement with the faith of Christ, for at the same time he continued to serve idols and worshiped them as the ancient Roman gods. In his palace there were images of Christ and Apollo 4, revered by the pagans, the Old Testament Abraham and the pagan Orpheus 5 and many others. Alexander himself, as the son of a Christian woman, did not persecute Christians, but his governors, regional governors and consuls, greatly oppressed Christians. Since Alexander himself was too young, the government of the state was entrusted to some of the council members; Chief among them was the city eparch 6 Ulepian, a tough-tempered and great enemy of Christians. These advisers managed everything on behalf of the king. They sent out a command everywhere to force the Galileans (as they called Christians) everywhere to worship the Roman gods, threatening them, in case of disobedience, with severe torture and even death. The following fierce enemies of Christians and faithful servants of the devil were chosen to monitor whether Christians were fulfilling this command: comite 7 Vitaly, cuvicular 8 Vass, domestic 9 Kai. Then in Rome and in all areas of the Roman state, the blood of Christians flowed like water. They were not spared, but were tortured and put to death.

At that time, the holy virgin Tatiana was captured by the pagans and brought to the temple of Apollo. They wanted to force her to bow to this idol. She prayed to the true God, and suddenly an earthquake occurred: the idol of Apollo fell and broke into pieces, part of the temple also collapsed and crushed many pagans and priests. The devil who lived in the idol fled from that place with a loud cry and sobbing, and everyone heard his cry and saw a shadow flying through the air.

Then the wicked dragged the holy virgin to trial and torment. First they began to hit her in the face and torment her eyes with iron hooks. Due to the long torment, the tormentors themselves became exhausted, for the body of the sufferer of Christ was hard for those who inflicted wounds on her, like an anvil, and the tormentors themselves suffered more torment than the holy martyr. And the angels invisibly stood near the saint and struck blows to those who tormented Saint Tatiana, so that the tormentors cried out to the lawless judge and asked him to order an end to the torment; they said that they themselves suffered more than this holy and innocent virgin. Tatyana, courageously enduring suffering, prayed for her tormentors and asked the Lord to reveal to them the light of truth. And her prayer was heard. Heavenly light illuminated the tormentors, and their spiritual eyes were opened. They saw four angels surrounding the saint, heard a voice from heaven to the holy virgin, and fell to the ground before her and began to pray to her:

Forgive us, servant of the true God, forgive us, for it was not our will that we caused you torment.

All of them (there were eight of them) believed in Christ and were baptized in their own blood, for they were cruelly tortured for confessing Christ and, finally, their heads were beheaded.

The next day, the unrighteous judge, having sat down at the judgment seat, again ordered Saint Tatiana to be brought to torture. She appeared before her tormentor completely healthy. Her face was calm and joyful. The judge began to convince the holy virgin to make a sacrifice to idols, but his efforts remained in vain. Then he ordered the saint to be naked and cut with razors. Her virgin body was white as snow, and when they began to cut it, instead of blood, milk flowed from the wounds, and a great fragrance spread, as if from a vessel with aromas. The saint, looking up to heaven, prayed in the midst of this torment. Then she was spread out crosswise on the ground and beaten with rods for a long time, so that the torturers were exhausted and often changed. For, as before, the angels of God stood invisibly near the saint and inflicted wounds on those who struck the holy martyr. The torturer's servants were exhausted, declaring that someone was striking them with iron sticks. Finally, nine of them died, struck by the right hand of the angel, and the rest fell to the ground barely alive. The saint denounced the judge and his servants and said that their gods were soulless idols. Since evening was already approaching, they threw the saint into prison. Here she spent the whole night, praying to the Lord and singing His praises. Heavenly light illuminated her, and the Angels of God praised her along with her. In the morning she was brought back to court. Seeing the holy martyr completely healthy, with a face even more beautiful than before, everyone was amazed and surprised. At first they began to gently and flatteringly persuade her to make a sacrifice to their great goddess - Diana 10. The holy virgin showed that she agreed to follow their advice. She was taken to the temple of Diana. The demon that lived in the idol of Diana sensed the approach of the holy virgin and began to cry out loudly:

Woe is me, woe is me! Where can I run from Your Spirit, O Heavenly One, for the fire that flares up from all corners of this temple drives me away?

The saint, approaching the temple, marked herself with the sign of the cross and, raising her eyes to heaven, began to pray. Suddenly there was a terrible clap of thunder and lightning flashed: fire that fell from the sky burned the temple with the idol of the sacrifice and the priests; Many of the unbelievers, scorched by lightning, fell to the ground dead. Then they took Saint Tatiana to the praetor 11, hung her there and tormented her with iron hooks and even tore out her nipples. After this, the saint was imprisoned, and again the luminous angels of heaven appeared to the holy passion-bearer, completely healed her of her wounds and praised her courageous suffering. In the morning, Saint Tatiana was brought to the circus 12 and a terrible lion was released on her so that he would tear the saint to pieces. But the fierce animal did not touch the saint. The lion caressed her and obediently licked her feet. When they wanted to take the lion back from the theater to the cage, he suddenly rushed at one noble dignitary named Eumenia, and tore him to pieces. They hanged Saint Tatiana again and again began to plan her body, but again the Angels invisibly struck her tormentors and they fell dead. Then they threw the saint into the fire, but the fire did not harm her: the power of the fiery flame subsided, as if honoring the servant of Christ. The wicked attributed all these wondrous signs not to the power of Christ, but to sorcery; They cut off the saint's hair, hoping that her spell would no longer be effective. They thought that the saint had some magical power in her hair, so that nothing could harm her. Therefore they cut off her hair and imprisoned her in the temple of Zeus 13 . The godless thought that the saint could no longer harm their deity, because with the loss of her hair she also lost the power of sorcery. The saint spent two days imprisoned in that temple. The heavenly light that always shone upon her spread in the temple, and the Angels encouraged and consoled her. On the third day, the priests and the people came to sacrifice to their god Zeus. Having opened the temple, they saw that their idol had fallen and broken, and Saint Tatiana remained in joy in the name of the Lord God. Then she was brought to the court. The judge, not knowing what else to do with her, pronounced a death sentence on her and Saint Tatiana was beheaded with a sword 14. Her father was executed along with her, because they found out that he was also a Christian. First, the torturers deprived him of his honorary title and took away all his property. Condemned to death, he died by the sword along with his daughter for the name of Christ. Both of them were honored by the Lord to receive the crowns of martyrdom from Christ God, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Kontakion, tone 4:

You shone brightly in your suffering, the passion-bearer, covered with your blood, and like a red dove you flew to the sky, Tatiano. In the same way, pray constantly for honoring you.

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1 Antoninus Heliogabalus, Roman emperor, reigned from 218 to 222; was an extremely depraved person, which is why he soon incurred the contempt of the soldiers. He adopted his cousin, the noble Alexander Severus, but when he repented of this and began to make attempts on the latter’s life, he was killed by soldiers.

2 The Tiber is a river flowing from the Apennines near which the city of Rome is located.

3 Alexander Severus reigned from 222 - 235.

4 Apollo is one of the most revered Greco-Roman pagan gods; I am the god of the sun and mental enlightenment, as well as public welfare and order, the guardian of the law and the deity of foretelling the future.

5 Orpheus is the singer-hero of Greek myths, the power of whose singing, according to the Greeks, was so great that he set trees and rocks in motion and tamed wild animals.

6 Eparch - regional commander; sometimes this name meant the head of the fortress, the commandant. - Ulpian was one of the nobles closest to the king.

7 Comites were originally called the companions of the highest official in the province, and later the companions of the emperors, who made up their closest retinue.

8 Cuvicularium - royal bed sheet, sleeping bag.

9 Domestiki - security guards of the Roman emperors.

10 Diana aka Artemis is the Greek goddess of the moon and the hunt.

11 Praetor - the judicial seat where the Roman chief, or judge, sat.

12 A circus was a square enclosed by a row of benches or a wall. There, competitions between fighters and animals took place. Christians were also thrown into this square or arena and then wild animals were released, which were kept in special cages at the circus.

13 Zeus or Jupiter is a Greco-Roman god revered by pagans as the ruler of heaven and earth, the father of all gods and people.

14 The Holy Martyr Tatiana suffered during the persecution launched against Christians in the fourth year of the reign of Alexander Severus, in the year 226.

The Holy Martyr Tatiana was born into a noble Roman family - her father was elected consul three times. He was a secret Christian and raised his daughter devoted to God and the Church. Having reached adulthood, Tatiana did not marry and gave all her strength to the Church. She was installed as a deaconess in one of the Roman churches and served God, caring for the sick and helping those in need through fasting and prayer. Tatiana was to crown her righteousness with the crown of martyrdom.

When sixteen-year-old Alexander Severus (222 - 235) began to rule Rome, all power was concentrated in the hands of the worst enemy and persecutor of Christians, Ulpian. Christian blood flowed like a river. Deaconess Tatiana was also captured. When she was brought to the temple of Apollo to force her to make a sacrifice to the idol, the saint prayed - and suddenly an earthquake occurred, the idol was blown to pieces, and part of the temple collapsed and crushed the priests and many pagans. The demon that lived in the idol fled screaming from that place, while everyone saw a shadow flying through the air.

Then they began to beat the holy virgin and gouged out her eyes, but she endured everything courageously, praying for her tormentors, so that the Lord would open their spiritual eyes. And the Lord heeded the prayer of His servant. It was revealed to the executioners that four Angels surrounded the saint and deflected the blows from her, and they heard a Voice from heaven addressed to the holy martyr. All of them, eight people, believed in Christ and fell at the feet of Saint Tatiana, asking them to forgive them their sin against her.

For professing themselves to be Christians, they were tortured and executed, having received baptism in blood. The next day, Saint Tatiana was again given over to torture: they stripped her naked, beat her, began to cut her body with razors, and then milk flowed from the wounds instead of blood and a fragrance filled the air.

The torturers were exhausted and declared that someone invisible was beating them with iron sticks, nine of them died immediately. The saint was thrown into prison, where she prayed all night and sang praises to the Lord with the Angels. A new morning came, and Saint Tatiana was again brought to trial. The amazed tormentors saw that after so much terrible torment she appeared completely healthy and even more radiant and beautiful than before. They began to persuade her to make a sacrifice to the goddess Diana.

The saint pretended to agree, and she was led to the temple. Saint Tatiana crossed herself and began to pray. - and suddenly there was a deafening clap of thunder, and lightning incinerated the idol, the sacrifice and the priests. The martyr was again cruelly tortured, and at night she was again thrown into prison, and again the Angels of God appeared to her and healed her wounds.

The next day, Saint Tatiana was brought to the circus and a hungry lion was released on her; the beast did not touch the saint and began to meekly lick her feet. They wanted to drive the lion back into the cage, and then he tore to pieces one of the tormentors. Tatiana was thrown into the fire, but the fire did not harm the martyr. The pagans, thinking that she was a sorceress, cut her hair to deprive her of magical powers and locked her in the temple of Zeus. But the power of God cannot be taken away.

On the third day, the priests came, surrounded by a crowd, preparing to make sacrifices. Having opened the temple, they saw the idol cast into dust and the holy martyr Tatiana, joyfully calling on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. All torture was exhausted, she was sentenced to death, and the courageous sufferer was beheaded with a sword. Together with her, as a Christian, the father of Saint Tatiana, who revealed to her the truths of the faith of Christ, was executed.

Saint Tatiana- early Christian martyr who suffered in Rome in the 3rd century under Emperor Alexander Severus. In Russia, Saint Tatiana is considered the patroness of enlightenment, students, and education. That's why her memorial day January 25(January 12, Old Style) is called Students' Day. They ask her for help in mastering the sciences and protection from evil forces.

Life of the Holy Martyr Tatiana

The martyr Tatiana was born in Rome into a wealthy and noble family of a consul. Her parents were Christians and raised their daughter in piety. Upon reaching adulthood, Tatiana refused marriage. For her deep faith and virtuous life, Tatiana was made a deaconesses. She participated in the divine service; her responsibilities also included preparing people for the sacrament of Baptism and assisting in this rite. She tirelessly preached the word of God, visited the sick, fulfilling the Lord's commandment to love others. When the wicked king Antoninus Heliogabalus (204-22) was killed by his own Romans, sixteen-year-old Alexander Severus (208-235) was elevated to the royal throne. His mother, Julia Avita Mameya, was Christian. She taught her son to honor Christ, but disagreed with the faith of Christ, for at the same time he continued to serve idols and worshiped them as ancient Roman gods. In his palace there were images of Christ and Apollo, revered by the pagans, the Old Testament Abraham and the pagan Orpheus and others. Alexander himself, as the son of a Christian woman, did not persecute Christians, but his governors, regional governors and consuls, greatly oppressed Christians. Since Alexander himself was too young, the government of the state was entrusted to some of the council members; Chief among them was the city eparch Ulepian, a tough-tempered and great enemy of Christians. These advisers managed everything on behalf of the king. They sent out orders everywhere that Christians everywhere should be forced to worship the Roman gods, threatening them with terrible torture and death if they disobeyed. Then the blood of Christians began to flow in Rome and in all regions of the state. They were not spared, but were tortured and put to death.

During the persecution, Tatiana was also captured. She was brought to the temple of Apollo, where they tried to force her to bow to the statue of this pagan god. Tatiana offered a prayer to the Lord, and the earthquake that occurred destroyed the statue of Apollo and collapsed part of the temple, under which many people died: “ The devil, who lived in the idol, fled from that place with a loud cry and sobbing, and everyone heard his cry and saw a shadow sweeping through the air" After this, Tatiana was tortured, but traces of torture disappeared from her body. During the torture, following the prayer of the saint, four angels and a voice from heaven addressed to Tatiana appeared to the tormentors. These miracles forced the torturers to believe in Christ. After this, her tormentors themselves were executed. It is also known that among the miracles that occurred during the saint’s torment were the destruction of the temple of the pagan goddess Diana and the pacification of the lion to which Tatiana was thrown to be devoured. After that, Saint Tatiana was taken from the arena and again subjected to torture; finally she was thrown into the fire. But the fire did not touch not only her holy body, but even her long hair, with which, like a cloak, the holy martyr covered her nakedness during her torment. The executioners, deciding that Tatiana was practicing magic with the help of her hair, cut it off and locked her for two days in the temple of Zeus. On the third day, the priests, having come to the temple to make a sacrifice to Zeus, found his statue broken and Tatiana alive. After this, she was sentenced to death, and she was beheaded with a sword along with her father, who, seeing the suffering of his daughter, did not want to remain a secret Christian and went to suffer with her. This happened on January 25 (January 12, O.S.) 226.

Veneration of the martyr Tatiana. Kontakion and Holy Troparion

The Martyr Tatiana is revered in both the Orthodox and Catholic churches, however, her veneration spread widely only among Eastern Christians. In the West, the name Tatiana is considered Russian and is used only in some, mostly Slavic, countries. After Empress Elizaveta Petrovna (1709-1762) signed a decree on the opening of Moscow University on January 25 (January 12, O.S.), Tatiana's day began to be celebrated annually, first as the birthday of the University, and later as holiday for all students.

Troparion, tone 4

Thy Lamb calls to Jesus Tatiana with a great voice, I love You, my Bridegroom, and I seek suffering and I am crucified, and I am buried in Your baptism, and I accept torment for Your sake, for I may reign with You, and I die having hope in You, for I may live with You. But as an immaculate sacrifice, accept me with love and sacrifice. Through the prayers of Christ God save our soul.

Kontakion, tone 4

The passion-bearer was brighter in her suffering, she was purified from her blood. Like a red dove, fly to heaven Tatiyano. Pray forever for those who honor you.

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Library of Russian Faith
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Holy Martyr Tatiana. Icons

On icons holy martyr Tatiana depicted full-length or waist-length. In her right hand she holds a cross - a common detail on icons of saints who suffered martyrdom for Christ.

Temples in the name of the holy martyr Tatiana

There are no Old Believer churches consecrated in the name of the martyr Tatiana. There is also no information about surviving pre-schism churches in the name of the holy martyr Tatiana. Tatian churches of a later period exist in Moscow at Moscow State University (built in 1833-1836), in Vladivostok at Far Eastern State Technical University (built in 2000), in Turinskaya Sloboda Sverdlovsk region(built in 2003), in the village. Bobrava, Belgorod region (built in 2004), in Lugansk (built in 2007-2010), in Odessa (built in 2006) and in Warsaw at the men's gymnasium (built between 1820 and 1823).