About how the Holy Great Martyr Catherine glorified the Lord with her earthly life and glorious death, we learn from a very limited number of sources that have come down to us. These are the notes of her servant and stenographer Athanasius, the Byzantine writer and religious figure Simeon Metaphrastus, and, finally, three works whose authorship has not been established. However, her example of serving God is so bright and instructive that she occupies one of the main places in the host of Orthodox saints.
Young Dorothea
The future Great Martyr Catherine was born in the largest Egyptian city of Alexandria in 287, and before her conversion to the faith of Christ, she bore the pagan name Dorothea. Her parents were we althy people and were able to provide their daughter with a happy and carefree childhood. When it was time to start studying, the best teachers of the city were invited to the house for her. The girl, who was distinguished by an inquisitive and sharp mind, quickly acquired knowledge.
In those years, the famous library of Alexandria, which was subsequently destroyed, was still intact,its repositories of the works of many outstanding thinkers of the past. There, a young girl walked in. In this temple of wisdom, she got acquainted with the works of ancient poets and philosophers, having previously studied the languages in which they were written. Here she comprehended the secrets of oratory, dialectics and the secrets of medicine, revealed to her in the works of Hippocrates, Asclepius and Galen.
Stubborn Bride
The icon of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine, so well known to most believers, presents us with the image of a young and beautiful girl. It was this, according to the information that has been preserved about her, that the future saint was. Adding a lively mind and a rare education at that time to her external attractiveness, it is easy to understand how successful she was with the best suitors in Egypt.
Ekaterina's parents, taking advantage of favorable circumstances, tried to marry off their daughter and find her the most brilliant match. However, the girl turned out to be intractable and set the condition that the one to whom she agreed to give her hand and heart should not be inferior to her either in beauty, or in education, or in nobility and we alth. In those days, the word "misalliance" was not yet in use - an unequal marriage, but even then beautiful and we althy brides knew their worth.
Visit to a desert dweller
The icon of the Great Martyr Catherine, whose photo is placed at the beginning of the article and which is presented in most Orthodox churches, shows us that she has already accepted the true faith, but this was preceded by an important event that became a turning point in the girl's life. The fact is that Catherine's mother secretly confessed the crucified and risen Christ. Her spiritual father was a Syrian monk who was hiding from the vain world in a remote cave. A secret Christian woman brought her daughter to him.
Often there is an icon of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine, where she is depicted against the background of the river, behind which lies a ridge of lifeless hills. Obviously, it was them that the Syrian hermit chose as the place of his stay, who revealed faith in Christ to the young virgin. He told her that there was a Young Man in the world who surpassed her in everything, and, saying goodbye, he gave the icon of the Mother of God with the Baby in her arms, teaching her to ask the Queen of Heaven in prayer to show her this Young Man - Her Son.
Finding the faith of Christ
The life of the Great Martyr Catherine testifies that on the same night the Virgin Mary appeared to the girl in a dream, but the Eternal Child did not want to look at her until the virgin was washed with the waters of holy baptism. Waking up in tears, Catherine again went to the cherished cave, where the wise old man, instructing her in the basics of the Christian faith, performed a great sacrament over her, linking her forever with the Son of God.
Happy, she returned home and, tired from a long journey, she forgot herself in a light sleep. As soon as the girl’s eyelids closed, the Queen of Heaven again appeared before her, but this time Her Son, with caress in his eyes, handed the virgin an engagement ring - a sign that from now on He became her Heavenly Bridegroom. When Catherine woke up, she found the miraculous gift of Jesus on her finger.
Bwaiting for a pagan holiday
In those early years, Egypt was part of the eastern part of the Roman state and was under the jurisdiction of the emperor. Periodically, in the largest city, Alexandria, pagan celebrations were held, to which the ruler of the empire himself arrived. One of these holidays was expected shortly after the events described above.
The icon of Catherine the Great Martyr often represents her holding flowers or a palm branch in her hands. This is no coincidence. Both are a symbol of peace and love, inseparable from the teachings of the Savior. It was them that the young Christian woman wanted to bring to the crown-bearer, who was mired in pagan delusions. She came to the festival with one purpose - to convince the emperor of the fallacy of his views and to show him the light of truth.
Controversy with the emperor
A young and beautiful girl immediately attracted the attention of the Roman ruler, and when she turned to him with philosophical speeches, so unusual for female lips, he was confused and could not find anything to object to her. To help himself, the emperor called on a whole crowd of court wise men, who, having entered into a controversy with the girl, were defeated by the indisputability of her arguments. No wonder the icon of Catherine the Great Martyr often depicts the saint with an unfolded scroll in her hands, thus emphasizing her deep learning.
The sages who did not justify the hopes of the emperor were immediately sent to the stake. Before their death, they publicly announced that, convinced by the eloquence of Catherine, they themselves wish to accept Christianity and die in the name of the true faith and that,who brought it to the people. The ancient authors who told the world about these events report that when the flames of the fires died out, the remains of the executed were not touched by fire.
Undaunted in torment
The most common icon of St. Great Martyr Catherine in her composition includes the image of a gear wheel, which became an instrument of torment, with the help of which the pagan emperor tried to force her to renounce her beliefs. He was forced to resort to this means when he could not achieve what he wanted either by promises of we alth and honors, or by flattery, or intimidation.
Counting on the fact that the pangs of hunger will force the girl to be more accommodating, the emperor threw her into prison and ordered her not to give food. But the Lord did not leave the saint, and for twelve days the dove brought food to the young prisoner, supporting her bodily strength and strengthening her spirit. Further in the life of the saint, it is told that the very wheel, which the icon of Catherine the Great Martyr presents as evidence of her fearlessness, was swept away by an unknown force, as soon as the condemned to torment was brought to it.
Without a shadow of fear, the saint approached the chopping block, on which, at the command of the emperor, the executioner was to cut off her head. When the execution was completed, not blood, but milk, flowed from the opened wound. All those present witnessed how the angels of God picked up the lifeless body and carried it to the top of Sinai.
The miraculous acquisition of relics and the creation of a hymnography
Three hundred years laterThe monks who were not far from the monastery had a vision, obeying which they climbed to the top of the mountain and found the incorruptible relics of the saint - her head and right hand, identified by the monks by the ring preserved on it. The priceless relic was transferred to the monastery. Today, the relics of the saint rest in a marble shrine installed in the main temple of the monastery built in Sinai, which bears her name. The Icon of Catherine the Great Martyr located there is equipped with a reliquary in which her finger is kept.
Hymnography of St. Catherine originates in the 9th century. During this period, the Monk Theophanes of Nicaea and his closest associate Babyl dedicated to her a whole series of hymns they composed. It is believed that the troparion to the Holy Great Martyr Catherine was also written at the same time. They, like many other church texts, came to Russia, which was baptized and became one of the Christian nations, in translation from Greek. Obviously, at the same time, a kontakion was written to the Holy Great Martyr Catherine, in which she is called all-wise, straightening the serpent and taming the mind of rhetoricians.
Adoration of the Holy Great Martyr in Russia
For a long time in Russia, her veneration has been established. You will rarely find a temple in which, among other images, the icon of the Great Martyr Catherine is not represented. In Moscow, this image can be seen in the main cathedral of the country - the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. In 2010, the relics of the saint were brought there from Egypt for general worship. Many believers, among other images that make up the home iconostasis, also have an icon of Catherine the Great Martyr.
How does this saint help? It is generally accepted that, since in her earthly life she was distinguished by an extraordinary mind and education, then, being in the mountain world, the great martyr can patronize all students, regardless of the level of education, as well as people engaged in mental work. Another vocation of the saint is to help single girls, since she herself ended her life without marrying.
