About how the holy Great Martyr Catherine glorified the Lord with her earthly life and glorious demise, we learn from a very limited number of sources that have reached us. These are the records of her servant and stenographer Athanasius, the Byzantine writer and religious figure Simeon Metafrast, and, finally, three works, the authorship of which has not been established. However, her example of serving God is so bright and edifying 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 Christ's faith, she bore the pagan name Dorothea. Her parents were wealthy 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 her house. The girl, who was distinguished by an inquiring and sharp mind, quickly acquired knowledge.
In those years, the famous library of Alexandria, which was subsequently destroyed, was still intact , collecting in its repositories the creations of many prominent thinkers of the past. A young girl frequented there. 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 learned the secrets of oratory, dialectics and the secrets of medicine, revealed to her in the writings of Hippocrates, Asclepius and Galen.
Stubborn bride
The icon of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine, so well known to most believers, represents the image of a young and beautiful girl. According to the information that has been preserved about her, this was the future saint. Adding a lively mind and a rare education for those times to external attractiveness, it is not difficult to understand what success she enjoyed with the best suitors of Egypt.
Catherine's parents, taking advantage of favorable circumstances, tried to marry her daughter and find her the most brilliant party. However, the girl was intractable and set the condition that the one to whom she agrees to give her hand and heart should not give in to her either in beauty, or in education, or in nobility and wealth. In those days, the word "misalliance" was not yet in use - unequal marriage, but even then beautiful and wealthy brides knew their worth.
Visit to the Deserter
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, reveals to us that she has already accepted the true faith, but this was preceded by an important event, which became a turning point in the life of the girl. The fact is that Catherine's mother secretly professed the crucified and risen Christ. Her spiritual father was a Syrian monk, hiding from the bustling world in a distant cave. The secret Christian led her daughter to him.
Often there is an icon of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine, where she is depicted on the background of the river, behind which there is a ridge of lifeless hills. Obviously, it was them who were chosen by the Syrian hermit, who opened the faith in Christ to the young virgin, as their place of stay. He told her that there was a Young Man in the world, surpassing her in everything, and, saying goodbye, he gave the icon of the Virgin with the Baby in his arms, teaching him in prayer to ask the Queen of Heaven to reveal to her this Youth - Her Son.
The attainment of Christ's faith
The life of the great martyr Catherine testifies that the Virgin Mary appeared in a dream in a dream that night, but the Eternal Infant did not want to look at her until the virgin was washed by the waters of holy baptism. Waking up in tears, Catherine again went to the treasured cave, where the wise old man, instructing her in the foundations of the Christian faith, performed the great sacrament over her, connecting her forever with the Son of God.
Happy, she returned home and, tired of the long journey, forgot herself a light sleep. As soon as the girls closed their eyes, the Queen of Heaven again appeared before her, but this time, Her Son, with affection in his eyes, held out a wedding ring to the maiden - a sign that from now on He became her Heavenly Bridegroom. Waking up, Catherine discovered on her finger the wonderful gift of Jesus.
Waiting 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. This is no coincidence. Both are a symbol of peace and love, inalienable from the teachings of the Savior. The young Christian wanted to bring them to the crowned man, mired in pagan delusions. She came to the holiday with one purpose - to convince the emperor of the fallacy of his views and to reveal to him the light of truth.
The polemic with the emperor
The young and beautiful girl immediately attracted the attention of the Roman ruler, and when she addressed him with philosophical speeches so unusual for women’s lips, he mixed up and could not find anything to object to. To help himself, the emperor called on a whole crowd of court sages, who, having entered into a polemic with the girl, were defeated by the indisputability of her arguments. It is not for nothing that the icon of Catherine the Great Martyr often represents the saint with an unfolded scroll in her hands, thereby emphasizing her deep scholarship.
Sages who did not live up to the emperor’s hopes were immediately sent to the stake. Before their death, they publicly announced that, convinced by the eloquence of Catherine, they themselves want to accept Christianity and die in the name of true faith and the one who brought it to people. Ancient authors who told the world about these events report that when the fires of the fires died out, the remains of those executed were not touched by the fire.
Undaunted in torment
The most common icon of St. The 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 make her renounce her beliefs. He was forced to resort to this tool when he could not achieve what he desired neither by promises of riches and honors, nor by flattery, nor by intimidation.
Counting on the fact that the pangs of hunger would cause the girl to be more accommodating, the emperor plunged 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 narrated that the wheel itself, which the icon of Catherine the Great Martyr represents as evidence of her fearlessness, was swept away by an unknown force, as soon as she was condemned to torment brought to him.
Without a shadow of fear, the saint approached the block, on which, at the behest of the emperor, the executioner was to truncate her head. When the execution was carried out, milk did not flow from the opening wound. All those present at the same time witnessed how the angels of God seized a lifeless body and carried it to the top of Sinai.
The miraculous acquisition of relics and the creation of hymnography
Three hundred years later, the monks, who were not far from the monastery, had a vision, obeying which they climbed to the top of the mountain and found the imperishable relics of the saint - its head and right hand, identified by the monks on the ring that remained on it. A priceless relic was transferred to the monastery. Today, the relics of the saint rest in a marble crab installed in the main temple of the monastery built on Sinai, which bears her name. The Icon of Catherine the Great Martyr located there is equipped with a reliquary, in which her finger is stored.
Gymnography of St. Catherine dates back to the 9th century. During this period, the Monk Theophanes of Nicaea and his closest associate, Vavil, dedicated a whole series of chants to them. It is believed that at that time the troparion was also written to St. Catherine the Great Martyr. In Russia, which was baptized and became one of the Christian nations, they, like many other church texts, came in translation from Greek. Obviously, at that time a kondak was written to the holy Great Martyr Catherine, in which she is called the all-wise, corrected serpent and tamed the mind of the rhetoricians.
The Adoration of the Holy Great Martyr in Russia
For a long time in Russia its veneration has been established. It is rare to 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. There, in 2010, holy relics were brought from Egypt for universal worship. Many believers, among other images that make up the home iconostasis, have the 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 intelligence and education, then, being in the highland world, a great martyr can provide protection to all students, regardless of level of education, as well as people engaged in mental work. Another vocation of the saint is to help single girls, as she herself ended her life without marriage.