Memorial Day of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara

The day of remembrance of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara in Orthodoxy is celebrated on December 17 She suffered for her faith during the period of the formation of religion and the severe persecution of Christianity at the beginning of the 4th century She is revered for her steadfastness and feat of devoted love to the Lord, and her life’s path proves the irreversibility of God’s retribution Varvara was born into a noble and wealthy family in the city of Iliopolis in Asia Minor Her father Dioscorus held a high position Being the only daughter, she was carefully protected from everything outside, and her place of residence was a tower, isolating her from the outside world In captivity, this beautiful girl thought a lot, including about the one Creator She could not come to terms with paganism, her soul was looking for something else The desire to know the true God led her to the Christian faith When the time came for marriage, she began to resist the will of her father, who was imposing suitable suitors He attributed her categorical refusals to the loneliness to which she was accustomed, and changed tactics - he allowed free walks and communication with other people Soon she met some Christians The religion they professed greatly impressed the girl: she was baptized When the father learned that his daughter had abandoned his faith, he did not hesitate and handed her over to the city ruler for execution At that time (306), Emperor Maximian was in power, and his subordinates consisted of people devoted to him and paganism, cruel to deal with unwanted Christians Governor Martian was impressed by Varvara's beauty and offered her freedom in exchange for her feminine favor, but she remained steadfast, maintaining chastity Even torture did not break Varvara’s spirit In prison, where they threw her tortured body, the Lord himself appeared to her and healed her wounds Her public torture the next day brought an unexpected effect - one townswoman from the crowd of those gathered declared herself a Christian After this, both their heads were cut off, and Dioscorus acted as the executioner of his own daughter The tormentors suffered a fair and swift punishment - the father and ruler Martian were burned by lightning the next day According to legend, after the execution, a pious Christian carried the bodies of the girls and buried them Later, the remains were taken to Constantinople, and several temples were erected in honor of the saint in the following centuries In the Orthodox tradition, another person with the same name is involved in the history of the saint’s relics - Varvara Komnena, the daughter of the Byzantine emperor She transported part of the relics as a dowry to Kyiv at the beginning of the 12th century, after marrying Prince Svyatopolk II But this theory is today refuted by authoritative studies, which insist that such a historical person did not exist, and the remains of the saint came to Kyiv after the weakening of Byzantium There are small particles of relics in other monasteries, for example in Greece, Cyprus and Russia People turn to the saint for protection from fire and sudden death, which is why she is considered the patroness of professions where these risks are very high - miners, firefighters, artillerymen She was recently recognized as the heavenly intercessor of the Russian missile forces Varvara has long been revered in Rus' - in folk rituals, the day of remembrance had its own signs and sacred meaning, especially for women Thus, a ban on spinning and other types of work on this day has become traditional Today, to honor the memory of the great martyr and ask for protection, believers go to the prayed icons of the saint, some of which became famous for their miracles