Memorial Day of the Holy Great Martyr Irene of Macedonia

The Orthodox Church celebrates the Day of the Great Martyr Irina on May 18 The saint lived in the first century, when the Christian religion received fierce resistance in the pagan world, and the first followers of Christ endured cruel torture for the sake of their faith At birth, the future saint was given the name Penelope Her father was the governor of one of the regions of Macedonia, thanks to which her parents raised their daughter in luxury and wealth Penelope was famous for both her beauty and education Her mentor was the learned husband Apelian, who presented the student with the main Christian truths Penelope's parents found a worthy groom and were preparing their daughter for the wedding, but one morning three birds flew into the window of the girl's room: a dove with an olive branch in its beak; an eagle carrying a wreath; and a black raven with a serpent in its claws Apelian, having heard about the birds arriving, gave the following interpretation to the incident: his student would become a devoted Christian, but suffering and torment awaited her Penelope realized her fate and was baptized by the Apostle Timothy himself, taking the new name Irina The girl did not hide her choice; she began to preach Christianity and reveal the light of true faith to her loved ones Irina's father was angry at his daughter's choice and ordered her to be severely punished After a night of imprisonment, the girl was led to a herd of horses, under whose hooves she was destined to die But the animals did not touch her; the herd ran towards Irina’s father and trampled him to death The daughter's fervent prayer addressed to the Lord resurrected her father, who, having repented, wished to become a Christian His example was followed by 3 thousand witnesses who came to watch Irina’s execution After this incident, the saint settled in the house of the teacher Apelian and began to preach the word of God with him The girl's story reached the ears of the new ruler of the region The ardent pagan ordered Irina to be brought to him and persuaded her to idolatry But this time too the Lord showed a miracle, leaving the saint unharmed More than once the pagans tried to convert Irina’s faith; she was threatened with snakes, sharp saws and mill wheels But each time her life was saved, and the number of people wishing to become Christians grew more and more The martyr visited many cities, and in the city of Ephesus, while in prayer, she learned the hour of her death The saint went to meet death in the mountains in a lonely cave Four days later, the teacher and companions followed her, but could not find Irina’s body Then those who came realized that the saint had ascended to Heaven In folk tradition, the date May 18 was called the day of Irina Rassadnitsa This was due to the start of planting cabbage seedlings in the ground Planting was predominantly a woman's task; to ensure good luck, housewives dressed up in rags resembling cabbage leaves They always brought a cast iron pot with nettles to the field, hoping that this ritual would help scare away insects from the future harvest They also trusted special weather signs: - bird cherry blossoms warned of an imminent cold snap, a very early color indicated a hot summer, and too lush a rainy one; - the ground, which quickly absorbed water after watering, indicated mowing without precipitation; - damp soil that does not dry out for a long time after watering predicted rains during the haymaking period