Memorial Day of the Holy Martyr Tatiana

Every year on January 25, the day of remembrance of the holy martyr Tatiana, who died in Rome during the reign of Severus Alexander, is celebrated Tatiana was born in Rome, into the family of a dignitary who secretly professed the Christian religion and raised his daughter in the true faith and patronage of Christianity The girl did not want to start a family, deciding to devote her life to church service She began working in one of the local churches, devoting her energies to fulfilling religious obligations Tatiana lived at a time when Roman rulers constantly carried out inhumane persecutions against people who professed Christianity One of them happened during the girl’s service in the temple The leading pagans gave an order according to which all residents of the city were to make sacrifices to the gods In case of refusal, the violator faced imprisonment, accompanied by trial and monstrous torture Tatiana could not escape this terrible fate either The woman was ordered to make a sacrifice to Apollo However, she refused and began to read a prayer At that same moment the earth began to move, the temple began to shake, and the statue of the pagan deity fell into small pieces Plaintive sounds began to be heard from all sides: Christians believed that these were evil spirits experiencing torment Seeing this, the judges became very angry and ordered the capture of Tatiana She was subsequently tortured, but never renounced her religion, and was eventually executed along with her father The Holy Martyr Tatiana is revered not only by Christians, but also by Catholics In Western countries, the name Tatyana is considered Russian, so it is used only in some, mainly Slavic states In 1755, the day of memory of Tatiana acquired new meaning - the Great Empress Elizabeth I issued a decree on the opening of Moscow University Later, a decree of Nicholas I was put into effect ordering the celebration not of the founding day of an educational institution, but of establishing a law on its opening Thus, the now famous holiday of all students appeared - Tatyana’s Day The capital's university students annually honored the memory of Saint Tatiana by organizing solemn services and performances by singing choirs in churches The university church was also consecrated in honor of the martyr Students and university teachers held prayer services there for a long time Under Soviet rule, the church was closed On January 25, 1994, Holy Patriarch Alexy II held a service for the first time in the Tatian Church On the same day, the All-Church Congress of Christian Youth was founded at the university Subsequently, Tatyana’s Day became the most favorite date for students also for the reason that in the Russian educational system it falls on the day the school semester ends and the beginning of the long-awaited vacation