December 17 - memory of the great martyr Barbara of Iliopolskaya
16 December 2020
On December 17, Orthodox believers prayerfully commemorate the Great Martyr Barbara, who has long been revered by Christians as a heavenly intercessor from sudden and violent death. Saint Barbara is also highly venerated by Western Christians: in the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, she is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, to whom believers, since the Middle Ages, have traditionally turned in times of epidemics and other calamities. The veneration of the saint was also established by the ancient Eastern churches - Armenian, Coptic and others, but the celebration of her memory by the believers of these confessions falls on another day. Великомученица Варвара The future Great Martyr Barbara was born into a noble pagan family, in the city of Iliopolis on the territory of present-day Syria, during the reign of the Roman emperor Maximinus. Dioscorus, her father, was widowed early and therefore was passionately attached to his daughter - his only child. When Barbara grew up, Dioscorus, wanting to protect the girl from prying eyes, built a high house for her, from which she could only leave with the permission of her father. Contemplating the beauty of the world from the height of the place of her forced loneliness, Varvara asked questions about the One who created it. Explanations of the handmaidens about the pagan The gods did not give answers that satisfy the girl: she venerated the man-made idols only by the work of human hands and looked for the hand of the One Creator behind the visible creation. Старинный образ вмч. Варвары со сценами из её жития The time has come - and many noble young people began to look for the hands of a beautiful, educated and rich girl. However, Varvara resolutely rejected any proposals for marriage. Then Dioscorus decided to change tactics and allowed Varvara to leave the house, hoping that the example of her peers would change the girl's attitude to marriage. Among the people with whom Varvara began to communicate, going out into the city, there were also local Christians, who told her about the Triune God who created the world and His Son, Jesus Christ, His Nativity from the Blessed Virgin Mary, He voluntarily accepted suffering for all mankind. about His Death on the Cross and Resurrection. The teachings of the true Lord God gave answers to all the questions that the girl had been asking for a long time - and she accepted him with all her soul. Varvara turned to the Alexandrian priest who was at that time in Iliopolis with a request to perform the sacrament of Holy Baptism on her. An elder who traveled under the guise of a merchant because of the pagan persecution of Christians, baptized Barbara, who turned to Christ with all her heart and promised to devote her life to Him. икона святой великомученицы Варвары At that time, a stone tower was being built in the possession of Dioscorus. Returning home, Varvara ordered the builders to arrange in the upper room upstairs not two, as Dioscorus had desired, but three windows - which was done. In response to her father's question why there were one more windows, Barbara explained to him the Christian concept of the Holy Trinity. A fanatical pagan, Dioscorus was furious and rushed at his daughter with a naked blade. Varvara barely managed to run out of the house - and, finding herself outside the city limits, disappeared into the rock, which miraculously opened up in front of her in the form of a crevice. Dioscorus was looking for his daughter all day - and only in the evening he found her thanks to the story of a shepherd, who unwittingly witnessed the miracle with the rock. Father grabbed Varvara and with beatings took her home - and in the morning he brought her to the city ruler. “I renounce her because she rejects my gods, and if you do not turn to them again, then she will not be my daughter. Torment her, sovereign ruler, as it pleases your will, ”said Dioscorus. In vain, the mayor of Iliopolsk begged the girl to obey her father's will and return to the veneration of the pagan gods. Barbara openly confessed Jesus Christ as God and with wise words exposed the errors of idolaters. Then they began to beat the girl with a whip woven from ox veins, and the resulting wounds were irritated with a rough hair shirt. However, Varvara firmly endured beatings and torture. In the evening, the tormented girl was taken to the dungeon. At night, when Barbara was praying, the Son of God appeared to her and said: “Dare, my bride, and do not be afraid, for I am with you. Be patient to the end in order to enjoy eternal blessings in My Kingdom. ' In the morning, when Varvara was taken out of the dungeon, the people who saw her were amazed: not a trace of beatings and tortures remained on the girl's body. Seeing such a miracle, one secret Christian named Juliana, following Barbara, openly confessed her faith and announced that she was also ready to suffer for her. This further aroused the anger of the pagans. Two girls, stripped naked, began to drive naked around the city - and then, hanging on a tree, they subjected them to tortures that could not be borne by the will of a single person. But, strengthened by the Lord God, the Christian women remained alive and continued to praise Christ. Then the girls were removed from the tree and beheaded - while Saint Barbara was personally beheaded with a sword by her father Dioscorus. However, the pagan child-killer did not survive for long his daughter: soon lightning struck, turning his entire flesh to ash. Церковь великомученицы Варвары в московском Зарядье - один из многих храмов, освящённых в честь и славу чтимой святой The veneration of the Great Martyr Barbara after her death became stronger and stronger among Christians. In the 6th century, the relics of the saint were transferred with great honor to the capital of the empire - Constantinople. And in the XII century, the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Alexei Komnenos, whose name was Varvara, married the Russian prince Mikhail Izyaslavovich. The relics of the saint, whose name she bore, the Byzantine princess brought with her to Kiev. To this day, the revered shrine remains in this city, in the Cathedral of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. The veneration of the Great Martyr Barbara is great in Christian countries even today. In addition to requests for deliverance from a sudden and violent death, she is also offered prayers for salvation from the storm at sea and from fire on land. Saint Barbara is revered as their heavenly patroness by miners and artillerymen.
December 17 - memory of the great martyr Barbara of IliopolskayaDecember 17 - memory of the great martyr Barbara of Iliopolskaya On December 17, Orthodox believers prayerfully commemorate the Great Martyr Barbara, who has long been revered by Christians as a heavenly intercessor from sudden and violent death. Saint Barbara is also highly venerated by Western Christians: in the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, she is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, to whom believers, since the Middle Ages, have traditionally turned in times of epidemics and other calamities. The veneration of the saint was also established by the ancient Eastern churches - Armenian, Coptic and others, but the celebration of her memory by the believers of these confessions falls on another day. Великомученица Варвара The future Great Martyr Barbara was born into a noble pagan family, in the city of Iliopolis on the territory of present-day Syria, during the reign of the Roman emperor Maximinus. Dioscorus, her father, was widowed early and therefore was passionately attached to his daughter - his only child. When Barbara grew up, Dioscorus, wanting to protect the girl from prying eyes, built a high house for her, from which she could only leave with the permission of her father. Contemplating the beauty of the world from the height of the place of her forced loneliness, Varvara asked questions about the One who created it. Explanations of the handmaidens about the pagan The gods did not give answers that satisfy the girl: she venerated the man-made idols only by the work of human hands and looked for the hand of the One Creator behind the visible creation. Старинный образ вмч. Варвары со сценами из её жития The time has come - and many noble young people began to look for the hands of a beautiful, educated and rich girl. However, Varvara resolutely rejected any proposals for marriage. Then Dioscorus decided to change tactics and allowed Varvara to leave the house, hoping that the example of her peers would change the girl's attitude to marriage. Among the people with whom Varvara began to communicate, going out into the city, there were also local Christians, who told her about the Triune God who created the world and His Son, Jesus Christ, His Nativity from the Blessed Virgin Mary, He voluntarily accepted suffering for all mankind. about His Death on the Cross and Resurrection. The teachings of the true Lord God gave answers to all the questions that the girl had been asking for a long time - and she accepted him with all her soul. Varvara turned to the Alexandrian priest who was at that time in Iliopolis with a request to perform the sacrament of Holy Baptism on her. An elder who traveled under the guise of a merchant because of the pagan persecution of Christians, baptized Barbara, who turned to Christ with all her heart and promised to devote her life to Him. икона святой великомученицы Варвары At that time, a stone tower was being built in the possession of Dioscorus. Returning home, Varvara ordered the builders to arrange in the upper room upstairs not two, as Dioscorus had desired, but three windows - which was done. In response to her father's question why there were one more windows, Barbara explained to him the Christian concept of the Holy Trinity. A fanatical pagan, Dioscorus was furious and rushed at his daughter with a naked blade. Varvara barely managed to run out of the house - and, finding herself outside the city limits, disappeared into the rock, which miraculously opened up in front of her in the form of a crevice. Dioscorus was looking for his daughter all day - and only in the evening he found her thanks to the story of a shepherd, who unwittingly witnessed the miracle with the rock. Father grabbed Varvara and with beatings took her home - and in the morning he brought her to the city ruler. “I renounce her because she rejects my gods, and if you do not turn to them again, then she will not be my daughter. Torment her, sovereign ruler, as it pleases your will, ”said Dioscorus. In vain, the mayor of Iliopolsk begged the girl to obey her father's will and return to the veneration of the pagan gods. Barbara openly confessed Jesus Christ as God and with wise words exposed the errors of idolaters. Then they began to beat the girl with a whip woven from ox veins, and the resulting wounds were irritated with a rough hair shirt. However, Varvara firmly endured beatings and torture. In the evening, the tormented girl was taken to the dungeon. At night, when Barbara was praying, the Son of God appeared to her and said: “Dare, my bride, and do not be afraid, for I am with you. Be patient to the end in order to enjoy eternal blessings in My Kingdom. ' In the morning, when Varvara was taken out of the dungeon, the people who saw her were amazed: not a trace of beatings and tortures remained on the girl's body. Seeing such a miracle, one secret Christian named Juliana, following Barbara, openly confessed her faith and announced that she was also ready to suffer for her. This further aroused the anger of the pagans. Two girls, stripped naked, began to drive naked around the city - and then, hanging on a tree, they subjected them to tortures that could not be borne by the will of a single person. But, strengthened by the Lord God, the Christian women remained alive and continued to praise Christ. Then the girls were removed from the tree and beheaded - while Saint Barbara was personally beheaded with a sword by her father Dioscorus. However, the pagan child-killer did not survive for long his daughter: soon lightning struck, turning his entire flesh to ash. Церковь великомученицы Варвары в московском Зарядье - один из многих храмов, освящённых в честь и славу чтимой святой The veneration of the Great Martyr Barbara after her death became stronger and stronger among Christians. In the 6th century, the relics of the saint were transferred with great honor to the capital of the empire - Constantinople. And in the XII century, the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Alexei Komnenos, whose name was Varvara, married the Russian prince Mikhail Izyaslavovich. The relics of the saint, whose name she bore, the Byzantine princess brought with her to Kiev. To this day, the revered shrine remains in this city, in the Cathedral of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. The veneration of the Great Martyr Barbara is great in Christian countries even today. In addition to requests for deliverance from a sudden and violent death, she is also offered prayers for salvation from the storm at sea and from fire on land. Saint Barbara is revered as their heavenly patroness by miners and artillerymen.Свеча Иерусалима -en
On December 17, Orthodox believers prayerfully commemorate the Great Martyr Barbara, who has long been revered by Christians as a heavenly intercessor from sudden and violent death. Saint Barbara is also highly venerated by Western Christians: in the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church, she is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, to whom believers, since the Middle Ages, have traditionally turned in times of epidemics and other calamities. The veneration of the saint was also established by the ancient Eastern churches - Armenian, Coptic and others, but the celebration of her memory by the believers of these confessions falls on another day. Великомученица Варвара The future Great Martyr Barbara was born into a noble pagan family, in the city of Iliopolis on the territory of present-day Syria, during the reign of the Roman emperor Maximinus. Dioscorus, her father, was widowed early and therefore was passionately attached to his daughter - his only child. When Barbara grew up, Dioscorus, wanting to protect the girl from prying eyes, built a high house for her, from which she could only leave with the permission of her father. Contemplating the beauty of the world from the height of the place of her forced loneliness, Varvara asked questions about the One who created it. Explanations of the handmaidens about the pagan The gods did not give answers that satisfy the girl: she venerated the man-made idols only by the work of human hands and looked for the hand of the One Creator behind the visible creation. Старинный образ вмч. Варвары со сценами из её жития The time has come - and many noble young people began to look for the hands of a beautiful, educated and rich girl. However, Varvara resolutely rejected any proposals for marriage. Then Dioscorus decided to change tactics and allowed Varvara to leave the house, hoping that the example of her peers would change the girl's attitude to marriage. Among the people with whom Varvara began to communicate, going out into the city, there were also local Christians, who told her about the Triune God who created the world and His Son, Jesus Christ, His Nativity from the Blessed Virgin Mary, He voluntarily accepted suffering for all mankind. about His Death on the Cross and Resurrection. The teachings of the true Lord God gave answers to all the questions that the girl had been asking for a long time - and she accepted him with all her soul. Varvara turned to the Alexandrian priest who was at that time in Iliopolis with a request to perform the sacrament of Holy Baptism on her. An elder who traveled under the guise of a merchant because of the pagan persecution of Christians, baptized Barbara, who turned to Christ with all her heart and promised to devote her life to Him. икона святой великомученицы Варвары At that time, a stone tower was being built in the possession of Dioscorus. Returning home, Varvara ordered the builders to arrange in the upper room upstairs not two, as Dioscorus had desired, but three windows - which was done. In response to her father's question why there were one more windows, Barbara explained to him the Christian concept of the Holy Trinity. A fanatical pagan, Dioscorus was furious and rushed at his daughter with a naked blade. Varvara barely managed to run out of the house - and, finding herself outside the city limits, disappeared into the rock, which miraculously opened up in front of her in the form of a crevice. Dioscorus was looking for his daughter all day - and only in the evening he found her thanks to the story of a shepherd, who unwittingly witnessed the miracle with the rock. Father grabbed Varvara and with beatings took her home - and in the morning he brought her to the city ruler. “I renounce her because she rejects my gods, and if you do not turn to them again, then she will not be my daughter. Torment her, sovereign ruler, as it pleases your will, ”said Dioscorus. In vain, the mayor of Iliopolsk begged the girl to obey her father's will and return to the veneration of the pagan gods. Barbara openly confessed Jesus Christ as God and with wise words exposed the errors of idolaters. Then they began to beat the girl with a whip woven from ox veins, and the resulting wounds were irritated with a rough hair shirt. However, Varvara firmly endured beatings and torture. In the evening, the tormented girl was taken to the dungeon. At night, when Barbara was praying, the Son of God appeared to her and said: “Dare, my bride, and do not be afraid, for I am with you. Be patient to the end in order to enjoy eternal blessings in My Kingdom. ' In the morning, when Varvara was taken out of the dungeon, the people who saw her were amazed: not a trace of beatings and tortures remained on the girl's body. Seeing such a miracle, one secret Christian named Juliana, following Barbara, openly confessed her faith and announced that she was also ready to suffer for her. This further aroused the anger of the pagans. Two girls, stripped naked, began to drive naked around the city - and then, hanging on a tree, they subjected them to tortures that could not be borne by the will of a single person. But, strengthened by the Lord God, the Christian women remained alive and continued to praise Christ. Then the girls were removed from the tree and beheaded - while Saint Barbara was personally beheaded with a sword by her father Dioscorus. However, the pagan child-killer did not survive for long his daughter: soon lightning struck, turning his entire flesh to ash. Церковь великомученицы Варвары в московском Зарядье - один из многих храмов, освящённых в честь и славу чтимой святой The veneration of the Great Martyr Barbara after her death became stronger and stronger among Christians. In the 6th century, the relics of the saint were transferred with great honor to the capital of the empire - Constantinople. And in the XII century, the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Alexei Komnenos, whose name was Varvara, married the Russian prince Mikhail Izyaslavovich. The relics of the saint, whose name she bore, the Byzantine princess brought with her to Kiev. To this day, the revered shrine remains in this city, in the Cathedral of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. The veneration of the Great Martyr Barbara is great in Christian countries even today. In addition to requests for deliverance from a sudden and violent death, she is also offered prayers for salvation from the storm at sea and from fire on land. Saint Barbara is revered as their heavenly patroness by miners and artillerymen.
