Commemorated on July 17th
Even though they refused to accept the Messiah, pagans of the
third century realized that Christianity added a certain wholesomeness to its
adherents, particularly to Christian girls whose purity gave added dimension to
their beauty and stirred passions with the hearts of pagans who saw no such
chastity in their own women. While all accounts in church biographies
follow a similiar pattern, the ones who gave their lives to Christ should be
honored not just with a feast day but with a biographical sketch as well, for
the simple reason that they were true heroines, small in number when compared to
the unnamed and unnumbered Christian girls who submitted, rather than face agony
and horror. This is not to demean the latter for having human frailty, for
it is doubtful that any girl so coerced really denied Christ in her heart once
he was there.
St. Marina evolved in Antioch in Pisidia. This city was in the
middle of Asia Minor in Perga on the borders of Pisidia. [Not to be confused
with "Great Antioch" on River Aasi, about 15 miles east of the Mediterranean;
where the Throne of the Pope of Antioch was.] The city was founded by Silesius
Ist. (Nectarius,) one of the army Generals of Alexander the Great. He called it
Antioch after his father Antiochus. It was an important commercial center, and
the Romans made it their headquarters for all Southern Galatia. Silesius gave
residence to a group of Jews there. The book of Acts mentions that St. Paul
visited Antioch in Pisidia during his first evangelical journey, and delivered a
sermon in the synagogue on the Sabbath day. Many of the Jews believed, but some
of them "stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the
city, raised up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from
the region" Paul and Barnabas "..made many disciples"in that city. St. Paul
mentioned to his disciple Timothy the "persecutions and afflictions which
happened to me at Antioch." Nothing much is left now from that city except some
ruins near a city called Yelfetch on the southern slope of the mountainous chain
called "Sultan Daghlary" in mid Turkey
St. Marina heard from her nanny a great deal about the holy
martyrs; about their steadfast faith, and their extreme courage when facing the
ferocious rulers and the mad emperors. She was told about how those heroes did
not hesitate to declare their faith when the rulers threatened to torture them
and to throw them to the hungry beasts. She knew how the martyrs were actually
racing each other to gain their martyrdom because of their love to Christ the
Lord.One day she started praying " You know, our compassionate Lord, how weak
the human nature is. I ask You to give me strength to be able to conquer Your
opponents and to praise you for ever. Amen."One day, a new ruler came to Antioch
Pisidia from Asia. His name was Alupharnus. He was assigned to capture all
Christians and torture them in the most ferocious way. While the evil ruler was
in his carriage with his soldiers looking for the Christians, he saw St. Marina
with her nanny, going out from their house. The ruler saw them. He was dazzled
by her beauty and decided to marry her, whatever it would cost him. He sent his
soldiers to bring her to him. When they tried to do so, Marina started praying;
"Have mercy on me, O my Savior. Do not destroy my soul in the hands of the
blasphemers, nor my life by the blood-shedders. Do not forsake me lest the
sinners should destroy my soul and defile my ears and my mind. Send Your grace
to me from up high to give me strength, and to keep me steadfast in my faith
without fear, and to be able to answer that blasphemer according to his demand.
I see my poor soul like a lamb among wolves, or like a bird confronting the
hunters, or a fish in the net of fishermen. Come to me, Lord Jesus Christ, and
save me from their hands. Glory and praise be to You for ever, Amen." The
soldiers returned to the ruler and told him that they could not bring her to him
(to marry her) because she was a Christian. The ruler was deeply disturbed by
the news.
The ruler was very angry. The devil moved him to frighten this
young girl with threats of torture and death. He ordered his soldiers to bring
‘the slave’ to him by force. When they did he said to her, "From which race are
you?" She answered, "I am a Christian, and I am not a slave." He asked, "So,
which tribe are you from? What is your name?" She replied, "I am from the tribe
of Jesus Christ. My name is Marina." The ruler asked, "Which god do you
worship?"Marina said, "I worship God who created heaven and earth and all
creation."He asked, "Then you worship Jesus the Nazarene from Galilee whom the
Jews had crucified.""Yes, I do," she replied, "though I am not worthy that He
may help my weak soul with His grace, and save me from your blasphemy."The ruler
ordered his soldiers to keep her in his custody until they entered the city.
When they did, he entered the temple of his gods to offer sacrifices unto them.
He, then, called Saint Marina and when she arrived, he said to
her, "Let it be known to you, Marina, that I pity your youth and your beauty. I
advice you to change your mind and obey my orders to worship my gods and offer
them sacrifices. If you do I will surely reward you with great rewards, and you
will gain privileges over your peers."The saint answered him, "I will never
deviate from worshipping my living God. I will offer my sacrifice of gratitude
only to the great Creator, the Savior of all mankind. "The ruler, then, said to
her, "This persistence will only cause you great torment. Your members will be
cut with iron and burned with fire. You will suffer my great rage, and nothing
can save you from my hand except by being submissive and obedient to me. Get rid
of your stubbornness and worship my gods. This way you will find rest, and you
will save your beauty. I will, then, give you abundantly the most expensive
presents, and will raise you to the highest ranks. You will be my wife, and will
become a princess!" The great saint answered him, "You blasphemer, who has a
cruel heart, do you think that you can scare me with your threats ? I do believe
that my merciful God will strengthen me, and will send me help from His holy
place. I know that you have authority only over my body, but you have no
authority over my spirit. My God says in His holy Gospel, "And I say to you, My
friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no
more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear. Fear Him who,
after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him."
As for me, I am quite ready to receive your torture, thus I will be worthy to
join the wise virgins in their comfort. They became worthy to gain the real
Groom, Jesus Christ, and to go with Him to heavenly joy. My Lord Jesus Christ,
whom I worship, died for our salvation; and I am not worthy to offer my body as
a sacrifice for Him, or to suffer all kinds of torments for His sake."The ruler
became furious. He ordered the saint’s hands and feet to be tied with ropes, and
to scourge her and beat her with clubs.
As they tortured her, the saint was looking up to heaven, and praying, "To
You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O My God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed;
let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be
ashamed. Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. Show me Your
ways, O Lord. Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You
are the God of my salvation. On You I wait all day. Remember, O Lord, Your
tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, for they have been from of old." For I
withstand these pains because I confess Your holy name. Send Your mercy and
compassion to me so my grief will become joy."As the saint was enchanting and
praising the Lord, the soldiers were beating her so severely that her flesh was
torn and her blood flew profusely. The Archangel Michael, then, appeared to her
and said to her,"Great is your faith, Marina. Have more strength, for it is by
your good confession that your soul will survive, and you will gain the holy
baptism."The people who were watching her were crying. Some of them said , "O
Marina, your pretty body has been destroyed by this cruel ruler. His intention
is to erase your name from the face of the earth. Please, obey his orders, and
believe in his gods, so you can be saved from his torture."The great among the
martyrs then answered, "God has already helped me and sent the venerable
Archangel Michael to me to take away my pains and to heal my wounds. He gave me
strength, and opened my eyes and I could see the wonders of the Lord who made me
able to expose and shame that blasphemer.
Now, what do you want from me, O weak in faith? Because, if my flesh is to be
destroyed, my spirit will be renewed and will be with the wise virgins. As for
you, please listen and believe in the Lord for He listens to all who pray to
Him. But I will never bow to mute and blind gods, which were carved by men."
Then Marina looked at the ruler and said,"Whatever you want to do according to
the instructions of your father, Satan, do it as fast as you can; because my God
has comforted me, and He is my Strength. If you have a power over my body to
destroy it, you have none over my spirit. Only my God has the authority over my
spirit, and He will save me from your hands, that I can expose you; the rejected
blasphemer who is far from the living God, and whose soul is descending to Hades
where Satan and his soldiers dwell. The power of God is surely far from you, and
the eternal punishment is going to catch you."The ruler, becoming exceedingly
furious, ordered his soldiers to comb her flesh with big heated iron forks. The
elect saint raised her eyes towards heaven and said,"For dogs have surrounded
me; the assembly of the wicked has enclosed me... But You, O Lord, do not be far
from me; O my Strength, hasten to help me. Deliver me from the sword, My
precious life from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion’s mouth. Help my
humility, give me strength and the Spirit of life that You may protect my soul
from defilement. With Your help I will be able to face the devil, my enemy, and
conquer him, and become a good example for all those who seek Your holy name,
which is blessed for ever. Amen."The ruler screamed at her, "I swear by my own
life that if you do not bow to the gods, you are going to die in the worst way,
and I will cut your members with my sword."The elect martyr answered, "O
blasphemer, what life do you have? You should know, you who worship the defiled
idols, that if I pity my body, my spirit will not ascend to heaven and will not
be crowned with the illuminated wreaths."
The ruler ordered that she would be put in prison. When she entered, she
crossed herself and said, "O Most holy, who designs all good matter. All
creation tremble from the fear of Your glory. You are the hope of all those who
repent, and You set all captives free. You are a father to all orphans, and a
judge to all widows. Look at my humility and poverty and save me. Do not forsake
me, my God, for I raised my soul to You and You are my only hope."I, poor
Theophimos, used to deliver bread and water to saint Marina from her nanny
through a little window in prison. She used to write her prayers, and all what
happened to her, and give it to me.While she was praying at night, Archangel
Michael appeared to her with a light brighter than that of the sun, and crossed
her with the sign of the Holy Cross, and all her wounds and pains disappeared.
He said to her, "Have strength, O bride of Christ, the elect saint Marina, for
you are going to have all what you asked for. You are going to face your enemy,
Satan, fight him and overpower him. You are also going to receive the holy
baptism and your spirit is going to rise to the eternal bliss.Marina continued
praying until morning, when the ruler called for her.
When Marina was brought to the ruler, he was exceedingly amazed when he saw
her completely healed from all signs of his torture. He told her that he was
sure then that she was a great magician. She said,"I am not a magician, but I am
a worshipper of Jesus Christ. Now your defiled helpless idols have been
exposed."The ruler was enraged. He ordered to saw her flesh with iron saws, and
to cut her skin with knives. When he thought that she was dead, he ordered his
soldiers to put her body back in prison until she rots. Archangel Michael
appeared to her again, strengthened her, and repeated what he said to her
before. He, then, crossed her, cured her and disappeared
While Marina was praying, a huge fearful dragon came out from one of the
prison corners. It was spitting fire from its nostrils, and was whistling in an
awesome way. When she saw it, Marina was scared, and prayed, "O invisible God,
who tied Satan and untied those who were tied by Satan. Who raises the dead, and
breaks the power of the great dragon. Look at me and have mercy on me so I can
conquer this bad beast with Your power." The dragon came forward towards her. It
opened its mouth and swallowed her. Because Marina’s arms were raised in the
form of a cross when she was praying, this caused the dragon’s stomach to
rupture when it swallowed her. By the grace of God, Marina came out safely, and
the dragon immediately succumbed.
When St. Marina stood again to pray, she noticed the devil coming from the
left corner of the prison. He looked like a man, sitting down and crossing his
arms around his knees. Marina prayed,"My Lord Jesus Christ, Source of wisdom,
King of kings, Eternal Rock. I thank You, my God, for you are a Rock to those
who seek refuge in You, and a Guide for those who travel, and a Wreath for the
virgins. You are the Savior of the world."When she prayed, she held the devil
with her hand. The devil said to her, "Why don’t you listen to the ruler,
Marina, and obey his orders?"She found a hammer, and started to beat the devil’s
head with it. She stepped on his neck and said to him,"Hold it ! you cursed one,
for my God saves me from all sins"When she said that, a bright light came upon
her, and the holy Cross appeared to her with a Dove on top of it. The Dove spoke
and said to her, "Your are blessed, O holy virgin Marina. A crown of light has
been prepared for you, and the doors of Paradise are open, waiting for you."
Next morning, the ruler ordered his soldiers to bring Marina. When they did,
he repeated his orders to her to worship his gods. She refused, and the ruler
gave his orders to tie her to a pole and burn her. They did. Then he ordered
that they tie her hands and legs, and put her in boiling water. When she was in
the water, St. Marina looked up to heaven and said, "O God who dwells in heaven,
I ask You to untie me, and to make this water a baptism for me. Dress me with
the robe of salvation through it. Take away from me the old man and put on me
the new man. Make me, with this baptism, worthy to inherit the life eternal, and
make my faith steadfast."A great earthquake shook the place, Marina’s ties were
loosened, and she immersed herself in the water three times in the name of the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. She came out of the water praising God. A
voice came from heaven, and all the people who were gathered there heard it. The
voice said,"You are blessed, Marina. You were baptized, and became worthy of the
crown of virginity."Many of those who witnessed these events declared their
faith, became Christians and were baptized. The ruler ordered all of them to be
killed. They were beheaded, and gained the wreath of martyrdom.
The ruler was then sure that Marina’s presence conformed a real danger for
his idols and gods. He had but one choice; to behead her. The soldier who was
assigned to that task, took her out of town, and there he told the saint that he
also believed in Jesus Christ. He told her that he saw Christ with His angels.
St. Marina said to him, "For that reason I ask you to wait a little time so I
can pray." He agreed.The elect saint started to pray: "O God, who created heaven
and earth, hear me. I ask You, my God, for every sinner who comes to You
repenting, erase all his sins. Everyone who comes to my alter praying, give him
all what he asks for. Anyone who is presented in a scary court of law, and
mentions my name in confidence, grant him victory over his foes. Anyone who
builds a church in my name, or writes the story of my martyrdom, give him, my
Lord, all what pleases his heart. All sick people who ask You wellness in my
name, grant them soon, if You will, good physical and mental health. Everyone
who comes to my church, or hears the story of my martyrdom, have compassion on
him, O Lord, by forgiving all his sins. Anyone who is afflicted, or who falls in
the hands of those who are cruel and unjust to him, and he asks You in my name,
give him deliverance and relief.
Whomsoever travels in an awful route, whether it be by land or in the sea,
help him, O Lord, and return him to his home safely. The believers who
commemorate my martyrdom, and those who are present in Your holy alter in
remembrance of me, whether they be of the clergy or the laity; remember them, O
Lord, in that Day when they stand in front of You. Judge them not, but rather
give them comfort with Your saints."When Saint Marina finished her prayer, a
great earthquake shook the place, and the Savior appeared to her with his
angels. The elect saint was scared and threw herself in contrition in front of
Him, but the Savior said, "Fear not , O Marina, I came to you to grant you all
what you have asked for. You are blessed because you asked for the sinners who
come to Me repenting. I will give you more than what you asked. Archangel
Michael will protect any church which will have a part of your body. No evil
spirit will be able to approach any place where a part of your body, or a book
of your biography is kept.
Rather, peace and the Spirit of truth will be in that place.Saint Marina,
then, said to the swordsman, "My brother, do now what you are assigned to do."
He refused and said, "I cannot possibly kill the blessed worshipper of Christ."
She answered, "If you do not fulfill what you were ordered to do, you will have
no share with me in the Kingdom of Heaven." Asking God to forgive him, the
trembling soldier, then, beheaded her, and immediately killed himself by the
same sword. The earth was shaking, and many sick and disabled people who were
watching, rushed to her body seeking blessings and wellness, and they obtained
them. Many saw the angels enchanting around the martyr Marina’s body saying,
"There is none like You among gods, O Lord." Many believed and obtained glory
with Saint Marina.As for me, poor Theophimos, I was accompanying the elect Saint
Marina from the beginning to the end. I wrote her biography with all honesty. I
added nothing nor did I cancel anything from it I was the one who took her body
and put it in a casket made of marble, and I put plenty of frankincense and
scents with it. I put the marble casket in the city of Antioch in Pisidia.
Blessed be everyone who commemorates her martyrdom, on the twenty-third day of
the month of Abib. She will be interceding for him on the Judgment Day.May her
prayers and intercessions be with us always. Praised be the Lord forever. Amen.
Source: Orthodox Saints, Spiritual Profiles for Modern
Man July 1 to September 30, by George Poulos. Also,
www.stmarina.org.
|
