Personalized icon of Christina. Christina's birthday
In the third century A.D. Tire was ruled by the pagan king Urban, who had a beautiful daughter. By an unknown coincidence with the name of the Savior, at birth she was named Christina, but, apparently, this was the will of God, and her fate was predetermined by the Lord himself to serve Him and accept the crown of martyrdom for His glory. The martyrdom of anyone who professed Christianity in those days was inevitable, for the Roman Empire covered most of the lands with its rule, and its emperors were irreconcilable persecutors and exterminators of Christians - confessors and bearers of faith in the One God, in Christ the Savior.
As stated above, Christina was exceptionally pretty, and even when she was still a teenager, many looked at her in the hope of marrying a well-born beauty. However, Urban wanted his daughter to become a pagan priestess, and for this he built a special room, placed gold and silver statues of pagan gods in it, assigned two slave girls to Christina to serve her, and at the same time look after her, and ordered his daughter to constantly burn incense incense in front of the statues of Roman gods.
But it was not for nothing that Christina bore the same name as Christ. While in captivity, being a reasonable and thinking girl, she began to think, looking from the windows of her rich chamber, which became her prison, at the world around her, and unusual thoughts began to come to her. She began to think that there must be Someone Who created the beauty and harmony of this world, and, in all likelihood, it is Someone One. The girl began to ask for it to be revealed to her, Who is He, this Almighty Creator? After all, the silent and soulless figures standing in her room were themselves the creation of human hands, and Who created the world lying around and set into motion the laws according to which the seasons changed, day gave way to night and all living things existed in harmony? She prayed to a God still unknown to her and refused food, except for the most necessary amount of it, not yet knowing that these were the most important components of Christian asceticism - fasting and prayer.
And so, after such labors, an Angel of God appeared to Saint Christ. Calling her the bride of Christ, he gave her instructions in the knowledge of God, which she accepted with all her heart, since she had already thought about it, and through these instructions she now received answers to all her questions about the Divine world order. At the same time, the Angel told her that she would receive the crown of martyrdom from the three tormentors, and strengthened her for the feat, and also, so that she would strengthen her earthly strength after fasting, gave her food.
Delighted and inspired by the angelic visit, Saint Christina continued to pray to the Lord, but already knowing to whom her pure prayers were addressed. Then she broke and crushed the statues of idols and threw them out of the window, and passers-by below collected the fragments, which were now only pieces of precious metals.
When Urban visited his daughter and did not find any statues in her chambers, he asked where they were. The young saint answered his question with silence. Then he turned to the slaves with the question of what was happening here, and they told him what Christina had done with the idols. Urban began to hit his daughter on the cheeks; she remained silent, but then told him that from now on she honors only the One God and professes Christianity.
The enraged Urban ordered to kill the slaves who were in his daughter’s service because they had neglected it - he could not imagine that it was not human, but God’s will to accept the faith of Christ. Realizing that the father would not spare his child, Christina’s mother in tears asked her to renounce, but the saint was adamant even to her mother’s prayers. Then, in order to force the holy daughter to renounce her faith in the One God, Urban convened a court the next day to judge Christina not as his daughter, but as a criminal against the pagan faith. But neither threats nor exhortations gave the desired result, and he ordered her to be tortured by fire and then imprisoned. In prison, the Angel of the Lord again appeared to Saint Christina, healing her from her wounds, and the next morning she was again before the judgment seat completely unharmed. The father considered this to be magic and ordered Saint Christina to be drowned in the sea, tying a heavy stone to her. However, even here, at the command of the Lord, the Angel of God appeared to her, untied the stone and carried it out of the abyss, and the saint walked along the water to the shore. Urban was horrified by this and again considered the salvation of Saint Christina to be witchcraft, despite the fact that the saint constantly testified: all miraculous salvations come only from the Lord according to His holy will, and called on everyone to worship Him.
After all that had happened, Urban decided to execute Christina the next day, but that same night he suddenly died. Another ruler, Dion, was sent in his place. At first, with affectionate appeals to her and promises, he tried to persuade Saint Christina to renounce, but he also failed and, placing a statue of Apollo in front of her, he ordered the girl to be tortured with fire, promising that as soon as she bowed to the statue, the torture would stop. But the saint prayed to the Lord to give her the strength to endure the torment and to crush the statue, and through prayer her statue was crushed, and Dion himself, seeing this collapse, fell dead. Once again Saint Christina was imprisoned, but the news of such a confrontation spread far throughout the area. She then remained in prison for quite a long time, and people began to approach her, wanting to know more about God, Whom she loved and revered; the holy virgin spoke to them about Christ, about the One God, about the Holy Spirit. Those who came to her, hearing her reasonable and kind speeches penetrating into the heart, seeing how much she endured, and at the same time, saved by God, remained unharmed, they believed in the True God, the Life-Giving One. According to Demetrius of Rostov in his “Lives of the Saints,” up to three thousand people then believed through the pious efforts of Saint Christina of Tire.
The third tormentor, Governor Julian, sent to replace the first two, also subjected her to many tortures, but none of them again harmed Saint Christina. Then Julian ordered the saint to be executed by beheading with a sword, and the holy martyr, the ascetic of Christ Christina, finally saw the Lord and was awarded the crown that was martyrdom on earth, and at His Throne a halo of the Light of Transfiguration shone around her head.
The meaning of the icon
The Holy Martyr Christina of Tire in iconography is usually depicted as a young maiden with a stern and beautiful face, framed by locks of hair freely falling on her shoulders. In her right hand, as it should be for iconographic images of martyrs, there is a cross, to which she points with her left hand, as if calling on our spirit to follow Christ, as she once followed.
Everyone has their own measure at each stage of personal knowledge of God, their own capabilities, and every priest today will advise you to take on a test of your strength - it is known that asceticism beyond your strength can lead to despondency, and despondency - to dangerous hesitations and doubts. Today we will not have to go through the trials that befell Saint Christina and other first martyrs, but what the lives of her and other martyrs of the early years of Christianity, the life examples of all our God-pleasers and confessors are an example of, is in the invariable choice of the priority of spiritual life over physical life. And in order to follow this priority, in our time it is not necessary to go to extreme measures, because only a few on earth can do this so selflessly, with such genuine and boundless love for the Lord and joy for Him, as they did.
However, in martyrdom, in hermitage, or any other ascetic self-renunciation of earthly things for the glory of God, the main thing is not suffering. This is only the brightest, paradoxical and illogical as it may seem to someone who is not a believer, evidence of unshakable, living, in spite of everything, love in response to God’s love for us, the love that was shown by Jesus Christ, who allowed Himself to be crucified for us, and about which the Apostle wrote Paul (1 Cor. 13:1–13). Without it, the suffering of sacrifice becomes unnecessary, and what is worse, meaningless. With her, any feat, even the smallest in comparison with the feat of, for example, Saint Christina of Tyre, a feat in the name of the Lord takes on a high meaning, as our Lord Himself speaks of, citing words from the Book of the Prophet Hosea (Hos. 6:6): “Go , learn what it means: I want mercy, not sacrifice?” (Matthew 9:12–13). So we too, through the lives of the saints of the Lord who lived according to His word, learn this sacred mercy as a manifestation of the love for God that saves our souls for God and everything created by His will and mercy.
Martyr Christina lived in the 3rd century. She was born into a rich family. Her father Urvan was the ruler of the city of Tire. At the age of 11, the girl was distinguished by her extraordinary beauty, and many wanted to marry her. However, Christina’s father dreamed of his daughter becoming a priestess. To do this, he placed her in a special room, where he placed many gold and silver idols, and ordered his daughter to burn incense in front of them. Two slaves served Christina.
In her solitude, Christina began to think about who created this beautiful world? From her room she admired the starry sky and gradually came to the idea of the One Creator of the whole world. She became convinced that the voiceless and soulless idols that stood in her chambers could not create anything, since they themselves were created by human hands. She began to pray to the One God with tears, asking Him to reveal Himself. Her soul flared up with love for the Unknown God, she increasingly intensified her prayer, combining it with fasting.
One day, Christina received a visit from an Angel, who instructed her in true faith in Christ, the Savior of the world. The angel called her the bride of Christ and foreshadowed her future suffering. The holy virgin broke all the idols that stood near her and threw them out the window. Christina's father Urvan, visiting his daughter, asked her where the idols had gone? Christina was silent. Then, calling the slaves, Urvan learned the truth from them. In anger, the father began to hit his daughter on the cheeks. The holy virgin was silent at first, and then revealed to her father her faith in the One True God and that with her own hands she destroyed the idols. Then Urvan ordered to kill all the slaves who served his daughter, and gave Christina a cruel scourging and threw him into prison. Having learned about what had happened, Saint Christina’s mother came to her daughter crying, asking her to renounce Christ and return to her father’s beliefs. However, Christina remained adamant. The next day, Urvan called his daughter to trial and began to persuade her to worship the gods and ask for forgiveness for her sin, but he saw her firm and unyielding confession.
The torturers tied her to an iron wheel, under which they lit a fire. The body of the martyr, turning on the wheel, was burned from all sides. She was then thrown into prison.
An angel of God appeared at night, healed her of her wounds and strengthened her with food. Her father, seeing her unharmed the next morning, ordered her to be drowned in the sea. But an Angel supported the saint, the stone sank, and Christina miraculously emerged from the water and appeared to her father. In horror, the torturer attributed this to the effect of magic and decided to execute her the next morning. At night he unexpectedly died. Another ruler, Dion, who was sent in his place, called on the holy martyr and also tried to persuade her to renounce Christ, but, seeing her unyielding firmness, he again gave her over to cruel torture. The Holy Martyr Christina was in prison for a long time. People began to approach her, and she converted them to true faith in Christ. About 3,000 people applied this way.
A new ruler, Julian, arrived in Dion’s place and began torturing the saint. After various torments, Julian ordered her to be thrown into a red-hot oven and shut up in it. Five days later the oven was opened and the martyr was found alive and unharmed. Seeing the miracles taking place, many believed in Christ the Savior, and the tormentors hacked Saint Christina to death with a sword.
Christina lived at the turn of the 2nd–3rd centuries in Tire of Phoenicia under the emperor Septimius Severus (194–211). Her father was a powerful pagan military leader named Urvan. Jealously guarding the dazzling beauty of his daughter, he imprisoned her in a high tower, where she was served by many slaves and she could enjoy all the benefits of luxury and wealth. In this tower, Urvan placed statues of the gods, decorated with jewels, so that his daughter could worship them.
Although the virgin remained locked up, without any connection with the world, the grace of God visited Christina and gave birth in her soul to a desire to know the truth. With her truthful mind, she realized that soulless statues - the creation of human hands - cannot in any way be deities, and, contemplating in the window the beauty of the sky, earth and all the wonders of nature, she came to the conclusion that such a beautiful harmony can be the creation of only one God and Creator, infinitely wise. Then an angel of the Lord was sent to the virgin, instructing her in what she vaguely felt in her heart - in the secrets of the Divinity and creation. Thus, having acquired the light of truth and filled with zealous love for God, Christina devoted her life to fasting and prayer.
When her parents came to visit her and offered to worship idols, she responded with a firm refusal, declaring that she was now following Christ, the true Light who had come into the world. She rejected all her father’s entreaties and asked to give her a snow-white shirt in order to make a spiritual sacrifice to God, the One in Three Persons. Urban fulfilled his daughter’s request without understanding its essence. When Christina was immersed in prayer, an angel appeared, greeting her as the bride of Christ, and announced the trials ahead of her, with which she would glorify the Lord. Before leaving, he marked the virgin with the seal of Christ, blessed her and filled her with heavenly bread.
At night, the saint chopped up all the statues in the tower with an ax and went to distribute the fragments of silver and gold to the poor. Seeing this the next morning, Urvan became terribly angry and ordered Christina’s slaves to be beheaded and her daughter to be scourged. Twelve soldiers flogged the maiden to the point of exhaustion, but Christina, by the power of grace, remained unshakable, confessing Christ and accusing her father. Urvan ordered her to be thrown into prison, shackled in heavy chains, and left. His wife visited the prison in tears to beg Christina to submit and thereby save her life. But these persuasion did not bring results.
The next day, Christina was again tortured. First they tore her flesh, and then tied her to a wheel and hung her over a blazing hearth, but through her prayer the Lord extinguished the flame. Sent back to prison, she received a visit from three angels who brought her food and healed her wounds.
At night Urvan sent five slaves. They grabbed the saint, tied a heavy stone around her neck and threw her into the sea. But even here the angels came to the aid of the martyr: they untied the stone, and Christina walked on the waters as if on dry land. A shining cloud descended from heaven - and Christ appeared, dressed in precious royal robes and surrounded by a host of angels who glorified the Lord with songs and filled the air with the delicate fragrance of incense. Fulfilling the saint’s desire, Christ Himself baptized her in the waters of the sea, and then entrusted her to the Archangel Michael, who escorted Christina to land and to her parental home.
Having discovered that the girl had survived despite all the attempts to kill her, Urvan ordered her to be beheaded the next day. But that same night he died in a tragic manner.
The post of Urvan was taken by the new magistrate Dion. Having familiarized himself with the case, he called the saint and ordered her to be tortured. She stood firm. Then he ordered her hair to be cut off and paraded naked throughout the city to cover her with shame. The next day, the martyr pretended to agree to fulfill Dion’s demand and wanted to bow to the statue of Apollo. Arriving at the temple, she prayed to the true God and ordered the statue to walk forty steps. However, even such a miracle did not convert Dion. Then the saint, calling on the name of God, overturned the statue and broke it into pieces. Three thousand pagans, witnesses of the miracle, turned to Christ.
Dion did not survive such a defeat and soon died, and his place was taken by a new ruler, Julian. He imprisoned the saint in a red-hot furnace. The martyr spent five days there, during which she sang hymns of praise to the Lord along with the angels. Then the ruler ordered her to be thrown into a ditch full of wild animals and poisonous reptiles, but even there no evil touched the servant of God: the asps curled up at her feet, as if wanting to bow to her, and the snakes gently wiped the sweat from her forehead. Only Julian turned out to be more ferocious than the predatory creatures, and persisted in hatred of the martyr. He ordered her breasts to be cut off, from which blood and milk gushed out, and then her tongue to be torn out. After all the torment, two warriors pierced the saint’s heart and side with spears, giving her the crown of incorruptible victory and eternal bliss in the contemplation of the Heavenly Bridegroom.
After the imminent death of the tyrant, one of Christina’s relatives, who was converted thanks to her miracles, laid to rest the saint’s body in a church erected in memory of her.
From a book published by the Sretensky Monastery publishing house.
Compiled by Hieromonk Macarius of Simonopetra,
adapted Russian translation - Sretensky Monastery Publishing House
Our online store presents the icon of Christ the Martyr (Saint Christina).
The icon of the Martyr Christina depicts a saint who lived in the third century. Her father Urvan was the ruler of the city of Tyre. In her childhood she was a very beautiful girl. Her father wanted to make her a priestess. By the will of her father, she was placed in a special room where there were many gold and silver idols. The daughter was ordered to burn incense in front of the idols.
Being alone, the girl often began to wonder who could have created this beautiful world. This is how she came to the idea of the One Creator of the whole world. She realized that man-made idols could not do this. Christina turned with prayer to the One God so that he would reveal himself.
And then one day an Angel visited Christina, who told her about true faith in Christ, the Savior of the World. He foreshadowed her future torment. After the vision, Christina threw out all the idols that were in her room. She remained silent to her father’s question about the idols, and only after calling the servants did he learn the truth. The father began to hit his daughter in the face, she was silent for some time, but soon revealed her faith in the True God. After this, all of Christina’s servants were killed, and she was scourged and thrown into prison. The mother came to prison and with tears asked to renounce the Lord. The next day, Christina came to her father for trial. Persuasion and requests to renounce had no effect on Holy Christina.
She was tied to an iron wheel, under which a fire was lit. Christina's body slowly turned and was burned on all sides. After this she was thrown into prison.
At night, God's Angel appeared. He healed her body of wounds and nourished her with food. Seeing her alive and well, her father ordered her to be drowned in the sea. But the Angel supported her. The stone sank, and Christina came out, alive and unharmed, to her father. The father attributed this to the effect of magic and decided to execute her the next morning. But he did not survive that night and died.
Dion came to his place, he tried to persuade Christina to renounce, but still to no avail. After that, he gave her to severe torture. Saint Christina was imprisoned for a very long time. People began to come to her in secret. About three thousand people were converted to the true faith in Christ.
After Dion came a new ruler, Julian. With new tenacity he began to torment Saint Christina. After severe torture, she was thrown and locked in a hot oven for five days. After the door was opened, she appeared before the people alive and unharmed. After this, many believed in Christ. Saint Christina was hacked to death with a sword.
The Martyr Christina, whose memory is celebrated today, lived in the 3rd century. Her father dreamed that she would be a priestess, but she, contemplating the beauty of the world, came to the idea that there is One God, and was miraculously instructed by an angel in the faith of Christ.
Saint Christina was born into a rich family. Her father Urvan was the ruler of the city of Tire. At the age of 11, the girl was distinguished by her extraordinary beauty, and many wanted to marry her. However, Christina’s father dreamed of his daughter becoming a priestess. To do this, he placed her in a special room, where he placed many gold and silver idols, and ordered his daughter to burn incense in front of them. Two slaves served Christina.
In her solitude, Christina began to think about who created this beautiful world? From her room she admired the starry sky and gradually came to the idea of the One Creator of the whole world. She became convinced that the voiceless and soulless idols that stood in her chambers could not create anything, since they themselves were created by human hands. She began to pray to the One God with tears, asking Him to reveal Himself. Her soul flared up with love for the Unknown God, she increasingly intensified her prayer, combining it with fasting.
One day, Christina received a visit from an Angel, who instructed her in true faith in Christ, the Savior of the world. The angel called her the bride of Christ and foreshadowed her future suffering. The holy virgin broke all the idols that stood near her and threw them out the window. Christina's father Urvan, visiting his daughter, asked her where the idols had gone? Christina was silent. Then, calling the slaves, Urvan learned the truth from them. In anger, the father began to hit his daughter on the cheeks. The holy virgin was silent at first, and then revealed to her father her faith in the One True God and that with her own hands she destroyed the idols. Then Urvan ordered to kill all the slaves who served his daughter, and gave Christina a cruel scourging and threw him into prison. Having learned about what had happened, Saint Christina’s mother came to her daughter crying, asking her to renounce Christ and return to her father’s beliefs. However, Christina remained adamant. The next day, Urvan called his daughter to trial and began to persuade her to worship the gods and ask for forgiveness for her sin, but he saw her firm and unyielding confession.
The torturers tied her to an iron wheel, under which they lit a fire. The body of the martyr, turning on the wheel, was burned from all sides. She was then thrown into prison.
An angel of God appeared at night, healed her of her wounds and strengthened her with food. Her father, seeing her unharmed the next morning, ordered her to be drowned in the sea. But an Angel supported the saint, the stone sank, and Christina miraculously emerged from the water and appeared to her father. In horror, the torturer attributed this to the effect of magic and decided to execute her the next morning. At night he himself unexpectedly died. Another ruler, Dion, who was sent in his place, called on the holy martyr and also tried to persuade her to renounce Christ, but, seeing her unyielding firmness, he again gave her over to cruel torture. The Holy Martyr Christina was in prison for a long time. People began to approach her, and she converted them to true faith in Christ. About 3,000 people applied this way.
A new ruler, Julian, arrived in Dion’s place and began torturing the saint. After various torments, Julian ordered her to be thrown into a red-hot oven and shut up in it. Five days later the oven was opened and the martyr was found alive and unharmed. Seeing the miracles taking place, many believed in Christ the Savior, and the tormentors hacked Saint Christina to death with a sword.
