Martyr Tatiana of Rome, and those who suffered with her (Jan. 12)

 

The Martyr Tatiana was born into a respected Roman family. Her father, an elected consul, was secretly a Christian and raised his daughter in the Church. St.Tatiana disdained earthly riches and committed herself to being a virgin for Christ and serving those in need.

During the reign of 16-year-old Alexander Severus, Christians were heavily persecuted. St. Tatiana, being arrested, was brought to the Temple of Apollo to offer sacrifice. Through her prayers, an earthquake smashed the idols, and the temple collapsed. The daemon inhabiting the temple fled. Then they tore her eyes out with hooks, but she bravely endured everything, praying for her tormentors that the Lord would open their spiritual eyes. And the Lord heard the prayer of His servant. The executioners saw four angels encircle the saint and beat her tormentors. A voice was heard from the heavens speaking to the holy virgin. 8 men believed in Christ and fell on their knees before St. Tatiana, begging for forgiveness. For confessing themselves Christians they were tortured and executed, receiving Baptism by blood.

Sanding before the wicket judge, St. Tatiana endured many more torments. She was beaten for so long that they had to replace the servants many times over. She was slashed with razors, which caused a fragrance to fill the air. She was hung and scraped with iron claws. No matter how severely she was tortured, through fervent prayer, she was completely healthy and even more radiant and beautiful by the following morning. She was then thrown into an arena where they released a hungry lion on her. The beast did not harm the saint, but meekly licked her feet. As they were taking the lion back to its cage, it killed one of the torturers. They threw Tatiana into a fire, but the fire did not harm the martyr. The pagans, thinking that she was a sorceress, cut her hair to take away her magical powers, then locked her up in the temple of Zeus.

On the third day, pagan priests came to the temple intending to offer sacrifice to Zeus. They beheld the idol on the floor, shattered to pieces, and the holy martyr Tatiana joyously praising the Lord Jesus Christ. The judge then condemned the valiant sufferer to be beheaded with a sword. Her father was also executed with her, because he had raised her to love Christ.