On the 17th of July, the Orthodox Church Commemorates the Holy Martyr MARINA

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God, and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

On the 17th of July, the Orthodox Church Commemorates
the Holy Martyr MARINA.

Apolytikion (Dismissal) Hymn. Fourth Tone

O LORD JESUS, unto Thee Thy lamb doth cry with a great voice:
O my Bridegroom, Thee I love; and seeking Thee, I now contest,
and with Thy Baptism am crucified and buried. I suffer for Thy
sake, that I may reign with Thee; for Thy sake I die, that I may live
in Thee: accept me offered out of longing to Thee as spotless
sacrifice. Lord, save our souls through her intercessions, since
Thou art great in mercy.

Kontakion Hymn. Third Tone

WITH most fair virginity wast thou made comely, O virgin, and
with bright and spotless crowns wast thou crowned alos, , O
Martyr, reddened with martyric blood, O famed Marina, wast
vouchsafed to shine forth brightly with wondrous healings, while
receiving from the right hand of thy Creator thy triumph’s sacred
rewards.

Born in Pisidian Antioch of pagan parents, Marina only heard of the Lord Jesus at the age of twelve, of His Incarnation of the Most Pure Virgin, His many miracles, His death by crucifixion and His Glorious Resurrection. Her little heart was inflamed with love for the Lord, and she vowed never to marry and, further, desired in her soul to suffer for Christ and be baptized with the blood of martyrdom. Her father hated her for her faith, and would not regard her as his daughter. The imperial governor, Olymbrius, hearing of Marina and learning that she was a Christian, at first desired her for his wife. When Marina refused, he ordered her to sacrifice to idols. To this, Marina replied: "I shall not worship nor offer sacrifice to dead idols, lacking the breath of life, who have no awareness of themselves and are not even aware of our honoring or dishonoring them. I will not give them that honor that belongs to my Creator alone. Then Olymbrius put her to harsh torture, and threw her into prison all wounded and bleeding. Marina prayed to God in the prison, and, after she had prayed, there appeared to her first the devil in the form of a terrible serpent, which twined itself about her head. When she made the sign of the Cross, the serpent split asunder and disappeared. Then she was bathed in heavenly light; the walls and roof of the prison disappeared and a Cross was revealed, resplendent and lofty. On the top of the Cross was perched a white dove, from which there came a voice: "Rejoice, Marina, thou dove of Christ, daughter of the Sion that is on hight, for the day of the joy is drawing near!", and Marina was healed by the power of God of all her wounds. The demented judge tortured her the next day by fire and water, but Marina endured it all as if not in her own body. She was finally sentenced to death by beheading. At the moment of her death, the Lord Jesus appeared to her, accompanied by Angels. She was beheaded in the time of the pagan Roman emperor Diocletian, but remains alive in soul and in power in heaven and on earth. One of her hands is preserved in the Monastery of Vatopedi on the Holy Mountain. Even in Albania, in the Langa mountains overlooking Lake Ochrid, there is a Monastery of Saint Marina with some of her Wonderworking holy relics. Numerous miracles have been wrought in this Monastery and still are, witnessed not only by Christians but also by Muslims. The Turks have such a veneration for this holy place that they have never laid hands on either the place or the Monastery’s possessions. At one time, a Turk was caretaker of the Monastery. [Resources: The Prologue from Ochrid]

__________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
– Saint John Chrysostomos
+ + +

With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George