The Life of St. Marina

Birth and upbringing

Virgin Mary was born in the small town of Antioch in Pisidia, around the year 270 when the emperor was Diocletian or Claudius Caesar. Her parents belonged to the upper class of the Pisidian region, the father was distinguished and respected by the national priests of the idols, called Aidesios.
Immediately after the birth of Marina, her mother left her life. So the father was forced to entrust her daughter’s upbringing to another woman.

 It embraces the Christian faith

It seems that the woman to whom Aideios had trusted his daughter’s upbringing was Christian. So the little Marina was nurtured early in the new faith of Christ. And at the age of 12
received the Baptism and was counted as a member of the Lord’s Exquisite Lady. With unquenchable interest he wanted to learn everything about Jesus Christ. And all this was created
in her holy desire to bear witness, for her Savior and Redeemer, if He ever considered her worthwhile.
Aesius’s father, when he was informed that he was a Christian, blinded by the fanaticism of his idolatrous religion, hated his own spasm and rebuked his monk.

The lawless plan of the Reich

Marina had been 15 years old. God had not only endowed her with rich mental gifts, but also with a striking bodily beauty. But the proletarian Olyvarus wanted and tried to
get for his wife because he felt in him love for her. He, staring at her, was still dazzled by her bodily beauty and the inner glow of her face. Without
hence delay announced that she decided to take over her protection and soon to make her wife.
The young Christian remained silent, while in her he prayed warmly, asking God to support her and illuminate her so that she would act as it is appropriate to the souls dedicated to Him.
On the insistence of Olyki to respond to his proposal, she answered how impossible she could accept. The surprise surprise was great. In his question why it was impossible,
she received the modest but full of determination and boldness: Because I am a Christian! And only the hearing of the word “Christian” was enough to make the ruler apart.

   The martyrdom of the saint begins

For a short time, the Prosecutor tried to persuade this new Christian to change his mind and accept marriage, giving him honors, glory and glory beside him. But she, assisted
from the Lord, to whom he ceased to pray secretly, insisted on the confession of faith in Jesus Christ.
Then she set her up in court, from which she formally asked under Roman law to know if she was indeed a Christian. Marina also confessed Christianity with generosity and boldness
its property, which surprised the attendees, who saw such a heroism and courage in a young woman!
Because of her confession, she was sentenced to the whiplash sentence. But its endurance and endurance was such that it left amazing prefect, officials and people. Having been raised
her gaze in heaven, ceased to pray, to invoke the Lord’s help and his support to endure with bravery the whips.

The Prosecutor instructed the soldiers to stop flagging and lead them to jail, hoping intimately that maybe after that Marina would be conscious and change attitude.
A few days later, under the command of the Reich, he was brought back to court, where he again confessed faith in Christ and refused to sacrifice to idols. After they hung it, they hunted
its sides with iron nails. The torture was so hard that all the beauty of her youth body vanished. He is then thrown into prison again and left without food
and care.

 

He is tormented by the half-eagle devil

The wicked devil wanted to try to bend the saint himself. Thus, he himself took the form of a great and terrible dragon and snapped forward in front of the Marina.
From his mouth he flames, his wild eyes shimmering, and his tongue was red. As he sneezed, he squeaked irritably, causing terror and confusion,
seeking to scare the martyr and tear her away from her prayer.
But seeing that she did not interrupt her prayer, she was directed against her and opened her mouth in a threatening manner, indicating she wanted to swallow her. And yes, yes
the great martyr became fearful of her fear, but without delay she invoked the salvific name of the Savior Christ. And, the miracle of the miracle, the dragon broke and became inanimate
Marina rejoiced with hymns and victories to God.

The devil was transformed into a human black, with a terrible and nasty appearance, like a black dog. But Marina, fixed as ever in faith, grabbed it by the hair and one
a hammer that was forgotten somewhere, hit him loudly on his head and back and humbled him completely. And while the great martyr began again to pray and praise the Lord, the devil,
dark and ugly rushed against her and screaming threatening to kill her if she did not cease to pray.
And Saint Marina, taking from her prayer new courage against the devil transformed into a man, grabbed him from the hair of his head and whipped him.

He sees celestial imaginations

After this strong light, she broke into the darkroom of her prison, coming out of a Cross, whose top was rising to heaven. Above the Cross crossed a pigeon circularly
clean and slim. The concubine of St. Marina also gives the explanation of the symbolism of the vision: All this meant the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the light, the glory of the Father. The Cross,
the crucified Christ. And the pigeon, the Holy Spirit.

The pigeon came down one moment, approached the cobbled Marina, and said, “Hello, Marina, the logical pigeon of God, because you defeated the evil demon and shattered the enemy.
Hail a faithful and good servant of your Lord, whom you suffered with all your heart and hated every temporary enjoyment. Hail and love, for the day has come to receive the wreath of victory
and come in, as you deserve it, adorned, along with the wise virgins in the marriage of Christ and your king. ”
While Saint Marina listened to these words, another miracle happened to her body: All his wounds healed and the young martyr recaptured the beauty that everyone admired.

Harder martyrs and a blessed end

Olivios, the Prosecutor, seeing the healthy, tried to flatter her in vain. The reign of the Reich reached its climax. So full of anger he orders to
bare the witness, hang her on the wood and burn her body with candles.
Then they filled a large boiler with water, lowered the cobbled great martyr from the wood, tied it firmly and dug her head down into the water to die
by drowning. The witness again prayed earnestly to the Lord and God, so that “an earthquake of great magnitude arose, and again the first pigeon on the ground, holding on to the mouth
crowning. This is the place of fire, and above all, the Cross. ” The martyr came out of the water body, its bonds were dissolved and stood again in prayer, glorifying
God. The pigeon sat on her head, holding the wreath in his mouth, and said to Marina, “I love you, the servant of God. He took courage and took from the right of this great man
wreath “.

By saying this the divine pirate, he flew and sat down on that Cross and addressed the great martyr said loudly, so everyone listens: “Come on, Marina, to the upper monasteries
Prove that, in order to enjoy the crown of incorruptibility in the Lord’s loving tales, rejoice with the saints and rest eternally. ”
This voice, which was heard by many, shocked men and women, many of whom confessed how they were ready to believe and even give their lives for Christ.
The Prosecutor ordered to kill those who had previously confessed faith in Christ.

Olivius, in order to prevent greater evil for the idolatry, broke the court and pretended to be instructed to transfer St. Marina again to prison. In fact,
secretly instructed the head of the guard to take the cowardly great martyr and to decapitate her at the place of the conviction. There the saint, having prayed for the last
once upon the earth, he curled up, and the sword of the people “cut off her head, and wrapped it with the crown of the martyr.”

 

Her holy relics

After her swordfish death, the Christians secretly received the honest relic and buried it with honors appropriate to the witnesses of the faith.
Unknown when exactly moved to Constantinople, since it is true that the year 1230 crusaders of the West carried these remains from its capital
Byzantium in Venice, which the Roman Catholics celebrate on July 17 (the day of the memory of the great martyr and for us the Orthodox).
The cultivated Saint Marina is considered to be the protector of the children and specially for the treatment of those who are sick and stubborn.

Source: Extracts from the book “Agia Marina the Great Martyr”, Publications “Saitis”

http://xristianos.gr/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2160#p2997