Holy Martyr Tatiana

Life

Tatiana was a Roman of very illustrious parents. A Christian and a deaconess at the church. After the death of Emperor Heliogabalus, Emperor Alexander reigned in Rome, whose mother Mamaea was a Christian. The emperor himself was wavering and indecisive in faith, because of which he kept in his palace statues of Christ and Apollo, and of Abraham and Orpheus. His chieftains persecuted Christians even without the emperor's command. When they brought the virgin Tatiana to torture, she prayed to God for her tormentors. And behold, their eyes were opened, and they saw four angels around the martyr. Seeing this, eight of them believed in Christ, for which they too were tortured and killed. They continued to torture Holy Tatiana: they flogged her, cut off her flesh, scraped her with iron, and thus all disfigured and bloodied they threw her in the evening into the dungeon so that the next day they might again subject her to new torments. But God sent His angels to the dungeon, and they encouraged her and healed her wounds, so that Tatiana appeared before her tormentors every morning completely healthy. They threw her before a lion, but the lion fawned around her and did her no harm. They cut off her hair, thinking, according to their impious mind, that some sorcery, some magical power was hidden in her hair. Finally, they brought her out, together with her father, and beheaded them both with a sword. Thus ended her earthly life around the year 225, and this heroic virgin was crowned with the immortal wreath of glory, who had a weak female body but a manly and soldierly spirit.

From the Hymn of Praise

Do you mourn youth of body? O be reasonable!Youth that passes—is it worth mourning, judge!There is one youth, youth in eternity,This is true youth, youth without old age,