Saint Irina was born in the end of the first century in Mygdonia. It was a time when Christians were persecuted and painfully died for their faith. The future preacher of Christianity was the daughter of the Thracian ruler of Mygdonia, Likinia. At first the girl was a pagan, like her parents. But later she adopted Christianity, for which she suffered in the beginning of the second century. Great-Martyr Irina is the patroness of missionaries. Now they turn to her in prayers to strengthen faith in persecution, in temptations.
Signs of Christ
Holy Great Martyr Irina before the baptism bore the name that her parents gave her, Penelope. In historical summaries it is said that the girl was distinguished by unearthly beauty. The father of the soul did not see in his child. When Penelope turned 6 years old, he built for her a luxurious country palace. In it the girl lived together with the teacher, who was called Kariya, and the girls. The girl did not need anything: every whim was performed by the servants of the ruler. Every day Penelope was visited by a teacher - the elder Apelian. He taught the girl to various sciences. In addition, Apelian was a Christian (secret). He told his student about Christian virtues and the teachings of Christ.
When Penelope was 12 years old, her father decided to marry her. It was then that 3 birds flocked into the girl's room, in their beak there was an interesting burden. The first bird was a dove. He left an oil branch on Penelope's desk. The second bird - the eagle - gave the girl a flower wreath, the crows left in her room a small snake. Penelope was very surprised when she discovered such "surprises". But her teacher, Apelian, immediately understood the meaning of these signs. He explained that the dove personified the virtues of Penelope because of which she would receive God's grace in Baptism. For this, the Creator will crown it in his Kingdom with a wreath of glory. And the raven, who brought Penelope to the serpent, foreshadowed her the persecutions and sorrows that the girl will have to experience for the love of Christ.
Adoption of Christianity
After three birds appeared in the room of Penelope, and Apelian explained the meaning of these signs, the girl asked her father for 7 days to meditate. During this time she had to choose her fiancé. But instead of reflecting on the future of family life and choosing a wife, Penelope decided to be baptized. The apostle Timothy and his disciple Paul conducted a rite of sacred baptism. The girl adopted Christianity and changed her name. Now her name was Irina. After a while she publicly called herself a Christian. Licinius - the father of Penelope - was enraged by this behavior of his daughter and ordered to throw it under the hooves of running wild horses. However, not a single horse caused harm to the girl. On the contrary, one of the horses trampled her father. However, Saint Irina loved Lycinia very much, so she began to pray for him. Soon her father was resurrected. After this event, Lycini and all his grandees believed in Christ. They all accepted Baptism, becoming Christians. Likini left the ruling post and together with his wife moved to the palace of his daughter to serve God.
The torments of St. Irene
After the adoption of Baptism, Saint Irina moved to the house of her teacher Apelian. There she prayed day after day to the Lord, read the Holy Scripture and observed a strict fast. In the afternoon the girl did not at all eat food, only in the evening she allowed herself a little bread and water. Irina slept too little; A bed for her was the usual floor or ground. So Saint Irina spent 3 years in Mygdonia. During this time, the girl suffered because of the persecution of the changing rulers of the city. Almost every ruler tried to force Irina to worship the pagan gods. But the girl was unshakable. Then Zedekii threw it into the ditch, which was filled with poisonous snakes, and left it there for 10 days. But the snakes did not bite Saint Irina, but the angel of God supported her when she was in the ditch. Seeing this, Szedeky ordered the saw to saw the girl with a saw, but her point was dulled when the saw was brought to Irina. And this did not stop the formidable ruler. He ordered to tie the girl to the wheel of the mill. But even then the Lord preserved the life of his chosen one: the water did not flow to the mill wheel. Thousands of people, seeing such miracles, renounced paganism and accepted Christianity. And when Zedekiy once again expressed his indignation, the people of the city beat him with stones. The son of Savah came to replace the cruel ruler. He decided to avenge his father and gathered a huge army against the townspeople. But the holy Great Martyr Irina read a prayer, and the army of Savakh along with his ruler became blind. After the incident, Sabah began to ask forgiveness from the girl, praying for healing. The generous Irina forgave him, restored his sight to him. But Savah broke the promise and subjected the girl to another torment. This time he ordered to drive in her feet nails, on his shoulders to live a heavy bag of sand and in this form to lead the city. Throughout the difficult journey, the angels accompanied and supported Irina. And Savakh, surprisingly residents of Mygdonia, suddenly died.
Miracles of Christ
During her stay in Mygdonia, Saint Irina preached the Christian faith and worked many miracles. With the help of prayer, she healed the sick, cast out demons and cleansed the lepers. And one day the girl created a real miracle: she resurrected the deceased youth, whom the parents mourned. Later Irina moved from Migdonia to Kalliope, thence to Mesembria. In every city of Thrace, where Irina was, she preached Christianity. But here, too, there was torture. City rulers were aggressive towards the teachings of Christ and his follower. They tried to burn the girl on a red-hot lattice. But the Lord saved his chosen one from death. The greatest miracle with St. Irina took place in the city of Mesembria. The ruler of the city - Prince Savory - ordered to cut off the girl's head. And his order was executed. And after they buried the holy martyr outside the city. But the Lord wanted Irina to continue preaching Christianity, so she resurrected her. The Almighty ordered his follower to return to Mesembria. The inhabitants of the city could not believe their eyes: before them was the dead Irina. After the incident, Prince Savory and his people believed in the Lord God of Christ, having received Baptism. It was so hard for the great martyr Irina to accustom people to the true faith.
The Last Days of Saint Irina
Saint Irina of Macedonia died in the city of Ephesus. The girl foresaw her death. A few days before her death, Irina, along with her teacher, the elder Apelian, went outside the city, into one of the mountain caves. Having entered there, Irina ordered her companions to close the cave entrance with the help of a heavy stone. Here she died in prayers. It happened on May 5. On the 4th day, Christians came to the cave to take away the body of Saint Irene. But when they rolled off the stone, they saw that there was no one there. People realized that the girl's body was taken to heaven by the Almighty. During his stay at Ephesus, the follower of Christ continued to preach Christianity. Thanks to her, many people believed in God and accepted Baptism. By the way, in Ephesus the girl was transferred from MiGdonia to the cloud. In some sources it is said that Saint Irina preached the Gospel among the Slavic people, and was burned in Solun.
Temples
In Tsargrad, several beautiful temples were built in memory of the follower of Christ. In Pokrovsky (Russia, Moscow) you can find the temple of St. Irina. The chapel of the holy martyr was added in 1635 to the parish church of St. N. Wonderworker. In 1790-1792 a church was erected, which has chapels of the holy martyrs Irina, Catherine. The temple in the people began to be called "Pokrovskaya Irina the Martyr". In 1891 the church was rebuilt and significantly expanded. During the revolution of 1917 the church was closed, and the building itself was partially destroyed. And only in 1992 the church was returned to the holy building. Now the temple is the only one in Moscow, consecrated in honor of Saint Irina. Now it is full of life. At the church, a Sunday school is open, where theology is taught, a library, computer classes, a film library are created. But not this is the famous Pokrovsky Church of St. Irina, but a beautiful incense, which is called "Irinin". Here the father was able to create a laboratory where he studied ancient recipes for the preparation of fragrant compounds. The fragrance of the "Irynina" incense simply fascinates the parishioners. The church in honor of St. Irina can also be found in Volgovo (40 km from St. Petersburg). This village is small, as, indeed, the church itself. Now in Volgograd, works are underway to reconstruct and restore it. In the future, it is planned to open a museum of Orthodox culture, there are plenty of exhibits and materials for it.
The Church of St. Irene in Istanbul
But the most magnificent church of St. Irene is in Istanbul (Turkey). However, it is not dedicated to Irina of Macedonia, but to the great martyrs of Sofia and Irina of Egypt. It is not only the most ancient and beautiful temple of the city, but also a visiting card of a large metropolis. The Byzantine church is located in the center of Istanbul - Sultanahmet district. The church was erected in the IV century on the site of the ancient temple of Aphrodite. Originally, the holy building was considered the main church of Constantinople. In 532 the temple was burned, and in 548 it was rebuilt under the holy Emperor Justinian. In 740 the church of St. Irene was badly damaged by the earthquake. In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottomans, but the temple was decided not to be converted into a mosque. From the 16th to the 18th century, the Byzantine church was used to store weapons, and in 1846 it was turned into an archaeological museum. In 1869 the temple was transformed into the Imperial Museum, and in 1908 - the military. Today the Byzantine temple performs the functions of the concert hall due to its impressive dimensions and excellent acoustics. In 2000, Faruk Saras - a famous Turkish couturier - organized a model show there, which dedicated the history of the Ottoman Empire. The Istanbul Church of St. Irina is unique in that it has been preserved almost unchanged. It is visited by thousands of tourists, a larger percentage of whom are Christians.
What helps St. Irene
During the years of her missionary work, the holy martyr Irina was able to convert more than 10,000 pagans into Christians. Not only ordinary people, but also rulers of different cities were included in their number. The icon of Saint Iryna of Macedon is located in almost every Orthodox church. They address her to ask for health, vitality, family well-being and confidence. The memory of the holy martyr Irina is celebrated on May 5 (the day of her death). On the new style - May 18. In honor of the icon of St. Irina was built manor in Moscow, which later went to Naryshkin. Many are patronized by Saint Irina. What helps she is? The Holy Great Martyr protects against various kinds of misfortunes. The prayer of Saint Irina helps to strengthen family relations. The saint also helps to gain confidence and achieve success in his career.
Icon of Saint Irene of Egypt
The first Christian missionaries had a hard way. Saint Irina of Egypt, along with other followers of Christ, carried the good news to the Egyptian people. She preached the Christian faith and worked miracles. Many Egyptians at that time were baptized and believed in the true God. However, the sermon of Saint Irina did not last long. In one of the Egyptian cities she was seized together with another missionary - Saint Sophia. After numerous tortures, the girls were beheaded. Years passed, and only during the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great, the relics of Saints Sophia and Irina were transported to Constantinople. Subsequently, a temple was built in Byzantium in honor of the martyrs. The icon of St. Irene of Egypt helps a person throughout his life. The holy martyr stands up for the people in their sorrow, thanks the Almighty for the joy sent down. The prayer of St. Irene of Egypt keeps from troubles, troubles, helps to avoid sinful deeds. The patron saint protects people from evil, disease. For all Orthodox people before the Lord God prays holy martyr Irina. Its icon is a great value for a person. Priests recommend to have it in the house to those to whom it patronizes. Orthodox holiday in memory of St. Irene of Egypt is celebrated on September 18 (new style - October 1).
The meaning of the name Irina
In translation from the ancient Greek language, the name means "peace, peace." A girl named Irina has such qualities as independence, mobility, purposefulness, firmness, cheerfulness. Name Irina "gives" her owner an analytical mind and a great sense of humor. In the adult life, Irina devotes a lot of time to her career. Often they become excellent leaders due to a combination of inner poise, judgment and a sense of humor. Irina is a good diplomat and psychologist. They feel the interlocutor well and are able to "tune in to his wave." As a rule, girls named Irina are not limited to the household. They prefer to combine career and family.
Orthodox birthday of Irina
- October 1 - a feast in memory of St. Irene of Egypt. On the same day - the celebration of the icon of the Mother of God "Healer", which helps the seriously ill.
- May 18 - a feast in memory of the holy great martyr Irina of Macedon. On the same day - the celebration of the icon of the Mother of God "The Inexhaustible Chalice", which heals from alcoholism, drug addiction.