St. Christina the Great Martyr

St. Christina the Great Martyr

(Commemorated July 24)

St. Christina was born into a rich family, in the 3rd Century A.D. in Tyre, and her father was the Governor of Tyre.
Christina’s pagan father, Urban, had her live in a tower that he built to hide her beauty.

She was exceptionally beautiful, and many men asked for her hand in marriage. Christina's father, however, wanted his daughter to become a pagan priestess. He placed her in a special room where he had set up many gold and silver idols, and he ordered his daughter to burn incense before them. She also had servants to help her sacrifice.

In her solitude, Christina wondered who had created this beautiful world. From her room, she was delighted by the stars of the heavens, and she constantly thought about the Creator of the world. She was convinced that the voiceless and inanimate idols in her room could not create anything, since they themselves were created by human hands. She began to pray to the One God with tears, entreating Him to reveal Himself. Her soul blazed with love for the Unknown God, and she intensified her prayer all the more, combining it with fasting.

Finally, God sent her an angel to instruct her in the teachings of Jesus, and she devoted herself to prayer and fasting. The angel called her a bride of Christ and told her that she would suffer for her faith.

When she told her parents of the One God, her father told her to worship many so as not to offend any gods.

Thus by the inclination of God she beheld the heavens through a window, and reflecting on the creations of the Creator, she smashed the idols.

In visiting his daughter Christina’s father, Urban, asked her where all the idols had disappeared. Christina was silent. Then, having summoned the servants, Urban learned the truth from them.

Her father in a rage, began to slap his daughter’s face. At first, the holy virgin remained quiet, but then she told her father about her faith in the One True God, and that she had destroyed the idols with her own hands.


Urban gave orders to kill all the servants in attendance upon his daughter, and he gave Christina a fierce beating and threw her in prison. Having learned about what had happened, Christina’s mother came in tears, imploring her to renounce Christ and to return to her ancestral beliefs. But Christina remained unyielding. On another day, Urban brought his daughter to trial and urged her to offer worship to the gods, and to ask forgiveness for her misdeeds. Instead, he saw her firm and steadfast confession of faith in Christ.

He had her flesh lacerated, and it was as though she didn’t feel it. When a torture wheel with fire was brought, she prayed, and the fire scattered and burned the pagans. She was left in prison to starve but angels fed and healed her.

She was thrown into the sea with a stone around her neck, and by this means the Lord Jesus baptized her there in the sea, and was rescued by a divine angel and placed on dry ground. Then she found herself again in the city.

In terror, her father imputed this to sorcery and decided to execute her in the morning. Her father had condemned her to beheading. Instead, that night he himself died suddenly.

A few days later, the next governor, Dion, summoned the holy martyr and also tried to persuade her to renounce Christ, but seeing her unyielding firmness, he again subjected her to cruel tortures. The holy martyr was for a long while in prison. People began to flock to her, and she converted them to the true faith in Christ.

Dion then had her boiled in oil, but again God protected her. Dion took her to Apollo’s temple, where she prayed that the statue go out of the building and then be smashed, and it happened in this way.

Dion died that night of distress and 3,000 souls believed in Christina and were converted.

The next governor, Julian, had her burned in a furnace for 5 or 6 days, but she walked out unharmed. She was then cast before poisonous and deadly snakes, but again she was unharmed.

Then it was ordered that the breasts of the Saint be cut off, from which it is said milk gushed forth instead of blood.

After that they cut out her tongue. The Saint then threw her severed tongue into Julian’s face, and he was instantly blinded.

Julian gave two soldiers orders to stab her with their swords, and she gave up her spirit and her blessed soul was delivered into the hands of God, and she received the unfading crown of victory.

Julian went home and died with great suffering.

(Apolytikion in 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 a spotless sacrifice. Lord, save our souls through her intercessions, since Thou art great in mercy.”


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