Almost all people on the planet know that the day of the Great Martyr Tatiana is celebrated on January 25, therefore, it does not go out of date. From historical information it is known that the Christian church name Tatiana means organizer. The father gave this name to the girl because he hoped that she would arrange her life differently, with the help of Christ. Currently, many different temples, churches and monasteries have been built in honor of this shrine. This day is also widely celebrated by students and, of course, Orthodox Christian believers. Dear Brothers and Sisters, we will be very glad if you subscribe to our VKontakte group, there you will find even more prayers, icons and other interesting information, here is the address link - Orthodox group! We are also pleased to remind you that on the pages of our church store you can find all possible Orthodox goods!
The childhood and youth of Saint Tatiana
Tatiana was born into a family of nobility who lived in Rome. From many testimonies it is known that the parents of the Blessed Girl occupied a certain place in the city, therefore, they were considered significant in society and at the same time were initiated into the secrets of the Christian Orthodox faith. It is known that Saint Tatiana was raised with special care, since her parents believed that their daughter would play an important role for the Almighty in later life. That is why, from a young age, Tatiana, who would later become the Great Martyr, learned the basic basics of Christian piety.
She once said that being unquestioning and faithful to the Almighty in her youth was extremely difficult, since there were some dangerous tasks that required certain feats to be performed. It is also important to note the fact that Saint Tatiana lived through the times of persecution and murder of Orthodox believers, that is, her youth fell at the beginning of the 2nd century, the period of the Nativity of Christ. That is why, observing the life situation of Orthodox Christian believers, the future Holy Great Martyr Tatiana, as a baby, absorbed the concept of persistent faith in the Almighty. Therefore, from a young age I asked the Almighty for strength so that over the years I would not stray from my chosen path. The Almighty did not refuse and fulfilled all her requests.
On the day she came of age, the young girl renounced all the worldly blessings that life in a wealthy family promised her and went to the temple in order to devote the rest of her life to serving the Almighty. It was during this period of her life that the great martyr refused to marry and thereby chose the path of a certain bride of Christ; therefore, she remained virgin throughout her life. That is why it is believed that the main feat of the Holy Great Martyr Tatiana is virtue and chastity. Dear Friends, we remind you that it is easy to buy an icon of Tatiana on our pages!
Prayer
O holy martyr Tatiano, bride of your dear husband Christ! To the Lamb of the Divine Lamb! The dove of chastity, a body fragrant with suffering, as if it had clothed her in a royal robe matched to the face of heaven, now rejoices in eternal glory, a minister of the Church of God since the days of her youth, observing chastity and loving the Lord above all the blessings of the Lord! We pray and ask you: listen to our heartfelt prayers and do not refuse our prayers, grant purity of body and soul, breathe love for divine truths, lead us on a virtuous path, ask God for angelic protection, heal our wounds and ulcers, youth will protect , gives a painless and comfortable old age, will help in the hour of death, remember our pains and give joy, visit us who are in the prison of sin, instruct us to speedy repentance, light the flame of prayer, do not leave us orphans, but by glorifying your suffering, we offer praise To the Lord now and always and unto ages of ages. Amen.
How to pray to Saint Tatiana and in which churches is the icon located?
In the temple where the girl turned in order to choose the path of Christ's bride, the church shepherd served. It was he who, over time, turned his own attention to faith in the Almighty and the hard work of the young future martyr, so after some time it was this Shepherd who invited her to lead the rank of deaconess. Tatyana accepted the honorary title with great joy and placed enormous responsibility on her shoulders. After her ordination to the rank of deaconess, the martyr participated in almost all the services that took place in the church. With the receipt of a new rank, the range of responsibilities expanded, and from that very moment it was Tatyana who was responsible for preparing Orthodox believers for the sacrament of baptism, and then she helped conduct the sacred rite. Without complaint or fatigue, the holy martyr Tatiana preached words about the Almighty, and also did missionary work, visited nearby hospitals and showed by her own example the fulfillment of the divine commandments, which speak of love for one’s neighbor. It was from the moment she accepted the rank of deaconess that the holy martyr Tatiana became a kind of example for Orthodox Christian believers of that time.
Meaning and how the icon helps
From historical information it is known that around 222 Alexander became the ruler of the Roman Empire, but almost every person knew that his power was, so to speak, nominal, but in fact the state was led by the tormentor and opponent of the Christian Orthodox faith, mayor Ulpian. It was during this period of history that the persecution of believers and pilgrims began in Rome; it is known that those who were caught suffered the most severe torture and other reprisals. Naturally, in the year 222 from the Nativity of Christ, the followers of the Roman mayor Ulpian noticed the sincere faith in the Most High and Merciful, and the service of the martyr, so they grabbed her and took her to the place of sacrifice, that is, to the pagan idol Apollo. It was there that the martyr Tatiana was demanded to recognize Apollonius as God and make a sacrifice to him. However, the young girl did not make such a decision and began to offer a prayer to the Almighty. At the same moment, incredible tremors passed through the earth, as if an earthquake had begun. After such events, the statue of the pagan idol of Apollo was scattered. At that time, many ministers died because the ceiling of the building collapsed. Thus, we can say that Holy Jesus Christ heard the prayers of the martyr and helped her.
Such an act aroused the anger of the Roman guards, so they tortured Saint Tatiana, and subsequently deprived her of an eye, and witnesses of that time claim that the martyr was inflicted with a large number of terrible torments. However, the Roman guards could not break their faith in the Almighty, since Tatiana offered prayers directed to Jesus Christ throughout all her torment. At the same time, the Most Holy One did not ask to punish the martyrs, but asked to enlighten them in such a way that true faith in the Almighty would be revealed to them. And this time Jesus Christ heard the prayer of the martyr, and her martyred Roman guards were able to see the angels coming to the holy martyr Tatiana. It was at that moment that the martyrs of the shrine, and there were about 8 of them, were extremely amazed by such an act, as a result of which they threw themselves at Tatyana’s feet, begging her for forgiveness of their sins, and also to confess to Christ the Most High. It was for such acts that the Roman guards suffered a terrible martyrdom.
Troparion
Tone 4
Following the Lamb and the Shepherd, the lamb of the word Tatian, you were not afraid of the mental beasts, but armed with the sign of the cross, you brought them down to the end, and you entered into the Heavenly fence , and remember us too, the much-wise martyr of Christ. Translation: Having followed the Most Pure Lamb and the Shepherd, spiritual lamb Tatiana, you were not afraid of mental wolves, but, armed with the sign of the cross, you finally overthrew them and you entered the Heavenly fence, where you remember us, wise martyr of Christ.
The life story of Saint Tatiana
The next day, the ruler, together with other guards, came up with other torments for the martyr. Initially, her body was exposed at the sacrifice site and beaten, and then the guards were ordered to cut her body with razors. Witnesses of that time claim that the Roman guards quickly got tired of carrying out new tortures on the martyr; it seemed as if some unknown force was deflecting all the blows from the girl, directing them to the body of the guards. Before night fell, the holy martyr Tatiana was placed in prison, but throughout the night the girl offered prayers directed to the Almighty until the first dawn.
Early in the morning, when she was brought to trial, everyone present there saw that Saint Tatiana did not show the slightest trace of the terrible torture to which she had been subjected earlier. On this day, the woman was forced to make a certain sacrifice to the goddess Diana, and again Tatyana refused and offered prayers to the Almighty. The Almighty again heard the prayers of Saint Tatiana, and the statue of the goddess Diana turned to ashes from a lightning strike directed from heaven.
The guards, rulers and other tormentors were confused and at the same time angry, so they imprisoned the woman until the next day. Next, the holy martyr was taken into the arena, where there was a wild lion. Thus, the torturers wanted the woman’s body to be torn to pieces in front of not only the public, but also Orthodox believers. However, the animal was unable to harm Tatyana in any way and, in some way, began to lick the shrine’s feet and ask her to stroke it. When the audience roared, the rulers decided that in the cage, by chance, instead of a wild animal there was a tame one, then it was decided to remove it from the arena, but the guard who tried to do this died on the spot, because the wild lion tore him into small pieces.
Opponents of the Orthodox Christian Faith wondered what kind of torture must be subjected to Tatiana in order to deprive her of life and faith in the Almighty? They tried all their means, but could not do anything. Around the year 206 from the Nativity of Christ, the tormentors of the shrine made a decision and sentenced the holy martyr Tatiana to death by beheading. Since many saw what was happening to his daughter, Tatiana’s father admitted that he professes the Christian faith, they tortured him, and they also decided to execute the father along with his daughter according to the same principle. Therefore, we can say that the martyr Tatiana survived a large number of trials, but at the same time she did not reject the Almighty, which is why she is the most popular and widely used icon in the Orthodox Christian Church.
Tatiana's Day and January 25, St. Tatiana's Day
The icon of the Holy Great Martyr Tatiana is found in almost every church all over the world. However, Orthodox believers and church ministers in the Eastern Church believe that the Martyr Tatiana enjoys popular veneration and is close to them in spirit.
In Russia, Tatyana is currently the patroness of education, enlightenment and, of course, students, which is why in Russia Remembrance Day of the Shrine and Student Day are celebrated on the same day - January 25. Students of today believe that she helps them pass the exam and is a kind of heavenly patroness for each of them. Therefore, they turn to her before a session or exam to ask for help in mastering certain disciplines, as well as to protect themselves from evil spirits.
It is important to note that if you look into historical information, you can find out that various temples, churches and monasteries that bear the name of the Great Martyr Tatiana were built from 1990 to 2000.
Tatiana Church in Moscow
The university house church in the name of the holy martyr Tatiana was opened and consecrated in 1791. The parishioners of the Tatyana Church included professors and numerous students of the University. It was here, in the Tatyaninsky Church, that Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol, historians Sergei Solovyov and Vasily Klyuchevsky, and many other prominent people of the Russian Empire were buried. Tatyana's Church burned during the fire of 1812. It was restored and re-consecrated in 1837. At the same time, a large image of the holy martyr Tatiana was placed on the facade of the temple. After the revolution, by decree of the People's Commissariat of Education in 1919, the temple was closed like many other university house churches. The temple was destroyed, the interiors were destroyed, and the premises were turned into a club, and later into a theater. In January 1995, the temple was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Church of the Great Martyr Tatiana, 2016. Photo by Yulia Makoveychuk
Today, the home church of the Holy Martyr Tatiana is one of the largest Moscow parishes, which conducts active missionary activities and social service. The temple was restored; in 1998, with the blessing of the Patriarch, the iconostasis of the Church of St. Seraphim of Sarov from New York was transferred to the church. Also, one of the most valuable relics of the Tatyana Church is the reliquary with particles of the relics of the holy martyr Tatyana and St. Philaret of Moscow. Two particles of relics from the right hand of the holy martyr Tatiana (kept today in the St. Michael's Cathedral of the Holy Dormition Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery) were transferred to the university church in 1995. One of the particles is placed in the icon, the other in the ark located near one of the choirs.
What to give Tatyana for her name day?!
This question is asked by many Orthodox Christians who are tired of thinking about how to come up with an original gift for a Christian with the name Tatyana, especially if many are tired of standard and banal gifts in the form of silver spoons, bells and books. An excellent option and always relevant will, of course, be to buy an icon of Tatiana the Saint, but it may be that a lot of icons have already been purchased, so we offer you a very original and modern gift that absolutely any birthday girl will like - this is a slipper of St. Spyridon of Trimifuntsky made of 925 sterling silver with blackening, gilded or enamel, you can buy Spiridon slippers extremely inexpensively and easily on our pages!
Partisan Tanya
According to statistics, the name Tatyana was the first most popular name in the country throughout the 20th century. In the 50-60s, there were an average of seven girls named Tatyana per school class. Every sixth woman in the country was called Tatyana. And the foreigners who visited the country with advice from Tatyana made their heads spin.
It is likely that such popularity of the name was associated not only with the novel in verse, but also with another event - the feat of eighteen-year-old Komsomol member Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.
In October 1941, tenth-grader Zoya joined the sabotage and reconnaissance group of the Western Front headquarters, which was tasked with “smoking the Germans out” of their warm apartments. The Komsomol members of the group were to burn down ten villages occupied by the Germans. In one of them, in the village of Petrishchevo, Volokalamsk region, Zoya was captured. To her executioners, Zoya, who dreamed of entering a literary institute and probably loved Pushkin, called herself Tanya. Or maybe the priest’s granddaughter simply remembered the life of Saint Tatiana. The girl was brutally tortured, tortured for a long time and hanged naked with a sign on her neck saying “house arsonist.” The image of “Tanya,” who continued to threaten her enemies with vengeance, entered the annals of history thanks to an article by Pyotr Lidov. The note “Tanya” was published on January 27, 1942 in the newspaper “Pravda”, and Zoya (Tanya) herself for many years became a symbol of the heroism shown by man in the Great Patriotic War for many Soviet citizens.
Dozens of works of art, poems, songs, the one-act opera “Tanya”, the ballet “Tatyana”, monuments throughout the country, including the Partizanskaya metro station, and even a poem by the children's poetess Agnia Barto were dedicated to “Partisan Tanya”. It is not surprising that parents named their children after the hero of modern times.
According to statistical tables, until 1993 the name Tatyana did not leave first place in the ranking of the most popular names in the country. But with the collapse of the Soviet empire, its heroes fade into the background. The name Tatyana, while remaining among the top ten popular names in Russia, today occupies only seventh place. Today, many people fortunately associate this name not only with Tatyana Larina or Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, but with a saint whose life amazes with the depth of faith.
