What is the power of the miraculous icon of Saints Cyprian and Ustinya

Brief Lives of the Martyrs

During the reign of the Roman Emperor Decius (III century AD), a strong magician, Cyprian, was known in Antioch. He selflessly served sorcery and gave himself up to the power of the dark emperor. For this he was given a regiment of demons as servants. At the end of his earthly life, the demons promised to make Cyprian himself a prince. Of course, the demons lied - fiery hell was prepared for them, and all the lies were aimed only at dragging away as many human souls as possible.

At the same time, the Virgin Justinia lived in the city. She was raised in a pagan family, but after learning about Christian teaching, she accepted the truth and turned her parents to the Savior. The girl devoted herself to serving the Lord, refusing to marry.

History of the holy righteous

A certain young man Aglaid fell in love with Justinia and wanted to marry her, but the girl, being faithful to her intention to keep herself pure for the sake of the Lord, refused him. Then the lover asked Cyprian to help him. Cyprian, with the help of demons, began to influence the girl: bad thoughts came to her, carnal passion was inflamed, she was tempted by flattery and deceit. But Justinia reflected all the demonic spells with fasting, prayer and the sign of the cross. The demons were put to shame and fled in shame.

Cyprian decided to take revenge on the Christian woman and sent a pestilence to the city and the girl’s house, but she trusted in the Lord, prayed, and the enemy attack stopped by the grace of God. People thanked and praised the Savior. Cyprian realized how wrong he was, repented, confessed to the bishop and gave all his books to magic to burn them. The former sorcerer received Baptism and changed his life. A year later he was ordained a priest and then a bishop. The pious life of St. Cypriana can be compared to the lives of the great Orthodox saints.

During the reign of Emperor Diocletian, persecution of Christians began. Cyprian and Justinia were imprisoned. Then Cyprian was hanged and his body was planed, and Justinia was beaten in the eyes and lips. After these torments, it was decided to throw the saints into a boiling cauldron, but the Lord protected them and they suffered no harm. As a result, Cyprian and Justinia were sentenced to death by sword.

Seeing how the innocent were brutally executed, the warrior Theoktist declared that he was also a Christian, and he was executed along with the martyrs. The Hieromartyrs Cyprian, Justinia and Theoctistus were executed in 304. The memory of the saints is venerated on October 15.

Holy Martyr Justinia (Justina)

At this time there lived a pious girl named Justinia. She was born into a pagan family, her parents bowed to idols. But she did not want to follow them. One day a deacon walked past their house. He preached about Christ, and Justinia became interested. She came to a Christian church and liked it there. She began to visit the temple often, and then managed to convert her parents to the Christian faith. the Sacrament of Baptism with them .

At that time, one rich young man was captivated by the beauty of Justinia and decided to take possession of her at any cost. He tried to seduce her with affectionate speeches and compliments, but the girl was impassive. Then the young man asked her to marry him, but Justinia declared that she would not marry anyone, because she had become engaged to Christ. Captivated by carnal passion, the young man waylaid the beauty and pounced on her, intending to take possession of her body by force. But she beat him, screamed, and her servants came running to the scream and drove the hooligan away.

Temptation of Justinia

Desperate, the young man came to Cyprian, asking him to cast a spell on the rebellious girl. He replied that it was as simple as shelling pears, and sent the demon of fornication to the virgin. When Justinia prayed at night, a demon attacked her, tempting her with lustful thoughts and lust of the flesh. At first the girl was very embarrassed, because she had not experienced this before, but, understanding the work of the evil one, she began to pray even more fervently, making the sign of the cross. The demon was afraid of the cross and ran away.

When the demon returned to Cyprian, he asked him if he had completed his task. But the demon replied that he was afraid of an unknown sign. Then Cyprian sent a stronger demon to her. But Justinia was able to defeat him too through prayer and fasting . Then Cyprian decided to send a demon in the form of Justinia to the young lover. But when he saw and called him by the name of Justinia, the demon ran away, frightened even by the name of the saint.

After this, Cyprian himself came to Justinia in the guise of a woman and began to seduce her with clever speeches that life with a man is not a sin. But Justinia was able to understand the wickedness of the demon and drove him away.

Cyprian's last attempts to tempt Justinia

Then Cyprian forced the demon to carry the young man through the air to Justinia’s house. But when the demon saw the saint, he fled, abandoning the young man, and he fell. Cyprian, seeing that all his efforts were in vain, began to take revenge on the girl. He brought on her a serious illness. But she did not despair of this either, but consoled her mother, who was crying next to her.

Cyprian also brought diseases to the livestock, and then to all the inhabitants of the city. They persuaded the girl to marry the young man in love so that everyone would not die because of her. But she prayed, and the illnesses passed.

Everyone began to hate Cyprian; he could not calmly appear in the city. Then he said to the devil: “You say that you are omnipotent, but you yourself were afraid of the sign that Justinia performed! I will no longer believe and serve you! After such words, the devil attacked the sorcerer and beat him. Then Cyprian remembered the sign of Justinia, crossed himself and shouted: “God of Justinia, help me!” .

The devil ran away from the sign of the cross as if scalded. Cyprian continued to be baptized, and the devil, standing nearby, threatened that he would defeat him anyway.

Description and meaning of the holy image

The saints are depicted on the icon together, in full height or waist-deep. Saint Cyprian is depicted in priestly vestments. He holds the Gospel in his left hand and blesses with his right. Justinia is depicted either in dark clothes, like a nun, or in a cloak. There are also options for depicting the martyr in a red, blue and green cloak. In most images she holds a cross.

There is also an icon on which saints are depicted in the center, and on the sides there are descriptions of their lives. There is an icon that depicts several periods at once, in particular, suffering and execution. So, the canvas combines:

• the torment of the saints in a cauldron, while the Angel of God covers them;
• beheading, execution;
• transference of the souls of martyrs by an Angel to the Lord.

Orthodox icons give grace to those who pray, saints hear appeals and help people. The opinion that an icon brings good luck to the house is a mistake and blasphemy. An icon is an image of saints; it cannot be perceived as a talisman.

Belt icon

Full size icon

Icon with Life

Fighting lust

The well-behaved Justinia, preparing for bed, felt a strong excitement in her body. The flame enveloped her consciousness for a long time, that same young man arose in her memory, and with him thoughts of a carnal nature. The virgin was surprised and ashamed, feeling the spread of filth. She soon realized that this obsession was coming from dark forces, and turned to prayer and the sign of the cross for help.

• Confounded by his fortitude and divine omnipotence, the demon fled from the house, and an all-conquering peace reigned in the soul and limbs of the girl. The demon, returning to Cyprian, told about his failure.
• The sorcerer repeated his attempts, sending more powerful demons, but nothing could disrupt the power of sincere prayer and severe fasting, which the maiden indulged in all this time.
• Soon a demon appeared before her in the form of an honest woman and tried to find out the advantages of a chaste life. The unclean spirit, having heard the answer, intended to use cunning speeches to disturb the virgin from her spiritual balance and referred to some passages from the Holy Scriptures. Justina recognized the “cunning serpent” and stopped the dialogue by resorting to the sign of the cross.
• Cyprian hated the demons because they could not cope with the young maiden. He made several more attempts, even personally tried to break her spirit, but each new threat to chastity was broken against the impregnable walls of prayer before the Lord.
• The sorcerer spread his anger to those around him, relatives and the city, sending ulcers and severe illnesses. When the citizens learned that troubles were coming due to Justina’s resistance, they began to angrily persuade the girl to give in to Cyprian’s wishes. However, the holy virgin reassured people and promised a speedy end to all this suffering.
• Strong prayer helped the city get rid of misfortunes, and Cyprian was disgraced and humiliated. The people glorified God's Son.

Important!
The cause of corruption is considered to be a sinful life, colossal pride and indulgence of one’s own passions. If a person lives righteously, no attack can capture a soul truly committed to the Lord. Believers should not be afraid of damage or the evil eye, because the Power of God protects the one who sincerely accepted the teachings of the Savior, who came and was crucified for man. These adversities recede with constant practice of prayer and fasting.

About evil forces:

• About curses
• About damage, evil eye and conspiracies

Icon of the Holy Martyr Justinia

How does the icon of Cyprian and Ustinya help?

It is important to understand that help is given not by the icon itself, but by the saints and their grace. The disposition of the praying person, his thoughts, repentance, and sincerity are of great importance. A person can venerate an ancient miraculous icon, but not receive help if he came to the image for selfish purposes. And according to true faith, people receive help, protection and healing, even praying in front of modern paper pictures of saints.

Cyprian and Justinia are prayed for in the following needs:

• in case of demonic wiles;
• with sent witchcraft;
• for mental and physical illnesses;
• in the machinations of men;
• for tobacco, alcohol, drug addiction, gambling addiction.

It is important that when asking for help and protection from enemy power, a person himself stops serving demons. To free yourself from harmful influences, you need to keep God’s commandments, go to church, participate in the sacraments, perform a prayer rule, and observe fasts.

The saints are depicted together on the icon.
Prayers and an akathist are composed for the saints. However, there is an opinion that reading the Akathist to Saints Cyprian and Justinia in the fight against evil spirits can sometimes be dangerous. Angry demons can bring down their anger on a person and harm him. Fighting an enemy force on your own without priestly blessing is dangerous. In the case of demonic machinations, you need to consult with your spiritual father, ignoring fear and the proud desire to start the fight on your own. The confessor will determine exactly how to pray and give a blessing for this.

Meaning: what does what is depicted on the icon mean?

Cyprian and Justina are located on the icon together, and stand side by side. But there is also a version of the icon when only one of the saints is located on it.

The meaning of the icon is that the saints depicted on it are protectors from misfortune, damage and all sorts of negative manifestations. Many people pray to ask for help related to magical matters.

Saints are able to protect a person, his home, his family from ill-wishers. They will help you cope with illnesses, resolve conflicts, and make peace with your family after a quarrel.

Stories of miraculous help

There are many cases of help from holy martyrs through the prayers of Orthodox Christians:

1. After an incorrect surgical intervention, a man lost his voice - his ligaments were damaged. It was impossible to restore them. The patient prayed to the saints with strong faith, and a day later his voice returned.
2. The girl, suffering from obsession, went to the holy relics of the martyrs for about 20 years. During her first visit, she screamed and squirmed. The men had difficulty getting her to sit on the bench. But after a few days, visiting the relics, she began to behave more quietly, she did not need outside help to venerate the holy relics.
3. A woman's teenage son has gone missing. The boy did not come home for several days, and organized searches were unsuccessful. The mother prayed before the image of the holy martyrs, and two days later her son was found in one of the hospitals. The boy had a head injury.

The memory of the saints is venerated on October 15

What do they pray for in front of the icon?

People pray, asking for protection from magical forces, evil people and love spells. Prayers allow you to get rid of evil spirits, receive protection from temptations, and enlighten a person who practices black magic, fortune telling, and other similar things.

There are many prayers, but they can only be used with pure thoughts, and in situations where the help of saints is really needed. Any prayer is considered very powerful, but only if you read it from a pure heart.

Prayer is an important ritual used by believers. Each of them has its own meaning, but the goal is one - to be heard by God. While praying, a person should not be distracted by extraneous things. He must think only about his desire, and then it will come true.

Hundreds of people pray to the icon, asking for protection. Saints really only help people with pure thoughts.

Prayer before the icon of Cyprian and Ustinya

Prayer to the Hieromartyr Cyprian

Holy servant of God, Hieromartyr Cyprian, quick helper and prayer for all those who come running to you! Accept this praise from us, the unworthy; ask the Lord God for strength in weaknesses, consolation in sorrows, and everything useful to everyone in our life; Offer your merciful prayer to the Lord, may he protect us from the falls of sin, may he teach us true repentance, may he deliver us from the captivity of the devil and all the activities of unclean spirits and tame those who offend us. Be a strong champion for us against all enemies, visible and invisible; give us patience in temptation and at the hour of our death show us intercession from the torturers at the aerial ordeals; May we, led by you, reach Mount Jerusalem and be honored in the Kingdom of Heaven with all the saints to glorify and sing the holy name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Prayer to the Hieromartyr Cyprian and the Martyr Justina

Oh, holy martyr Cyprian and martyr Justin! Hear our humble prayer. Even though you naturally died your temporary life as a martyr for Christ, you do not depart from us in spirit, always following the commandments of the Lord to teach us and to patiently bear your cross to help us. Behold, boldness towards Christ God and His Most Pure Mothers has been acquired by nature. In the same way, even now, you will be prayers and intercessors for us, the unworthy (names). Be our intercessors of the fortress, so that through your intercession we may remain unharmed from demons, wise men and evil men, glorifying the Holy Trinity: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen.

People suffering from demonic wiles come running to the image of Saints Cyprian and Justinia with prayer, asking for liberation and protection. The martyrs soon hear and help Orthodox Christians. But one should begin the fight against the enemy of the human race only by taking a blessing from the spiritual father.

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The Life and Suffering of the Holy Hieromartyr Cyprian and the Holy Martyr Justina

During the reign of Decius[1], there lived in Antioch[2] a certain philosopher[3] and a famous sorcerer[4], named Cyprian, originally from Carthage[5].
Coming from wicked parents, even as a child he was dedicated by them to the service of the pagan god Apollo[6]. For seven years he was given to sorcerers to learn sorcery and demonic wisdom. Upon reaching the age of ten, he was sent by his parents to prepare for priestly service on Mount Olympus[7], which the pagans called the home of the gods; there were countless idols in which demons lived. On this mountain, Cyprian learned all the devil's tricks: he comprehended various demonic transformations, learned to change the properties of the air, induce winds, produce thunder and rain, disturb the sea waves, harm gardens, vineyards and fields, send diseases and ulcers to people, and generally learned destructive wisdom and evil-filled devilish activity. He saw there countless hordes of demons with the prince of darkness at their head, whom some stood before, others served, others exclaimed, praising their prince, and others were sent into the world to seduce people. There he also saw in imaginary images pagan gods and goddesses, as well as various ghosts and apparitions, which he learned to summon during a strict forty-day fast; After sunset he ate, and not bread or any other food, but oak acorns. When he was fifteen years old, he began to listen to the lessons of the seven great priests, from whom he learned many demonic secrets. Then he went to the city of Argos[8], where, having served the goddess Hera[9] for some time, he learned many seductions from her priest. He also lived in Tavropol[10], serving Artemis, and from there he went to Lacedaemon[11], where he learned various sorceries and obsessions to call the dead from their graves and make them speak. At the age of twenty, Cyprian came to Egypt, and in the city of Memphis[12] he learned even greater sorceries and sorceries. In the thirtieth year he went to the Chaldeans[13] and, having learned stargazing there, completed his teaching, after which he returned to Antioch, having been committed in every crime. So he became a sorcerer, sorcerer and murderer, a great friend and faithful slave of the infernal prince[14], with whom he talked face to face, receiving great honor from him, as he himself openly testified.

“Believe me,” he said, “that I saw the prince of darkness himself, for I appeased him with sacrifices; I greeted him and spoke to him and his elders; he fell in love with me, praised my intelligence and said in front of everyone: “here is the new Zamri[15], always ready for obedience and worthy of communicating with us! And he promised to make me a prince upon my departure from the body, and during my earthly life to help me in everything; At the same time, he gave me a regiment of demons to serve. When I left him, he turned to me with the words: “Take courage, zealous Cyprian, get up and accompany me: let all the demonic elders marvel at you.” As a result of this, all his princes were attentive to me, seeing the honor shown to me. His appearance was like a flower; his head was crowned with a crown made (not in reality, but ghostly) of gold and shiny stones, as a result of which the whole space was illuminated, and his clothes were amazing. When he turned in one direction or the other, the whole place shook; many evil spirits of various degrees obediently stood at his throne. I, too, gave myself entirely to his service, obeying his every command.

This is how Cyprian himself spoke about himself after his conversion.

From this it is clear what kind of person Cyprian was: as a friend of demons, he committed all their deeds, harming people and deceiving them. Living in Antioch, he seduced many people to all sorts of iniquities, destroyed many with poison and sorcery, and sacrificed young men and maidens to demons. He taught many his disastrous sorcery: some to fly through the air, others to swim in boats on the clouds, and others to walk on water. He was revered and glorified by all pagans as the chief priest and wisest servant of their vile gods. Many turned to him in their needs, and he helped them with the demonic power with which he was filled: he helped some in fornication, others in anger, enmity, revenge, envy. Already all of him was in the depths of hell and in the mouth of the devil, he was the son of Gehenna, a participant in the demonic inheritance and their eternal death. The Lord, who did not want the death of the sinner, out of His ineffable goodness and mercy not overcome by human sins, deigned to seek out this lost man, to extract him from the abyss, mired in the depths of hell, and save him in order to show all people His mercy, for there is no sin that can defeat Him philanthropy. He saved Cyprian from death in the following way.

At that time, there lived in the same place, in Antioch, a certain girl named Justina. She came from pagan parents: her father was an idol priest named Edesius, and her mother was called Cleodonia. One day, sitting at the window in her house, this girl, then already of age, accidentally heard words of salvation from the lips of a passing deacon named Prailia. He spoke about the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ - that He was born of the Most Pure Virgin and, having performed many miracles, deigned to suffer for the sake of our salvation, rose from the dead with glory, ascended into heaven, sat down at the right hand of the Father and reigns forever. This sermon of the deacon fell on good soil, in the heart of Justina, and soon began to bear fruit, uprooting the thorns of unbelief in her. Justina wanted to learn the faith better and more completely from the deacon, but did not dare to seek him, restrained by girlish modesty. However, she secretly went to the Church of Christ and, often listening to the word of God, with the influence of the Holy Spirit on her heart, she believed in Christ. Soon she convinced her mother of this, and then led her elderly father to faith. Seeing the mind of his daughter and hearing her wise words, Edesius reasoned with himself: “Idols are made by human hands and have neither soul nor breath, and therefore how can they be gods.” Reflecting on this, one night he saw in a dream, by Divine permission, a wonderful vision: he saw a great host of luminous angels, and among them was the Savior of the world, Christ, who said to him:

- Come to Me, and I will give you the kingdom of heaven.

Rising in the morning, Edesius went with his wife and daughter to a Christian bishop named Ontatu, asking him to teach them the faith of Christ and perform holy baptism on them. At the same time, he related the words of his daughter and the angelic vision he himself had seen. Hearing this, the bishop rejoiced at their conversion and, having instructed them in the faith of Christ, baptized Edesius, his wife Cleodonia and daughter Justina, and then, having communed them with the Holy Mysteries, sent them away in peace. When Edesius became stronger in the faith of Christ, the bishop, seeing his piety, made him a presbyter. After this, having lived virtuously and in the fear of God for a year and six months, Edesius ended his life in holy faith. Justina labored valiantly in keeping the commandments of the Lord and, having loved her Bridegroom Christ, served Him with diligent prayers, virginity and chastity, fasting and great abstinence. But the enemy, the hater of the human race, seeing her life like this, envied her virtues and began to harm her, causing various disasters and sorrows.

At that time, there lived in Antioch a certain young man named Aglaid, the son of rich and noble parents. He lived luxuriously, completely surrendering to the vanity of this world. One day he saw Justina when she was going to church and was struck by her beauty. The devil instilled evil intentions in his heart. Inflamed with lust, Aglaid began to try by all means to gain the favor and love of Justina and, through seduction, to lead the pure lamb of Christ to the defilement he had planned. He watched all the paths along which the girl had to go, and, meeting her, spoke flattering speeches to her, praising her beauty and glorifying her; showing his love for her. He tried to lure her into fornication with a cunningly woven network of seduction, but the girl turned away and avoided him, abhorring him and not even wanting to listen to his flattering and crafty speeches. Not cooling in his lust for her beauty, the young man sent to her with a request that she agree to become his wife.

She answered him:

- My groom is Christ; I serve Him and for His sake I maintain my purity. He protects both my soul and body from all defilement.

Hearing such an answer from the chaste maiden, Aglaid, incited by the devil, became even more inflamed with passion. Unable to seduce her, he plotted to kidnap her by force. Gathering reckless young men like himself to help, he waylaid the girl on the path along which she usually went to church to pray; there he met her and, grabbing her, <...> she hit him in the face and spat on him. Hearing her cries, the neighbors ran out of their houses and snatched the immaculate lamb, Saint Justina, from the hands of the wicked youth, as if from a wolf’s mouth. The rioters fled, and Aglaid returned to his home in shame. Not knowing what to do next, he, with an increase in unclean lust in him, decided on a new evil deed: he went to the great sorcerer and sorcerer - Cyprian, the priest of idols and, telling him his grief, asked him for help, promising to give him a lot gold and silver. After listening to Aglaidas, Cyprian consoled him, promising to fulfill his desire.

“I,” he said, “will make sure that the girl herself will seek your love and feel a passion for you even stronger than you do for her.”

Having thus consoled the young man, Cyprian sent him away reassured. Then taking books on his secret art, he called upon one of the unclean spirits, in whom he was sure that he could soon inflame Justina’s heart with passion for this young man. He reluctantly promised to fulfill this and said proudly:

“This is not a difficult task for me, for many times I shook cities, ravaged walls, destroyed houses, caused bloodshed and parricides, created enmity and great anger between brothers and spouses, and brought many who took a vow of virginity to sin; I instilled in the monks who settled in the mountains and were accustomed to strict fasting, who never even thought about the flesh, lust and taught them to serve carnal passions; I again turned people who repented and turned away from sin to evil deeds; I plunged many chaste people into fornication. Will I really not be able to persuade this girl to love Aglaid? What am I saying? I will soon show my strength. Take this potion (he handed over a vessel filled with something) and give it to that young man: let him sprinkle Justina’s house with it, and you will see that what I said will come true.

Having said this, the demon disappeared. Cyprian called Aglaidas and sent him to secretly sprinkle Justina's house from the devil's vessel. When this was done, the prodigal demon entered there with kindled arrows of carnal lust in order to wound the girl’s heart with fornication and inflame her flesh with unclean lust.

Justina had the custom of offering prayers to the Lord every night. And so, when, according to custom, she got up at three o’clock in the morning and prayed to God, she suddenly felt excitement in her body, a storm of bodily lust and the flame of hell fire. She remained in such excitement and internal struggle for quite a long time: the young man Aglaid came to her memory, and bad thoughts were born in her. The girl was surprised and ashamed of herself, feeling that her blood was boiling like in a cauldron; She was now thinking about what she had always abhorred as filth. But, in her prudence, Justina realized that this struggle arose in her from the devil; she immediately turned to the weapon of the sign of the cross, ran to God with warm prayer and from the depths of her heart cried out to Christ, her Bridegroom:

- Lord my God, Jesus Christ! - behold, my enemies have risen up against me, prepared a net to ensnare me and exhausted my soul. But in the night I remembered Your name and rejoiced, and now when they oppress me, I run to You and hope that my enemy will not triumph over me. For You know, Lord my God, that I, Your servant, have preserved the purity of my body for You and entrusted my soul to You. Save Your sheep, good Shepherd, and do not give them over to be devoured by the beast that seeks to devour me; grant me victory over the evil lust of my flesh.

Having prayed long and earnestly, the holy virgin put the enemy to shame. Defeated by her prayer, he fled from her in shame, and calm again came in Justina’s body and heart; the flame of lust went out, the struggle ceased, the boiling blood calmed down. Justina glorified God and sang a song of victory. The demon returned to Cyprian with the sad news that he had achieved nothing.

Cyprian asked him why he could not defeat the maiden.

The demon, albeit reluctantly, revealed the truth:

“The reason I couldn’t overcome her was because I saw a certain sign on her, which I was afraid of.”

Then Cyprian summoned a more evil demon and sent him to seduce Justina. He went and did much more than the first, attacking the girl with greater fury. But she armed herself with warm prayer and took upon herself an even stronger feat: she put on a hair shirt and mortified her flesh with abstinence and fasting, eating only bread and water. Having thus tamed the passions of her flesh, Justina defeated the devil and drove him away in shame. He, like the first, having accomplished nothing, returned to Cyprian. Then Cyprian called one of the demonic princes, told him about the weakness of the sent demons, who could not defeat one girl, and asked him for help. He strictly reproached the former demons for their lack of skill in this matter and for their inability to ignite passion in the girl’s heart. Having reassured Cyprian and promised to seduce the girl in other ways, the demonic prince took on the appearance of a woman and entered Justina. And he began to talk piously with her, as if wanting to follow the example of her virtuous life and chastity. While talking like this, he asked the girl what could be the reward for such a strict life and for maintaining cleanliness.

Justina replied that the reward for those who live chastely is great and indescribable, and it is very surprising that people do not care the least about such a great treasure as angelic purity. Then the devil, revealing his shamelessness, began to seduce her with cunning speeches:

- How could the world exist? How would people be born? After all, if Eve had remained pure, how would the multiplication of the human race have occurred? A truly good deed is a marriage that God Himself established; The Holy Scripture praises him, saying: “Let marriage be honorable for all and the bed undefiled.”

(Heb. 13:4). And weren’t many of God’s saints married, which the Lord gave to people as a consolation, so that they would rejoice in their children and praise God?

Listening to these words, Justina recognized the cunning seducer - the devil, and more skillfully than Eve, she defeated him. Without continuing the conversation, she immediately resorted to the protection of the Cross of the Lord and placed its honorable sign on her face, and turned her heart to Christ, her Bridegroom. And the devil immediately disappeared with even greater shame than the first two demons.

In great confusion, the proud prince of demons returned to Cyprian. Cyprian, having learned that he had not managed to do anything, said to the devil:

“Could it really be that you, a strong prince and more skilled than others in this matter, could not defeat the maiden?” Which of you can do anything with this invincible girl’s heart? Tell me, with what weapon does she fight you, and how does she make your strong strength weak?

Defeated by the power of God, the devil reluctantly confessed:

“We cannot look at the sign of the cross, but we run from it, because it burns us like fire and drives us far away.”

Cyprian was indignant at the devil for putting him to shame and, blaspheming the demon, said:

“Such is your strength that even a weak maiden can defeat you!”

Then the devil, wanting to console Cyprian, made another attempt: he took on the image of Justina and went to Aglaid in the hope that, having accepted him for the real Justina, the young man would satisfy his desire, and thus neither his demonic weakness would be revealed, nor Cyprian will not be put to shame. And so, when the demon came to Aglaid in the form of Justina, he jumped up in unspeakable joy, ran up to the imaginary virgin, hugged her and began to kiss her, saying:

“It’s good that you came to me, beautiful Justina!”

But as soon as the young man uttered the word “Justina,” the demon immediately disappeared, not being able to bear even the name of Justina. The young man was very frightened and, running to Cyprian, told him about what had happened. Then Cyprian, through his sorcery, gave him the image of a bird and, making him capable of flying through the air, sent him to Justina’s house, advising him to fly into her room through the window. Carried by a demon through the air, Aglaid flew in the form of a bird to Justina’s house and wanted to sit on the roof. At this time Justina happened to look out the window of her room. Seeing her, the demon left Aglaid and fled. At the same time, the ghostly appearance of Aglaid, in which he seemed like a bird, also disappeared, and the young man almost hurt himself while flying down. He grabbed the edge of the roof with his hands and, holding on to it, hung, and if he had not been lowered from there to the ground by the prayer of Saint Justina, he would have fallen, wicked, and broken. So, having achieved nothing, the young man returned to Cyprian and told him about his grief. Seeing himself humiliated, Cyprian was greatly saddened and decided to go to Justina, hoping for the power of his magic. He turned into both a woman and a bird, but before he had time to reach the door of Justina’s house, the ghostly likeness of a beautiful woman, and equally of a bird, disappeared, and he returned with sorrow.

After this, Cyprian began to take revenge for his shame and with his sorcery brought various disasters on the house of Justina and on the houses of all her relatives, neighbors and acquaintances, just as the devil once did on the righteous Job (Job 1:15-19; 2:7). He killed their cattle, struck their slaves with plagues, and thus plunged them into excessive sorrow. He struck Justina herself with the disease, so that she lay in bed, and her mother cried for her. Justina consoled her mother with the words of the prophet David: “I will not die, but I will live and proclaim the works of the Lord.”

(Ps. 118:17).

Cyprian brought disaster not only on Justina and her relatives, but also on the entire city, by God’s permission, as a result of his indomitable rage and great shame. Ulcers appeared on animals and various diseases among people; and, through demonic action, a rumor spread that the great priest Cyprian would execute the city for Justina’s resistance to him. Then the most honorable citizens came to Justina and angrily urged her not to grieve Cyprian any more and to marry Aglaidas, in order to avoid even greater disasters because of her for the whole city. She calmed everyone down, saying that soon all the disasters caused by Cyprian with the help of demons would stop. And so it happened. When Saint Justina prayed fervently to God, immediately all demonic obsession ceased; all were healed of ulcers and recovered from diseases. When such a change took place, people glorified Christ, and they mocked Cyprian and his magical cunning, so that out of shame he could no longer appear among people and avoided meeting even his acquaintances. Convinced that nothing could defeat the power of the sign of the cross and the Name of Christ, Cyprian came to his senses and said to the devil:

- Oh, destroyer and seducer of all, the source of all uncleanness and defilement! Now I have recognized your weakness. For if you fear even the shadow of the cross and tremble at the Name of Christ, then what will you do when Christ Himself comes upon you? If you cannot defeat those who cross themselves, then whom will you tear out of the hands of Christ? Now I have realized what a nonentity you are; You can’t even take revenge! Having listened to you, I, the unfortunate one, was seduced and believed your cunning. Get away from me, you damned one, get away, for I should beg the Christians to have mercy on me. I should turn to pious people so that they will save me from death and take care of my salvation. Get away, get away from me, lawless one, enemy of truth, opponent and hater of all good.

Hearing this, the devil rushed at Cyprian to kill him, and, attacking, began to beat and crush him. Finding no protection anywhere and not knowing how to help himself and get rid of the cruel demonic hands, Cyprian, already barely alive, remembered the sign of the holy cross, by the power of which Justina resisted all demonic power, and exclaimed:

- God of Justina, help me!

Then, raising his hand, he crossed himself, and the devil immediately jumped away from him, like an arrow shot from a bow.
Having gathered his courage, Cyprian became bolder and, calling on the name of Christ, made the sign of the cross and stubbornly resisted the demon, cursing and reproaching him. The devil, standing far from him and not daring to approach, for fear of the sign of the cross and the Name of Christ, threatened Cyprian in every possible way, saying: “ Christ will not deliver you from my hands!”

Then, after long and furious attacks on Cyprian, the demon roared like a lion and left.

Then Cyprian took all his books of magic and went to the Christian bishop Anthimus. Falling at the feet of the bishop, he begged to show him mercy and perform holy baptism on him. Knowing that Cyprian was a great and terrible sorcerer for everyone, the bishop thought that he had come to him with some kind of cunning, and therefore refused him, saying:

- You do a lot of evil among the pagans; Leave the Christians alone, so that you don’t die soon.

Then Cyprian confessed everything to the bishop with tears and gave him his books to be burned. Seeing his humility, the bishop taught him and instructed him in the holy faith, and then ordered him to prepare for baptism; He burned his books in front of all believing citizens.

Having left the bishop with a contrite heart, Cyprian cried about his sins, sprinkled ashes on his head and sincerely repented, crying out to the true God for the cleansing of his iniquities. Coming to church the next day, he listened to the word of God with joyful emotion, standing among the believers. When the deacon ordered the catechumens to go out, shouting: “Go out of the catechumens” [16], some were already leaving, Cyprian did not want to go out, saying to the deacon:

- I am a servant of Christ; don't drive me out of here.

The deacon said to him:

- Since holy baptism has not yet been performed on you, you must leave the temple.

To this Cyprian replied:

- Christ lives, my God, who delivered me from the devil, who kept the maiden Justina pure and had mercy on me; You will not drive me out of the church until I become a perfect Christian.

The deacon told the bishop about this, and the bishop, seeing Cyprian’s zeal and devotion to the faith of Christ, called him to himself and immediately baptized him in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Having learned about this, Saint Justina thanked God, distributed a lot of alms to the poor and made an offering to the church. On the eighth day the bishop made Cyprian a reader, on the twentieth a subdeacon, on the thirtieth a deacon, and a year later he ordained him a priest. Cyprian completely changed his life, every day he increased his exploits and, constantly mourning his previous evil deeds, improved and ascended from virtue to virtue. He was soon made a bishop and in this rank he led such a holy life that he became equal to many great saints; At the same time, he zealously cared for the flock of Christ entrusted to him. He appointed the holy maiden Justina a deaconess, and then entrusted her with a nunnery, making her abbess over other Christian maidens. With his behavior and instruction, he converted many pagans and won them for the Church of Christ. Thus, idolatry began to cease in that country, and the glory of Christ increased.

Seeing the strict life of Saint Cyprian, his concern for the faith of Christ and the salvation of human souls, the devil gnashed his teeth at him and prompted the pagans to slander him before the ruler of the eastern country in that he had disgraced the gods, turned many people away from them, and Christ, who was hostile to the gods glorifies them. And so many wicked people came to the ruler Eutholmius, who owned those countries, and slandered Cyprian and Justina, accusing them of being hostile to the gods, and the king, and all authorities - that they were confusing the people, deceiving them and leading them after himself, disposed to worship the crucified Christ. At the same time, they asked the governor to put Cyprian and Justina to death for this. Having heard the request, Eutolmius ordered to seize Cyprian and Justina and put them in prison. Then, going to Damascus, he took them with him for trial. When the prisoners of Christ, Cyprian and Justina, were brought to his trial, he asked Cyprian:

- Why did you change your former glorious activities, when you were a famous servant of the gods and brought many people to them?

Saint Cyprian told the ruler how he recognized the weakness and deception of demons and understood the power of Christ, of which the demons fear and tremble, disappearing from the sign of the honorable cross, and also explained the reason for his conversion to Christ, for Whom he showed readiness to die. The torturer did not take Cyprian’s words into his heart, but, not being able to answer them, he ordered the saint to be hanged and his body flogged, and Saint Justina to be beaten on the lips and eyes. Throughout the long torment, they unceasingly confessed Christ and endured everything with thanksgiving. Then the tormentor imprisoned them and tried with gentle admonition to return them to idolatry. When he was unable to convince them, he ordered them to be thrown into the cauldron; but the boiling cauldron did not cause them any harm, and they, as if in a cool place, glorified God. Seeing this, one idol priest named Athanasius said:

- In the name of the god Asclepius[17], I will also throw myself into this fire and shame those wizards.

But as soon as the fire touched him, he died immediately. Seeing this, the tormentor was frightened and, not wanting to judge them any longer, sent the martyrs to the ruler Claudius in Nicomedia[18], describing everything that happened to them. This ruler condemned them to be beheaded by the sword. When they were brought to the place of execution, Cyprian asked himself some time for prayer, so that Justina would be executed first: he was afraid that Justina would be afraid at the sight of his death. She joyfully bowed her head under the sword and presented herself to her Bridegroom, Christ. Seeing the innocent death of these martyrs, a certain Theoktistus, who was present there, greatly regretted them and, having inflamed his heart towards God, fell to Saint Cyprian and, kissing him, declared himself a Christian. Together with Cyprian, he was immediately condemned to beheading. So they gave their souls into the hands of God; their bodies lay unburied for six days. Some of the wanderers who were there secretly took them and took them to Rome, where they gave them to a virtuous and holy woman named Rufina, a relative of Claudius Caesar[19]. She buried with honor the bodies of the holy martyrs of Christ: Cyprian, Justina and Theoctistus. At their graves many healings took place for those who came to them with faith. With their prayers may the Lord heal our illnesses, both physical and mental!

Kontakion, tone 1:

Turning from magical art to the wisdom of God to the knowledge of the divine, you appeared to the world as the wisest physician, granting healing to those who honor you, Cyprian and Justina: with her we pray to the philanthropic Lady to save our souls.

Days of celebration

The official day of celebration, recognized by the Orthodox Church, in honor of the memory of His Holiness Chiarian and Ustinha falls on October 15th. On this day, Christians visit churches, pray in front of the icon of the martyrs and remember their good deeds.

Prayer to the holy martyrs in front of the icon

It is necessary to start praying in church or at home in front of the “red” corner. During the reading, you need to constantly cross yourself, sometimes you can sprinkle your forehead with holy water. The text of the prayer from enemies is as follows:

“Oh, most holy martyrs of God, Cyprian and Ustinya! Hear our prayers. Protect from the evil demons that have settled in our souls. Get rid of the magic that destroys our lives. Protect us from troubles and misfortunes. For during your life you dedicated yourself to the Lord, dying for the faith. So become our intercessors, do not let the demon lead us astray from the righteous path. Show us the true path to Christ. We will not stop praying to you. And until the end of our lives we will remember all the good deeds that you have done. Pray before the Lord for our sins, for we repent. Become our wall and amulet from all the evil that was happening in the world! Get rid of witchcraft and magic. May we praise you, O Great Martyrs. And we will glorify your names. Forever and ever. Amen.m

Miracles that occurred through prayers to the saints

The scroll with miracles, recorded by the novices of the Conception Monastery, is kept along with a piece of the relics of the saints. Below is brief information about some of them:

1. One parishioner turned to the icon in prayer when her son suddenly disappeared. For a long time no one could find him, but after communicating with the great martyrs, the young man was found in the hospital, where he was admitted with a serious injury.
2. A four-year-old girl suffered from stomatitis for a long time. The disease tormented the child so much that she could no longer eat. The mother gave the child holy water to drink, bowed before the relics, and the next day the ulcers disappeared by themselves.
3. One day a demoniac was brought to the monastery. She struggled and screamed when they led her to the shrine, but the men were still able to seat the girl next to the relics. A few days later, the demons left the sufferer’s body, and her health improved significantly.

Icons and temples in honor of saints

There are few churches built in the name of the great martyrs. The most famous of them:

• Moscow, Cathedral of the Conception Monastery;
• Cyprus, village of Meniko;
• Germany, Frankfurt am Main;
• Romania, Bucharest;
• Lugansk, Ukraine.

Also in some ancient monasteries you can find pieces of miraculous relics that once belonged to saints. The relics of Cyprian and Ustinya also have a strong protective effect and are capable of repelling evil spirits and demons from a sinful soul.