The Holy Great Martyr Katherine was the daughter of Konstos, the governor of Alexandria, Egypt, during the reign of Emperor Maximian (305-313). Living in the capital, the center of Hellenistic knowledge, and possessing a rare beauty and intellect, Katherine received an excellent education, studying the works of the greatest philosophers and teachers of antiquity. Young men from the most worthy families of the Empire sought the hand of the beautiful Katherine, but she was not interested in any of them. She told her parents she would marry only someone who surpassed her in nobility, wealth, comeliness, and wisdom.
Katherine’s mother, a secret Christian, sent her to her Spiritual Father, a saintly Elder living in a cave outside the city, for advice. After listening to Katherine, the Elder said he knew someone who surpassed her in everything. “His countenance is more radiant than the shining of the sun, and all of creation is governed by His wisdom. His riches are given to all the nations of the world, yet they never diminish. His compassion is unequaled.”
This description of the Heavenly Bridegroom produced an ardent desire in the soul of the holy maiden to see Him. “If you do as I tell you,” said the monk, “you will gaze upon the countenance of this illustrious man.” In parting, the Elder gave Katherine an icon of the Theotokos with the Divine Child on Her arm and told her to pray with faith to the Queen of Heaven, the Mother of the Heavenly Bridegroom, and she would hear Katherine and grant her heart’s desire.
Katherine prayed all night and was permitted to see the Most Holy Virgin, Who said to her Divine Son, “Behold Thy handmaiden Katherine, how fair and virtuous she is.” But the Child turned His face away, saying, “No, she is ugly and unbelieving. She is a foolish pauper, and I cannot bear to look at her until she forsakes her impiety.”
Katherine returned to the Elder, deeply saddened, and told him what she had seen in the dream. He received her, instructed her in the faith of Christ, admonished her to preserve her purity and integrity, and to pray unceasingly. She then received the Mystery of Holy Baptism from him. Again Saint Katherine had a vision of the Most Holy Theotokos with her Child. Now the Lord looked at her tenderly and gave her a beautiful ring, a wondrous token of her marriage to the Heavenly Bridegroom (this ring is still on her hand).
At that time, Emperor Maximian was in Alexandria for a pagan festival. Therefore, the celebration was exceptionally splendid and crowded. The cries of the sacrificial animals, the smoke and the smell of the sacrifices, the ongoing blaze of fires, and the bustling crowds at the arenas defiled the city of Alexandria. The confessors of Christ also brought human victims who would not deny Him under torture. They were condemned to death in the fire. Katherine’s love for the Christian martyrs, and her sincere desire to ease their sufferings, compelled her to speak to the pagan priest and Emperor Maximian.
The beauty of the maiden captivated the Emperor. Introducing herself, the Saint confessed her faith in the One True God and exposed the errors of the pagans. To convince her of the superiority of pagan wisdom, the Emperor ordered fifty of the most learned philosophers and rhetoricians of the Empire to dispute with her, but the Saint got the better of the wise men so that they came to believe in Christ themselves. Saint Katherine made the Sign of the Cross over the martyrs, and they bravely accepted death for Christ and were burnt alive by order of the Emperor.
Unable to persuade the Saint, Maximian tried to entice her with the promise of riches and fame. Hearing her angry refusal, the Emperor ordered his men to torture the Saint and then put her in prison. The Empress Augusta, who had heard much about the Saint, wanted to see her. She prevailed upon the military commander Porphyrios to accompany her to the prison with a detachment of soldiers. The Empress was impressed by Katherine’s strong spirit, and her face was radiant with divine grace. The holy martyr explained the Christian Faith to them, and they were converted to Christ.
On the following day, they again brought the martyr to the judgment court where, under the threat of being broken on the wheel, she was urged to renounce the Christian Faith and to offer sacrifice to the “gods.” The Saint steadfastly confessed Christ, and she was taken to be tortured on four wheels with sharp iron spikes, but an Angel smashed the instruments of execution, which shattered into pieces with many pagans standing nearby.
After seeing this miracle, Empress Augusta, the imperial courtier Porphyrios, and 200 soldiers confessed their faith in Christ before everyone and were beheaded. Maximian tried again to entice the holy martyr, offering to marry her, and again he was refused. Saint Katherine remained faithful to her heavenly Bridegroom, Christ, and after praying to Him, she laid her head on the block beneath the executioner’s sword.
May her prayers be with us all, amen.
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