Saint Marina of Antioch
القدسة مارينا الأنطاكية
In the Orthodox Church, the seventeenth of July is the feast day of Saint Marina the Greatmartyr, who is also called in the West by the name of Margaret. This young late third-century virgin-martyr of the Church in Asia Minor, who was glorified in the persecutions of Diocletian, is particularly venerated by the Holy Orthodox Church in Antioch. (It is necessary to point out that Antioch in Pisidia, which is the town of Saint Marina’s nativity, and Antioch on the Orontes which is the historical seat of the Antiochian Church, are two separate cities, both among roughly half a dozen cities in Asia which were known by the name of Antioch in antiquity.)
Saint Marina [Gk. Μαρἰνα, Ar. Mârînâ مارينا, also L. Margarita] was born during the reign of Emperor Claudius Gothicus, the only daughter of a pagan priest named Aidesios in Pisidia in the region of Kilikia in west-central Asia Minor. Her mother died when she was still an infant, and her father gave her into the care of her nursemaid, who was a Christian and raised Marina in the true doctrines of the Orthodox Faith. In her nursemaid’s care the young maiden developed and excelled in all the virtues: she was quick in mind, curious, understanding, deeply compassionate and faithful to the Living God. Upon reaching maturity Marina declared herself to her father as an Orthodox Christian, and desired to live a life of holy virginity; and upon learning this, her pagan father angrily disowned her.
She was fifteen years old when she was arrested on suspicion of being a Christian. When Diocletian came to power he lost no time selecting officials who detested and zealously persecuted the followers of Christ. The one which he appointed governor in Kilikia, Olymbrios, was no exception – he very quickly began hunting down the faithful and subjecting them to cruel tortures and death if they would not submit to sacrificing to pagan idols. One day Olymbrios happened to catch sight of Marina together with her nursemaid, and seeing her beauty he was seized with a passionate desire. Seeking to make her his wife, he inquired after her name, homeland and faith. Marina answered him truthfully: ‘My name is Marina. I am the offspring of the country of Pisidia. I call upon the Name of my Lord Jesus Christ.’
The governor tried to persuade her to renounce her faith and consent to marry him; when she refused all his offers he became vexed, and gave Saint Marina over to the executioners for torture. The executioners beat her fiercely, and then fastened the pious maiden with nails to a board, and tore at her body with tridents. Olymbrios himself, unable to witness the tortures they were visiting upon her, hid his face in his hands. However, the holy martyr herself would not yield. She was cast into prison, and there heavenly ministers came to her and healed her wounds. The following day, her executioners stripped her and tied her to a tree, and burned her flesh with fire. Barely alive, the martyr prayed: ‘Lord, You have granted me to go through fire for Your Name; grant me also go to through the water of holy Baptism!’
Upon hearing the word ‘water’ from her lips, Governor Olymbrios gave the order to drown the saint in a large cauldron. The martyr besought the Lord that this method of execution should be for her the Mystery of holy Baptism. When the soldiers plunged her into the water, there shone a light and a snow-white dove lit down from Heaven, bearing in its beak a golden crown. The shackles on Saint Marina’s wrists came off her as though of their own accord. The martyr stood up in the fount of Baptism glorifying the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Saint Marina emerged from the fount with her flesh fully healed without any blemish or trace of burning. Amazed by this wonder, the people began to glorify the True God, and by Saint Marina many came to believe. Olymbrios flew into a rage and gave orders to the soldiers to kill anyone who confessed the name of Christ. Fifteen thousand Christians perished under this order, and the Holy Greatmartyr Marina herself was put to the sword. The sufferings of Saint Marina were detailed in an eyewitness account from a man named Theotimos.
The history of the relics of the Holy Greatmartyr is somewhat contested. One account says that they rested in the Panteponteia Monastery of Constantinople up until the sack of that city by Latin crusaders in 1204. According to another source, they were kept in Antioch until the year 908, in which year they were translated to Italy. Today, Saint Marina’s relics rest in a basilica which was consecrated in her honour in 1922: the Agia Marina Church in Thiseio neighbourhood in Athens, near the National Observatory on the Hill of the Nymphs. Saint Marina’s skull was brought to this church – which was founded atop a twelfth-century cave church of the same dedication – in 1966. The holy greatmartyr’s hand was brought to the Vatopedi Monastery on the Holy Mountain, where it is kept to this day. Holy virgin and greatmartyr Marina, fearless and steadfast confessor of Christ’s Holy Name, pray unto Him Who only loves humankind to save our souls!
Apolytikion to Saint Marina, Tone 4:
Your lamb Marina calls out to You, O Jesus, in a loud voice:
‘I love You, my Bridegroom, and in seeking You I endure suffering.
In baptism I was crucified so that I might reign in You,
And I died so that I might live with You.
Accept me as a pure sacrifice,
For I have offered myself in love.’
Through her prayers save our souls, since You are merciful!
Agia Marina Basilica, Thiseio, Athens, Greece
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