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[[Image:Catherine of Alexandria2.jpg|left|frame|St. Catherine of Alexandria]]
===Greek usage (Tone 5Plagal 1)===
===Slavic usage (Tone 4)===
Category
[[Image:Catherine of Alexandria.jpg|right|frame|St. Catherine of Alexandria]]
The holy and glorious [[Great-martyr]] '''Catherine of Alexandria''' was the daughter of the governor of Alexandrian Egypt, Constas, during the reign of the emperor Maximinus (305-313), and she suffered for her Lord in the year 305. Her original [[feast day]] in the Church is either [[November 24]] (and this date is still celebrated by the Slavic) or churches; the Monastery of Sinai and the Byzantine churches commemorate the saint on [[November 25]] (Greek)with the [[Leavetaking]] of the [[Presentation of the Theotokos]].
==Life==
Living in the capital—the centre of Hellenistic knowledge—and possessed of an uncommon beauty and intellect, Catherine received a most splendid of educations, having studied the works of the finest philosophers and teachers of antiquity. Young men from the most worthy families of the empire sought the hand of the beautiful Catherine, but none of them was chosen. She declared to her parents that she would be agreeable to enter into [[marriage]] only with someone who surpassed her in illustriousness, wealth, comeliness, and wisdom.
Catherine's mother, a secret Christian, sent her for advice to her own spiritual father—a [[saint]]ly elder pursuing [[prayer]]ful deeds in solitude in a cave not far from the city. Having listened to Catherine, the elder said that he knew of a youth who surpassed her in everything, such that "His beauty was more radiant than the shining of the sun, his wisdom governed all creation, his riches were spread throughout all the world—this however did not diminish but rather added to the inexpressible loftiness of his lineage." The image of the heavenly [[Bridegroom ]] produced in the soul of the holy maiden an ardent desire to see him. Truth, to which her soul yearned, revealed it to her. In parting, the elder handed Catherine an [[icon]] of the [[Theotokos|Mother of God]] with the [[Jesus Christ|God-Child Jesus]] on her arm and bid her to pray with faith to the Queen of Heaven—the Mother of the Heavenly Bridegroom—for the bestowing of the vision of Her Son.
Catherine prayed all night and was given to see the [[Theotokos|Most Holy Virgin]], who sent her divine Son to look upon the kneeling of Catherine before Them. But the Child turned his face away from her saying, that he was not able to look at her because she was ugly, of shabby lineage, beggarly and mindless like every person—not washed with the waters of holy [[Baptism]] and not sealed with the seal of the [[Holy Spirit]]. Catherine returned again to the elder deeply saddened. He lovingly received her, instructed her in the faith of Christ, admonished her to preserve her purity and integrity and to pray unceasingly; he then performed over her the [[Holy Mysteries|mystery/sacrament]] of holy baptism. And again Saint Catherine had a vision of the Mother of God with her Child. Now the Lord looked tenderly at her and gave her a ring—a wondrous gift of the heavenly Bridegroom.
[[Image:Catherine of Alexandria2.jpg|left|frame|St. Catherine of Alexandria]]At this time the emperor Maximinus was himself in Alexandria for a [[paganism|pagan]] feast day. Because of this, the feast was especially splendid and crowded. The cries of the sacrificial animals, the smoke and the smell of the sacrifices, the endless blazing of fires, and the bustling crowds at the arenas filled Alexandria. Human victims also were brought—because they consigned to death in the fire the confessors in Christ, those not recanting from him under torture. The saint's love for the Christian [[martyr]]s and her fervent desire to lighten their fate impelled Catherine to go to the pagan head-priest and ruler of the empire, the emperor-persecutor Maximinus.
Introducing herself, the saint confessed her faith in the one true God and with wisdom denounced the errors of the pagans. The beauty of the maiden captivated the emperor. In order to convince her and show the superiority of pagan wisdom, the emperor gave orders to gather 50 of the most learned men (rhetoricians) of the empire, but the saint got the better of the wise men, such that they themselves came to believe in Christ. Saint Catherine shielded the martyrs with the [[sign of the cross]], and they bravely accepted death for Christ and were burnt by order of the emperor.
Maximinus, no longer hoping to convince the saint, tried to entice her with the promise of riches and fame. Having received an angry refusal, the emperor gave orders to subject the saint to terrible tortures and then throw her in prison. The Empress Augusta, who had heard much about the saint, wanted to see her. Having prevailed upon the military-commander Porphyry to accompany her with a detachment of soldiers, Augusta went to the prison. The empress was impressed by the strong spirit of St. Catherine, whose face glowed with Divine [[grace]]. The holy martyr explained the Christian teaching to the newly-arrived, and they in believing were converted to Christ.
==Troparion==
:Let us praise the all-lauded and noble bride of Christ,
:the godly Catherine, the guardian of Sinai and its defense,
:and being crowned as a martyr, she now doth ask great mercy for us all.
:Thy lamb Catherine, O Jesus,
:Calls out to thee in a loud voice:
:By her prayers save our souls, since thou art merciful.
==ReferencesReference==
<div class="references-small">
{{note|1}}: ''The Great Horologion''. Holy Transfiguration Monastery, p. 322</div>
==Sources==
* Portions of this article are courtesy of the [http://www.st-catherine.ru/en/ index.php?lang=eng&sitepartid=1 Holy GreatMartyress Catherine of Alexandria] from the website of the Church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr in-the-Fields] ([[OCA]], Moscow) [http://www.st-catherine.ru/en/st-catherine/]* ''The Great Horologion'' (, Holy Transfiguration Monastery), p. 322 (ISBN 0943405084)
==External links==
*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=103382 Greatmartyr Catherine of Alexandria] (OCA)
*[http://goarch.org/en/chapel/saints.asp?contentid=307 Katherine the Great Martyr of Alexandria] ([[GOARCH]])
*[http://www.goarch.org/en/special/listen_learn_share/katherine/learn/index.asp November 25: Feast of the Holy Great Martyr and Most Wise Katherine of Alexandria} ] (GOARCH)*[http://www.comeandseeicons.com/c/inp171.htm Icon and Story of St. Catherine]*[http://www.westsrbdio.org/prolog/my.html?month=November&day=24 The Holy Great-martyr Catherine] (''[[Prologue of Ohrid]]'')
[[Category:Egyptian Saints]]
[[Category:Martyrs]]
[[Category:Saints]]
[[Category:Ante-Nicene Saints]]
[[Category:Byzantine Saints]]
[[Category:4th-century saints]]
[[ar:كاترينا الإسكندرانية]]
[[el:Αικατερίνα, Αγία]]
[[fr:Catherine d'Alexandrie]]
[[mk:Света великомаченичка Екатерина]]
[[ro:Ecaterina din Alexandria]]
