Holy Great Martyr Katherine in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

 

 

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

“Katherine was Wise and a Virgin, and a Martyr by the sword, O beautiful triad!” These verses of the synaxarion reveal the gifts with which Katherine won Heaven and acquired such a great place in the firmament of the Church. This is not about the so-called natural gifts, which all people on earth have to a greater or lesser extent. Although the Saint, as her synaxarion notes, was indeed endowed with these as well – for she had rare physical beauty and was a genius and modest in moral character – yet by the grace of God and her free will she acquired the spiritual gifts, with which alone one is sanctified in God and enters the Kingdom of Heaven. And spiritual gifts are those that come to light when a person becomes aware of the gift of God that He gave him in Holy Baptism, that is, when he feels that he has become a member of Christ and tries to activate his new life in Christ by keeping the commandments of Christ.

The Church of Saint Katherine in Kampos on the Sacred Island of Tinos

Kampos, one of the few fertile valleys of the sacred island of Tinos, is a settlement with a population of a few hundred people with great historical significance. This is where Saint Pelagia was born in 1752, the daughter of the priest Nikephoros Negrepontis, who died a few years after her birth. Pelagia, whose secular name was Loukia, was raised in Kampos by her mother until the age of 12, when life's difficulties forced her mother to send her daughter to her native village of Tripotamos to be taken care of by her sister. At the age of 15, Loukia became a novice at Kechrovouni Monastery, where her other aunt was a nun, and eventually was tonsured with the name Pelagia. It was here that the Mother of God appeared to her over three consecutive nights urging her to uncover her sacred icon in the place indicated by her, which indeed she discovered in the field of Doxara on January 30, 1823. 

November: Day 25: Teaching 2: Holy Great Martyr Katherine

November: Day 25:* Teaching 2:
Holy Great Martyr Katherine
 
(The Betrothal of the Christian Soul With Christ)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Virgin Katherine, commemorated today, was renowned for her wealth, intelligence, and beauty. The paganism in which she had been raised did not satisfy her with either its beliefs nor its customs. Many sought her hand, but she refused, declaring that she would only marry a suitor who was as accomplished as she was in both education and appearance. A certain Christian elder learned of this and, entering into conversation with her, told her of a suitor who incomparably surpassed her in both wisdom and beauty. She asked if she might see him. And so, praying before an icon of the Mother of God with the Eternal Child, which the elder had given her, she fell asleep and saw in a dream the Queen of Heaven and Her Divine Son. No matter how hard she tried to discern Him, He averted His face from her, saying that she was unworthy of His gaze. As soon as morning came, Katherine told the elder her dream and her sorrow. He gave her detailed instructions in the faith, and she was baptized. Returning home, she prayed for a long time, fell asleep, and again saw the same vision. But Jesus Christ, looking mercifully upon her, said to His Most Pure Mother: "Now I desire that she be My bride." The Mother of God took her hand, and the Savior placed a precious ring on her finger. Awakening, she was amazed to find the ring on her hand, and now she thought only of remaining faithful to the Heavenly Bridegroom.

Prologue in Sermons: November 24

 

A Lesson for the Literate

November 24

(Commemoration of the Holy Great Martyr Katherine)*

By Archpriest Victor Guryev

There have been instances where some literate and skilled readers of the divine books abused their knowledge and brought ruin upon themselves and others. Such individuals, usually infected with pride, began to consider conversation with their Orthodox neighbors too low and retreated to other proud souls like themselves — the teachers of the schismatics. There, naturally, due to inexperience, they quickly became infected with the latter's false teachings and then, returning from them, suddenly began to blaspheme the Orthodox Church. Thus, instead of finding in them, as knowledgeable people, true friends, children, and protectors, our Mother Church found only evil enemies and persecutors. Brethren, learn to read the Scriptures! Is this how you should act? Look around. Look at the lives of the saints, and you will see that the more knowledge they acquired, the more firmly they held their faith and the more concerned they were with spreading it, rather than selling it out. Here is one such example.

November: Day 25: Teaching 1: Holy Great Martyr Katherine

November: Day 25:* Teaching 1:
Holy Great Martyr Katherine
 
(Lessons From Her Life:
a. External Merits Do Not Matter, and
b. The Need for Patience)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The Holy Great Martyr Katherine, whose memory is celebrated today, came from a royal family and lived in Alexandria; she was distinguished by her wisdom and beauty. When the time came for her to marry and many wished to marry her, she said to her relatives: "If you find me a young man who would be equal to me in nobility, wealth, beauty and learning, then I will marry him." But such a young man was not found. One day her mother brought her to a hermit, a Christian priest, her spiritual father, asking him to give her good advice. The hermit, seeing her wisdom, said to her: "I know a young man who surpasses you in everything: His beauty is brighter than the sun, His wisdom governs the whole world, His wealth is inexhaustible, His nobility is ineffable. He has no earthly father; He was born miraculously from the Most Holy Virgin, Who, being immortal in soul, was taken up after Her death and resurrection from the dead with soul and body to heaven, where the angels worship Her as the Queen. If you want to see this Youth, then fulfill my commands." The hermit gave Katherine an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos with the Eternal Infant and told her to spend the whole night in prayer before the icon: "Pray with faith," he added, "and you will see the face of the Son of this Most Holy Mother." When she came home and spent the whole night in prayer, fell asleep from fatigue, she dreamed that the Queen of Heaven was standing before her and holding the Infant, from Whom the sun's rays emanated. But Katherine could not see the face of the Infant - He turned His bright face away from her. When the Mother asked the Son to look at the maiden, praising her beauty, the Child said that she was ugly, crazy and wretched, that she should go to the elder who would teach her what she should do to see the face of the Child. In the morning, Katherine went to the elder and asked for his help and advice. The elder enlightened her with the true faith and granted her Holy Baptism. Returning home and standing in prayer before the icon, she fell asleep and saw that the Child looked at her mercifully and said to the Mother: "Now she is as rich and wise as she was poor and foolish before. I want her to be My incorruptible and eternal bride." Then the Child placed a wondrous ring on her hand. Waking up, Katherine saw the ring on her hand and was inflamed with love for the heavenly Bridegroom.

Features of Monastic Life in the Life of the Holy Great Martyr Katherine (St. Theophan the Recluse)

Features of Monastic Life in the Life of the Holy Great Martyr Katherine

By St. Theophan the Recluse

(A Homily Delivered in a Convent of Tambov on November 24, 1861)

For those celebrating in honor of Saint Katherine, it is best to engage in the features of the life of the Great Martyr. For you and me, sisters, this is all the more fitting since the life of Saint Katherine is, in its main features, a complete depiction of monastic life. I do not make any stretch in this application. See for yourself. Here is the icon of Saint Katherine in front of you! She kneels before the Mother of God, holding in her arms the Infant Savior, who gives Saint Katherine a wedding ring. This is the most important moment of her life - becoming a bride of the Lord. But, as you know, it was preceded by a desire and search for something better, and followed by martyrdom. The desire for the best led the great martyr to the Lord. Having united with the Lord, she was led into the feat of martyrdom and crowned with His crown. These are the main features in the life of Saint Katherine. The same main moments are in your life, if you go through it as you should.