Great Martyr
Great Martyr Marina
III–IV век
Great Martyr Marina (Margaret) of Antioch (d. c. 304) — suffered under Emperor Diocletian in Antioch of Pisidia; daughter of a pagan priest who converted to Christianity, rejected marriage to a Roman official, and endured cruel torture, including Satan's appearance to her in prison in the form of a dragon.
Great Martyr Marina (Margaret) of Antioch (d. c. 304) suffered under Emperor Diocletian in Antioch of Pisidia. She was the daughter of a pagan priest; having learned the Christian faith from her wet-nurse, she was secretly baptized. At age 12 she was driven from her father's house for confessing Christ. She rejected the marriage proposal of the Roman official Olymbrius, for which she was seized and subjected to cruel torture.
According to tradition, Satan appeared to her in prison in the form of a dragon and swallowed her — she made the sign of the cross over herself, and the dragon burst open, releasing her unharmed; in another episode she seized and beat a demon that appeared to her in human form. After enduring further torment, she was beheaded.
She is venerated as a patroness of women in childbirth and a healer in difficult labor — the episode of her deliverance from the dragon's belly is traditionally linked to this intercession.
Her feast is kept on July 17/30.