The story of the great martyrs Natalia and Adrian unfolded at the dawn of the 4th century, during the reign of the Roman emperor Maximilian Galerius, in the interval from 305, when he became Augustus, to 311, when he died of cancer in Nicomedia. He was a pagan and an ardent persecutor of Christians, whom his subjects cruelly tortured.
Emperor's story
Gai Galery Valery Maximilian was born in 250 on the territory of modern Bulgaria, not far from its capital Sofia. A man from an ignorant family served as a senior commander under the emperor Diocletian and actively participated in the grandiose persecutions that he arranged for citizens professing Christianity.
Under Diocletian, the holy Great Martyr George the Victorious was tortured and beheaded. It happened in Nicomedia, where many Christians perished and where at the end of his life Diocletian grew cabbage.
Maximilian liked the emperor and he gave his daughter Valeria to him. Thus, the commander became the son-in-law of the emperor. In addition, in 293, Diocletian appointed him Caesar and transferred the Balkan provinces to rule.
After Diocletian's abdication from power on May 1, 305, Maximilian Galerius received the title of Augustus. A convinced pagan, he continued his father-in-law's work to destroy the Christian faith.
Nicomedian martyrs
Diocletian made Nicomedia the eastern capital of the Roman Empire. Here, on the picturesque coast of the Sea of Marmara, during his reign and later his son-in-law, Galerius, many Christians perished. Most of the names are forgotten, but several martyrs are known and revered to this day. Among them:
- Adrian of Nicomedia;
- Natalia Nikomediskaya, wife of Adrian;
- Trofim Nikomedisky;
- Eusebius of Nicomedia;
- Ermolai Nikomedisky;
- Anfim Nikomedisky;
- Babel of Nicomedia with her 84 disciples;
- Great Martyr Panteleimon.
The pagan emperors introduced a system in which people who sympathized with Christians and did not inform on them, that is, showed normal human feelings, were severely punished. On the other hand, denunciation was encouraged by all kinds of awards and honors. Therefore, Christians in those days had to endure not only the horrors of torture, but also the betrayal of people with whom they often shared food and shelter.
The life and death of Adrian and Natalia
Among the destinies of the Nicomedian great martyrs is the story of Adrian and his wife Natalia. The starting point of this story is this: Adrian is a pagan who is in the civil service in the judicial system, Natalia secretly professes Christianity, but does not advertise this for obvious reasons.
Once Roman soldiers reportedly found a cave in which Christians were hiding when they prayed to their God. They were captured and presented to the court of Emperor Galerius. As a result of interrogation, the pagans and Christians failed to bring the religious differences to a common denominator, after which a terrible fate awaited the latter.
First, they were stoned by soldiers, then they were chained and imprisoned, after which the judicial system took over. She was required to record the names and speeches of the wicked.
One of the heads of the court chamber, Adrian, witnessed how Christians endure suffering for the sake of their faith, and conversations with the unfortunate convinced him that the pagan gods are ordinary soulless idols.
Then Adrian told the scribes of the court of justice that they should include his name among the martyrs, since he became a Christian and is ready to die for the faith of Christ. He was 28 years old.
The emperor tried to admonish Hadrian and explain to him that he had lost his mind. Adrian responded by saying that, on the contrary, he passed from madness to common sense.
After that, the enraged emperor Galerius imprisoned him and appointed a day when all the Christians caught would be given over to torture.
In fairness, it must be said that, according to the chroniclers, the emperor twice gave Adrian a chance to stay in this life. Before the execution, he invited him to pray to the pagan gods and bring them sacrifices.
To this Adrian said that these gods are nothing, after which he was cruelly beaten with stakes.
In the process of torture, the emperor once again offered Hadrian life in exchange for the worship of pagan gods. At the same time, he promised to call doctors to heal the mutilated body and return the apostate to his former position.
Hadrian agreed to accept these conditions only when the pagan gods themselves told him about the benefits that he would receive if he again bowed down to them and made a sacrifice. When the emperor confessed that it was impossible to hear the voices of the gods, Adrian remarked that then the dumb and soulless should not be worshiped.
At that moment, his fate was decided. The enraged Galerius Maximilian ordered that the martyr be chained and thrown into prison along with other Christians. On the appointed day, he accepted his death.
His wife Natalia accepted the Christian faith earlier, in the depths of her soul, and until then no one knew about it. But when she found out about her husband's act, she stopped hiding. She came to the prisoners, treated them with purulent wounds, which were formed as a result of shackles and unsanitary conditions.
She encouraged her husband in every possible way to accept a martyr's death with dignity. She was convinced that by suffering during this life he would deserve God's mercy, which he would be treated kindly after death.
Natalia even attended the terrible execution of the great martyrs. She was afraid that her husband would be intimidated and could not stand the upcoming torment, so she encouraged him in every possible way.
After the execution, Emperor Galerius Maximilian ordered the bodies of the tortured Christians to be burned. When they were thrown into the furnace, Natalya tried to break through to her, trying to sacrifice herself too, but the soldiers held her back.
After that, a terrible event for the tormentors happened. A thunderstorm came, it flooded the fire and beat many of the guards, who in panic tried to scatter. When all was quiet, Natalia and the other wives took the bodies of their husbands out of the oven. It turned out that the fire did not even touch their hair.
The pious men who remained nearby persuaded Natalia to give all the bodies in order to transport them to Byzantium, where it would be possible to preserve them until the death of Maximilian.
Natalya agreed, but she herself remained in her house, where she kept her husband's hand at the head of the bed.
Since she was young and beautiful, she quickly became the object of male attention. The commander of the thousand began to woo Natalia, from whom she secretly fled to Byzantium, where she died on the coffin of her husband.
Thus, she became a great martyr not as a result of torture and execution, but as a result of her inner, mental suffering.
Memorial Day Martyrs Adrian and Natalia
The Orthodox Church celebrates the Day of Remembrance of this married couple on September 8 in a new style. On this day, it is customary to pray for a happy marriage. The icon depicting Adrian and Natalia was blessed by Empress Elizabeth II for the marriage of her son.
In Russia, this day was also called Fesiannitsa, since they began to mow oats. Therefore, there was a saying: "Natalya is carrying an oat pancake, and Adrian is in a pot with oatmeal."
As usual, people noticed the weather signs on this day:
- cold morning - to cold winter;
- if the leaves of oak and birch have not fallen - also by the harsh winter;
- crows sitting with their heads in different directions portend calm weather;
- if they sit close to the trunk and look in one direction, the weather will be windy that day.
In conclusion, I would like to note that congratulating women named Natalya on this day is as appropriate as congratulating women named Tatyana in January.
