St Christina of Tyre – 24 July
St Christina lived during the third century. She was born into a rich family, and her father was governor of Tyre (in modern day Lebanon). She was exceptionally beautiful and by the age of 11 many wanted to marry her. Christina's father, however, wanted her to become a pagan priestess. He placed her in a house with two servants and he set up gold and silver idols, and he commanded Christina to burn incense before them.
In her solitude, Christina began to wonder who had created this beautiful world. She marveled at the stars in the heavens and constantly thought about the Creator of the entire world. She was convinced, that the voiceless and inanimate idols in her room could not create anything, because human hands had created them. She began to pray to the One God with tears, asking Him to reveal Himself. Her soul blazed with love for the Unknown God, and she intensified her prayer all the more, and combined it with fasting.
Christina was visited by an angel, who instructed her in the true faith in Christ, the Savior of the world. The angel called her a bride of Christ and told her about her future suffering. The holy virgin smashed all the idols standing in her room and threw them out the window. While visiting his daughter, Christina's father, Urban, asked her where all the idols had disappeared. Christina was silent. Then, having summoned the servants, Urban learned the truth from them.
In a rage the father began to slap his daughter's face. At first, the holy virgin remained quiet, but then she told her father about her faith in the One True God, and that she had destroyed the idols with her own hands. Urban gave orders to kill all the servants in attendance upon his daughter, and he gave Christina a fierce beating and threw her in prison. Having learned about what had happened, St Christina's mother came in tears, imploring her to renounce Christ and to return to her ancestral beliefs. But Christina remained unyielding. On another day, Urban brought his daughter to trial and urged her to offer worship to the gods, and to ask forgiveness for her misdeeds. Instead, he saw her firm and steadfast confession of faith in Christ.
She was tortured and thrown into prison. An angel of God appeared at night, healing her wounds and strengthening her with food. Her father, seeing her unharmed, gave orders to drown her in the sea. An angel sustained the saint while the stone sank down, and Christina miraculously came out of the water and reappeared before her father. Her torturer believed she was a sorcerer and decided to execute her in the morning. That night the torturer suddenly died. Another governor, Dion, was sent in his place. He summoned the holy martyr and also tried to persuade her to renounce Christ, but seeing her unyielding firmness, he again subjected her to cruel tortures. The holy martyr remaining in prison for a long time and people began to flock to her, and she converted them to the true faith in Christ. About 300 people were converted.
In place of Dion, a new governor Julian arrived and resumed the torture of the saint. After various torments, Julian gave orders to throw her into a red-hot furnace and lock her in it. After five days they opened the furnace and found the martyr alive and unharmed. Seeing this miracle take place, many believed in Christ the Savior, and the torturers executed St Christina with a sword.
