December 4th: St. Barbara

Today the Greek Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of St. Barbara.
St. Barbara was the daughter of a noble man from Nicomedia in Asia Minor (now Western Turkey). Her father was a rich man called Dioscorus, during the time that Maximian the Emperor reigned in the beginning of the third century A.D. Because of her great beauty and his strong love for her, he built her a tower to live in with only two windows. The saint always raised up her eyes to the sky from the top of the tower and contemplated the beauty of the sky and what was in it: the sun, the moon and the stars. She came to the conclusion that they must have an able and wise maker and that would be none other than the Almighty God who created them. Origen, the scholar, happened to be in this area and was informed of the saint. He went to her and taught her the principles of Christianity. Because there were only two windows in the bathroom, she ordered a third one to be opened and a cross to be placed over the water basin. When her father came to see her and saw the changes that were done, he asked her for the reason. She told him, "Don't you know, my father, that with the Holy Trinity everything is complete, and here are three windows in the name of the Holy Trinity. This sign is the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, wherein was the salvation of the whole world. I ask you, 0 my dear father, to turn away from the wrong way that you are in and worship the God Who created you."
When her father heard these words, he became angry, drew his sword and ran after her. She fled, and he ran after her. There was a rock in front of her that split into two halves and she went through. The rock then returned to its earlier state. Her father went around the rock and found her hidden in a cave. He jumped over her like a wolf, seized her and took her to Marcianus, the governor. The Governor talked to her kindly, promising her many things. Then he threatened her, but could not take away her love for the Lord Jesus Christ. Thereupon, he ordered her to be tortured with different kinds of torture. There was a virgin called Juliana, who watched St. Barbara while she was being tortured and wept for her. Juliana saw the Lord Jesus Christ strengthening and comforting St. Barbara; she became enlightened and believed in the Lord. They cut off her head and that of St. Barbara and they both received the crown of martyrdom. St. Barbara's father perished shortly after and so did the Governor who tortured her.

According to St. Barbara's legend, after her father tried to kill her for becoming a Christian, he was struck dead by lightning - which is why she is the patron saint of those in danger of sudden death by lightning. She is also the patron saint of firefighters, stonemasons, architects and builders (because she is said to have lived for a time in a tower). The water of the basin that had the cross over it in the tower had the power to heal everyone who washed with it. A noble man called Valentine buried the bodies of the two martyrs, They placed the bodies of these two saints in a church outside of the city of Galatia, in which many miracles were showed in praise and glory of God Almighty. Years later, they relocated the body of St. Barbara to the church in Cairo which is named after her to this day.

May their prayers be with us . Amen

We celebrate the day in our home,too, because C's father is a retired Artillery Officer, and St. Barbara is the patron saint of Artillerymen.

You may read about the Order of Saint Barbara in the US Army here. More detailed information in this article.

Last night as custom has it, we made loukoumades with honey. See this for the recipe.
Enjoy!