سيرة الشهيدة كريستينا/24 تموز

[walaa farouk]

الشهيدة كريستينا/24 تموز
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ولدت كريستينا في مدينة صور اللبنانية في آواخر القرن الثالث من عيلة وثنية. وكان أبوها أوربانوس حاكم المدينة شديد التعصب لوثنيته،
يضطهد المسيحيين وينكّل بهم. فلما رأت إبنته ما يحتمله المسيحيون من العذابات المرّة وهم ثابتون في إيمانهم،
تأثرت جدًا ومسّتها النعمة الإلهية، فنبذت عبادة الأصنام
وآمنت بالمسيح وشغفت بمحبته وتعاليمه،
فاعتمدت، خفية عن أبيها.
وكان أبوها يخشى عليها من مخالطة الناس،
فجعلها في حصن ووفر لها اسباب الراحة، ووضع لديها أصناماً
من فضة وذهب لكي تتعبّد لها.
أمّا هي فحطمت تلك التماثيل حبًّا للمسيح.
فغضب أبوها ووبخها، فأجابت بكلّ سذاجة:
إن الأصنام ليست بآلهة ولا فائدة منها.
فتهدّدها بالعذاب والموت إن لم ترجع عن إيمانها وتكفر بالمسيح
، فقالت، بكل شجاعة: "أنت قادر، يا أبي، أن تعذبني
وتعدمني الحياة، لكنك لا تستطيع أن تفصلني عن إيماني بيسوع المسيح
وعن محبّتي له".
حينئذ ضربوها بالسياط فمزّقوا جسدها بمخالب من حديد
حتى سالت دماؤها، وألقاها أبوها في السجن.
وفي الصباح مثلت أمامه وقد شفاها الله.
فأمر أبوها بأن يعلق في عنقها حجر وتطرح في البحر
. فخلّصها ملاك الرّبّ من الغرق. فأرجعها أبوها الى السجن
ولشدة غيظه وكمده وُجِد، عند الصباح ميتاً في سريره.
فخلفه والٍ إسمه ديون، كان شراً منه.
فاخترع لتعذيبها سريراً من حديد تحته نار تضطرم،
فأتت الشهيدة من تلقائها وتمددت على ذلك السرير الناريّ،
فلم ينلها سوء، بل كانت متهللة تسبح الله، فقادها إلى هيكل الصنم أبولون لتسجد له، فأبت.
عندئذ ألقوها في أتون نار ثم في بئر فيها حيات وعقارب
، فصانها الله من كلّ أذى. لذلك آمن الجلادون،
وهتفوا صارخين: "لا إله إلّا الذي يعبده المسيحيون". وماتوا شهداء.
فأمر الوالي بقطع ثدييّ الشهيدة، فصرخت: "إنّ إلهنا في السّماء. أمّا أوثان الأمم فما هي سوى فضة وذهب صنع البشر"
. أخيراً علقوها على خشبة ورموها بالسِّهام
فنالت إكليل الشّهادة سنة 300 للمسيح. صلاتها معنا. آمين!

Martyr Christina of Tyre
The Martyr Christina lived during the third century. She was born into a rich family, and her father was governor of Tyre. By the age of 11 the girl was exceptionally beautiful, and many wanted to marry her. Christina’s father, however, envisioned that his daughter should become a pagan priestess. To this end he placed her in a special dwelling where he had set up many gold and silver idols, and he commanded his daughter to burn incense before them. Two servants attended Christina.

In her solitude, Christina began to wonder who had created this beautiful world. From her room she was delighted by the stars of the heavens and she constantly came back to the thought about the Creator of all the world. She was convinced, that the voiceless and inanimate idols in her room could not create anything, since they themselves were created by human hands. She began to pray to the One God with tears, entreating 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.

One time 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. In 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, Saint 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.

The torturers tied her to an iron wheel, beneath which they lit a fire. The body of the martyr, turning round on the wheel, was scorched on all sides. They then threw her 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. In terror, her father imputed this to sorcery and decided to execute her in the morning. That night he himself 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 was for a long while in prison. People began to flock to her, and she converted them to the true faith in Christ. Thus about 300 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 Saint Christina with a sword.