TATIANA OF ROME

On January 25, the Church celebrates the memory of the martyr Tatiana of Rome. Tatiana was one of those Christian virgins dedicated to God who suffered in great numbers for the Faith of Christ in early Christian times. They suffered for their faith, they suffered for their virginity, they suffered for their unwillingness to serve idols, they suffered for their refusal to marry, they suffered for their faithfulness to the Name of Christ. Tatiana, Barbara, Catherine, Anastasia, Syncletica, Martina, Prisca – “like seven golden lampstands,” in the midst of which was Jesus Christ (cf. Rev. 1:12).

Very few details have been preserved about Tatiana’s martyrdom, and the details of her suffering coincide with the accounts of the martyrdom of Saints Martina (+228) and Prisca of Rome (+269). There is nothing unusual in this commonality of virgin martyrdom. The holy virgins of that time offered to God all that they had: their dedication and their virginity, their body, mind, and soul. Young, by the power of grace and testimony, they entered into adult martyrdom.

Tatiana suffered for Christ during the reign of Emperor Alexander Severus (222-236). Severus was an enlightened ruler, but Christianity was an unlawful religion. Therefore, the Roman state machine then, as before, persecuted the followers of Christ. Tatiana was a deaconess of the Roman Church, which means that in the eyes of the tormentors she represented the Church. “The Church is a woman clothed with the sun, whose child the beast sought to devour” (Rev. 12;1:4).

According to the testimony of the life, Tatiana was seized and brought to the temple of Apollo. The prefect ordered her to sacrifice to the idol, but Tatiana overturned the false deity. For this, she was tortured and beaten for a long time. Then she was blinded and thrown to be torn apart by wild beasts. Since the martyr was still alive, her sentence was read out to her and she was beheaded with a sword.

“Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord: yea, saith the Spirit, they shall rest from their labours, and their works follow them” (Rev. 14:13). These words of the Book of Revelation, speaking of the Heavenly Destiny of those who have attained holiness, acquire unexpected effectiveness when the saints, after a long time, seem to receive a new life in history. Nowadays, thanks to the development of theological and historical science, we know much more about the biographies of the saints in their real earthly life. But this is not always the case, and the lives of many saints will forever remain behind the scenes of history. Surprisingly, in the case of Tatiana, the Lord decreed that 1,500 years after her martyrdom, the saint would find a special, unexpected, paradoxical and amazing glory here on earth.

It was on the day of remembrance of the martyr Tatiana in 1755 that Empress Elizabeth Petrovna (1709-1762) signed the Decree on the foundation of Moscow University. The Russian Empire adhered to the Julian calendar and the day of the University’s foundation coincided with the day of remembrance of Tatiana. It is believed that Count Ivan Shuvalov (1727-1797) specially chose this date to honor the patron saint of his mother Tatiana Rodionovna. At that time, the difference between the Gregorian and Julian calendars was 11 days.

Thus the ancient Roman virgin martyr became the patroness of students. In this seemingly random coincidence of names, dates and days, human and imperial will, undoubtedly, the One Who truly creates History acted. He, the One God, in Christ Jesus by the Holy Spirit giving people knowledge, commanded by the very example of His saints that science should never serve or become an idol (cf. 1 John 5:21). “The light of Christ enlightens all” - this ancient liturgical exclamation is written above the entrance to the historic church of Moscow University.