St. Barbara
(?)
The story we know about St. Barbara is based on legend. According to the
Catholic church she never existed.
The legend is that she was a maiden who converted to the Christian faith
after correspondence with Origen, a doctor of the church. The mail was sent
through another doctor named Valentius, and he eventually baptized her.
According to another version she climbed into a pagan well and was baptized
in a vision of St. John.
When her father found out he shut her up in a tower and then killed her
by decapitation. For this he was struck by lightning.
St. Barbara is the patron saint of Edessa and Cairo, as well as of architects,
construction workers, prisoners and firework makers.
In art she is often shown holding a tower, or a palm of her martyrdom. She
is also sometimes shown standing on a Saracen, or holding a chalice or the
ostrich feather the infant Jesus gave her as a sign of her virginity.
An old superstition concerning St. Barbara is that if you light a candle
on her day you will die a natural death.
Orthodox nameday: 4/12
WebmistressV.E.K.
Sandels
All
the material on this site is protected by copyright law. The texts, photographs,
drawings and animations may not be copied and displayed in any way without
written permission.