In the current year, the Holy Church celebrates the memory of Holy Great Martyr Catherine in the twenty-seventh week after Pentecost. Therefore, I consider it appropriate to draw your attention to the great life of this saint.
Why is she called a Great Martyr? Is it because, as many think, the Holy Church bestows this title on those holy martyrs, men and women, who endured particularly severe and dreadful tortures and the most brutal death for our Lord Jesus Christ? No, not because of that.
St. Catherine was only beheaded by the sword, like tens of thousands of other martyrs, and did not endure unimaginably brutal tortures and sufferings that were the lot of those great sufferers for Christ who did not receive the title of Great Martyr, but only the name of ordinary martyrs. True, for Saint Catherine, the tormentor Emperor Maximinus commanded the horrible punishment of being broken on the wheel, where her body was to be tied to a terrifying wheel rotating over sharp knives, but the Lord's Angel shattered this diabolical wheel. She was thrown into a dungeon, endured the torment of many days of hunger, after which the holy head of Catherine, who had received from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself the name of His bride, was cut off.
Who then receives the holy name of Great Martyr? Above all, those great Christians about whom our Lord Jesus Christ said: Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:19).
Saint Catherine’s fervent faith in Christ and her confession of His Name before all the people served as a saving example for two hundred Roman soldiers and their commander Porphyrius, and even for the wife of Emperor Maximinus, Augusta, who were all beheaded by the sword together with Great Martyr Catherine.
I will give one or two more examples to confirm my thought that the names of the holy Great Martyrs were received by those heroes of spirit who, by their example, taught pagans to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to give their lives for Him.
Such were the great martyrs Demetrius of Thessaloniki and Theodore Stratelates of Heraclea.
Demetrius was the commander of the great city of Thessaloniki, appointed to this position by Emperor Maximilian with an order to exterminate all Christians of this great city, because the emperor considered Demetrius a pagan. But through his fervent preaching about Christ, Demetrius turned the majority of the inhabitants of Thessaloniki to believe in Him. He did and taught according to the words of Christ and received great reward in heaven for it. He did not suffer terrible torments like Saint Catherine; he was only killed with spears.
Similar to the great martyr Demetrius was the holy great martyr Theodore Stratelates, the ruler of the city of Heraclea, who turned the hearts of not only the inhabitants of Heraclea but also those of his native city, Euchaita to Christ through his preaching about Him. He, too, did and taught others.
Not only did Great Martyr Catherine fulfill this saying of Christ, but also another great commandment of His: For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it (Mark 8:35).
What does it mean to save one's soul? What does it mean to destroy one's soul?
One's soul encompasses all desires, aspirations, and achievements of one's own will. To save one's soul means to arrange everything in one's life according to one's own desires.
Catherine had extraordinarily great opportunities. Her life was arranged as favorably as possible. She was the daughter of the wealthiest prince, exceptionally beautiful, and very intelligent.
At the age of eighteen, she mastered several foreign languages perfectly, and thoroughly studied all the sciences and philosophy of her time. Not only did many wealthy and noble men want to marry her, but even the Roman Emperor Maximinus himself was captivated by her beauty and intelligence when he came to the capital of Egypt, Alexandria, Catherine's homeland, and desired to marry her. There was a great danger for Catherine to fall in love herself with her own very rich and seemingly most fortunate soul.
But our Lord Jesus, Who is omniscient and deeply knew the depths of her heart, which were as profound as her intellect, saved her from perdition from the temptations of the world through her own mother, a secret Christian, and her mother’s spiritual advisor, an saintly hermit unknown to us.
In a very short time, they managed to reveal to Catherine's mind and heart the wealth of knowledge of the Son of God, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are immeasurably greater than all the treasures and pleasures of earthly life.
She came to hate and commit to death her self-satisfied life, and saved it by fervently loving Christ and the path He indicates in the Gospel.
Christ Himself loved her and called her His bride.
Let us, sinners, always remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, through the fulfillment of which the holy Catherine acquired the glorious name of Great Martyr.
Amen.
