For a long time, I had been planning to go to Milan to venerate the holy relics of my heavenly patroness, the holy Martyr Natalia (feast: August 26/September 8), which rest at St. Lawrence’s Basilica. But this journey seemed too long for me, and I kept postponing the trip. I couldn’t bring myself to travel there, and waited for some special occasion.
St. Natalia’s relics at the Chapel of St. Hippolytus, Basilica of San Lorenzo Maggiore, Milan. Milano.cerkov.ru
One day, in early spring, I went to the city of Vladimir with a group of pilgrims. Our route lay through a small village with the strange name of Frolishchi, where we were to stop and visit the local church.[1] The weather was windy, and I didn’t want to get off the warm coach. But when you are on a pilgrimage, you shouldn’t worry too much about comfort...
The church’s interior decoration struck us at once. Although it was very old, the church was in good condition; its walls and dome were covered with frescoes, and large icons in heavy cases hung on the walls. We stood through the Liturgy, which seemed like a moment, after which our guide Igor asked the rector to tell us about the history of the church. Fr. Vyacheslav, who has been serving in this church and equipping it with all the necessary facilities for over twenty years, shared its remarkable history with us.
According to tradition, a thief named Frol once lived in this area. Locals tried unsuccessfully to catch him for a long time, which allegedly accounts for the name of the village: “Frolishchi”—that is, “search for Frol” in Russian. But then the thief repented and turned to God, building this church. The priest told us a lot of other interesting things and was sorry that we couldn’t stay longer—otherwise we would have had a meal and been treated to local dainties! But we had to continue our journey. Before we left, the priest had talked with Igor about something and said goodbye to us. When we were back on the coach, Igor suddenly asked:
“Is there a Natalia here?” I raised my hand in surprise and, looking around, realized that I was the only Natalia on the coach.[2]
“Well, then, this is for you,” Igor said, coming up to me and handing me a large white candle.
I didn’t understand what was going on.
“Father Vyacheslav asked me to give it to you,” Igor explained, seeing my bewilderment. “Recently, he and his parishioners visited the relics of St. Natalia in Milan, and they brought it from there.”
My heart was stirred with unexpected joy. As I was holding the candle in my hands, I couldn’t believe the reality of what had happened. What unexpected news! Now, without delay, I surely had to get ready for the trip!
Photo: Ortox.ru
In May of the following year, I arrived in Milan, and the first thing I did was go to the Church of St. Lawrence (Basilica di San Lorenzo Maggiore), where the relics of the holy Martyr Natalia rest. The church, built in the fourth century under the holy Emperor Constantine the Great and Archbishop Ambrose, was named in honor of the Christian martyr Lawrence of Rome, who was roasted to death on a metal gridiron in 258 A.D. under Emperor Valerian who persecuted Christians. The church is magnificent and very beautiful: it is the oldest domed Byzantine church in Europe and is one of the oldest Christian churches in the world.
As I approached the church, I worried: Would it be open and would I be able to find St. Natalia’s relics in this huge edifice? But now I could see the majestic colonnade of sixteen Corinthian columns erected in front of the church in the fourth century (!), and the monument to Emperor Constantine the Great, who signed the Edict of Milan in 313 to end the persecution of Christians.
I entered the church—a spacious tent-roofed building of gray stone; there were no frills or decorations—only strict classical beauty. The dome was supported by an octagonal drum with large windows. The church has a number of chapels on either side of the altar. I asked a local clergyman about St. Natalia’s relics. He asked Antonio who was passing by, who in turn summoned a certain Marcello. The curly-haired Marcello appeared with an impressive bunch of keys and beckoned me to follow him. He unlocked the heavy barred chapel door with a key and left. I walked inside with my heart pounding.
There was a red carved sarcophagus on a low marble pedestal in the heart of the bright chapel. I walked around it; the wall facing the altar was made of transparent glass. I knelt down and saw St. Natalia lying there, clothed in a light linen dress with red pieces of embroidery and cloth shoes on her feet. Her face was covered with a silver mask. It was bright and quiet in the chapel, and no one else came in. I venerated the holy relics and felt calm and joy in my soul; it seemed as if St. Natalia knew of my presence and was blessing me.
Natalia and her husband Adrian lived in Nicomedia (in the northwestern part of Asia Minor) under the impious Emperor Maximian, who brutally persecuted Christians. St. Natalia became famous for her unshakable faith in the Lord; for Christ’s sake she refused the comfort of her family and personal happiness. St. Adrian, who was a nobleman and the head of the praetorium at the imperial court, confessed Hellenism, while St. Natalia was a secret Christian.
Seeing the unshakable faith of Christian martyrs being led to prison, Adrian himself came to believe in Christ, which he openly declared. St. Natalia was overjoyed by that and begged her husband to remain steadfast in the true faith he had acquired. When the enraged emperor threatened St. Adrian with torture and death, St. Natalia visited her husband in prison, strengthening him in every possible way so that his faith would not waver and he would not depart from the true God.
After St. Adrian’s martyrdom, St. Natalia fled with his relics by ship to the city of Byzantium (the future Constantinople), escaping a pursuer who wanted to marry her. She and other Christians reached Byzantium safely, but the pursuers’ vessel was caught in a violent tempest. Soon after arriving in Byzantium, St. Natalia ended her earthly journey peacefully. She is venerated by the Orthodox Church as a martyr—although she did not suffer martyrdom, she endured the suffering of her beloved husband, showed compassion to him and blessed him to become a martyr for Christ’s sake. Isn’t this the ascetic labor of a loving wife?
After St. Natalia’s death in Byzantium, in the fourth century, St. Metrophanes, Bishop of Byzantium, built a church in honor of Sts. Adrian and Natalia, where the saints’ relics were kept. Later, their holy remains were transferred to Rome and kept there in a church built by Pope Honorius I (625–638). In the 1930s, this church was demolished, and the relics of St. Natalia were moved to Milan.
I left Milan with the feeling that I had visited St. Natalia; so much joy and a new sense of kinship with the saint were imprinted on my heart. I took to Moscow some large white candles I had bought at St. Lawrence’s Church, just like the one I had been given in Frolishchi. I placed one of them at the shrine with St. Natalia’s relics, and I took several more with me to convey a blessing from the holy martyr to other women named Natalia.
Holy Martyr Natalia, pray to God for us!
