Throughout the centuries, all Christians - both Catholics and Orthodox - treated Saint Anastasia the Patterner with special reverence. The fact is that believers consider her the patroness of prisoners, women in childbirth and pregnant women.
Comforter of prisoners
Anastasia was born at the end of the 3rd century in Rome into the family of the wealthy Senator Pretextatus. Her father, an ardent pagan, was a faithful companion of the emperor Diocletian, who cruelly persecuted Christians. However, it just so happened that the teacher of his only daughter was precisely the follower of the new faith - Saint Chrysogon, who raised Anastasia as a true Christian. Upon learning of this, the Pretextatus flew into a terrible rage. He ordered the daughter's mentor to be thrown into prison and tortured, and Anastasia was married off to a noble pagan.
But the girl, remaining faithful to Christ, her heavenly bridegroom, refused to share a bed with her husband, referring to an incurable disease. Also, secretly from her father and husband, she visited the casemate, where her teacher languished with other Christians. There, Anastasia did her best to alleviate the suffering of her fellow believers: she brought them delicious food and medicine, bandaged wounds and consoled with a kind word.
When her husband became aware of this, he severely beat the recalcitrant, and then forbade her to leave the house. But the girl's life soon changed. Her husband, and soon her father, died overnight, and Anastasia inherited a huge fortune. To the surprise of her relatives, the woman spent all the money she received on keeping imprisoned Christians in prison, then went to wander around the world in order to preach the word of God to the pagans and help the followers of Christ who suffered from persecution.
Anastasia's wanderings continued for several years, after which she was captured by the emperor's servants. The unfortunate girl was tortured for several days, forcing her to renounce her Christian faith. However, Anastasia was adamant, and therefore the execution of the saint was truly terrible. The body of the martyr was stretched between four pillars, and a huge bonfire was laid out under it …
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Shrine of the Warm Mill
Surprisingly, the fire did not cause the slightest harm to the body of the deceased Anastasia, and after the execution it was hidden by the secret Christian Apollinaria. When several more decades passed, the relics of the saint were transferred to Constantinople, where a huge cathedral was built in her honor.
However, the time in its own way disposed of the shrine. Today, parts of the relics of the great martyr are kept in many churches in Europe, and her head and right hand were transferred to an Orthodox monastery built near the city of Thessaloniki in Greece.
It must be said that Anastasia has always been one of the most revered saints on Russian soil. Our ancestors called her the Patterner, since it was believed that it was she who could alleviate the fate of a person who was imprisoned. Even the most notorious criminal, who committed many atrocities, can turn to her with prayer, and Anastasia will certainly ease his mental and physical suffering. That is why chapels of this saint were built in many prisons.
Today, one of the most famous temples dedicated to Anastasia the Patterner in Russia is a relatively young church in Teply Stan (Moscow), erected in 2002.
One of the initiators of the construction of this temple, Father Sergius, became its rector as well. A former soldier, he was sent to Chechnya in 1996, where he was captured by the militants. The intercession of Saint Anastasia helped him withstand the horrors of imprisonment and return home alive, and therefore he decided to devote his remaining years to her and the Lord. After the new church was consecrated, Sergius (who had taken the tonsure by that time) headed the Christian community formed under him.
The first baby baptized in the new church was a girl whose parents wanted to give their daughter the name Anastasia.
Today the temple in Teply Stan is famous for its shrines. One of them is the miraculous image of the Kaluga Mother of God of the 13th century, the second is the temple mosaic icon of the Patterner and a part of her relics. Many believers come here every day to ask for help from Saint Anastasia, and almost every person who turns to her receives help in answer to his prayer.
Beaded temple
Another famous sanctuary of Anastasia Uzoreshitelnitsa, an amazing cave skete, is located in the Crimea near Bakhchisarai. This is the courtyard of the Holy Dormition Bakhchisarai Monastery.
I must say that in the 8th century Byzantine monks settled here, who founded the monastery of St. Anastasia. However, centuries later, the Christians, driven by the Crimean Tatars, left these places, and the skete was revived only in the middle of the 19th century.
In Soviet times, the monastery was closed again, and its unique cave temples were destroyed, and spiritual life was revived here only in 2005.
Today, many pilgrims come here to wash and drink healing water from the holy spring gushing out of the ground in this reserved place, and to admire the unusual interior of the cave temple. The fact is that all the decoration is here: icons, candlesticks, icon lamps - decorated with … beads!
It should be noted that such a decoration for the temple was not chosen by chance. The church was being restored in a damp adit cave, where the paint on the walls simply did not hold. That is why the monks asked the parishioners to bring their worn-out unnecessary bead jewelry - beads, earrings, etc.
And soon the temple literally sparkled with millions of multi-colored beads. It’s hard to believe, but there are several hundred lamps with bead pendants alone, each with a unique pattern. The same can be said about amazing icon cases for icons, which simply amaze with their beauty. On the ceiling of the church, right above the heads of the parishioners and pilgrims, are the Star of Bethlehem and the Byzantine cross, also made of this material.
It took the monks several years of painstaking work dedicated to the glory of St. Anastasia to create all these unusual handmade jewelry.
Santa Anastasia
In Europe, the most famous cathedral dedicated to the Patterner is Santa Anastasia in Verona, the largest temple in the city.
This magnificent structure was built over almost two centuries - from 1290 to 1481 - under the strict supervision of the Dominican monks. However, money for the construction and decoration of the temple was allocated by the Skalijeri family - the rulers of the city.
I must say that today the decoration of this seemingly rather modest church is truly amazing. Its huge, spacious side-chapels are decorated with tall columns of red marble, mosaics, beautiful sculptures and colorful frescoes by famous artists of the past centuries. The inhabitants of Verona were proud of the temple, and therefore over the centuries the best people of the city have tried to contribute to its arrangement. Even today in the church you can see several magnificent altars of the Fregozo, Baldieri and Miniscalchi families.
However, Verona's Santa Anastasia is known all over the world for its famous hunchbacks. We see them, holding marble bowls for holy water on their backs, right at the entrance to the temple. Outwardly, they are similar to each other, and therefore it is difficult to believe that the left hunchback is almost a hundred years younger than the right one. It was installed in 1591 on the Easter holiday, for which it received the nickname Pasquino among the people. People treat this cute statue with special respect, because it is believed that even one light touch on his hump can bring good luck to a person.
Elena LYAKINA