After the death of the Greek king Arkady1, his son Theodosius2 remained a small, eight-year-old boy and could not rule the kingdom; therefore, the brother of Arcadius, the Roman emperor Honorius3, handed over the guardianship of the young king and the administration of the entire Greek kingdom to one of the most important dignitaries, an anphipatus4 named Anthemius5, a wise and very pious man. This enthipat, until Theodosius grew up, was revered by everyone as a king at that time, which is why St. Simeon Metaphrastus, starting to write this life, says: “in the reign of the pious king Anthemius,” and throughout this story he calls him king. This Anthemius had two daughters, of whom one, the youngest, had an unclean spirit in her from childhood, and the eldest from her youth spent time in holy churches and prayers. The name of this latter was Apollinaria. When she reached the age of majority, her parents began to think about how to marry her, but she refused this and told them:

- I want to go to a monastery, listen to the Divine Scriptures there and see the order of monastic life.

Her parents told her:
We want to marry you.
She answered them:
- I don’t want to get married, but I hope that God will keep me in fear of Him pure, as He keeps His holy virgins in purity!

It seemed very surprising to her parents that she spoke so, while still so young, and that she was embraced to such an extent by love for the Divine. But Apollinaria again began to beg her parents to bring some nun to her who would teach her

Children's Orthodox reader

During the infancy of the Byzantine emperor Theodosius the Younger, guardianship over him and temporary control of the entire Eastern Empire was entrusted to one of the most important dignitaries of the empire, proconsul Anthemius, a wise and pious man. Anthemius, who was revered by everyone as a king, had two daughters. The youngest suffered from demonic possession from childhood, and the eldest, the Monk Apollinaria, spent a lot of time in holy churches and prayers. Having reached the age of majority, Apollinaria refused to marry and asked her parents for permission to bow to the holy places of the East.
Already in the Holy Land, having visited the places dear to every Christian, where the Lord Jesus Christ lived and suffered, the royal daughter began to release the slaves accompanying her. Arriving from Jerusalem to the capital of Egypt, Alexandria, she secretly changed into the clothes of a monk from the servants and hid in a swampy place, where she labored for several years in strict fasting and prayers.
By revelation from above, she came to the skete to Macarius of Egypt, calling herself the monk Dorotheus.
Macarius, who had spent sixty years in the dead desert, accepted Apollinaria among his brethren. God did not reveal her secrets to the miracle worker so that later everyone would benefit greatly from him. In the skete, she soon became famous for her ascetic life. It so happened that the parents of Apollinaria sent their demoniac daughter to be healed by the Monk Macarius, who brought the sick woman to the monk Dorotheus (Saint Apollinaria). And through the prayer of the unrecognized great ascetic, the maiden received healing. But when she returned home a few months later, everyone saw her big belly, as if the girl was expecting a baby. It was the devil's work. Anthemius and his wife, angry, sent soldiers to the skete demanding that the culprit of insulting their daughter be extradited. When Saint Apollinaria was brought to her parents' house, she revealed herself to them and healed her sister. The joy of meeting with the missing daughter was replaced by sadness: Apollinaria returned to the monastery, where she soon died peacefully in 470. It was only then that it was revealed that Monk Dorotheus was a woman who labored on an equal footing with men.

Saint Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow

Days of Remembrance January 22 and July 16
Saint Philip came from a family of boyars, the Kolychevs. At the head of the administration of the Moscow state in those days was the Boyar Duma - a council of noble and well-born people close to the tsar by merit and kinship.
The boyars Kolychevs did not have the last word in the Duma. The Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III, father of Ivan the Terrible, brought the young Theodore closer to the court. But even the sincere affection for him of the young Tsarevich John, which foreshadowed a brilliant future, did not keep Fedor in the world. From an early age he fell in love with divine books, was meek, did not like court life, and until the age of 30 he did not look for a wife. Once entering the church, he heard the words of Christ the Savior that no one can serve two masters. In what was said, the young man recognized his calling to monasticism. Secretly from everyone, Fedor, wearing simple clothes, left Moscow and went to the distant Solovetsky monastery on the White Sea.

There he performed the most difficult obediences: he chopped wood, dug the earth, worked at a mill. After a year and a half of trial, the abbot tonsured Fedor, giving the monastic name Philip. Under the guidance of experienced elders, monk Philip grew spiritually and a few years later, at the common desire of the brethren, he became the Solovki abbot.
In this rank, Saint Philip worked hard to improve the spiritual and material life of the northern monastery. On Solovki, he connected the lakes with canals and drained swampy places for haymaking, built roads, erected two majestic cathedrals - the Assumption and Preobrazhensky, set up a hospital and sketes for those who wished for silence, and from time to time he retired to one secluded place. He accustomed the brethren to a hard-working life without idleness. But in Moscow, Ivan the Terrible, who reigned, remembered the Solovetsky hermit, who hoped to find a faithful companion, confessor and adviser in a friend of his adolescence. Abbot Philip refused to accept the metropolitan rank with tears, but the tsar was adamant. Then the saint agreed to become a metropolitan, wishing to lessen the horrors of the oprichnina introduced by Grozny. But executions, torture and other atrocities that harmed both the people and the Russian state continued. Metropolitan Philip several times, in solitary conversations with the tsar, tried to reason with him. Beliefs did not help, and in the spring of 1568, at a divine service in the Dormition Cathedral, St. Philip refused to bless Ivan the Terrible and began to openly condemn lawlessness. There were slanderers with false accusations against the saint.
And already six months later, by decision of the cowardly Boyar Duma, the saint was arrested. During the service, guardsmen in black robes broke into the Assumption Cathedral, tore off church vestments from the metropolitan and pushed him out of the church with their brooms, put him on simple logs and took him to the Moscow Epiphany Monastery. At the same time, the king executed many of Philip's relatives. The head of a nephew especially beloved by the Metropolitan, Grozny sent him to his cell. Then, by decree of the king, a hungry bear was let in to him, but the beast did not touch the saint. People from morning to evening crowded around the monastery and told miracles about him. Then the tsar ordered the disgraced metropolitan to be transferred to the Tver Otroch Monastery, where a year later he died at the hands of Malyuta Skuratov - the chief guardsman strangled him with a pillow.
Twenty years later, the monks of the Solovetsky monastery asked for permission to transfer the incorruptible relics of their former abbot to their monastery. Subsequently, the relics of St. Philip were transferred to Moscow and placed in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin at the place where the guardsmen seized the metropolitan-martyr.

Saint Tatiana was born into a noble Roman family. Her father, a secret Christian, was elected consul three times and raised his daughter in devotion to God. As an adult, Tatiana abandoned married life. She was placed as a deaconess in one of the Roman churches, and from now on she devoted her whole life to prayer and mercy: she cared for the sick, visited dungeons, and helped the poor.
Under Emperor Alexander Severus, the persecution of Christians began again, the blood of new martyrs flowed like a river. Deaconess Tatian was also captured. When they brought her to the temple of Apollo to force her to sacrifice to the idol, the saint prayed, and the earth shook, the idol was blown to pieces, part of the temple collapsed and crushed the priests and many pagans. Then they began to beat the holy virgin, gouged out her eyes, but she endured everything courageously, praying for her tormentors. And it was revealed to them that four angels surrounded the saint and deflected blows from her. The eight tormentors believed in Christ and fell at the feet of Saint Tatiana, begging to forgive them. For confessing themselves as Christians, they were executed.
When they began to cut the body of the saint with razors, instead of blood, milk flowed from the wounds and a fragrance spread in the air. The tormentors were exhausted and declared that someone invisible was beating them with iron sticks, nine of them died immediately. They threw the saint into prison, all night she sang praises to the Lord, and the angels who appeared healed her wounds. At the new judgment, she appeared healthy and even more radiant and beautiful than before. Then Saint Tatiana was brought to the circus and a hungry lion was released on her, but the beast meekly began to lick her feet. The pagans cut her hair, thinking that it contained her magical power, and locked her in the temple of Zeus. But when, three days later, the priests came, preparing to offer sacrifices, they saw a broken idol and the holy martyr Tatiana, joyfully calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. All tortures were exhausted, and the courageous sufferer was (in 226) beheaded with a sword in a place with her father, who revealed to her the truths of the Christian faith.

Saint Equal-to-the-Apostles Nina, Enlightener of Georgia

Saint Nina was born in Cappodacia and was the only daughter of noble and pious parents. At the age of twelve, Nina, along with her parents, came to the city of Jerusalem to bow to the shrines. The shock from the meeting with the Holy Land was so strong that her ardently believing father decided to become a monk, and her mother remained to serve at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Nina was given to be raised by the pious old woman Nianfora.
The heart of the holy maiden burned with love for Christ, who endured suffering and death on the Cross for the salvation of people. Reading the Gospel story about how the soldiers who crucified Christ shared His clothes and one of them got a tunic that the Most Holy Theotokos Herself wove, Nina thought: such a shrine cannot disappear on earth. She learned from her mentor that the tunic of the Lord was taken to the Iberian country (now Georgia) to the city of Mtskheta. Nina began to fervently pray to the Most Holy Theotokos to see that country and find the tunic of the Lord. And so the Mother of God appeared to Nina in a dream and ordered her to go to the pagan country of Iveria with the preaching of Christ's teachings and handed Nina a cross woven from a vine. Having overcome all the difficulties of the unknown path, in Iberia, Saint Nina found refuge in the family of the royal gardener. The couple did not have children, and Nina begged them for a child. Soon she became so famous for her miracles that many began to turn to her for help. Invoking the name of Christ, Saint Nina healed the pagans and told them about God, who created heaven and earth, and about Christ the Savior. She also converted Tsar Marian himself to Christ.
Saint Nina, through her prayers, was discovered where the tunic of the Lord was hidden, and the first Christian church in Georgia was erected there.
Through her labors, the faith of Christ was established and spread not only in Georgia itself, but also in the mountainous regions adjacent to it. After 35 years of apostolic labors, Saint Nina peacefully reposed in the Lord in the year 335.

Saint Apollinaria, whose icon should be in every home of those who are baptized with this name, is famous for her modest ascetic life. She dedicated it to the service of God.

Young years

Apollinaria is a saint who is addressed in case of illness. It also helps to strengthen fortitude, faith, and develop humility. In front of the icon, the words of the prayer should be repeated: “Pray to God for me, holy saint, reverend Apollinaria of God, as I diligently resort to you, an ambulance and prayer book for my soul.”

Saint Apollinaria, whose life is described in this article, was the eldest daughter of the wise king Anthemius. From an early age, she loved to spend time in prayer and often visited churches. When she became an adult, she refused to marry and began to ask her parents to send her to a monastery instead. Parents refused, they dreamed that their daughter would have a good family. But Apollinaria, a saint who from a young age loved God so much that she wanted to remain blameless for life, refused all the gifts of applicants for her hand and heart. She began to ask her parents to bring a nun to her, who would teach her to read the holy scriptures. Finally, the parents gave in.

First trip

They were touched by the unshakable perseverance of the girl, and they brought the nun to her, as her daughter had asked. Having learned to read sacred books, Apollinaria began to ask her parents to let her go on a journey to holy places. She wanted to go to Jerusalem. The parents reluctantly let go of their pet. Apollinaria is a saint who was very rich in her youth. Therefore, on her first journey, the girl went, accompanied by a large number of slaves and slaves. Also, her father gave her a lot of gold and silver. Apollinaria sailed on the ship, warmly saying goodbye to her parents.

generous hand

During the journey, she was forced to make a stop in Ascalon. When the sea calmed down, Apollinaria continued on her way. Already in Ascalon, she began to visit churches and monasteries, generously distributing alms. Arriving in Jerusalem, she fervently prayed for her parents. At the same time, visiting women's monasteries, Apollinaria continued to make donations. Gradually, she released her slaves and slaves, rewarding them for their faithful service. After some time, she and some of them were going to go to Alexandria.

modest requests

The proconsul of Alexandria learned of the arrival of the king's daughter. He prepared a rich reception for her and sent people to meet her. Apollinaria (saint) was famous for her modesty, she did not want too much attention. Therefore, she herself went to the proconsul's house at night. This frightened his family, but Apollinaria reassured all his household, at the same time asking her not to show her extra honors that could delay her on her way to Saint Mina. But still, she received generous gifts from the proconsul, which she then distributed to the poor. In Alexandria, the Monk Apollinaria for the first time bought clothes that could be worn by male monks. She hid them with her and sailed to Limna with two slaves.

Difficult life

From Limne, in a chariot, Apollinaria went to the burial place of Saint Mine. On the way, she decided to carry out a long-planned plan, which was to change into the clothes of a monk and live a hermit's life, devoting herself to the service of God. When her servants fell asleep, she changed her clothes and, leaving her royal clothes in the chariot, hid in the swamp. There she lived for several years, eating dates. Under the influence of a difficult life and fasting, her appearance changed, and she became unlike a woman. One of the trials she endured in the swamp was being bitten by hordes of mosquitoes, which she did not drive away, allowing them to feed on their own blood.

New challenges

A few years later, she went to the skete of the holy fathers to find shelter there and continue serving God. On the way, she met Saint Macarius of Egypt. He mistook Apollinaria for an eunuch and brought him to his skete, where he settled in a separate cell. None of the elders who lived there guessed that she was a woman. Apollinaria took up hard work - making mats. The name she took for herself, naturally, is masculine - Dorotheus. The saint lived strictly, she devoted all her time to prayer. Soon she had the gift of healing. According to the life of the saint, the righteous life of Apollinaria did not give rest to the evil spirit that her younger sister was possessed by. He tried to do everything to reveal her secret and expel her from the monastery. By cunning, he forced his parents to take their youngest daughter to a deserted monastery.

Mystery not revealed

There, Macarius of Egypt instructed Dorotheus to expel an evil spirit from the body of a woman. Apollinaria was not ready for this, but the holy elder reassured her, and she set to work. Closing herself in her cell with her younger sister, the saint began to pray. My sister recognized Apollinaria and was very happy. Soon the evil spirit left her body. The parents were very happy that their daughter had recovered, but the secret of Apollinaria was not revealed. However, the demon did not calm down. He made everyone think that her younger sister was pregnant. And then with her lips he accused the monk, with whom she spent a lot of time in the cell, of this fall. The king was very angry and ordered to demolish the skete. However, Dorotheus himself went out to the people and pleaded guilty to be taken to the king. There, alone with her father, Apollinaria confessed that it was she. Parents were very upset by the kind of life their daughter had to lead. But at the same time, they were proud of her. Therefore, they let her go back to the skete and wanted to give a lot of gold for the elders. But the Monk Apollinaria refused, declaring that they did not need anything, because they were worried about heavenly life, and not about earthly.

The secret becomes clear

The fact that a disguised woman lives in the skete with the men remained a mystery. Apollinaria continued her righteous life for a long time. However, after some time she was going to stand before the Lord. She began to ask Elder Macarius not to wash her body, because she did not want anyone to know who she really was. But he did not agree with this. Therefore, after her death, the elders came to wash the monk Dorotheus and saw that this was in fact a woman. They were very surprised and amazed at the mystery of God. Father Macarius was perplexed that this secret had not been revealed to him before everyone else. In response, the Lord sent him a dream in which he explained that there was nothing wrong with that, and Macarius would also become a saint. The relics of St. Apollinaria have a healing effect.

The name Polina at different times attracted the parents of girls with its euphony, bringing peace and tranquility. Being quite old, it never disappeared from use.

The history of its origin is quite controversial. Some experts believe that Polina is a full independent name, since the Greek "poly" means "a lot". Therefore, Polina is “significant”. Others attribute the name to derivatives from the French Paulina (Peacock), that is, "small", and still others agree that Polina is an abbreviated form of Apollonia or Apollinaria. In the Russian version, the colloquial Polinaria is more common, which is translated from Greek as “liberated”.

Although the list of names has expanded significantly over the centuries-old history of the church calendar, neither Polina, nor Paulina, nor Apollonia, nor Polinaria are in it. The fact is that Polina in Rus' was called Apollinaria or Pelageya. It is these names that are in the calendar. If the girl is still too young to make her own choice at baptism, then the parents will have to decide. Both names are of Greek origin and have great internal energy.

Apollinaria - dedicated to Apollo

Since the name comes from the golden-haired God of the Sun - Apollo, and Apollinaris means belonging - Apollo's, then Apollinaria can also be interpreted as "belonging to Apollo", "solar". Apollinaria, as a rule, does not have a meek disposition, which is often predicted by a girl named Polina. As a child, she is cheerful and sympathetic, loves to participate in the affairs of adults and expects praise and recognition of her merits from them. In adulthood, this is a woman with high intelligence, hardworking and devoted to her work and family hearth. By type of temperament - choleric. Touchy, but not vindictive. Can't stand pressure.

If during the rite of baptism Polina is called Apollinaria, then she will be patronized:
- St. Apollinaria, whose memorial day falls on April 4;
- the holy martyr Apollinaria (Tupitsina), sentenced to death on October 13, 1937 for belonging to a church group;
- Venerable Apollinaria, who was the daughter of Anthemius, ruler of the Greek Empire. For a long time she hid under a male monastic robe and bore the name Dorotheus. Memorial Day is celebrated on the eve of Epiphany, January 18.

Pelageya - "sea"

The name owes its appearance to the Greek Pelagios, which in the female version sounds like Pelagia - “sea”. It is identical to Marina, which is of Latin origin. Perhaps Polina and Pelageya will seem to some not perfectly consonant names, but in Christianity Pauline is often christened with the name Pelageya. In addition, they abound with the names of revered holy martyrs and venerable martyrs with this name:
- On April 5, the holy martyr Pelagia is venerated;
- May 17 - Pelagia of Tarsus;
- June 26 - Martyr Pelagia (Zhidko);
- June 30 - Pelagia (Balakirev);
- October 21 - the holy martyr Pelagia of Antioch, who was a student of the Hieromartyr Lucian of Antioch, and Pelagia of Antioch of Palestine;
- November 3 - Martyr Pelagia (Testova);
- February 12 - Pelagia Diveevskaya.

Despite the fact that balance is “heard” in the gentle name of Polina, women who wear it often have a choleric character and are not able to restrain internal tension for a long time. The girl, named Pelageya, is phlegmatic at first glance, but her tolerance also comes to an end with age. “Sunny” or “sea” Polina is decent, modest, but impulsive.

"strong", "destructive", "luminous"

origin of the name Apollinaria

the feminine form of the ancient Greek name Appolinaris, derived from the name of the god Apollo. Apollo - the son of Zeus in Greek mythology, the god of the Sun, healer and patron of the muses

Characteristics of the name Apollinaria

Apollinaria has a lot of advantages - she is very responsive, she will always come to the rescue, since childhood, her mother's assistant. But she needs her efforts to be appreciated. She is very touchy and takes criticism painfully. At the same time, he knows how to take care of himself. It's not easy for her to forgive. Self-willed and self-willed. But you can get anything from her with kindness. Responsible and obligatory, disciplined. Perhaps overly punctual and demanding, because of this, many consider her a bore. Especially gets from her pedantry home. But she is so good-natured and sympathetic that everyone forgives her. Appolinaria is a faithful friend for her husband, a caring and loving mother. But Appolinaria does not know how to forgive.

Famous personalities: this name was borne by the fatal love of the writer Dostoevsky - Apollinaria Prokofievna Suslova.

Saints

Apollinaria was the daughter of the ruler of Greece. She had many admirers, but the girl firmly decided to become Christ's bride. Dressed in men's clothes, she went to worship the tomb of the Lord, hid from the servants and settled in the desert. The Monk Apollinaria endured cold, hunger, suffered from insects, and was afraid of wild animals. She ended her life in the skete of Saint Macarius in Egypt. Saint Apollinaria became famous for her ascetic life and many miracles.