The topic of who Saint Natalya (the patroness) is, what she helps, what she protects from, and how to pray for her, we can start with the fact that each Orthodox family should have its own iconostasis or, as it is called, a “red corner ".
In this place, icons, prayer books and protectors of all family members are usually united. And first of all, these are the images of the Savior and the Virgin, then - the icons of the saints by whose names the family members are named, and the icons of the saints - the patrons of certain occupations or professions with which the residents of the house are associated.
The family iconostasis should also include icons of the venerable local and other great saints of the Russian land. Now let's try to figure out the question: Saint Natalya, the patroness of whom?
St. Natalya: icon, meaning
The icon of St. Natalia depicts an early Christian holy martyr who suffered great bloodless mental suffering. Saint Natalya is the patroness of women with a beautiful name Natasha.
Any icon is already magnificent in that it depicts saints - the first helpers in our conversion to God. If we feel that our prayer to him is weak, then here it is simply necessary to turn to the holy helpers. With prayer and hope they come to the icon of Saints Adrian and Natalia.
St. Natalya: patroness, prayer
They venerate saints Natalia and Adrian as well as the pious miracle workers Peter and Fevronia of Murom. They are considered the patrons of the family hearth. And if God sends his blessing, then the union will be strong and faithful, the fire of love will never die out in it, and happy years of life will pass in respect and understanding.
These saints also pray for their husbands who have created any hardships or difficulties in legal matters.
The first prayer to the saints begins with the words: “Oh, the holy martyr Adrian and Natalia! Hear us, servant of God ... ” The second prayer: "Oh, the holy servant of God, Natalia, struggling with good deed to the earth ...".
Troparion, voice of the 4th: “Thy martyrs, Lord, have crowns in your sufferings ...”
Kondak, the voice of the 4th: "Wives of the God-wise divine words ...".
Prayer call: “Pray of God for me, holy saint of God (name) ...”.
Prayer to saints Hadrian and Natalia for happiness in marriage: "Oh, sacred two, the holy martyr of Christ, Hadrian and Natalia ...".
In the Orthodox Church, the day of remembrance of these martyrs was established on August 26 (September 8).
Temples in honor of the holy martyrs
Continuing the topic related to the question - St. Natalya, the patroness of which, it is also necessary to indicate the temples where there is an opportunity to pray to this holy martyr.
In Moscow, in the district of Babushkino, there is a temple (1914-1916), dedicated to the holy martyrs Adrian and Natalia. Since 2004, a particle of the relics of St. Natalia has been kept there between the main altar and the limit of “Unexpected Joy”. In the Golyanovo district there is a church of the Monks Zosima and Savvatiy of Solovetsky, in which there is an honored image of Saints Adrian and Natalia, located in the border named after them. And one more revered icon is in the temple of the Icon of the Mother of God “Sign”, located in the district of Pereyaslavskaya Sloboda.
In St. Petersburg, in the district of Staro-Panov, there is also a temple built in 1809 in honor of Saints Andrian and Natalia. But it was destroyed at the beginning of the war in 1942, as it was on the front line. Now it was rebuilt, now it has also become a monument to the soldiers who defended the besieged Leningrad.
Temples in honor of these holy martyrs are also found in Odessa, Kiev, Kozelts (Chernihiv region), Kazan, in the village of Shemeti (Perm Territory), as well as in Kazakhstan. But the oldest fresco of the XI century, which depicts St. Natalya, is in the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev.
Life
Saint Natalya lived in the 4th century in Asia Minor in the large and populous city of Nicomedia, located on the shores of the Sea of ​​Marmara. She married a very wealthy young man who held a respectable position at the Trial Chamber, whose name was Adrian. He was 28 years old, and he was a pagan - he went to the temple and made sacrifices to his gods. Natalia was a secret Christian.
They lived together for about a year, when persecution of Christians began in Nicodemia and the emperor Maximian Galerius (305-311), who vehemently hated the Church of Christ, arrived in the city. Then the real hunt for Christians began. Even a reward was given to someone who points to a Gentile. The Christians were reported, caught and arranged over them whole judges. According to one of such denunciations, executioners were caught 23 Christians hiding in the cave of Nicodemia.
Torture
They began to torture, torture and force to sacrifice to the pagan gods, but they refused. Then they were taken to the Trial Chamber to issue an interrogation. The head of the court was Andrian, the husband of Natalia. He watched in horror with what courage and courage the Christians endured all the suffering for the faith. Then he asked them what reward they expect from their God for such torment? They replied that it was impossible to describe this reward, and the human mind could not comprehend. And suddenly the Holy Spirit seemed to have found Adrian, and then he ordered his subordinates to record him as a Christian, who is also ready to die with joy for Christ.
This was immediately reported to the emperor, who called him to him that hour and asked him if he had gone mad. Andrian replied that he was not mad, but turned to common sense.
Unexpected joy
Then the emperor ordered him to be chained and sent to prison. Having learned about all this, Saint Natalya was filled with deep joy from the fact that Adrian knew Christ, and now he is waiting for the martyr's crown. She immediately ran to his prison and began to kiss his fetters and strengthen him with words of eternal bliss and that soon, when he appeared before God, he begged Him to be worthy of the same fate.
When St. Natalya was at home, after the bail of other Christian martyrs, Adrian was released home from prison to inform her of the day of the execution.
Execution
Natalia was frightened and thought that Adrian could not stand it and renounced Christ, and therefore he was released from prison. Because of this, she did not want to let him in home, but he convinced that he had come to notify her of his imminent execution.
When this day came, the Christians were taken out of prison. They were supposed to be betrayed by terrible mortal torment - on the anvil to kill arms and legs. Natalya herself asked her husband to be executed first. She was afraid that he would be scared when he saw the torture of other martyrs. But Saint Andrian did not flinch, and then Saint Natalya herself laid his hands and feet on the anvil. After the execution, the mutilated bodies of the holy martyrs were supposed to be burned, but suddenly a thunderstorm began, the kindled furnace for Christians went out sharply, and they killed the executioners who were near by lightning.
Holy relics
Saint Natalia was with her husband until the end, until he betrayed his soul to the Lord. Then she took her husband’s hand and then kept it at home. The widow requested that Adrian pronounce her first prayer before God so that no one would force her to marry a pagan.
However, soon the army commander began to ask the emperor to give him rich and beautiful Natalia, but she fled to Byzantium. There, Andrian appeared to her and warned that she would soon be with the Lord.
And God really had mercy - after suffering such heavy mental suffering, in the estate of Byzantium she died in a dream on the tomb of her husband, whose body was transported by believers. Saint Natalya received a bloodless martyrdom, and followed her husband into the kingdom of heaven. Her relics are now in Milan in the Cathedral of St. Lawrence, and the relics of St. Adrian in Rome, in a temple named after his memory.
This can be the end of the theme "St. Natalya: Life and Prayer." And let the saints pray for us before the Throne of God, and we can only trust in the mercy of God.