Holy Apollinaria, the icon of which should be in every house of those who are baptized by this name, is famous for its modest ascetic life. She dedicated her to serving God.
Young years
Apollinaria is a saint who is consulted in case of illness. It also helps strengthen fortitude, faith, and develop humility. Before the icon, one must repeat the words of the prayer: "Pray for God for me, holy saint, the reverend of God Apollinaria, as if I am eagerly resorting to you, an ambulance and a prayer book for my soul."
Saint Apollinaria, whose life is described in this article, was the eldest daughter of the wise king Anfemia. From an early age, she loved to spend time in prayers and often attended churches. Having become an adult, she refused to marry and began to ask her parents to send her instead to the monastery. Parents refused, they dreamed that their daughter would have a good family. But Apollinaria is a saint who, from a young age, loved God so much that she wanted to remain immaculate for her whole life, refused all the gifts of the pretenders to her hand and heart. She began to ask her parents to bring a nun to her, who would teach her to read the scriptures. Finally, the parents surrendered.
First trip
They were touched by the unshakable persistence of the girl, and they brought the nun to her, as her daughter had requested. Learning to read the holy books, Apollinaria began to ask her parents to let her go on a trip to the holy places. She wanted to go to Jerusalem. Parents reluctantly let go of their darling. Apollinaria is a saint who in her youth was very rich. Therefore, on her first trip, 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.
Open hand
During the trip, 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 giving alms. Arriving in Jerusalem, she earnestly prayed for her parents. At the same time, visiting convents, Apollinaria continued to make donations. Gradually, she let go of 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 found out about the arrival of the royal daughter. He prepared a rich welcome for her and sent people to meet her. Apollinaria (holy) was famous for its modesty; she did not want excessive attention. Therefore, she herself went to the house of the proconsul at night. This frightened his family, but Apollinaria reassured all his household, while at the same time asking him not to show her extra honors that could delay her on the way to St. Mine. But still she received generous gifts from the proconsul, which she then distributed to the poor. In Alexandria, the Monk Apollinaria first bought clothes that the monks could wear. She hid them in her home and set sail in Limna with two slaves.
Hard life
From Limna in a chariot, Apollinaria headed for the burial place of St. Mine. On the way, she decided to implement a long-planned plan, which was to dress in the clothes of a monk and live a hermit life, devoting herself to serving God. When her servants fell asleep, she changed clothes and, leaving her royal clothes in a chariot, hid in a 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 tests she stood in the swamp was the bites of 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 monastery of the Holy Fathers to find shelter there and continue serving God. On the way, she met Saint Macarius of Egypt. He took Apollinaria as an eunuch and led to his monastery, where he settled in a separate cell. None of the elders who lived there realized that she was a woman. Apollinaria took up the hard work of making mats. She took her name, naturally, male - 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 with which her younger sister was obsessed. 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.
The mystery is not revealed.
There Macarius of Egypt instructed Dorotheus to expel the 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 with her younger sister in her cell, the saint began to pray. My sister recognized Apollinaria and was very happy. Soon the evil spirit left her body. Parents were very happy that their daughter recovered, but the secret of Apollinaria was not revealed. However, the demon did not calm down. He made it so that everyone thought that her younger sister was pregnant. And then, through the mouth, she accused the monk of this fall, with whom she spent a lot of time in the cell. The king was very angry and ordered to demolish the monastery. However, Dorotheus himself went out to the people and pleaded guilty to be taken to the king. There, alone with her father, Apollinaria admitted that it was her. Parents were very upset by the kind of life their daughters had to lead. But at the same time they were proud of her. Therefore, they released her back to the monastery and wanted to give a lot of gold for the elders. But Rev. Apollinaria refused, saying that they did not need anything, because they are worried about heavenly life, and not earthly life.
Secret becomes apparent
The fact that a disguised woman lives in a monastery together with men remained a mystery. Apollinaria continued her righteous life for a long time. However, after some time, she was going to appear before the Lord. She began to ask the elder Makarii so that her body would not be washed, because she did not want 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 actually a woman. They were very surprised and were struck by God's mystery. Father Macarius was perplexed that this secret was not revealed to him before everyone else. In response, the Lord sent him a dream in which he explained that there was nothing wrong with this, and Macarius would also become a saint. The relics of St. Apollinaria have a healing effect.