Tatiana Day

Tatiana Day is January 25. It is a religious holiday named after Saint Tatiana, a Christian martyr in 2nd century Rome during the reign of Emperor Alexander Severus. According to legend, she was the daughter of a Roman civil servant who was secretly Christian, and raised his daughter in the faith. This was dangerous, and one day Ulpian captured Tatiana and forced her to make a sacrifice to Apollo. She prayed, and miraculously, an earthquake destroyed the idol and part of the temple.

Tatiana was then blinded, and beaten for two days, before being brought to a circus and thrown into the pit with a hungry lion. But the lion did not touch her and lay at her feet. This resulted in a death sentence being pronounced, and after being tortured, Tatiana was slain with a sword. The miracles performed by Saint Tatiana are said to have converted many people to the fledgling religion.

In 1755, Empress Elizabeth of Russia signed an announcement of the founding of a State University. The Russian Orthodox Church then declared Saint Tatiana the patron saint of students.

External Links

Russian-language site for the St. Isaac's Cathedral