Apollinaria Holy: Life, Icon, Prayer

St. Apollinaris, the icon of which must 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, which is addressed in case of illness. It also helps to strengthen strength of mind, faith, and develop humility. Before the icon it is necessary to repeat the words of the prayer: "Pray to God for me, holy saint, the Monk of God Apollinaria, as I am assiduously turning to you, an ambulance and prayer-book about my soul."

St. Apollinaria, whose life is described in this article, was the eldest daughter of the wise king Anfemia. From a young age, she loved spending time in prayer and often went to church. After becoming 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 will have a good family. But Apollinaria is 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 her a nun who would teach her to read the holy scriptures. Finally, the parents gave up.

First trip

They were touched by the unwavering perseverance of the girl, and they brought her to the nun, like a daughter and asked. Having learned to read the sacred books, Apollinaria began to ask her parents to let her go on a journey to holy places. She wanted to go to Jerusalem. Parents reluctantly released their favorite. Apollinaria is a saint who in her youth was very rich. Therefore, on her first trip the girl went with a large number of slaves and slaves. His father also gave her a lot of gold and silver. Apollinaria sailed on the ship, warmly bidding farewell to her parents.

A generous hand

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

Modest requests

The proconsul of Alexandria learned of the arrival of the tsar's daughter. He prepared her a rich welcome and sent people to meet her. Apollinaria (holy) was famous for its modesty, she did not want excessive attention. So she went to the proconsul's house herself at night. This frightened his family, but Apollinaria calmed all his household members, while at the same time asked not to give her extra honors that might hold her on the way to Saint Mina. But all the same she received from the proconsul generous gifts, which she then distributed to the poor. In Alexandria, the Monk Apollinaria for the first time bought clothes that could be worn by monk men. She hid them away and set sail in Limna with the two slaves.

Difficult life

From Limna, in a chariot, Apollinaria went to the burial site of Saint Mine. On the way, she decided to implement a long-conceived plan, which consisted in changing into a monk's clothes and living a hermit's life, devoting herself to serving God. When her servants fell asleep, she disguised herself and, leaving her royal clothes in her 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 that she stood on 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 hermitage of holy fathers to find shelter there and continue serving God. On the way she met Saint Macarius of Egypt. He accepted Apollinaria for a scopus and brought him to his monastery, where he settled in a separate cell. None of the elders who lived there, did not realize that she was a woman. Apollinaria took up hard work - making mats. She took the name, of course, the man's name - Dorofei. The holy vein was strict, she devoted all her time to prayer. Soon she had the gift of healing. According to the saint's life, the righteous life of Apollinaria gave no rest to the evil spirit with which her younger sister was obsessed. He tried to do everything to reveal her secret and expel from the hermitage. By cunning, he forced his parents to take the youngest daughter to the desert skete.

The mystery is not revealed

There Macarius of Egypt instructed Dorotheus to drive the evil spirit out of the woman's body. Apollinaria was not ready for this, but the holy elder reassured her, and she set to work. Closing with her younger sister in the 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 mystery of Apollinaria was not discovered. However, the demon did not calm down. He did so that everyone thought that her younger sister was pregnant. And then she blamed the sin of the monk, with whom she spent a lot of time in the cell. The king was very angry and ordered the demolition of the monastery. However, Dorofei himself went out to the people and pleaded guilty to being taken to the king. There, alone with her father, Apollinaria admitted that it was she. Parents were very upset about what kind of life their daughter had to lead. But at the same time were proud of her. So they let her go back to the hermitage and wanted to give a lot of gold to the elders. But the Monk Apollinaria refused, saying that they did not need anything, because they were worried about the heavenly life, and not about the earthly life.

The secret becomes explicit

The fact that a disguised woman lives in the monastery together with men, remained a mystery. Apollinaria continued its righteous life for a long time. However, after a while she was about to appear before the Lord. She began to ask the Elder Macarius not to wash her body, as 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 Dorofei and saw that this was actually a woman. They were very surprised and were amazed by God's mystery. Father Makarii was perplexed about the fact that he had never before been discovered this secret. In response, the Lord sent him a dream, in which he explained that there was nothing wrong with that, and Makarius would also become a saint. The relics of St. Apollinaris have a healing effect.