Santa Barbara

Автор: Даниэль Хосейни

Saint Barbara

Rejoice most blessed Barbara,
Heroically you bore the pain.
So strengthened by God’s saving grace,
Your witnessing was not in vain.

Being born from father Dioscorus,
You lived in luxury and wealth,
And being renowned for your beauty,
Your pagan father locked you up in his estate.

While contemplating from the tower
The wooded hills and coloured meadows,
As well as stars that twinkle in the nightly sky,
You came to know the only one Creator
Rejecting idols, useless as they are.

One day you held a conversation
With maidens of your city Heliopolis.
And they revealed to you the way of God’s salvation,
While certain priest baptized you in God’s holy name.

And when they were building up a bathroom,
You told the workmen of your absent father
To add third window to the two existing ones,
Thus honoring the Holy Trinity, Existing One.

You chose the Christ of God, our Holy Jesus,
To be your Bridegroom once for all,
Rejecting other bridegrooms, remaining virgin
To be His spotless bride for evermore.

When facing pagan Dioscorus,
You told him truth of Christianity,
And being enraged, he almost killed you,
Had you not fled and took a refuge
In hill that opened up itself
And took you in its crevice,
And then it closed itself before your father’s face.

Being found once again by evil father
And fiercely beaten at the end,
You were delivered up to evil prefect Martianus,
Who tortured you and you were healed.

Your martyrdom was shared by fearless Juliana,
Who joined you and embraced the holy faith.
And being beheaded by your evil father,
You are both rewarded by God, your Holy Father.

Beholding face of Christ, the Holy Bridegroom,
You both received the crown of victory.
And while beholding Uncreated Light,
Remember us in presence of the Triune God.