In Christianity, branched into different directions, there are often saints canonized in only one branch, that is, elevated to the rank of righteous after the split of the church. But at the same time, both in Catholicism and in Orthodoxy there are those whose memory is revered by both branches. This is explained by the fact that these saints were canonized before the split of Christianity. One of them is Saint Martha. This righteous woman of God lived at the same time as Jesus Christ and knew him personally, believed in God even before his miraculous Resurrection.
There is one important note. In Catholicism, the righteous is known as Saint Martha. Orthodoxy calls her Martha. The story of her life and good deeds will be told in this article.
A trip to history
The Bible takes us to the distant past - at a time when Jesus Christ lived and preached on Earth. As you know, not all people were disposed towards Him benevolently. But not the sisters Martha and Mary andtheir brother Lazarus. Jesus loved to visit their home in Bethany.
Two sisters - St. Martha and St. Mary - were completely different. The first was the personification of activity. She constantly fussed and busied herself with the housework, wanting to cook the best for the guests. The second of the sisters, Mary, forgetting about household duties, wanted only to listen to the sermons of Christ. She believed that everything earthly is mortal compared to divine providence.
Marfa somehow shamed her sister in front of a guest.
She complained that the enthusiastic girl did not want to help her with the housework. To these statements of the offended sister, Jesus replied that Martha was fussing about many things, but you need to worry about only one thing - the salvation of the soul. The second episode, in which Saint Martha is mentioned, is connected with her brother, Lazarus, who fell ill and needed the help of Jesus Christ. At that time, the Son of God was far beyond the borders of Bethany and did not have time to arrive in the city to heal the sick. Lazarus is dead. His sisters - St. Martha and St. Mary - had already begun to mourn the loss of their brother, as Jesus Christ arrived in the city and resurrected the deceased.
The role of Martha in biblical stories
In Christianity, Saint Martha is one of the myrrh-bearing women. She is considered the patroness of the household, as well as servants, waiters, and cooks.
Great Saint Martha is remembered by the Orthodox on the day of June 4, by the Catholics on July 29.
Also, the memory of the righteous is immortalized in churches, monasteries, which are given namesby her name. So, in Russia in honor of St. Martha they settled down, and even now there are prayer houses built in honor of the myrrh-bearing women.
To appeal to the righteous, it is not necessary to visit churches that bear her name. Only an image depicting Saint Martha is desirable. Icon (photo is allowed - it doesn't matter). If there is no image or photograph, then this is a small problem. You can say prayers without the icon of the righteous. There are a lot of holy texts dedicated to this saint. Moreover, it is not necessary to pronounce any church texts, you can pray in your own words. Saint Martha will surely hear prayers that sincerely come from a pure heart, in which there is no malicious intent.
