Catherine of Alexandria

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Catherine of Alexandria (or Catherine of Alexandria) is one of the most famous saints. She is venerated as a martyr in the Catholic and Orthodox churches and belongs to the so-called Virgines capitales, the four great holy virgins. St. Catherine is one of the fourteen holy helpers and is considered a helper for suffering of the tongue and language difficulties. She is patron saint of schools, philosophical faculties, seamstresses and tailors. She is patron of many churches.

According to Christian tradition, she lived in the 3rd and early 4th centuries. He suffered martyrdom under the Roman Emperor Maxentius (306–312), according to other statements under Maximinus Daia (305–313) or under Maximian (286–305).

According to current research, Katharina is certainly an invented figure. The Catherine legend was probably constructed after the personality and fate of the late antique philosopher Hypatia from Alexandria, murdered by Christians (about 355–415/416). The roles of Christians and pagans were reversed.

The legend

According to legend, St. Catherine was a consecrated virgin who had promised herself Christ. She is said to have been the beautiful daughter of the pagan King Costus and his wife Sabinella from Cyprus, who lived in Alexandria in Egypt around 300 AD and was led to the faith by a hermit.

When the Emperor Maxentius (the oldest tradition, Maximinus or Maximianus) condemned Christians to martyrdom, Catherine confronted him and asked him why he did not convert to Christianity instead of demanding idolatrous sacrifices from Christians. In a public discussion, to which the Emperor had summoned his best fifty philosophers and scholars, Catherine made such plausible and learned arguments for Christianity that all fifty converted to Christianity. Because they had failed to dissuade Catherine from the Christian faith, the Emperor sent them all to the stake.

Impressed by her intelligence and quick-wittedness, the educated Empress Faustina herself went to her dungeon to move her to paganism. But the Empress was also converted to Christianity by Catherine and, like the philosophers before, was executed. Catherine was then scourged for twelve days and imprisoned without food in a dark dungeon. However, she received divine assistance through angels who anointed the wounds, and through a white dove that brought food. Christ himself came to strengthen their faith and prepare them for martyrdom.

The instrument of torture of their martyrdom should be the wheel. According to the Legenda aurea, there were four wheels lined with “iron saws and pointed nails”. Two of them should be moved downwards and the others opposite upwards and thus the martyr