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The holy and glorious [[Martyr]]s '''Adrian  and Natalia''' (also ''Hadrian'' and ''Natalie'') were husband and wife who lived during the fourth century. Their [[feast day]] is celebrated on [[August 26]].

==Martyrdom==
During the [[Great Persecution]] of the early 4th century, Adrian encountered a group of martyrs (23 of them, according to the account in the [[Menaion]]; other sources say 33) and asked them why they were willing to endure such tortures for their faith. They replied that they were suffering in order to gain the good things prepared by God for those who suffered for his sake, "which neither eye has seen nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man" ([[I Corinthians|I Cor.]] 2:9). Upon hearing these words, Adrian was struck by divine grace and told the Roman officials who were present to write his own name with the rest of the martyrs. When his wife Natalia heard that he had been imprisoned with the martyrs, she ran with joy to the gaol and lauded his resolve while embracing his chains. After imploring the other martyrs to pray for her husband to God, she returned home.

Right before the time appointed for martyrdom, Adrian bribed the guards to release him temporarily and then went to his house to tell Natalia that the time had come. When she saw him coming, she assumed that he had denied Christ and thus had been released, and she refused to open the door, rebuking him as a coward. When she finally learned the true nature of his release, she changed her tone to one of encouragement and accompanied him to the tribunal.

When Adrian appeared before the emperor and confessed Christ, he underwent a first beating, and then was stretched on the ground and suffered a second beating on his stomach, which lacerated his stomach so that his intestines were visible. His hands and feet were then cut off. It is not clear if he died from these tortures, or was beheaded to finish him off more quickly.

The bodies of the martyrs were then taken up to be burned, but Natalie managed to steal one of her husband's severed hands from the pile. Guarding it as a precious [[relic]], she kept it in her cloak and even anointed herself with the blood. The fire that was supposed to burn the relics was miraculously put out by a sudden shower of rain, and a Christian named Eusebius was able to retrieve the relics, place them on a ship, and transport them for burial to Argyroupolis, a town near [[Wikipedia:Byzantium|Byzantium]]. Some time later, Natalia visited the tomb where she gave up her soul to God and was herself subsequently buried.

==Historical clarifications==
St. [[Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain|Nicodemus]] bases his account in the [[Synaxarion]] on a Greek life from a manuscript in the [[Great Lavra (Athos)|Great Lavra]] on [[Mount Athos]]. He places the martyrdom in A.D. 298 and attributes it to the Emperor Maximianus during his second period. The identification and chronology present some difficulties. Firstly, although there may have been limited harassment of Christians this early, the Great Persecution did not begin until A.D. 303. Secondly, the martyrdom is said to have occurred at [[Wikipedia:Nicomedia|Nicomedia]], in Asia Minor; in that case the emperor responsible was probably the Caesar of the East, [[Wikipedia:Galerius|Galerius]], whose full name was Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus, rather than the emperor more commonly known as [[Wikipedia:Maximian|Maximian]], the Augustus Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus who ruled in the western part of the Roman Empire during the same period. Thirdly, St. Nicodemus says that the martyrdom occurred in the second period of Maximian, which could conceivably mean after Galerius was promoted from Caesar (junior emperor) to Augustus (senior emperor) when [[Wikipedia:Diocletian|Diocletian]] retired in 305. It is, however, also possible that the date of 298 is correct: Galerius was appointed Caesar in 293, publicly disgraced by Diocletian after his failure in a campaign against the [[Wikipedia:Sassanids|Sassanids]] on the Eastern border of the Empire, and then redeemed himself with a victorious campaign against them in 297. The "second period" mentioned by St. Nicodemus would then be the time after his triumph over the Sassanids. His influence with Diocletian then increased, and it is possible that he had already began to persecute Christians in 298.

It is unclear from the accounts in the Synaxarion and Menaion whether Adrian was already a Christian when he encountered the martyrs. His [[apolytikion]] may suggest that he was still a [[pagan]].

Another St. Adrian is commemorated the same day. St. Nicodemus says that he was a son of the emperor Probus (d. 276) and brother of the bishop of Byzantium Dometius. He was martyred in 313 under the emperor [[Wikipedia:Licinius|Licinius]] in [[Nicomedia]], then buried by his brother in Argyroupolis, where his namesake Adrian already lay buried.

==Hymnography==
The [[hymn]]s of the [[saint]]s emphasize the cooperation of Adrian and Natalia and exalt them as a model married couple. In some hymns, e.g., the third [[sticheron]] of [[Vespers]], Natalia is contrasted favorably with [[Eve]], as exhorting her husband to godliness rather than tempting him to sin. She is also likened to the wise pilot of a storm-tossed ship (her husband), bringing him safely into the heavenly harbor (fourth sticheron of [[Lauds]]).

[[Troparion]] ([[Tone]] 4)  [http://www.oca.org/FStropars.asp?SID=13&ID=102398]
:Your holy martyrs Adrian and Natalia, O Lord,
:Through their sufferings have received incorruptible crowns from You, our God.
:For having Your strength, they laid low their adversaries,
:And shattered the powerless boldness of demons.
:Through their intercessions, save our souls!

[[Kontakion]] - (Tone 4)
:Martyr of Christ, Adrian,
:You kept the words of your godly and devoted wife Natalia in your heart.
:With her you accepted every kind of suffering and obtained the crown of victory!

==External links==
*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=102398 Martyr Adrian of Nicomedia] ([[OCA]])
*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=102399 Martyr Natalia of Nicomedia] (OCA)
*[http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=102400 33 Martyred Companions of Natalia and Adrian, of Nicomedia] (OCA)
*[http://goarch.org/en/chapel/saints.asp?contentid=179 Adrian & Natalia the Martyrs & their 33 Companion Martyrs in Nicomedea] ([[GOARCH]])
*[http://www.roca.org/OA/12/12g.htm Holy Martyrs Adrian and Natalie] ''Orthodox America''
*[http://home.iprimus.com.au/xenos/adrian.html Sts Adrian and Natalia the Martyrs, and their thirty three Companion Martyrs in Nicomedea] ([[GOAA]])
*[[w:Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia|''Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia'' at Wikipedia]]

[[Category:Martyrs]]
[[Category:Saints]]