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→Martyrdom
==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 based on the St Herman of Alaska Monastery calendar say 33, of which will be corrected for next year's printing) 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.
