St Barbara

4th December is the saint’s day for Barbara, a Christian martyr who lived in the early 4^th century and died during the short reign of Roman Emperor Maximinus II (also known as Maximinus Daia). He was a noted pagan who was one of the last Roman emperors to instigate persecutions of Christians.

Barbara was the daughter of a pagan named Dioscorus, who lived at Heliopolis in Syria. He was afraid that Barbara had been converted to Christianity, so in order to prevent her from making contact with other Christians he had her shut away in a high tower.

However, Barbara, who had indeed become a Christian, did not give in. The next stage was torture, but she still stayed faithful. Eventually a judge ordered Dioscorus to kill his daughter, which he did after taking her up a mountain.

As Dioscorus was coming back down the mountain he was struck by lightning and killed. For this reason, St Barbara is regarded as a protector against lightning strikes, although in her story the lightning acted as divine punishment rather than a calamity to be avoided by prayerful Christians.

© John Welford