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St Demiana was a chaste virgin, the daughter
of Mark the governor of El-Borollos and El-Zaafron. She was the only daughter born to her
parents. When she was a one year old, her father took her to the church which was in the
monastery of El-Malma, he offered alms and lit candles and oblation's so that God might
bless her and keep her in his care. When she was fifteen years old, her father wanted her
to marry. She refused, and told him that she had consecrated herself to Christ. When she
felt that her father was pleased with her intention. She asked him to build her a palace
where she could worship God with her friends. He built her a house and she lived in it
with forty other virgins. Emperor Diocletian sent for Mark her father to appear before him
in order to worship idols, he refused at first, but he later accepted and worshipped the
idols. When Mark returned to governorate, and St. Demiana knew what had transpired, she
rushed to meet him. She did not greet him but said, "What is it that I heard? I would have
preferred to hear about your death rather than to hear that you have renounced your faith
and left the God who created you, to worship Gods made by hands. Take note that if you do
not return first and renounce the worship of stones, you are not my father and I am not your
daughter, and he wept bitterly. In haste, he went to Diocletian and confessed the Lord
Jesus Christ. When the Emperor could not convince him by threats. He ordered him to be
beheaded. He sent her a prince who tried gently to convince her to worship idols, the prince
went to her with two hundred soldiers and some instruments of torture. When he arrived at
her palace, he said to her, "I am a messenger sent from the Emperor, I have come to ask you
to worship his Gods, so that he can grant you all that you want. "The Saint shouted in his
face saying: "May God denounce the messenger and the one by whom he was sent by, who are
inhabited by, devils?" There is no God in heaven or on earth except one God, the father,
the son and the Holy Spirit, the eternal creator, the everlasting, who is every where. After
this St Demiana was tortured greatly and in the end St Demiana and the forty virgins received
the crowns of martyrdom by beheading.Many miracles have also occured through the prayers
and intersessions of these great saints and martyr's till this day.
May their prayers be with us all, and glory be to God
forever. Amen.
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Saints
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