Wood icon, "Saint Larissa", miniature, 7x10cm

Manually painted wood icon of Saint Larissa. Miniature measuring 7x10 cm. Original artwork.

The Holy Martyr Larissa lived in Gottfries (a district in the present Crimea), in the third quarter of the 4th century, during the reign of Emperor Grazian. It was a time of severe persecution and persecution of Christians, and many innocent souls were ruined by pagan rulers, many righteous people gave their lives. Fearing death, the Christians gathered secretly in places of little attention and secretly performed divine services and offered prayers to the Lord, but there also pagan persecutors found them and subjected them to terrible tortures and executions, destroying and burning the sanctuaries.

In Gottfry in those years ruled King Jüngerich, who was a fierce pagan. He brutally persecuted Christians and exterminated them, destroying their temples. Once he ordered to lock and set fire to the Christian church during the service. The Holy Martyr Larissa was a Christian among the followers of Christ, who were burned alive during a divine service in a prayer house. In the flames of fire, 308 people died, of which the names of 21 martyrs, including the martyrs of Larissa, are known. The widow of another Gothic King, Alla, with her daughter Duclida, collected the remains of the holy martyrs and transported them to Syria, from where she returned to her homeland, where, after a while, she was stoned and died martyred with her son Agathon. The relics of the holy martyrs remained with Duclida, who came to Kizik (in the Crimea) and transferred part of the relics to the sanctification of the temple.

Saint Larisa is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on March 26th.