The Holy Martyr Ouart - The History and Meaning of Images

In the beginning of the 4th century St. Ouar. Under the emperor Maximian served in Egypt and was a commander of the detachment, who participated in the persecution of Christians. Believing in the True God, but, fearing the lawless idolaters, he concealed his faith. During the persecution begun, Saint Ouar walked around the dungeons at night and looked after the prisoners in them Christians: he washed and bound them with wounds, brought food.

 

Once St. Ouar visited a dungeon in the night, in which there were seven Christian teachers. St. Ouar asked them to pray that he would get rid of the fear of suffering and be honored to suffer for Christ. "If you are afraid of temporary torment, you can not escape the eternal, if you are afraid to confess Christ on earth, you will not see His face in Heaven," they answered. Hearing this, St. Ouar felt in himself such a love for God that he decided to suffer for His Name and remained in prison. In the morning one of the martyrs died of wounds. St. Ouar, together with six teachers before the governor, said that he wanted to suffer instead of the deceased prisoner. St. Ouar was beaten with sticks, his body was scraped with iron knives, then, nailing to the tree with his head down, skin was ripped from his back, and his stomach was tormented until all the insides fell to the ground. The saints prayed for him and inspired the feat. One pious widow, blessed Cleopatra, whose husband was a military commander in Egypt, looked with sadness from afar to the sufferings of St. Ouar. When the body of the saint was thrown out of the city, blessed Cleopatra secretly brought him to his house in the night and buried him in the bedroom. The next morning, Christian teachers were beheaded by the sword. Blessed Cleopatra constantly lit candles over the tomb of St. Ouar and prayed fervently, honoring him as a great intercessor and intercessor before God.

 

At the end of the persecution in 312, she transported Ouar's relics to Palestine and put them in her family cave in the village of Edre (8 miles north of Lake Genisareth), and then built in honor of the saint and the temple. Uar suffered about 307 years.The feast day of the holy martyr Ouar is on October 19 (November 1, according to a new style).