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Living in the capital—the centre of Hellenistic knowledge—and possessed of an uncommon beauty and intellect, Catherine received a most splendid of educations, having studied the works of the finest philosophers and teachers of antiquity. Young men from the most worthy families of the empire sought the hand of the beautiful Catherine, but none of them was chosen. She declared to her parents that she would be agreeable to enter into [[marriage]] only with someone who surpassed her in illustriousness, wealth, comeliness, and wisdom.

Catherine prayed all night and was given to see the [[Theotokos|Most Holy Virgin]], who sent her divine Son to look upon the kneeling of Catherine before Them. But the Child turned his face away from her saying, that he was not able to look at her because she was ugly, of shabby lineage, beggarly and mindless like every person—not washed with the waters of holy [[Baptism]] and not sealed with the seal of the [[Holy Spirit]]. Catherine returned again to the elder deeply saddened. He lovingly received her, instructed her in the faith of Christ, admonished her to preserve her purity and integrity and to pray unceasingly; he then performed over her the [[Holy Mysteries|mystery/sacrament]] of holy baptism. And again Saint Catherine had a vision of the Mother of God with her Child. Now the Lord looked tenderly at her and gave her a ring—a wondrous gift of the heavenly Bridegroom.

Introducing herself, the saint confessed her faith in the one true God and with wisdom denounced the errors of the pagans. The beauty of the maiden captivated the emperor. In order to convince her and show the superiority of pagan wisdom, the emperor gave orders to gather 50 of the most learned men (rhetoricians) of the empire, but the saint got the better of the wise men, such that they themselves came to believe in Christ. Saint Catherine shielded the martyrs with the [[sign of the cross]], and they bravely accepted death for Christ and were burnt by order of the emperor.

On the following day they again brought the martyr to the judgement court where, under the threat of being broken on the wheel, they urged that she recant from the Christian faith and offer sacrifice to the gods. The saint steadfastly confessed Christ and she herself approached the wheels; but an [[angel]] smashed the instruments of execution, which broke up into pieces with many pagans passing nearby. Having beheld this wonder, the empress Augusta and the imperial courtier Porphyry with 200 soldiers confessed their faith in Christ in front of everyone, and they were beheaded. Maximinus again tried to entice the holy martyr, proposing marriage to her, and again he received a refusal. St. Catherine firmly confessed her fidelity to the heavenly Bridegroom, Christ, and with a prayer to him she herself put her head on the block under the sword of the executioner. The [[relics]] of St. Catherine were taken by the angels to Mount Sinai. In the 9th or 10th century, through a revelation, the venerable head and left hand of the holy martyress were found and transferred with honour to the church of [[St. Catherine's Monastery (Sinai)|Sinai monastery]], built by the holy emperor [[Justinian the Great]] in the 6th century.

According to ancient usage, St. Catherine (along with St. [[Mercurius the Great-martyr]]) was celebrated on [[November 24]], whereas the holy [[Hieromartyr]]s [[Clement of Rome]] and [[Peter of Alexandria]] were celebrated on the [[November 25|25th]]. The dates of the feasts of these saints were interchanged at the requests of the [[St. Catherine's Monastery (Sinai)|Church and Monastery of Sinai]], so that the festival of Catherine, their [[patron saint|patron]], might be celebrated more festively together with the [[leavetaking]] of the [[Presentation of the Theotokos]]. The Slavic churches, however, continue to commemorate these saints on their original dates.{{ref|1}}

:elle qui méprisa le savoir des rhéteurs.

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{{note|1}} ''The Great Horologion''. Holy Transfiguration Monastery, p. 322</div>