"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not you heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27)
Ireny is a Greek word means "peace". This word Sis repeated many times during the Holy Liturgy, especially when the priest says, "Ireny Passi" which is translated, "Peace be with you". And the congregatlon and deacons answer, "Ke to ebnevma ti so" which means, "And also with you". Many Copts call their daughters Ireny, because our Lord Jesus is the God of Peace. tRomans 15:33 & 16:20)
At birth, Saint Ireny was called Pina Louis. She was the daughter of King Lykinius of Macedonia. Her parents were pagans who worshiped idols, yet they loved Ireny dearly. Ireny was so pretty that her father built a palace to protect her from the outside world. Ireny spent all her time in that palace. Although she had committed no crime she was never allowed to leave her palace. Because of the love of her father, Ireny was a special prisoner. No one was allowed to enter the palace except thirteen maids and one old man who were assigned to serve Ireny. However, the king didn't know that the old man was Christian. On the contrary, he admired him because he was a good respected teacher.
When Pina Louis was thirteen years old, she started thinking about the idols which her father left in the palace. One day and while she was awake, she saw a vision. A dove entered the room and dropped an olive branch on the table, then an eagle brought a crown in his beak and left it on the table too. Finally a crow carrying a snake entered the room and left the snake in the same place. Ireny was puzzled and asked her old teacher to explain the meaning of that vision.
The old man prayed for a long time asking for God's help. Then he said, "The dove signifies the knowledge of the true God through his Word. The branch of olive is the Baptism that you will receive. The eagle symbolizes the victory of the Almighty God. The crown is the glory of the saints. The crow refers to her father and the snake designates the persecution of the believers."
Then he added, "Be advised, my child, that you are the daughter of the real God who reigns over heaven and earth. You will go through many ordeals, especially from your father, but the Angel of the Lord will rescue you from all your troubles, and you will become a blessing for many."
One day, her father entered the palace with news that one of the princes wanted to marry her. Ireny asked her father for a period of time to think about it. Then she went to ask the idols for their advice. When she didn't get any answer, she lifted her heart to heaven and prayed to the God of the Christians, just like her old teacher has taught her. Then all of a sudden, an angel appeared to her and comforted her. He said that Saint Timothy (who was Saint Paul's disciple) would come the next day to baptize her. He also added that from now on, her name would change to Ireny, which means Peace.
The next day, Saint Timothy baptized her along with her thirteen maids. Immediately Ireny started destroying all the idols in the palace. When her father saw what she did, he became very furious, but Ireny told him that his idols couldn't even defend themselves. The father went to complain to his wife, but to his amazement, she told him that she agreed with her daughter and would like to become a Christian herself. The father became even angrier and declared that Ireny was no longer considered his daughter.
The king gave orders to his guards to chain Ireny's hands and feet and let the horses trample her body. But one of the horses attacked the king who was watching and bit off his hand. Then the other horses pushed him to the ground and kept kicking him until he died. Suddenly Ireny' B chains miraculously fell down. She went to her father, put back his hand in place and lifted her heart to heaven, asking God to bring him back to life. And immediately the king got up on his feet in front of three thousand onlookers, who all declared their faith in the true God.
After Ireny's father converted to Christianity, he sent a message to King Daccius, informing him that he believed in the Crucified Christ, and that he would never sacrifice to the idols again. The king got mad, and sent for Ireny, since he thought that she was responsible for what had happened. At that time, Ireny's father and mother were baptized.
When Ireny presented herself in front of King Daccius, he tried to persuade her by any means. He promised to marry her and make her the happiest girl in the whole empire. But Ireny refused, saying that her real groom is the Heavenly Groom, Christ, whom she adored. That infuriated the king, and he ordered her to be tortured.
The soldiers took Ireny away and started tormenting her every day. At night, they would throw her half-dead body into jail, but an angel used to come and heal her from all her wounds. When the people who were watching saw the savage torturing, they revolted against the king, and expelled him from the country. AB a result of his ordeal, the king became very ill and died.
Prince Sabour succeeded his father to become the new king of Macedonia. Unfortunately, he didn't learn from his father's mistake. He sent his troops to attack the city where Ireny lived in order to avenge his father's death. Ireny, on the other hand, prayed God to protect her people from the tyrant. Suddenly, all the soldiers and their king became blind and were groundless. The king cried to Ireny to pray to her God to restore their sight since He is the only God with such power. Ireny prayed and their eyes were opened again. Nevertheless, the king insisted that Ireny should offer sacrifices to the idols since she was responsible for his father's death. When Ireny refused, she was jailed for four days without any food or water. Then around midnight in her dark and lonely cell a bright light appeared; the Lord of Glory Himself came to tell Ireny not to fear for He would be always with her.
The next day, they started torturing her again, but Ireny saw many celestial creatures coming down on her, untying her chains and saving her from her gladiators. While she was praising God, the king became mad with rage and he fell to his death.
A period of peace followed these tribulations. St. Timothy joined her in her palace where her parents lived. They built an altar for St. Mary where they celebrated mass every day. They also preached the word of God to everyone, and baptized many believers. For three years , numerous miracles were performed through Ireny and the faithful multiplied in number.
Ireny spent her last days in Ephesus where she used to teach and pray continuously. Finally she died on the twenty-first day of the month of "Messra". May the prayers and supplications of this great Saint Ireny be with us. Amen.