Life
Saint Nedeljа — Kyriaki in Greek, meaning “of the Lord” or “she who belongs to the Lord” — was born in the third century in Nicomedia in Bithynia (present-day Izmit, Turkey). Her name was no accident: she was born on the Lord’s Day, Sunday, and her devout Christian parents Dorotheus and Evikia gave her a name that carries within it the very essence of the first day of the week. That day has been her day ever since, the day of her light and her glory.
The parents of little Kyriaki were fervent Christians, and they raised their daughter in strict Christian piety. From early childhood Nedelja showed extraordinary love of God — she prayed much, fasted strictly, and avoided any society that might draw her away from spiritual things. She consecrated herself to Christ as a pure virgin and from her earliest youth lived an ascetic life, like a nun in the world. She was remarkably beautiful, but regarded that beauty as a gift from God to be guarded by purity of heart and body.
When the persecutions of Christians under Emperor Diocletian began — one of the most brutal epochs in the history of Christian martyrdom — young Nedelja made no attempt to hide or flee. Arrested and brought before the governor Diodorus, she confessed her faith clearly. Diodorus, captivated by her beauty, first tried to persuade her to marry him or one of the noble pagans, believing that feminine vanity and material offers would prevail. Nedelja refused everything, declaring that her only Bridegroom was Christ.
Then began her torments, terrible and prolonged for a girl of her years. She was flogged, placed in a heated furnace but was not burned, thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil but remained unharmed. Each time the tormentors believed they had broken her, Nedelja would rise strengthened by an invisible power. These events, according to tradition, brought many onlookers to Christianity, for in her imperviousness to suffering they saw a divine work.
After repeated tortures, Saint Nedelja was beheaded in the city of Nicomedia on July 7, around the year 290, in the twenty-first year of her life. What she had received as a name at her birth — “of the Lord” — she confirmed in her death with her entire being.
In Serbia Saint Nedelja is particularly beloved in Šumadija and central Serbia. Her feast — Nedeljdan — is one of the more widespread patron feasts, and families who keep it feel a special devotion to this martyr. Her very name carries within it the Sunday — the day of rest and worship — and in the people it was felt as especially blessed. Monasteries and churches dedicated to Saint Nedelja are scattered throughout the Serbian lands, and her name is still borne by many women baptized on a Sunday.
Tropar (Tone 4)
The Church has named thee an unblemished lamb, O virgin Kyriaki, for thou didst lay down thy soul for the Lamb of God; freed from the fiery furnace and from the sword by the grace of Christ, thou didst receive the martyr’s crown. Intercede with Him to save our souls.
Kontakion (Tone 2)
Thou didst blossom from a noble lineage, O holy Nedelja, and didst bloom with the blood of martyrdom, incorruptible Bride of Christ; thou wast born on the Lord’s day and didst end thy life in martyrdom, gloriously and acceptably to Christ. Intercede with Him for our souls.
About the Feast
Nedeljdan is a patron feast by which families are connected to the Lord’s Day — Sunday — through the protection of the holy martyr Kyriaki. It is especially widespread in Šumadija, Pomoravlje, and central Serbia, where this feast is celebrated with particular solemnity and family devotion. By the Julian calendar the feast falls on July 7, corresponding to July 20 by the Gregorian calendar.
The feast table for Nedeljdan is generally unrestricted since the feast falls in summertime, outside fasting periods. The slava bread and slava koljivo are obligatory, as the heart of every Orthodox patron feast. Hosts often prepare roasted meat — most often lamb or veal — and special appetizers and pastries adorn the feast table. Flowers and greenery decorate the home, and the house is open to all guests, for the Serbian slava knows no closed doors.
In the people there is a particular tenderness toward this martyr — women bearing the name Neđa, Nedelja, or Kira celebrate her as their name-day feast. Families who keep Nedeljdan pass it from generation to generation with the sense that Saint Nedelja personally watches and cares for them, just as she herself was watched over by the hand of God amid the most terrible of trials.