Saint Marina feast celebrated across Greece on July 17

The Orthodox Church commemorates the martyr Saint Marina on 17 July each year. Churches and monasteries throughout Greece hold special liturgies, processions and pilgrimages, drawing thousands of faithful. Highlights include the Great Evening Service in the parish of the Holy Temple of Saint Marina in Alexandroupoli, a major celebration at the Holy Monastery of Saint Marina in Voula (Boni), and a multi‑day program of services in Thessaloniki’s Upper Tomb and other locales.

Relics of the saint are venerated in several sites: a portion of her hand is kept in the Monastery of Vatopedi on Mount Athos, other relics are housed in a church in Athens and in a monastery on Mount Langa in Albania. Local customs link Saint Marina to the protection of children, crops and harvests, and many Greek villages observe traditional rites such as wearing new clothes for children and lighting bonfires. The day is also marked in Bulgaria and other Orthodox countries, where she is invoked for health and protection from fire.

The feast coincides with the International Day of Justice, and the name‑day for those bearing Marina, Marinos and related names is celebrated worldwide.