Juliania was the wife of Prince Simeon Mstislavich of Vyazma. After the conquest of Smolensk by Lithuania, they shared exile from their native land together with Prince Yuri Svyatoslavich of Smolensk. Grand Duke Vasily of Moscow gave them the town of Torzhok as their inheritance. Here Prince Yuri was seduced by Juliana's beauty and tried in any way to persuade her to commit adultery, but all his efforts were in vain. Then, during the feast, Yuri killed Juliania's husband, hoping to forcibly take her after that. Juliania, defending herself from the rapist, stabbed him with a knife. Enraged, Yuri chased her with a sword, cut off her arms and legs, and ordered her body to be thrown into the Tvertsa River. This happened in 1406.
Tormented by conscience from the committed villainy, Yuri could not find peace anywhere and eventually came to the Venevsky Assumption Monastery, where he spent the rest of his life in repentance and tears. The repentant murderer died in 1408 and became a locally venerated saint.
In the spring of 1407, a sick peasant saw the body of the murdered princess floating against the current along the Tvertsa River, and heard a voice ordering the clergy to assemble and bury the body at the southern doors of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Torzhok. At the same moment, the patient was cured of his illness. The will of the holy martyr was fulfilled, and during the burial many of the sick were miraculously healed. Since then, people have constantly come to the tomb of the princess with faith in the blessed help of the saint.
In 1598, after forty days of prayer and fasting, a deacon decided to secretly open her grave. But fire burst out of the tomb and burned his face, so he spent a long time in a serious illness. Two months later, the deacon was healed of his burn after praying at the tomb of the martyr. Saint Juliana punishes the sinner, but also heals from illness after repentance.
In 1815, the old Transfiguration Cathedral was dismantled, and part of the tomb became visible. The sick who touched her received healing. On June 2, 1819, a chapel was built in the cathedral in honor of the Holy Princess. The precious cancer with its relics was in the new Transfiguration Cathedral. In 1918, the cathedral was closed. Until 1930, the relics rested in the church of the Archangel Michael. Since then, their fate has been unknown.
The Most Pure Mother of the Lord granted the holy wives of Russia grace and strength in fulfilling the law of motherhood in all its beauty, love and dedication. Such motherhood is possible on earth only with the preservation of the shrine of marriage – the image of the unity of spouses in love. Holy Russia was called upon to restore this unity. No wonder one of the main features of ancient Russian female righteousness was the preservation of the chastity of Christian marriage as a great Sacrament of the Church. Not a virgin, but a chaste wife is glorified by Orthodox Russia. Pious princesses are, first of all, faithful wives and assistants to their husband in his labors.
Preserving the sanctity of marriage is one of the greatest human feats, and dark forces are trying by any means to destroy any marriage in which the spouses are approaching the restoration of unity revealed in the lives of Saints Peter and Fevronia of Murom.
Saint Juliana is the guardian and defender of chastity. But chastity is one of the three vows that are given during monastic tonsure (the other two are obedience and non–possessiveness). Therefore, she is an assistant to everyone who leads a monastic life in the world.