CHAIN IS NOT INCLUDED Available in Solid 14K Yellow or White Gold, or in Sterling Silver Size Reference: 17mm is the size of a US dime 21mm is the size of a US nickel 24mm is the size of a US quarter Saint Barbara was an early Christian saint and mar tyr. Accounts place her in the 3rd century. There is no reference to her in the authentic early Christian writings, nor in the original recension of Saint Jeromes martyrology. Her name can be traced to the 7th century, and veneration of her was common, especially in the East, from the 9th century. As one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, Barbara continues to be a popular saint in modern times, perhaps best known as the patron saint of artillerymen, military engineers, miners and others who work with explosives because of her old legends association with lightning, and also of mathematicians. Many of the thirteen miracles in a 15th-century French version of her story turn on the security she offered that her devotees would not die without making confession and receiving extreme unction.