Macrina the Younger (c. 327 – 19 July 379) was an early Christian

consecrated virgin In the Catholic Church, a consecrated virgin is a woman who has been consecrated by the church to a life of perpetual virginity as a bride of Christ. Consecrated virgins are consecrated by the diocesan bishop according to the approved liturgical ...

. She is regarded as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican churches. Macrina was elder sister of

Basil the Great Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great ( grc, Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, ''Hágios Basíleios ho Mégas''; cop, Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ; 330 – January 1 or 2, 379), was a bishop of Cae ...

Gregory of Nyssa Gregory of Nyssa, also known as Gregory Nyssen ( grc-gre, Γρηγόριος Νύσσης; c. 335 – c. 395), was Bishop of Nyssa in Cappadocia from 372 to 376 and from 378 until his death in 395. He is venerated as a saint in Catholicis ...

and

Peter of Sebaste Peter of Sebaste (ca. 340 – 391) was a bishop, taking his usual name from the city of his bishopric, Sebaste in Lesser Armenia. He was the younger brother of Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, the famous Christian jurist Naucratius, and Mac ...

. Gregory of Nyssa wrote a work entitled ''Life of Macrina'' in which he describes her sanctity and asceticism throughout her life. Macrina lived a chaste and humble life, devoting her time to prayer and the spiritual education of her younger brother Peter.

Family

Macrina was born at Caesarea,

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Re ...

. Her parents were

Basil the Elder Saint Basil the Elder, father of St. Basil the Great, was raised in Neocaesarea (modern day Turkey) in the Pontus. His feast day is 30 May. Life The son of Macrina the Elder, Basil is said to have moved with his family to the shores of the Black ...

and Emmelia, and her grandmother was

Macrina the Elder Macrina the Elder (before AD 270 – ) was the mother of Basil the Elder, and the grandmother of Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Peter of Sebaste, and Macrina the Younger. Life The works of Basil indicate that she studied under Gre ...

. Among her nine siblings were two of the three

Cappadocian Fathers The Cappadocian Fathers, also traditionally known as the Three Cappadocians, are Basil the Great (330–379), who was bishop of Caesarea; Basil's younger brother Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335 – c. 395), who was bishop of Nyssa; and a close friend ...

, her younger brothers Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa, as well as Peter of Sebaste and the famous Christian jurist Naucratius. Her father arranged for her to marry, but her fiancé died before the wedding. After having been betrothed, Macrina did not believe it was appropriate to marry another man, but saw

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

as her eternal bridegroom. Macrina had a profound influence upon her brothers and her mother with her adherence to an ascetic ideal. In Gregory of Nyssas ''Life of Macrina'' he remembers her as a child who was devoted to study of the scriptures, especially the

Wisdom of Solomon The Book of Wisdom, or the Wisdom of Solomon, is a Jewish work written in Greek and most likely composed in Alexandria, Egypt. Generally dated to the mid-first century BCE, the central theme of the work is "wisdom" itself, appearing under two p ...

, and those parts of it which have an ethical bearing, "such parts as you would think were incomprehensible to young children were the subject of the girl's studies". Macrina, who resolved never to leave her mother, moved with her to one of their rural estates and lived within a community of virgins who came from both an aristocratic and a non-aristocratic origin. All members were free and slaves got the same rights and obligations as their masters. The death of the brother Naucratius shocked her mother and gave to Macrina a priority role in the domestic life. In 379, Macrina died at her family's estate in

Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...

, which with the help of her younger brother Peter she had turned into a convent of virgins. Gregory of Nyssa composed a ''Dialogue on the Soul and Resurrection'' ''(peri psyches kai anastaseos)'', entitled ''ta Makrinia'' (P.G. XLVI, 12 sq.), to commemorate Macrina, in which Gregory purports to describe the conversation he had with Macrina at her death, in a literary form modelled on Plato's ''

Phaedo ''Phædo'' or ''Phaedo'' (; el, Φαίδων, ''Phaidōn'' ), also known to ancient readers as ''On The Soul'', is one of the best-known dialogues of Plato's middle period, along with the '' Republic'' and the '' Symposium.'' The philosophica ...

''. Even when dying, Macrina continued to live a life of sanctity, as she refused a bed, and instead chose to lie on the ground. Her feast day is 19 July. Macrina is significant in that she set the standard for being a holy Early Christian woman. She contributed to her brother's writings and his belief that virginity reflected the "radiant purity of God".

Legacy

Universalists Universalism is the philosophical and theological concept that some ideas have universal application or applicability. A belief in one fundamental truth is another important tenet in universalism. The living truth is seen as more far-reaching th ...

, including Thomas Allin and J. W. Hanson, claim Macrina as a committed universalist, citing passages from the ''Dialogue on the Soul and Resurrection'' which they believe demonstrate her conviction that all sinners and demons will at last be purified and confess Christ. Macrina is honored in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

and in the Episcopal Church on 19 July.

Notes

Bibliography

* Bear, Carl. "Funeral Music in Early Christianity." ''Cross Accent'' 22, no 3 (2014): 4–14. * Burrus, V. "Macrina's Tattoo." In ''The Cultural Turn in Late Ancient Studies: Gender, Asceticism, and Historiography'', edited by Dale B. Martin and P. Cox Miller. 103–116. Durham: University of North Carolina Press, 2005. * Burrus, Virginia. "Is Macrina a Woman? Gregory of Nyssa's Dialogue on the Soul and Resurrection." In ''The Blackwell Companion to Postmodern Theology'', edited by Graham Ward. 249–264. Malden: Blackwell, 2001. * Dury, John L. "Gregory of Nyssa's Dialogue with Macrina: The Compatibility of Resurrection of the Body and the Immortality of the Soul." ''Theology Today'' 62, no. 2 (2005): 210–222. * Frank, Georgia. "Macrina's Scar: Homeric Allusions and Heroic Identity in Gregory of Nyssa's ''Life of Macrina''." ''Journal of Early Christian Studies 8, no. 4 (2000): 511-530. * Helleman, Wendy. "Cappadocian Macrina as Lady Wisdom." In ''Studia Patristica''. 86-102. Louvain: Peeters, 2001. * Hotz, Kendra G. "Speaking Funk: Womanist Insights into the Lives of Syncletica and Macrina." In ''Women, Writing, Theology: Transforming a Tradition of Exclusion'', edited by Emily A. Holmes and Wendy Farley. 71-94. Waco: Baylor University Press, 2011. * Jallistos, Metr and Ralph Townsend. "The House of St Gregory and St Macrina: The First Quarter Century." ''Sobornost'' 6, no. 2 (1984): 55-63. * Johnson, Maria P. "Daughter, Sister, Philosopher, Angel: The Life and Influence of St Macrina the Younger." ''Diakonia'' 31, no. 3 (1998): 176-186. * Levering, Matthew. "The Dying of Macrina and Death with Dignity." ''Trinity Journal'' 38, no. 1 (2017): 29-52. * McDonald, Durstan. "Macrina: The Fourth Capadocian?" In ''Prayer and Spirituality in the Early Church'', edited by Pauline Allen. 1:367-373. Everton Park: Australian Catholic University Press, 1998. * McNary-Zak, Bernadette. "Gregory of Nyssa and His Sister Macrina: A Holy Alliance." ''Cithara'' 45, no. 1 (2005): 3-12. * Muehlberger, Ellen. "Salvage: Macrina and the Christian Project of Cultural Reclamation." ''Church History'' 81, no. 2 (2012): 273-297. * Pranger, M.B. "Narrative Dimensions in Gregory of Nyssa's ''Life of Macrina''." In ''Studia Patristica.''. 201-207. Louvain: Peeters, 1997. * Rousseau, Philip. "The Pious Household and the Virgin Chorus." ''Journal of Early Christian Studies'' 13, no 2 (2005): 165-186. * Sheather, Mary. "The Eulogies on Macrina and Gorgonia: Or, What Difference Did Christianity Make?" ''Pacfica'' 8, no. 1 (1995): 22-39. * Silvas, Anna M. ''Macrina the Younger. Philosopher of God''. Turnhout: Brepols, 2008. * Smith, J Warren. "A Just and Reasonable Grief: The Death and Function of a Holy Woman in Gregory of Nyssa's ''Life of Macrina''." ''Journal of Early Christian Studies'' 13, no 2 (2005): 57-84. * Smith, J. Warren. "Macrina, Tamer of Horses and Healer of Souls: Grief and the Therapy of Hope in Gregory of Nyssa's ''De Anima et Resurrectione''". ''Journal of Theological Studies'' 52, no. 1 (2001): 37-60. * Van Loveran, A.E.D. "Once Again: 'The Monk and the Martyr': St Anthony and St Macrina." In ''Studia Patristica''. 528-538. Elmsford: Pergamon Press, 1982. * Wilson-Kastner, Patricia. "Macrina: Virgin and Teacher." ''Andrews University Seminary Studies'' 17, no. 1 (1979): 105-117.

External links

''Butler's Lives of the Saints''

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Macrina The Younger 324 births 379 deaths 4th-century Christian saints Saints from Roman Anatolia Byzantine saints Byzantine female saints 4th-century Christian universalists Late Ancient Christian female saints 4th-century Roman women Anglican saints Consecrated virgins People from Kayseri

Family

Legacy

See also

Notes

Bibliography

Further reading

External links