Macrina the Younger

19 July

Macrina the Younger (also Makrina), deacon, older sister of Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa, died in 379.

Macrina the Younger was born to a holy family in Cappadocia in 340. Her grandmother, Macrina the Elder, for whom she was named, lived in the days of the Emperor Diocletian, who made a determined effort to destroy the Christian faith. She and her husband fled into hiding, and survived into the time of Constantine. One of their sons, Basil the Elder, and his wife Emmelia had nine children. Five are commemorated as saints: Macrina the Younger, Basil the Great, Peter of Sebaste, Gregory of Nyssa, and Theosebia the Deaconess (see 10 January).

Macrina was the oldest child. She was betrothed at the age of twelve, after the custom of the day, but when her fiancé died she decided to devote her life to prayer, contemplation, and works of charity. After the death of her father, she convinced her mother to sell the family estates, and they formed a community of women who shared her goals. This convent or monastery was the first group of Christians living under the rules of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Macrina often brought poor and hungry women home to be fed, clothed, nursed, or otherwise taken care of, and many eventually joined the community, as did many women of means.

After the death of their parents, Macrina was chiefly responsible for the upbringing of her younger brothers. When they were inclined to be conceited about their intellectual accomplishments, she deflated them with affectionate but pointed jibes. Her example encouraged some of them to pursue the monastic ideal and to found monastic communities for men. Although Basil the Great is remembered as the founder of eastern monasticism (all Orthodox monks follow a variation of Basil’s monastic rule), the community of monks organized by Basil was preceded and inspired by the community of nuns organized by Macrina. Three of her brothers (Basil, Gregory, Peter) became bishops, and all of them were leading contenders for the faith of Nicaea against the Arians. She was buried in a grave shared with her parents, with a eulogy by her brother Gregory of Nyssa. In his Life of Macrina, Gregory records his last visit with her, her farewell speech, and her prayers and teachings about the resurrection.

Troparion (Tone 8)
The image of God was truly preserved in you, O Mother,
for you took up the cross and followed Christ.
By so doing, you taught us to disregard the flesh, for it passes away,
but to care instead for the soul, since it is immortal.
Therefore your spirit, O Holy Mother Macrina, rejoices with the angels!

Kontakion (Tone 4)
Since the light of righteousness shone brightly in you,
you were an example of the life of piety for all,
teaching the virtues to them that cry:
Rejoice, Macrina, you boast of virginity.