One of the things that we see with our Woman of the Week series is the wide variety of ways we live out our Orthodoxy. You can find that same phenomenon among saints, too. This week we thought we’d take a look at some holy women whose lives might surprise you.
St. Marina for most of her life was known as Marinos, a monk in the the Qannoubine Monastery in Lebanon. Born to wealthy parents in the 5th century, her mother died when she was very young. She was raised as a devout Christian by her father. When her father decided to retire to the monastery, instead of marrying, she shaved her head, changed into men’s clothes, and joined the monastery alongside him. Her fellow monks assumed she was a eunuch and accepted her as one of them. One time, on business for the monastery, she stayed overnight at an inn, where she was falsely accused of the rape of the innkeeper’s daughter. Instead of denying the crime, she accepted the accusation and the series of harsh punishments meted out by the abbot. She also raised the child as her own. Her innocence was only established after her death, when the monks were preparing her body for burial.
Holy mother Marina, pray to God for us!
The icon is by Gergis Samir.