Marina the Monk

Saint Marina the Monk
Marina (in red) being brought to a monastery by their father Eugenius. 14th century French manuscript.
Saint
Born	Fifth[1] or eighth[2] century
Died	Uncertain
Venerated in	Maronite Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church[3] Coptic Orthodox Church
Feast	June 18[4] July 17[5][6] Mesra 15[7]
Controversy	‘Woman’ falsely accused of fathering a child

Marina, distinguished as Marina the Monk and also known as Pelagia and Mary of Alexandria (Coptic: Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲛⲁ ⲛ̅ⲁⲥⲕⲏⲧⲏⲥ), was a Christian saint of Byzantine, Lebanon.^[8] Details of her life vary.^{[lower-alpha 1]}

Legend

Marina, born Mariam, was the daughter of wealthy Christian parents. Marina's mother died when the saint was very young, and thus Marina was raised in devout Christian life by her father Eugenius. As Marina’s age of marriage drew near, Marina’s father wished to retire to the Monastery of Qannoubine in the Kadisha Valley of Lebanon after he had found his child a husband. When Marina learned of her father's plan , she asked why her father intended to save his own soul "and destroy mine". When asked by her father, "What shall I do with you? You are a woman", Marina answered that she would renounce women's clothing and live as a monk. She then immediately shaved the hair from her head and changed her clothes. Her father, seeing his child’s strong determination, gave all his possessions to the poor and traveled with Marina to the Kadisha Valley to live in monastic community life, sharing a cell with her under the name Marinos.^[7][8]

After ten years of prayer, fasting and worship together Marina’s father died, leaving her alone. Marina increased her level of asceticism and continued to conceal the fact that she was a woman. The other monks attributed her soft voice to long periods of prayer and strict ascetic life. One day, the abbot of the monastery sent her with three other monks to attend to some business for the monastery. As the journey was long, they were forced to spend the night at an inn. Also lodging there was a soldier of the eastern Roman front. Upon seeing the beauty of the inn keeper's daughter the soldier seduced her and defiled her virginity, instructing her to say, "It was the monk, Father Marinos, who has done this to me" should she conceive a child.^[7][8]

After some time, it was discovered that the inn keeper's daughter was pregnant and, as was agreed, she told her father that Marina was to blame. On hearing the story, the man went furiously to the abbot of the monastery. The abbot calmed the man and told him that he would see to the matter. He called for Marina and reprimanded her severely. When Marina realized what was happening she fell to her knees and wept, confessing her sinfulness (without explicitly stating how she had sinned) and asking forgiveness. The fact that there was no attempt to deny the fault made the abbot so furious that he told Marina to leave the monastery. She left at once and remained outside the gates as a beggar for quite a long time. When the inn keeper's daughter gave birth, he took the child and gave him to Marina. She fed the child with sheep's milk, provided by the local shepherds, and remained caring for him outside the monastery for ten years. Finally the monks convinced the abbot to allow Marina to return; he accepted but he also imposed heavy penalties upon Marina. She was to perform hard labour in cooking, cleaning and carrying water in addition to her regular monastic duties.^[7][8]

At the age of forty, Marina became ill. Three days later she died. The abbot ordered that Marina’s body be cleaned, her cloths changed and that she be transferred to the church for funeral prayers. While fulfilling these tasks, the monks discovered that she was in fact, a woman. This made them very distressed. The monks informed the abbot, who came to Marina’s side and wept bitterly for the wrongs done. The abbot then called for the inn keeper and informed him that Marina was actually born a woman. The inn keeper went to where the body lay and also wept for the pain and suffering which he had unjustly brought upon Marina. During the funeral prayers, one of the monks, who was blind in one eye, received full sight again after he touched the body. God also allowed a devil to torment the inn keeper's daughter and the soldier. This caused them to travel to where the saint was buried. There they both confessed their iniquity in front of everyone and asked for forgiveness.^[7][8]

Today, Coptic Orthodox say that Marina’s body is kept at Saint Mary Church and has not decomposed. It is displayed to the public on Marina’s feast day, on Mesra 15.^[9][10]

Veneration

Marina is venerated in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Churches^[11][3][12] and the Coptic Orthodox Church.

Notes

References

External links

• The Monastery of Saint Marinos or Srkhouvank
• Golden Legend: The Life of Saint Marine
• Santiebeati (in Italian)