Marina the Monk, Monastic, 5th century
Give us grace, Lord God, to refrain from judgments about the
sins of others; that, like your servant Marina the Monk, we may hold fast to
the path of discipleship in the midst of unjust judgments; through Jesus Christ
our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.
Marina, distinguished as Marina the Monk and also known
as Pelagia and Mary of Alexandria, was a Christian saint of Byzantine, the area
was variously know as Syria & Lebanon. Marina, born Mariam, was the
offspring of wealthy Christian parents and is often considered to be a
transgender man. Marina's mother died when the saint was very young, and thus
Marina was raised in devout Christian life by his father Eugenius. As Marina’s
age of marriage drew near, Marina’s father wished to retire to a monastery
after he had found his child a husband. When Marina learned of his father's
plan, he 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 he would renounce women's clothing and live
as a monk. He then immediately shaved the hair from his own head and changed
his clothes to male ones. His 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 him under the
name Marinos. After ten years Marina’s father died, leaving her alone. Marina
continued to conceal the fact that he was born a woman. Later, a pregnant woman
told her father that Marinos (Marina) was to blame. On hearing the story, the
abbot called for Marina and reprimanded him severely. When Marina realized what
was happening he fell to his knees and wept, confessing his sinfulness (without
explicitly stating how he 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. He left at once and remained outside the gates
as a beggar. When the pregnant woman gave birth, Marina raised the child. After
ten years the monks convinced the abbot to allow Marina to return to the
monastery. At the age of forty, Marina became ill and died. While cleaning the
body, the monks discovered that he was in fact, born a woman. This made them
very distressed. During the funeral prayers, one of the monks, who was blind in
one eye, received full sight again after he touched the body.*
