Saint Marina the Monk

Marina, distinguished as Marina the Monk and also known as Marina the Syrian, Marinos, Pelagia (this being the Greek equivalent of 'Marina'; see Pelagia) and Mary of Alexandria (Coptic: Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲛⲁ ⲛ̅ⲁⲥⲕⲏⲧⲏⲥ), was a Christian saint from part of Asian Byzantium, generally said to be present-day Lebanon. Details of her life vary. Marina probably lived in the 5th century, and her first biographical account was probably written sometime between 525 and 650; it is preserved in several manuscripts, including one from the tenth century. Marina (in some Western traditions, or Mary or Mariam in other manuscript traditions) was the child of wealthy Christian parents and was born in Al-Qalamoun, near Tripoli, in present-day Lebanon. Marina's mother died when she was very young, and so the child was raised as a devout Christian by her husband, Eugenius. As Marina approached marriageable age, Eugenius intended to find his child a husband and then retire to the Monastery of Qannoubine in the Kadisha Valley of Lebanon. Marina, upon learning of his plan, asked why he intended to save his own soul "and destroy mine." He responded, "What shall I do with you? You are a woman", and Marina answered that they would both live as monks together. Marina shaved her head, changed into men's clothes and took up the name Marinos. Eugenius, seeing his child's strong determination, gave all his possessions to the poor and travelled with Marinos to the Kadisha Valley to live in monastic community life, where they shared a cell. The other monks attributed Marinos' soft voice to long periods of prayer, or else believed their new brother was a male eunuch. After ten years of prayer, fasting and worship together, Eugenius died. Now alone, Marinos became only more intently ascetic and continued to conceal her sex. One day, the abbot of the monastery sent four monks including Marinos to attend to some business for the monastery.