Venerable Mastridia of Alexandria

Mastridia of Alexandria is a Christian saint venerated as a venerable. Her feast day in the Orthodox Church is celebrated on December 7 (November 24 according to the Julian calendar). According to her hagiography, Mastridia lived in Alexandria, Egypt, and in her youth took a vow of virginity, living a life of fasting and prayer. A young man, filled with lust for her, persistently tried to persuade Mastridia to break her vow of chastity. Tired of his harassment, the saint invited him to her home through a servant. When the young man entered, Mastridia was weaving linen and asked him: "Brother, why do you cause me such distress and sorrow that you do not even let me go to church?" The young man replied, "Truly, I love you very much, and when I see you, I am as if on fire." Mastridia asked him, "What is it that you see in me?" The young man said, "I see your eyes as so beautiful that they entice me." Upon hearing that her eyes were enticing men, the holy virgin immediately pierced them with the shuttle she was using to weave. Seeing Mastridia's actions, the young man repented, embraced monasticism, and became an ascetic. Archpriest Avvakum used Mastridia's example to admonish Boyarynya Morozova in her struggle against carnal temptations: "Foolish, mad, ugly woman, gouge out those eyes of yours with a shuttle, just as Mastridia did."