Mary of Egypt

Maria was born in Egypt in the middle of the 5th century and left her parents at the age of twelve, leaving for Alexandria , where she became a harlot ^[2] . For more than seventeen years she indulged in this occupation. ^[5] Once Mary, having seen a group of pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross , joined them, but not with pious thoughts, but “so that there would be more to indulge in debauchery” ^[6] . In Jerusalem, Mary tried to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher , but some force held her back. Realizing her fall, she began to pray in front of the icon of the Virgin , located in the narthex of the temple. After that, she was able to enter the temple and bow to the Holy Cross ^[2] . On leaving, Mary again addressed a prayer of thanks to the Virgin Mary and heard a voice saying to her: "If you cross over the Jordan, you will find blissful peace."

Following this command, Mary took the sacrament and, crossing the Jordan , settled in the desert, where she spent 47 years in complete solitude, fasting and repentant prayers ^[2] . The first 17 years of Mary were pursued by prodigal passions and memories of a past life:

When I was eating, I dreamed of the meat and wine I ate in Egypt; I wanted to drink my favorite wine. Being in the world, I drank a lot of wine, but here I had no water; I was thirsty and terribly tormented. Sometimes I had a very embarrassing desire to sing prodigal songs, which I was used to. Then I shed tears, beat myself in the chest and recalled the vows I made when I left for the desert.

After these many years of temptations of passion, they left her, the food taken from Jerusalem ended, and her clothes decayed from decay, but, as her life narrates, “from that time ... the power of God transformed my sinful soul and my humble body in everything.”

Meetings with Avba Zosima :

• First meeting

The only person who saw Mary after her departure to the desert was Hieromonk Zosima. He, following the charter of the Jordanian monastery, retired for Lent to the desert for fasting and prayer. There he met Mary, to whom he gave half of his hematium , so that she covered her nakedness. He saw how, during prayer, she rose to her elbow from the ground and quoted miraculously the texts of Scripture that she recognized. Full of awe, Zosima asked Mary to tell him about her life. After telling him everything, Mary asked Zosima to come back and take her in a year later, but she said not to cross the Jordan, but to wait for her on the other side.

• Second meeting

A year later, as Maria said, because of her illness, Zosima could not, following the monastic rule, leave the monastery and only on Maundy Thursday , taking the Holy Gifts , went to the coast of Jordan. There he saw Mary walking along the other side of the river and thought how she could cross the river without a boat, but Mary went on water as if by land, and went to the amazed Zosima, who partook of her. Maria asked Zosima in a year to come to the first place of their meeting, and then again crossed the water through the Jordan and retired to the desert.

• Third meeting - the burial of St. Mary

At the request of Mary, Zosima returned exactly one year later to the place of their first meeting and saw the body of the saint lying on the sand, and next to the inscription: “Bury Abba Zosima, in this place the body of humble Mary, give dust to ashes. The prayers of God for me, who died in the month, in Egyptian Pharmufius, in Roman April, on the first day, on the night of the saving Passion of Christ, after the communion of the Divine Mysteries. " Zosima realized that after a year ago he had communed the reverend, she miraculously transferred to this place, where he went for 20 days, and died. Not knowing how to dig a grave, he saw a lion next to him, who said: “The great ascetic ordered me to bury her body, but I am old and I can’t dig out the graves; I don’t have a tool for digging either, but the monastery is far away, I can’t bring it from there soon. Dig out with your claws your grave, and I will bury the body of the reverend. ” The lion fulfilled the command of Zosima, and the body of the Monk Mary of Egypt was buried in the sand.

Returning to the monastery, Zosima told other monks about the ascetic who had lived in the desert for many years. This tradition was transmitted orally until it was recorded in the 7th century by Sophronius of Jerusalem.

Christian doctrine considers the example of Mary of Egypt as an example of perfect repentance . It is believed that through prayers to the Monk Mary, believers can get rid of fornication.

Mariino Standing

The Orthodox service of Matins on Thursday of the fifth week of Great Lent is popularly known as the " Maryino or Maryino Standing " (in some regions of Ukraine it is called the "St. Andrew's Standing") - this service is read by the life of St. Mary, which is shared by the singing of the Great Canon of Andriy of Crete , at the end of each whose songs are added to the troparia of the corresponding song of the canon of St. Mary of Egypt. The troparia of the canon of the reverend is also added to the Repentant canon of Andrew of Crete on Wednesday and Thursday of the first week of Great Lent. According to the Charter, for each troparia of the canon it is supposed to perform three “throwings” (signs of the cross with little worship) ^{[7] [8]} . Because of this, in earlier times, one could hear: "Let's go to the bow." Since the canon of Andrew of Crete is extremely important precisely as the Penitent, its combination with reading the life of St. Mary, revered by the church as an example of true repentance, is for believers one of the stages of preparation for Holy Week .

The service is very long and especially majestic for the Old Believers , who during the seven-hour continuous service perform about one thousand nods, because the Old Believers in practice carry out the statutory instructions on the nods (the Old Believers understand “throwing” as the nods) during the service ^[9] .

Orthodox Prayers

Troparia (eighth voice ): In you mother, it’s known that you saved a hedgehog in the image: you received the cross, followed Christ, and taught that you despise the flesh, it passes away, and it’s immortal to lay down on the soul. Reverend Mary, your spirit will rejoice with the same thing.

Kondak (third voice): It’s the first to be filled with all kinds of dishwaves, Appear the bride of Christ today by repentance, imitate the angelic residence, destroy the demons of the Cross with arms. For this reason, for the sake of the Kingdom, the bride appeared thou, glorious Mary.

Kondak (fourth voice): Having escaped the gloom of sin, repenting with light that illuminated your heart, glorious one, come to Christ, This all-blaming and holy Mother, who brought the merciful prayer box. Thou shalt come away from sins and sins even though abandonment, and from the angels, I rejoice.

Prayer : O great Christ saint, reverend mother Mary! Hear the unworthy prayer of us sinners ( names ), deliver us, reverend mother, from passions fighting on our souls, from all sorrow and adversity, from sudden death and from all evil, at the same time of separation of the soul and body of the ancestors, holy saint , all crafty thought and crafty demons, so that our souls and the world may receive the light of Christ, the Lord our God, as the cleansing of sins from Him, and that is the salvation of our souls, all glory, honor and worship with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen. ^{[10] [11]} .

In Western European art, there are practically no images of Mary of Egypt, since most artists directed their energy to the image of Mary Magdalene on the same subjects. The reverse situation in icon painting is that while the type of Magdalen’s icons is practically not developed, Mary of Egypt (as a hermit, in rags) was willingly depicted, both alone, with her life, and together with other saints.

In Russian icon painting from the middle to the second half of the 17th century patronal icons with the images of Saints Mary of Egypt and Alexy, the man of God , the heavenly patrons of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and his first wife Maria Miloslavskaya, became widespread ^[12] . Miloslavskaya considered her to be her heavenly patroness, and the cult of Mary became more important during her life. The only church of St. Mary in Moscow in the 17th century was the church on Sretenka . “Since 1648, the celebration of April 1 in honor of St. Mary in the Sretensky Monastery takes on the character of a public holiday, which the boyars, metropolitans come to, the patriarch comes with a ceremonial exit from the Kremlin . In 1668, Patriarch Joasaph II congratulated the queen in the Sretensky monastery: “On March 31, the holy patriarch went to the Stretensky monastery, on Ustretenka, to the Vespers and Prayer services for the feast of St. Mary of Egypt and for the birthday of the Empress Tsaritsa and Grand Duchess Mary Ilyinichina and at the monastery and walking the road, 3 rub (la) were distributed to the poor and poor mercy. ” In 1651-1652, Alexei Mikhailovich and Maria Ilyinichna placed the icon " Saints Alexy, a man of God, and Mary of Egypt " in the Sretensky monastery for the local row of the iconostasis of the cathedral. The so-called Mariinsky bell, made for the church of St. Mary of Egypt in 1668, is also associated with Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna. The solemn veneration of St. Mary of Egypt in the Sretensky Monastery as the patroness of the royal family of the Romanovs-Miloslavskys continued even after the death of Maria Ilyinichna (in 1669) until the death of Tsar John Alekseevich on January 29, 1696 ” ^[13] .

• Marya - light the snow

• LIFE OF MARIA EGYPTIAN (Library of literature of Ancient Russia / RAS. IRLI)
• Rev. Mary of Egypt