Mary of Egypt is one of the most unusual and amazing saints.

She was born in the 5th century in Egypt. Having left her parents' house early, Mary became a harlot and led a dissolute life, seducing many men and indulging in debauchery. A change in her life came when she found herself among a group of pilgrims heading to Jerusalem for a holiday. True, she ended up there not for pious reasons, but seeing how many men were on the ship at the same time, and how many could be seduced. In Jerusalem, she was unable to enter the temple - an invisible force pushed her away three times.

At that moment, Maria realized how she had lived, and she decided to end her old life. Taking bread with her, she went into the desert, where for forty years she prayed and repented of her sinful life. She did not know how to read and write, but she knew all the Holy Scriptures by heart. She told her story to Elder Zosima, who, while praying in the desert, met her.

Complete Life of Saint Mary of Egypt: Mary of Egypt - Treasure of the Desert

The most common three images of St. Mary of Egypt:

1. Image in the life - the stamps tell about the most important episodes of her life, and in the center is Saint Mary of Egypt herself.

2. The image of Saint Mary praying to Christ or the Mother of God.

3. Meeting of Saint Mary in the desert with Elder Zosima and communion of St. Maria.

Mary of Egypt- Christian saint, considered the patroness of repentant women.
The first life of the Venerable Mary was written Sophronius of Jerusalem, and many of the motifs from the life of Mary of Egypt were transferred in medieval legends to Mary Magdalene.

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The Venerable Mary, nicknamed the Egyptian, lived in the middle of the 5th and early 6th centuries. Her youth did not bode well. Mary was only twelve years old when she left her home in the city of Alexandria. Being free from parental supervision, young and inexperienced, Maria became carried away with a vicious life. There was no one to stop her on the path to destruction, and there were many seducers and temptations. So Mary lived in sin for 17 years, until the merciful Lord turned her to repentance.

It happened like this. By coincidence, Mary joined a group of pilgrims heading to the Holy Land. Sailing with pilgrims on the ship, Mary did not stop seducing people and sinning. Once in Jerusalem, she joined the pilgrims heading to the Church of the Resurrection of Christ.

People entered the temple in a wide crowd, but Mary was stopped at the entrance by an invisible hand and could not enter it with any effort. Then she realized that the Lord did not allow her to enter the holy place because of her uncleanness.

Seized with horror and a feeling of deep repentance, she began to pray to God to forgive her sins, promising to radically correct her life. Seeing an icon of the Mother of God at the entrance to the temple, Mary began to ask the Mother of God to intercede for her before God. After this, she immediately felt enlightenment in her soul and entered the temple without hindrance. Shedding copious tears at the Holy Sepulcher, she left the temple as a completely different person.

Mary fulfilled her promise to change her life. From Jerusalem she retired to the harsh and deserted Jordanian desert and there she spent almost half a century in complete solitude, in fasting and prayer. Thus, through severe deeds, Mary of Egypt completely eradicated all sinful desires in herself and made her heart a pure temple of the Holy Spirit.

Elder Zosima, who lived in the Jordan Monastery of St. John the Baptist, by the providence of God, was honored to meet the Venerable Mary in the desert, when she was already an old woman. He was amazed by her holiness and gift of insight. Once he saw her during prayer, as if rising above the earth, and another time, walking across the Jordan River, as if on dry land.

Parting with Zosima, the Monk Mary asked him to come again to the desert a year later to give her communion. The elder returned at the appointed time and communed the Reverend Mary with the Holy Mysteries. Then, coming to the desert another year later in the hope of seeing the saint, he no longer found her alive. The elder buried the remains of St. Mary there in the desert, in which he was helped by a lion, who with his claws dug a hole for burying the body of the righteous woman. This was around 521.

Thus, from a great sinner, the Venerable Mary became, with God’s help, the greatest saint and left such a vivid example of repentance.

Complete Life of Venerable Mary of Egypt

In a Palestinian monastery in the vicinity of Caesarea lived the monk Zosima. Sent to a monastery from childhood, he labored there until he was 53 years old, when he was confused by the thought: “Will there be a holy man in the most distant desert who has surpassed me in sobriety and work?”

As soon as he thought this, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: “You, Zosimas, have labored well in human measure, but among men there is not a single righteous one (Rom. 3 :10). So that you understand how many other and higher forms of salvation there are, come out of this monastery, like Abraham from his father’s house (Gen. 12 :1), and go to the monastery located by the Jordan."

Abba Zosima immediately left the monastery and, following the Angel, came to the Jordan monastery and settled in it.

Here he saw the elders, truly shining in their exploits. Abba Zosima began to imitate the holy monks in spiritual work.
So a lot of time passed, and the Holy Pentecost approached. There was a custom in the monastery, for the sake of which God brought St. Zosima here. On the first Sunday of Great Lent, the abbot served the Divine Liturgy, everyone partook of the Most Pure Body and Blood of Christ, then ate a small meal and gathered again in the church.

Having made a prayer and the prescribed number of prostrations to the ground, the elders, having asked each other for forgiveness, took a blessing from the abbot and under the general singing of the psalm “The Lord is my enlightenment and my Savior: whom will I fear? The Lord is the Protector of my life: from whom shall I fear?” (Ps. 26 :1) they opened the monastery gates and went into the desert.

Each of them took with him a moderate amount of food, whoever needed what, some did not take anything into the desert at all and ate roots. The monks crossed the Jordan and dispersed as far as possible so as not to see anyone fasting and asceticism.

When Lent ended, the monks returned to the monastery on Palm Sunday with the fruit of their work (Rom. 6 :21-22), having examined your conscience (1 Pet. 3 :16). At the same time, no one asked anyone how he worked and accomplished his feat.

That year, Abba Zosima, according to monastic custom, crossed the Jordan. He wanted to go deeper into the desert to meet some of the saints and great elders who were saving themselves there and praying for peace.

He walked through the desert for 20 days and one day, when he was singing the psalms of the 6th hour and doing the usual prayers, suddenly a shadow of a human body appeared to his right. He was horrified, thinking that he was seeing a demonic ghost, but, having crossed himself, he put aside his fear and, having finished the prayer, turned towards the shadow and saw a naked man walking through the desert, whose body was black from the heat of the sun, and his short, bleached hair turned white like a lamb’s fleece. . Abba Zosima was delighted, since during these days he had not seen a single living creature, and immediately headed in his direction.

But as soon as the naked hermit saw Zosima coming towards him, he immediately began to run away from him. Abba Zosima, forgetting his old age's infirmity and fatigue, quickened his pace. But soon, exhausted, he stopped at a dry stream and began to tearfully beg the retreating ascetic: “Why are you running from me, a sinful old man, saving yourself in this desert? Wait for me, weak and unworthy, and give me your holy prayer and blessing, for the sake of the Lord, who has never disdained anyone.”

The unknown man, without turning around, shouted to him: “Forgive me, Abba Zosima, I cannot, having turned, appear to your face: I am a woman, and, as you can see, I have no clothes on to cover my bodily nakedness. But if you want to pray for me, a great and damned sinner, throw me your cloak to cover yourself, then I can come to you for a blessing.”

“She would not have known me by name if through holiness and unknown deeds she had not acquired the gift of clairvoyance from the Lord,” thought Abba Zosima and hastened to fulfill what was said to him.

Covering herself with a cloak, the ascetic turned to Zosima: “What did you think, Abba Zosima, to talk to me, a sinful and unwise woman? What do you want to learn from me and, sparing no effort, you spent so much work? He, kneeling down, asked her blessing. In the same way, she bowed down before him, and for a long time both of them asked each other: “Bless.” Finally the ascetic said; “Abba Zosima, it is fitting for you to bless and say a prayer, since you have been honored with the rank of presbyterate and for many years, standing at the altar of Christ, you have offered the Holy Gifts to the Lord.”

These words frightened the Monk Zosima even more. With a deep sigh he answered her: “O spiritual mother! It is clear that you, of the two of us, have come closer to God and died for the world. You recognized me by name and called me presbyter, having never seen me before. It is your duty to bless me for the Lord’s sake.”

Finally yielding to Zosima’s stubbornness, the saint said: “Blessed is God, who desires the salvation of all people.” Abba Zosima answered “Amen,” and they rose from the ground. The ascetic again said to the elder: “Why did you come, father, to me, a sinner, devoid of all virtue? However, it is clear that the grace of the Holy Spirit directed you to perform one service that my soul needed. Tell me first, Abba, how do Christians live today, how do the saints of God’s Church grow and prosper?”

Abba Zosima answered her: “Through your holy prayers, God gave the Church and us all perfect peace. But heed the prayer of the unworthy old man, my mother, pray, for God’s sake, for the whole world and for me, a sinner, so that this deserted walk will not be fruitless for me.”

The holy ascetic said: “You should rather, Abba Zosima, having a sacred rank, pray for me and for everyone. That's why you were given the rank. However, I will willingly fulfill everything you commanded me for the sake of obedience to the Truth and from a pure heart.”

Having said this, the saint turned to the east and, lifting her eyes and raising her hands to the sky, began to pray in a whisper. The elder saw her rise in the air an elbow from the ground. From this wonderful vision, Zosima prostrated himself, praying fervently and not daring to say anything other than “Lord, have mercy!”

A thought came into his soul - was it a ghost leading him into temptation? The venerable ascetic, turning around, lifted him from the ground and said: “Why are you so confused by your thoughts, Abba Zosima? I'm not a ghost. I am a sinful and unworthy woman, although I am protected by holy baptism.”

Having said this, she made the sign of the cross. Seeing and hearing this, the elder fell with tears at the feet of the ascetic: “I beg you, by Christ our God, do not hide your ascetic life from me, but tell it all, in order to make the greatness of God clear to everyone. For I believe in the Lord my God, and by Him you also live, that for this reason I was sent into this desert, so that God would make all your fasting deeds obvious to the world.”

And the holy ascetic said: “I am embarrassed, father, to tell you about my shameless deeds. For then you will have to run from me, closing your eyes and ears, as one runs from a poisonous snake. But still I will tell you, father, without keeping silent about any of my sins, I conjure you, do not stop praying for me, a sinner, so that I will find boldness on the Day of Judgment.

I was born in Egypt and while my parents were still alive, when I was twelve years old, I left them and went to Alexandria. There I lost my chastity and indulged in uncontrollable and insatiable fornication. For more than seventeen years I indulged in sin without restraint and did everything for free. I didn't take money not because I was rich. I lived in poverty and made money from yarn. I thought that the whole meaning of life was to satisfy carnal lust.

While leading such a life, I once saw a multitude of people from Libya and Egypt going to the sea to sail to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. I also wanted to sail with them. But not for the sake of Jerusalem and not for the sake of the holiday, but - forgive me, father - so that there would be more with whom to indulge in debauchery. So I boarded the ship.

Now, father, believe me, I myself am surprised how the sea tolerated my debauchery and fornication, how the earth did not open its mouth and bring me alive to hell, which deceived and destroyed so many souls... But, apparently, God wanted my repentance, not even though the death of the sinner and waiting patiently for conversion.

So I arrived in Jerusalem and all the days before the holiday, as on the ship, I was engaged in bad deeds.

When the holy holiday of the Exaltation of the Venerable Cross of the Lord arrived, I still walked around, catching the souls of young people in sin. Seeing that everyone went to the church very early, where the Life-Giving Tree was located, I went with everyone and entered the church vestibule. When the hour of the Holy Exaltation arrived, I wanted to enter the church with all the people. Having made my way to the doors with great difficulty, I, damned, tried to squeeze inside. But as soon as I stepped on the threshold, some divine force stopped me, not allowing me to enter, and threw me far from the door, while all the people walked unhindered. I thought that, perhaps, due to female weakness, I could not squeeze through the crowd, and again I tried to push the people away with my elbows and make my way to the door. No matter how hard I worked, I couldn’t get in. As soon as my foot touched the church threshold, I stopped. The church accepted everyone, did not forbid anyone to enter, but I, the accursed one, was not allowed in. This happened three or four times. My strength is exhausted. I walked away and stood in the corner of the church porch.

Then I felt that it was my sins that prevented me from seeing the Life-Giving Tree, my heart was touched by the grace of the Lord, I began to sob and began to beat my chest in repentance. As I lifted up sighs to the Lord from the depths of my heart, I saw before me an icon of the Most Holy Theotokos and turned to her with a prayer: “O Virgin, Lady, who gave birth to God the Word in the flesh! I know that I am unworthy to look at Your icon. It is righteous for me, a hated harlot, to be rejected from Your purity and to be an abomination to You, but I also know that for this purpose God became man, in order to call sinners to repentance. Help me, Most Pure One, may I be allowed to enter the church. Do not forbid me to see the Tree on which the Lord was crucified in His flesh, shedding His innocent Blood for me, a sinner, for my deliverance from sin. Command, Lady, that the doors of the holy worship of the Cross may be opened for me too. Be my valiant Guarantor to Him who was born of You. I promise You from now on not to defile myself any more with any carnal defilement, but as soon as I see the Tree of the Cross of Your Son, I will renounce the world and immediately go to where You, as the Surety, will guide me.”

And when I prayed like that, I suddenly felt that my prayer had been heard. In the tenderness of faith, hoping in the Merciful Mother of God, I again joined those entering the temple, and no one pushed me aside or prevented me from entering. I walked in fear and trembling until I reached the door and was honored to see the Life-giving Cross of the Lord.

This is how I learned the mysteries of God and that God is ready to accept those who repent. I fell to the ground, prayed, kissed the shrines and left the temple, hastening to appear again before my Surety, where I had made a promise. Kneeling before the icon, I prayed like this before it:

“Oh, our Benevolent Lady and Mother of God! You did not abhor my unworthy prayer. Glory to God, who accepts the repentance of sinners through You. The time has come for me to fulfill the promise in which You were the Guarantor. Now, Lady, guide me on the path of repentance.”

And so, not yet finishing my prayer, I hear a voice, as if speaking from afar: “If you cross the Jordan, you will find blissful peace.”

I immediately believed that this voice was for me, and, crying, I exclaimed to the Mother of God: “Lady Lady, do not leave me, a nasty sinner, but help me,” and immediately left the church vestibule and walked away. One man gave me three copper coins. With them I bought myself three loaves of bread and from the seller I learned the way to the Jordan.

At sunset I reached the Church of St. John the Baptist near the Jordan. Having bowed first of all in the church, I immediately went down to the Jordan and washed his face and hands with holy water. Then I took communion in the Church of St. John the Baptist of the Most Pure and Life-Giving Mysteries of Christ, ate half of one of my breads, washed it down with holy Jordanian water and slept that night on the ground near the temple. The next morning, having found a small canoe not far away, I crossed the river in it to the other bank and again fervently prayed to my Mentor that She would direct me as She herself would please. Immediately after that I came to this desert.”

Abba Zosima asked the monk: “How many years, my mother, have passed since you settled in this desert?” “I think,” she answered, “47 years have passed since I left the Holy City.”

Abba Zosima asked again: “What do you have or what do you find for food here, my mother?” And she answered: “I had two and a half loaves with me when I crossed the Jordan, little by little they dried up and turned to stone, and, eating little by little, I ate from them for many years.”

Abba Zosima asked again: “Have you really been without illness for so many years? And didn’t you accept any temptations from sudden excuses and temptations?” “Believe me, Abba Zosima,” answered the saint, “I spent 17 years in this desert, as if with fierce beasts, struggling with my thoughts... When I began to eat food, the thought of meat and fish immediately came to me, to which I I'm used to it in Egypt. I also wanted wine, because I drank a lot of it when I was out in the world. Here, often without simple water and food, I suffered fiercely from thirst and hunger. I also suffered more severe disasters: I was overcome by the desire for fornicating songs, as if I heard them, confusing my heart and ears. Crying and beating my chest, I then remembered the vows that I made while going into the desert, before the icon of the Holy Mother of God, my Helper, and cried, begging to drive away the thoughts that were tormenting my soul. When repentance was accomplished through prayer and crying, I saw a Light shining for me from everywhere, and then, instead of a storm, a great silence surrounded me.

Forgone thoughts, forgive me, Abba, how can I confess them to you? A passionate fire flared up inside my heart and scorched me all over, arousing lust. When cursed thoughts appeared, I threw myself to the ground and seemed to see that the Most Holy Surety Herself was standing before me and judging me for breaking my promise. So I did not get up, lying prostrate day and night on the ground, until repentance was accomplished again and I was surrounded by the same blessed Light, driving away evil confusion and thoughts.

This is how I lived in this desert for the first seventeen years. Darkness after darkness, misfortune after misfortune befell me, a sinner. But from that time until now, the Mother of God, my Helper, guides me in everything.”

Abba Zosima asked again: “Did you really need neither food nor clothing here?”

She answered: “My bread ran out, as I said, in these seventeen years. After that, I began to eat roots and what I could find in the desert. The dress that I was wearing when I crossed the Jordan had long since been torn and decayed, and then I had to endure a lot and suffer from both the heat, when the heat scorched me, and the winter, when I was shaking from the cold. How many times have I fallen to the ground as if dead. How many times have I been in immeasurable struggle with various misfortunes, troubles and temptations? But from that time until this day, the power of God has protected my sinful soul and humble body in unknown and varied ways. I was nourished and covered by the word of God, which contains all things (Deut. 8 :3), for man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word of God (Matt. 4 :4 ; OK. 4 :4), and those who have no covering will be clothed with stone (Job. 24 :8), if they put off the garment of sin (Col. 3 :9). As I remembered how much evil and what sins the Lord had delivered me from, I found inexhaustible food in that.”

When Abba Zosima heard that the holy ascetic was speaking from the Holy Scriptures in memory - from the books of Moses and Job and from the Psalms of David - then he asked the venerable one: “Where, my mother, did you learn the psalms and other Books?”

She smiled after listening to this question and answered: “Believe me, man of God, I have not seen a single person except you since I crossed the Jordan. I had never studied books before, I had never heard church singing or Divine reading. Unless the Word of God itself, living and all-creative, teaches man all understanding (Col. 3 :16 ; 2 Pet. 1 :21 ; 1 Thess. 2 :13). However, enough, I have already confessed my whole life to you, but where I began is where I end: I conjure you as the incarnation of God the Word - pray, holy Abba, for me, a great sinner.

And I also adjure you, by our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, that you do not tell anything that you have heard from me until God takes me from the earth. And do what I tell you now. Next year, during Lent, do not go beyond the Jordan, as your monastic custom commands.”

Again Abba Zosima was surprised that their monastic order was known to the holy ascetic, although he did not say a single word about it to her.

“Stay, Abba,” the saint continued, “in the monastery. However, even if you want to leave the monastery, you will not be able... And when the holy Great Thursday of the Lord’s Last Supper comes, put the Life-giving Body and Blood of Christ our God into the holy vessel and bring it to me. Wait for me on the other side of the Jordan, at the edge of the desert, so that when I come, I will receive communion of the Holy Mysteries. And say to Abba John, abbot of your monastery: take heed to yourself and to your flock (1 Tim. 4 :16). However, I don’t want you to tell him this now, but when the Lord indicates.”

Having said this and asking for prayers again, the saint turned and went into the depths of the desert.

All year Elder Zosima remained in silence, not daring to reveal to anyone what the Lord had revealed to him, and he diligently prayed that the Lord would grant him the privilege of seeing the holy ascetic once again.

When the first week of Holy Great Lent began again, the Monk Zosima, due to illness, had to remain in the monastery. Then he remembered the prophetic words of the saint that he would not be able to leave the monastery. After several days, the Monk Zosima was healed of his illness, but still remained in the monastery until Holy Week.

The day of remembering the Last Supper has approached. Then Abba Zosima fulfilled what he was commanded - late in the evening he left the monastery to the Jordan and sat down on the shore, waiting. The saint hesitated, and Abba Zosima prayed to God that He would not deprive him of a meeting with the ascetic.

Finally the saint came and stood on the other side of the river. Rejoicing, the Monk Zosima stood up and glorified God. A thought occurred to him: how could she get across the Jordan without a boat? But the saint, having crossed the Jordan with the sign of the cross, quickly walked on the water. When the elder wanted to bow to her, she forbade him, shouting from the middle of the river: “What are you doing, Abba? After all, you are a priest, a bearer of the great Mysteries of God.”

Having crossed the river, the monk said to Abba Zosima: “Bless, father.” He answered her with trepidation, horrified by the wondrous vision: “Truly God is not lying, who promised to liken to Himself all those who purify themselves, as far as possible, to mortals. Glory to Thee, Christ our God, who showed me through His holy servant how far I fall from the standard of perfection.”

After this, the saint asked him to read “I Believe” and “Our Father.” At the end of the prayer, she, having communed the Holy Terrible Mysteries of Christ, stretched out her hands to heaven and with tears and trembling said the prayer of St. Simeon the God-Receiver: “Now do You let Your servant go, O Master, according to Your word in peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation.”

Then the monk again turned to the elder and said: “Forgive me, Abba, and fulfill my other desire. Go now to your monastery, and next year come to that dried-up stream where we first talked to you.” “If it were possible for me,” answered Abba Zosima, “to continually follow you to behold your holiness!” The venerable woman again asked the elder: “Pray, for the Lord’s sake, pray for me and remember my curse.” And, making the sign of the cross over the Jordan, she, as before, walked across the waters and disappeared into the darkness of the desert. And Elder Zosima returned to the monastery in spiritual jubilation and awe, and reproached himself for one thing: that he had not asked the name of the saint. But he hoped next year to finally find out her name.

A year passed, and Abba Zosimas again went into the desert. Praying, he reached a dry stream, on the eastern side of which he saw a holy ascetic. She lay dead, with her arms folded, as it should be, on her chest, her face turned to the East. Abba Zosima washed her feet with his tears, not daring to touch her body, wept for a long time over the deceased ascetic and began to sing psalms appropriate for mourning the death of the righteous, and read funeral prayers. But he doubted whether the saint would be pleased if he buried her. As soon as he thought this, he saw that at its head there was an inscription: “Bury, Abba Zosima, in this place the body of the humble Mary. Give dust to dust. Pray to the Lord for me, who reposed in the month of April on the first day, on the very night of Christ’s saving suffering, after communion of the Divine Last Supper.”

Having read this inscription, Abba Zosima was at first surprised who could have made it, for the ascetic herself did not know how to read and write. But he was glad to finally know her name. Abba Zosima understood that the Venerable Mary, having received the Holy Mysteries on the Jordan from his hands, in an instant walked her long desert path, which he, Zosima, had walked for twenty days, and immediately departed to the Lord.

Having glorified God and wet the earth and the body of the Venerable Mary with tears, Abba Zosima said to himself: “It’s time for you, Elder Zosima, to do what you were commanded. But how can you, damned one, dig up a grave without having anything in your hands?” Having said this, he saw a fallen tree lying nearby in the desert, took it and began to dig. But the ground was too dry, no matter how much he dug, sweating profusely, he could not do anything. Straightening up, Abba Zosima saw a huge lion near the body of the Venerable Mary, who was licking her feet. The elder was overcome with fear, but he made the sign of the cross, believing that he would remain unharmed by the prayers of the holy ascetic. Then the lion began to caress the elder, and Abba Zosima, inflamed in spirit, ordered the lion to dig a grave in order to bury the body of Saint Mary. At his word, the lion dug a ditch with its paws, in which the body of the saint was buried. Having fulfilled his will, each went his own way: the lion into the desert, and Abba Zosima into the monastery, blessing and praising Christ our God.

Arriving at the monastery, Abba Zosima told the monks and the abbot what he had seen and heard from the Venerable Mary. Everyone was amazed, hearing about the greatness of God, and with fear, faith and love they established the memory of the Venerable Mary and honor the day of her repose. Abba John, abbot of the monastery, according to the word of the monk, with God’s help, corrected what needed to be done in the monastery. Abba Zosima, having lived a godly life in the same monastery and not quite reaching the age of one hundred, ended his temporary life here, passing into eternal life.

Thus, the ancient ascetics of the glorious monastery of the holy, all-praised Forerunner of the Lord John, located on the Jordan, conveyed to us the wondrous story of the life of the Venerable Mary of Egypt. This story was not originally written down by them, but was reverently passed on by the holy elders from mentors to disciples.

“I,” says Saint Sophronius, Archbishop of Jerusalem (March 11), the first descriptor of the Life, “what I received in my turn from the holy fathers, have committed everything to written history.

May God, who works great miracles and rewards with great gifts all who turn to Him with faith, reward both those who read and listen, and those who conveyed this story to us, and grant us a good share with the blessed Mary of Egypt and with all the saints, who have pleased God with their thoughts of God and their labors from centuries. Let us also give glory to God the Eternal King, and let us also be granted mercy on the Day of Judgment in Christ Jesus our Lord; to Him belongs all glory, honor, and power, and worship with the Father, and the Most Holy and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever, amen.

Every year during Great Lent, a special service is held in all churches in memory of the great saint - Mary of Egypt, a woman who rose above the exploits of many great men. This special service with genuflection is always performed in the fifth week of Lent on Thursday morning, and in practice, usually on Wednesday evening. In common parlance this service is called “Standing of Mary”. Why is this special service performed on the feast day of St. Mary of Egypt?

Life

Her life tells the story of a terrible sinner, a harlot, who once repented her entire life - she devoted almost 50 years to repentance - three years for one year of sin. The Holy Fathers call the struggle against the spirit of fornication a fierce struggle. For many years Mary struggled with the fierce beasts of her thoughts in the desert.

Saint Mary of Egypt, with life
Second half of the 17th century.
Wood, tempera.
136 × 105 cm
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia
Inv. 29551

The Life is usually read in two sittings between the reading of the penitential canon. The story begins with an acquaintance with the monk, who told the Orthodox world about the holy Egyptian wife. A certain Zosima, a monk from his youth, who lived in fasting and fasting, suddenly thought about himself: am I not an ascetic, have I not surpassed all others with my exploits? The Lord's fatherly care for those who strive, His attention, help and punishment saved Zosima from delusion.

Interesting fact

Punishment is a lesson for salvation.
Punishment in the sense of a command, instruction, lesson. It happens that God sends punishment to a person, but the person confuses punishment with insult or damage to himself. Because punishment is often accompanied by the taking away of the means of sin.

The love of God commanded Zosima to leave his habitual conditions, familiar and, to a certain extent, comfortable, and go to an unknown monastery lost in the desert, which had a strict charter and one pious custom. On Holy Pentecost, all the inhabitants left the monastery for the desert and there, throughout Lent, they searched for spiritual fruits one by one.

Venerable Mary of Egypt
Last quarter of the 18th century.
Wood, oil.
20 × 15.5 cm
Private collection

The Lord saved Zosima from destructive vain thoughts about his exploits when he met a naked man, burned by the sun, in the desert, who turned out to be a woman. She asked the monk to throw her some clothes to cover herself, and then she told him about her life.

Useful materials

John Chrysostom says this about the sinful harlot:

“A crazy sight: a harlot wife in the city -<все равно что>war within the walls... it is a lure of young men, a touchstone of desire, the awakening of passion, profiteering in the body, useless trade, a harmful enterprise that brings death to the seller and the buyer, a network of youth, an unhidden trap. The eyes of a harlot are a snare for sinners;<она>the pledge of debauchery, the self-seller who enslaves the buyers, the many-headed lioness, the stench of the city, the ulcer that spreads to all the senses, the fishing rod for the eyes, the circular death, the market of loss, the passion of destruction, the smell of death, the multi-purulent wound... It is the ulcer of the inhabitants, the rapist of marriage, the loss of honor, the struggle of husbands and wives, a meal that requires poor expenses, emptying of wallets, waste of property, loss of labor...”

The wife, who met Zosima and told him about her fate, called herself in the worst words: “the chosen vessel of the devil,” “earth and ashes.” She did not tell him her name, but told him in every detail, without hiding anything, about her former life, poisoned by sin. Repentance had already led the blessed soul to dispassion, which is why the story was detailed.

Venerable Mary of Egypt, with her life
End of the 19th century
Wood, tempera.
31 × 26.5 cm
Vladimir-Suzdal Historical, Art and Architectural Museum-Reserve, Vladimir, Russia
Inv. B-17382

At the age of twelve, having lost her virginity, she threw herself headlong into the pool of fornication and bathed there with pleasure. Nothing could stop her in this sin, not for money she gave herself to everyone who wanted, but out of love for sin. And even the one who didn’t want to was seduced against his will by her, being an Egyptian beauty with black curls, sparkling eyes and a white-toothed smile. So seventeen years passed.

But one day... “Blessed is God, who cares for the salvation of people and souls,” she found herself in Jerusalem in front of the doors of the temple. It was on the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Then a miracle happened: the conscience, drowned in sin, was resurrected. Everyone came to the temple for the holiday, but a certain force did not allow the sinner to cross the threshold. No matter how many times I tried, nothing worked.

“The word of salvation touched the eyes of my heart, showing me that the uncleanness of my deeds was blocking my entrance. I began to cry and mourn, beating myself on the chest and groaning from the depths of my heart,”

- she told Zosima.

She began to beg the Most Pure Mother before Her for forgiveness and heard a voice from above: “If you cross the Jordan, you will find glorious rest.”

Having heard God's call, and without doubting for a second, she set off. Someone gave her, disheveled and tear-stained, three loaves of bread. Arriving on the shore of the Jordan, there, in the Church of John the Baptist, she took communion, ate some bread, washed down with river water, and, after spending the night on the shore, in the morning she set off on someone’s boat into the desert beyond the Jordan.

Saint Mary of Egypt with a life in 16 hallmarks
Bogatyrev Ivan Vasilievich
School or art. center: Nevyansk
1804
Wood, mortise end-to-end and end-to-end. Gesso, tempera, gilding.
62 × 53 × 3 cm
State Museum of the History of Religion, St. Petersburg, Russia
Inv. B-7355-IV

In this desert, having once made a vow to the Queen of Heaven, who looked upon her salvation, she spent 47 years, the first 17 of which she was terribly tormented by the memories of sin. Evil temptations presented her with brilliant pictures of food and drink, demonic songs and dances, all kinds of pleasures, tormented her, and then threw her to the ground, froze her in the cold of the night, fried her in the heat of the day.

“But I always fixed the eyes of my mind on my Surety, asking for help from the desert drowning in the waves. And she had Her as a helper and a recipient of repentance.”

There, in the desert, a former sinner died and a saint was born. The saving example of Saint Mary of Egypt, who resolutely and courageously overcame her sin, rejected satanic temptations once and for all, and firmly relied on faith in the Lord and the Most Pure Mother of God, Their help and support, inspires many generations of believers to take the saving path of fighting their passions.

Interesting fact

The Holy Fathers say that passion is already something more than sin, it is sinful dependence, slavery to a certain type of vice. The Monk John Climacus says that “passion is the name given to the very vice that has been embedded in the soul for a long time and through habit has become, as it were, a natural property of it, so that the soul already voluntarily and by itself strives towards it” (Ladder. 15: 75).

The saint amazed Zosima in the desert because, being illiterate, she quoted the Holy Scriptures. After all, as she said, having run away from her parents at the age of twelve, and then living ugly in Alexandria, she was in need, because she didn’t really have any craft in her hands or education. It’s not that she couldn’t read; she had never heard of books being read. “But the Word of God, living and active, itself teaches the knowledge of man.”

Zosima saw her rising in prayer to an elbow from the ground, walking on the waters of the Jordan like dry land. After spending almost half a century in the desert, she gained dispassion, coming into the image of the reverence of God. She saw the future, predicting that she would meet Zosima in the monastery when he returned, and that the next year she herself would come to him on the banks of the Jordan to receive the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

And so it became. A year later, he gave communion to the blessed one for the second time in her life, and she, with the words: “Now dost thou let Thy servant go in peace, O Master, according to Thy word: as my eyes have seen Thy salvation,” in tears of gratitude she again withdrew into the desert, finally punishing the elder the following year he came to the place of their first meeting. There, a year later, Zosima found the body of the saint and the inscription on the ground:

“Bury, Abba Zosima, in this place the body of the humble Mary, give the ashes to the ashes, having prayed to the Lord for me, who reposed in the Egyptian month of Farmufi, called April in Roman, on the first day, on this very night of the Passion of the Lord, after the sacrament of the Divine and Last Supper "

Interesting fact

Saint Mary reposed on the same day and hour when she received the Holy Mysteries of Christ. She took communion at the Jordan, and immediately found herself far away in the desert, where she walked for twenty days. The Lord carried her. She died in that place on the day of Communion.

“Blessed is God, who elevates mortals even with a body to the life of the disembodied” - Rev. Joseph the Hesychast.

Only after the death of Saint Mary did Zosima tell the brethren about the miraculous meeting in the desert, and how God revealed to him the Secrets of His salvation, in different ways extracting the human soul from the depths of hell, and also he himself, Zosima, was saved by the Lord from the sin of vanity about his exploits .

Mother of God “Quiet my sorrows.” Venerable Mary of Egypt
Sokolov Petr Mikhailovich
School or art. center: Moscow
1898
Wood, tempera.
22.1 × 11 cm (each icon); 25.1 × 25.1 (kiot)

Inv. KP 2365
The inscription on the lower husk on both icons: 1898 in Moscow. Written by Peter Mikh. Sokolov.

St. Isaac the Syrian says: “There is no unforgivable sin except unrepentant sin.”
The Monk Andrew of Crete - monk, bishop, rhetorician, hymnographer, archpastor - was also a sinner.
The saint once made an unworthy concession to a heretic emperor, who, under the pretext of preserving peace in the empire, insisted on the resumption of the Monothelite false teaching. The Monk Andrei himself experienced deep repentance and put the poetic lines of penitential songs on paper. And we read them on the day of memory of the Venerable Mary.

Prayers

Day of Remembrance Saint Mary of Egypt falls on March 25 and April 14 according to the new style. At this time they celebrate name day those Marys whose Birthdays are closest to these numbers.

The Great Penitential Canon is read twice a year: in the first and fifth weeks of Lent. In the first week this long service is spread over four evenings, and in the fifth week it is read simultaneously on Thursday morning. Mariino's standing cannot be missed. At this service, which is special and difficult even for those who have been in the church for many years, much less for newcomers, abundant spiritual medicine is given.

Intense labor - physical and mental stress, prostrations to the ground, the very atmosphere of a dark temple, many kneeling people, the duration of the service, hearing a miraculous story about the transformation of a person from a sinner into a saint - all this sharpens the senses, stirs the conscience, makes one somehow move from death. points of deafness to one's sins. Makes the soul tremble in fear:

“My soul, arise, why are you sleeping? The end is approaching! And then catch a saving ray of hope in the call: “... and imashi will be embarrassed. Arise, O ye, that Christ God, who is everywhere and fulfilleth all things, may have mercy on you.”…

And then - with great fear of God, with trepidation and gratitude, expect the Bright Resurrection. The daily liturgical cycle in the church begins in the evening, therefore Thursday morning in the church is Wednesday evening, i.e. the day before.

Interesting fact

About the first moments of God’s Creation, when Light had just appeared in the world, at the beginning of the book of Genesis it is said: “... and there was evening, and there was morning - one day” (Genesis 1, 5). So, according to tradition, the day in the Church begins in the evening.

This morning becomes special. Taking turns, all the priests with lighted candles go out to the center of the temple, and take turns reading song after song, irmos after irmos, all the verses, interspersed with the repentant refrains of the choir: “God have mercy on me, have mercy on me.”

The service lasts 5-7 hours. Many bring texts (prayer books with a canon) with them to follow. But in order to understand many verses, you need to read a little, prepare, pay attention to the references in the text of the canon to the Holy Scriptures and read the interpretation. The biblical parallels given by the author and historical examples can be difficult to understand.

In any case, you need to move, read, understand, ask the priests. There is no need to stand in one place, especially young people, you need to understand the Holy Scriptures and study. Fasting is just a convenient time to put aside everyday worries a little and give time to prayer and repentance. For example, so that we can learn a lesson - what repentance is (repentance and confession are different concepts), for instructing all of us in true faith in God, the Church gives us at this service a stunning example of changing the vector and correcting a person’s life - the Venerable Mary.

Interesting fact

The penitential canon of Andrew of Crete consists of 250 troparions; it is customary to bow to the ground at each of them. And if you also add bows to the prayer of Ephraim the Syrian, and to “Our Father...”. And if, with diligence, there is also more than one per troparion. It is not easy. According to ancient regulations, up to 1000 throwings (bows) were performed during service.

Mary of Egypt in iconography

On icons Saint Mary is always depicted with her head uncovered, with white gray hair, as was said in her life: “the hair on her head is white, like a fleece, and not long, going down no lower than her neck.” There are life-size icons and there are waist icons.

Venerable Mary of Egypt
From the Deesis rank
School or art. center: Moscow
Mid-17th century
Wood, tempera.
149 × 50 cm
Central Museum of Ancient Russian Culture and Art named after. Andrey Rublev, Moscow, Russia
Inv. KP 2341
Comes from the temple of the Tver Old Believer community in Moscow

According to tradition, the saint is painted almost naked, barely covered with part of the robe thrown to her by Zosima. On the icons we see emaciated flesh, a haggard face - she is a great faster, who has fully mastered the weapon of faith - “prayer and fasting.” On some icons we see Mary alone, on others together with Zosima at the moment of communion.

There are even icons with a lion digging up the saint’s grave. A special type of icons - hagiographic - are icons with stamps, which depict moments of the saint’s life as told by Zosima, miracles - walking on water, praying, etc. Mary is depicted in icons in prayer, with her hands folded crosswise. This is a symbol of the cross, this is how we fold them when approaching communion. On the icon it is also a symbol of repentance. Mary died to the passions and followed Christ, his call to deny herself and, most importantly, sin. “If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me (Mark 8:34).

The main thing in the icon is the image of true repentance. There are icons of the saint, or frescoes - paintings on the walls, where she is depicted with other saints: John Climacus, with St. Andrew of Crete, with other saints.

In some temples, frescoes depicting Mary of Egypt or her icons were located in close proximity to the burials. This is connected with the funeral theme: her communion just before her death symbolizes repentance, a righteous death and a “favorable answer at the Last Judgment.”

Temples in honor of the saint

Once upon a time, on the territory of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery there was the Church of Mary of Egypt. There were many Marys in princely families and royal families. Mary of Egypt is the patroness of all Marys. And the road from Moscow always went past the place where the Sretensky Monastery stands - on pilgrimage to Trinity. Here the princesses and princesses stopped to rest and pray. The church was destroyed in the 30s. Now in the Sretensky Stavropegial Monastery there is an ark with a particle of the relics of the saint.

There is a small wooden temple of Mary of Egypt in the Brateevo area, Moscow, st. Borisovskie Ponds.

There is a temple of St. Mary of Egypt in Optina. This temple was rebuilt in the 1880s by the Venerable Elder Ambrose from the former refectory building. Now the building has been restored, but work is still underway; part of the premises of the temple is occupied by the monastery icon-painting workshop. Two chapels of Righteous Anna, the mother of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Venerable Mary of Egypt, were consecrated.

The Church of Mary of Egypt is located on the territory of the State Lermontov Museum-Reserve "Tarkhany".

There are many other churches of St. Mary in different regions and dioceses in our country.

Interesting fact

In Russia, according to statistics, the most churches of St. Mary (share in relation to the total number of churches) are in the Orenburg, Saratov regions and the Chuvash Republic.

Relics(head) of Saint Mary are in the Catholic Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiorigorod in Florence.

The main thing that happened in the life of Mary of Egypt was repentance. She repented that she had offended God with her sins. Every Great Lent (at least during fasting) we have a reason to ask ourselves: do I always act according to the vows given in the Sacrament of Baptism - I deny sin and unite with Christ? Always?.. Not to mention fornication or adultery, about which He said: pluck out your own eye if it offends you. The prophet Hosea said: “...this land commits great fornication, having departed from the Lord” (Hos. 1:2)

What changed? Ignatius Brianchaninov - a brilliant young officer, handsome and smart, gave his entire life to Christ, loved not his career and position, not his position in society, but God. He became a monk and a teacher of the Church - a saint. He emphasizes:

"In the New Testament<грех любодеяния>received a new heaviness, because human bodies received a new dignity. They have become members of the Body of Christ, and the violator of purity already brings dishonor to Christ, breaks the unity with Him... The adulterer is executed by spiritual death, the Holy Spirit retreats [from him], the sinner is recognized as having fallen into a mortal sin... - a guarantee of inevitable death... if this sin is not healed timely repentance."

At Mary's station we hear about a sinner who repented. So is she a sinner?

Troparion, kontakion, magnification

Troparion, voice 8:

In you, mother, it is known that you were saved, even in the image, / having accepted the cross, you followed Christ / and, having taught you to despise the flesh, it passes away, / but to strive for the souls of things more immortal./ / Also the venerable Angela rejoices Marie, your spirit.

Kontakion, voice 4:

Having escaped the darkness of sin,/ having illuminated your heart with the light of repentance, O glorious one,/ you came to Christ,/ To this All-Immaculate and Holy Mother/ You brought a merciful prayer book to Otonus./ but you also found forgiveness of your sins, // and you rejoiced with the Angels forever.

In kontakion, voice 3:

First filled with all sorts of fornications, / Christ’s bride has now appeared in repentance, / imitating the angelic life, / destroying the demon of the cross with weapons. // For the sake of the Kingdom, the bride appeared to you, O glorious Mary.

Canon

Canon of St. Mary of Egypt, voice 4
Song 1

Irmos: Ancient Israel walked across the dark abyss with damp feet and defeated the power of Amalek in the desert with the cross-shaped hand of Moses.

Cleanse the filth of sins from my humble soul, by Thy mercy, O Christ, and cast away the darkness and darkness of passions through Thy venerable prayers.

Having desecrated your spiritual nobility with carnal passions, you have enlightened your mind with abstinence, oh, honest one, having cleared your soul with clouds of tears.

In Egypt you escaped the passions, as if from a source of sin, and, having freed yourself from Pharaoh’s cruel defilement, you now inherited the land of passionlessness, and the angels rejoice forever.

Theotokos: Behold Your icon, Lady, Pure Mother of God, and the Word born from Your most pure, Virgin, womb, and the glorious one asks for Your help for this warmth.

Song 3

Irmos: Your Church rejoices in You, Christ, calling: You are my strength, Lord, and refuge, and confirmation.

Your wounds became frozen and bowed, but with the source of your tears you washed them warmly.

You defeated the demonstrators of the people, and you touched your passionate leaping with tears.

Like a morning cloud and like a drop, dripping, you were all, shedding the waters of saving repentance.

Theotokos: You, the Representative, Pure, and possessor of salvation, and strength, bow to the Holy Cross of the tree, honorable.

Kontakion, voice 3

First filled with all sorts of fornications, the bride of Christ has now appeared in repentance, imitating the angelic life, destroying the demon of the cross with weapons. For the sake of the Kingdom, the bride appeared to you, O glorious Mary.

Sedalen, voice 8

Having curbed all carnal leaps with fasting illnesses, you showed courageous wisdom in your soul, for having desired to see the image of the Cross, you, ever-memorable, crucified it to the world, out of necessity and to the zeal of an immaculate life you zealously erected for yourself, O all-blessed, most glorious Mary. Pray to Christ, the God of sins, to leave taxes to those who honor your holy memory with love.

Song 4

Irmos: You are exalted, having seen the Church on the Cross, the Righteous Sun, standing in your rank, worthily crying out: glory to your power, Lord.

You have fled, having fled, those who exist in the world and are all sweet, but you have united yourself purely with the One through extreme abstinence and patience in your deeds.

Thou hast truly dried up the bodily movements and kindlings of abstinence, from which thou hast adorned the soul, O all-glorious Mary, with Divine visions and deeds.

Through your virtuous strength, through your tears and extreme fasting, through prayer and food, through winter and nakedness, you were an honest companion of the Holy Spirit.

Theotokos: Having resorted to Your icon, and born of You, Virgin Mary, through You you will now find immortal life, rejoicing in paradise.

Song 5

Irmos: You, Lord, my light has come into the world, Holy Light, convert those who sing of You from the darkness of ignorance to faith.

You followed in the footsteps of Christ, rejoicing, bearing your cross on a frame, Mary, and you killed the demons.

You showed us the cure for repentance, you showed us the path that leads again to life that does not perish.

You, honest one, be my invincible intercessor and deliver me from passions and all sorts of illnesses with your prayers to the Lord.

Theotokos: Looking at Your icon, Pure Lady, always praying to You, the venerable one has put to shame the attacks of passion.

Song 6

Irmos: I will devour Thee with a voice of praise, Lord, the Church cries out to Thee, having been cleansed of demonic blood for the sake of mercy from Thy side with the flowing Blood.

Then you washed away the filth of sin, but looking towards the imperishable glory of your thoughts, now you have found prosperity through your illness, glorious one.

Your life has shown itself to all sinners, Mary; those who have sinned immeasurably, rise up in life and cleanse the filth with tears.

Have mercy on my humble soul, O Lover of mankind, even though I have desecrated and desecrated the unclean desires of my flesh, but You, O venerable One, have mercy on me with your prayers.

Theotokos: With all your soul and heart you loved the Word born of the Virgin, Living and Incarnate, the voice you, O Reverend One, brought to you.

Kontakion, voice 4

Having escaped the darkness of sin, having illuminated your heart with the light of repentance, you, glorious one, came to Christ, You brought this merciful prayer book to the All-Immaculate and Holy Mother. You have found forgiveness from your sins and sins, and you will rejoice with the Angels forever.

Ikos

The serpent, who of old in Eden covered Eve with the charm of the tree, cast you into the ditch of the Tree of the Cross, glorious Mary, and, having fled sweetness, you desired purity, and from there and with the virgins you were vouchsafed to bring your Master into the palace, with them to enjoy worthily. Pray diligently for this, for he will give permission to many sins and make us worthy to rejoice with the Angels in His life.

Song 7

Irmos: In the cave of Abraham, the Persian youths, with the love of piety more than being scorched by flame, cried out: Blessed are you in the temple of Your glory, O Lord.

Having walked the sorrowful and narrow path in reality, having clarified your soul with the kindness of virtues, you have reached Heavenly life, where there is no end, where the endless Light is Christ.

Having trampled all that is temporal in the world, now you rejoice with all the hosts of the Angels, singing: Blessed are you in the temple of Your glory, O Lord.

The cunning of the enemy and weapons have become impoverished, all through strong fasting and your prayer, reverend, and tears, and now the passions of insistence will be driven away, honorable Mary.

Theotokos: Having truly given birth to the unartificial God who was incorporeal and the Virgin who abided in truth, by Your power, O All-Honorable One, you drove away the passions and demons of the army.

Song 8

Irmos: Daniel stretched out his hands to the gaping lions in the ditch of the prison: having quenched the fiery power, girded with virtue, the zealous youths of piety, crying out: bless, all the works of the Lord, the Lord.

Having illuminated your entire mind with the radiance of virtues, glorious Mary, having conversed with God, having consumed your flesh with much fasting and pious thoughts, you sang, rejoicing: Bless all the works of the Lord, the Lord.

Having protected yourself with the sign of the Cross, having swam the waters of the Jordan with your waterless feet, Mary, faithfully the Heavenly Christ, His Body and Blood, having received communion, - now you release your servant, - you said.

The Divine Priest Zosima, the secret place of grace, the rapidity of seeing you in the Jordan, glorious, I passed with wet feet, possessed by fear and trembling, rejoicing, from the waist: bless, all the works of the Lord, the Lord.

Theotokos: By You, Most Undefiled, I shook off all aphids and filth, and clothed myself, O Lady, in the immortal robe, and by You the reverend One cried out to Your Son: Bless, O all the works of the Lord, the Lord.

Song 9

Irmos: The uncut stone from the uncut mountain, Thee, Virgin, the cornerstone cut off, Christ, the aggregator of the dispersed nature, thus, joyfully, we magnify Thee, the Mother of God.

Now we are filled with incorruptible and truly Divine food and enjoy the mental and non-evening Light in the Heavenly villages, where the Angels pray to God for us.

Having despised the current and perishable glories, Mary, you inherited glory and life, the blessed one. Pray to Christ for those who always perform your all-holy memory.

See my sorrow, reverend one, and the groaning of my heart, see the tightness of my life, save me from my sin and spare my soul through your intercessions to the Lord.

Theotokos: O Lady Pure Mother of God, salvation of sinners, accept this prayer, deliver me from my sins, taking refuge in Your Son, through Your venerable prayers.

Svetilen

The image of repentance was given to us, Mary, with your warm tenderness return victory, Having acquired the Intercessor of the Mother of God Mary, pray for us with Neuzhe.

Prayer

First prayer

O great saint of Christ, Reverend Mary! In Heaven you stand before the Throne of God, but on earth you are with us in the spirit of love, having boldness in the Lord, pray to save His servants, who flow to you with love. Ask us from the Most Merciful Master and Lord of faith for immaculate observance of our cities and all our cities, deliverance from famine and destruction, consolation for the afflicted, healing for the sick, and relief for the fallen. formation, strengthening for those who have gone astray, success and blessing in good deeds, intercession for orphans and widows and to those who have departed from this life - eternal rest, but on the day of the Last Judgment, at the right hand of the land, we will all be commoners and hear the blessed voice of My Judge: come, blessed of My Father, inherit what has been prepared the new kingdom for you from the foundation of the world, and you will receive it there forever. Amen.

Second prayer

O great saint of Christ, like Mother Mary! Hear the unworthy prayer of us sinners (names), deliver us, O holy mother, from the passions that war on our souls, from all sorrow and adversity, from sudden death and from all evil, at the same time separation of the soul from the body of marriage, holy saint , every evil thought and crafty demons, for may our souls be received in peace into the place of light by Christ our Lord, for from Him is the cleansing of sins, and He is the salvation of our souls, and it befits Him all glory, honor and worship, with the Father and the Holy Spirit , now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

^sss^Venerable Mary of Egypt^sss^

During Great Lent, words about Mary of Egypt are sure to be heard in churches. As a rule, they talk about her conversion from sin, about her long repentance in the desert. But one word about her is remembered somehow especially, it is akin to a good iconographic image. This is the sermon of the svmch. Serafima (Chichagova) "On the Call of God." Probably not everyone knows about this instruction, since the name of the Venerable Mary is not included in its title, but it is mostly dedicated to this saint. And so, there is a line in it, capacious and deep, conveying the essence of her story and at the same time allowing us to see the known, as if, for the first time, no longer as a chain of events, but as a true miracle performed by God. This is what the svmch says. Seraphim: “...after 47 years, the elder monk Zosima once met her in the desert at night, this one is one of the great sinners- great righteous woman...".

Usually about Rev. Mary of Egypt is spoken of as being “mercied” by God, and this is true. But it is not often possible to feel and convey the immensity of God’s mercy. After all, what do the words smch mean? Seraphim, what did he see? - Yes, that's what past Reverend Maria simply no... There is no harlot. There is the greatest saint! The one who entered heaven along with the virgins.

In relation to sin, only the human soul and human judgment are “long-remembering.” God's measure different. For Christ there are no apostles who “left Him,” no Peter who “denied Him,” no Paul who “sympathized with the beating of Archdeacon Stephen,” but there is only students And supreme apostles Peter and Paul. True forgiveness, the one that the Lord teaches us, is complete, forever erasing what happened yesterday. This is what makes it possible for a repentant person to transition to another state; a transition that may seem “inconceivable”, “too generous” and almost “mythical” for the stingy soul: of the great sinners- great righteous woman!“How so?! After all, she…” or: “Okay, let her be a saint, but what a terrible example, however!”

Let all this not seem like an exaggeration or a dubious shift in emphasis. Once, in a wonderful sermon about my saint, I heard unexpected and, apparently, hasty words: “How many of these “Egyptian Marys” are there now in Russia!” - "How many?"- I wanted to ask... The pain of a priest who accepts hundreds, if not thousands of confessions and worries even more about those who never reach the lectern, was understandable. It was a “scream” breaking through. But the point is precisely that there are no “Maries of Egypt”... There is no repentance that can lead a person like this, for forty-seven years into the desert beyond the Jordan, to put him on the path of asceticism, on the path of extreme asceticism! And the point is not even this, but the fact that the sanctified Mary, whom St. Zosima calls "treasure", the blessing of which he considers a great joy for himself and which he fears... not to see again, cannot be “typed” even in the slightest as an “example for inimitation.” Why? Precisely because her past is gone.

What is striking about her life? The complete dispassion with which she “gives” God, with the testimony of the priest confessing her sins, is her very confession, addressed to us. (Christians of the first centuries repented openly.) There is not the slightest shade of self-justification or, on the contrary, morbidity in it. Everything is perfect, to the end, “to the bottom”, consciously, mourned and outlived... She only removes from the soul past passions that almost destroyed her, like “rags” that... have no power over her for a long time.

At the same time, Mary of Egypt’s repentance before the priest, that is, according to the rules of the Church, has nothing to do with indifference. She once again deeply experiences the events of almost half a century ago. And the Monk Zosima with trepidation accepted confession... from the saint.

And so, through the word smch. Seraphim (Chichagov), life of St. Mary is revealed as God's arrangement the work of man's salvation, which has already begun before his appeals, against his will, through seemingly “random” circumstances that led a lost soul to the foot of the Lord’s Cross.

Gorgeous

...Jerusalem was preparing for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Many pilgrims moved along the narrow streets to venerate the greatest shrine - the Cross of the Savior found by Queen Helena. But even in this diversity, one Egyptian woman attracted attention. Dark, flexible, like a ribbon, with quick glances and impetuous movements, she did not look like a Christian woman. There was a sense of pride in her entire appearance. She clearly knew the value of her remarkable beauty.

When the temple gates opened, the Egyptian woman, out of curiosity, decided to go with everyone. After much effort, she approached the doors of the temple porch.

From all sides of her, people freely penetrated inside, but she remained in the same place. Attempts to join another stream did not bring results. She was simply thrown away like a grain of sand by a wave. Every time, after much effort and exhaustion, she reached the threshold of the temple, a movement occurred that carried her far back. This went on for a long time. The Egyptian woman became depressed. Finally, completely exhausted, she leaned against the wall of the vestibule. And here Mary of Egypt suddenly clearly understood that everything that happened to her was not accidental: she was not allowed Myself Lord. This feeling was obvious and so acute that her conscience began to speak out of horror; It was as if a flash had illuminated her whole life.

Detours

As a teenager, a barely formed girl, she ran away from her parents and for seventeen years never thought about turning back. IN that everything in life was too prosaic new the same, whose mistress she felt herself to be, promised freedom and happiness. All these years she was driven like a scourge by a shameful passion.

It was not self-interest or poverty that forced Mary of Egypt to live among the fallen, but vice, which completely subjugated her will. The reason, the beginning of everything, was pride from the consciousness of one’s youth and rare beauty. It was not the desire to venerate the holy places that brought her to Jerusalem, and she got on the ship sailing from Alexandria by accident, having neither specific plans nor responsibilities that could keep a person in one place. She was attracted by the opportunity to have fun where there were many young people. Neither the place where the Egyptian ship was heading, nor the surroundings of pilgrims stopped her. And only at that moment, in the vestibule, she was horrified for the first time by what she understood: God sees her.

Amazed by the obvious sign of God's opposition and seeing herself not at all beautiful, but, on the contrary, unclean and unworthy, she began to cry harder and harder, to the point of despair. And then the gaze of Mary of Egypt fell on the icon of the Mother of God.

"Protection" of sinners

As the opposite of herself, a gentle, spiritual beauty shone from the image. The glance of the Virgin Mary, alive, penetrating the soul and distinguishing her movements, struck the Egyptian, and the half-smile of the Mother of Christ gave timid hope. And then she fell to the Mother of God, as to the only one who, despite everything, incomprehensibly, inexplicably, does not disdain her... Her words were incoherent, confused, interrupted by sobs. She asked only for one thing - not to completely reject her, if possible, to ask God for forgiveness for her, to help her rise, to give her more time to atone for her past desecrated life. Just as a mother knows how to understand the indistinct babble of a child, so the Mother of God recognizes movements in the Christian soul. And after some time, having already clearly felt the mercy of the Mother of God, Her responsiveness and holy intercession, the Egyptian woman was no longer like a “stranger”, “rejected”, but like a child who had finally been found and encouraged by her parents, walked freely through the crowd of people and did not bow down , and fell near the Crucifixion on Golgotha. At that moment she felt rather than realized that already redeemed and forgiven that in this very place the Lord bore all her sins. You just need to renounce your previous life and become worthy of Him, not betray and never forget this...

She prayed for a long time in front of the icon of the Mother of God, thanking her Intercessor and Guarantor and promising to correct her life, until she heard a voice: “If you cross the Jordan, you will find complete peace for yourself.”

Trusting in the help of the Mother of God and still seeing Her Face before her, the Egyptian woman, without losing her prayer, like the thread that connected her to Heaven, walked to the Jordan all day without rest. A random passer-by, seeing her face swollen from tears, gave her three coins, with which she bought herself three loaves of bread. Having prayed in the Church of the Holy Prophet and Baptist of the Lord John, washed herself in the Jordan, she returned to the temple to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. She did not find sleeping on the bare ground tiresome. At first light, having found an abandoned boat, she crossed to the other side. In front of her was a deserted desert. Then she disappeared from human eyes... An old dress, and two and a half loaves in her hands...

After the spread of Christianity after the transformation of the Roman Empire, a considerable number of holy ascetics appeared who showed their own devotion and great faith. One of these ascetics was Saint Mary of Egypt, who is now in many churches and enjoys great respect.

History of Saint Mary

Mary was born in Egypt in the fifth century AD. She stayed in her parents' house until she was twelve years old, after which she left for Alexandria, which at that time was a developed cultural and economic center. Where there is prosperity and luxury, there is almost always lust and other sins.

Therefore, Mary succumbed to licentiousness and began to indulge in bodily pleasures. For many years she allowed herself any passions and fornicated a lot. For her, it was bodily pleasure that was the main meaning and the highest bliss.

As the lives testify, Mary, for about 17 years, continually and daily indulged her own passions, in particular, she indulged in fornication. She did not collect money, she simply enjoyed bodily pleasures.

Upon reaching the age of 29, Mary went by ship to the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which was celebrated in Jerusalem. It was this event that became fundamental in the biography of this saint, and it was thanks to this that the woman was able to accept the true faith. At the same time, she initially went to the holiday in order to fornicate there, but she saw people going to the temple.

Transfiguration of Saint Mary

Maria joined the others, but for some reason could not enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. At first it seemed as if the crowd was in the way and it was difficult to squeeze through a significant number of other people, but then the situation became obvious. Just as it is difficult for those possessed by demons to enter the temple, it was impossible for Mary to be there; something from above held the harlot back.

The woman felt the full weight of her accumulated sins and prayed before the Mother of God, whose icon was located in the narthex in front of the temple itself. Only after this was she able to enter the temple itself and bow. Having left, Mary again turned to the icon in the vestibule and heard instructions to go beyond the Jordan.

This is how a harlot dies and a saint is born. For the first 17 years (according to the number of years spent in fornication), the saint endured severe torment and hardship, and struggled with passions. After this, for 30 years the saint continued her asceticism in the desert, showing various miracles of faith: she soared above the earth when she prayed; walked on the water of the Jordan; could subdue the wild beasts of the desert, for example, the lion was affectionate with her and even dug a hole for the saint, kissing her feet before this when Mary rested.

About the icon of Saint Mary

Every Christian ascetic leads people to true faith and helps them strengthen their own path to the Almighty. However, each saint has, let's say, his own more specialized department. It is in this specialized area that you should ask for help.

Thus, if you ask yourself what the icon of Mary of Egypt helps with, the answer becomes obvious. The most effective prayer is to this saint when one should reject lustful passion. Such help is very relevant these days, when depravity literally permeates society.

If we touch on the meaning of the icon of Mary of Egypt, then the saint can also provide support when you simply need to get rid of various passions and turn your attention to the eternal and sublime

Mary's feat inspires other people, and her icon is revered by both monks and lay people. As believers say, this saint can help pacify passions and provide inspiration for strong faith.

Icon options

In order to pray, a simple icon of the Venerable Mary of Egypt can be used, where she is depicted on a plain background with a halo.

In addition, three versions of the saint’s scripture are common:

• image in the life - the saint herself stands in the center, and along the perimeter the main stages of the life are depicted in stamps (indicated earlier, miracles in the desert, communion and repose);
• an icon of St. Mary, where she remains in prayer to Christ or the Mother of God;
• communion and meeting with Elder Zosima.

Elder Zosima was practically the only person with whom the saint saw. It was he who, at the beginning of her ascetic life, gave her part of his clothing to cover her nakedness, and it was he who brought the sacrament when Mary became a saint. In order to take communion, the ascetic crossed the Jordan as if it were land.

Prayer to the icon of Mary of Egypt

Troparion, tone 8

In you, mother, it is known that you were saved in the image: having accepted the cross, you followed Christ, and in action you taught to despise the flesh, for it passes away, but to adhere to the souls, things that are immortal. Likewise, the angels will rejoice, O Reverend Mary, your spirit.

Kontakion, tone 4

Having escaped the darkness of sin, having illuminated your heart with the light of repentance, glorious one, you came to Christ, to whom, the all-immaculate and holy Mother, you brought a merciful prayer book. You have found forgiveness from your sins and sins, and you will rejoice with the angels forever.

Hear the unworthy prayer of us sinners (names), deliver us, reverend mother, from the passions that war on our souls, from all sadness and adversity, from sudden death and from all evil, at the hour of separation of soul and body, annihilation, holy saint , every evil thought and crafty demons, as if our souls may receive our souls in peace into a place of light, Christ the Lord our God, as from him the cleansing of sins, and He is the salvation of our souls, to Him belongs all glory and honor; and worship with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.