Marina the Monk | |
|---|---|
 Marina (in red) being brought to a monastery by her father Eugenius. 14th century French manuscript. | |
| Confessor andWonderworker | |
| Born | Fifth or eighth century[1] Al-Qalamoun (present-dayLebanon)[2] |
| Died | Uncertain |
| Venerated in | |
| Feast | |
| Patronage | Pregnant women, girls |
| Controversy | Woman joins monastery, falsely accused of fathering a child |
Marina, distinguished asMarina the Monk and also known asMarina the Syrian,Marinos,Pelagia (this being the Greek equivalent of 'Marina'; seePelagia) andMary of Alexandria (Coptic:Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲛⲁ ⲛ̅ⲁⲥⲕⲏⲧⲏⲥ), was aChristian saint from part of AsianByzantium, generally said to be present-dayLebanon.[9][10][11] Details of her life vary.[a]
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.[12][13]
Marina (in some Western traditions, or Mary[12] or Mariam in other manuscript traditions) was the child of wealthy Christian parents and was born inAl-Qalamoun, nearTripoli, in present-dayLebanon.[2] 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 theMonastery of Qannoubine in theKadisha 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 maleeunuch.[8][10][14][15]
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. As the journey was long, they were forced to spend the night at an inn. Also lodging there was a soldier of the eastern Roman front. Upon seeing the beauty of the inn keeper's daughter, who was working there, the soldier seduced her and defiled her virginity, instructing her to say, "that the young monk, Father Marinos, did that to me" should she conceive a child.[8][10]
After some time, it was discovered that the inn keeper's daughter was pregnant and, as was agreed, she told her father that "it was the young monk, abba Marinos, who did that to me."[8] On hearing the story, the innkeeper went furiously to the abbot of the monastery. The abbot calmed him and told him that he would see to the matter. He called for and severely reprimanded Marinos. Upon realising what was happening, Marinos fell to her knees and wept, (falsely) confessing to the sin and asking forgiveness, preferring to be seen as a man and a sinner than as an honourable woman.[16] Enraged, the abbot told Marinos to leave the monastery, and she did so at once and remained outside the gates as a beggar for several years. When the inn keeper's daughter gave birth, he took the child and gave him to Marinos who raised the child. Marinos fed the child with sheep's milk, provided by the local shepherds, and remained caring for him outside the monastery for ten years. Finally the monks convinced the abbot to allow Marinos to return; he accepted but he also imposed heavy penalties upon Marinos, who was to perform hard labour in cooking, cleaning and carrying water in addition to regular monastic duties and caring for the child.[8][10][14]
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At the age of forty, Marinos became ill, and died three days later. The abbot ordered that Marinos' body be cleaned, clothes changed, and body transferred to the church for funeral prayers. While fulfilling these tasks, the monks discovered that Marinos was, in fact, born female. This made them very distressed. The monks informed the abbot, who came to Marinos' side and wept bitterly for the wrongs done. The abbot then called for the inn keeper and informed him that Marinos was a woman. The inn keeper went to where the body lay and also wept for the pain and suffering which he had unjustly brought upon Marinos. During the funeral prayers, one of the monks, who was blind in one eye, is said to have received full sight again after he touched the dead monk's body. It was also believed thatGod allowed a devil to torment the inn keeper's daughter and the soldier, and that this caused them to travel to where the saint was buried, where they confessed their iniquity in front of everyone and asked for forgiveness.[8][10]
Marina is venerated in theEastern Orthodox Churches[17][3][18] and theCoptic Orthodox Church. Today, Coptic Orthodox Christians say that Marina's body is kept atSaint Mary Church andhas not decomposed. It is displayed to the public on Marina's feast day, on Mesra 15.[19][20]
In 2022, Marina was officially added to theEpiscopal Church liturgical calendar with a feast day on 17 June.[21]
Marina the Monk is also honored among theDruze, among whom she is called "Al-Sitt Sha'wani'", the shrine of "Al-Sitt Sha'wani'" is located in the region of Amiq on the slopes of MountBarouk (Jebel el-Barouk) to the east, overlooking theBekaa Valley and offering views of the much higherMount Hermon to the south.[4]
A telling instance of Frankish involvement is found in a cave near the village of Qalamun, just to the south of Tripoli, which is said to be the birthplace of St Marina the Monk.
According to the most ancient accounts on Saint Marina the Monk, only one place of origin could be hers - Lebanon. Clugnet resolves that until new discoveries are made, the only origin of Saint Marina must be the one known to us according to tradition and since the only tradition about this Saint is found among the Maronites of Lebanon, then Lebanon is to be considered the land of her birth (Clugnet 1904: 565). The Maronites resolutely believe that Marina originated in Lebanon and lived and died as a monk in the Monastery of Qannoubine in the Holy Valley of Qadisha. J. Fiey in turn concludes that Marina in question is truly a local saint of Lebanon, victim of imposture (Fiey 1978: 33).
