A Hidden Gem
- Tina A.
- 4 days ago
- 7 min read
“Who’s your intercessor?” If you’ve been asked this before, you are part of a Christian faith tradition that believes in the intercession of the saints. If you were born into this faith, the saints have no doubt been a part of your life from the cradle. Having grown up in the Coptic Orthodox Church myself, I was no stranger to the deep devotion and close friendship with the saints among parishioners in my surroundings and within my own household. From infancy, we were taught to kiss and venerate icons and witness the aromatization and procession of saints’ relics on their feast days. Countless Sunday School lessons revolved around the biographies of saints. Everyone knew someone who had a special friendship with a saint and proclaimed to have experienced a miracle through their prayers. As much as I knew intellectually that the saints were real and that their work was apparent in the lives of many, I remained a distant observer, resigned to the belief that these experiences were reserved for others.
In my high school years, something shifted. A close relative of mine found herself in a dire and seemingly impossible legal struggle, and there was nothing I could do to help but cry out to heaven for a miracle. I asked for the intercession of a holy and beloved saintly figure, St. Pope Kyrillos VI, also known as Baba Kyrillos, or just “Baba” (which is Arabic for Dad) for many intimate devotees. He was the patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church from 1951 to 1971. Known as “the man of prayer,” he is renowned for having revived the Coptic Church during a dark period of spiritual apathy and corrupt practices, not to mention a waning liturgical life and a general disinterest in church life. He won the hearts of an entire generation not only through the miracles God worked through him during his life and after his departure to heaven but also through the tender fatherhood he showed to everyone he encountered. He was the one I chose. I stood in front of the picture taped to the wall near the headboard of my twin bed, the one of him sitting “on a lowly donkey” (sound familiar?). Unable to find any words beyond “please,” I wept wordlessly in front of the photograph.
Not long after, perhaps the following day, the mother of the close relative in question shared something astounding with me. As she was standing in prayer about this dilemma, imploring her own ensemble of heavenly friends, she suddenly had a vision of Baba Kyrillos, sitting on a donkey. He said nothing. She couldn’t understand why he would visit her given she hadn’t specifically asked for his prayers. My heart leaped and the tears ran down my cheeks as I explained, “It’s because I called him!” We knew that very moment that our prayers had been heard and that God would take care of the situation through Baba’s prayers. And He did!
That was my very first tangible experience with the saints, the one that opened my eyes to the truth that a relationship with the saints was accessible even to me. I won’t lie; it took many years for me to embrace a relationship with other saints and even to deepen my connection with Baba. In my adult years, it must be said that my bond with the saints grew only in proportion to my connection with the One whom the saints adore, the Lord Jesus Himself. The nearer I drew to Him, the more He allowed me to approach His beloved family and experience their love and care along with His.
Getting to the subject of this blog, the one saint that impressed me to the point of publishing a book is St Macrina the Younger, a fourth-century ascetic who played a pivotal role in the Early Church through her influence on her own family. The eldest of ten children, she played an instrumental role in their upbringing and education. She can be credited for the accomplishments of two of the three Cappadocian Fathers, St Basil the Great and St Gregory of Nyssa, her younger brothers. Their contributions were foundational to the theological formulations of our Christian faith and are considered defenders of trinitarian and christological orthodoxy in the Early Church. Her mother, St Emmelia, and her other siblings, such as St Peter of Sebaste, were also canonized in the Orthodox Church.
I did not seek out St Macrina. She found me. I was asked to give a talk about women of the Early Church to a youth group, and it was then that I came across “Life of Macrina,” her biography written by her brother, St Gregory of Nyssa. Although I only had access to an old, slightly archaic online translation in the public domain, the cryptic language could conceal neither her radiant beauty nor the gorgeous poetic style of its author. From then on, any mention of St Macrina sent a rush of excitement through me, especially when I encountered people who shared in my delight. What was it that struck me so? A whole host of things. But I have chosen to dwell on only one for brevity’s sake.
What stood out the most to me in her life was her uncanny ability to profoundly impact her household. To begin, she took it upon herself to serve her mother, taking upon herself tasks that could have been relegated to the servants. Furthermore, she became her mother’s right hand and strength in the face of many tragedies, refusing to let her give herself over to dramatic displays of grief as was common for women of the time. Moreover, she persuaded her very wealthy mother to abandon the luxurious life and to embrace the servant-girls as sisters, eventually converting their home into a monastery for women, and a place of refuge for the poor, sick and needy as well as for travellers.
As for her siblings, when the youngest of the family, St Peter, was born, she took full charge of his care, his education and his spiritual upbringing, leading him to a great height of virtue comparable to that of St Basil. St Peter went on to become the overseer of the men’s side of the monastery that their estate became, tending to the needs of all who sought refuge there, as his sister did. As for St Basil, the biography recounts that when he had returned from his studies, he was puffed up about his rhetorical prowess and deemed religious pursuits unworthy of his talents. However, when his elder sister was done with her arrogant brother, he completely renounced all worldly aspirations and embraced a life of asceticism and poverty, devoting himself entirely to the Church. He eventually became a priest and later a bishop, gaining the admiration of all, even the so-called enemies of the Church. He defended the church against heresy and left behind an abundance of writings on monasticism, church affairs and theological defenses, among many other achievements. Although St Gregory does not elaborate on his own admirable achievements, history tells us their significance resembles St Basil’s. What we can see from his narrative of his sister’s life is that he treated her with the utmost of regard, respect, and admiration, referring to her often as his mistress, the holy one, and the great woman. In addition, he goes to great lengths to honor her wishes in her final days and after her departure to heaven.
Without mentioning St Macrina’s impact on the rest of her family, it is undeniable that she was able to affect their choices and alter the very course of their existence. This is fascinating to me: I am certain you would agree with me that witnessing to family members is perhaps the most challenging task for Christians. Words often bear little weight with our immediate family, likely because they have front-row seats to the multitude of our flaws and shortcomings. Perhaps that was the key then: her teachings echoed her holy and virtuous life, making her devotion to Christ unmistakable and thus influential, if not downright contagious.
Truth be told, as a homeschooling mom, my own children not only have front-row seats to the multitude of my flaws and shortcomings, they have backstage passes! Still, I pray and have confidence that God will make up for my weaknesses and repair the damage that my sinful nature causes. By God’s grace, I trust that a life of continual repentance, the humble admission of my faults, and frequent requests for forgiveness will make up for it all. But the lesson for me and for all of us is that our children, family members, friends and colleagues must see us walking the walk before they can be truly impacted by our talk. St Macrina blew this one out of the water.
So much more could be said about St Macrina: the uniqueness of her childhood, the exquisiteness of her dying prayer, the depth of her philosophical ideas, the wonders God worked through her, and so much more. My deep desire to share her with the whole world led me to write a modern rendition of her biography that would be accessible to wider audience. “Mother to the Saints: A Modern Rendition of Saint Gregory of Nyssa’s Life of Macrina,” is available on Amazon as a paperback and ebook (see links below). I have no doubt you will find her as captivating as I did!
I will leave you with this question: which heavenly friend has captured your attention and heart? If you have not yet experienced a closeness with one of the saints, you have a few recourses. You can choose one whose story speaks to you and simply begin a conversation, then watch the relationship unfold organically. Alternatively, you can take your desire to God in prayer, and watchfully wait to see which one will choose you. You will know when this happens; they may mysteriously pop up repeatedly in a short amount of time, for instance. I pray that you will taste and see, like I have begun to, that the saints are very much alive and present in our lives. They love us tremendously and delight in manifesting God’s love for us through their work in our day-to-day life. What a precious gift to truly be given access to the kingdom in this way, and to call “so great a cloud of witnesses” our intimate friends.
Available on Amazon:
Comments