Venerable MARY OF EGYPT (†522)

Mary of Egypt. Who was she? A great sinner, a harlot, insatiable in sin, she lived in Alexandria, famous for its luxury and vices. The grace of God and the intercession of the Mother of God turned her to repentance, and her repentance surpassed in its power both her sins and the idea of ​​what is possible for human nature. The Reverend spent 47 years in the wilderness, of which for 17 years (exactly as long as she sinned) she waged a fierce struggle with the passions that overwhelmed her, until she was cleansed by the Grace of God, until she washed and brightened her soul to the state of an angel.

In the old days, it was believed that Mary of Egypt at the afterlife court would judge all harlots. It was said that through the prayer of the parents, she could save a son or daughter who had turned from the true path from a prodigal life and lewdness. Day of Mary of Egypt peasants spent in strict abstinence.

Every year in Great Lent Orthodox Church recalls the feat of Mary of Egypt, her amazing life (the reading of the life takes place on Wednesday evening). On Thursday of the 5th week at Matins it is read penitential canon Andrew of Crete. It contains an appeal specifically to her, Reverend Mary. "Marino standing" - is called such a service. Standing in repentance. Standing in faith. Standing in the fight against sin.

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Saint Mary of Egypt was a repentant harlot who lived in the 5th century. At the age of 12, she left her parents from the Egyptian village to Alexandria, where she lived for 17 years as a harlot, converging with her lovers both for pay and voluntarily.

Noticing a crowd of pilgrims heading to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, she joins them with impure intentions, pays the shipbuilders with her body for transportation, and then continues fornication in Jerusalem itself.

In Jerusalem, Mary tried to enter the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, but some invisible force "thrice and four times" held her back and did not let her in. Realizing her fall, she began to pray in front of the icon of the Mother of God, which was in the porch of the temple. After that, she was able to enter the temple and bow Life-Giving Cross. Instructed by such a punishment, she vows to continue to live in purity.

Having asked the virgin Mary to continue to lead her, Mary of Egypt hears someone's voice: "Cross the Jordan and you will find blissful peace"- and accepts it as a sign given to her. She buys three loaves of bread for alms and goes with them to the Jordanian desert. For the first 17 years, she is haunted by enticing memories of her former life, of wine and reckless songs: “When I took to food, I dreamed of meat and wine, which I ate in Egypt; I wanted to drink my favorite wine. Being in the world, I drank a lot of wine, but here I had no water; I was thirsty and terribly tormented. Sometimes I had a very embarrassing desire to sing prodigal songs to which I was accustomed. Then I shed tears, beat my chest and remembered the vows I made when I retired to the desert.

Then all temptations suddenly recede, and for the hermit there is a "great silence". Meanwhile, the worn himation disintegrates; Maria is tormented by summer heat and winter cold, from which she has nothing to cover her naked body. It feeds on tough desert grasses, and later, apparently, ceases to need food at all. In complete seclusion, having no books and, moreover, not being able to read and write, she acquires a wonderful knowledge of sacred texts.

For 47 years she has not met a single person. the only person, who saw Mary after her departure into the desert, became Hieromonk Zosima. He, following the charter of the Jordanian monastery, withdrew during Great Lent to the desert for fasting and prayer. There he met Mary, to whom he gave half of his himation (outerwear) to cover his nakedness.

He witnessed miracles and saw how, during prayer, she rose into the air and hung in weightlessness about half a meter from the ground. Filled with awe, Zosima asked Mary to tell him about her life. Having told him everything, Mary asked Zosima to return in a year with holy gifts and take communion, but she said not to cross the Jordan, but to wait for her on the other side.

A year later, as Mary said, Zosima on Maundy Thursday, taking the Holy Gifts, went to the banks of the Jordan. There he saw Mary walking along the other bank and thought how she could cross the river without a boat, but before his eyes Mary crossed the river on water, as if on land, went up to the astonished Zosima and took communion from his hands. Mary asked Zosima to come to the first place of their meeting a year later, and then she again crossed the Jordan on water and withdrew into the wilderness.

Arriving in the desert a year later in the hope of seeing the saint, he no longer found her alive. Zosima found her body and next to it was an inscription: “Burial, Abba Zosima, in this place the body of the humble Mary, give the ashes to the ashes. Pray to God for me, who died in the month, in Egyptian Farmufios, in Roman April, on the first day, on the night of the saving Passion of Christ, after communion of the Divine Mysteries. Not knowing how to dig a grave, he saw a lion come out of the desert, who dug a hole with his claws to bury the body of the righteous. It happened in 522. Returning to the monastery, Zosima told the other monks about the ascetic who had lived in the desert for many years. This tradition was transmitted orally until it was written down in the 7th century by Sophronius of Jerusalem.

Christian doctrine considers the example of Mary of Egypt as a model of perfect repentance.

Many temples are dedicated to Mary of Egypt, in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem there is a chapel in honor of St. Mary of Egypt, built on the site of her conversion.

The ark with a particle of the relics of St. Mary of Egypt is located in the Sretensky Monastery in Moscow.

Troparion, tone 8:
In you, mother, it is known that you have saved yourself in the image: having accepted the cross, you followed Christ, and the deeds taught you to despise the flesh, it passes away, lie about souls, immortal things. The same and from the angels will rejoice, Reverend Mary, your spirit.

Kontakion, tone 4:
Having escaped the sin of darkness, having illumined your heart with light of repentance, glorious, thou hast come to Christ, This all-blameless and holy Mother, thou hast brought a merciful prayer book. Otonus already and transgressions you found remission, and with the angels you rejoice forever.

Prayer:
Hear the unworthy prayer of us sinners, deliver us, reverend mother, from the passions that fight on our souls, from all sorrow and finding misfortune, from sudden death and from all evil, at the hour of separation of the soul and body, otzheniya, holy saint, all evil thought and crafty demons, as if our souls would receive in peace in a place of light Christ the Lord our God, as from him the cleansing of sins, and He is the salvation of our souls, He deserves all glory, honor; and worship with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Saint Mary of Egypt is one of the greatest saints in the history of Christianity. Not many ascetics have been awarded the special honor of a seven-day commemoration during the repentant time of Great Lent before Easter. And among them there is only one woman - Reverend Mary.

Her life is unusual, her way of turning to God is also unusual, her spiritual feat and its fruits are exceptional. Her life in Rus' was one of her favorite home readings, and during Great Lent it was also read in its entirety in the Church. What is it connected with? The fate of Mary of Egypt is one of the deepest examples of repentance and at the same time a reminder of God's inexhaustible love for man.

It is known that she was born in the 5th century in Egypt and was, as they say, a difficult child. At the age of 12, the girl ran away from home and went in search of adventure to Alexandria, the largest city of the Empire after Rome. There, all her adventures very soon came down to ordinary debauchery.

She spent seventeen years in continuous fornication. Fornication was not a way for her to earn money, because only in it did the girl find the only and main meaning of her existence. Maria did not take any money or gifts from her acquaintances, reasoning that in this way she would attract more men to her. And so, she was a well-known sinner, an object of temptation and temptation for everyone.

Once she got on a ship carrying pilgrims to Jerusalem. But it was not at all for the worship of Christian shrines that Mary set off on this voyage. Her goal was the young sailors, with whom she spent the whole journey in the usual amusements.

Arriving in Jerusalem, Mary continued to debauchery here. But one day, during a big holiday, out of curiosity, she decided to go to the Temple in Jerusalem. And she was horrified to find that she couldn't do it. Several times she tried to get inside the temple together with a crowd of pilgrims. And every time, as soon as her foot touched the threshold, the crowd threw Maria against the wall, and everyone else passed through unhindered.

Of course, one could consider all this to be a coincidence. But Mary saw a very definite meaning here. She suddenly realized that her dissolute life had cut her off from God, and bodily pleasures had obscured Heaven in her soul. Mary became afraid and began to cry.

In the vestibule of the temple hung the icon of the Mother of God. Mary had never prayed before, but now, in front of the icon, she turned to Mother of God and vowed to change her life. After this prayer, she again tried to cross the threshold of the temple and now safely passed inside along with everyone.

Bowing to Christian shrines, Mary went to the Jordan River. There, on the shore, in a small church of John the Baptist, she received the Body and Blood of Christ. And the next day she crossed the river and went into the desert in order to never return to people.

But even there, far from the usual temptations of the big city, Maria did not find peace. Men, wine, wild life - all this, of course, was not in the desert. But where could one escape from one's own heart, which remembered all the sinful pleasures of previous years and did not want to give them up? Pernicious desires tormented Mary here too.

It was incredibly difficult to deal with this disaster. And every time when Mary no longer had the strength to resist passion, she was saved by the memory of the holy vow given before the icon. She understood that the Mother of God sees all her actions and even thoughts, turned in prayer to the Mother of God and asked for help in fulfilling her promise.

Mary slept on bare ground. It fed on the meager vegetation of the desert. But she was able to completely get rid of fornication only after seventeen years of such an intense struggle. After that, she spent another two decades in the desert. Shortly before her death, Mary for the first time in all these years met a man among the sands.

The Lord, who brought her out of the world, also arranged for the elder, the monk Zosima, who retired to the Jordanian desert for the duration of Great Lent, to become an astonished witness to her feat. The hidden "hermit" who had passed him like a shadow in the desert was black from the scorching sun, incredibly thin, his hair was short, rolled up like felt and white as snow.

Seeing the old man, the hermit rushed to run and stopped only after heeding his prayers. Then, asking the monk for a piece of clothing to cover his body, the man addressed him, calling by name... No one could recognize in this almost ethereal creature, found by Father Zosima, the former beautiful Egyptian. And then the elder listened to the most amazing confession in his life.

He no longer accepted it from a sinner - many years of repentance and struggle with passions in a deserted desert washed away the traces of sin - from an enlightened soul, which entered the measure of the fullness of Christ and, out of humility, considered herself the worst of people! Her sin was always before her. Meanwhile, the ascetic, unknown to the world, taught by the Holy Spirit, not only knew the name of Father Zosima, but also the place where he came from, she also knew about the disturbances in his monastery. She cited the words of the Holy Scriptures and lines from the psalms without errors, never having learned to read and write. And, finally, the elder saw with his own eyes how, in prayer, she rose above the ground.

Exactly one year later, as they agreed, the elder came to Jordan with the Holy Gifts to give her communion, and witnessed a miracle. Overshadowing the waters of the river sign of the cross, the saint crossed to him along the river from the other side, as if on dry land, and, having accepted the Gifts, she withdrew deep into the desert. In obedience to her request, Father Zosima again came to the place of their first meeting after the appointed time and found her already dead. The name of the Servant of God was inscribed on the solid, like a stone, earth - Maria, and the time of rest - it was the day of her last earthly communion.

Rev. Mary of Egypt

Desperate, confused in life circumstances, people resort to her prayers. Her example indicates the conditions for salvation - sincere heartfelt repentance, hope in the help of the Lord and the Mother of God, and a firm decision to put an end to sinful life. The icons of St. Mary of Egypt usually have a lot of candles. How many weak, outcast, despised human souls acquire from her image a clear understanding of what God only sin is hated, and any person who turns away from evil becomes a dear child of God, about whom “there is more joy in heaven” than about one who does not need to repent. Having reconciled with God, the soul regains its lost dignity and likeness to its Creator, and with them peace and salvation.

An example of the image of St. Mary is offered to us as the final moment of Lenten time, this spring life. A week ago we heard the teaching, the call of St. John of the Ladder, who made up a whole staircase of perfection, with the help of which we can overcome evil and come to the truth. And today we see an example, an example of one who, from the very depths of evil, has risen to the heights of holiness.

Saint Seraphim of Sarov told those who came to him more than once that the whole difference between a perishing sinner and a sinner who finds his way to salvation lies in one thing: determination. The grace of God is always near: but we do not always respond, as Mary did; how she responded to the horror that seized her when she realized herself and, together, the holiness, beauty, integrity and chastity of the Mother of God, and she was ready for everything, for everything in order to change her life.

Let her image be for us a new inspiration, a new hope, even a new joy; but also a challenge, a call, because in vain we sing the praises of the saints if we do not learn anything from them, do not strive to imitate them.

Prayers of Saint Mary of Egypt

Prayer one

O great saint of Christ, reverend mother Mary! Hear the unworthy prayer of us sinners (names), deliver us, reverend mother, from the passions that are fighting on our souls, from all sorrow and finding misfortune, from sudden death and from all evil, at the hour of separation of the soul from the body, holy saint , every evil thought and evil demons, as if our souls would receive in peace in a place of light Christ the Lord our God, as if from Him the cleansing of sins, and He is the salvation of our souls, He deserves all glory, honor and worship, with the Father and the Holy Spirit , now and forever, and forever and ever.

Prayer two

O great saint of Christ, Reverend Mary! In Heaven, the Throne of God is coming, but on earth in spirit of love with us abide, having boldness to the Lord, pray to save His servants, flowing to you with love. Ask us from the Greatly Merciful Lord and Lord of the Faith the immaculate observance, our cities and towns of affirmation, deliverance from prosperity and destruction, consolation for the grieving, healing for the sick, resurrection for the fallen, strengthening for the erring, prosperity and blessing in good deeds, intercession for orphans and widows and departed from this life - eternal rest, all of us on the day Doomsday at the right hand of the country, the fellows of being and the blessed voice of My Judge, hear: come, bless my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, and receive your stay there forever. Amen.

Troparion of Saint Mary of Egypt, tone 8

In you, mother, it is known that you have saved yourself according to the image: having accepted the cross, you followed Christ, and giving it taught you to despise the flesh, it passes away: diligently about the soul, things are immortal: the same and from the Angels will rejoice, Reverend Mary, your spirit.

Kontakion, tone 3

First of all, the bride of Christ is filled with all sorts of fornications, today appearing in repentance, angelic residence, imitating the demons of the Cross, destroys with weapons. For this sake of the Kingdom, the bride appeared to you, glorious Mary.

Life of Mary of Egypt

Among the holy icons looking at us from the walls Orthodox churches, there is one on which the eye involuntarily stops. It depicts the figure of a woman. Her thin, emaciated body is wrapped in an old cloak. The swarthy, almost tanned skin of a woman is scorched by the desert sun. In her hands is a cross made from dry reed stalks. This is the greatest Christian saint, who has become a symbol of repentance - St. Mary of Egypt. The icon conveys to us its strict, ascetic features.

The sinful life of young Mary

The holy elder Zosima told the world about the life and deeds of the saint. By the will of God, he met her in the depths of the desert, where he himself went to spend Great Fortecost far away from the world in fasting and prayer. There, on the earth scorched by the sun, Saint Mary of Egypt was revealed to him. The icon of the saint often depicts this meeting. She confessed to him, telling the amazing story of her life.

She was born at the end of the 5th century in Egypt. But it so happened that in her youth, Mary was far from unquestioning observance of the commandments of God. Moreover, unbridled passions and the absence of intelligent and pious mentors turned the young girl into a vessel of sin. She was only twelve years old when she left parental home in Alexandria, was left to her own devices in a world full of vice and temptations. And the disastrous consequences were not long in coming.

Very soon, Mary indulged in unbridled debauchery. The purpose of her life was to seduce and involve as many men as possible in destructive sin. By her own admission, she never took money from them. On the contrary, Maria earned a living by honest work. Debauchery was not her source of income - it was the meaning of her life. This went on for 17 years.

A turning point in Mary's life

But one day an event occurred that radically changed the whole way of life of a young sinner. The Holy Cross was approaching, and a large number of pilgrims were sent from Egypt to Jerusalem. Their path lay along the sea. Mary, among others, went on board the ship, but not in order to bow in the holy land to the Life-Giving Tree, but in order to indulge in debauchery with bored men during a long sea journey. So she ended up in the holy city.

In the temple, Mary mingled with the crowd and, together with other pilgrims, began to move towards the shrine, when suddenly an unknown force blocked her path and threw her back. The sinner tried to try again, but every time the same thing happened. Finally, realizing that it was the Divine power for sins that did not let her into the temple, Mary was filled with the deepest repentance, beat herself with her hands on her chest and in tears prayed for forgiveness in front of whom she saw in front of her. Her prayer was heard, and the Most Holy Theotokos showed the girl the way to her salvation: Mary had to cross to the other side of the Jordan and retire to the wilderness for repentance and knowledge of God.

Life in the desert

Since that time, Mary has died to the world. Having retired to the desert, she led a hard ascetic life. So, from the former harlot, St. Mary of Egypt was born. The icon usually represents her precisely in the years of hardships and hardships of hermit life. The meager supply of bread she had taken with her soon ran out, and the saint ate the roots and what she could find in the sun-dried desert. Her clothes eventually decayed on her, and she remained naked. Mary endured torment from the heat and from the cold. Thus passed forty-seven years.

One day in the desert, she met an old monk who retired from the world for a while to pray and fast. It was a hieromonk, that is, a minister with the rank of priest. Covering her nakedness, Mary confessed to him, telling the story of her fall and repentance. This monk was the same Zosima who told the world about her life. Years later, he himself will be numbered among the saints.

Zosima told the brethren of his monastery about the foresight of St. Mary, about her ability to see the future. Years spent in prayer of repentance not only transformed the soul, but also the body. Mary of Egypt, whose icon represents her walking on water, acquired properties similar to those of the flesh of the risen Christ. She really could walk on water and during prayer she rose by a cubit above the ground.

Communion of the Holy Gifts

Zosima, at the request of Mary, met with her a year later, bringing with him the pre-sanctified Holy Gifts, and communed her. This is the only time when Saint Mary of Egypt tasted the Body and Blood of the Lord. The icon, the photo of which is in front of you, depicts just this moment. Parting, she asked to come to her in the desert in five years.

Saint Zosima fulfilled her request, but when he came, he found only her lifeless body. He wanted to bury her remains, but the hard and rocky soil of the desert did not give in to his senile hands. Then the Lord performed a miracle - a lion came to the aid of the saint. Wild animal he dug a grave with his paws, where they lowered the relics of the righteous. Another icon of Mary of Egypt (the photo was taken from her) completes the article. This is the episode of mourning and burial of the saint.

The Infinity of God's Mercy

The mercy of the Lord is all-encompassing. There is no such sin that would surpass His love for people. No wonder the Lord is called the Good Shepherd. Not a single lost sheep will be left to perish.

The Heavenly Father will do everything for her conversion to the true path. What matters is the desire to purify and deep repentance. Christianity provides many such examples. The brightest among them are Mary Magdalene, Prudent Rogue and, of course, Mary of Egypt, the icon, prayer, and life of which showed many the way from the darkness of sin to the light of righteousness.

On April 21, the memory of St. Mary of Egypt is celebrated. Why did the former harlot enter the trinity of saints, symbolizing the Lenten "school of piety", together with two great Orthodox prayer books and mystics - St. Gregory Palamas and Reverend John Ladder?

Rev. Mary of Egypt, life (fragment, www.ruicon.ru). 14th century, Greece. Athos, Hilandar Monastery.

The fifth, penultimate, Sunday of Great Lent has arrived (two weeks are left before Easter). Today the Church invites us as an example to turn to the life of one beautiful woman from Alexandria of Egypt. In her youth, she was a well-known harlot in this port city, or, in literary terms, a courtesan.

At first glance, this may seem strange. Are there really few other role models in the treasury of Christian holiness - such immaculate virgins as Barbara, Catherine (whose very name is translated as “always pure”) and others who have been faithful to their Heavenly Bridegroom since childhood? Moreover, it was not need that pushed her “to the panel”, like, for example, Sonya Marmeladova!

She herself admitted that, having left her parents at the age of twelve and having lost her purity, "she was irresistibly and greedily attracted to men." “I traded myself not for self-interest. ... I did this in order to attract a larger number of people who wanted to join me. This was my life: I considered life the constant desecration of my body.

It is all the more important to understand why the former harlot entered the trinity of saints (together with St. Gregory Palamas and St. John of the Ladder), who became symbols of the Lenten “school of piety”!

The wild life of the fallen girl lasted 17 years. Once, for fun, Mary joined the pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, paying the way for the shipbuilders with her body. Walking around the Holy City and “hunting for the souls of young men,” as the life says, Mary saw people walking to the Church of the Resurrection of Christ. The greatest Christian shrine, the Calvary Cross, was kept here.

Together with a crowd of worshipers, Mary entered the narthex, but her attempts to get inside the temple were in vain. Some invisible force was throwing her back from the threshold. Finally, she gave up and retreated to the corner of the porch. “And then,” she later said, “the reason was revealed to me why I was not allowed to see the life-giving tree of the Cross, for my spiritual eyes were illuminated by the word of salvation, indicating that the abomination of my deeds blocked my access to the temple. I began to cry and mourn, hitting my chest and uttering groans from the depths of my soul, and then I saw an icon above me. Holy Mother of God". Turning to her with a prayer, the sinner was able to freely enter the temple, and then, returning to the icon, she received a revelation, hearing a voice: "Cross the Jordan, and you will find blessed peace!"

In the church of St. John the Baptist near the Jordan, she took communion, then crossed to the eastern bank of the river and disappeared from the world. Struggling with temptations, Mary spent another 47 years in the wilderness before she met the first living person, Hieromonk Zosima, who providentially retired during Great Lent in this very place. (It was a custom for the monks of the Lavra of St. Sava to celebrate Holy Fortecost one by one and return to the monastery for the feast of the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem.) He begged Mary, who had now become an ascetic, to tell him the story of her life. During their joint prayer, the saint was lifted off the ground by a cubit. The elder was filled with reverent awe, hugged her feet with tears and asked her blessings. And Mary called herself a sinner, having no virtues, and asked him for blessings.

They agreed to meet at Jordan, closer to his monastery, the next year, so that Mary could receive communion. By the providence of God, this happened in Good Thursday. An old man standing on the western bank of the river saw how Mary made the sign of the cross over Jordan and “walked on the water without getting wet.” Having accepted the Holy Mysteries from his hands, “she raised her hands to heaven, began to groan and cry, and cried out: “Now you release Thy servant, Master, according to Thy word, in peace. For my eyes have seen Thy salvation!” secret meaning This prayer of Simeon was hidden for Zosima, because the saint herself asked him: “Now go to your monastery, and next year come again to the place where I saw you for the first time. … And again, by the will of God, you will see me.” The elder returned, “full of jubilation and great fear, reproaching himself for not asking the name of the saint; however hoped to do so next year.”

Arriving a year later in the desert, he saw at the mouth of a dried-up river “that holy woman lying dead; her hands were folded according to custom, and her face was turned towards the sunrise. Having mourned her and made a funeral prayer, he suddenly saw an inscription inscribed on the sand: “Here, Abba Zosima, bury the remains of the humble Mary and betray the ashes to ashes, without ceasing prayers to the Lord for me, who died on the night of the Passion of the Savior, after receiving the Holy Mysteries.” This meant that she had died a year ago, a few hours after their second (and last) meeting, on April 1, 522, on Good Friday. A huge lion guarding the body of the saint helped the elder to dig the grave for her burial.

The legend about the life of a sinner-saint was kept in the monastery of Zosima, and later was recorded as "The Life of Mary of Egypt, a former harlot who honestly labored in the Jordanian desert" (the author of this masterpiece of early Byzantine hagiography is Patriarch Sophronius of Jerusalem, †638). The popularity of the life is evidenced by numerous transcriptions and its inclusion in the divine service on Thursday of the fifth week of Great Lent (Standing of Mary of Egypt, or St. Andrew's standing). The plot of the life was used by I. S. Aksakov in the poem "Mary of Egypt".

The life of Saint Mary of Egypt is regarded as a dual symbol of active repentance, which transforms the whole being of a person, and God's reciprocal mercy. Christianity is deeply “optimistic”: there is no place for haughty disgust towards people with “irreparably damaged reputation” (as in a secular society), or towards “untouchables” (as in a caste society), and the seemingly incredible ascent from the irrevocable abyss of sin to the halo of holiness is open to every modern colleague of Mary before her conversion. That is why this former sinner is dedicated to the last Sunday of Holy Pentecost (Forty Days of Lent), the most important penitential period of the Orthodox liturgical year.

Mary of Egypt is revered by us as a holy "reverend". Her memory is also celebrated according to the fixed (menine) calendar - April 1/14.

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

She was born in the 5th century in Egypt. Early leaving the house of her parents, Mary became a harlot and led a dissolute life, seducing many men and indulging in debauchery. The change in her life came when she found herself in a group of pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem for the feast. True, she ended up there not for pious reasons, but seeing how many men are on the ship at the same time, and how many can be seduced. In Jerusalem, she could not enter the temple - an invisible force pushed her away three times.

At that moment, Maria realized how she lived, and she decided to end her former life. taking bread with her, she went into the wilderness, where for forty years she prayed and repented of her sinful life. She didn't know how to read, but she knew everything Holy Bible by heart. she told her story to the elder Zosima, who, while praying in the desert, met her.

The Complete Life of Saint Mary of Egypt: Mary of Egypt, the Treasure of the Desert

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

1. The image in the life - the hallmarks tell about the most important episodes of her life, and in the center is depicted Saint Mary of Egypt herself.

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

3. Meeting of St. Mary in the desert with the elder Zosima and communion of St. Mary.