Mary of Egypt how many years in the wilderness. Mary of Egypt Mystery

The Holy Church thrice a year remembers the great saint - the venerable Mary of Egypt:

2. At the divine service on Thursday of the 5th week of Great Lent, which is called "the standing of Mary of Egypt." On Wednesday evening, the Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete is read in all churches, as well as the canon of St. Mary and her life (this is perhaps the only life that is now read in the Church during divine services). The Church on this day offers believers the most powerful images of repentance.

3. On the fifth Sunday (week) of Great Lent. Recall that the 1st week is dedicated to the Triumph of Orthodoxy, the 2nd - to St. Gregory Palamas, the 3rd - the Cross, the 4th - Saint John, the author of the famous "Ladder", 5th - St. Mary of Egypt, 6th - the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. This is the line in which the memory of St. Mary stands!

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. The holy elder Zosima, who by the will of God revealed the ascetic to people, lived in a very strict monastery, was one of the most severe ascetics in this monastery, but he was struck by the degree of holiness that the Monk Mary possessed during her lifetime. During prayer, she rose above the ground; walked on water as on dry land; repeated the lines Holy Scripture and reasoned like an enlightened theologian, although she had never been able to read or heard the word of God; she was almost incorporeal and ate only what the desert gave. Truly, what Zosima saw exceeded not only human, but also monastic concepts. And at the same time, she did not stop crying about her sins and considering herself a sinner in the eyes of God.

The life of St. Mary of Egypt was and is one of the most beloved readings of the Russian people (as well as the life of St. Alexis, the man of God). Her life, similar to a fairy tale, but not raising doubts about its reality, invariably touches the reader; reminds him of the immeasurable mercy of God, and on the other hand, of the need for his own great efforts to brighten, change his soul so that there is nothing contrary to God in it, so that God would be pleased to dwell in it.

There is no sin that the Mercy of God cannot forgive, if sincere, sincere, sincere repentance obtained with tears is brought in this sin. And vice versa, a sin that is insignificant by human standards, but not unrepentant, can block the soul from entering the Kingdom of Heaven. The remembrance of the life of Mary of Egypt encourages sinners and warns those who are careless about the salvation of their souls - this is the lesson that the Holy Church gives us in the life of the Reverend Holy Church.

It is fitting to keep the secret of the tsar (Tov. 12:7), but it is commendable to announce the deeds of God. So the angel said to Tobit after the miraculous insight of his eyes and after the hardships he endured, from which Tobit, in his piety, was later delivered. For divulging the royal secret is dangerous and destructive, while keeping silent about the miraculous deeds of God harms the soul. Therefore, fearing to remain silent about the Divine and fearing the fate of a servant who, having received a talent from his master, buried it in the ground (See: Matt. 25:14-30) and hid what was given to him for use without spending, I will not hide what has come me sacred tradition. May everyone believe in my word, conveying what I happened to hear, may he not think, amazed at the greatness of what happened, as if I were embellishing something. Let me not deviate from the truth and let it not be distorted in my word, where God is mentioned. It does not befit, I think, to belittle the greatness of the incarnate God the Word, tempted by the truth of the traditions transmitted about Him. To the people who will read this record of mine and, amazed at the wondrous things that are imprinted in it, will not want to believe it, may the Lord be merciful, for, starting from the imperfection of human nature, they consider everything that is beyond human understanding incredible.

Next, I will move on to my story about what happened in our times, and what the holy man told about, accustomed from childhood to speak and do what is pleasing to God. Let not the wrong one be tempted by the delusion that such great miracles do not happen in our day. For the grace of the Lord, descending from generation to generation on holy souls, prepares, according to the word of Solomon (Wisdom 7, 27), the friends of the Lord and the prophets. However, it is time to begin this pious narrative.

In one Palestinian monastery in the vicinity of Caesarea, a certain monk named Zosima labored, adorned with both deed and word, who almost from the cradle was nurtured in the monastic custom and labors.

Passing through the field of asceticism, he strengthened himself in all kinds of humility, observed every rule set in this school of achievement by its mentors, and he voluntarily appointed many things for himself, striving to subordinate the flesh to the spirit. And the elder achieved his chosen goal, for he became so famous as a spiritual man that from the nearest, and often from distant monasteries, many brothers constantly came to him in order to be strengthened by his instruction for the feat. And although he was devoted to active virtue, he always meditated on the word of God, both lying down in his bed, and getting up from sleep, and busy with needlework, and when he happened to eat food. If you want to know what kind of brashny he was saturated with, then I’ll tell you that it was constant psalmody and meditation on the Holy Scriptures. They say that the elder was often honored with divine visions, for he received illumination from above. For "he who does not defile the flesh and is always sober, sees divine visions with the watchful eye of the soul and receives eternal blessings as a reward."

However, in the 53rd year of his life, Zosima began to be embarrassed by the thought that, due to his perfection, he no longer needed mentorship. He reasoned: “Is there a monk on earth who could teach me something or would be able to instruct me in a feat that I do not know and in which I have not practiced? ?" One day, a certain man appears to the elder and says to him: “Zosima, you gloriously, as far as humanly possible, asceticised and gloriously passed the monastic career. However, no one achieves perfection, and the feat that awaits him is more difficult than the one already accomplished, although a person does not know this. you realized how many other ways to salvation are, leave this monastery, like Abraham from his father's house (Gen. 12, 1), and go to the monastery near the Jordan River.

Immediately, the elder, in accordance with this command, leaves the monastery in which he lived from infancy, approaches the holy river, and, guided by the same husband who had previously appeared to him, finds the monastery that God prepared for him to live in.

Knocking on the door, he sees the gatekeeper, who announces his arrival to the abbot. He, having received the elder and seeing that he, with humility, according to the monastic custom, makes a bow and asks to pray for him, asks: “From where and why did you come, brother, to these humble elders?” Zosima answers: “Where I came from, there is no need to say, but I, father, came for the sake of spiritual edification, for I heard about your glorious and praiseworthy life, which can spiritually bring you closer to Christ our God.” The abbot said to him: “The only God, my brother, heals human weakness, and He will reveal His Divine will to you and us and instruct how to act. A person cannot instruct a person if he himself is not constantly zealous for spiritual benefit and judiciously strive to do what is due, hoping for God's help in this.However, if love for God moved you, as you say, to come to us, humble elders, stay here, since you came for this, and the Good Shepherd, who gave your soul as a ransom ours and who calls his sheep by name, nourishes us all with the grace of the Holy Spirit."

When he finished, Zosima again bowed before him and, asking the abbot to pray for him and saying "amen", remained in that monastery. He saw how the elders, glorified by their active life and contemplation, serve God: the psalmody in the monastery never stopped and lasted all night, there was always some work in the hands of the monks, and on the lips of psalms, no one uttered an idle word, concern for the transient. did not disturb, the annual income and care for worldly sorrows were not even known by name in the monastery. The only aspiration of all was that everyone should be dead bodily, for he died and ceased to exist for the world and everything worldly. God-inspired words were the constant brash there, while the monks supported the body only with the most necessary - bread and water, for everyone burned with love for God. Zosima, seeing their life, was zealous for an even greater feat, accepting ever more difficult labors, and found companions who diligently worked in the Lord's garden.

Many days have passed, and the time has come when Christians keep great post preparing to honor the Passion of the Lord and His Resurrection. The monastery gates no longer opened and were constantly locked, so that the monks could accomplish their feat without interference. It was forbidden to open the gate, except for those rare cases when an outside monk came for some business. After all, the place was deserted, inaccessible and almost unknown to the neighboring monks. In the monastery, from time immemorial, a rule was observed, because of which, I believe, God brought Zosima here. What this rule is and how it was observed, I will now tell. On Sunday, before the beginning of the first week of Lent, according to custom, the sacrament was given, and everyone partake of those pure and life-giving Mysteries and, as is customary, ate a little from food; then everyone again gathered in the temple, and after a long prayer done on bended knee, the elders gave each other a kiss, each of them approached the abbot with a bow, asking his blessing for the upcoming feat. At the end of these rites, the monks opened the gates and sang a psalm in unison: The Lord is my enlightenment and my Savior: whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life: from whom shall I be afraid? (Ps. 26, 1) - and everyone left the monastery, leaving someone there not to guard their property (for they had nothing that could attract thieves), but in order not to leave the church unattended.

Each stocked up with what he could and what he wanted from food: one took as much bread as he needed, another - dried figs, a third - dates, a fourth - soaked beans; some took nothing with them except the rags that covered their bodies, and when they were hungry, they ate the herbs growing in the desert. It was their rule and immutably observable law that one monk did not know how the other was ascetic and what he was doing. As soon as they crossed the Jordan, they all moved far from each other, dispersed throughout the wilderness, and one did not approach the other. If someone from afar noticed that some brother was walking in his direction, he immediately deviated from the road, and walked in another direction, and was alone with God, constantly singing psalms and eating what was at hand.

So the monks spent all the days of fasting and returned to the monastery on Sunday, preceding the life-giving rising of the Savior from the dead, in order to celebrate the prefeast according to the order of the Church with vayami.

Everyone came to the monastery with the fruits of his labors, knowing what his feat was and what seeds he had nurtured, and one did not ask the other how he went about the work assigned to him. Such was the monastic rule, and so it was done for good. Indeed, in the desert, having only God as a judge, a person competes with himself not for the sake of pleasing people and not in order to put his stamina on display. What is done for the sake of people and to please them is not only without benefit to the ascetic, but also serves as a cause of great evil for him.

And so Zosima, according to the rule laid down in this monastery, crossed the Jordan with a small supply of food necessary for bodily needs and in one sackcloth. Following this rule, he walked in the wilderness and ate when hunger prompted him to do so. At certain hours of the day, he stopped for a short rest, created chants and, kneeling down, prayed. At night, where darkness overtook him, he ate right on the ground short nap, and at dawn he continued on his way again and always walked in the same direction. He wanted, as he said, to reach the inner desert, where he hoped to meet one of the fathers living there who could enlighten him spiritually. Zosima walked quickly, as if hurrying to some glorious and famous refuge.

He walked like this for 20 days, and one day, when he sang the psalms of the sixth hour and did the usual prayers, turning to the east, suddenly to the right of the place where he was standing, Zosima saw, as it were, a human shadow. He trembled with horror, thinking that this was a devilish obsession. Protecting yourself sign of the cross and shaking off his fear, Zosima turned and saw that, indeed, someone was walking in the direction of noon. The man was naked, dark-skinned, like those who were scorched by the heat of the sun, but his hair was white, like a fleece, and short, so that it barely reached the neck. Zosima rejoiced with unspeakable joy, for in all those days he did not see a human form, nor traces or signs of an animal or a bird. He rushed to run in the direction where the husband who appeared to him hurried in a thirst to find out what kind of person he was and from where, hoping to become a witness and eyewitness of glorious deeds.

When this traveler realized that Zosima was following him from a distance, he rushed to run into the depths of the desert. Zosima, as if forgetting about his old age and despising the hardships of the path, decided to overtake him. He pursued, and that husband tried to leave. But Zosima ran faster and soon approached the fleeing man so much that he could hear his voice. Then the old man cried out with tears:

Why are you running from me, a sinful old man? Servant of God, wait, whoever you are, for the sake of God, for whose love you settled in this wilderness. Wait for me, weak and unworthy. Stop, honor the elder with your prayer and blessing for the sake of God, who does not reject a single person.

At this moment, they reached a depression, as if pitted by a river stream. The fugitive descended into it and went out to its other edge, and Zosima, tired and unable to run further, standing on it, began to cry and lament.

Then the husband said:

Abba Zosima, forgive me for God's sake, but I can't turn around and show myself before your eyes, for I am a woman and completely naked, as you see, and the shame of my body is not covered by anything. But if you wish to fulfill the request of a sinner, give me your sackcloth so that I can hide what betrays a woman in me, and I will turn to you and accept your blessing.

Horror and delight, as he reported, seized Zosima when he heard that the woman called him by name. For, as a man of a sharp mind, wise in divine things, the elder understood that she could not name a person whom she had never seen before and whom she had never heard of, without having acquired the gift of clairvoyance.

Immediately Zosima did what the woman asked him to do, and tore his shabby himation and, turning his back on her, threw half of it to her.

The woman, covering herself, turns to Zosima and says to him:

Zosima, hearing that she was still retaining in her memory the words of Scripture, from the book of Moses, Job and the Psalter, said to her:

Have you, my lady, read only the Psalter or other sacred books?

To this she smiled and said to the old man:

Truly, I have not seen a person since I crossed the Jordan, except today you, I have not met a single beast or any other creature since I came into this desert. I never learned to read and write, and I never even heard how the psalms are sung or anything is read from there. But the word of God, endowed with life and power, itself gives man knowledge. This is where my story ends. But, as at the beginning of it, and now I conjure you with the incarnation of the Divine Word to pray for me, a sinner, before the Lord.

So saying and finishing her story, she fell at the feet of Zosima. And again the old man cried out with tears:

Blessed be God, who does great, marvelous, glorious and wondrous works, which have no number. Blessed is God who has shown me how He rewards those who fear Him. Truly, Lord, You do not leave those who seek You.

The woman, holding the old man, did not allow him to fall at her feet and said:

Everything that you heard, man, I conjure you by our Savior Christ, do not tell anyone until God allows me from now on. Now go in peace. Next year you will see me, and I will see you, protected by the grace of the Lord. Do, for God's sake, what I ask you to do - do not go into the next Great Lent, as is customary in your monastery, Jordan.

Zosima was surprised that she knew the monastic rule, and said only:

Glory to God, who bestows great blessings on those who love Him.

She says:

Stay, abba, as I told you, in the monastery; for even if you wanted to, it would be impossible for you to go out. On the day of the Holy Last Supper, take for me a vessel from the Life-giving Body of Christ and Blood into a sacred and worthy of such sacraments, and stand on the other side of the Jordan, which is closer to the settlements, so that I can come and partake of the Holy Gifts. For since I communed in the temple of the Forerunner, before crossing the Jordan, I have not communed to this day, and now I thirst for this with all my soul. Therefore, I pray, do not neglect my request and bring me those life-giving and holy Mysteries at the very hour when the Lord called the disciples to His holy supper. But to Abba John, hegumen of your monastery, say this: "Look at yourself and your sheep, for they do bad deeds that must be corrected." But I don't want you to tell him now, but when God commands you to do so.

Having finished and saying to the elder: "Pray for me," she hid in the inner desert.

Zosima knelt down and fell to the ground, where her footprints were imprinted, glorified and gave thanks to the Lord, and in jubilation went back, glorifying our Lord Jesus Christ. Having crossed that desert again, he returned to the monastery on the day when it was customary for the monks there to return.

The whole year Zosima was silent, not daring to tell anyone what he saw, but in his heart he prayed to God to show him the desired face again. He suffered and lamented that he would have to wait a whole year. When the Sunday before Great Lent came, immediately after the usual prayer, everyone left the monastery with hymns, and Zosima was overcome by a fever, which forced him to stay in his cell. He remembered the words of the saint, who said: "If you wanted to, it would be impossible for you to leave the monastery."

A few days later he rose from his illness, but remained in the monastery. When the other monks returned and the day of the Last Supper arrived, he did what the woman asked him to do. Taking the Most Pure Body and Precious Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ into a vessel and putting figs, dates and some soaked beans in a basket, he leaves the monastery late in the evening and, in anticipation of the arrival, the saint sits on the banks of the Jordan.

Although the saint was slow in her appearance, Zosima did not close his eyes and incessantly looked towards the desert, waiting for the one whom he wanted to see. Sitting like that, the elder said to himself: “Perhaps she is not going because of some sin of mine? Maybe she did not find me and returned back?” Saying this, he wept and groaned in tears, and, raising his eyes to the sky, so prayed to God: “Do not take away from me, Lord, the bliss to see again what I once allowed to behold. May I not leave only with the burden of sins convicting me " . After this tearful prayer, another thought came to him, and he began to say to himself: “What will happen if she comes? After all, there is no boat anywhere. How will she cross the Jordan and come to me, unworthy? my sins do not allow me to taste such good!"

While the elder was thinking such thoughts, the saint appeared and stood on the other side of the river from where she had come. Zosima rose in joy and jubilation from his seat, praising God. And again he began to doubt that she would not be able to cross the Jordan. And then he sees (the night turned out to be moonlit) how the saint made the sign of the cross over Jordan and entered the water, and walked on the water without water, and went towards him.

Even from a distance, she stopped the old man and, not allowing him to fall on his face, shouted:

What are you doing, abba, because you are a priest and carry the Holy Gifts?

He obeyed, and the saint, going ashore, said:

Bless, father, bless me.

He, trembling, answered her: - The words of the Lord, who said that according to their strength, those who purify themselves are like God, are truly true. Glory to you, Christ our God, who heeded my prayer and showed mercy to His servant. Glory to Thee, Christ our God, through this servant of His, who revealed to me my great imperfection.

The woman asked to read the Creed and Our Father. When Zosima had finished praying, she kissed the old man as usual.

Having communed the Life-Giving Mysteries, she raised her hands to heaven and with tears said a prayer: Now let Thy servant go, Lord, according to Thy word, in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation (See: Luke 2:29). Then he says to the old man:

Forgive me, abba, I ask you to fulfill one more wish of mine. Now go to your monastery, guarded by the grace of God, and next year come again to the place where I saw you for the first time. Go, for God's sake, and by the will of God you will see me again.

The old man answered her:

Oh, if it were possible for me now to follow you and forever see your honest face. But fulfill the only request of the old man - taste a little of what I brought you here.

And with these words he shows her his basket. The saint only touched the beans with her fingertips, took three grains and brought them to her mouth, saying that spiritual grace, which keeps the soul of a person in purity, is enough. Then again he says to the old man:

Pray, for God's sake, pray for me and remember me, the unfortunate one.

He, falling at the feet of the saint and urging her to pray for the Church, for the state and for it, let go with tears, for he did not dare to keep free any longer. The saint again crossed the Jordan, entered the water and, as before, walked on it.

The elder returned, full of jubilation and trembling, reproaching himself for not asking the name of the saint; however, hoped to do so next year.

After a year, the elder again goes into the desert, hurrying to that saint. Having walked quite through the desert and found signs indicating to him the place he was looking for, Zosima began to look around and look around in search of the sweetest prey, like an experienced huntsman. When he made sure that nothing was visible anywhere, he wept and, raising his eyes to the sky, began to pray, saying: “Show me, Lord, Thy treasure that is hidden by You in this wilderness. Show me, I pray, an angel in the flesh, whom unworthy of the world." So praying, he found himself in a depression, as it were dug by a river, and saw in its eastern part that holy woman lying dead; her hands were folded according to custom, and her face turned to the sunrise. Running up, he wet her feet with tears, but he did not dare to touch the rest of her body. After weeping for quite hours and reading psalms appropriate to the time and circumstance, he made a funeral prayer and said to himself: “I don’t know whether to bury the remains of the saint or it will be objectionable to her?” Saying this, he sees in her heads an inscription inscribed on the ground, which reads: “Here, Abba Zosima, bury the remains of the humble Mary and betray the ashes to the ashes, unceasingly offering up prayers to the Lord for me, who died according to the Egyptian reckoning in the month Farmuf, according to the Romans in April, on the night of the passion of the Savior, after the reception of the Holy Mysteries".

Having read this inscription, the elder rejoiced, recognizing the name of the saint, as well as the fact that she, having communed at the Jordan of the Holy Mysteries, immediately found herself at the place of her departure. The path that Zosima with great difficulty covered in twenty days, Mary completed in one hour and immediately departed to the Lord. Glorifying God and sprinkling Mary's body with tears, he said:

Time, Zosima, to do what is ordered. But how, unfortunate one, can you dig a grave when you have nothing in your hands?

Having said this, he saw a fragment of a tree nearby, lying in the desert. Picking it up, Zosima began to dig the ground. But the earth was dry and did not succumb to his efforts, and the old man was tired and drenched in sweat.

Letting out a groan from the depths of his soul and raising his head, he sees that a mighty lion stands at the remains of the saint and licks her feet. At the sight of the lion, the elder trembled with fear, especially when he remembered Mary's words that she had never met an animal in the desert. Having made the sign of the cross, he cheered up, hoping that the miraculous power of the deceased would keep him unharmed. The lion began to caress the old man, showing friendliness with all his habits.

Zosima said to the lion:

The Beast, the great commanded to bury her remains, and I do not have the strength to dig a grave; dig it with your claws so that we can bury the body of the saint!

Immediately the lion dug a hole large enough to bury the body with its front paws. The elder again sprinkled the saint's feet with tears and, asking her to pray for everyone, committed the body to the ground (while the lion was standing nearby). It was, as before, naked, dressed only in that piece of himation that Zosima had given her.

After that, both departed: the lion, like a sheep, retreated into the inner wilderness, and Zosima turned back, blessing our Lord Jesus Christ and sending praises to Him.

Returning to his monastery, he told the monks and the abbot about everything, not hiding anything from what he happened to hear and see, but from the very beginning he conveyed everything to them, so that they marveled at the greatness of the Lord and honored the memory of the saint with fear and love. And hegumen John found people in the monastery who needed correction, so that here, too, the word of a saint did not turn out to be idle.

Zosima died in this monastery almost a hundred years old.

The monks from generation to generation passed on this tradition, retelling it as an edification to all who wished to listen. I wrote down what came to me orally. Others, perhaps, also described the life of the saint and much more skillfully than I, although I had not heard of anything like it, and therefore, as best I could, I compiled this story, caring most of all about the truth. The Lord, who generously rewards those who resort to Him, may He reward those who read, and listen, and who conveyed this story to us, and vouchsafe us a good part with Blessed Mary of Egypt, about whom it was said here, together with all His saints from time immemorial, honored for contemplation and performance of active virtue. Let us also glorify the Lord, Whose kingdom is forever, so that on the Day of Judgment He will honor us with His mercy in Jesus Christ our Lord, to Whom all glory, honor and eternal worship with the Father without beginning and the Most Holy, Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and forever and forever centuries. Amen.

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 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 fifth week at Matins it is read penitential canon Andrew of Crete. It contains an appeal specifically to her, the Reverend Mary. "Marino standing"- is called such a service. Standing in repentance. Standing in faith. Standing in the fight against sin.

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 to the 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 blessed 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 wild songs: “When I was eating, 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 wine, and 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 breast and recalled the vows I made at retreat into the wilderness."

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.

In a Palestinian monastery in the vicinity of Caesarea lived the monk Zosima. Sent to a monastery from childhood, he labored in it until the age of 53, when he was embarrassed by the thought: “Will there be a holy man in the farthest wilderness who surpassed me in sobriety and deeds?”

As soon as he thought this way, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: “You, Zosima, have labored well in human terms, but not a single one of the people is righteous (). So that you understand how many other and higher images of salvation there are, leave this monastery, like Abraham from your father’s house (), and go to the monastery located near the Jordan.

Abba Zosima immediately left the monastery, and after the Angel came the Jordanian monastery and settled in it.

Here he saw the elders, truly shining in exploits. Abba Zosima began to imitate the holy monks in spiritual work.

So a lot of time passed, and the Holy Forty Day 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, hegumen served Divine Liturgy, everyone took communion of the Most Pure Body and Blood of Christ, then ate a small meal and again gathered in church.

Having made a prayer and the prescribed number of prostrations, the elders, asking forgiveness from each other, took a blessing from the abbot and under the general singing of a psalm The Lord is my light and my Savior: whom shall I fear? The Lord Protector of my life: from whom shall I be afraid?() opened the monastery gates and went into the desert.

Each of them took with him a moderate amount of food, who needed what, while some took nothing at all into the desert and ate roots. The monks crossed the Jordan and dispersed as far as possible so as not to see how someone was fasting and ascetic.

When Great Lent ended, the monks returned to the monastery for Palm Sunday with the fruit of your doing (), having tested your conscience (). At the same time, no one asked anyone how he worked and accomplished his feat.

In that year, Abba Zosima, according to monastic custom, crossed the Jordan. He wanted to go deeper into the desert to meet one of the saints and great elders who are being saved there and praying for peace.

He walked in 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, put aside 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 burnt short hair white as a lamb's fleece. Abba Zosima was overjoyed, because he had not seen a single living creature during those days, and immediately headed towards him.

But as soon as the naked hermit saw Zosima coming towards him, he immediately started to run away from him. Abba Zosima, forgetting his senility and fatigue, quickened his pace. But soon, exhausted, he stopped by a dried-up stream and began to tearfully beg the retreating ascetic: “Why are you running from me, a sinful old man, fleeing in this desert? Wait for me, weak and unworthy, and give me your holy prayer and blessing, for the sake of the Lord, who never abhorred anyone.

The stranger, without turning around, shouted to him: “Forgive me, Abba Zosima, I can’t, having turned, appear to your face: I’m a woman, and, as you see, I don’t have any clothes to cover my bodily nakedness. But if you want to pray for me, a great and accursed sinner, throw your cloak over me, then I can come to you for a blessing.

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

He knelt down and asked for her blessing. In the same way, she bowed before him, and for a long time both asked one another: "Bless." Finally, the ascetic said: “Abba Zosima, it is fitting for you to bless and make a prayer, since you have been honored with the dignity of a presbyter and for many years, standing before Christ’s altar, you bring the Holy Gifts to the Lord.”

These words frightened St. 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 to the world. You recognized me by name and called me a presbyter, having never seen me before. Your measure should also bless me, for the Lord's sake."

Finally yielding to the stubbornness of Zosima, the nun said: "Blessed be God, who desires the salvation of all men." Abba Zosima answered "Amen", and they got up from the ground. The ascetic again said to the elder: “Why have you come, Father, to me, a sinner, devoid of all virtue? However, it is clear that the grace of the Holy Spirit has instructed you to perform one service that my soul needs. 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 has given the Church and us all perfect peace. But listen to the prayer of an unworthy old man, my mother, pray, for God's sake, for the whole world and for me, a sinner, that this desert walk will not be fruitless for me.

The holy ascetic said: “It is more fitting for you, Abba Zosima, having a sacred rank, to pray for me and for everyone. That's why you are given dignity. However, I will willingly fulfill everything commanded by you for the sake of obedience to the Truth and from a pure heart.

Having said this, the saint turned to the east and, raising her eyes and raising her hands to heaven, began to pray in a whisper. The elder saw her rise in the air to a cubit from the ground. From this wonderful vision, Zosima fell down on his face, fervently praying and not daring to utter anything but “Lord, have mercy!”

A thought came into his soul - is it not a ghost that introduces him into temptation? The venerable ascetic, turning around, lifted him up from the ground and said: “Why are you so confused by 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 over herself. Seeing and hearing this, the elder fell with tears at the feet of the ascetic: “I implore 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 all. For I believe in the Lord my God. You also live by it, because for this I was sent to 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 flee from me, closing your eyes and ears, as one flees from a poisonous snake. But still, I’ll tell you, father, without keeping silent about any of my sins, you, I conjure you, do not stop praying for me, a sinner, so that I will gain boldness on the Day of Judgment.

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

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 got on the ship.

Now, father, believe me, I myself am surprised how the sea endured 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 desired my repentance, not even though the death of the sinner, and longsufferingly waiting 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 feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross of the Lord arrived, I still walked, catching the souls of the young in sin. Seeing that everyone went to the church very early, where the Life-Giving Tree was located, I went along with everyone and entered the church vestibule. When the hour of the Holy Exaltation came, I wanted to enter the church with all the people. With great difficulty, making my way to the door, I, accursed, tried to squeeze in. But as soon as I stepped on the threshold, a certain power of God stopped me, preventing me from entering, and threw me far from the doors, while all the people were walking freely. I thought that, perhaps, due to female weakness, I could not squeeze through the crowd, and again I tried to push the people aside with my elbows and make my way to the door. No matter how hard I tried, 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 they did not let me, the accursed one. This happened three or four times. My strength is gone. I moved away and stood in the corner of the church porch.

Then I felt that it was my sins that forbade me to see the Life-Giving Tree, the grace of the Lord touched my heart, I sobbed and began to beat my chest in repentance. Lifting sighs to the Lord from the depths of my heart, I saw an icon in front of me Holy Mother of God and turned to her with a prayer: “O Virgo, Lady, who gave birth to the flesh of God - the Word! I know that I am not worthy to look at Your icon. It is righteous for me, a hated harlot, to be rejected from Your purity and be an abomination to You, but I also know that for this God became a man in order to call sinners to repentance. Help me, Most Pure One, so that I may be allowed to enter the church. Do not forbid me to see the Tree on which the Lord was crucified in flesh, shedding His innocent Blood for me, a sinner, for my deliverance from sin. Command, O Lady, that the doors of the holy worship of the Cross be opened to me too. You be to me a valiant Guarantor to the One Born of You. From this time on, I promise you not to defile myself with any more fleshly filth, but as soon as I see the Tree of the Cross of Your Son, I will renounce the world and immediately go where You, as a Guarantor, will guide me.

And when I prayed like that, I suddenly felt that my prayer had been answered. In tenderness of faith, hoping for the Merciful Mother of God, I again joined those entering the temple, and no one pushed me back and did not forbid me to enter. I walked in fear and trembling until I reached the door and was able to see Life-Giving Cross Lord.

Thus I came to know the mysteries of God and that God is ready to receive those who repent. I fell to the ground, prayed, kissed the shrines and left the temple, hastening to appear again before my Guarantor, where I had given a promise. Kneeling before the icon, I prayed before it:

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

And now, before I had finished my prayer, I heard 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 my sake, and, crying, I exclaimed to the Mother of God: “Lady Mistress, do not leave me. wicked sinners, but help me, ”and immediately she left the church narthex and walked away. One person gave me three copper coins. With them I bought myself three loaves and learned from the seller 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 Forerunner of the Most Pure and Life-Giving Mysteries of Christ, ate half of one of my loaves, washed it down with holy Jordanian water, and slept that night on the ground near the church. The next morning, having found a small boat not far away, I crossed the river in it to the other side and again fervently prayed to my Instructor to guide me as She herself pleased. Immediately after that, I came to this desert.”

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

Abba Zosima asked again: “Have you really been without illness for so many years? And did not accept any temptations from sudden applications and temptations? - “Believe me, Abba Zosima,” the reverend answered, “I spent 17 years in this desert, as if fighting with fierce beasts with my thoughts ... When I began to eat food, the thought immediately came about meat and fish, to which I was accustomed in Egypt. I also wanted wine, because I drank a lot of it when I was in the world. Here, having often no simple water and food, I suffered fiercely from thirst and hunger. I suffered even more severe disasters: I was seized by the desire for adulterous songs, they seemed to be heard to me, confusing my heart and hearing. Weeping and beating my chest, I then remembered the vows that I had made, going into the desert, before the icon of the Holy Mother of God, my Guidant, and wept, praying to drive away the thoughts that tormented my soul. When, to the extent of prayer and weeping, repentance was performed, I saw the Light shining to me from everywhere, and then instead of a storm, great silence surrounded me.

Forgive thoughts, Abba, how do I confess to you? A passionate fire flared up inside my heart and scorched me all over, arousing lust. At the appearance of accursed thoughts, I fell to the ground and seemed to see that the Most Holy Guarantor Herself was standing before me and was judging me, who had transgressed given promise. So I did not get up, lying prostrate day and night on the ground, until repentance was performed again and I was surrounded by the same blessed Light, driving away evil embarrassments and thoughts.

So 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 again asked: “Didn’t you really need food or 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 was on me when I crossed the Jordan was long ago torn and decayed, and then I had to endure and suffer a lot from the heat, when the heat burned me, and from 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 endless struggle with various misfortunes, troubles and temptations. But from that time to this day, the power of God, unknown and in many ways, has kept my sinful soul and humble body. I ate and covered myself with the word of God, containing everything (), for Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God(;), And those who are not covered with stones will be clothed with stones (), if they put off the sinful garment(). As I recalled how much evil and what sins the Lord had delivered me, I found inexhaustible food in that.

When Abba Zosima heard that the holy ascetic also spoke from the Holy Scriptures, from the books of Moses and Job and from the psalms of David, he then asked the nun: “Where, my mother, did you learn psalms and other Books?”

She smiled when she heard this question, and answered this way: “Believe me, man of God, I have not seen a single person but you since I crossed the Jordan. I had never studied books before, I had never heard church singing, or Divine reading. Is it the Word of God Itself, living and all-creative, teaches a man every reason(; ;). However, enough, I have already confessed my whole life to you, but with what I began, I end with this: I conjure you as the incarnation of God the Word - pray, holy abba, for me, a great sinner.

And I also conjure you by the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ - everything that you heard from me, do not tell a single one until God takes me from the earth. And do what I am about to tell you. Next year, in Great Lent, do not go beyond the Jordan, as your monastic custom commands.

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

“Stay, abba,” continued the reverend, “in the monastery. However, even if you want to leave the monastery, you will not be able to... And when the Holy Great Thursday of the Last Supper of the Lord 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 can partake of the Holy Mysteries. And to Abba John, hegumen of your monastery, say this: take care of yourself and your flock (;). However, I don’t want you to tell him this now, but when the Lord directs.”

Having said this and having once again asked for prayers, the nun turned and went into the depths of the desert.

For the whole year, Elder Zosima remained in silence, not daring to reveal to anyone what the Lord had revealed to him, and diligently prayed that the Lord would vouchsafe him to see the holy ascetic again.

When the first week of the holy Great Lent came 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 a few days, the Monk Zosima was healed of his illness, but still remained until Holy Week in the monastery.

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

Finally, the nun came and stood on the other side of the river. Rejoicing, the Monk Zosima rose and praised God. The thought came to him: how can she cross the Jordan without a boat? But the nun, having crossed 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, the bearer of the great Mysteries of God.

Having crossed the river, the nun said to Abba Zosima: “Bless, father.” He answered her with trepidation, horrified by the wondrous vision: “Truly, God is not false, who promised to liken all those who are cleansed, as far as possible to mortals. Glory to Thee, Christ our God, Who has shown me through His holy servant how far I am from the measure of perfection.

After that, the reverend 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 let Thy servant go, Master, according to Thy word in peace, as if my eyes have seen Thy salvation.”

Then the nun again turned to the elder and said: “Forgive me, abba, fulfill my other desire too. Go now to your monastery, and next year come to that dried-up stream where we first spoke with you.” “If it were possible for me,” replied Abba Zosima, “to follow you incessantly in order to contemplate your holiness!” The saint again asked the elder: "Pray, for the Lord's sake, pray for me and remember my wretchedness." And, having overshadowed the Jordan with the sign of the cross, she, as before, passed through the waters and hid in the darkness of the desert. And the elder Zosima returned to the monastery in spiritual exultation and trembling, and in one thing he reproached himself for not asking the name of the saint. But he hoped next year to finally know her name.

A year passed, and Abba Zosima again went to the desert. Praying, he reached a dry stream, on the eastern side of which he saw the 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 tears, not daring to touch her body, wept for a long time over the deceased ascetic and began to sing psalms, befitting sorrow for the death of the righteous, and read funeral prayers. But he doubted whether it would be pleasing to the reverend if he buried her. As soon as he thought about it, he saw that her head was inscribed: “Burial, Abba Zosima, in this place is the body of the humble Mary. Give back the dust of the dust. Pray to the Lord for me, who reposed on the first day of the month of April, on the very night of the saving sufferings of Christ, after communion with the Divine Mystery Supper.

Having read this inscription, Abba Zosima was surprised at first 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 Monk Mary, having communed the Holy Mysteries on the Jordan from his hands, in an instant passed her long desert path, along which he, Zosima, walked for twenty days, and immediately departed to the Lord.

Having glorified God and wetting the earth and the body of St. Mary with tears, Abba Zosima said to himself: “It is time for you, Elder Zosima, to do what you were commanded to do. But how can you, you accursed one, dig a grave with nothing in your hands? Having said this, he saw a fallen tree lying not far in the desert, took it and began to dig. But the ground was too dry. No matter how much he dug, drenched in sweat, he could not do anything. Straightening up, Abba Zosima saw a huge lion near the body of the Monk Mary, which was licking her feet. The elder was seized with fear, but he signed himself with 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, kindled in spirit, ordered the lion to dig a grave in order to bury the body of St. Mary. At his word, the lion dug a ditch with its paws, in which the body of the reverend was buried. Having fulfilled what they had bequeathed, each went his own way: the lion to the desert, and Abba Zosima to 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 St. Mary. Everyone was amazed, hearing about the greatness of God, and with fear, faith and love they established to create the memory of the Monk Mary and honor the day of her repose. Abba John, hegumen of the monastery, according to the word of the venerable God's help corrected what was necessary in the monastery. Abba Zosima, having lived pleasing to God in the same monastery and a little before reaching a hundred years old, ended his temporal life here, passing into eternal life.

Thus, the ancient ascetics of the glorious monastery of the holy and all-praised Forerunner of the Lord John, located on the Jordan, handed down to us the marvelous story about the life of the Monk 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.

But I, - says St. Sophrony, Archbishop of Jerusalem (Comm. 11 March), the first descriptor of the Life, - that I received in my turn from the holy fathers, betrayed everything to a written story.

God, who works great miracles and rewards with great gifts all those who turn to Him with faith, may He reward those who read, and listen, and who transmitted this story to us, and vouchsafe us a good part with Blessed Mary of Egypt and with all the saints, God-thought and their labors that pleased God from the century. Let us also give glory to God the Eternal King, and let us also be vouchsafed to find mercy on the Day of Judgment in Christ Jesus, our Lord, to Him is due all glory, honor, and power, and worship with the Father, and the Most Holy and Life-giving Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever, amen.

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

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Saint Mary, nicknamed the Egyptian, lived in the middle of the 5th and at the beginning of the 6th century. 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 was carried away by a vicious life. There was no one to stop her on the way to death, and there were many seducers and temptations. So for 17 years Mary lived in sins, until the merciful Lord turned her to repentance.

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

People entered the temple in a large crowd, and Mary at the entrance was stopped by an invisible hand and could not enter it with any effort. Then she realized that the Lord did not allow her to enter into Holy place for her impurity.

Seized with horror and a feeling of deep repentance, she began to pray to God to forgive her sins, promising to radically change her life. Seeing an icon at the entrance to the temple Mother of God, Mary began to ask the Mother of God to intercede for her before God. After that, she immediately felt enlightenment in her soul and freely entered the temple. Shedding abundant tears at the tomb of the Lord, she left the temple a completely different person.

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

Elder Zosima, who lived in the Jordanian monastery of St. John the Baptist, by the providence of God, he was honored to meet in the desert with the Monk Mary, when she was already a deep old woman. He was struck by her holiness and gift of insight. Once he saw her during prayer, as if rising above the ground, and another time, walking across the Jordan River, as if on dry land.

Parting with Zosima, the Monk Mary asked him to come back to the desert in a year to give her communion. The elder returned at the appointed time and communed the Monk Mary with the Holy Mysteries. Then, having come to the desert a 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 dug a hole with his claws to bury the body of the righteous. This was around 521.

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

Complete Life of Saint Mary of Egypt

As soon as he thought this way, the Angel of the Lord appeared to him and said: “You, Zosima, have labored well in human terms, but there is not a single righteous person among people (Rom. 3 :10). In order for you to understand how many other and higher images of salvation there are, leave this monastery, like Abraham from his father's house (Gen. 12 :1), and go to the monastery by the Jordan."

Abba Zosima immediately left the monastery and, following the Angel, came to the Jordan Monastery and settled there.

Here he saw the elders, truly shining in exploits. Abba Zosima began to imitate the holy monks in spiritual work.
So a lot of time passed, and the Holy Forty Day 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 took communion of the Most Pure Body and Blood of Christ, then ate a small meal and again gathered in church.

Having made a prayer and the prescribed number of prostrations, the elders, asking 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 shall I fear? The Lord Protector of my life: from whom shall I be afraid? (Ps. 26 :1) opened the monastery gates and went into the desert.

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

He walked in 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, 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 burnt short hair turned white, like a lamb's fleece. . Abba Zosima was overjoyed, because he had not seen a single living creature during those days, and immediately headed towards 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, spent so much work? He knelt down and asked for her blessing. In the same way, she bowed before him, and for a long time both asked one another: "Bless." Finally the ascetic said: “Abba Zosima, it is fitting for you to bless and make a prayer, since you have been honored with the dignity of a presbyter and for many years, standing at the altar of Christ, you bring the Holy Gifts to the Lord.”

Having said this, she made the sign of the cross over herself. Seeing and hearing this, the elder fell with tears at the feet of the ascetic: “I implore 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 all. For I believe in the Lord my God, by whom you also live, that for this I was sent into this wilderness, so that all your fasting deeds would be made clear to the world by God.

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

Then I felt that it was my sins that forbade me to see the Life-Giving Tree, the grace of the Lord touched my heart, I sobbed and began to beat my chest in repentance. Lifting 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, Mistress, who gave birth to the flesh of God the Word! I know that I am not worthy to look at Your icon. It is righteous for me, a hated harlot, to be rejected from Your purity and be an abomination to You, but I also know that for this God became a man in order to call sinners to repentance. Help me, Most Pure One, so that I may be allowed to enter the church. Do not forbid me to see the Tree on which the Lord was crucified in flesh, shedding His innocent Blood for me, a sinner, for my deliverance from sin. Command, O Lady, that the doors of the holy worship of the Cross be opened to me too. You be to me a valiant Guarantor to the One Born of You. From this time on, I promise you not to defile myself with any more fleshly filth, but as soon as I see the Tree of the Cross of Your Son, I will renounce the world and immediately go where You, as a Guarantor, will guide me.

“O Our Blessed Lady Mother of God! You did not disdain my unworthy prayer. Glory to God, who accepts the repentance of sinners. The time has come for me to fulfill the promise in which You were the Guarantor. Now, Lady, guide me to the path of repentance.”

And now, before I had finished my prayer, I heard 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 my sake, and, crying, exclaimed to the Mother of God: “Lady Lady, do not leave me, a sinner, but help me,” and immediately left the church vestibule and went away. One person gave me three copper coins. With them I bought myself three loaves and learned from the seller the way to the Jordan.

Abba Zosima asked the nun: “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: “Have you really been without illness for so many years? And did not accept any temptations from sudden applications and temptations? “Believe me, Abba Zosima,” answered the venerable one, “I spent 17 years in this wilderness, as if with fierce beasts, struggling with my thoughts... When I began to eat food, the thought immediately came to meat and fish, to which accustomed to in Egypt. I also wanted wine, because I drank a lot of it when I was in the world. Here, having often no simple water and food, I suffered fiercely from thirst and hunger. I suffered even more severe disasters: I was seized by the desire for adulterous songs, they seemed to be heard to me, confusing my heart and hearing. Weeping and beating my chest, I then remembered the vows that I had made, going into the desert, before the icon of the Holy Mother of God, my Guidant, and wept, praying to drive away the thoughts that tormented my soul. When, to the extent of prayer and weeping, repentance was performed, I saw the Light shining to me from everywhere, and then instead of a storm, great silence surrounded me.

Forgive thoughts, Abba, how do I confess to you? A passionate fire flared up inside my heart and scorched me all over, arousing lust. At the appearance of accursed thoughts, I fell to the ground and seemed to see that the Most Holy Guarantor Herself was standing before me and was judging me, who had violated this promise. So I did not get up, lying prostrate day and night on the ground, until repentance was performed again and I was surrounded by the same blessed Light, driving away evil embarrassments and thoughts.

Abba Zosima again asked: “Didn’t you really need food or 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 was on me when I crossed the Jordan was long ago torn and decayed, and then I had to endure and suffer a lot from the heat, when the heat burned me, and from 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 endless struggle with various misfortunes, troubles and temptations. But from that time to this day, the power of God, unknown and in many ways, has kept my sinful soul and humble body. I was nourished and covered by the word of God, which contains everything (Deut. 8 :3), for man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God (Matt. 4 :4 ; OK. 4 :4), and those who have no cover will be clothed with stones (Job. 24 :8), if they put off their sinful garments (Col. 3 :9). As I recalled how much evil and what sins the Lord had delivered me, I found inexhaustible food in that.

She smiled when she heard this question, and answered this way: “Believe me, man of God, I have not seen a single person but 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 every kind of understanding (Col. 3 :16 ; 2 Pet. 1 :21 ; 1 Thess. 2 :13). However, enough, I have already confessed my whole life to you, but with what I began, I end with this: I conjure you as the incarnation of God the Word - pray, holy abba, for me, a great sinner.

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

“Stay, abba,” continued the reverend, “in the monastery. However, even if you want to leave the monastery, you will not be able to... And when the Holy Great Thursday of the Last Supper of the Lord 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 can partake of the Holy Mysteries. And to Abba John, hegumen of your monastery, say this: Take care of yourself and your flock (1 Tim. 4 :16). However, I don’t want you to tell him this now, but when the Lord directs.”

Having said this and having once again asked for prayers, the nun turned and went into the depths of the desert.

After that, the reverend 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 let Thy servant go, Master, according to Thy word in peace, as if my eyes have seen Thy salvation.”

Then the nun again turned to the elder and said: “Forgive me, abba, fulfill my other desire too. Go now to your monastery, and next year come to that dried-up stream where we first spoke with you.” “If it were possible for me,” answered Abba Zosima, “to follow you incessantly in order to contemplate your holiness!” The saint again asked the elder: "Pray, for the Lord's sake, pray for me and remember my wretchedness." And, having overshadowed the Jordan with the sign of the cross, she, as before, passed through the waters and hid in the darkness of the desert. And the elder Zosima returned to the monastery in spiritual exultation and trembling, and in one thing he reproached himself for not asking the name of the saint. But he hoped next year to finally know her name.

Having glorified God and wetting the earth and the body of St. Mary with tears, Abba Zosima said to himself: “It is time for you, Elder Zosima, to do what you were commanded to do. But how can you, you accursed one, dig a grave with nothing in your hands? Having said this, he saw a fallen tree lying not far in the desert, took it and began to dig. But the earth was too dry, no matter how much he dug, sweating, he could not do anything. Straightening up, Abba Zosima saw a huge lion near the body of the Monk Mary, which was licking her feet. The elder was seized with fear, but he signed himself with 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, kindled in spirit, ordered the lion to dig a grave in order to bury the body of St. Mary. At his word, the lion dug a ditch with its paws, in which the body of the reverend was buried. Having fulfilled what they had bequeathed, each went his own way: the lion to the desert, and Abba Zosima to 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 St. Mary. Everyone was amazed, hearing about the greatness of God, and with fear, faith and love they established to create the memory of the Monk Mary and honor the day of her repose. Abba John, hegumen of the monastery, according to the word of the monk with God's help, corrected what was necessary in the monastery. Abba Zosima, having still lived pleasingly in the same monastery and a little before reaching a hundred years old, ended his temporal life here, passing into eternal life.

– But I, – says St. Sophronius, Archbishop of Jerusalem (Comm. 11 March), the first descriptor of the Life, – that I received in my turn from the holy fathers, betrayed everything to a written story.

Today, April 14, the church honors the memory of the great saint! Mary of Egypt is one of the most revered saints among Orthodox Christians. Learn more about St. Mary of Egypt from the prepared material below! Happy and useful reading!

Life of Mary of Egypt

The Monk Mary, nicknamed the Egyptian, lived in the middle of the 5th and at the beginning of the 6th century. 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 was carried away by a vicious life. There was no one to stop her on the way to death, and there were many seducers and temptations. So for 17 years Mary lived in sins, until the merciful Lord turned her to repentance.

Church of the Resurrection of Christ, Jerusalem

Seized with horror and a feeling of deep repentance, she began to pray to God to forgive her sins, promising to radically change her life. Seeing the 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 that, she immediately felt enlightenment in her soul and freely entered the temple. Shedding abundant tears at the tomb of the Lord, she left the temple a completely different person.

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

What is most often prayed to St. Mary of Egypt

They pray to Mary of Egypt for overcoming the prodigal passion, for granting a repentant feeling, and in every circumstance.

Prayer of Mary of Egypt

O great saint of Christ, reverend Mary! In Heaven, the Throne of God is coming, but on earth, in spirit of love, you are with us, having boldness to the Lord, pray to save His servants, who flow to you with love. Ask us from the Great-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, orphans and widows - intercession and those who have departed from this life - eternal rest, but for all of us on the day of the terrible Judgment, on the right hand of the country, the fellows of being and the blessed voice of the Judge of the world hear: come, bless my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, and receive your stay there forever. Amen.

Video film about St. Mary

Materials used: site Pravoslavie.ru, YouTube.com; photo - A. Pospelov, A. Elshin.