What did this ‘Great Macrina’ do? She educated three children, who later became great saints.
Newsdesk (11/08/2025, Gaudium Press) Born in Caesarea in 327, Macrina the Younger was the daughter of Emelia and Basil the Elder, and sister of St. Basil, Bishop of Caesarea, St. Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, and St. Peter, Bishop of Sebaste.
Macrina was the eldest, the ‘little mother,’ the protector, the tireless one, of whom St. Basil, with emotion, says that she was a perfect educator.
Her mother was inspired by Sacred Scripture to educate her daughter, seeking guidance in the Wisdom of Solomon, while the Psalter, the Psalms, was the young woman’s teacher.
At the age of twelve, she became engaged, but when her suitor died, she thought of nothing else but devoting herself to the education of her brothers.
In 373, Emelia died. The children, now grown up, came from time to time to visit ‘Great Macrina,’ as they called her during their distant childhood.
When she was ill, about to die in 379, Gregory found her on a board, dressed in her hair shirt. He took her lovingly and placed her on the bed, where the dying woman, recalling the past, began to thank God for all that He in all His goodness had granted her:
‘Lord, you have taken away the fear of death. Through You, true life begins when this life ends. We will sleep for a while, then You will raise us up at the sound of the trumpet.’ Then: ‘You saved us from the curse and sin, coming for our sins and our malediction’.
With the iron crucifix, which contained a relic of the Cross of the Saviour, which she had always carried with her, she died in peace and was buried near her father and mother.
What did this ‘Great Macrina’ do? Apparently nothing. She gave formation to three children, who later became great saints. And what else? She educated them at home, magnificently, praying and living a pious, normal life. With this, she became a saint, acquired heroic virtue, and is now in Heaven. The Church canonized her. May our young people encounter many ‘Macrinas’ during their years of education, that all, both children and educators, may be set on the path to sanctity.
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Compiled by Roberta MacEwan
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