Житие преподобной Марии, подвизавшейся в мужском образе под именем Марина, и отца ее преподобного Евгения

In Bithynia in 1365 there lived a pious man named Eugene. His wife also feared God and had the fear of God in her heart. They had an only daughter - Maria. When her mother died, Eugene raised his daughter in the commandments of the Lord. When the girl grew up, her father said to her: “My beloved daughter, so I refuse you all my property, and I myself will go to the monastery to save my soul.” The young woman objected to her father: “My father, you yourself want to be saved, are you really neglecting to save me too?” After all, you know what the Lord said in the Gospel: “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11); for he who saves someone's soul, as it were, creates it. Hearing this, Eugene was very glad that his daughter was so pious. And young Maria, having a conversation with her father, sobbed. “Dear daughter,” said Eugene, “I don’t know what to do with you.” After all, you are female, but I will go to a male monastery. How can you be there with me? The devil can lead someone into sin by your appearance. Hearing this, the young woman said: “Father, I will not enter the monastery in the guise of a wife.” I will cut my hair, put on a man’s robe, enter the monastery with you, and no one will know that I am a wife. Hearing this, blessed Eugene rejoiced even more; Having distributed all his property to the poor and wretched, orphans and widows, he tonsured his daughter, gave her a man's robe and named her Marin instead of Mary. “My daughter,” he told her, “you must respect yourself and hide your gender; you know that wives do not enter the monastery, you will be among husbands, as if in the middle of fire; keep your virginity. If we fulfill our promise, we will be worthy to be heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven. Having prayed to God, Eugene, together with his daughter, dressed in men's clothing, entered the monastery. Both of them began to labor among other monks. His daughter was becoming more and more successful in her virtuous life day by day. She was distinguished by her obedience, humility and always strived for great feats. Several years have passed. The monks of that monastery considered her to be a eunuch, for she had no mustache or beard, and her voice was thin. Others thought that Marin had such a voice as a result of his great feats and fasting, for Marin took only a little food and not every day, but every other day. After some time, the Monk Eugene reposed before God in the monastic rite, so that his daughter Maria, or otherwise the youth Marin, remained an orphan. From that time on, she began to struggle even more, killing her body with many labors and abstinence. By the grace of God, she succeeded so much in virtues that she even received power over the spirits of evil: those suffering from unclean spirits were often brought to her; The saint laid her hands on them, cast out demons from them with her prayer, and the sick became completely healthy. In this monastery there were only 40 brethren, adorned with all virtue and spiritual wisdom. Every month, 4 monks from among the brethren were sent to the gardens for the sake of the monastery’s needs, for the monastery had villages located a considerable distance from the monastery. In the middle, on the way between the monastery and the vegetable gardens, there was a hotel where the brethren went to rest when going to work or returning from there. The owner of that inn himself treated the monks with love, gave them a special room and took care of them. The human enemy, not tolerating such a virtuous life of a young girl in a male form, her love for God, zeal in her labors and monastic deeds and unwavering patience, rose up against her. He wanted to prevent her from her feat and dishonor her. With his cunning cunning he arranged the following. One day, the abbot of that monastery called the monk Marin to him and said to him: “Brother Marin, I know your virtuous life, I know that you strive in obedience, do not refuse, go to monastic work. After all, some monks find it unpleasant that you always stay in the monastery and never go out to the gardens to do the work required for our monastery. Go there, child, and you will receive a great reward from the all-good God, for He Himself did not disdain to serve His disciples.” Hearing this, Marin fell on his face before the abbot and said: “Bless me, honest father: I will go where you command.” Together with the other three monks, Marin went to monastic work. On the way, he spent the night at the mentioned hotel. The owner of that hotel had a daughter, already quite an adult. A certain warrior, spending the night in that hotel, molested her, and she conceived. The same warrior taught her to tell her parents that Marin was to blame for her fall. When her parents asked their daughter who seduced her, she pointed to Marin. Her father was greatly saddened. He went to the monastery and began to shout with anger: – Where do you have this crafty and false Christian here who pretends to be a monk? The monastery keymaster came out to him with the words: - You came at a good hour, but why are you so sad, why do you exclaim with such anger? Humble yourself, I pray you. “Cursed be the hour when I made acquaintance with your monastery.” Woe is me! What a misfortune happened to me. I don’t know what to do. The abbot, hearing about this, called the innkeeper to him and asked what happened to him, why he was so sad, and what he wanted. -What do I want? - said the guest, - I want to never see a single monk anywhere and not talk to him. When the abbot asked why he said this, the innkeeper answered: – I had an only daughter. I thought that she would calm me down in my old age - and this is what Marin, whom you consider a good and well-behaved Christian, did to her - he dishonored my daughter, and she conceived from him in her womb. Hearing this, the abbot was greatly surprised and answered the hotel: - What should I do: Marin is not in the monastery now, because he has not yet returned from monastic work. When he comes, I will immediately expel him from the monastery. Meanwhile, Marin returned to the monastery along with the other three monks. The abbot immediately called him and said: - Is this, brother, your life, this is your feat: while spending the night in a hotel, you corrupted the daughter of the owner of that hotel, and now she is not idle. Her father came here and abused us in every possible way because of you. Hearing this, Marin fell at the feet of the abbot and said to him: “Father, forgive me, a sinner, forgive me for the Lord’s sake, I have sinned like a man.” Then the abbot, greatly angered by this, dishonorably expelled Marin from the monastery. After being expelled from the monastery, the innocent Marin remained before the gates of the monastery; sitting here without clothes, he patiently endured both heat and cold. Those entering or leaving the monastery asked him: “Why, Abba, are you sitting here naked, enduring these hardships?” “I sinned,” answered Marin, “and therefore I was expelled from the monastery.” Meanwhile, the innkeeper's daughter gave birth to a child; Her father, taking this baby, came to the monastery and, finding Marin sitting in front of the gate, threw the baby in front of him and left. Taking it, Marin said with a sob: “Alas for me, the accursed and outcast. Truly, I, the bad one, perceive what is worthy according to my deeds, but why should this poor baby suffer and die with me?” Marin began to ask the shepherds for milk and fed the baby with it, like a real father. Not only did Marin constantly endure heat and hunger, ridicule and poverty in everything, even caring for the baby gave him a lot of work and worries. Often the baby soiled his clothes, but the Monk Marin endured all this without complaint for 3 years, enduring and thanking God. After three years, the brethren began to regret Marina. The monks, having gathered, came to the abbot and said to him: “Honest Father, Marin’s repentance is enough; Now we ask you to accept him into the monastery. After all, he repented and told everyone about his fall.” But the abbot did not want to listen to their requests and accept Marin again. Then the monks again began to ask him and said: “If you don’t accept Brother Marin into the monastery, then we will all leave.” After all, how can we ask the Lord to forgive our sins when we ourselves do not forgive them to our brother, who has been suffering without protection for three years before the gates of our monastery. Hearing this, the abbot answered the monks: “Truly, because of the sin that Marin committed, he is not worthy to enter here, but for the sake of your love and your petition, I accept him.” Calling Marin, the abbot, in the presence of all the monks, said to him: “Brother, because of the sin you committed, you are not worthy to take your former first place among the brethren.” But for the sake of the love of the brethren, who asked me for you, I give you the last place in the monastery - and you must be the last among the monks. With tears, Marin said to the abbot: “Most honorable father, it’s already a lot for me that you allow me to enter the monastery, where I can serve all the brethren.” Having received Marin, the abbot ordered him to perform the most difficult and last works in the monastery. Saint Marin fulfilled them with great diligence, in contrition of heart, in complete humility. With him was also a boy who, constantly following Marin, called him like father and asked him for food. The Monk Marin took care of the youth’s upbringing. When he grew up, then, through the prayers of his imaginary father, he began to excel in humility and prayer: he was loved by everyone for his virtue and accepted monastic orders. But this happened after the repose of Saint Marin, whose blessed death took place like this. Christ saw the faith and patience of His bride, who labored in His name in male form and endured such great adversity and suffering. And the Lord wanted to console her in her sorrows and give her peace from her many labors and place her in the heavenly abode. By God's will, she reposed in her cell - and no one knew it. The abbot, seeing that Marin had not come to church and monastic work for three days, asked the monks: “Three days have passed since I have not seen Marin. He is always the first to arrive at the beginning of the service, but now he is not there. Go to his cell and find out if any illness has happened to him.” The brothers set off and found that Marin had given up his soul to the Lord; A crying youth sat next to him. The brethren immediately informed the abbot that Marin had passed away. Hearing this, the abbot was surprised and said: - His soul left his body; What answer will he give to the Lord about his sins? After this, he ordered, according to custom, to prepare Marin’s body for burial. At this time, the monks saw that Brother Marin was female. They were horrified and all unanimously began to cry out: “Lord, have mercy!” The abbot, hearing their exclamations, was surprised and said: -What is this? They answered him: – Our brother Marin is a wife by nature. The abbot, approaching the saint, saw this wonderful, unexpected thing, fell to the ground and, touching the saint’s feet, cried out: “Forgive me, Lord Jesus Christ, that in my ignorance I sinned and grieved your holy and pure bride so much.” And again, falling at the saint’s feet, he cried out: “Here I will die at your honest feet, or I will call until I receive forgiveness for my sins with which I offended you.” So he cried and sobbed for a long time. Suddenly a voice came from heaven: “If you had done this in knowledge, it would not have been forgiven you, but you sinned in ignorance, therefore now your sins are forgiven you.” Then the abbot, rising from the venerable relics, sent word to the hotel: “Come to us immediately, I have something to tell you.” When the guest arrived at the monastery, the abbot told him: - May God forgive him his sin! But the abbot interrupted him, saying: “Repent, brother, for you have sinned before the Lord and deceived me with your speeches, and I sinned because of you.” Marin is a wife! Hearing this, the hotel was horrified and remained silent, as if it were mute. The abbot, taking him by the hand, led him to the place where the holy body of blessed Mary lay, and told him that in vain he blamed Marin for the corruption of his daughter. Seeing such a wondrous miracle, the guest began to cry and repent of his anger, which he had previously had against the saint. Meanwhile, the abbot, together with the monks, while singing funeral hymns, honestly laid the pure virgin body of the immaculate bride of Christ in the monastery in a specially prepared place. The innkeeper’s daughter also came here, tormented by an unclean spirit. She told the whole truth openly in front of everyone. When they brought her to the tomb of Saint Mary, the unclean spirit immediately left her, and from that hour she became completely healthy. Everyone who saw this miracle glorified the most merciful God and His holy servant Mary, who, unknown to everyone, kept the secret until her death and endured a lot for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven 1366. May we, brothers, imitate her martyrdom, firmness and patience; then in the future life we ​​will receive grace from the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. Northwestern province of Asia Minor. The Venerable Maria, who was renamed Marin, and her father Eugene died at the beginning of the 6th century. You might be interested in: