Tag Archives: St. Mary of Egypt

One Flesh=Made Holy….

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Left: St. Mary of Egypt received Holy Communion when she was baptized as an adult in Jerusalem and then again from the priest-monk Zosimas in the desert after 47 years of ascetic practice as a hermit. Right: priest pours water into the chalice at the Offertory of the Eucharist.

For the unbelieving husband is made holy through his wife and the unbelieving wife is made holy through her husband. (1 Cor. 7:14)

St. Paul has already discussed how a man and woman become one flesh when they have a sexual relationship, no matter how brief that relationship might be. Now he points out that because a husband and wife become one flesh, the unbelieving spouse shares in the holiness of the believing spouse.

Among the Eastern Christians, the spouse of the priest shares in her husband’s priestly ministry, to some extent. She is given a special title of respect, usually the feminine form of whatever title her husband has: presbyter/presbytera, papa(batushka)/mama (matushka), preot (priest)/preoteasa. She and the priest are one flesh and share a common relationship to the parish.

In the reception of Holy Communion, each Christian becomes one flesh with Christ and with other believers who partake. This is why the use of one loaf and one cup are so important in the celebration of the Eucharist. We all receive the same Holy Gifts and share a common life as a result.

Because we share a common life, we contribute to each other’s salvation and sanctification. The holiness of one member supports and sustains the holiness of the others; the sin of one member pulls down the others as well. “Save yourself and you will save 1,000 people around you,” said St. Seraphim of Sarov. The salvation of one radiates out to touch everyone in the vicinity–and beyond!–just a ripples from a stone thrown into a pond radiate out across the surface of the water.

“Husband and wife are one in the same way that wine and water are one when they are mixed together,” wrote the 2nd century Bible scholar Origen. The wine and water mixed in the chalice are frequently seen as an allusion to the union of divinity and humanity in Christ, as well as the union of human spouses or members of the same congregation. It is in the Paschal cup of blessing that we find our communion with God and each other.

St. Mary of Egypt

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St Jerome and St Mary of Egypt (first half of 16th century)

St. Mary of Egypt was among the most popular saints of the Middle Ages. She is still extremely well-known in the Orthodox Church although she is not as well known anymore among Western Christians. She is considered a model of repentance and commemorated on April 1 (the anniversary of her death) and the 5th Sunday of Lent (in the Orthodox liturgical tradition).

According to her life (written by Sophronius, 7th century patriarch of Jerusalem and available in the Golden Legend), Mary was a sexually active young girl who ran away from home in Egypt when she was 12. Her parents never heard from her again and never knew what befell their daughter. She made her way to Jerusalem, seducing men along the way. She had a conversion experience in Jerusalem and fled into the desert, where she lived as a hermit for several decades. A lone monk discovered her one spring and learned the story of her life. He brought her Holy Communion the next year. When he attempted to meet her a third time, he discovered her body and realized that she had died only hours after he had given her Holy Communion.

She was clearly a headstrong young woman. She used the resources available to her to make her way in the world. Coming from a poor, rural family, that meant her only resource was her body. But her conversion experience made her realize that relying on her sexuality to survive was a dead-end; she wanted more than a collection of sensual experiences and memories to give meaning to her life. So she embraced an extreme form of desert asceticism as a hermit. Just as her sexual behavior was extreme, her asceticism was as well. She was not given to half-measures.

There were many versions of her life available in medieval Europe, a testimony to her popularity. Many of them are still available, in translation. Her image was painted many times as well.