St. Macrina the younger was the daughter of a great Christian family whose writings continue to shape the Church’s understanding of God. Macrina was the granddaughter of Macrina the Elder and her younger brothers were two of the Cappadocian Fathers—Basil and Gregory of Nyssa.

Macrina was born probably around the year 330 in Cappadocia, a region now in the east of modern-day Turkey. Her father arranged a marriage for her, as was the custom. But Macrina refused to marry him. She devoted herself to Christ, the eternal bridegroom.

Most of our information about Macrina’s life comes from Gregory of Nyssa’s Life of Macrina, in which her younger brother writes the biography of the sister he so admired. Macrina devoted herself to studying the Sacred Scriptures, prayer, and educating their younger brother Peter. She turned a family estate into a monastery, where she devoted herself to a life of ascetic disciplines and prayer.

Macrina died in 379, and has been revered as a saint ever since.

St. Macrina the Younger, Cappadocian mother of the Church—pray for us!