The Life of Saint Macrina

This little book is a brief retelling of the Life of St. Macrina as told by her younger brother, Gregory of Nyssa. Macrina and Gregory were also siblings of St. Basil the Great. The book focuses on Macrina's failed courtship, and resulting perpetual virginity. The monastic emphasis on virginity is not biblical, because if everybody was to become nuns and monks, humanity would die out. Don't the men and women who become monks and nuns realize that if their parents had decided to become monks and nuns they wouldn't even exist?Gregory of Nyssa tells with sweet sentiment the passing of his sister, and much of the book recounts him by her deathbed. This was the most personal part of the book. They truly had an enviable relationship as brother and sister.

Precious book about a lady overlooked by history but highly esteemed in God's Kingdom.

Informative

Perfect for my coursework.

Great contemporary translation of a classic, reasonably priced. Plan to order more as gifts. The author is one of my favorites

awesome history church history piece for women

Great as advertised!

Love it

The life of a quite remarkable woman, who belonged to a remarkable family, three brothers who all became bishops, like the family friend Gregory Nazianus, told by her brother Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa. This is the fourth century, so monasticism is a developing concept into communities – in Macrina’s case, upon the death of her mother all the female servants became ‘sisters’. For Macrina the religious life also involved philosophy and the rational. Kevin Corrigan actually draws a number of similarities between the character of Socrates in the Phaedo, and the character of Macrina as she was dying. Even if this account was written by her brother, something about its substance rings true, and the fact that reading it brings the mind to a quiet state, tends, in my view, to confirm that. Light, but serious. There are full notes at the end with a bibliography.