Saint Mary of Egypt was a desert hermit who died in the year 522. She is very important in the Lenten practice of the Eastern Orthodox Church - in fact, for the Eastern Orthodox, the Fifth Sunday of Lent is known as the Sunday of Saint Mary of Egypt.
Saint Mary was a godless, sexually promiscuous hedonist in her early life. When she tried to enter a church in Jerusalem, and invincible force prevented her from getting in. Only after remorseful pleading at an icon of the Virgin Mary was Saint Mary of Egypt able to enter the church. She was shaken by this miracle, and vowed to cast off her old life, and lived the rest of her days as an ascetic in the desert. Despite the sinfulness of her youth, Saint Mary's sincere repentance transformed her, and she is celebrated today as a model for Christian repentance, and as evidence that God's grace can save even the most depraved sinner.
In this episode, we will read an account by Saint Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem about Saint Mary of Egypt and her encounter with Saint Zosima, a monk in Palestine at the end of her life.
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