Macrina the Elder of Neocaesarea/Niksar (AD 270-340)

Around 270, Macrina the Elder was born into a Christian family on their property in Annesi, near Neocaesarea in the region of Pontus near the Black Sea. She was married to a man whose name we do not know. The couple faced Christian persecution during the reign of emperor Diocletian and fled their property to hide in the forests of Pontus for seven years, surviving on wild vegetables and animals. They returned to their property and discovered that all their belongings had been taken. Macrina the Elder was greatly influenced by the teaching of Gregory the Wonder-Worker, the first bishop of Neocaesarea. Macrina died around 340 at the age of seventy.