Macrina the Younger of Caesarea/Kayseri (AD 330-379)

Around 330, Macrina the Younger was born into the family of Basil the Elder and Emmelia.
Emmelia secretly gave Macrina the name Thekla, in honor of the woman disciple of the apostle Paul.

Although she was known for her beauty and wis- dom, Macrina never married and devoted herself to a consecrated life of spiritual disciplines and prayer as a nun. It was Macrina who had a deep and long-last- ing spiritual impact on her younger brothers, Basil the Great, Nacratius, Gregory of Nyssa, and Peter of Sebaste, all who are known today as Christian saints.

With her mother Emmelia, Macrina started a communal monastery for wom- en on her family’s Pontus property. They lived together as one family—they prayed together, worked together, and possessed everything in common. Macrina died at her monastery on July 19, 379. Her younger brother, Gregory of Nyssa, wrote a very moving and insightful biography of Macrina’s life, titled Life of Macrina.