Macrina
b. circa C.E. 330, Cappadocia (modern-day Turkey); d. circa 379, Cappadocia
Macrina, also known as Saint Macrina the Younger, was engaged at a young age but her fiancé died before the wedding. She thereafter took a vow of chastity, became an ascetic, and devoted herself to study of the Bible. Shortly after her death around 379, her brother, the theologian Gregory of Nyssa, published a biography of his beloved sister, called Dialogue on the Soul and Resurrection, which recounts in particular one of their last conversations, concerning heaven. Gregory’s text is the primary source of information about Macrina’s life. Her feast day is July 19.