The biography of this wonderful saint was written by St. Sophronius Patriarch of Jerusalem. A certain Hieromonk, the elder Zosimas, once traveled with Holy Lent to the Transjordanian desert for twenty days' walk. On one of them he saw a human being, with a dry, naked body and hair as white as snow, who tried to run away from Zosimo's gaze. The old man ran for a long time, until the creature lay down in a stream and shouted: Abba Zosima, forgive me for God's sake, I cannot speak to you, because I am a naked woman! Then Zosim threw her his upper garment; she covered herself and spoke to him. The old man was frightened when he heard his name from the mouth of that unknown woman. After a long persuasion, his wife told him about her life. She was born in Egypt, and from the age of twelve she began to live a debauched life in Alexandria, and spent 17 years in debauchery. Pursued by prodigal bodily fire, she sat down one day on a ship that was sailing towards Jerusalem. Contribution to the Holy City, she also wanted to enter the church to worship the Holy Cross, but some invisible force held her back and did not let her enter. In great fear, she looked at the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos in custody and prayed to Her to allow her to enter and kiss the Holy Cross, confessing her sinfulness and impurity, and promising that she would later go where the Most Pure One would direct her. Then she would be allowed to enter the church. After kissing the cross, he came out again to the custody in front of the icon and thanked the Mother of God, but there he heard a voice: if you cross the Jordan, you will find good peace! — She immediately bought three loaves of bread and set off for Jordan, where she arrived the same evening. The next day, he received communion in the monastery of St. Jovana and crossed the river. And they lived in the desert for 48 years, in too much pain, in fear, in a fight with passionate thoughts as with wild beasts. She ate greens. After that, when they were standing in prayer, they saw Zosima standing up in the air. She asks him to bring her Holy Communion to the banks of the Jordan next year, and she will come to receive Holy Communion. The next year, Zosima came to the bank of the Jordan with Communion in the evening, but they wondered how the saint would cross the Jordan. In that they see by the moonlight, that it comes to the river, crosses the river, and walks on the water as on dry land. When he gave her communion, she asked him to come next year to the same stream where they first met. Zosima went and found her dead body in that place, and above her head in the sand written: bury, Abba Zosima, in this place the body of the humble Mary, give dust to dust, I reposed on the 1st of April on the very night of Christ's salvific suffering after the communion of the Divine Mysteries. From this inscription, Zosima first learned her name, and secondly, a terrible miracle, that last year, on the same night when she received communion, she arrived at that stream, to which he had to travel for 20 days. And so Zosima buried the body of the miraculous saint Mary of Egypt. And when he returns to the monastery, he tells the whole history of her life and miracles, which he personally saw from her. That is how the Lord knows how to glorify repentant sinners. St. Mary is also mentioned on the fifth week of Holy Lent. The Church highlights her to the faithful in those fasting days as a model of repentance. She died around 530.
Saint Meliton, bishop of Sardinia. Venerable Procopius Czech. Saint Venerable Macarius the Confessor. Easter fast.