What I am Reading

Macrina was born probably in A.D. 327 to Basil and Emmelia.  She was their oldest child.  She was named after her grandmother, Macrina the elder.  This Macrina is often referred to as Macrina the Younger (or as Macrina “the Blessed”).  She had sisters of which very little is known, and several brothers (nine siblings in all).
Instead of conforming to the secular philosophy of the day, Macrina underwent an intense theological education in the Scriptures.  Her brother Gregory would observe that Macrina had an insatiable appetite for God’s word even as child.  She was drawn to the Wisdom of Solomon and to the Psalms in particular.  At the age of twelve, her father had arranged a marriage, but her young finance died unexpectedly leaving Macrina to take an oath of celibacy the rest of her life in order to pursue a life of Christian “perfection”.
Macrina’s influence can be witnessed in the religious training and pursuits of her younger brothers, Peter who later became Bishop of Sebaste, Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, Basil and Naucratius, who died young.  Gregory in his biography of his sister writes that when Basil returned home after his studies he was "puffed up" with his new knowledge of rhetoric and looked down on the locals. It was not long before his sister drew him to the study of philosophy by using the Bible and Basil took a course that was faithful in the Holy Scriptures.
All of these brothers along with Macrina were involved in some religious life of charity and prayer.  Upon the death of her father, Macrina devoted herself to the physical care and comfort of her mother and the spiritual development of many other Christians.  She comforted the family during seasons of grief (Naucratius died while hunting).  She established a community of believers devoted to asceticism, prayer, Scripture, and aiding others in need.  True to her belief system, she established this community out of her home made up of women of all classes including household slaves.  In addition to training her brothers, Macrina also influenced Gregory of Nazianzus and Eustathius of Sebaste.  This established group later became known as a group which practice and preached a lifestyle toward “Christian perfection”.  
Her brother Gregory honored her with a biography (“Vita Macrinae Junioris”) that he began to compose when Macrina was on her death bed.  This biography highlighted her piety in prayer as she awaited her entrance into heaven.  Their brother Basil had died some time before and Gregory was still grieving over him while Macrina lay dying.  According to Gregory, Macrina on her death bed rebuked him for his behavior that resembled more of a pagan than a Christian.  When he relayed to Macrina his persecutions, she replied that he ought to thank God that he was counted worthy to suffer.
Resurrection played a primary role in the life of Macrina, as her death bed talks with Gregory led him to write on the teachings of the resurrection, and dedicate it to his sister.  When she decided to remain single after her finance died, her motivation was that her betrothed was in a distant realm waiting to be reunited with her in Christ.  She firmly believed that the resurrection was simply “the restoration of human nature to its pristine condition”.  She consistently comforted Gregory’s spirit while she was dying until she could no longer speak.  She died in A.D. 379 and was buried in the grave of her parents.