Who is Saint Macrina?

Two of Macrina's younger brothers are much more widely known: two of the three Cappadocian Fathers, St. Basil of Caesarea and St. Gregory of Nyssa. What we know about St. Macrina is partly from tradition, but mostly from her biography written by her brother Gregory after her death. Two of the things that he emphasized were her use of reason and her love for God, but he also made sure that she was given proper credit for her influence on their brother Basil. When Basil first returned home after completing his education, Gregory described him as being slightly puffed up with his own importance. It was Macrina who reminded her younger brother that the purpose of the education that he'd received was to put that knowledge and his gifts at the service of God and His people. It's because of her talk with Basil that Gregory gave Macrina the credit for putting St. Basil on the track to holiness; he knew that sometimes the only person who is able to really get through to you is one of your siblings. 

Macrina lived in the fourth century AD, before any formal religious orders were established. She established a community of women in her family home which was similar to the way women's religious orders are organized today. She placed great emphasis on the use of reason, and in particular the importance of subjecting the emotions (or passions) to reason instead of letting the emotions rule the person. Her biography draws great attention to this because the effects of the Fall make it so difficult to do, but the ability to do so as habitually as she did is an indication of holiness. At one point during her funeral, many of the women of her community became very vocal in expressing their grief. Her brother Gregory literally stopped the funeral to chastise them for their loud weeping and wailing, reminded them that Macrina would never have condoned that behavior, and refused to continue with the funeral until they quieted down and exercised control over their expressions of emotion. 

(Side note: if praying to St. Gregory for his intercession, it’s probably best not to make the appeal an overly emotional one)

If you want to know more about Saint Macrina, you can visit her page at New Advent here or read her biography, The Life of Saint Macrina