The Nun Apollinaria
Commemorated on January 5
The Nun
Apollinaria was a daughter of Anthemias, a former governor of the Greek
empire during the minority of Theodosius the Younger (408-450). Having declined
marriage, she requested of her pious parents permission to venerate at the holy
places of the East. Having arrived in Alexandria from Jerusalem, she secretly
away from her servants changed into the garb of a nun and hid in one of the
marshy places, where she practised asceticism for several years in strict
fasting and prayers. By a revelation from above, she was guided into a skete
monastery to Saint Makarios of Egypt, and took for herself the monastic name
Dorotheos. The Monk Makarios accepted her into the ranks of his brethren, and
she there quickly distinguished herself by her ascetic life. The parents of
Apollinaria had also another daughter, who was beset by demons. They sent her
to the skete to the Monk Makarios, who took the sick girl to the monastic
Dorotheos (Blessed Apollinaria), through whose prayers the maiden received
healing. In returning homewards the maiden was again beset by a violent demon,
which gave her the appearance of a pregnant woman. This produced great anger in
her parents, who dispatched soldiers to the skete, and they demanded to see the
perpetrator of their daughter's outrage.
Saint Apollinaria
took on herself the blame and went with the envoys to the home of her parents.
There she revealed her secret to her parents, healed her sister, and returned
to the skete, where in a short while she died peacefully in the year 470. Only
after the death of the monastic Dorotheos was it revealed that this was a
woman. The body of the saint was buried in a cave in the monastery church of
Saint Makarios of Egypt.
© 1996-2001 by translator Fr. S. Janos.
