Orthodox Icon of St. Mary of Egypt

St. Mary of Egypt COPYRIGHTED ART. Do not copy or deep-link to without prior permission from "Come and See" Icons, Books & Art.

April 1st and the 5th Sunday of Great Lent

Kontakion (Tone 4)
Having escaped the fog of sin, and having illumined thy heart with the light of penitence, O glorious one, thou didst come to Christ and didst offer to Him His immaculate and holy Mother as a merciful intercessor. Hence thou hast found remission of transgressions, and with the Angels thou ever rejoicest.

Mary the Egyptian lived in Alexandria as a prostitute. At the age of 29, out of curiosity she joined a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, paying for her passage by offering herself to the sailors. Prevented from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by an invisible force, she saw an icon of the Theotokos who told her to go over the Jordan where she would find rest. There she lived the rest of her life in repentance and was divinely instructed in the Christian faith. A monk named Zosimus met her and heard her story. He brought her Holy Communion on Great and Holy Thursday. She asked him to return the next year. When he returned, he found her dead, with instructions for her burial written in the sand next to her. She reposed about the year 530.

Her entire story may be read at the following link. The Life of St. Mary

Order # svp-10 Inscription in English.