Born just after Christianity had been legalized in the Roman Empire, and just after the first great ecumenical council in Nicea had affirmed the deity of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity, Macrina (AD 327-379), with her three brothers, Gregory, Peter, and Basil, proved to be instrumental in training men and women in the Church who had dedicated their lives to knowing, understanding, preaching, teaching and serving the Lord Jesus Christ. Her brothers became bishops and all four were eventually recognized as saints by the united Church (Eastern and Roman). On her deathbed she continued to minister to those around her, including her brother, Gregory, who recorded her last prayer, part of which is presented here:

Thou, O Lord, hast freed us from the fear of death. Thou hast made the end of this life the beginning to us of true life. Thou for a season rest our bodies in sleep and wake them again. Thou givest our body, which Thou has fashioned with Thy hands, to the earth to keep in safety. One day Thou will take again what Thou hast given, transfiguring with immortality and gracing our mortal remains. Thou hast saved us from the curse and from sin, having become both for our sake.

Thou hast shown us the way of resurreciton, having broken the gates of hell, and how to overcome him who had the power of death -- the Devil. Thou hast given a sign to those that fear Thee in the symbol of the Holy Cross, to destroy the adversary and save our life. O God eternal to whom I have been attached from my mother's womb, whom my soul has loved with all its strength, to whom I have dedicated both my flesh and my soul from my youth up until now -- do Thou give me an angel of light to conduct me to the place of refreshment, where is the water of rest, in the bosom of the holy Father.

Quoted by Edith Deen, Great Women of the Christian Faith (Barbour and Company, Inc., 1959, 13).