Macrina the Younger
4th-century Roman nun
Macrina the Younger (Greek: Μακρίνα; c. 327 – 19 July 379) was an early Christian consecrated virgin. Macrina was elder sister of Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa, Naucratius and Peter of Sebaste. Gregory of Nyssa wrote a work entitled Life of Macrina in which he describes her sanctity and asceticism throughout her life. Macrina lived a chaste and humble life, devoting her time to prayer and the spiritual education of her younger brother Peter.
Macrina is regarded as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Anglican churches.
Family
Macrina was born at Caesarea, Cappadocia. Her parents were Basil the Elder and Emmelia, and her grandmother was Macrina the Elder. Among her nine siblings were two of the three Cappadocian Fathers, her younger brothers Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa, as well as Peter of Sebaste and the famous Christian jurist Naucratius. Her father arranged for her to marry, but her fiancé died before the wedding.
The public source identifies “Macrina the Younger” as 4th-century Roman nun. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Macrina, Younger and 4th-century.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q239081. VIAF identifies the subject as 104722758. The Library of Congress control number is n92118162. 3 of 10 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Macrina the Younger” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.