Commemoration of Marinos (Marina) the Monk
Actual commemoration in the Episcopal Church is June 17th
Join us to pray live via Zoom videoconference at 8:00 a.m. ET using the following link: Zoom Link for Daily Morning Prayer
A new icon, seen here, of Marinos the Monk was created in 2022 by Dani, an LGBTQ-affirming Catholic artist based in California. Unlike traditional portraits of Marinos, the new icon shows him as joyful and content. The smiling monk happily holds his adopted son while the clouds behind them glow with the colors of the transgender flag. The icon appears on the “Trans Saints Exist” shirt at the And Her Saints Etsy shop. Dani’s work is also featured on the And Her Saints Instagram account.
Marinos/ Marina the Monk has been called a patron saint of transgender parenting or a cross-dressing saint, and belongs to a group of transgender or cross-dressing saints with similar stories. All were raised as girls and then joined monasteries where they lived as monks. Their female upbringing and anatomy were not discovered until they died.
Assigned female at birth, Marina adopted the name Marinos and entered a monastery as a man, alongside her father, in fifth-century Lebanon. Marinos embraced a male identity from that point onward, even after being falsely accused of fathering a child while in the community on monastery business. He was expelled from the monastery and subsequently adopted the boy and raised him as his own son. Eventually the other monks convinced the Abbot to allow Marinos back into the monastery to work the most menial tasks in order to support his child.
At the age of forty, Marinos became ill. Three days later she died from the illness. While preparing her body for burial, the monks discovered that she was, in fact, a woman. They informed the abbot, who came to Marinos’ side and wept bitterly for the wrongs done. During the funeral prayers, one of the monks, who was blind in one eye, is said to have received full sight again after he touched the body. It was also believed that God allowed a devil to torment the woman and her family who had accused Marinos of fathering the child, and that this caused them to travel to where the saint was buried, where they confessed their iniquity in front of everyone and asked for forgiveness.They all realized their mistake and asked forgiveness upon Marinos’ death. Marina/Marinos the Monk was added to the Episcopal Church liturgical calendar in 2022.
__________
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:2
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
God of all mercy,
we confess that we have sinned against you,
opposing your will in our lives.
We have denied your goodness in each other,
in ourselves, and in the world you have created.
We repent of the evil that enslaves us,
the evil we have done,
and the evil done on our behalf.
Forgive, restore, and strengthen us
through our Savior Jesus Christ,
that we may abide in your love
and serve only your will.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through the grace of Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life. Amen.
O God, let our mouth proclaim your praise.
And your glory all the day long.
Praise to the holy and undivided Trinity, one God: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Alleluia.
Jubilate Psalm 100
Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; *
serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song.
Know this: The Lord himself is God; *
he himself has made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise; *
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.
For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; *
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.
Psalm 148 Laudate Dominum
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord from the heavens; *
praise him in the heights.
2 Praise him, all you angels of his; *
praise him, all his host.
3 Praise him, sun and moon; *
praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, heaven of heavens, *
and you waters above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the Name of the Lord; *
for he commanded, and they were created.
6 He made them stand fast for ever and ever; *
he gave them a law which shall not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth, *
you sea-monsters and all deeps;
8 Fire and hail, snow and fog, *
tempestuous wind, doing his will;
9 Mountains and all hills, *
fruit trees and all cedars;
10 Wild beasts and all cattle, *
creeping things and winged birds;
11 Kings of the earth and all peoples, *
princes and all rulers of the world;
12 Young men and maidens, *
old and young together.
13 Let them praise the Name of the Lord, *
for his Name only is exalted,
his splendor is over earth and heaven.
14 He has raised up strength for his people
and praise for all his loyal servants, *
the children of Israel, a people who are near him.
Hallelujah!
Praise to the holy and undivided Trinity, one God: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Susanna 34–46
The two elders stood up before the people and laid their hands on her head. Through her tears she looked up towards Heaven, for her heart trusted in the Lord. The elders said, “While we were walking in the garden alone, this woman came in with two maids, shut the garden doors, and dismissed the maids. Then a young man, who was hiding there, came to her and lay with her. We were in a corner of the garden, and when we saw this wickedness we ran to them. Although we saw them embracing, we could not hold the man, because he was stronger than we are, and he opened the doors and got away. We did, however, seize this woman and asked who the young man was, but she would not tell us. These things we testify.”
Because they were elders of the people and judges, the assembly believed them and condemned her to death.
Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and said, “O eternal God, you know what is secret and are aware of all things before they come to be; you know that these men have given false evidence against me. And now I am to die, though I have done none of the wicked things that they have charged against me!”
The Lord heard her cry. Just as she was being led off to execution, God stirred up the holy spirit of a young lad named Daniel, and he shouted with a loud voice, “I want no part in shedding this woman’s blood!”
Canticle I. A Song of Jonah Jonah 2:2-7,9
I called to you, O God, out of my distress, and you answered me; *
out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.
You cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, *
and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and billows passed over me.
Then I said, “I am driven away from your sight; *
how shall I ever look again upon your holy temple?”
The waters closed in over me, the deep was round about me; *
weeds were wrapped around my head at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land beneath the earth, *
yet you brought up my life from the depths, O God.
As my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, O God, *
and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple.
With the voice of thanksgiving, I will sacrifice to you; *
what I have vowed I will pay, for deliverance belongs to the Lord!
Praise to the holy and undivided Trinity, one God: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Luke 18:18–30
A certain ruler asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.’” He replied, “I have kept all these since my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” He replied, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.”
Then Peter said, “Look, we have left our homes and followed you.” And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”
Canticle N: A Song of God’s Love 1 John 4:7-11
Beloved, let us love one another, *
for love is of God.
Whoever does not love does not know God, *
for God is Love.
In this the love of God was revealed among us, *
that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through Jesus Christ.
In this is love, not that we loved God but that God loved us *
and sent his Son that sins might be forgiven.
Beloved, since God loved us so much, *
we ought also to love one another.
For if we love one another, God abides in us, *
and God’s love will be perfected in us.
Praise to the holy and undivided Trinity, one God: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
An Affirmation of Faith (Northumbria Community)
Lord, You have always given
bread for the coming day;
and though I am poor,
today I believe.
Lord, You have always given
strength for the coming day;
and though I am weak,
today I believe.
Lord, You have always given
peace for the coming day;
and though of anxious heart,
today I believe.
Lord, You have always kept
me safe in trials;
and now, tried as I am,
today I believe.
Lord, You have always marked
the road for the coming day;
and though it may be hidden,
today I believe.
Lord, You have always lightened
this darkness of mine;
and though I cannot yet see,
today I believe.
Lord, You have always spoken
when time was ripe;
and though you be silent now,
today I believe.
Hear our cry, O God,
And listen to our prayer.
Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.
V. Help us, O God our Savior;
R. Deliver us and forgive us our sins.
V. Look upon your congregation.
R. Give to your people the blessing of peace.
V. Declare your glory among the nations;
R. And your wonders among all peoples.
V. Do not let the oppressed be shamed and turned away;
R. Never forget the lives of your poor.
V. Continue your loving-kindness to those who know you;
R. And your favor to those who are true of heart.
V. Satisfy us by your loving-kindness in the morning;
R. So shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life.
Give us grace, Lord God, to refrain from judgments about the sins of others; that, like your servant Marinos the Monk, we may hold fast to the path of discipleship in the midst of unjust judgments; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Time of Intercession
We are invited at this time to share our prayers and thanksgivings either silently or aloud, ending with:
O God you made us and know our true selves. Help us to love one another generously and completely as you love us, for the glory of your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
A Prayer of St. Chrysostom
Almighty God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplication to you; and you have promised through your well-beloved Son that when two or three are gathered together in his Name you will be in the midst of them: Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions as may be best for us; granting us in this world knowledge of your truth, and in the age to come life everlasting. Amen.
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to God from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.
For more about Marinos and other Transgender Saints: https://qspirit.net/marinos-marina-monk-transgender/
https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2020/12/12/little-known-history-transgender-saints
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9789048540266-013/html?lang=en
https://amedievalwomanscompanion.com/transvestite-saints/
The Book of Susanna is part of our apocrypha but in Orthodox Bibles is included in the OT Book of Daniel as chapter 13. The story of Susanna and the elders appeared in the Greek version of Daniel but not the Hebrew. For a brief synopsis: https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/susanna-apocrypha
Virtual Chapel of St. Phoebe 