5th–6th century
Saint Mary of Egypt
A former sinner who repented in Jerusalem and lived forty-seven years alone as an ascetic in the desert beyond the Jordan.
Biography
Mary was born in Egypt and from the age of twelve lived a dissolute life, driven by insatiable passion. She once joined pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem to venerate the True Cross, not out of piety but to find new lovers on the journey.
Before the church an unseen force stopped her from entering, and before an icon of the Theotokos she felt deep repentance. She was then able to venerate the Cross, crossed the Jordan, and lived forty-seven years in the desert entirely alone, until the monk Zosimas found her and recorded her life.