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Saint Mary of Egypt and Zosimas the Priest (Part III)

The Story of Mary and Zosimas Together ~ Professor Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Ph. D., Brown University And so we come to the Story of Mary and Zosimas together. It is above all a story of giving gifts to one another. From the moment they met, their lives were found to be reversed. Mary, the sinful woman, became teacher and giver of grace; Zosimas, the venerable priest and monk, became disciple and suppliant. When Zosimas first

Saint Mary of Egypt and Zosimas the Priest (Part II)

The Story of Zosimas Now Zosimas’ story is, alas, far more akin to our own lives. For we are all too glad to dissociate ourselves from Mary and her sinfulness. Hers is a story so different from our lives, after all. Here we are, in church on Sunday, in our ordinariness. We have our homes and families our spouses and children, our work, our life in the church and in the community. We try to

Saint Mary of Egypt and Zosimas the Priest (Part I)

The Story of Mary ~ Professor Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Ph. D., Brown University The story of Mary of Egypt as it is written for the church is really three separate stories: The story of Mary’s life, the story of the priest Zosimas, and the story of their experience together. Without doubt, the action and thrills come in Mary’s story, which she tells to Zosimas when he finds her wandering in the desert. She had been