Venerable Mary of Kidunaia

St Mary lived in the 4th century near Edessa in Mesopotamia, in the village of Kidunaia. Orphaned at seven, she was brought to her uncle, St Abraham the Recluse, who settled her in the outer cell of his hermitage and taught her the Psalter and the Scriptures through a window; her inheritance was given to the poor. For twenty years she lived in vigil, psalmody and fasting.

Then a man who called himself a monk seduced her; in despair she fled to another town and lived in sin at an inn. After two years Abraham learned where she was, disguised himself as a soldier, found her and with tears persuaded her to return, taking her sin upon himself. Back in her cell, she spent the rest of her life in sackcloth, tears and vigil, and God granted her the gift of healing as a sign that her repentance had been accepted. She outlived her uncle (†c. 360) by five years. Their life was written by St Ephrem the Syrian. Feast: 29 October (11 November), together with St Abraham.