Marina was born in present day Lebanon, in the fifth century. She was the only child of her parents, and her mother died when she was still a young girl. Her father refused to remarry, and instead raised her himself until she was a teenager. At that point, he hoped to find her a husband and then retire to live the life of a monk.

Marina, however, rejected this plan, saying: “Why would you save your own soul at the cost of destroying mine?” Inst…