Emmélie de Césarée
IVe siècle
Offering God what one holds dearest, by naming it to him.
Who was Emmélie de Césarée?
The daughter of a man who died for his faith, married young, she raised ten children on the family estate in Pontus, by the river Iris. Widowed, she let her eldest daughter Macrina turn the household slowly into a community, divided her property among her children, and ended her life among them, in shared prayer. Three of her sons would become bishops, and it was her they named when asked who had taught them.
In their own words
To you, Lord, I offer the firstfruits and the tithe of the fruit of my womb: the firstfruits is [Macrina], this my eldest daughter; the tithe is [Peter], this my last-born son.