There are 3 famous female Saints who pretended to be men and lived in the wilderness. They are:
- St. Anastasia, who was known as Abouna Anastasi
- St. Pilagia who was known as Abouna Pilagius
- St. Marina who was known as Abouna Marin
St. Daniel and St. Anastasia
St. Anastasia was from a noble, wealthy family in the city of Constantinople. She was very beautiful and a very good person. Emperor Justin, who was married to Empress Theodora, wanted to marry her. She refused and went to his wife to tell her. Empress Theodora helped St. Anastasia to flee to Egypt on a private ship. She built a convent for her near the city of Alexandria in Egypt. However, Emperor Justin continued to pursue her, wanting to marry her. To get away from him, she dressed like a man, called herself Anastasi, and went to the wilderness of Shiheet. She met with St. Daniel and told him her story. He welcomed her and chose a cave for her to live in, in the inner wilderness. She lived there for 28 years, without anyone knowing anything about her. St. Daniel used to send his disciple to her every week with water and food, but his disciple never saw her. She used to write her thoughts on pieces of pottery and leave them at the door of her cave. The disciple brought the pieces of pottery to St. Daniel without reading them.
One day he brought a piece of pottery to St. Daniel who wept when he read it. He said to his disciple, “Let us go to the hermit”. They went to her cave and found her with severe fever and she asked Abba Daniel “for the sake of God, do not put a shroud on me but bury me with my clothes.” Then she prayed and departed in peace. A sweet smell of incense filled the cave. The disciple noticed that she was a woman and he marveled in silence. After they had buried her, they returned back to their place. The disciple asked his teacher to tell him about her and St. Daniel told him her life story.
May the blessings and prayers of St. Daniel and St. Anastasia be with us all, and glory be to our God forever. Amen.