Apollinaria of Egypt, venerable

The Monk Apollinaria was the daughter of Anfemias, the former ruler of the Greek Empire during the childhood of Theodosius the Younger (408 - 450). Refusing marriage, she begged permission from her pious parents to worship the holy places of the East. Arriving from Jerusalem to Alexandria, secretly from the servants, she changed into the clothes of a monk and disappeared into one swampy place, where she asceticised for several years in strict fasting and prayers.