| St. Macarius the Great |
Macarius the Great, Egyptian
(c.), Venerable Memory January 19
Born in the village of Ptinapor, in Lower Egypt. At the request of his parents, he married, but soon became a widower. Having buried his wife, Macarius said to himself: “Pay attention, Macarius, and take care of your soul, for you too will have to leave earthly life.” The Lord rewarded his saint with a long life, but from then on mortal memory was constantly with him, forcing him to feats of prayer and repentance. He began to visit the temple of God more often and delve into the Holy Scriptures, but did not leave his elderly parents, fulfilling the commandment to honor parents.
After the death of his parents, the Monk Macarius distributed the remaining estate to commemorate his parents and began to fervently pray that the Lord would show him a mentor on the path of salvation. The Lord sent him such a leader in the person of an experienced old monk who lived in the desert, not far from the village. The elder received the young man with love, instructed him in the spiritual science of vigil, fasting and prayer, and taught him handicraft - basket weaving. Having built a separate cell not far from his own, the elder placed a student in it.
One day a local bishop arrived in Ptinapor and, having learned about the virtuous life of the monk, made him, against his will, a clergyman of the local church. However, Blessed Macarius was burdened by the violation of silence, and therefore he secretly went to another place. The enemy of salvation began a stubborn struggle with the ascetic, trying to frighten him, shaking his cell and instilling sinful thoughts. Blessed Macarius repelled the attacks of the demon, protecting himself with prayer and the sign of the cross. Evil people raised a curse against the saint, slandering a girl from a nearby village for seducing her. They pulled him out of his cell, beat him, and mocked him. The Monk Macarius bore temptation with great humility. He meekly sent the money he earned for his baskets to feed the girl. The innocence of Blessed Macarius was revealed when the girl, having suffered for many days, could not give birth. Then she confessed in agony that she had slandered the hermit, and pointed out the real culprit of the sin.
When her parents learned the truth, they were amazed and intended to go to the blessed one with repentance, but the Monk Macarius, avoiding disturbance from people, moved away from those places at night and moved to Mount Nitria in the Paran desert. Thus, human malice contributed to the success of the righteous.
After living for three years in the desert, he went to Saint Anthony the Great, the father of Egyptian monasticism, whom he had heard about while still living in the world, and was eager to see him. The Monk Abba Anthony lovingly received Blessed Macarius, who became his devoted disciple and follower. The Monk Macarius lived with him for a long time, and then, on the advice of the holy Abba, he retired to the Skete desert (in the northwestern part of Egypt) and there he shone so brightly with his exploits that they began to call him the “old man”, since, having barely reached thirty years of age, he showed himself to be an experienced, mature monk.
The Monk Macarius experienced many attacks from demons: one day he was carrying palm branches from the desert for weaving baskets; on the way the devil met him and wanted to hit the saint with a sickle, but he could not do this and said: “Macarius, I suffer great sorrow from you, because that I cannot defeat you, you have a weapon with which you repel me, this is your humility.” When the saint turned 40 years old, he was ordained a priest and made abbot (abba) of the monks living in the Skete desert. During these years, the Monk Macarius often visited Anthony the Great, receiving instructions from him in spiritual conversations. Blessed Macarius was honored to be present at the death of the holy Abba and received his staff as an inheritance.
The Monk Macarius performed many healings; people flocked to him from different places for help, advice, asking for his holy prayers. All this violated the saint’s solitude, so he dug a deep cave under his cell and retired there for prayer and contemplation of God. The Monk Macarius achieved such boldness in his walk with God that through his prayer the Lord raised the dead. Despite such a height of achieved godlikeness, he continued to maintain extraordinary humility.
One day, the holy abba found a thief in his cell, who was loading his things onto a donkey standing by the cell. Without showing that he was the owner of these things, the monk silently began to help tie up the luggage. Having dismissed him in peace, the blessed one said to himself: “We have brought nothing into this world, it is clear that we cannot take anything away from here. May the Lord be blessed in everything!”
One day the Monk Macarius was walking through the desert and, seeing a skull lying on the ground, asked him: “Who are you?” The skull answered: “I was the main pagan priest. When you, Abba, pray for those in hell, we receive some relief.” The monk asked: “What are these torments?” “We are in a great fire,” answered the skull, “and we do not see each other. When you pray, we begin to see each other a little, and this serves us as some consolation.” Hearing such words, the monk shed tears and asked: “Are there even more cruel torments?” The skull replied: “Below, deeper than us, there are those who knew the Name of God, but rejected Him and did not keep His commandments. They suffer even more severe torment.”
One day during prayer, Blessed Macarius heard a voice: “Makarius, you have not yet achieved such perfection as the two women living in the city.” The humble ascetic, taking his staff, went into the city, found a house where the women lived, and knocked. The women received him with joy, and the monk said: “For your sake, I came from the distant desert and I want to know about your good deeds; tell us about them, without hiding anything.” The women responded in surprise: “We live with our husbands, we have no virtues.” However, the saint continued to insist, and then the women told him: “We married our own brothers. During our entire life together, we did not say a single angry or offensive word to each other and never quarreled with each other. We asked our husbands to let us go to a nunnery, but they did not agree, and we vowed not to utter a single worldly word until death.” The holy ascetic glorified God and said: “Truly the Lord does not look for a virgin or a married woman, nor a monk, nor a layman, but appreciates the free intention of a person and sends the grace of the Holy Spirit to his voluntary will, which acts and controls the life of every person striving to be saved.”
During the reign of the Arian Emperor Valens (364-378), the Monk Macarius the Great, together with the Monk Macarius of Alexandria, was persecuted by the Arian bishop Luke. Both elders were captured and put on a ship, taken to a deserted island where pagans lived. There, through the prayers of the saints, the priest’s daughter received healing, after which the priest himself and all the inhabitants of the island received holy baptism. Having learned about what had happened, the Arian bishop was ashamed and allowed the elders to return to their deserts.
The meekness and humility of the saint transformed human souls. “A bad word,” said Abba Macarius, “makes the good bad, but a good word makes the bad good.” When asked by the monks how one should pray, the monk answered: “Prayer does not require many words, you just need to say: “Lord, as You wish and as You know, have mercy on me.” If the enemy attacks you, then you only need to say: “Lord, have mercy!” The Lord knows what is good for us and will show us mercy.” When the brethren asked: “How can one become a monk?”, the monk replied: “Forgive me, I am a bad monk, but I saw monks fleeing in the depths of the desert. I asked them how I could become a monk. They replied: “If a person does not renounce everything that is in the world, he cannot be a monk.” To this I replied: “I am weak and cannot be like you.” Then the monks replied: “If you cannot be like us, then sit in your cell and lament your sins.”
The Monk Macarius gave advice to one monk: “Run from people and you will be saved.” He asked: “What does it mean to run from people?” The monk answered: “Sit in your cell and lament your sins.” The Monk Macarius also said: “If you want to be saved, be like a dead man, who is not angry when he is dishonored, and does not become exalted when he is praised.” And again: “If reproach is like praise to you, poverty like wealth, lack like abundance, you will not die. For it is impossible for a true believer and one who strives in piety to fall into the impurity of passions and demonic deception.”
The prayer of St. Macarius saved many in dangerous circumstances and saved them from troubles and temptations. His mercy was so great that they said about him: “Just as God covers the world, so Abba Macarius covered the sins that he saw, as if he had not seen, and heard, as if he had not heard.” The monk lived to be 97 years old; shortly before his death, the Monks Anthony and Pachomius appeared to him, conveying the joyful news of his imminent transition to the blessed Heavenly abodes. Having given instructions to his disciples and blessed them, the Monk Macarius said goodbye to everyone and rested with the words: “Into Your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.”
Saint Abba Macarius spent sixty years in a desert that was dead to the world. The monk spent most of his time in conversation with God, often in a state of spiritual admiration. But he never stopped crying, repenting and working. The abba transformed his abundant ascetic experience into profound theological works. Fifty conversations and seven ascetic words remained the precious heritage of the spiritual wisdom of St. Macarius the Great.
The idea that the highest good and goal of man is the unity of the soul with God is fundamental in the works of St. Macarius. Talking about ways to achieve sacred unity, the monk was based on the experience of the great teachers of Egyptian monasticism and on his own. The path to God and the experience of communion with God among holy ascetics is open to every believing heart. That is why the Holy Church included the ascetic prayers of St. Macarius the Great in the commonly used evening and morning prayers.
The miracles and visions of Blessed Macarius are described in the book of Presbyter Rufinus, and his life was compiled by the Monk Serapion, Bishop of Tmunt (Lower Egypt), one of the famous figures of the Church of the century.
Troparion to Macarius the Great of Egypt, tone 1:
Desert dweller, and an angel in the flesh, / and a miracle worker appeared, our God-bearing Father Macarius, / by fasting, vigil, and prayer, we received heavenly gifts, / healing the sick and the souls of those who come to you by faith. / Glory to Him who gave you strength, / glory to Him who crowned you, / glory to Him who heals you all.
Teachings of St. Macarius the Great
Earthly life, according to the teachings of the Monk Macarius, with all its labors, has only a relative meaning: to prepare the soul, to make it capable of receiving the Kingdom of Heaven, to cultivate in the soul an affinity with the Heavenly Fatherland. “The soul that truly believes in Christ must shift and change from its present vicious state to another state, good, and from its present humiliated nature to another, Divine nature, and be remade into a new one - through the power of the Holy Spirit.” This can be achieved if “we truly believe and love God and follow all His holy commandments.” If the soul, betrothed to Christ in holy Baptism, does not itself contribute to the grace of the Holy Spirit given to it, then it will be subject to “excommunication from life”, as having been found to be indecent and incapable of communion with Christ. In the teaching of St. Macarius, the question of the unity of God’s Love and God’s Truth is experimentally resolved. The inner feat of a Christian determines the measure of his perception of this unity. Each of us acquires salvation by grace and the Divine gift of the Holy Spirit, but achieving the perfect measure of virtue necessary for the soul to assimilate this divine gift is possible only “by faith and love with the effort of free will.” Then “as much as by grace, so much by righteousness,” the Christian will inherit eternal life. Salvation is a divine-human work: we achieve complete spiritual success “not by divine power and grace alone, but also by bringing our own labors,” on the other hand, we arrive at “the measure of freedom and purity” not only through our own diligence, but not without “assistance from above the hand of God.” " A person’s fate is determined by the actual state of his soul, his self-determination towards good or evil. “If a soul in this world does not receive into itself the shrine of the Spirit through much faith and prayer, and does not become a participant in the Divine nature, then it is unsuitable for the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Miracle of the Birth of a Saint
The life of Saint Macarius the Great began with a real miracle. His parents lived in Egypt and bore the names of ancient saints - Abraham and Sarah. Macarius's father was a presbyter. The very atmosphere in the house was initially filled with deep faith. For many years their marriage remained fruitless. Having decided that it was so pleasing to the Lord, the couple began to live chastely, but did not want to separate. For many years their cohabitation was spiritual. Their life consisted of good deeds, prayers, fasting and worship of the Lord.
However, the village where they lived was attacked by barbarians. Robbery and violence, unprecedented before that time, Macarius’s parents shocked them so much that they wanted to leave Egypt. But his forefather appeared to Abraham in a dream. The ancient holy Patriarch Abraham looked like an old man in dazzling white robes, with gray hair and a beard. He consoled and told the future father Macarius that he should not leave Egypt. It is necessary to move to the village of Ptinapor, which was also located in Egypt. In addition, the Patriarch promised the presbyter that the Lord would bless his life with the birth of a son, despite the advanced age of his parents. After all, once upon a time the Patriarch himself became a father, being a very old man, like his elderly wife Sarah. Waking up, Abraham told this dream to his Sarah. They trusted the signs of God so much that they did not doubt at all that the dream was prophetic. They offered a prayer to the Lord, moved to Ptinapor and began to live there as spouses.
Suddenly Abraham became so ill that he lay down and could not even move. Everyone was waiting for his imminent death. But one night he again had a dream, in which the Angel of the Lord himself, coming out of the altar, told him to get up, since he would soon have a son. This child will become a vessel of Divine grace and will live his life like an angel. Soon they had a son, whom they named Macarius, which meant “blessed.” Thus, the miracle of the birth of the Great Saint took place, which was predicted in a dream to his father by the Holy Patriarch Abraham with the Angel of the Lord. This happened around the year 300.
Creations
Published in Russian:
- Spiritual conversations. Per. priest Moses Gumilevsky. M., 1782. Ed. 2nd, M.. 1839. Ed. 3rd. M., 1851. The same (2nd lane). — “Christian reading.” 1821, 1825, 1827, 1829, 1834, 1837, 1846. The same (3rd trans.). Ed. 4th, Moscow. Theological Academy. Sergiev Posad. 1904.
- Ascetic messages. Per. and note. B. A. Turaeva. - “Christian East”, 1916, vol. IV, p. 141-154.
The teaching of St. Macarius is also stated: “Philokalia.” T. I. M., 1895, p. 155-276.
Fateful meeting
But Saint Macarius did not immediately decide to take such a step. At first, he was sad for a long time that he had no one close to him on this earth with whom he could consult, discuss his future life, and tell about his future plans.
However, he trusted in the Lord and continued the traditions of his parents, who, on the days of remembrance of saints, held a feast to feed the poor and wanderers. On such a day, Saint Macarius prepared lunch and went to the temple. There, during a service, he saw a monk who lived in the desert near the village of Ptinapor. No one had seen him before, since the hermit himself avoided the world. However, on this day, by Divine providence, he came to the same temple as Saint Macarius.
The sight of the hermit greatly amazed the saint. Despite the long fast and the harsh desert conditions, which made his face dry and dark, his whole appearance glowed with inner beauty. The saint approached the elder and asked him to come to his feast. The elder agreed. After eating the meal, Saint Macarius again approached the elder and asked to receive him as a guest the next day. The elder willingly agreed, fulfilling the will of the Lord.
Great Macarius – disciple of Great Anthony
In stories about saints, the Great Macarius always follows his own path, which the Lord assigned to him even before his birth. He lived in solitude for three years in a cave on Mount Nitria, then went to Anthony the Great to further learn from him the desert life. The Great Anthony gladly accepted the new student and shared with him all the knowledge he had. For a long time they spent the night together, but soon Saint the Great Macarius again went to a secluded place, where he continued his invisible war with demons.
One day in the desert, Saint Macarius found the skull of a pagan priest, who told him what grave torments were experienced by those who died unbaptized, because they did not know Jesus. But those who knew Him and denied Him suffer even more.
It was there that his prayers were born, which still protect us from demons who constantly attack Orthodox Christians with temptations. Reading these prayers, hardly anyone remembers that they were composed by a saint to whom the Devil himself confessed that his humility did not allow his spirit to be broken.
Temptations of a Saint
Monastic life seems simple and measured to the laity. Fasting, prayer and work - the rest is according to the will of the Lord. However, it is the monks who are most tempted by demons. The life of Saint Macarius the Great contains many facts that indicate how often and strongly the saint was tempted by the enemy of the human race - the Devil. He overwhelmed the saint with sinful thoughts and abusive speech, and frightened him with monsters that appeared to him in the middle of prayer. During night vigils, he shook his cell or crawled with a poisonous snake in order to distract the saint from prayer. But the monk, remembering the protection of the Lord, protected himself with a cross and prayer, against which the Devil himself was powerless.
Slander against a saint
In a nearby village there lived a young man and a girl who loved each other. It was them that the Devil chose as his weapon. The girl's parents were against their marriage because the young man was poor. But soon their daughter found herself pregnant. Taught by the Devil and her lover, she placed all the blame on Saint Macarius, presenting him as a rapist. People in the village beat the saint, cursing him. The man who served him begged people not to touch the saint, but they did not listen to him. Soon Saint Macarius was close to death, only then they left him. The man who served him took him to his cell and looked after him.
As soon as the saint came to his senses, he began to work hard to feed the disgraced girl and her unborn child. When the time came for her to give birth, the Lord punished her. She spent several days in terrible pain and torment until she admitted that she had slandered an innocent person. People wanted to ask him for forgiveness, but the saint, not wanting worldly glory, retired to other places.
The beginning of monasticism
Saint Great Macarius again came to an old man he knew and humbly asked him to become a mentor for him. The elder, seeing the young man’s desire to begin serving as soon as possible, began to teach him the basics of monasticism - prayers, silence, handicrafts that will help purchase the necessary amount of food for the hermit, as well as solitary service. Soon he moved Saint Macarius to a cave, which he dug especially for him. From that time on, Saint Macarius became a hermit who served the Lord with his humble life. To get food for himself, he weaved baskets. Residents of nearby villages bought them for a small fee. Soon the fame of the holy hermit began to reach the heads of the local church.
Refusal from clerical service
The bishop of the local church was very surprised to learn that a humble hermit had appeared in the desert, leading a godly life. He called Saint Macarius, spoke with him and appointed him cleric in the parish of Ptinapor. Saint Macarius referred to his youth - at that time he was forty years old. However, the bishop decided that youth could not be a hindrance for him and installed him in office of his own free will.
This violated the already established way of life of Saint Macarius. He had to flee and settle in the desert near another village. Here one of the local residents came to his service, who began to serve the saint by selling his baskets and buying the necessary food for the hermit.
Links
Greek patristics Origen †OK.
254 • Dionysius of Alexandria †265 • Gregory of Neocaesarea †c. 275 • Pavel Samosatsky
(er) †ca.
275 • Lucian of Antioch †312 • Methodius of Olympus †312 • Eustathius of Antioch †337 or 346 • Eusebius Pamphilus
†c.
340 • Jacob Aphraates †ca. 345 • Anthony the Great †356 • Ephraim the Syrian †373 • Athanasius the Great †373 • Basil the Great †379 • Cyril of Jerusalem †386 • Gregory the Theologian †389 • Macarius the Great †391 • Diodorus of Tarsus †c. 391 • Gregory of Nyssa †c. 394 • Macarius of Alexandria †c. 395 • Didymus the Blind
†398 •
Evagrius of Pontus
†399 •
Macarius of Magnesia
†c.
403 • Epiphanius of Cyprus †403 • John Chrysostom †407 • Synesius of Cyrene
†c.
414 • Theodore of Mopsuestia
(er) †c.
428 • Cyril of Alexandria †444 • Isidore of Pelusiot †c. 449 • Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite †before 532 • Leontius of Byzantium
†after 541 • Maximus the Confessor †662 • Isaac the Syrian †c. 700 • John of Damascus †753Latin patristics Tertullian †OK.
225 • Hippolytus of Rome †c. 235 • Cyprian of Carthage †258 • Novatian
(er) †c.
258 • Arnobius the Elder
†ca.
330 • Lactantium
†approx.
325 • Gaius Marius Victorinus
† after 363 • Hilary of Pictavia †367 • Ambrose of Milan †397 • Jerome of Stridon †420 or 430 • Aurelius Augustine †430 • Pelagius
(
er) †after 431 • Vincent of Lerins †before 450 • Peter X riceologist †450 •
Marcianus Capella
c.
425/428 • Claudian Mamert
†c.
473 • Anicius Manlius Torquatus Severinus Boethius
†524 or 526 •
Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus
†c. 578 • Martin of Braga †579/580 • Gregory the Great †604 • Isidore of Seville †636 • Bede the Venerable †735Oriental patristics Diodorus of Tarsus †c. 391 • Theodore of Mopsuestia †428 • Rabbula of Edessa †435 • Nestorius †c. 451 • Theodorite of Cyrus †457 • Barsauma of Nisibian †ca. 495 • Narsai of Nisibian †ca. 502 • Julian of Halicarnassus †after 518 • Sevirus of Antioch †538 • Isaac the Syrian †c. 700 (er) - convicted of heresy
First teachings
The next day Saint Macarius came to the elder and asked to become his teacher. The elder spent the whole day telling Macarius about the difficulties of living alone in the desert. At night, when Saint Macarius fell asleep, the elder began to fervently pray that the Lord would show him his purpose in the life of this young man. Soon a dream appeared to him of monks who called on the sleeping Macarius to rise and join their ranks to serve the Lord. He told this dream to Saint Macarius in the morning, urging him not to hesitate in his decision to leave the world for the sake of serving God.
