Prayers to Saint Macarius the Great. Prayer of Saint Macarius of Alexandria Life of Macarius the Great
Then the devil, unable to defeat the invincible, invented a new trick against him. One of the inhabitants of the village near which Macarius labored had a daughter, a girl, whom one young man, who also lived in this village, asked to give as his wife. But since the young man was very poor and, moreover, of simple rank, the girl’s parents did not agree to give their daughter in marriage to him, although the girl herself loved that young man. After some time, the girl turned out to be not idle. When she began to ask the young man what answer she should give to her parents, the latter, taught by the teacher of evil - the devil, told her:
“Tell me that the hermit who lives near us did this to you.”
The girl listened to the insidious advice and sharpened her tongue, like a snake’s, against the innocent monk. And so, when the parents noticed that the girl should be a mother, they began to ask her, beating her, who was responsible for her fall. The girl then answered:
“Your hermit, whom you consider a saint, is to blame for this.” Once, when I was outside the village and approached the place where he lives, the hermit met me on the road and did violence to me, and out of fear and shame I did not tell anyone about it until now.
Stung by these words, the girls, as if by arrows, her parents and relatives all rushed to the saint’s dwelling with loud screams and swear words. Having pulled Macarius out of his cell, they beat him for a long time, and then brought him with them to the village. Here, having collected many broken vessels and shards and tied them with rope, they hung him around the saint’s neck and in this form led him around the entire village, abusing him without mercy, beating him, pushing him, torturing him by the hair and kicking him. At the same time they exclaimed:
- This monk defiled our maiden, beat him everyone!
It happened at this time that a prudent person passed by. Seeing what was happening, he said to those beating the saint:
- How long will you beat an innocent wandering monk without knowing for sure whether the accusation against him is true? I think the devil is tempting you.
But they, not listening to the words of this man, continued to torture the saint. Meanwhile, the man who served Macarius for God's sake, selling his handicrafts, walked at a distance from the saint and wept bitterly, not being able to prevent him from beating the saint and freeing Macarius from the hands of those who "how the dogs surrounded him"(). And those beating the saint, turning around, rushed with abuse and threats at this man.
“That’s what the hermit you serve did,” they shouted! - and continued to beat Macarius with sticks until they satisfied their rage and anger; and Macarius remained half-dead on the road. The girl’s parents did not want to leave him now, but said:
“We won’t let him in until he provides us with guarantees that he will feed our daughter, whom he dishonored.”
Barely catching his breath, Macarius asked the man serving him;
- Friend! be my guarantor.
The latter, ready even to die for the saint, vouched for him, and, taking Macarius, completely exhausted from his wounds, with great effort took him to his cell. Having somewhat recovered from his wounds, Macarius began to work harder on his needlework, saying to himself:
“You now, Macarius, have a wife and children, and therefore you need to work day and night in order to provide them with the necessary food.
Making baskets, he sold them through the specified person, and sent the proceeds to feed the girl. When the time came for her to give birth, the righteous judgment of God befell her for slandering an innocent saint. For a long time she could not be relieved of her burden and suffered for many days and nights, crying bitterly from very severe pain. At the sight of her such torment, her parents suffered along with her and asked her in bewilderment:
-What happened to you?
Then the girl, although she strongly did not want it, was forced to reveal the truth. With loud cries she said:
- Oh, woe to me, damned one! I deserve terrible punishment for slandering the righteous, saying that he is the culprit of my fall. He is not the culprit of this, but the young man who wanted to marry me.
Hearing the girl’s screams, her parents and relatives who were near her were greatly amazed by her words; and strong fear fell upon them, and they were very ashamed that they dared to insult an innocent monk, a servant of the Lord, in such a way. In fear they cried out: “Woe to us!” Meanwhile, the news of what had happened spread throughout that village, and all its inhabitants, young and old, flocked to the house where the girl lived. Hearing the cries of the maiden there that the hermit was innocent of her shame, the inhabitants greatly reproached themselves and were very sad that they all beat the saint without mercy. After consulting with the girl’s parents, they all decided to go to the Monk Macarius and fall weeping at his feet, asking for forgiveness, so that the wrath of God would not befall them for offending an innocent person. Having learned this decision of theirs, the husband serving Macarius, who vouched for him, quickly ran to him and joyfully said to him:
- Rejoice, Father Macarius! - this day is happy and joyful for us, for God today has changed your former reproach and dishonor into glorification. And I no longer need to be a guarantor for you, for you turned out to be an impassive, righteous and glorious innocent sufferer. Today the judgment of God has befallen the one who unjustly accused you and slandered you, who was innocent. She cannot be relieved of her burden, and admitted that it was not you who was responsible for her fall, but one young man. Now all the inhabitants of the village, from young to old, want to come to you with repentance, in order to glorify God for your chastity and patience and to ask for your forgiveness, so that no punishment from the Lord befalls them for unjustly offending you.
The humble Macarius listened with regret to the words of this man: he did not want honor and glory from people, for it was much more pleasant for him to accept dishonor from people than honor; therefore, when night fell, he got up and left those places, going first of all to Mount Nitria, where he had once had a vision in a dream. After living there for three years in one cave, he went to see him, who was fasting in the Paranian desert, for Macarius had long heard about him, even when he lived in the world, and strongly wanted to see him. Received with love by the Monk Anthony, Macarius became his most sincere disciple and lived with him for a long time, receiving instructions for a perfect virtuous life and trying to imitate his father in everything. Then, on the advice of the Monk Anthony, Macarius retired to a solitary life in the hermitage desert, where he so shone with his exploits and was so successful in monastic life that he surpassed many of the brethren and received from them the name “elder youth,” since, despite his youth, discovered a completely senile life. Here Macarius had to fight demons day and night. Sometimes the demons clearly turned into various monsters and rushed with fury at the saint, sometimes in the form of armed warriors sitting on horses and galloping to battle; with a great cry, a terrible cry and noise, they rushed at the saint, as if intending to kill him. Sometimes demons raised an invisible war against the saint, instilling in him various passionate and unclean thoughts, trying in various cunning ways to shake this solid wall built by Christ and destroy it. However, they were in no way able to overcome this courageous fighter for the truth, who had God as his assistant and, like David, exclaimed:
– “Some in chariots (with weapons), others in horses, but I boast in the name of the Lord our God: they wavered and fell; with God I will show strength.”() and He will destroy all my enemies - the demons who attack me so fiercely.
One night, sleeping Macarius was surrounded by many demons who woke him up and said:
- Get up, Macarius, and sing with us, and don’t sleep.
The monk, realizing that this was a demonic temptation, did not get up, but, lying down, said to the demons:
– “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for your father the Devil.”() and you.
But they said:
- Why do you insult us, Macarius, by blaspheming us with such words?
“Is it possible,” the monk objected, “that one of the demons awakens someone to prayer and praise of God or instructs in a virtuous life?”
But the demons continued to call him to prayer, and for a long time they could not do this. Then, filled with rage and unable to bear the disdain from Macarius, they rushed at him in large numbers and began to beat him. The saint cried out to the Lord:
- Help me, Christ my God, and “You surround me with the joys of deliverance, for the dogs have surrounded me, they have opened their mouths against me.” ().
And suddenly the whole multitude of demons disappeared with a great noise.
Another time it happened that Macarius collected many palm branches in the desert for weaving baskets and carried them to his cell. On the way he was met by a devil with a sickle and wanted to hit the saint, but could not. Then he said to Macarius:
- Macarius! Because of you I suffer great sorrow, because I am unable to overcome you. Here I am, doing everything you do. You fast, I don’t eat anything at all; you are awake and I never sleep. However, there is one thing in which you are superior to me.
- What it is? – the monk asked him.
“Your humility,” answered the devil, “that’s why I cannot fight with you.”
When the Monk Macarius was forty years old, he received from God the gift of miracles, prophecy and power over unclean spirits. At the same time, he was ordained a priest and made abbot (abba) of the monks living in the monastery. There is no need to say much about his food and drink, that is, about how he fasted, because even the weakest of the brethren of his monastery could not be reproached either for overeating or for eating any refined food. Although this happened partly due to the lack of any refined food in those places, but mainly because of the competition of the monks staying there, who tried not only to imitate each other in fasting, but also to surpass each other. Various legends circulate among the fathers about other exploits of Macarius, this heavenly man. They say that the monk constantly ascended with his mind to the heights and most of his time directed his mind to God rather than to the objects of this world. Macarius often visited his teacher and received many instructions from him, conducting spiritual conversations with him. Together with two other disciples of the Monk Anthony, Macarius was honored to be present at his blessed death and, as some kind of rich inheritance, received Anthony’s staff, with which he supported his weak body on the road, dejected by old age and fasting exploits. Together with this staff of Anthony, the Monk Macarius received the spirit, just as the prophet Elisha once received such after Elijah the prophet (). By the power of this spirit, Macarius performed many wondrous miracles, to the narration of which we now move on.
One wicked Egyptian was inflamed with unclean love for a beautiful married woman, but could not persuade her to cheat on her husband, for she was chaste, virtuous and loved her husband. Strongly wanting to take possession of her, this Egyptian went to a certain sorcerer with a request that he, through his magical spells, arrange so that this woman would fall in love with him, or so that her husband would hate her and drive her away from him. The sorcerer, having received rich gifts from that Egyptian, used his usual magic, trying to use the power of magic spells to seduce the chaste woman into an evil act. Not being able to incline the woman’s unshakable soul to sin, the sorcerer charmed the eyes of everyone who looked at the woman, making her appear to everyone not as a woman with a human appearance, but as an animal with the appearance of a horse. The woman’s husband, coming home, was horrified to see a horse instead of his wife and was greatly surprised that an animal was lying on his bed. He addressed words to her, but received no response, only noticed that she was becoming furious. Knowing that it had to be his wife, he realized that this was done out of someone’s malice; Therefore, he was very upset and shed tears. Then he called the elders into his house and showed them his wife. But they could not understand that it was a man and not an animal, since their eyes were fascinated and they saw the animal. Three days have already passed since this woman began to seem like a horse to everyone. During this time she did not take food, because she could not eat either hay, like an animal, or bread, like a person. Then her husband remembered the Monk Macarius, and decided to take her to the desert to the saint. Having put a bridle on her, as if on an animal, he went to the dwelling of Macarius, leading behind him his wife, who had the appearance of a horse. When he approached the monk’s cell, the monks standing near the cell were indignant at him, why did he want to enter the monastery with a horse. But he told them:
“I came here so that this animal, through the prayers of Saint Macarius, would receive mercy from the Lord.
- What bad happened to her? - asked the monks.
“This animal you see,” the man answered them, “is my wife.” How she turned into a horse, I don’t know. But three days have already passed since this happened, and all this time she has not eaten any food.
Having heard his story, the brethren immediately hurried to the Monk Macarius to tell him about this, but he had already had a revelation from God, and he prayed for the woman. When the monks told the saint what had happened and pointed out to him the animal that had been brought, the monk said to them:
-You yourself are like animals, since your eyes see a bestial image. She, just as she was created by a woman, remains one, and has not changed her human nature, but only seems like an animal to your eyes, seduced by magic spells.
Then the monk blessed the water and poured it with prayer on the brought woman, and immediately she took on her usual human appearance, so that everyone, looking at her, saw a woman with the face of a man. Having ordered to give her food, the Saint made her completely healthy. Then both husband and wife and everyone who saw this wonderful miracle thanked God. Macarius instructed the healed woman to go to the temple of God as often as possible and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
“This happened to you,” said the monk, “because five weeks had passed since you had not received the Divine Mysteries.”
Having given instructions to the husband and wife, the Saint sent them away in peace.
In a similar way, Macarius healed one maiden, whom one magician had turned into a donkey, and who in this form was brought to the saint by her parents. He made the other girl, who was rotting from wounds and scabs and teeming with worms, completely healthy, anointing her with holy oil.
Quite a lot of people came to Saint Macarius different people- some asked for his prayers, blessings and fatherly guidance, others to be healed of their ailments. Due to such a large number of people coming to him, Macarius had little time to devote himself to the thought of God in solitude. Therefore, the monk dug a deep cave under his cell, about half a furlong in length, where he hid from those who constantly came to him and violated his contemplation and prayer.
The Monk Macarius received such blessed power from God that he could even resurrect the dead. And behold, there was a heretic named Jerakitus, who taught that resurrection of the dead will not be, he came from Egypt into the desert and confused the minds of the brethren who lived there. Then he came to the Monk Macarius and, in the presence of numerous brethren, competed with him about faith. Being himself skilled in words, he mocked the simplicity of the speeches of the monk. The Monk Macarius, noticing that the brethren were beginning to waver in faith from the speeches of this heretic, said to him:
“What good is it for us to argue with words, more for the hesitation of those listening to our dispute than for confirmation in the faith?” Let us go to the graves of our brothers who have died in the Lord, and whoever among us the Lord grants to raise the dead, then everyone will be convinced that his faith is right and is testified by God Himself.
The brethren approved of these words of the monk, and everyone went to the cemetery. There the Monk Macarius told Hierakitus to call from the grave some deceased member of the brethren. But Jerakitus said to Macarius:
- Do it first, because you yourself appointed such a test.
Then the Monk Macarius prostrated himself in prayer to the Lord and, after prolonged prayer, raised his eyes to the mountain and cried out to the Lord:
- God! You Yourself now reveal which of the two of us believes more correctly (in You), reveal this by arranging it in such a way that one of the dead lying here will rise from the grave.
Having prayed like this, the monk called one recently buried monk by name, and the dead man immediately answered his voice from the grave. Then the monks hastily dug up the grave and found their brother resurrected in it. Having untied the bandages that were on him, they brought him out of the grave alive. At the sight of such a wondrous miracle, Jerakit was so horrified that he fled. All the monks chased him away, as they drive away enemies, and drove him far beyond the borders of that land.
Another time, the Monk Macarius also resurrected another deceased person, as Abba Sisoes narrates.
“I was,” he says, “with the Monk Macarius in the monastery. At this time it was time for the grain harvest. Seven of the brethren were hired to do the harvest. During it, one widow picked up ears of corn after us and cried all the time. The Monk Macarius, calling the owner of the field, asked him:
- What happened to this woman, and why is she crying incessantly?
The owner of the field told the monk that the husband of that woman, having taken money from one person for safekeeping, suddenly died, not having time to reveal to his wife where he had put what he had taken. That is why the lender wants to take this woman and her children into slavery. Then Macarius said to him:
“Tell the woman to come to us at the place where we rest at noon.”
When she fulfilled the words of the monk and came to him, the Monk Macarius asked her:
- Why are you constantly crying, woman?
“Because,” the widow answered, “that my husband died suddenly, and shortly before his death he took gold from one person for safekeeping and did not tell me where he put the taken gold.”
“Show us where your husband is buried,” said Macarius.
Taking the brethren with him, the monk went to the indicated place. Approaching the grave of that widow’s husband, the monk said to her:
- Go to your home, woman!
Then, having prayed, Macarius called out to the dead man, asking him where he had put the gold he had taken. Then the dead man answered from the grave:
“I hid it in my house at the feet of my bed.”
“Rest again,” Abba Macarius told him, “until the day of the general resurrection!”
The brethren, seeing such a miracle, fell out of great fear at the feet of the monk. The elder said for the edification of the brethren:
“All this did not happen for my sake, for I am nothing, but for the sake of this widow and her children, God created this miracle.” Know that God wills for a sinless soul, and whatever it asks of Him, it receives.
Then the monk went to the widow and showed her where the gold taken by her husband was hidden. She took the hidden treasure and gave it to its owner, and thus delivered both herself and her children from slavery. Hearing about such a wondrous miracle, everyone glorified God.
But John did not listen to the monk and did not stop doing his evil deed. Fifteen or twenty years after the blessed death of the Monk Macarius, during which the said monk continued to work for Judas, who had imposed the noose of love of money on him, appropriating for himself part of the contents assigned for the poor, suddenly his whole body was struck by leprosy, and he died, not only destroying the property he collected sinfully, but also his soul.
One day the Monk Macarius went from the monastery to Mount Nitria with one of his disciples. When they were already approaching the mountain, the monk said to his disciple:
- Walk a little ahead of me.
The disciple went ahead of the monk and met a pagan priest hastily walking towards him and carrying a large log. Seeing him, the monk shouted:
– Do you hear, do you hear, you demon! Where are you going?
The priest stopped and beat the monk severely, so that he barely survived. Grabbing the thrown log, the priest ran away. A little later he met the Monk Macarius, who said to him:
- Save yourself, hard worker, save yourself.
Surprised by these words of the monk, the priest stopped and asked him:
“What good have you seen in me that you greet me with such words?”
“I see that you are working,” answered the monk.
Then the priest said:
“I was touched, Father, by your words, for through this I see that you are a man of God.” Here, in front of you, another monk met me, who scolded me, and I beat him to death.
And with these words the priest fell at the feet of the monk, hugging them and saying:
“I will not leave you, father, until you convert me to Christianity and make me a monk.”
And he went along with Saint Macarius. After walking a little, they came to the place where the monk lay beaten by the priest and found him barely alive. Having taken it, they brought it to Mount Nitria. The fathers living there, seeing the pagan priest together with the Monk Macarius, were very amazed. Then, having baptized him, they made him a monk, and for his sake many pagans converted to Christianity. Abba Macarius gave the following instruction on this occasion:
– Evil word“, he said, “and makes the good evil, but a good word makes the evil good.
One day the Monk Macarius came to the monastery of Abba Pamva. Here the elders asked the monk:
- Say, father, a word for the edification of the brethren.
Agreeing to their request, Macarius began to say this:
- Forgive me, for I am a bad monk; but I saw monks. So one day I was sitting in the monastery in my cell, and the thought came to me to go into the inner desert to see what was there. For five years I struggled with this thought, thinking that it was demons tempting me. But when, after five years, the same thought haunted me, I decided to go into the inner desert. Arriving there, I found a huge swamp, in the middle of which I saw an island. At this time, the desert animals came to drink water. Among the animals I saw two naked people, and my whole body trembled, for I thought that I was seeing disembodied spirits. Seeing that I was very frightened, these people said to me:
– Don’t be afraid, for we are people just like you.
Then I asked them:
-Where did you come to this desert from?
“We are from Kinovia,” they answered, “after consulting with each other, we decided to come here.” And now it’s been thirty years since we left the monastery. One of us is Egyptian, the other is Libyan.
Then they asked me:
– What situation is the world in now? Are the rivers still filling their streams? Does the earth abound in its usual fruits?
I answered them: “yes.” Then he asked them again:
- How can I become a monk?
They answered me:
– If a person does not renounce everything that is in the world, he cannot be a monk.
To this I said:
- I am weak, and therefore I cannot be like you.
“If you cannot be like us,” they said, “then sit in your cell and lament your sins.”
And again I asked them:
– When winter comes, do you suffer from severe cold? Likewise, when a very hot summer comes, are your bodies not scorched by the heat?
They answered me:
“The Lord God has given us such bodies that we do not suffer from frost in winter, nor from heat in summer.
“That’s why I told you, brethren,” the Monk Macarius finished his speech, “that I have not yet become a monk, but I have seen monks.”
Once the monk Macarius was asked by the monastery fathers how he achieved the fact that his body always remained thin? For not only when he fasts, but even when he eats food, his body always remains thin.
The Monk Macarius gave the following answer to those who questioned him:
– Just as a poker, which is used to turn over burning wood and brushwood in a stove, is always scorched by fire, so in a person who always directs his mind to the Lord and always keeps in mind the terrible torment in the fire of Gehenna, this fear not only consumes the body, but also dries up bones.
Then the brethren asked the monk again:
- Tell us, father, how should we pray?
The monk gave them the following instruction:
– Prayer does not require a lot of verbiage, but you need to raise your hands to the mountain and say: Lord! as You wish and as You Yourself know, have mercy on me. If the enemy raises a sinful war in the soul, one must only say: Lord have mercy. The Lord knows what is good for us and will show us mercy.
The monk answered him:
- Sit in your cell and lament your sins.
The prayer of St. Macarius had such power with God. Another time, the monk himself was caught up in the air and was transported across a great distance to where he needed to go. He was carrying baskets from the monastery and, tired from the long journey, sat down to rest. At the same time, he prayed to the Lord:
- God! You know that I am exhausted.
Immediately the monk found himself near the river where he needed to go.
Now is the time to tell about the blessed end of this Reverend Father, about which Serapion, the writer of his life, narrates this way.
Finally, it was necessary for the Monk Macarius, as a mortal man, to pay tribute to death, for he had already reached old age, being ninety-seven years old. The time of death did not remain unknown to the monk. Shortly before his death, two handsome men appeared to him in a vision and said:
- Rejoice, Macarius!
One of those who appeared was the Monk Anthony, the mentor and leader of the desert dwellers, and the other was the Monk Pachomius, the founder of the common monastic life. Then those who appeared said to Macarius:
“The Lord Jesus Christ sent us to announce to you your joyful death. On the ninth day after this day you will depart into eternal life. On that day, we will come to you again and joyfully take you with us, so that together with us you may appear before the Sovereign Throne and enjoy immortal life.
Having then said: “Peace be with you,” the saints became invisible to Macarius. Then the divine Macarius called his disciples and said to them:
- Children! Now the time has come for my departure from here, and I hand you over to the goodness of God. So, preserve the fatherly statutes and traditions of the fasters.
In addition, to some of whom the monk knew that they were more perfect than others in virtuous life, he entrusted the care of those newly entering monasticism, who were infants in their spiritual age. Having then laid his hands on his disciples, having sufficiently taught them and prayed for them, the monk began to prepare for his death. When the ninth day came from the time of the appearance of the Monks Anthony and Theodosius, a cherub with many angels appeared to the Monk Macarius and said to him:
“Rise up, follower of the Lord, and move with us into eternal life.” Lift your eyes around and see how many disembodied faces of saints have been sent by the Almighty to lead you to Him. Look: here is the apostolic council, here is a host of prophets, here are many martyrs, the face of saints, fasters, saints and righteous people. Now give me your soul, which I was commanded by God to protect during its earthly life; freed from the bonds of the flesh, like some great treasure, I will accept her with honor and, having gone through opposing forces, I will present her to the Divine Sovereign Throne, so that she will eternally rejoice with all the saints who have stood before the throne of God since the beginning of the world.
After these words of the cherub, blessed Macarius said goodbye to everyone who was with him and prayed to God for them; lifting up his eyes and stretching out his hands to the mountain, he said:
– Into Your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit!
And with these words he gave up his blessed soul to the Lord, leaving his disciples in deep sorrow for him.
The description of the life of the monk, Serapion, we add the following that he heard from the Monk Paphnutius, one of the disciples of the Monk Macarius. When the holy soul of Macarius was taken by the cherub and ascended into heaven, some of the fathers saw with their mental eyes that air demons stood in the distance and screamed:
- Oh, what glory you have been awarded, Macarius!
The saint answered the demons:
“I’m afraid, because I don’t know anything good that I would do.”
Then those of the demons who were even higher along the path of the following soul of Macarius screamed:
“You really escaped our hands, Macarius!”
But he said:
- No, but we still need to avoid it.
And when the monk was already at the gates of heaven, the demons, with a strong cry, shouted:
- He avoided us, he avoided us.
- Yes! Protected by the power of my Christ, I escaped your wiles.
Such is the life, death and transition to eternal life of our venerable father Macarius.
Having finished the story of the life of the saint, let us glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the One God, glorified in His saints forever. Amen.
Kontakion, tone 4:
In the house of the Lord of abstinence, truly place you, like a charmless star, guiding the ends of the Father of Fathers, Reverend Macarius.
Another kontakion, tone 1:
Having ended your blessed life in life, with the faces of martyrdom, you worthily settled in the land of the meek, God-bearing Macarius, and having inhabited the desert like a city, you received grace from the God of miracles: in the same way we honor you.
Life of Saint Macarius of Corinth
Compiled by Athanasius Parios, his friend
(as summarized by K. Kavarnos)1863, Chios
Corinth is the oldest and most famous city of the Peloponnese. Well known. That the Apostle Paul wrote two Epistles to the Corinthians, filled with Divine wisdom, instructed them and led them from false idolatry to the knowledge of the One True God.
St. Macarius was born and raised in this city. He came from an aristocratic family, belonging to the brilliant ancient family of Byzantine senators, the Notaros. St. Gerasim of Cephalonia, the glory and praise of all Orthodox Christians, who shone and continues to shine with his countless miracles, also belonged to this family.
Parents of St. Macarius, the most pious George and Anastasia, both occupied the first place in Corinth due to their origin and wealth. They had many children. In 1731 St. was born. Macarius, named Michael in holy baptism. His godfather was Archbishop Parthenius of Corinth.
When the boy reached school age, he was sent to Eustathius in Cephalonia to study church literacy. From an early age, Mikhail showed a desire only for the spiritual. He was not interested in anything worldly. He lived very piously. He strove to attend church services and avoided the company of youths and worldly vanity.
With the help of his father, who was an influential politician, Mikhail became the manager of several villages. The father wanted his son to become rich in this way. However, Mikhail distributed considerable sums of money to the needy, and his father often scolded him. In the end, Mikhail decided to leave everything worldly and become a monk. He secretly fled to Mega Spilion (“Great Cave”), a famous monastery in the Peloponnese. Here he tearfully asked the monks to fulfill his wish. But since he came without the permission of his powerful father, they refused. And, indeed, a few days later, having learned that Mikhail was in the monastery, his father ordered him to be returned home, even against his will.
Back in parents' house, Michael began reading and studying the Divine Scripture and other spiritual books. Later, since the school of Corinth did not have a teacher, he volunteered to teach the children. So he worked for six years without any pay.
In 1764, when the Archbishop of Corinth died, all the inhabitants of the Corinthian region, clergy and laity, rich and poor, old and young, unanimously elected the pious Michael as a candidate for the bishopric. (After he was chosen as a candidate, he was tonsured a monk with the name Macarius). So, equipped with pleading letters of recommendation, accompanied by noble people, he went to Constantinople and appeared before the Holy Synod. The patriarch at this time was Samuel I Haizeris. In Constantinople, Macarius was ordained Archbishop of Corinth.
When he returned to the diocese entrusted to him by God, he saw how great the love was for him: all the Christians in this area celebrated the day of his return, rejoicing, glorifying God for hearing their prayers and giving them such a good shepherd. And indeed, they were not mistaken in their expectations. For as in the early childhood of St. Macarius showed signs of the greatness of his soul and zeal for everything good, and now, when he became a bishop, he confirmed all this with deeds. Like St. Gregory the Theologian, he believed that he received the rank of bishop not as uncontrolled power and a means of pleasure and acquisition of wealth, but as a fatherly concern for the safety and salvation of his spiritual flock, for which he would be responsible to the highest Shepherd, the Lord and God of all.
With such thoughts, he, as a faithful and prudent ruler, began to saturate with spiritual food Divine word hungry souls. He preached in holy churches with great love, kindness and humility. Until that time, as a result of either the neglect or lack of education of his predecessors, his entire diocese was full of disorder and lawlessness, and church society was in a corrupt state. St. Macarius. Like the new Zerubbabel, he began with great zeal and zeal to restore church life, freeing it from all corruption. First of all, he dismissed all insufficiently educated priests, as well as those who were unable to adequately perform priestly service due to their advanced age. Then he forbade all priests to take part in politics, because at that time in many places there was a bad custom when the same persons were priests and “hojambasides”. He banned those who did not obey this regulation from the priesthood. When ordaining priests, he strictly observed the Apostolic and Council rules. He never ordained priests or other clergy for money. He elevated to the priesthood only those who were worthy by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, he did not ordain anyone who had not reached the appropriate age, despite the fact that there was a need for priests in his diocese. Testing those who wanted to become priests, he sent all those who were not sufficiently prepared to monasteries so that they could spend the money on education and training that they would previously have paid for ordination. He also did not ordain deacons as priests without first teaching them the correct performance of all church services, and distributed the Catechism to all clergy for study. In all the cities and villages of his region, he installed large baptismal fonts in order to holy baptism was performed according to all the rules of our Holy Orthodox Church. The holy hierarch performed many other instructive and saving deeds. He built schools throughout his diocese and shepherded his verbal flock with godly, fatherly care.
But in 1768, during the reign of Sultan Mustafa, a war began between the Russians and the Turks, and the Russian fleet appeared near the Peloponnese. Father St. Macaria, foreseeing and fearing tragic consequences, took him and his entire family and headed to the island of Zakynthos. On the way, they encountered pirates who took everything they had from them. Fortunately, without taking any of their lives. So, after much suffering they came to Zakynthos. The inhabitants of the island received them with kindness and sympathy and provided them with clothing and food. They showed special honor to St. Macarius, who was revered as the new apostle of Christ.
Later, Macarius went to the island of Kefalonia in order to venerate the relics of St. Gerasima. Three months later he returned to Zakynthos and lived there for another three years. He then went to the island of Hydra, where he remained in a monastery Holy Mother of God until peace was restored between the Russians and the Turks in 1774.
At this time, the Synod of Constantinople ordained a new Archbishop of Corinth. But in order to soften the grief of St. Macarius, the Synod allowed him to serve unhindered as a bishop, wherever he was.
A year later, St. Macarius went to Chios. From there he soon went to Holy Athos, where he had long sought to go. However, he did not find a calm spiritual haven of salvation on Athos. On the contrary, he was met by a raging sea. He was immediately approached by those who performed funeral services on Sundays and asked him if he approved of their practice. He answered in the negative. When the former Patriarch of Alexandria Matthew and St. died in the Kutlumush monastery. Macarius was invited to serve a memorial service for him on the fortieth day, which fell on Sunday; he not only refused to serve, but wrote the following to those close to the deceased patriarch: “Why do you prefer to serve memorial services on Sunday and skip other days of the week, and thus violate the rules and regulations Churches that prohibit doing this? I have never and will never perform funeral services for the dead on Sunday.” After this, those close to the deceased patriarch began to threaten him and sent his letter to the Ecumenical Patriarch.
Distressed by all this, St. Macarius left Athos and returned to Chios. From here he headed to Patmos, where he met and became friends with the holy fathers Niphon of Chios, Gregory of Nisyros and Athanasius of Armenia. All of them also left Saint Athos several years earlier due to scandals associated with funeral services.
A year later, Father St. Macaria died. At the request of his brothers, St. Macarius came to Hydra, and together they headed to Corinth. Here they peacefully divided their father's inheritance under the supervision of St. Makaria. He gave his brothers his full share, and after that he asked them to bring him records of all his father’s debtors. He threw these records into the fire, thus freeing a huge number of people from debt. Whole families of debtors praised their benefactor, St. Macarius and they called him a saint.
After this St. Macarius returned to Chios. Here he received letters of recommendation and went with them to Smyrna to meet with John Mavrogordatos. The last we heard about St. Macarius, received him with respect and reverence. As a man of God. He not only gladly extended the hospitality of St. Macarius in his home, but also gave him money for the publication of the holy Philokalia, a wonderful spiritual book. Under the influence of the teachings of St. Macarius, John turned his house into a holy dwelling, where vespers and matins were constantly served, and all fasts were strictly observed.
Later St. Macarius returned to Chios, wanting to spend the rest of his life in the desert (hesychasterion), doing spiritual work. He bought the hermitage of St. from the city of Chios. Peter in the northern part of the island and settled there with his Chios disciple Jacob. This monk served St. Macarius until his holy death.
At the same time, the Chios hieromonk Niphon, with whom St. Macarius met earlier, together with several monks he went to the island of Ikaria. There they tried to build a monastery for themselves. But they didn't have enough money. St. Macarius helped them through donations from benefactors of Smyrna and Chios. Thanks to this help, a small communal monastery was built on the island. St. Macarius went there and lived there for some time with the holy fathers, his friends. He then returned to his desert on Chios. The fertile nature of this place had a very beneficial effect on him, especially in view of his poor health, due to which he had previously constantly suffered. Living in the desert, he felt good and, being away from noisy cities and worldly bustle, enjoyed the silence.
As one of the ancient Fathers of the Church wrote: “The holy people of God, fearing harm from vanity and arrogance, strive in any way to hide their virtues from human eyes. Therefore, we can only know those achievements of theirs that God shows for the benefit of others, or that become known later, thanks to their disciples.” It is truth. We can also say about St. Macarius. Only God the Omniscient saw and knew his struggle and spiritual exploits in the desert, for, striving to please only Him, St. Macarius hid them more carefully than a vicious person hides his crimes. That's why we write here about St. Macarius only what many have definitely learned, and what every modern resident of Chios knows: about his constant long fasts, in addition to the canonical ones, which he observed with great severity, as well as the dogmas of faith, without any doubt. That the Holy Canons are not human institutions, but of the Holy Spirit. He was completely different from today's Christians, who show indifference and contempt for the Holy Canons, considering them the teachings of common people, and not written according to the reasoning and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, constantly shamelessly violating them, eating fish and meat and saying at the same time that God is nowhere did not command a person to fast.
St. Macarius, who observed both the canonical and additional fasts that he imposed on himself, considered wine and oil to be two main enemies, claimed that they were harmful to health, and ate them only on Saturday and Sunday. On other days, he ate vegetables and (flour products, such as pasta) boiled in water. About fasting, all-night vigils, prostrations and unceasing prayers of St. We know Macarius for sure from the stories of many people, especially his disciple Jacob. And there is no doubt that St. Macarius, through such an ascetic life, achieved the likeness of God and was kindled with the fire of Divine love. Proof of this are the wonderful works of Divine grace that are still accomplished today through turning to him. Thus, the exploits of St. Macarius, invisible to many during his lifetime, are now confirmed by events that are obvious and known to everyone. And as Holy Father Isaac the Syrian writes: “It is impossible for those who tirelessly lead such a lifestyle to remain without the great gifts of God, since they have acquired inner attention, sobriety of heart and freedom from worrying about worldly affairs. The soul that labors and ascends in its quest for God acquires cherubic eyes. By which he contemplates the eternally heavenly.” So, according to the words of the Divine teacher St. Isaac, St. Macarius, with his Divine gifts and his pure prayer, revealed himself to be a true equal-angel contemplator of heavenly things.
The Holy Fathers teach that prayer is a conversation with God. Everyone who heard St. Macarius in church reading psalms and Holy Gospel, confess that his reading was truly a conversation with God. Continuous, quiet, calm, it undoubtedly reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. If we admit this about his reading and prayer in church, then how much higher his cell prayer should have been, more spiritual, detached from everything material and human. Undoubtedly, at this time his mind was entirely directed to God, and the ears of God reached not only what came from the mouth of the saint. Macarius, but also all his reverent and beautiful thoughts.
All this is good and worthy of praise. But this is a consequence of concern for one’s own salvation and does not yet prove love for one’s neighbor, without which, as the Divine Apostle Paul says, everything is useless and in vain. The Lord gives us in the Gospel the concept of such love: “ Love your neighbor as yourself» (Matthew 19:19). And the divinely inspired Macarius fulfilled his duty to his neighbor. He constantly repeated the words of the Apostle of the Gentiles: “ For we are partners with God» (1 Cor.3:9), meaning that we must help our brothers with all our might in the salvation of their souls. Therefore, he sought to benefit all Christians and prepare for them the path to the Kingdom of Heaven with his fatherly advice, instructions and instructive books. Thus, Theodore of Byzantium, Demetrius of the Peloponnese and many others were inspired to martyrdom after reading the composition of St. Macarius’ book “Martyrology” about the spiritual exploits of the martyrs. And we heard the layman from Enos say that he had carefully read the Philokalia twice and intended to study it a third time.
How great was the desire of St. Macarius shows the following for the salvation of all Christians: after reading the small book “Christian Apologia” and being moved by it, he collected 500 copper coins to reprint this instructive book.
It should be added that St. Macarius. While in monastic solitude in the desert of St. Peter, constantly preached to the parishioners of the Church of St. Peter, as well as to all those who gathered from other places to this church for the Divine Liturgy. During fasts, he visited other churches in the area, where he preached the word of God calmly and meekly, like the apostles, of whom he was a strict follower. Undoubtedly, his sermons were fruitful. Firstly, his listeners saw before them the Bishop of Corinth, dressed in very poor vestments and addressing them with humility. Secondly, instead of receiving money for his work, he offered monetary assistance to those in need: one to pay debts, another for his daughter’s wedding, and many others for other needs. The following incident demonstrates the fruitfulness of the preaching and teaching of the Saint: a woman from a neighboring village found three pounds of silk and was looking for the one who had lost it in order to return it. To those who were surprised, she said: “How can I leave this silk when the blessed one will never allow us to do this?” When they asked her who this blessed one was, she answered: “Archbishop of Corinth. He taught us that if we find something that belongs to another, we must return it to the person who lost it, otherwise we will sin. And moreover, we should not ask for a reward for the return of the loss."
However, this great love of St. Macarius to his neighbors, his sympathy for their needs began to disturb his peace a lot, especially when, on the advice of friends, those in need began to come to him not only from nearby places, but also from distant areas. And since some of them needed significant help, the holy father was forced to turn to wealthy people for alms for the needy. Since he did not want to annoy others, but also could not let go empty-handed of those who came to him for help, he was forced to temporarily leave the island of Chios for the island of Patmos.
Let us now say a few more words about his publications. Book of St. Macarius “On the Constant Communion of the Divine Sacraments” contains nothing more than statements from the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, the canons of the Apostles and Councils, statements of the Holy Fathers and explanations of them in modern Greek. They all contain the same teaching that frequent Communion of the Divine Sacraments is holy and leads to salvation. Thus, this book is completely legal and canonical. But for a while, injustice and anger took over. So, one stupid Athonite monk, after reading this book, sent it to the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople, writing as much bad things as he could about it. Procopius of the Peloponnese, formerly Bishop of Smyrna. He was elevated to the patriarchal throne at that time. Angered by the accusations, he, on behalf of the Synod, condemned the book of St. Macarius as uncanonical and harmful and threatened to impose severe penance on those who dare to read it. The monks of Saint Athos fought with all their might to have the patriarch’s decision revised, but to no avail. Later, when Neophytos from Smyrna became patriarch (in 1789), a close friend of St. Macarius, he reversed his predecessor's decision regarding the book. And he sent the saint the following letter:
“Holy Metropolitan, former Corinthian, beloved brother and co-hidden Macarius in the Holy Spirit, grace and peace from God for your bishopric! Regarding your work “On the Constant Communion of the Holy Sacraments,” which you published, we inform you that it was examined by the Synod, carefully studied and approved. It is ecclesiologically legal and does not contain anything that prevents a Christian from being worthy through repentance and true confession to partake of the Most Pure and Terrible Mysteries of Christ. Your named book was approved by the Synod as instructive and leading to salvation. And all who wish to purchase and read it are free to do so, and should be guided by their confessors in any questions that arise.
Due to rumors being spread that a church decree has been issued condemning this work of yours, which is why pious Christians avoid reading it, we have written this letter and, by the will of the Holy Spirit, have issued a decree canceling the previous one, that all Christians who have read, are reading or will read this book of yours, namely “On the Constant Communion of the Holy Sacraments,” are forgiven and blessed by the Almighty Lord and freed from all church penances and curses, and have the blessing of all the saints and God-inspired Fathers of the Church. Now, knowing this, leave all prejudice towards your work, for which you will receive a reward from God. May His grace always be with your holiness.".
Although St. Macarius published many instructive books; this book “On Constant Communion...”, written by him with great zeal, can rightly be called the source of eternal life.
This is all we wanted to say about the publications of our Holy Father. Now let's talk about his other pious deeds. In the field of Christ, that is, in martyrdom, Jesus Christ himself is the Judge and bestows crowns. A fighter is one who suffers and dies for the glory of Christ, and his opponent is the devil with his tools, enemies and persecutors of the holy Christian faith. True. That fighters do not enter the arena of martyrdom without fortitude. But as the Lord says: “ The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak» (Matthew 26:41). Gregory the Theologian argues that words of support bring considerable courage to the souls of those who have chosen martyrdom. Everyone has a responsibility to provide this support. And St. Macarius did just that. Fulfilling the gospel commandment: “ And he who comes to Me I will not cast out» (John 6:37), he readily received everyone and not only encouraged with words, but also left in his desert for many days those who needed further preparation. Teaching them and strengthening them with fasts and prayers. Among those in whose souls St. Macarius lit the fire of Divine love; Polydorus of Cypriot stands out especially (he suffered martyrdom at the hands of the Turks on September 3, 1794 in New Ephesus). He actually showed the good changes that had occurred in him. So, one evening he stood at the door of the hotel and loudly exclaimed: “The Lord will bless you for all the good that you have done to me.” Another time when Fr. When Jacob called Polydorus to dinner, he saw him in a distant place crying and sobbing. He told St. about this. Macarius, and the Saint said: “Let him cry, for crying is dear to God and leads to salvation.”
The same influence of St. Macarius influenced the soul of Theodore of Byzantium. Theodore was previously afraid of death, but thanks to St. Macarius, he overcame his cowardice and boldly rushed towards death for the sake of Christ (he came from the town of Neochori (a suburb of Constantinople, and in ancient times called Byzantium), and was hanged by the Turks on February 17, 1795 in Mytilene).
Also St. Macarius influenced the immature, uneducated soul of Demetrius of the Peloponnese. When Demetrius was led to execution, he turned to heaven and exclaimed: “I thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, for deigning me unworthy of this blessed moment of martyrdom” (he was beheaded in Tripolis Peloponnese on April 13, 1803).
We think that we have the right to assert that St. Macarius, this mentor of the glorious martyrs, in fact himself belongs to them. St. Basil the Great calls the martyrs saints. Therefore, our Saint Macarius, who for many days and nights instructed and strengthened those who were about to enter the arena of martyrdom, the saint who kindled in their hearts the fire of love for Christ and the desire to suffer for His sake, is even more worthy to be considered equal to the martyrs. And just as the righteous crown was placed on the heads of the martyrs, because, according to the word of the Apostle Paul, they ended the struggle and preserved the faith, so the righteous crown was placed on the head of St. Makaria. Who, with his instructions and zeal in word and deed, was with them, their comrade-in-arms and helper.
But the time came when this Divine Father had to pay the common, inevitable duty of nature. As soon as he completed the collection of lives of holy ascetics and martyrs, ancient and modern, which he entitled “New Limonarion,” he began to worry about publishing this book. However, he suddenly suffered from apoplexy, and the entire right half of his body was paralyzed. His kind and beneficent hand stopped moving.
Thus suffering and weaving his crown in patience, he thanked the benevolent God and wept incessantly, saying that God had punished him for his sins and he still had not repented. We came to him one day and saw him crying and lamenting that, having been punished by God, he could not repent. We told him: “Reverend Father, it is true that you do not repent, for your conscience cannot condemn you for violating the Divine commandments, since you have kept them all your life.” But still, tears flowed like a river from his eyes. And so it was for all eight months from September 1 to April 17 - the day that became the last day of his earthly life.
At this time, Christians of all ages and classes came to him to receive his holy blessing. He confessed and received the Holy Sacraments daily. His close friend, Saint Nilos Kalognomos, stayed next to him, talking and consoling. They thought together and philosophized about the spiritual and contemplative, since the mind of St. Macarius remained intact until the Saint's last breath.
April 4/17, 1795 St. Macarius gave up his spirit in the hands of God and entered the ranks of saints, martyrs, ascetics and saints.
His body was buried on the south side of St. Petra. What he wished and predicted came true. When two years before the death of St. Macarius, his cell attendant Jacob fell ill and was already on the verge of death, the brethren asked the saint. Macarius, where he would like them to dig a grave for Jacob. When the saint heard this, he was deeply moved and said: “I want a grave to be dug first for me, and then for this good old man.”
And so it happened. Only after the transfer of the holy relics of Macarius took place, his disciple Jacob died and was buried in the same grave.
The omnipotent and all-creating grace of the Holy Spirit, revealed in the great miracles of St. Macarius, confirms that he pleased God and achieved holiness. Let no one doubt the reality of these miracles, for the stories about them were recorded not in some distant and foreign countries, but in the city of Chios itself during the lifetime of those who suffered mortally and incurably, but were healed by turning to the Saint with faith, and who confessed and proclaimed these healings publicly.
Zerubbabel - old, under his leadership the Jews restored the Temple in Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity.
“Hojambasides” is a word of Turkish origin that denoted the heads of communities or councils of elders. Their main duty was representation before the Turkish authorities.
As other authors point out, not only Macarius, but also other Peloponnesian bishops were replaced at that time by order of the Sultan. Following the outbreak of the Russian-Turkish war. The Greeks in the Peloponnese, encouraged by Russia, rebelled against the Turks. The Turks immediately suspected the Peloponnesian bishops of inciting the uprising. These suspicions against Macarius were unfounded, since he forbade the clergy of his diocese to participate in politics and was occupied exclusively with spiritual affairs all his life. Depriving him of his diocese, the Ecumenical Patriarch decided to assign him an annual allowance of 100 gracias.
They were named after the ancient holy forefathers - Abraham and Sarah, for the father of the Monk Macarius was called Abraham (he was a presbyter), while Macarius' mother bore the name Sarah. Since the marriage of Macarius’s parents was barren, they decided to lead a chaste life, however, not being separated from each other, but living together. So, for many years Macarius’s parents lived, united by spiritual cohabitation, and not carnal. They decorated their lives with abstinence and fasting, frequent prayers, unflagging vigil, generous giving of alms, hospitality and many other virtues. At that time, by Divine will, barbarians attacked Egypt and plundered all the property of the inhabitants of Egypt. Together with others, Macarius’s parents lost all their property, which is why they even wanted to leave their fatherland to some other country.
But one night, when Macarius’s father Abraham was sleeping, the Holy Patriarch Abraham appeared to him in a dream, in the form of a venerable, gray-haired old man in shiny clothes. The Holy Patriarch who appeared consoled Abraham in his misfortune, commanding him to trust in the Lord and not to leave the borders of Egypt, but to move to the village of Ptinapor, located in the same country. At the same time, Patriarch Abraham predicted to the parent of Macarius that God would soon bless him with the birth of a son, just as He once blessed Patriarch Abraham himself when he was a stranger in the land of Canaan, giving him a son in his old age (Gen. 21:2). Having awakened from sleep, Presbyter Abraham recounted the vision he had had to his wife Sarah, and they both gave praise to God. Immediately after this, Abraham and Sarah moved to the indicated village of Ptinapor, which was located not far from the Nitrian desert. All this happened according to Divine will, so that the son who was born from them - the Monk Macarius - would more deeply love the desert life, to which he devoted himself, as we will see later, with all his soul. During the residence of Macarius's parents in the village of Ptinapor, it happened that Macarius's father, Abraham, became so ill that he was close to death. One night, when he was lying on his sick bed, he saw in a dream vision that an angel of the Lord came out of the altar in the temple where Abraham served, and, approaching him, said:
Abraham, Abraham! arise from your bed.
Abraham answered the angel:
I'm sick, sir, and that's why I can't get up.
Then the angel, taking the sick man by the hand, said to him with meekness:
God has had mercy on you, Abraham: He heals you from your illness and gives you His favor, for your wife Sarah will give birth to a son, the same as blessedness. He will be the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, for in angelic form he will live on earth and will lead many to God.
Having awakened after this vision, Abraham felt completely healthy; filled with fear and joy, he immediately told his wife Sarah everything that he had seen in the vision and what the angel had told him. The truth of this vision was confirmed by his sudden healing from a serious illness. And both of them, Abraham and Sarah, thanked the most merciful Lord God. Soon after this, Sarah conceived in old age, and, after a certain time, she gave birth to a male child, who was named Macarius, which means “blessed,” and was enlightened with holy baptism.
When the youth Macarius reached adulthood and learned to understand the Holy Scriptures, his parents, as if forgetting what was predicted about him by the angel who appeared in a vision to Abraham, wished for Macarius to enter into marriage, although Macarius himself had no desire for this. On the contrary, he resisted with all his might the persuasion of his parents, wanting to become engaged to a single incorruptible bride - a pure and immaculate virgin life. However, submitting to the will of his parents, Macarius obeyed them, putting himself entirely into the hands of the Lord and hoping that He would show him the future path of life. After the wedding feast, when the newlyweds were brought into the wedding room, Macarius pretended to be sick and did not touch his bride, praying from the depths of his heart to the one true God and placing his trust in Him, so that the Lord would soon grant him to leave worldly life and become monk A few days later, one of Macarius’s relatives happened to go to Mount Nitria to bring from there saltpeter, which was there in huge quantities, which is why the mountain itself was called “Nitria.” At the request of his parents, Macarius went with him. Having arrived, on the way there, to Lake Nitria, Macarius moved away from his companions, wanting to take a little rest from the journey, and fell asleep. And so, in a dream vision, a certain wondrous man appeared before him, shining with light, who said to Macarius:
Macarius! Look at these desert places and examine them carefully, for you are destined to dwell here.
Waking up from sleep, Macarius began to reflect on what was said to him in the vision, and was at a loss as to what would happen to him. At that time, no one had yet settled in the desert, except for Anthony the Great and the unknown hermit Paul of Thebes, who labored somewhere in the inner desert and was seen only by Anthony. When, after a three-day journey to Mount Nitria, Macarius and his companions returned home, he found his wife suffering from such a severe fever that she was already dying. Soon she died before the eyes of Macarius, passing into eternal life as an immaculate virgin. Macarius thanked God that He had vouchsafed him to see the death of his wife and, for his edification, he reflected on his death in the following way:
Pay attention to yourself, Macarius,” he said, “and take care of your soul, for you too will soon have to leave this earthly life.
And from that time on, Macarius no longer began to care about anything earthly, constantly remaining in the temple of the Lord and reading the Holy Scriptures. Macarius's parents, seeing the kind of life he led, did not dare to even mention a woman's name in his presence, but they were very happy about his chaste life. Meanwhile, Abraham, the father of Macarius, had already entered old age and became very ill, so that he lost his sight from old age and illness. Blessed Macarius cared for his elderly and sick father with love and zeal. Soon the elder departed to the Lord, and six months after his death, Sarah, the mother of Macarius, also died in the Lord. The Monk Macarius buried his parents in an ordinary Christian burial, and became completely free from the bonds of the flesh, distributing all his property to the poor after their burial to commemorate the souls of the deceased. There was great sadness in Macarius’s heart that now he no longer had anyone to whom he could reveal his secret and receive good advice for a God-pleasing life. Therefore, he earnestly began to pray to God to send him a good mentor who would guide him on the path to salvation.
After some time, the Day of celebration of the memory of one saint arrived, in whose honor, according to the custom of his parents, Macarius wished to organize a holiday. In view of this, he prepared dinner, intending it not so much for his neighbors as for the poor and wretched. While attending a church service on this day, Macarius saw one venerable elder, a monk, enter the temple. This monk had long gray hair and a beard that reached almost to his waist; his face was pale from prolonged fasting; His whole appearance was splendid, for his inner spiritual image was adorned with the beauty of his virtues. This elder lived not far from the village of Ptinapor in a deserted place, where he had a hermit’s cell. He never showed himself to any people, and only on this day, according to Divine dispensation, he came to the church located in the village to partake of the Most Pure Mysteries of Christ. At the end of the Divine Liturgy, Macarius begged this monk to come to his house for a common meal. After the meal, when everyone invited by Macarius had gone home, Macarius detained the monk and, taking him to a secluded place, fell at the feet of the elder and said to him:
Father! let me come to you tomorrow morning, because I want to ask your experienced advice regarding the future of my life!
Come, child,” the elder answered, “whenever you wish,” and with these words he left Macarius.
The next day, early in the morning, Macarius came to the elder and revealed to him the secret of his heart, that he wanted to work with all his might for the Lord, and together he earnestly asked the elder to teach him what he should do to save his soul. With soulful conversations, the elder kept Macarius with him for the whole day, and when the sun set, they ate a little bread and salt, and the elder ordered Macarius to go to bed. The elder himself began to pray, fixing his mind on grief; when deep night came, he came into an ecstatic state and saw a cathedral of monks dressed in white robes and having wings. They walked around the sleeping Macarius and said:
Arise, Macarius, and begin the service indicated to you by God; do not put it off until another time, for the lazy man acts unwisely, but the lazy man earns his wages.
The holy elder told Macarius this vision in the morning and, releasing him from him, gave him the following instruction:
Child! whatever you intend to do, do it quickly, because God is calling you for the salvation of many. Therefore, from now on, do not be lazy in deeds pleasing to God!
Having taught Macarius instructions regarding prayer, vigil and fasting, the elder sent him away in peace. Returning home from the elder, blessed Macarius distributed all his property to the poor, leaving nothing for himself even for basic needs. Having thus freed himself from all everyday worries and having become like a beggar himself, Macarius again came to the elder in order to completely devote himself to the service of the Lord that he had long desired. The elder lovingly received the humble young man, showed him the beginnings of silent monastic life and taught him the usual monastic handicraft - basket weaving. At the same time, the elder arranged a separate cell for Macarius, not far from his own, for he himself loved to serve the Lord in solitude. He took his new student to the newly built cell, again teaching him the necessary instructions about prayer, food and handicrafts. So blessed Macarius, with the help of God, began to undergo difficult monastic service and day by day he succeeded in monastic deeds. Some time later, the bishop of that country happened to come to the village of Ptinapor, and he, having learned from the inhabitants of the village about the exploits of Blessed Macarius, called him to himself and, against his wishes, made him a clergyman of the local church, although Macarius was still young. But Saint Macarius, burdened by the position of cleric, which disrupted his silent life, ran away from there a few days later and settled in a deserted place near another village. One reverent man of simple rank came here to him, who began to serve Macarius, selling his handicrafts and buying him food with the proceeds. The hater of all good - the devil, seeing how he was defeated by the young monk, planned a battle against him and began to fight intensely with him, building various intrigues against him, sometimes instilling in him sinful thoughts, sometimes attacking him in the form of various monsters. When Macarius was awake at night, standing in prayer, the devil shook his cell to the very foundation, and sometimes, turning into a snake, crawled along the ground and furiously rushed at the saint. But blessed Macarius, protecting himself with prayer and the sign of the cross, never considered the machinations of the devil, exclaiming, as David once did:
- "You will not be afraid of the terrors in the night, the arrows that fly by day, the plagues that walk in the darkness."(Ps.90:5).
Then the devil, unable to defeat the invincible, invented a new trick against him. One of the inhabitants of the village near which Macarius labored had a daughter, a girl, whom one young man, who also lived in this village, asked to give as his wife. But since the young man was very poor and, moreover, of simple rank, the girl’s parents did not agree to give their daughter in marriage to him, although the girl herself loved that young man. After some time, the girl turned out to be not idle. When she began to ask the young man what answer she should give to her parents, the latter, taught by the teacher of evil - the devil, told her:
Tell me that the hermit who lives near us did this to you.
The girl listened to the insidious advice and sharpened her tongue, like a snake’s, against the innocent monk. And so, when the parents noticed that the girl should be a mother, they began to ask her, beating her, who was responsible for her fall. The girl then answered:
Your hermit, whom you consider a saint, is to blame for this. Once, when I was outside the village and approached the place where he lives, the hermit met me on the road and did violence to me, and out of fear and shame I did not tell anyone about it until now.
Stung by these words, the girls, as if by arrows, her parents and relatives all rushed to the saint’s dwelling with loud screams and swear words. Having pulled Macarius out of his cell, they beat him for a long time, and then brought him with them to the village. Here, having collected many broken vessels and shards and tied them with rope, they hung him around the saint’s neck and in this form led him around the entire village, abusing him without mercy, beating him, pushing him, torturing him by the hair and kicking him. At the same time they exclaimed:
This monk has defiled our maiden, beat him everyone!
It happened at this time that a prudent person passed by. Seeing what was happening, he said to those beating the saint:
How long will you beat an innocent wandering monk without knowing for sure whether the accusation against him is true? I think the devil is tempting you.
But they, not listening to the words of this man, continued to torture the saint. Meanwhile, the man who served Macarius for God's sake, selling his handicrafts, walked at a distance from the saint and wept bitterly, not being able to prevent him from beating the saint and freeing Macarius from the hands of those who " how the dogs surrounded him" (Ps. 21:17). And those beating the saint turned around and rushed with abuse and threats at this man.
This is what the hermit you serve did, they shouted! - and continued to beat Macarius with sticks until they satisfied their rage and anger; and Macarius remained half-dead on the road. The girl’s parents did not want to leave him now, but said:
We will not let him in until he provides us with guarantees that he will feed our daughter, whom he has dishonored.
Barely catching his breath, Macarius asked the man serving him;
Friend! be my guarantor.
The latter, ready even to die for the saint, vouched for him, and, taking Macarius, completely exhausted from his wounds, with great effort took him to his cell. Having somewhat recovered from his wounds, Macarius began to work harder on his needlework, saying to himself:
You now, Macarius, have a wife and children, and therefore you need to work day and night in order to provide them with the necessary food.
Making baskets, he sold them through the specified person, and sent the proceeds to feed the girl. When the time came for her to give birth, the righteous judgment of God befell her for slandering an innocent saint. For a long time she could not be relieved of her burden and suffered for many days and nights, crying bitterly from very severe pain. At the sight of her such torment, her parents suffered along with her and asked her in bewilderment:
What happened to you?
Then the girl, although she strongly did not want it, was forced to reveal the truth. With loud cries she said:
Oh, woe to me, damned one! I deserve terrible punishment for slandering the righteous, saying that he is the culprit of my fall. He is not the culprit of this, but the young man who wanted to marry me.
Hearing the girl’s screams, her parents and relatives who were near her were greatly amazed by her words; and strong fear fell upon them, and they were very ashamed that they dared to insult an innocent monk, a servant of the Lord, in such a way. In fear they cried out: “Woe to us!” Meanwhile, the news of what had happened spread throughout that village, and all its inhabitants, young and old, flocked to the house where the girl lived. Hearing the cries of the maiden there that the hermit was innocent of her shame, the inhabitants greatly reproached themselves and were very sad that they all beat the saint without mercy. After consulting with the girl’s parents, they all decided to go to the Monk Macarius and fall weeping at his feet, asking for forgiveness, so that the wrath of God would not befall them for offending an innocent person. Having learned this decision of theirs, the servant of Macarius, the husband who vouched for him, quickly ran to him and joyfully said to him:
Rejoice, Father Macarius! - this day is happy and joyful for us, for today God has changed your former reproach and dishonor into glorification. And I no longer need to be a guarantor for you, for you turned out to be an impassive, righteous and glorious innocent sufferer. Today the judgment of God has befallen the one who unjustly accused you and slandered you, who was innocent. She cannot be relieved of her burden, and admitted that it was not you who was responsible for her fall, but one young man. Now all the inhabitants of the village, from young to old, want to come to you with repentance, in order to glorify God for your chastity and patience and to ask for your forgiveness, so that no punishment from the Lord befalls them for unjustly offending you.
The humble Macarius listened with regret to the words of this man: he did not want honor and glory from people, for it was much more pleasant for him to accept dishonor from people than honor; therefore, when night fell, he got up and left those places, going first of all to Mount Nitria, where he had once had a vision in a dream. After living there for three years in one cave, he went to Anthony the Great, who was fasting in the Paranian desert, for Macarius had long heard about him, even when he lived in the world, and strongly wanted to see him. Received with love by the Monk Anthony, Macarius became his most sincere disciple and lived with him for a long time, receiving instructions for a perfect virtuous life and trying to imitate his father in everything. Then, on the advice of the Monk Anthony, Macarius retired to a solitary life in the hermitage desert, where he so shone with his exploits and was so successful in monastic life that he surpassed many of the brethren and received from them the name “elder youth,” since, despite his youth, discovered a completely senile life. Here Macarius had to fight demons day and night. Sometimes the demons clearly turned into various monsters and rushed with fury at the saint, sometimes in the form of armed warriors sitting on horses and galloping to battle; with a great cry, a terrible cry and noise, they rushed at the saint, as if intending to kill him. Sometimes demons raised an invisible war against the saint, instilling in him various passionate and unclean thoughts, trying in various cunning ways to shake this solid wall built by Christ and destroy it. However, they were in no way able to overcome this courageous fighter for the truth, who had God as his assistants and, like David, exclaimed:
- “Some in chariots (with weapons), others in horses, but I boast in the name of the Lord our God: they wavered and fell; with God I will show strength” (Ps. 19:8-9; 59:14) and He will destroy all my enemies - the demons who attack me so savagely.
One night, sleeping Macarius was surrounded by many demons who woke him up and said:
Get up, Macarius, and sing with us, and don’t sleep.
The monk, realizing that this was a demonic temptation, did not get up, but, lying down, said to the demons:
- "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for your father the devil." (Matthew 25:41) and to you.
But they said:
Why do you insult us, Macarius, by blaspheming us with such words?
“Is it possible,” the monk objected, “that one of the demons awakens someone to prayer and praise of God or instructs in a virtuous life?
But the demons continued to call him to prayer, and for a long time they could not do this. Then, filled with rage and unable to bear the disdain from Macarius, they rushed at him in large numbers and began to beat him. The saint cried out to the Lord:
Help me, Christ my God, and " you surround me with the joys of deliverance, for the dogs have surrounded me, they have opened their mouths on me"(Ps.31:7; 21:14,17-18).
And suddenly the whole multitude of demons disappeared with a great noise.
Another time it happened that Macarius collected many palm branches in the desert for weaving baskets and carried them to his cell. On the way he was met by a devil with a sickle and wanted to hit the saint, but could not. Then he said to Macarius:
Macarius! Because of you I suffer great sorrow, because I am unable to overcome you. Here I am, doing everything you do. You fast, I don’t eat anything at all; you are awake and I never sleep. However, there is one thing in which you are superior to me.
What it is? - the monk asked him.
“Your humility,” answered the devil, “that’s why I cannot fight with you.”
When the Monk Macarius was forty years old, he received from God the gift of miracles, prophecy and power over unclean spirits. At the same time, he was ordained a priest and made abbot (abba) of the monks living in the monastery. There is no need to say much about his food and drink, that is, about how he fasted, because even the weakest of the brethren of his monastery could not be reproached either for overeating or for eating any refined food. Although this happened partly due to the lack of any refined food in those places, but mainly because of the competition of the monks staying there, who tried not only to imitate each other in fasting, but also to surpass each other. Various legends circulate among the fathers about other exploits of Macarius, this heavenly man. They say that the monk constantly ascended with his mind to the heights and most of his time directed his mind to God rather than to the objects of this world. Macarius often visited his teacher Anthony the Great and received many instructions from him, conducting spiritual conversations with him. Together with two other disciples of the Monk Anthony, Macarius was honored to be present at his blessed death and, as some kind of rich inheritance, received Anthony’s staff, with which he supported his weak body on the road, dejected by old age and fasting exploits. Together with this staff of Anthony, the Monk Macarius received the spirit of Anthony the Great, as the prophet Elisha once received such after Elijah the prophet (2 Kings 2:9). By the power of this spirit, Macarius performed many wondrous miracles, to the narration of which we now move on.
One wicked Egyptian was inflamed with unclean love for a beautiful married woman, but could not persuade her to cheat on her husband, for she was chaste, virtuous and loved her husband. Strongly wanting to take possession of her, this Egyptian went to a certain sorcerer with a request that he, through his magical spells, arrange so that this woman would fall in love with him, or so that her husband would hate her and drive her away from him. The sorcerer, having received rich gifts from that Egyptian, used his usual magic, trying to use the power of magic spells to seduce the chaste woman into an evil act. Not being able to incline the woman’s unshakable soul to sin, the sorcerer charmed the eyes of everyone who looked at the woman, making her appear to everyone not as a woman with a human appearance, but as an animal with the appearance of a horse. The woman’s husband, coming home, was horrified to see a horse instead of his wife and was greatly surprised that an animal was lying on his bed. He addressed words to her, but received no response, only noticed that she was becoming furious. Knowing that it had to be his wife, he realized that this was done out of someone’s malice; Therefore, he was very upset and shed tears. Then he called the elders into his house and showed them his wife. But they could not understand that it was a man and not an animal, since their eyes were fascinated and they saw the animal. Three days have already passed since this woman began to seem like a horse to everyone. During this time she did not take food, because she could not eat either hay, like an animal, or bread, like a person. Then her husband remembered the Monk Macarius, and decided to take her to the desert to the saint. Having put a bridle on her, as if on an animal, he went to the dwelling of Macarius, leading behind him his wife, who had the appearance of a horse. When he approached the monk’s cell, the monks standing near the cell were indignant at him, why did he want to enter the monastery with a horse. But he told them:
I came here so that this animal, through the prayers of Saint Macarius, would receive mercy from the Lord.
What bad happened to her? - asked the monks.
This animal that you see,” the man answered them, “is my wife.” How she turned into a horse, I don’t know. But three days have already passed since this happened, and all this time she has not eaten any food.
Having heard his story, the brethren immediately hurried to the Monk Macarius to tell him about this, but he had already had a revelation from God, and he prayed for the woman. When the monks told the saint what had happened and pointed out to him the animal that had been brought, the monk said to them:
You yourselves are like animals, since your eyes see a bestial image. She, just as she was created by a woman, remains one, and has not changed her human nature, but only appears animalistic to your eyes, seduced by magical spells.
Then the monk blessed the water and poured it with prayer on the brought woman, and immediately she took on her usual human appearance, so that everyone, looking at her, saw a woman with the face of a man. Having ordered to give her food, the Saint made her completely healthy. Then both husband and wife and everyone who saw this wonderful miracle thanked God. Macarius instructed the healed woman to go to the temple of God as often as possible and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
“This happened to you,” said the monk, “because five weeks have already passed since you received communion of the Divine Mysteries.”
Having given instructions to the husband and wife, the Saint sent them away in peace.
In a similar way, Macarius healed one maiden, whom one magician had turned into a donkey, and who in this form was brought to the saint by her parents. He made the other girl, who was rotting from wounds and scabs and teeming with worms, completely healthy, anointing her with holy oil.
Quite a lot of different people came to Saint Macarius - some asked for his prayers, blessings and fatherly guidance, others to be healed of their ailments. Due to such a large number of people coming to him, Macarius had little time to devote himself to the thought of God in solitude. Therefore, the monk dug a deep cave under his cell, about half a furlong in length, where he hid from those who constantly came to him and violated his contemplation and prayer.
The Monk Macarius received such blessed power from God that he could even resurrect the dead. And so, one heretic named Jerakit, who taught that there would be no resurrection of the dead, came from Egypt into the desert and confused the minds of the brethren who lived there. Then he came to the Monk Macarius and, in the presence of numerous brethren, competed with him about faith. Being himself skilled in words, he mocked the simplicity of the speeches of the monk. The Monk Macarius, noticing that the brethren were beginning to waver in faith from the speeches of this heretic, said to him:
What good is it for us to argue with words, more for the hesitation of those listening to our dispute than for confirmation in the faith? Let us go to the graves of our brothers who have died in the Lord, and whoever among us the Lord grants to raise the dead, then everyone will be convinced that his faith is right and is testified by God Himself.
The brethren approved of these words of the monk, and everyone went to the cemetery. There the Monk Macarius told Hierakitus to call from the grave some deceased member of the brethren. But Jerakitus said to Macarius:
Do it first, because you yourself have appointed such a test.
Then the Monk Macarius prostrated himself in prayer to the Lord and, after prolonged prayer, raised his eyes to the mountain and cried out to the Lord:
God! You Yourself now reveal which of the two of us believes more correctly (in You), reveal this by arranging it in such a way that one of the dead lying here will rise from the grave.
Having prayed like this, the monk called one recently buried monk by name, and the dead man immediately answered his voice from the grave. Then the monks hastily dug up the grave and found their brother resurrected in it. Having untied the bandages that were on him, they brought him out of the grave alive. At the sight of such a wondrous miracle, Jerakit was so horrified that he fled. All the monks chased him away, as they drive away enemies, and drove him far beyond the borders of that land.
Another time, the Monk Macarius also resurrected another deceased person, as Abba Sisoes narrates.
“I was,” he says, “with the Monk Macarius in the monastery. At this time it was time for the grain harvest. Seven of the brethren were hired to do the harvest. During it, one widow picked up ears of corn after us and cried all the time. The Monk Macarius, calling the owner of the field, asked him:
What happened to this woman, and why does she cry incessantly?
The owner of the field told the monk that the husband of that woman, having taken money from one person for safekeeping, suddenly died, not having time to reveal to his wife where he had put what he had taken. That is why the lender wants to take this woman and her children into slavery. Then Macarius said to him:
Tell the woman to come to us at the place where we rest at noon.
When she fulfilled the words of the monk and came to him, the Monk Macarius asked her:
Why are you constantly crying, woman?
“Because,” the widow answered, “my husband died suddenly, and shortly before his death he took gold from one person for safekeeping and did not tell me where he put the taken gold.”
Show us where your husband is buried,” said Macarius.
Taking the brethren with him, the monk went to the indicated place. Approaching the grave of that widow’s husband, the monk said to her:
Go home, woman!
Then, having prayed, Macarius called out to the dead man, asking him where he had put the gold he had taken. Then the dead man answered from the grave:
I hid it in my house at the foot of my bed.
Rest again,” Abba Macarius told him, “until the day of the general resurrection!”
The brethren, seeing such a miracle, fell out of great fear at the feet of the monk. The elder said for the edification of the brethren:
All this did not happen for my sake, for I am nothing, but for the sake of this widow and her children, God created this miracle. Know that God wills for a sinless soul, and whatever it asks of Him, it receives.
Then the monk went to the widow and showed her where the gold taken by her husband was hidden. She took the hidden treasure and gave it to its owner, and thus delivered both herself and her children from slavery. Hearing about such a wondrous miracle, everyone glorified God.
Having finished the story of the life of the saint, let us glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the One God, glorified in His saints forever. Amen.
The Monk Macarius the Great, of Egypt, was 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 ("Macarius" - in Greek means blessed) distributed the remaining estate in memory of 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: once 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 the Great Anthony, receiving instructions from him in spiritual conversations. Blessed Macarius was honored to be present at the death of the holy Abba and received as an inheritance his staff, along with which he received the purely spiritual power of the Great Anthony, just as the prophet Elisha once received from the prophet Elijah extreme grace along with the mantle that fell from heaven.
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 endure even more severe torments.”
One day, while praying, 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 replied 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 among ourselves. We asked our husbands to let us go convent, but they do not agree, and we made a vow not to utter a single word of the world until death." The holy ascetic glorified God and said: "Truly the Lord is not looking for a virgin or a married woman, nor a monk, nor a layman, but appreciates the free intention of a person and voluntary his will sends the grace of the Holy Spirit, 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 only 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 can become a monk. They answered: “If a person is not refuses everything that is in the world, he cannot be a monk." To this I answered: "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 for you reproach is like praise, poverty like wealth, lack like abundance, you will not die. For it cannot be that a true believer and one who strives in piety should 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 creations. 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.
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 into another state, good, and from its present humiliated nature into 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 extent to which he perceives 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 still 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.”
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 4th century.
Saint Macarius (Notaros) of Corinth, like St. Equal to the Apostles. Cosmas of Aitolia, played a significant role in the spiritual revival of Greece in the second half of the 18th century. St. Macarius began his ministry in 1765, five years after St. began his missionary work. Cosmas. Having been ordained Archbishop of Corinth, he worked hard to improve the church situation in his diocese. Like St. Cosme, St. Macarius saw the special importance of schools in relation to the Church. Before his ordination, he taught free of charge in a Corinthian school for six years, and after becoming archbishop, he built many schools throughout the Corinthian province. He also attached great importance to the education of clergy, sending them to study in monasteries.
Just like St. Cosmas, he demanded compliance with the tradition of the Church. So, for example, at the time when St. Cosmas, in his missionary travels throughout Greece and Albania, convinced the rich to donate money for the purchase of large baptismal fonts, St. Macarius installed such large fonts in all the cities and villages of his diocese so that the sacrament of St. Baptism was performed according to all the rules, through triple immersion. Just like St. Cosmas, St. Macarius sought to return the Greeks to the original Christian practice and eliminate all false traditions and harmful innovations from the life of the Church.
St. Macarius was one of the main representatives of the Kollivad movement. Which united zealous monks who advocated strict observance of the Holy Tradition. This movement arose in the 18th century on Holy Mount Athos. In 1754, the monks of the Skete of St. Anna, with donations from Orthodox Christians, began the construction of a “kyriakon,” that is, a common church. According to Athonite custom, they performed memorial services for the deceased relatives of these donors. At first, the monks served memorial services on Saturdays, as was previously done throughout Athos. But some of the monks, in order to speed up construction, wanted to serve requiem masses on Sundays instead of Saturdays. However, not everyone agreed. Some of the skete monks opposed the change, saying that it was a violation of the Holy Tradition, dating back to early Christian times, and Sunday is the day of the Lord's Resurrection, that is, a day of joy, and this day is not suitable for performing funeral services that are associated with sorrow. Supporters of the change were not convinced by such arguments. They argued that the existence of memorial services is partly based on the Resurrection of Christ, and the performance of such services does not contradict the joyful nature of Sunday. Ridiculing their opponents, they called them “subbotniks” and “kollivads”. This dispute, which became dangerous, spread to other Athonite monasteries. Supporters of innovation (a kind of “renovationists”) insulted and persecuted traditionalists.
The Ecumenical Patriarchs tried to stop this unrest, but to no avail. In 1772, Patriarch Theodosius II, in response to a letter from the Athonite monks, stated: “He who performs requiem services on Saturdays does well, since he adheres to the ancient tradition of the Church, but he who performs them on Sundays does not sin.” This answer was supposed to restore peace among the monks. However, the dispute did not stop. A year later, Patriarch Samuel Hatzeris, in a letter on behalf of the Synod, indicated: “Monks working in cells and monasteries subordinate to monasteries must unconditionally follow the Typikon and the customs of these monasteries regarding the service of requiem services.” But the struggle continued. On the issue of serving memorial services, two Councils met, one on Mount Athos in 1774, the other in Constantinople in 1776. The First Council anathematized those who did not accept the decision of the Patriarchate, while the second declared that “requiem services can be celebrated on Saturdays and Sundays.”
The dispute continued until the Greek Revolution (1821). He reached Constantinople and divided the Finariot aristocracy into two warring camps. In 1819, Ecumenical Patriarch Gregory Y decreed: “In order to completely put an end to the long-standing dispute, memorial services should be celebrated without distinction on Sundays or Saturdays, as well as on other days of the week.”
When a new wave of discontent against the Kollivad movement grew, St. Macarius was on Athos. In response to a question from supporters of the new (“renovation”) practice, he made it clear that he did not approve of their innovation (“renewal”): “I personally have never served and will not serve memorial services for the dead on Sundays.” After this unequivocal answer, St. They began to threaten Macarius. He was very upset by this and left Athos, going to the island of Chios.
Almost simultaneously with the dispute about the service of memorial services, a dispute arose about how often one should receive the Holy Sacraments. Some believed that Holy Communion should be taken at every liturgy, unless, of course, the person is under penance. Others believed that communion should be received rarely, several times a year. Most of the collivads were supporters of frequent communion. Book of St. Macarius “On the Constant Communion of the Divine Sacraments,” published in 1783, played a major role in resolving this issue. This book is a significantly enlarged and modified version of the book by Neophyte Kapsokalivit
“A manual by an unknown author, proving that Christians have a duty to partake of the Divine Sacraments much more often,” published three years earlier. Despite the fact that the book “On Constant Communion...” was published without indicating the author, Athanasius Parios, compiler of the life of St. Makaria. He is the one who calls him the author of the book. Finally edited the book of St. Macarius of St. Nicodemus Svyatogorets.
The book “On Constant Communion...” has a special focus against the practice of infrequent communion (2-3 times a year), and condemns it as an evil innovation. In his book, St. Macarius gives a detailed interpretation of the Jesus Prayer, explaining the need for Orthodox Christians to frequently partake of the Body and Blood of Christ, and emphasizes that failure to accept the Sacraments brings great evil to a person. St. Macarius also gives 13 arguments of supporters of rare communion and his answers to these arguments, based on Holy Scripture, the Holy Canons and the works of the Holy Fathers. His book caused a storm of indignation among opponents of the Kollivad movement on Mount Athos. They wrote a letter full of accusations, and together with the book of St. Macarius was sent to the Ecumenical Patriarch. The result was hasty condemnation of the book. However, later, in 1789, under the new patriarch, the book was recognized as canonical and useful for all Christians.
It should be noted that the controversy about Holy Communion arose before the appearance of the book on the Holy Communion. Makaria. In 1775, Ecumenical Patriarch Theodosius tried to reconcile the warring parties. He wrote to the monks on Athos that the first Christians received communion every Sunday, and subsequently Christians received communion every 40 days, after confession. The Patriarch advised those who feel prepared. Follow the example of the first. And for those who are not ready, follow the example of the latter. But this message did not end the dispute. Just like the dispute about memorial services, it continued until the beginning of the 19th century. In 1819, Patriarch Gregory Y wrote to the Athonite monks that Communion should not take place at certain intervals, but at any moment. When a person feels ready, after confession and the necessary preparations.
These two disputes testified to the awakening of religious consciousness among many Greeks in the second half of the 18th century. In his Confession of Faith, St. Nicodemus the Svyatogorets points out that the Church has two types of spiritual discipline: severity (akrivia) and economy (oikonomiya) or leniency (syncatabasis) and that when Patriarch Sophrony issued a decree on the possible celebration of funeral services on both Saturdays and Sundays, he used oikonomia for this purpose. to stop the unrest on Holy Athos.
Another important aspect of the Kollivad movement is the revival of the Orthodox mystical-contemplative tradition (hesychasm). After the triumph of hesychasm at the Councils of Hagia Sophia in the middle of the 14th century and the canonization of the great apologist of hesychasm, Gregory Palamas, hesychasm was gradually consigned to oblivion. It was revived by the Kollivads. A great role in this revival was played by the “Philokalia” (“Philokalia”) - a monumental anthology of ascetic-contemplative works of thirty Greek holy Fathers, compiled and published by two great saints Macarius of Corinth and Nicodemus the Holy Mountain.
In 1777 St. Macarius handed over the manuscripts he had collected to St. Nicodemus. St. Nicodemus edited the manuscripts, wrote introductions and short biographies of the authors - the Holy Fathers, and upon completion of the work, the Philokalia was published in Venice in 1782.
This book had a profound influence on another prominent representative of the Kollyvad movement, Athanasius Parios, who was ordained a hieromonk on Mount Athos by St. Macarius of Corinth. Athanasius was a great educator, a remarkable theologian and a prolific writer. He taught at the Athos Academy, then at the Thessalonian school and at the gymnasium in Chios. Thus, for a quarter of a century, he served the great cause of education and enlightenment of his contemporaries. Like St. Macarius and St. Nicodemus, Athanasius belonged to the ascetic-contemplative tradition of the Orthodox Church. In the biography of St. Macarius Athanasius calls the Philokalia a most instructive book. Athanasius's interest in St. Gregory Palamas was the result of a careful study of the Philokalia and conversations with St. Macarius. Athanasius composed a service in honor of St. Gregory and published it along with the life of this saint, written by Patriarch Philotheus.
The desire of St. Macarius’s role in reviving the ascetic-contemplative tradition of the Church was important role in the appearance of another great spiritual book - “The Surviving Works of St. Simeon the New Theologian." In 1784 St. Macarius asked St. Nicodemus prepare the book for printing. In 1790 this book was published in Venice.
Opponents of the Kollivad movement did not stop persecuting the Kollivads. As a result of these persecutions, many Kollivades left Athos and dispersed throughout Greece. They founded monasteries, which became centers of spirituality and examples of true Christian life. They awakened religious consciousness with their sermons and personal example. Athanasius Parios, for example, trained a galaxy of students who came to study with him from all over Greece and from other places: Constantinople, Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Armenia. Many of these students became teachers themselves. Returning to their native places, they carried the light of Orthodoxy, which they received from their teacher. Other Kollivads, who found refuge on the islands of the Aegean Sea, also played a role in the lives of many Christians, including St. Nicodemus. So the monks are the collivads Arseny, Gregory and Niphon, with whom St. Nicodemus met on his native island of Naxos, who contributed to his decision to become a monk.
The hostility of the opponents of the Kollivad movement eventually amounted to St. Macarius leaves Holy Mount Athos. He moved to the island of Chios, then for a short time he lived on Patmos with a group of collivads. He spent the last 15 years of his life in Chios in solitude, leading a strict ascetic life, engaging in mental prayer and writing spiritual books and instructing many people in true faith. Just like St. Cosmas, St. Macarius cared for his neighbors with all his might, and his works in publishing books, preaching, teaching and helping those in need had as their ultimate goal the salvation of human souls.
A few words should be said about other books of St. Makaria. "Evergetinos", a handwritten collection of the teachings of several hundred Holy Fathers, was located in the monastery of Koutlumousiou. St. Macarius asked St. Nicodemus to prepare this manuscript for publication. In addition, St. Macarius inspired St. Nicodemus for the creation of the book “New Martyrology” (). Perhaps it was St. Macarius conveyed to St. Nicodemus most of the materials about the new martyrs that he collected in his travels. This book “New Martyrology” inspired many Christians, contemporaries of St., to the feat of martyrdom. Makaria. He wrote a book about them, “New Limonarion” (“New Spiritual Meadow”). NE. Macarius also included in the New Limonarion the lives of the ancient martyrs, translated by him into modern Greek. The saint completed this work several months before his death. His close friend Nikephoros of Chios prepared this book for printing and published it in Venice in 1819.
St. Macarius, according to Athanasius Parios, wrote many other books. However, we only know the ones mentioned above. The rest, published without indicating the author, remained unknown to us.
St. Macarius played an important role in the writing lives of many Greek theologians. St. Macarius was not only a great keeper of the tradition of the Church, an educator and spiritual mentor of people, but also a great ascetic. Those who sought to achieve purification of their souls and unity with God. “Through great feat and ascetic work,” notes his biography, Athanasius Parios, “he became like God and was engulfed in the fire of Divine love.”
St. Macarius was a man of great humility. He was an excellent example of a clergyman and, as one of his contemporaries said: “If you strive to see the first Christian bishop of the Church, like St. Basil, observing the simplicity of life and modesty of vestments, you will see in St. Macarius is his exact likeness.”
St. Macarius was recognized by many as a saint during his lifetime. The day of his memory - Arpel 17 - is joyfully celebrated throughout Greece, especially in Corinth, Athos and the islands of Chios, Ikaria, Patmos.
THE LIFE OF SAINT MACARIUS OF CORINTH
Compiled by Athanasius Parios, his friend
(as summarized by K. Kavarnos)
1863, Chios
Corinth is the oldest and most famous city of the Peloponnese. Well known. That the Apostle Paul wrote two Epistles to the Corinthians, filled with Divine wisdom, instructed them and led them from false idolatry to the knowledge of the One True God.
St. Macarius was born and raised in this city. He came from an aristocratic family, belonging to the brilliant ancient family of Byzantine senators, the Notaros. St. Gerasim of Cephalonia, the glory and praise of all Orthodox Christians, who shone and continues to shine with his countless miracles, also belonged to this family.
Parents of St. Macarius, the most pious George and Anastasia, both occupied the first place in Corinth due to their origin and wealth. They had many children. In 1731 St. was born. Macarius, named Michael in holy baptism. His godfather was Archbishop Parthenius of Corinth.
When the boy reached school age, he was sent to Eustathius in Cephalonia to study church literacy. From an early age, Mikhail showed a desire only for the spiritual. He was not interested in anything worldly. He lived very piously. He strove to attend church services and avoided the company of youths and worldly vanity.
With the help of his father, who was an influential politician, Mikhail became the manager of several villages. The father wanted his son to become rich in this way. However, Mikhail distributed considerable sums of money to the needy, and his father often scolded him. In the end, Mikhail decided to leave everything worldly and become a monk. He secretly fled to Mega Spilion (“Great Cave”), a famous monastery in the Peloponnese. Here he tearfully asked the monks to fulfill his wish. But since he came without the permission of his powerful father, they refused. And, indeed, a few days later, having learned that Mikhail was in the monastery, his father ordered him to be returned home, even against his will.
Returning to his parents' house, Mikhail began reading and studying the Divine Scripture and other spiritual books. Later, since the school of Corinth did not have a teacher, he volunteered to teach the children. So he worked for six years without any pay.
In 1764, when the Archbishop of Corinth died, all the inhabitants of the Corinthian region, clergy and laity, rich and poor, old and young, unanimously elected the pious Michael as a candidate for the bishopric. (After he was chosen as a candidate, he was tonsured a monk with the name Macarius). So, equipped with pleading letters of recommendation, accompanied by noble people, he went to Constantinople and appeared before the Holy Synod. The patriarch at this time was Samuel I Haizeris. In Constantinople, Macarius was ordained Archbishop of Corinth.
When he returned to the diocese entrusted to him by God, he saw how great the love was for him: all the Christians in this area celebrated the day of his return, rejoicing, glorifying God for hearing their prayers and giving them such a good shepherd. And indeed, they were not mistaken in their expectations. For as in the early childhood of St. Macarius showed signs of the greatness of his soul and zeal for everything good, and now, when he became a bishop, he confirmed all this with deeds. Like St. Gregory the Theologian, he believed that he received the rank of bishop not as uncontrolled power and a means of pleasure and acquisition of wealth, but as a fatherly concern for the safety and salvation of his spiritual flock, for which he would be responsible to the highest Shepherd, the Lord and God of all.
With such thoughts, he, as a faithful and prudent ruler, began to saturate hungry souls with the spiritual food of the Divine Word. He preached in holy churches with great love, kindness and humility. Until that time, as a result of either the neglect or lack of education of his predecessors, his entire diocese was full of disorder and lawlessness, and church society was in a corrupt state. St. Macarius. Like the new Zerubbabel, he began with great zeal and zeal to restore church life, freeing it from all corruption. First of all, he dismissed all insufficiently educated priests, as well as those who were unable to adequately perform priestly service due to their advanced age. Then he forbade all priests to take part in politics, because at that time in many places there was a bad custom when the same persons were priests and “hojambasides”. He banned those who did not obey this regulation from the priesthood. When ordaining priests, he strictly observed the Apostolic and Council rules. He never ordained priests or other clergy for money. He elevated to the priesthood only those who were worthy by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, he did not ordain anyone who had not reached the appropriate age, despite the fact that there was a need for priests in his diocese. Testing those who wanted to become priests, he sent all those who were not sufficiently prepared to monasteries so that they could spend the money on education and training that they would previously have paid for ordination. He also did not ordain deacons as priests without first teaching them the correct performance of all church services, and distributed the Catechism to all clergy for study. In all the cities and villages of his region, he installed large baptismal fonts so that holy baptism was performed according to all the rules of our Holy Orthodox Church. The holy hierarch performed many other instructive and saving deeds. He built schools throughout his diocese and shepherded his verbal flock with godly, fatherly care.
But in 1768, during the reign of Sultan Mustafa, a war began between the Russians and the Turks, and the Russian fleet appeared near the Peloponnese. Father St. Macaria, foreseeing and fearing tragic consequences, took him and his entire family and headed to the island of Zakynthos. On the way, they encountered pirates who took everything they had from them. Fortunately, without taking any of their lives. So, after much suffering they came to Zakynthos. The inhabitants of the island received them with kindness and sympathy and provided them with clothing and food. They showed special honor to St. Macarius, who was revered as the new apostle of Christ.
Later, Macarius went to the island of Kefalonia in order to venerate the relics of St. Gerasima. After three months he returned to Zakynthos and lived there for another three years. Then he went to the island of Hydra, where he remained in the monastery of the Blessed Virgin Mary until peace was restored between the Russians and the Turks in 1774.
At this time, the Synod of Constantinople ordained a new Archbishop of Corinth. But in order to soften the grief of St. Macarius, the Synod allowed him to serve unhindered as a bishop, wherever he was.
A year later, St. Macarius went to Chios. From there he soon went to Holy Athos, where he had long sought to go. However, he did not find a calm spiritual haven of salvation on Athos. On the contrary, he was met by a raging sea. He was immediately approached by those who performed funeral services on Sundays and asked him if he approved of their practice. He answered in the negative. When the former Patriarch of Alexandria Matthew and St. died in the Kutlumush monastery. Macarius was invited to serve a memorial service for him on the fortieth day, which fell on Sunday; he not only refused to serve, but wrote the following to those close to the deceased patriarch: “Why do you prefer to serve memorial services on Sunday and skip other days of the week, and thus violate the rules and regulations Churches that prohibit doing this? I have never and will never perform funeral services for the dead on Sunday.” After this, those close to the deceased patriarch began to threaten him and sent his letter to the Ecumenical Patriarch.
Distressed by all this, St. Macarius left Athos and returned to Chios. From here he headed to Patmos, where he met and became friends with the holy fathers Niphon of Chios, Gregory of Nisyros and Athanasius of Armenia. All of them also left Saint Athos several years earlier due to scandals associated with funeral services.
A year later, Father St. Macaria died. At the request of his brothers, St. Macarius came to Hydra, and together they headed to Corinth. Here they peacefully divided their father's inheritance under the supervision of St. Makaria. He gave his brothers his full share, and after that he asked them to bring him records of all his father’s debtors. He threw these records into the fire, thus freeing a huge number of people from debt. Whole families of debtors praised their benefactor, St. Macarius and they called him a saint.
After this St. Macarius returned to Chios. Here he received letters of recommendation and went with them to Smyrna to meet with John Mavrogordatos. The last we heard about St. Macarius, received him with respect and reverence. As a man of God. He not only gladly extended the hospitality of St. Macarius in his home, but also gave him money for the publication of the holy Philokalia, a wonderful spiritual book. Under the influence of the teachings of St. Macarius, John turned his house into a holy dwelling, where vespers and matins were constantly served, and all fasts were strictly observed.
Later St. Macarius returned to Chios, wanting to spend the rest of his life in the desert (hesychasterion), doing spiritual work. He bought the hermitage of St. from the city of Chios. Peter in the northern part of the island and settled there with his Chios disciple Jacob. This monk served St. Macarius until his holy death.
At the same time, the Chios hieromonk Niphon, with whom St. Macarius met earlier, together with several monks he went to the island of Ikaria. There they tried to build a monastery for themselves. But they didn't have enough money. St. Macarius helped them through donations from benefactors of Smyrna and Chios. Thanks to this help, a small communal monastery was built on the island. St. Macarius went there and lived there for some time with the holy fathers, his friends. He then returned to his desert on Chios. The fertile nature of this place had a very beneficial effect on him, especially in view of his poor health, due to which he had previously constantly suffered. Living in the desert, he felt good and, being away from noisy cities and worldly bustle, enjoyed the silence.
As one of the ancient Fathers of the Church wrote: “The holy people of God, fearing harm from vanity and arrogance, strive in any way to hide their virtues from human eyes. Therefore, we can only know those achievements of theirs that God shows for the benefit of others, or that become known later, thanks to their disciples.” It is truth. We can also say about St. Macarius. Only God the Omniscient saw and knew his struggle and spiritual exploits in the desert, for, striving to please only Him, St. Macarius hid them more carefully than a vicious person hides his crimes. That's why we write here about St. Macarius only what many have definitely learned, and what every modern resident of Chios knows: about his constant long fasts, in addition to the canonical ones, which he observed with great severity, as well as the dogmas of faith, without any doubt. That the Holy Canons are not human institutions, but of the Holy Spirit. He was completely different from today's Christians, who show indifference and contempt for the Holy Canons, considering them the teachings of common people, and not written according to the reasoning and inspiration of the Holy Spirit, constantly shamelessly violating them, eating fish and meat and saying at the same time that God is nowhere did not command a person to fast.
St. Macarius, who observed both the canonical and additional fasts that he imposed on himself, considered wine and oil to be two main enemies, claimed that they were harmful to health, and ate them only on Saturday and Sunday. On other days, he ate vegetables and (flour products, such as pasta) boiled in water. About fasting, all-night vigils, prostrations and unceasing prayers of St. We know Macarius for sure from the stories of many people, especially his disciple Jacob. And there is no doubt that St. Macarius, through such an ascetic life, achieved the likeness of God and was kindled with the fire of Divine love. Proof of this are the wonderful works of Divine grace that are still accomplished today through turning to him. Thus, the exploits of St. Macarius, invisible to many during his lifetime, are now confirmed by events that are obvious and known to everyone. And as Holy Father Isaac the Syrian writes: “It is impossible for those who tirelessly lead such a lifestyle to remain without the great gifts of God, since they have acquired inner attention, sobriety of heart and freedom from worrying about worldly affairs. The soul that labors and ascends in its quest for God acquires cherubic eyes. By which he contemplates the eternally heavenly.” So, according to the words of the Divine teacher St. Isaac, St. Macarius, with his Divine gifts and his pure prayer, revealed himself to be a true equal-angel contemplator of heavenly things.
The Holy Fathers teach that prayer is a conversation with God. Everyone who heard St. Macarius in church reading the psalms and the Holy Gospel, they confess that his reading was truly a conversation with God. Continuous, quiet, calm, it undoubtedly reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. If we admit this about his reading and prayer in church, then how much higher his cell prayer should have been, more spiritual, detached from everything material and human. Undoubtedly, at this time his mind was entirely directed to God, and the ears of God reached not only what came from the mouth of the saint. Macarius, but also all his reverent and beautiful thoughts.
All this is good and worthy of praise. But this is a consequence of concern for one’s own salvation and does not yet prove love for one’s neighbor, without which, as the Divine Apostle Paul says, everything is useless and in vain. The Lord gives us in the Gospel the concept of such love: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 19:19). And the divinely inspired Macarius fulfilled his duty to his neighbor. He constantly repeated the words of the Apostle of the Gentiles: “For we are companions with God” (1 Cor. 3:9), meaning that we must help our brothers with all our might in the salvation of their souls. Therefore, he sought to benefit all Christians and prepare for them the path to the Kingdom of Heaven with his fatherly advice, instructions and instructive books. Thus, Theodore of Byzantium, Demetrius of the Peloponnese and many others were inspired to martyrdom after reading the composition of St. Macarius’ book “Martyrology” about the spiritual exploits of the martyrs. And we heard the layman from Enos say that he had carefully read the Philokalia twice and intended to study it a third time.
How great was the desire of St. Macarius shows the following for the salvation of all Christians: after reading the small book “Christian Apologia” and being moved by it, he collected 500 copper coins to reprint this instructive book.
It should be added that St. Macarius. While in monastic solitude in the desert of St. Peter, constantly preached to the parishioners of the Church of St. Peter, as well as to all those who gathered from other places to this church for the Divine Liturgy. During fasts, he visited other churches in the area, where he preached the word of God calmly and meekly, like the apostles, of whom he was a strict follower. Undoubtedly, his sermons were fruitful. Firstly, his listeners saw before them the Bishop of Corinth, dressed in very poor vestments and addressing them with humility. Secondly, instead of that. To receive money for your work. He offered financial assistance to those in need: one to pay debts, another for his daughter’s wedding, and many others for other needs. The following incident demonstrates the fruitfulness of the preaching and teaching of the Saint: a woman from a neighboring village found three pounds of silk and was looking for the one who had lost it in order to return it. To those who were surprised, she said: “How can I leave this silk when the blessed one will never allow us to do this?” When they asked her who this blessed one was, she answered: “Archbishop of Corinth. He taught us that if we find something that belongs to another, we must return it to the person who lost it, otherwise we will sin. And moreover, we should not ask for a reward for the return of the loss."
However, this great love of St. Macarius to his neighbors, his sympathy for their needs began to disturb his peace a lot, especially when, on the advice of friends, those in need began to come to him not only from nearby places, but also from distant areas. And since some of them needed significant help, the holy father was forced to turn to wealthy people for alms for the needy. Since he did not want to annoy others, but also could not let go empty-handed of those who came to him for help, he was forced to temporarily leave the island of Chios for the island of Patmos.
Let us now say a few more words about his publications. Book of St. Macarius “On the Constant Communion of the Divine Sacraments” contains nothing more than statements from the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, the canons of the Apostles and Councils, statements of the Holy Fathers and explanations of them in modern Greek. They all contain the same teaching that frequent Communion of the Divine Sacraments is holy and leads to salvation. Thus, this book is completely legal and canonical. But for a while, injustice and anger took over. So, one stupid Athonite monk, after reading this book, sent it to the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople, writing as much bad things as he could about it. Procopius of the Peloponnese, formerly Bishop of Smyrna. He was elevated to the patriarchal throne at that time. Angered by the accusations, he, on behalf of the Synod, condemned the book of St. Macarius as uncanonical and harmful and threatened to impose severe penance on those who dare to read it. The monks of Saint Athos fought with all their might to have the patriarch’s decision revised, but to no avail. Later, when Neophytos from Smyrna became patriarch (in 1789), a close friend of St. Macarius, he reversed his predecessor's decision regarding the book. And he sent the saint the following letter:
“Holy Metropolitan, former Corinthian, beloved brother and co-hidden Macarius in the Holy Spirit, grace and peace from God for your bishopric! Regarding your work “On the Constant Communion of the Holy Sacraments,” which you published, we inform you that it was examined by the Synod, carefully studied and approved. It is ecclesiologically legal and does not contain anything that prevents a Christian from being worthy through repentance and true confession to partake of the Most Pure and Terrible Mysteries of Christ. Your named book was approved by the Synod as instructive and leading to salvation. And all who wish to purchase and read it are free to do so, and should be guided by their confessors in any questions that arise.
Due to rumors being spread that a church decree has been issued condemning this work of yours, which is why pious Christians avoid reading it, we have written this letter and, by the will of the Holy Spirit, have issued a decree canceling the previous one, that all Christians who have read, are reading or will read this book of yours, namely “On the Constant Communion of the Holy Sacraments,” are forgiven and blessed by the Almighty Lord and freed from all church penances and curses, and have the blessing of all the saints and God-inspired Fathers of the Church. Now, knowing this, leave all prejudice towards your work, for which you will receive a reward from God. May His grace always be with your holiness.”
Although St. Macarius published many instructive books; this book “On Constant Communion...”, written by him with great zeal, can rightly be called the source of eternal life.
This is all we wanted to say about the publications of our Holy Father. Now let's talk about his other pious deeds. In the field of Christ, that is, in martyrdom, Jesus Christ himself is the Judge and bestows crowns. A fighter is one who suffers and dies for the glory of Christ, and his opponent is the devil with his tools, enemies and persecutors of the holy Christian faith. True. That fighters do not enter the arena of martyrdom without fortitude. But as the Lord says: “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Gregory the Theologian argues that words of support bring considerable courage to the souls of those who have chosen martyrdom. Everyone has a responsibility to provide this support. And St. Macarius did just that. Fulfilling the Gospel commandment: “And the one who comes to Me I will not put away” (John 6:37), he readily accepted everyone and not only encouraged with words, but also left in his desert for many days those who needed further preparation. Teaching them and strengthening them with fasts and prayers. Among those in whose souls St. Macarius lit the fire of Divine love; Polydorus of Cypriot stands out especially (he suffered martyrdom at the hands of the Turks on September 3, 1794 in New Ephesus). He actually showed the good changes that had occurred in him. So, one evening he stood at the door of the hotel and loudly exclaimed: “The Lord will bless you for all the good that you have done to me.” Another time when Fr. When Jacob called Polydorus to dinner, he saw him in a distant place crying and sobbing. He told St. about this. Macarius, and the Saint said: “Let him cry, for crying is dear to God and leads to salvation.”
The same influence of St. Macarius influenced the soul of Theodore of Byzantium. Theodore was previously afraid of death, but thanks to St. Macarius, he overcame his cowardice and boldly rushed towards death for the sake of Christ (he came from the town of Neochori (a suburb of Constantinople, and in ancient times called Byzantium), and was hanged by the Turks on February 17, 1795 in Mytilene).
Also St. Macarius influenced the immature, uneducated soul of Demetrius of the Peloponnese. When Demetrius was led to execution, he turned to heaven and exclaimed: “I thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, for deigning me unworthy of this blessed moment of martyrdom” (he was beheaded in Tripolis Peloponnese on April 13, 1803).
We think that we have the right to assert that St. Macarius, this mentor of the glorious martyrs, in fact himself belongs to them. St. Basil the Great calls the martyrs saints. Therefore, our Saint Macarius, who for many days and nights instructed and strengthened those who were about to enter the arena of martyrdom, the saint who kindled in their hearts the fire of love for Christ and the desire to suffer for His sake, is even more worthy to be considered equal to the martyrs. And just as the righteous crown was placed on the heads of the martyrs, because, according to the word of the Apostle Paul, they ended the struggle and preserved the faith, so the righteous crown was placed on the head of St. Makaria. Who, with his instructions and zeal in word and deed, was with them, their comrade-in-arms and helper.
But the time came when this Divine Father had to pay the common, inevitable duty of nature. As soon as he completed the collection of lives of holy ascetics and martyrs, ancient and modern, which he entitled “New Limonarion,” he began to worry about publishing this book. However, he suddenly suffered from apoplexy, and the entire right half of his body was paralyzed. His kind and beneficent hand stopped moving.
Thus suffering and weaving his crown in patience, he thanked the benevolent God and wept incessantly, saying that God had punished him for his sins and he still had not repented. We came to him one day and saw him crying and lamenting that, having been punished by God, he could not repent. We told him: “Reverend Father, it is true that you do not repent, for your conscience cannot condemn you for violating the Divine commandments, since you have kept them all your life.” But still, tears flowed like a river from his eyes. And so it was for all eight months from September 1 to April 17 - the day that became the last day of his earthly life.
At this time, Christians of all ages and classes came to him to receive his holy blessing. He confessed and received the Holy Sacraments daily. His close friend, Saint Nilos Kalognomos, stayed next to him, talking and consoling. They thought together and philosophized about the spiritual and contemplative, since the mind of St. Macarius remained intact until the Saint's last breath.
April 4/17, 1795 St. Macarius gave up his spirit in the hands of God and entered the ranks of saints, martyrs, ascetics and saints.
His body was buried on the south side of St. Petra. What he wished and predicted came true. When two years before the death of St. Macarius, his cell attendant Jacob fell ill and was already on the verge of death, the brethren asked the saint. Macarius, where he would like them to dig a grave for Jacob. When the saint heard this, he was deeply moved and said: “I want a grave to be dug first for me, and then for this good old man.”
And so it happened. Only after the transfer of the holy relics of Macarius took place, his disciple Jacob died and was buried in the same grave.
The omnipotent and all-creating grace of the Holy Spirit, revealed in the great miracles of St. Macarius, confirms that he pleased God and achieved holiness. Let no one doubt the reality of these miracles, for the stories about them were recorded not in some distant and foreign countries, but in the city of Chios itself during the lifetime of those who suffered mortally and incurably, but were healed by turning to the Saint with faith, and who confessed and proclaimed these healings publicly.
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