Macarius of Egypt, ''Osios Makarios o Egyptios''; cop, ⲁⲃⲃⲁ ⲙⲁⲕⲁⲣⲓ. (c. 300 – 391) was a
Christian monk
Christian monasticism is the devotional practice of Christians who live ascetic and typically cloistered lives that are dedicated to Christian worship. It began to develop early in the history of the Christian Church, modeled upon scriptural ex ...
and
hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...
. He is also known as Macarius the Elder or Macarius the Great.
Life
St. Macarius was born in
Lower Egypt. A late tradition places his birthplace in the village of Shabsheer (Shanshour),
Roman Egypt around 300 AD. At some point before his pursuit of asceticism, Macarius made his living smuggling
saltpeter
Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate Salt (chemistry), salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ...
in the vicinity of Nitria, a vocation which taught him how to survive in and travel across the wastes in that area.
St. Macarius is known for his wisdom. His friends and close kin used to call him ''Paidarion Geron'' ( grc-gre, Παιδάριον Γέρων, which when
compounded as ''Paidiogeron''
led to cop, Ⲡⲓⲇⲁⲣ Ⲓⲟⲩⲅⲉⲣⲟⲛ, ''Pidar Yougiron'') which meant the “old young man”, i.e. “the young man with the elders’ wisdom."
At the wish of his parents Macarius entered into marriage, but was soon widowed.
Shortly after, his parents died as well. Macarius subsequently distributed all his money among the poor and needy. He found a teacher in an experienced Elder, who lived in the desert not far from the village. The Elder accepted the youth, guided him in the spiritual science of watchfulness, fasting and prayer, and taught him the handicraft of weaving baskets.
A while later, a pregnant woman accused him of having defiled her. Macarius did not attempt to defend himself, and accepted the accusation in silence. However, when the woman's delivery drew near, her labor became exceedingly difficult. She did not manage to give birth until she confessed Macarius's innocence. A multitude of people then came asking for his forgiveness, but he fled to the
Nitrian Desert to escape all mundane glory.
As a hermit, Macarius spent seven years living on only
pulse
In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the n ...
and raw
herbs.
[Butler, Alban. (1866)]
''The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints''
Dublin. p. 35 He spent the following three years consuming four or five ounces of bread a day and only one vessel of oil a year.
While at the desert, he visited
Anthony the Great
Anthony the Great ( grc-gre, Ἀντώνιος ''Antṓnios''; ar, القديس أنطونيوس الكبير; la, Antonius; ; c. 12 January 251 – 17 January 356), was a Christian monk from Egypt, revered since his death as a saint. He is d ...
and learned from him the laws and rules of
monasticism. When he returned to the
Scetic Desert
Wadi El Natrun (Arabic: "Valley of Natron"; Coptic: , "measure of the hearts") is a depression in northern Egypt that is located below sea level and below the Nile River level. The valley contains several alkaline lakes, natron-rich salt de ...
at the age of forty, he became a priest.
The fame of his sanctity drew many followers. The community, which took up its residence in the desert, was of the semi-eremitical type. The monks were not bound by any fixed rule; their cells were close together, and they met for Divine worship only on Saturdays or Sundays. He presided over this monastic community for the rest of his life.
For a brief period of time, Macarius was banished to an island in the
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...
by the Emperor
Valens
Valens ( grc-gre, Ουάλης, Ouálēs; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of ...
, along with
Saint Macarius of Alexandria
Saint Macarius of Alexandria (died 395) was a monk in the Nitrian Desert. He was a slightly younger contemporary of Macarius of Egypt, and is thus also known as Macarius the Younger.
Life
Macarius was born about the year 300 in Alexandria. He w ...
, during a dispute over the doctrine of the
Nicene Creed. Both men were victims of religious persecution by the followers of then Bishop
Lucius of Alexandria
Lucius of Alexandria was an Arian who was twice installed as Patriarch of Alexandria, first in 363, during the reign of Athanasius, and the second between 373 and 380, competing with Peter II of Alexandria
Patriarch Peter II of Alexandria (died ...
. During their time on the island, the daughter of a pagan priest had become ill. The people of the island believed that she was possessed by an evil spirit. Both saints prayed over the daughter, which in turn had saved her. The pagan people of the island were so impressed and grateful that they stopped their worship of the pagan gods and built a church. When word of this got back to the Emperor
Valens
Valens ( grc-gre, Ουάλης, Ouálēs; 328 – 9 August 378) was Roman emperor from 364 to 378. Following a largely unremarkable military career, he was named co-emperor by his elder brother Valentinian I, who gave him the eastern half of ...
and Bishop
Lucius of Alexandria
Lucius of Alexandria was an Arian who was twice installed as Patriarch of Alexandria, first in 363, during the reign of Athanasius, and the second between 373 and 380, competing with Peter II of Alexandria
Patriarch Peter II of Alexandria (died ...
, they quickly allowed both men to return home. At their return on 13
Paremhat
Paremhat ( cop, Ⲡⲁⲣⲉⲙϩⲁⲧ), also known as Phamenoth ( grc-gre, Φαμενώθ, ''Phamenṓth'') and Baramhat. ( ar, برمهات), is the seventh month of the ancient Egyptian and Coptic calendars. It lies between March 10 and April ...
, they were met by a multitude of monks of the
Nitrian Desert, numbered fifty thousand, among whom were
Saint Pishoy
Pishoy of Scetis ( Coptic: ''Abba Pišoi''; Greek: Ὅσιος Παΐσιος ὁ Μέγας; 320 – 417 AD), known in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria as the ''Star of the Desert'' and the ''Beloved of our Good Savior'', was a Co ...
and
Saint John the Dwarf
Saint John the Dwarf (Greek: Ἰωάννης Κολοβός; Arabic: ابو يحنّس القصير (Abū) Yuḥannis al-Qaṣīr c. 339 – c. 405), also called Saint John Colobus, Saint John Kolobos or Abba John the Dwarf, was a Coptic Desert ...
.
Death and relics
![St Macarius the Great with Cherub](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/St_Macarius_the_Great_with_Cherub.jpg)
Macarius died in the year 391. After his death, the natives of his village of Shabsheer stole the body and built a great church for him in their village.
Pope Michael V of Alexandria brought the relics of Saint Macarius back to the
Nitrian Desert on 19
Mesori
Mesori ( cop, Ⲙⲉⲥⲱⲣⲓ, ''Masōri'') is the twelfth month of the ancient Egyptian and Coptic calendars. It is identical to Nahase ( amh, ነሐሴ, ''Nähase'') in the Ethiopian calendar.
Name
The ancient and Coptic month is also k ...
. Today, the body of Saint Macarius is found in his
monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...
, the
Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great
The Monastery of Saint Macarius The Great also known as Dayr Aba Maqār ( ar, دير الأنبا مقار) is a Coptic Orthodox monastery located in Wadi El Natrun, Beheira Governorate, about north-west of Cairo, and off the highway betwee ...
in
Scetes
Wadi El Natrun (Arabic: "Valley of Natron"; Coptic: , "measure of the hearts") is a depression in northern Egypt that is located below sea level and below the Nile River level. The valley contains several alkaline lakes, natron-rich salt de ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
.
Legacy
Macarius is a saint in the
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
,
Oriental Orthodox and
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
es.
In the
Methodist Churches, Macarius is regarded highly for writing on the topic of
entire sanctification.
Macarius of Egypt founded a monastery that bears his name,
the Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great,
[ which has been continuously inhabited by monks since its foundation in the fourth century. St. Macarius’ face used to be enlightened with grace in an amazing way to the extent that many fathers testified that his face used to glow in the dark; and thus appeared his name as “the glowing lantern.” This description was transferred to his monastery, and thus it was called “the glowing lantern of the wilderness” or “the glowing monastery,” which meant the place of high wisdom and constant prayer.][ Today it belongs to the Coptic Orthodox Church.
The entirety of the Nitrian Desert is sometimes called ''the Desert of Macarius'', for he was the pioneer monk in the region. The ruins of numerous monasteries in this region support the local tradition that the cloisters of Macarius were equal in number to the days of the year.
]
Saint Macarius the Great, one of the Egyptian desert recluses and a disciple of Saint Anthony the Great, is depicted on the right edge of the Triumph of Death fresco in Pisa. A group of leisurely aristocrats and their animals occupy the central part of the fresco. These rich young men and women riding horses, surrounded by their decorative hunting dogs have gone on a pleasant journey. Suddenly, their path, somewhere deep in the woods, is barred by three open sarcophagi with bodies in different degrees of decomposition. Everybody in the scene, including the men, women and even the animals are horrified by this terrible and palpable presence of death. The unsupportable stench hits their noses. The abhorrent scene dismays them. Only Saint Macarius the Great, made wise and powerful by his faith, stands above them all. The mystic Saint teaches the youngsters a lesson about life and death by reading from the scroll. The Florentine sculptor Benvenuto Cellini was inspired by this depiction of Saint Macarius in his painted portrait
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...
.
See also
*Pseudo-Macarius Pseudo-Macarius (or Pseudo-Makarios) is the conventional designation of the anonymous author or authors of works falsely attributed to Macarius of Egypt.
Fifty ''Spiritual Homilies'' were ascribed to Macarius a few generations after his death, and ...
Notes
References
Further reading
* Maloney, GA, SJ (trans.), 1992, ''Pseudo-Macarius. The Fifty Spiritual Homilies and the Great Letter'', CWS, New York: Paulist Press nglish translation* Mason, AJ (trans.), 1921, '' Fifty Spiritual Homilies of St Macarius the Egyptian'', London: SPCK nglish translation* Plested, Marcus, 2004. ''The Macarian Legacy: The Place of Macarius-Symeon in the Eastern Christian Tradition''. Oxford: OUP
External links
*Spiritual Homilie
1-5
Fifty spiritual homilies of St. Macarius the Egyptian
(The Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
)
Macarius the Great Select Resources, Bilingual Anthology
"Macarius the Egyptian"
*Wesley Center Onlin
*Volume 38, Wesleyan Theological Journal, Academic Article on Macarius of Egypt, pp. 103 – 12
Greek Opera Omnia by Migne Patrologia Graeca with Analytical Indexes
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macarius Of Egypt
300 births
391 deaths
4th-century Christian mystics
Saints from Roman Egypt
Egyptian hermits
Ascetics
Egyptian Christian monks
4th-century Romans
4th-century Christian saints
People from Monufia Governorate
Desert Fathers