Pope Macarius II of Alexandria, the 69th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. He is commemorated in the

Calendar of Saints The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

of the

Coptic Church The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي� ...

on 4

Thout Thout ( cop, Ⲑⲱⲟⲩⲧ, ), also known as Thoth ( grc-gre, Θωθ, ''Thōth'') and Tut. ( ar, توت), is the first month of the ancient Egyptian and Coptic calendars. It lies between 11 September and 10 October of the Gregorian calendar. T ...

Life

Pope Macarius II was pious and ascetic since his young age, and longed for the monastic life. He went to the desert of

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 ...

and became a monk in 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 ...

.Holweck, Frederick George. ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints: With a General Introduction on Hagiology''
United Kingdom, B. Herder Book Company, 1924. p.633 He devoted himself to worship and spiritual struggle. He instructed himself by reading the Holy Scriptures, their interpretation and by contemplating on its meaning. He grew in virtues and was ordained a priest. When Pope Michael IV, the sixty-eighth pope, departed and the papal throne became vacant, a group of bishops and priests went to the wilderness of Scetes. They assembled in the church with the elders of Scetes. They remained there for many days, searching and scouting for who would be best for this position. Finally they unanimously agreed to choose this father for what was known of his good character and excellent attributes. They took him and bound him against his will, and he cried out and begged them with excuses to release him saying, "I am not fit to be raised to the dignity of the Papacy." They brought him bound to the city of Alexandria and ordained him Patriarch. The deed of his appointment was read in The Church of the Holy Virgin in the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, Coptic, and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

languages. During his papacy, he added to his worship and piety. He taught and preached the people daily. He gave alms and did works of mercy to the poor and needy. During his papacy he never asked for any of the Church's money, but rather, he used to give a large portion of the contributions which he received to be spent on different righteous deeds. He completed 27 years in the papacy and departed in peace.

References

External links

St. Macarius, 69th Pope of Alexandria
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macarius 02 Of Alexandria, Pope Coptic Orthodox saints 12th-century Coptic Orthodox popes of Alexandria