Macarius of Anazarva, martyr
Memorial Day was established by the Orthodox Church on February 5/18. Macarius of Antioch, Mauritanian, presbyter, hieromartyr
Macarius the Great, Egyptian, presbyter
Macarius Zhabynsky, Belevsky, hieroschemamonk
Macarius Zheltovodsky, Unzhensky, reverend
Memorial Day was established by the Orthodox Church on July 25/August 7. Saint Macarius lived in the XIV-XV centuries. He was from Nizhny Novgorod, from a merchant family. From childhood, Macarius showed a desire for a charitable life, and at the age of twelve he secretly left his father's house in order to get away from worldly fuss. Disguised as a homeless wanderer, he came to the Caves Monastery and begged the abbot Dionysius of Suzdal to accept him as a monk. His dream came true. After being tonsured, Macarius devoted himself entirely to the service of Christ and soon showed himself on this path as a true ascetic. His parents, who long mourned the loss only son, three years later accidentally learned about his stay in the monastery. Father went to the Pechersk monastery, hoping to see Macarius. But he, afraid to break his strict lifestyle with surging feelings, did not leave his cell, but only extended his hand through the window. The father kissed her and, asking her to pray for her relatives, went home, blessing God for giving him a son - a great ascetic. The fame of Saint Macarius grew with time and became a burden to him. Then he decided to leave the Caves Monastery and settle somewhere in a deserted place. For this purpose, he chose a cave on the shores of the Yellow Waters Lake and began to asceticize there, spending his days in tireless labor and prayer. Gradually, monks began to gather around him, wishing to follow his example. Thus arose on the Yellow Lake a monastery in the name of Holy Trinity. Saint Macarius and his monastery were well known in the vicinity, and people of different faiths and nationalities came to him for advice and the word of God. After that, many were baptized right in the Yellow Lake, which later became known as the Holy. Four years later, the Tatars attacked the monastery. The monastery was burned to the ground, many monks were killed, and some, along with the Monk Macarius, were taken prisoner. However, even the Tatar Khan had heard about the great ascetic and ordered to release him in peace and with him another 400 captive Russian people. Macarius Zheltovodsky could not return to his former, devastated place, and went as released captives away from the Tatars, to the Galich regions. Here, in a deserted place, on the shores of Lake Unzha, he founded another holy monastery and spent the rest of his life in it, filled with spiritual labors and helping the suffering. By strong faith, the elder was endowed by God with the grace-filled gift of healing. An icon was sent to him from Above Mother of God, whose image is now called Makarievsky. Having lived to the age of 95, the monk peacefully departed to the Lord, while a wonderful fragrance spread over the entire region for many miles. Many healings took place from the relics of Saint Macarius. And in subsequent years, prayers addressed to Macarius Zheltovodsky, Unzhensky more than once saved his monastery and nearby cities from the invasion of enemies. History has preserved many cases of the miraculous help of this great Christian ascetic, who introduced many people of the Volga region to the faith. Macarius Kalyazinsky, hegumen
The days of memory are established by the Orthodox Church on March 17/30 and May 26/June 8. Macarius Kanevsky, Pinsky, Ovruchsky, Pereyaslavsky, archimandrite, venerable martyr
The MonkMartyr Macarius of Kanevsky lived in the 17th century, was a descendant of the noble Tokarevsky family, who lived in the city of Ovruch in the Volyn province in the west of Russia. His parents were very devoted to the Orthodox faith and sent their son to study at the local Assumption Monastery, where he later remained to serve as a monk. At the age of 20, Macarius moved to the Pinsk Kupyatichsky Monastery, where, thanks to his exemplary monastic service, he soon became a hieromonk. In subsequent years, with the blessing of the Metropolitan of Kyiv, the monk was appointed rector of the Kamenets Voskresensky, Kupyatichsky Pinsk, Assumption Ovruch and Kanevsky monasteries. In these difficult times for the Russian people, the exhausting struggle with the Poles and Tatars, the Monk Macarius has selflessly defended the Orthodox faith for almost thirty years. For the ascetic and righteous way of life, Archimandrite Macarius, during his lifetime, was sent the gift of clairvoyance and healing. Saint Macarius of Kanevsky was martyred by the Turks who attacked the monastery in 1678. After severe torture, he was beheaded. The monks wanted to hide the body of the saint in the temple, in order to later give it to burial. But the enemies, learning about this, set fire to the temple. Later, when the inhabitants of Kanev were dismantling the remains at the site of the burnt church, they found the incorrupt body of the Monk Martyr Macarius with a cross on his chest. Now his holy relics are in the city of Cherkasy in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin. Macarius of Kyiv, Metropolitan, Hieromartyr All that is known about him is that he lived in the 4th century and voluntarily accepted martyrdom for faith in Christ during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Maximian Galerius. Saint Macarius openly declared his faith, for which he was sentenced to death. Unfortunately, the icon of the saint has not survived to this day. Macarius (Nevsky), Moscow, Altai, Metropolitan
Memorial Day is established by the Orthodox Church on February 16 / March 1. Saint Macarius (in the world Mikhail Nevsky) lived in Russia in the 19th century and became famous as an outstanding Christian missionary. His contemporaries called him "the apostle of Altai", "the Siberian pillar of Orthodoxy", "the living Russian saint". He founded about 60 parochial schools, a missionary school, two missionary monasteries, translated and printed the Gospel in the Altai language. Brought up in piety, Macarius from childhood fell in love with reading spiritual books, prayer and decided to devote his life to preaching the Orthodox faith. After graduating from the seminary, he went on a spiritual mission to Altai. After several years of diligent service, Macarius received monastic tonsure and was ordained a hieromonk. In order to make his sermons available to the Altaians, Father Macarius studied the Altaic language and was able to translate many liturgical books. Having taught the rank of Bishop of Biysk, Saint Macarius became the head of the Altai mission. Thanks to him, dozens of Orthodox churches were opened, and the number of parishioners increased many times over. Macarius continues his missionary and patronage activities in the rank of Bishop of Tomsk. During his service in the Tomsk diocese, more than 400 new parishes and parochial schools, 2 women's monasteries, dozens of parish guardianships were opened to help the poor, sick and orphans. Gradually, the name and works of St. Macarius become known throughout Russia. He was ordained to the rank of archbishop, and a little later he was called to serve in Moscow, becoming the Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna. As in Altai, St. Macarius actively comes out with accusatory sermons, against everything that weakens the Christian faith and morality. However, in the capital, spoiled by material wealth, his teaching was not accepted with approval by either parishioners or priests, and he was persecuted. After February Revolution The provisional government, to which Metropolitan Macarius refused to swear allegiance, removes him from service and exiles him to the Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery, where, forgotten by everyone, but spiritually unbroken, he spends his last years. People's memory preserves the image of St. Macarius - a strict monk, prayer book, spiritual writer and enlightener. His imperishable relics now rest in the Dormition Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Macarius of Optina, reverend The Monk Macarius, hegumen of the Pelikite monastery, was born in Constantinople. Even in adolescence, he lost his parents. The saint read the Word of God with zeal and was so imbued with it that he decided to devote his life entirely to God. He entered the Pelikite monastery in Bithynia, where at that time the illustrious ascetic Saint Hilarion (+ c. 754, Comm. 28 March) was hegumen. After the death of the rector, the Monk Macarius was unanimously elected hegumen by the brethren. During the reign of the Byzantine emperors Leo V the Armenian (813-820) and Michael II the tongue-tied (820-829), Saint Macarius suffered as a confessor for the veneration of holy icons. He was exiled to the island of Afusia, where he died around 830. |
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Memorial Day is established by the Orthodox Church on January 19/February 1.
Macarius of Sinai, Martyr
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Macarius the Great was born around 300 in Lower Egypt in the village of Ptinapor. AT early age At the request of his parents, he married, but was widowed early. After the death of his wife Macarius delved into the study of the Holy Scriptures. After burying his parents, Macarius retired to the desert closest to the village and became a novice with the hermit elder living there. The local bishop, passing through Ptinapor, ordained Macarius as one of the junior clerics of the local church, but Macarius, burdened by the received dignity, left the village and retired all alone into the desert.
Having lived for several years alone in the Faran Desert, Macarius went to Anthony the Great and became his disciple, having lived for a long time in the monastery he founded in the Thebadian Desert. On the advice of Anthony, Macarius withdrew to the Skete desert.
At the age of 40, Macarius was ordained a priest and appointed rector of the monks who lived in the Skete desert. At the same age, according to church tradition, he received the gift of miracles and became famous for many miracles, including the resurrection of the dead. So, according to legend, the saint resurrected the dead in order to convince a heretic who denied the possibility of resurrection. From later testimonies about the life of Macarius, it is known that he could appeal to the dead in such a way that they could speak aloud. There is a known case when the dead testified to justify the innocent, another deceased told where the things were hidden, which saved his family from slavery.
Around 360, Macarius founded a monastery in the Nitrian desert, which later received the name - Monastery of Macarius the Great.
Coptic Monastery of St. Macarius the Great
Macarius the Great, together with Macarius of Alexandria, suffered during the reign of the Arian emperor Valens. They were exiled to a desert island inhabited by pagans, but, according to legend, through the healing of the priest's daughter, Macarius converted the inhabitants of the island to Christianity. After this became known to the Arian bishop, who sent Macarius into exile, he allowed both elders to return to their deserts.
The monk lived to be 97 years old, shortly before his death, the Monks Anthony and Pachomius appeared to him, reporting the joyful news of his imminent transition to the blessed Heavenly cloisters. Having given instructions to his disciples and blessed them, the Monk Macarius took leave of everyone and rested with the words: Into Your hands, O Lord, I commit my spirit". Macarius passed away in 391 in the monastery he founded.
Monastery of St. Macarius the Great
The relics of three Macarius in the Egyptian monastery of Macarius the Great: Macarius the Great, Macarius of Alexandria and Macarius the Bishop
The relics of Macarius the Great are in Italy, in the city of Amalfi and in Egypt in the monastery of Macarius the Great.
literary heritage
The theological heritage of Macarius the Great consists of fifty words (conversations), seven instructions and two epistles. The main theme of the writings is the spiritual life of a Christian in the form of ascetic solitude. In a number of his writings, Macarius interprets the Bible allegorically (for example, the Discourse on the Vision of Ezekiel).
The idea that the highest good and goal of man is the union of the soul with God is the main one in the works of St. Macarius. Talking about ways to achieve sacred unity, the monk based himself 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 by the holy ascetics is open to every believing heart. That is why the Holy Church included in the commonly used evening and morning prayers the ascetic prayers of St. Macarius the Great.
Earthly life, according to the teachings of St. Macarius, with all its labors, has only a relative significance: to prepare the soul, to make it capable of perceiving the Kingdom of Heaven, to cultivate in the soul an affinity with the Heavenly Fatherland. " The soul that truly believes in Christ must be shifted and changed from the current vicious state into another state, good, and from the current lowly nature into another, Divine nature, and be changed into a new one - through the power of the Holy Spirit". This can be achieved if "we truly believe and love God and turn in all His holy commandments." If, however, the soul, betrothed to Christ in holy Baptism, does not itself cooperate with the grace of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon it, then it will be subject to “excommunication from life”, as having turned out to be unseemly 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 achievement 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 to achieve 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 in grace, so much in righteousness" the Christian inherits eternal life. Salvation is a work of the God-man: we achieve complete spiritual success “not only by Divine power and grace, but also by bringing our own labors”, on the other hand, we come to the “measure of freedom and purity” not only by our own diligence, but not without “assistance from above by God's hand ". The fate of a person is determined by the actual state of his soul, his self-determination to good or evil. " If the soul in this world does not receive the sanctity of the Spirit for much faith and prayers, and does not become a partaker of the Divine nature, then it is unsuitable for the Kingdom of Heaven.«.
Troparion Saint Macarius Great, voice 1
A desert dweller, and in the flesh an Angel, / and a miracle worker appeared to you, our God-bearing Father Macarius, / with fasting, vigil, prayer, heavenly gifts, / heal the sick and the souls of those who come by faith. / Glory to Him Who gave you a fortress, / Glory to Him Who crowned you, // Glory to Him who acts by you, healing all.
Kontakion to the Monk Macarius the Great, Tone 1
Having ended a blessed life in life with martyr faces, / worthy of settling in the land of the meek, God-bearing Macarius, / and the desert, like a city, inhabiting, you received grace from the God of miracles, / we honor you the same.
Venerable Macarius of Alexandria
O sacred head, earthly angel and heavenly man, reverend and God-bearing Father Macarius! We fall down with faith and love and pray diligently: show us humble and sinners your holy intercession. It’s a sin for our sake, not the imams of the freedom of the children of God, ask for the needs of our Lord and our Lord, but we offer you a prayer book favorable to Him and we ask you with zeal for many: ask us from His goodness for favorable gifts to our souls and bodies: faith, law, hope salvation is undoubted, love for all is not hypocritical, patience in suffering, constancy in prayers, health of souls and bodies, fruitfulness of the earth, well-being of the air, contentment of worldly needs, peaceful and serene life, a good Christian tip and a good answer to the Last Judgment Christ. Do not forget, Reverend Father, the deserted place of your deeds, but favor it and glorify your miracles: and all who come to worship with the power of your saints, graciously deliver from the temptations of the devil and all evil. Hey, miracle worker saint! Do not deprive us of your heavenly help, but by your prayers bring us all to the haven of salvation, and reveal us heirs of the All-bright Kingdom of Christ, let us sing and glorify the inexpressible bounty of the Lover of God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and your holy fatherly intercession, in ages of ages. Amen.
Sermon before the rite of expelling evil spirits from a person.
Sergiev Posad, Edition of the temple of ap. Peter and Paul, 2002, 11 pages, 1.5 MB
The spiritual censor is hegumen Nikolai (Paramonov).
2011, 712 pages, 6 MB
Blagovest Publishing House, Moscow, 2011, 480 pages, 80 MB
Publisher: Blessing, 2004 MP3, 192 kbps, 139 MB.
Deacon Alexei Karpunin reads.
The recording uses chants performed by the choir of the Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra. DOWNLOAD
MP3, 3 hours 16 minutes, 320 kbps, 451 MB.
Performers: monks of St. Elisabeth Monastery, Minsk. DOWNLOAD
Venerable Macarius of Alexandria
Rev. Macarius of Alexandria
Born in 295 in Alexandria. Until the age of forty he was engaged in trade, then he received holy baptism and retired to the desert. After several years of ascetic life, he was consecrated to the rank of presbyter and appointed abbot of a monastery called “Kellie” in the Egyptian desert between the Nitrian mountain and the skete, in which hermit monks labored in silence, each separately in his own cell. He was the most sincere friend of the Monk Macarius of Egypt (+ c. 390-394), together with whom he was expelled from the fatherland during the reign of Valens. Both Macarios in their character and way of life were very similar to each other and had the same common teacher and mentor - the Monk Anthony the Great (+ 356), from whom they repeatedly received instructions for improvement in a virtuous life.
Once, Saints Macarius of Alexandria and Macarius of Egypt had to cross the Nile River on a large ferry, which was also boarded by two tribunes (commanders of the millennium) with their magnificent retinue of troops, armor-bearers and warriors, decorated with chains and golden belts. When these tribunes noticed two reverend elders, dressed in shabby clothes and standing in a corner, they praised their humble and poor life, and one of the thousands said to the elders: “Blessed are you who neglect the world.” The Monk Macarius of Alexandria answered this: “We, indeed, neglect the world, and the world laughs at you. What you said is not according to your will, but prophetically, because we are both called Macarius, that is, blessed. Touched by these speeches of the Monk Macarius of Alexandria, the tribune, upon returning home, took off his clothes and, having distributed his property to the poor, chose a hermit life.
The Monk Macarius, increasing his exploits, made it a rule for himself not to eat either bread or brew, except for hard millet or some kind of seeds soaked in water. The monk lived in such abstinence for seven years. Then for three years a day he ate a small piece of bread (less than a pound), and he also drank the same amount of water, which served as a strong mortification of the flesh. Using all his efforts, the monk also struggled with sleep, but after such a feat he said for the edification of others: “As far as I had the strength, I overcame sleep, but I was not able to overcome human nature, requiring sleep, and therefore I had to obey it.”
When the Monk Macarius began to be very strongly tempted by the demon of fornication, in order to overcome this enemy, he sat naked in the skete swamp for six months, exposing himself to the bites of many large mosquitoes. And when he returned to his cell, it was only by his voice that the disciples recognized that this was their Abba Macarius.
Having heard about the very strict typikon of the life of the Tavennisiot monastery, where the Monk Pachomius the Great (+ 348) was the rector, the Monk Macarius, hiding himself under worldly clothes, did not partake of either bread or water during the whole of Holy Fortecost, with the exception of a small amount of dry leaves. cabbage on Sundays. And he did this only so that other monks could see what he was eating and so that he would not fall into the sin of arrogance. The Monk Macarius worked unceasingly at night and did not rest from his labors, he never sat down or lay down at all the time. He stood without opening his mouth, not speaking to anyone, but in silence with all his heart, offering prayer to God. Seeing such a feat of the monk, the ascetics of that monastery were disgraced, for they were exalted in mind, proud of their exploits and fasting. The Monk Macarius, showing humility and instructing everyone, returned to his place.
The primordial enemy of the human race became very angry with the Monk Macarius for his strictly ascetic way of life, therefore he began to tempt his mind with vanity, forcing him to go to Rome. Struggling with the temptation, the saint poured a bag of sand, took it upon himself, and walked with this burden through the desert for a long time, until he tired his body, and the proud thought did not leave him.
Through his ascetic life, fasting, and renunciation of all earthly things, the Monk Macarius acquired the gift of miracle-working and insight into the innermost thoughts of people, and was rewarded with many miraculous visions. Abba Macarius, being filled with Divine grace, saw that demons, attending church singing and monastic gatherings, mocked at some, inducing drowsiness or thoughts; over others, the weakest brothers, inattentive to prayer, they mocked angrily, sitting on their necks and shoulders; from some monks, if the demons began to do something indecent before them, they were suddenly driven away by some force and no longer dared to stop in front of such, or pass by them.
The Monk Macarius told another, more wondrous and terrible thing, namely, how one of the ascetics of the holy monastery, the Monk Mark, partook of the Holy Mysteries from the hands of Angels, and the negligent of the brethren received, instead of the Body of Christ, burning coals, and the Body of Christ taught by the priestly hand returned to the altar. From those who were worthy of Holy Communion, the demons ran far away. Meanwhile, near the altar with the priest stood the Angel of the Lord and, together with the priest's, stretched out his hand to distribute the Divine Mysteries.
St. Macarius became famous for many miracles of healing the sick and those possessed by demons.
After many labors and deeds, the Monk Macarius departed in peace to the Lord around 394-395, having been a hundred years old.
The Monk Macarius was also a church writer; he wrote the "Sermon on the Exodus of the Soul", which is part of the Followed Psalter, a monastic rule in 30 chapters, a letter to the monks.
Orthodox icons and prayers
Information site about icons, prayers, Orthodox traditions.
Saint Macarius the Great: life, prayer
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Saint Macarius the Great is an Orthodox miracle worker and hermit who achieved veneration in the guise of a Saint, and is also the author of religious conversations.
Life of Macarius the Great
Saint Macarius was born around the year 300 in Lower Egypt (the village of Ptinapor). At the behest of his parents, he married, but soon became a widower. The saint, after the death of his parents and wife, distributed all the property that he had to the poor and then went into the wilderness to an old man. The old man received him with all his love and preached to him the spiritual science of worship, fasts and prayers, and also taught him such a craft as basket weaving. Having erected a separate dwelling not far from his cell, the old man placed his disciple there.
After spending several years in the desert, he went to St. Anthony the Great, the father of the Egyptian hermitage, about whom he had heard while in the world and since then zealously desired to meet him. The Monk Anatoly himself lovingly received Blessed Macarius, who soon became not only a devoted disciple, but also a follower.
Saint Macarius the Great lived with the Saint for quite a long time, but after that, heeding the advice of Anatoly, he went to the northwestern part of Egypt to the Skete hermitage. And it was there that he became famous for his exploits, for which they began to call him “foreign elder”, because by that time he was barely thirty years old, showing himself to be a mature monk with rich experience.
Since that time, a considerable number of healings have been performed by the Monk Macarius the Great of Egypt. People, hoping for help, advice and in order to hear his sacred prayers, came to him from different places.
However, all this did not give solitude to the Wonderworker, and therefore he dug a deep cave under his dwelling, where he could retire to contemplate God and recite prayers. In walking before the Lord, the monk was able to achieve such boldness that, after pronouncing his prayers, the Almighty brought the dead back to life, but, despite the achievements of the Saint, he continued to adhere to extraordinary humility.
During the reign of King Valentine, an Arian (between 364 and 378), the monk, along with Macarius of Alexandria, suffered persecution from Luke, the Arian bishop. Both hermits were seized and put on a ship, taking them to a deserted island inhabited only by adherents of paganism.
It was there, according to the prayers of the Miracle Workers, that the daughter of the chief priest found healing, after which he and all the inhabitants of the island went through the rite of Baptism. But when the bishop learned what had happened, he was ashamed and allowed the elders to return to their deserts.
The saint spent about 60 years in a desert that was dead to the world, where he spent most of his time talking with the Lord being in a state of spiritual rapture, but he never stopped working hard, repenting and crying.
And the Miracle Worker embodied his considerable ascetic knowledge into comprehensive Theological writings, consisting of fifty spiritual discourses and seven ascetic words, namely:
- Macarius the Great on purity of heart;
- About spiritual perfection;
- About prayers;
- About prudence and patience;
- About the ascension of the mind;
- About love;
- About freedom of mind.
It was these creations that became the precious legacy of the divine wisdom of St. Macarius, and the opinion that the task of a believing person and his highest good is the unity of the soul with the Lord is the main idea in his writings. Narrating what methods exist for achieving sacred unity, the monk took as a basis the knowledge of the Egyptian mentors of monasticism, and also used his own experience.
The skills of holy monks in communion with God and the path to the Almighty is open to every heart in which hope and faith live. That is why the Orthodox Church introduced the ascetic prayers of the Great Wonderworker into the commonly used morning and evening doxology.
The Saint died at the age of about 90 in 391.
What do they pray to the Saint?
Even during his lifetime, for his strictness, accomplished feats and purity of spirit, the monk was awarded the title of Great, therefore the uttered text of the prayer service in front of the image of the Egyptian monk will help in resolving many life situations, and will also protect from temptations and misfortunes. They pray to the miracle worker:
- About enlightenment;
- About help in preserving and strengthening the faith;
- To gain spiritual purity;
- Finding comfort in difficult life situations;
- The prayer of Macarius the Great helps to obtain spiritual peace;
- On the expulsion of evil spirits;
- About descended wisdom;
- To receive patronage.
When is the Day of Remembrance of the Miracle Worker celebrated?
In the Christian Church, a day of celebration in honor of the Saint is established on February 1 (January 19 - according to the old style), where a service is held and an akathist is performed as a veneration.
The text of the prayer of St. Macarius the Great:
O sacred head, reverend father, most blessed Abbo Macarius, do not forget your poor ones to the end, but always remember us in your holy and auspicious prayers to God. Remember your flock, if you yourself saved it, and do not forget to visit your children. Pray for us, holy father, for your spiritual children, as if you have boldness towards the Heavenly King, do not be silent for us to the Lord, and do not despise us, with faith and love, who honor you.
Remember us unworthy at the Throne of the Almighty, and do not stop praying for us to Christ God, for grace has been given to you to pray for us. It’s not imaginary that the creature is dead, but even with the body you have passed away from us, but even after death you are still alive. Do not depart from us in spirit, preserving us from the arrows of the enemy and all the charms of demons and the wiles of the devil, our good shepherd. Even more, and the relics of your cancer are always visible before our eyes, but your holy soul with angelic armies, with incorporeal faces, with heavenly powers, at the Throne of the Almighty, is worthy of fun.
Leading thee truly and living after death, we fall down and pray to you: pray for us to the Almighty God, for the benefit of our souls, and ask us time to repent, let us go unhindered from the earth to heaven, from the ordeals of the bitter, the demons of the air princes and let us be delivered from eternal torment, and let us be with all the righteous who have pleased our Lord Jesus Christ from time immemorial, He deserves all glory, honor and worship, with His Beginningless Father and with His Most Holy and Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and forever and ever. Amen.
Angelic Revelation to Saint Macarius of Alexandria
Angelic revelation about how important it is to commemorate the soul after death on the days appointed by the church (3, 9, 40). In these special days for the deceased, we must render all possible assistance to him. Only the Orthodox Church commemorates the dead and only prayers Orthodox Church God hears. Thus the Holy Church covers us with her prayer both in this life and in the next.
An angelic revelation to St. Macarius of Alexandria about the afterlife of human souls and about the days of church commemoration of the dead (the third, ninth and fortieth from the day of death).
Once, when we were walking in the desert, - says the disciple of St. Macarius, I saw two angels who accompanied St. Macarius, one on the right side, the other on the left. On the way, by chance, we found a damaged and stinking corpse. St. Macarius, feeling the stench, covered his nostrils with his hand until he passed by. The angels did the same.
A sinful soul, while still in the body, emits the stench of evil deeds, but much more after death.
The elder, seeing this, asked them: “Do you really smell the stench of the world in the same way?” They answered: “No; but we, imitating you, did this: for we do not feel the stench, but only smell the stench from the souls of sinners. He is as disgusting to us as the stench of this corpse is disgusting to you. Surprised by this, the elder says to them: “Explain to me, I ask you: the stench from the souls of sinners - do you feel them in this life, or after their death? And how do you distinguish the souls of sinners who believe in the Lord from the souls of the wicked who do not believe? Tell me if I have gained your favor. The angels answered: “Listen, Macarius, the chosen one of God!
A sinful soul, while still in the body, emits the stench of evil deeds, but much more after death. For evil deeds lie on her, and cover her with darkness, like a black garment. The soul, like the breath of immortal light, is bright and pure in itself, but, being in the body and not properly managing it, each one is defiled by sin, some more, others less. But listen, Macarius, how the souls of believers and unbelievers are taken from the body; however, take earthly things as the weakest image of heavenly things. Just as warriors sent from an earthly king to seize someone, when they come, they take him even against his will, and he is stricken with fear and trembles at the very presence of those who drag him along the path without mercy, so when angels are sent to take the soul of a righteous man or a sinner, she is stricken with fear, and trembles at the presence of formidable and implacable angels. Then she sees that both wealth and the presence of relatives and friends are vain, invalid, completely useless for her; she feels the tears and groans of those around her, but without experiencing such a call, she can never utter a word or give a voice; afraid of the distance of the way, and. life changes; he is also amazed at the mercilessness of the rulers whom he sees before him; worries about his life in the body, weeps and about separation from him, according to his usual predilection for him. She cannot have that one and only consolation that her own conscience gives, if she does not recognize good deeds in herself. Such a soul, even before the decision of the Judge, is constantly condemned by conscience.
Abba Macarius offers another question; he says: “I ask you to explain this too: when it is customary for the Fathers in the Church to make an offering to God for the deceased on the third, ninth and fortieth days, then what benefit does the soul of the deceased come from?” The angel answered: “God did not allow anything indecent and useless to be in His Church, but God allowed His heavenly and earthly sacraments to be in His Church and commanded them to be performed. For when on the third day there is an offering in the Church, then the soul of the deceased receives relief from the angel guarding it in the sorrow that it feels from separation from the body; receives because the doxology and offering in the Church of God has been completed for her, which is why a good hope is born in her. For in the course of two days the soul, together with the angels who are with it, is allowed to walk on earth wherever it wishes. Therefore, the soul that loves the body sometimes wanders around the house in which it was separated from the body, sometimes around the tomb in which the body is laid; and thus spends two days looking, like a bird, for its nests. And the virtuous soul goes to those places where it used to do the right thing. On the third day, He who rose from the dead on the third day - the God of all - commands, in imitation of His Resurrection, to ascend to heaven for every Christian soul to worship the God of all. So it is the custom of the good Church to make an offering and prayer for the soul on the third day.
But if the soul is guilty of sins, then at the sight of the pleasures of the saints, it begins to grieve and reproach itself.
After worshiping God, He is commanded to show the soul the various and pleasant abodes of the saints and the beauty of paradise. All this is considered by the soul for six days, wondering and glorifying the Creator of all this - God. Contemplating all this, she changes and forgets the sorrow she had while in the body. But if she is guilty of sins, then at the sight of the pleasures of the saints, she begins to grieve and reproach herself, saying: “Alas for me! How I fussed in that world! Carried away by the satisfaction of lusts, I spent most of my life in carelessness, did not serve God as I should, so that I could also be rewarded with this goodness and glory. Alas, poor me! Even now I am surrounded by worries and ill-timed cares that controlled me in that world. What is to me in the vineyards and olives that I have planted? What benefit will the field I have acquired bring me? Of what use is the gold gathered there to me? What use is the wealth there for me here? What profit did all the sweetness of life and the world bring to me? Alas for me! In vain I worked! Alas for me!
I have spent my life recklessly! Alas for me! I loved short-term glory and gained eternal poverty! Alas for me! What have I been through! Woe is me! How dark I was, I did not know. Woe is me! No one can help me now, so that I, the unfortunate one, can receive the glory of the Lord. After consideration for six days of all the joy of the righteous, she again ascends by angels to worship God. So, the Church does well, performing on the ninth day services and an offering for the deceased. After the second worship, the Lord of all again commands to take the soul to hell and show it the places of torment that are there, the different sections of hell and the various impious torments in which, being, the souls of sinners ceaselessly sob and gnash their teeth. Through these various places of torment the soul rushes about for thirty days, trembling, lest it itself be condemned to imprisonment in them. On the fortieth day, she again ascends to worship God; and then the Judge determines the appropriate place of confinement according to her deeds. So, the Church is doing the right thing in making commemoration of the departed and those who have received Baptism.
But with souls who have not received Holy Baptism, this is not the case. After separating these unenlightened souls from the body, implacable angels, taking them, beat them severely and say: “Come here, impious soul; know who is your Lord and Lord of all. You didn’t want to know Him, living carelessly in the world, know now, condemned to eternal torment. And having taken her up to the first heaven, they set up and show from afar the glory of the angels and all the heavenly powers, saying: “The Lord of all these is Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, whom you did not want to know and honor with worship. Depart from here to the wicked like you and to their prince the devil, into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels, whom you worshiped like gods in your life.
The angels, having said this and embracing Macarius, the servant of God, became invisible to us. We will send glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit now and always and forever and ever. Amen.
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Saint 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 widow. After burying his wife, Macarius said to himself: "Take heed, 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 the memory of death has been with him ever since, forcing him to labors of prayer and repentance. He began to visit the temple of God more often and delve into the Holy Scriptures, but he did not leave his elderly parents, fulfilling the commandment to honor parents. After the death of his parents, the Monk Macarius ("Macarius" - from Greek means blessed) distributed the remaining estate in remembrance of his parents and began to earnestly 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 needlework - weaving baskets. Having built a separate cell not far from his own, the elder placed his disciple in it.
Once a local bishop arrived in Ptinapor and, having learned about the virtuous life of the monk, appointed, against his will, a cleric of the local church. However, the blessed Macarius was weary of breaking the 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 suggesting sinful thoughts. Blessed Macarius repulsed the attacks of the demon, guarding himself with prayer and the sign of the cross. Evil people they raised up a scolding against the saint, slandering the girls from the nearby village in the seduction. They pulled him out of his cell, beat him, mocked him. Saint Macarius bore the temptation with great humility. He resignedly sent the money received for his baskets to feed the girl. The innocence of blessed Macarius was revealed when the maiden, 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, retired from those places at night and moved to the Nitrian mountain in the Faran desert. Thus, human malice contributed to the prosperity of the righteous. After living three years in the wilderness, 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 burning with the desire 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 "old man", because, having barely reached thirty years of age, he showed himself to be an experienced, mature monk.
Saint Macarius experienced many attacks of demons: once he was carrying palm branches from the desert for weaving baskets, the devil met him on the way 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 was 40 years old, he was ordained a priest and appointed rector (abba) of the monks who lived in the Skete desert. During these years, the Monk Macarius often visited Great Anthony, receiving instructions from him in spiritual conversations. Blessed Macarius was honored to be present at the death of the holy abba and inherited his staff, with which he received the purely spiritual power of the Great Anthony, just as the prophet Elisha once received from the prophet Elijah the divine grace along with the mantle that fell from heaven.
Saint Macarius performed many healings, people flocked to him from different places for help, advice, asking for his holy prayers. All this violated the solitude of the saint, so he dug a deep cave under his cell and retired there for prayer and contemplation. The Monk Macarius attained such boldness in walking before God that, through his prayer, the Lord resurrected the dead. Despite such heights of attained God-likeness, he continued to maintain extraordinary humility. One day the holy abba found a thief in his cell, who was loading his belongings onto a donkey standing by the cell. Without giving the appearance that he was the owner of these things, the monk silently began to help to tie up the load. Having released 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 either. May the Lord be blessed in everything!"
Once the Monk Macarius was walking through the desert and, seeing a skull lying on the ground, he asked him: "Who are you?" The skull replied: "I was the chief pagan priest. When you, abba, pray for those in hell, we get 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 as some consolation to us.” Hearing such words, the monk shed tears and asked: "Is there any more cruel torment?" The skull answered: "Below, deeper than us, are those who knew the Name of God, but rejected Him and did not keep His commandments. They endure even more severe torments."
Once, while praying, blessed Macarius heard a voice: "Macarius, you have not yet reached such perfection as the two women living in the city." The humble ascetic, taking his staff, went into the city, found a house where women lived, and knocked. The women received him with joy, and the monk said: "For your sake I have come from a distant desert and I want to know about your good deeds, tell about them without hiding anything." The women answered with surprise: "We live with our husbands, we don't have any virtues." However, the saint continued to insist, and then the women told him: “We married brothers. During the entire time of our life together, we did not say a single evil or offensive word to each other and never quarreled among ourselves. We asked our husbands to let us go to convent but they do not agree, and we vowed 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, neither a monk nor a layman, but appreciates the free his will sends the grace of the Holy Spirit, which acts and governs the life of every person who seeks to be saved.
During the reign of the Arian emperor Valens (364-378), Saint Macarius the Great, together with Saint Macarius of Alexandria, was persecuted by the Arian bishop Luke. They seized both elders and put them on a ship and took them to a deserted island where the pagans lived. There. through the prayers of the saints, the daughter of the priest was healed, after which the priest himself and all the inhabitants of the island received holy Baptism. Upon learning of what had happened, the Arian bishop was ashamed and allowed the elders to return to their deserts.
The meekness and humility of the monk transformed human souls. "A bad word," said Abba Macarius, "makes the good ones thin, but a good word makes the bad ones good." To the question of the monks how one should pray, the monk answered: “Prayer does not require many words, you just need to say: “Lord, as You wish and as You know, have mercy on me.” If the enemy attacks you, then you only need to say: "Lord, have mercy!" The Lord knows what is good for us and will show us mercy." When the brethren asked: "How can one become a monk?" renounce everything that is in the world, cannot be a monk." To this I replied: "I am weak and cannot be like you." Then the monks answered: "If you cannot be like us, then sit in your cell and repent of your sins."
Saint Macarius gave advice to one monk: "Run away 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 repent of your sins." Saint Macarius also said: "If you wish to be saved, be like a dead man who does not get angry when he is dishonored, and does not exalt himself when he is praised." And again: “If for you reproach is like praise, poverty is like wealth, lack is like abundance, you will not die.
The prayer of St. Macarius saved many in dangerous circumstances of life and kept them from troubles and temptations. His mercy was so great that they said about him: "As God covers the world, so Abba Macarius covered the sins that he, seeing, as if he did not see, and hearing, as if he did not hear."
The monk lived to be 97 years old, shortly before his death, the Monks Anthony and Pachomius appeared to him, reporting the joyful news of his imminent transition to the blessed Heavenly cloisters. Having given instructions to his disciples and blessed them, the Monk Macarius took leave of 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. Most of the time the monk spent in conversation with God, often being in a state of spiritual rapture. But he never stopped crying, repenting and working. The abbot turned his rich ascetic experience into deep theological creations. Fifty conversations and seven ascetic words remained a precious legacy of the spiritual wisdom of St. Macarius the Great.
The idea that the highest good and goal of man is the union of the soul with God is the main one in the works of St. Macarius. Talking about ways to achieve sacred unity, the monk based himself 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 by the holy ascetics is open to every believing heart. That is why the Holy Church included in the commonly used evening and morning prayers the ascetic prayers of St. Macarius the Great.
Earthly life, according to the teachings of St. Macarius, with all its labors, has only a relative significance: to prepare the soul, to make it capable of perceiving the Kingdom of Heaven, to cultivate in the soul an affinity with the Heavenly Fatherland. "The soul that truly believes in Christ must be transferred and changed from the current vicious state to another good state, and from the current lowly nature to another, Divine nature, and be changed into a new one - through the power of the Holy Spirit." This can be achieved if "we truly believe and love God and turn in all His holy commandments." If, however, the soul, betrothed to Christ in holy Baptism, does not itself cooperate with the grace of the Holy Spirit bestowed upon it, then it will be subject to “excommunication from life,” as having turned out to be unseemly 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 achievement 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 it is possible to achieve the perfect measure of virtue necessary for the soul to assimilate this Divine gift only "by faith and love with the effort of free will." Then "as much as in grace, so much in righteousness" the Christian inherits eternal life. Salvation is a work of the God-man: we achieve complete spiritual success "not only by Divine power and grace, but also by bringing our own labors", on the other hand, we come to the "measure of freedom and purity" not only by our own diligence, but not without "assistance from above by God's hand ". The fate of a person is determined by the actual state of his soul, his self-determination to good or evil. “If a soul in this world does not yet receive the sanctity of the Spirit for much faith and prayers, and does not become a partaker of the Divine nature, then it is unfit for the Kingdom of Heaven.”
The miracles and visions of blessed Macarius are described in the book of presbyter Rufinus, while 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.
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 the mother of Macarius bore the name Sarah. Since the marriage of Macarius' parents was barren, they decided to lead a chaste life, however, not parting from each other, but living together. So, for many years the parents of Macarius lived, united by spiritual cohabitation, and not carnal. They adorned their lives with abstinence and fasting, frequent prayers, unremitting vigil, generous distribution of alms, hospitality and many other virtues. At that time, by Divine will, barbarians attacked Egypt, who plundered all the property of the inhabitants of Egypt. Together with others, Macarius' parents also lost all their property, which is why they even wanted to leave their fatherland for some other country.
But one night, when the father of Macarius - Abraham was sleeping, the Holy Patriarch Abraham appeared to him in a dream, in the form of a venerable, gray-haired, old man in brilliant clothes. The holy patriarch who appeared consoled Abraham in his misfortune, commanding him to trust in the Lord and not leave the Egyptian borders, but move to the village of Ptinapor, located in the same country. At the same time, Patriarch Abraham predicted to Macarius' parent that God would soon bless him with the birth of a son, just as He once blessed the Patriarch Abraham himself when he was a stranger in the land of Canaan, giving him a son in old age (Gen. 21:2). Upon awakening from his sleep, Presbyter Abraham recounted his vision 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 not far from the Nitrian desert. All this happened according to Divine will, so that the son who had been born from them - the Monk Macarius - would love the wilderness life more strongly, to which he surrendered, as we will see later, with all his soul. During the residence of the parents of Macarius in the village of Ptinapor, it happened that the father of Macarius, Abraham, became so ill that he was close to death. One night, when he was lying on the bed of illness, he saw, in a dreamy vision, that the angel of the Lord came out of the altar in the temple where Abraham served, and, approaching him, said:
Abraham, Abraham! get up from your bed.
Abraham answered the angel:
I am sick, sir, and therefore I cannot get up.
Then the angel, taking the patient by the hand, said to him with meekness:
God has mercy on you, Abraham: He heals you of your illness and grants you His favor, for your wife Sarah will give birth to a son named blessedness. He will be the home of the Holy Spirit, for in the form of an angel he will live on earth and lead many to God.
Upon awakening from this vision, Abraham felt perfectly well; filled with fear and joy, he immediately told his wife Sarah all 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, gave thanks to the most merciful Lord God. Soon after this, Sarah conceived in old age, and after a certain time, a male child was born to her, who was named Macarius, which means "blessed", and enlightened him with holy baptism.
When the youth Macarius reached adulthood and learned to understand the Holy Scriptures, his parents, as if forgetting what the angel who appeared in a vision to Abraham had predicted about him, wished 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, wishing to be engaged to a single imperishable bride - a pure and immaculate virgin life. However, obeying the will of his parents, Macarius obeyed them, surrendering himself entirely into the hands of the Lord and hoping that He would show him further way life. After the wedding feast, when the newlyweds were brought into the bridal chamber, Macarius pretended to be sick and did not touch his bride, praying from the depths of his heart to the only true God and placing his hope in Him, so that the Lord would soon grant him to leave worldly life and become monk. A few days later, it happened to one of the relatives of Macarius to go to the Nitrian mountain to bring saltpeter from there, which was there in huge quantities, from which the mountain itself was called "Nitrian". At the request of his parents, Macarius went with him. Arriving on the way there, to Lake Nitria, Macarius stepped aside from his companions, wanting to rest a little from the journey, and fell asleep. And so, in a dreamy vision, a wondrous man appeared before him, shining with light, who said to Macarius:
Macarius! Look at these desert places and consider them carefully, for you are destined to settle here.
Awakening from sleep, Macarius began to think about 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 Antony. When, after a three-day journey to the Nitrian mountain, Macarius and his companions returned home, he found his wife suffering from such a severe fever that she was already dying. Soon she died in front of Macarius, an immaculate virgin, departing into eternal life. Macarius thanked God that He had granted him to see the death of his wife and, as a warning to himself, he thought about his death in this 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 cared about anything earthly, incessantly staying in the temple of the Lord and reading the Holy Scriptures. Macarius's parents, seeing the way of life he was leading, did not dare to mention even a woman's name in his presence, but they were very happy about such a chaste life. Meanwhile, Abraham, the father of Macarius, had already entered advanced years and became very ill, so that from old age and illness he lost his sight. Blessed Macarius cared for his elderly and sick father with love and zeal. Soon the elder went 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 with an ordinary Christian burial, and became completely free from the bonds of the flesh, distributing after their burial all his property to the poor in remembrance of the souls of the deceased. Macarius had great sadness in his 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 that He would send him a good mentor who would guide him on the path to salvation.
Some time later, the Day of commemoration of the memory of one saint came, in whose honor, according to the custom of his parents, Macarius also wished to arrange a holiday. In view of this, he prepared a dinner, destining it not so much for his neighbors, but for the poor and wretched. Being present on this Day at the church service, Macarius saw one venerable old man - a monk who entered the temple. This monk had long gray hair and a beard that reached almost to the waist; his face was pale from prolonged fasting; his whole appearance was magnificent, for his inner spiritual image was also adorned with the beauty of 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 anyone from the people, and only on the present day, according to the Divine dispensation, did he come 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 all those 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, for I want to ask your experienced advice regarding my future life!
Come, child, - answered the elder, - 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 for the Lord with all his strength, and together he earnestly asked the elder to teach him what he should do for the salvation of his soul. With heartfelt conversations, the elder kept Macarius at his place for a whole day, and when the sun went down, they ate some bread and salt, and the elder ordered Macarius to go to bed. The elder himself began to pray, directing his mind to grief; at the onset of deep night, he came into an enthusiastic state and saw the cathedral of monks dressed in white clothes and having wings. They walked around the sleeping Macarius and said:
Get up, Macarius, and begin the ministry indicated to you by God; do not postpone it for another time, for the lazy one acts imprudently, and the unlazy one earns his wages.
In the morning, the Holy Elder told Macarius this vision of his own and, letting him go, 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 charitable deeds!
After teaching Macarius instructions on prayer, vigils, and fasting, the elder let him go 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 been freed from all worldly concerns and having himself become, as it were, a beggar, Macarius again came to the elder, in order to completely surrender to the service of the Lord he had long desired. The elder lovingly received the humble young man, showed him the beginnings of a silent monastic life and taught him the usual monastic needlework - basket weaving. At the same time, the elder arranged for Macarius a separate cell not far from his own, for he himself loved to serve the Lord in solitude. He took his new disciple to the newly arranged cell, again giving him the necessary instructions about prayer, food and needlework. So blessed Macarius, with the help of God, began to undergo a 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, having learned from the inhabitants of the village about the exploits of blessed Macarius, he called him to himself and, against his desire, appointed him a cleric of the local church, although Macarius was still young. But St. Macarius, burdened by the position of a clergyman, which disturbed his silent life, a few days later, fled from there and settled in a deserted place near another village. One reverent man of a simple rank came to him here, and he began to serve Macarius, selling his handicrafts and buying food for him with the proceeds. The hater of all goodness - the devil, seeing how he is defeated by a young monk, conceived a battle against him and began to fight intensely with him, building various intrigues against him, sometimes inspiring him with sinful thoughts, sometimes attacking him in the form of various monsters. When Macarius was awake at night, standing at prayer, the devil shook his cell to the very foundations, and sometimes, turning into a snake, crawled along the ground and rushed furiously at the saint. But blessed Macarius, guarding himself with prayer and the sign of the cross, considered the intrigues of the devil for nothing, exclaiming, as David once did:
- "Thou shalt not be afraid of terrors in the night, of an arrow that flies by day, of a plague that walks in darkness."(Ps. 91:5).
Then the devil, not being able 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 maiden, whom a young man who also lived in this village asked to be his wife. But since the young man was very poor and, moreover, of a 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 malice - the devil, told her:
Tell me what a hermit who lives near us did this to you.
The girl listened to the insidious advice, and sharpened her tongue against the innocent monk, like a snake. And so, when the parents noticed that the girl should be a mother, they began to ask her with beatings who was responsible for her fall. The girl then replied:
This is the fault of your hermit, whom you consider a saint. 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 have not told anyone about this until now.
Wounded by these words, the girls, as if with arrows, her parents and relatives all together rushed to the saint's dwelling with loud cries and swear words. Pulling 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 a rope, they hung the saint around his neck and, in this form, led him throughout the village, outrageously abused him, beating him, pushing him, tormenting him by the hair and kicking him. At the same time they exclaimed:
This monk defiled our girl, beat him all!
It happened at that time to pass by a prudent person. Seeing what was happening, he said to the beaters of the saint:
How long will you beat an innocent wandering monk without knowing for sure whether the accusation against him is just? 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, for the sake of God, served Macarius by selling his handicrafts, walked at a distance from the saint and wept bitterly, not being able to prevent the saint from being beaten and to free Macarius from the hands of those who " how the dogs surrounded him"(Ps. 21:17). And those who beat the saint, turning around, rushed with abuse, and threats to this person.
That's what he did, - they shouted, - the hermit whom you serve! - 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 even now, but said:
We will not let him in until he provides us with guarantors that he will feed our daughter, whom he has dishonored.
Barely taking a breath, Macarius asked the man who served 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 led him to his cell. Having somewhat recovered from his wounds, Macarius began to work harder on his needlework, saying to himself this:
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 overtook her because she slandered an innocent saint. For a long time she could not be relieved of the burden and suffered for many days and nights, crying bitterly from very severe pain. At the sight of her such torment, her parents also suffered 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 accursed! I am worthy of a terrible punishment for having slandered the righteous man, saying that he is the cause of my fall. He is not the culprit of this, but the young man who wanted to marry me.
Hearing the cries of the girl, her parents and relatives who were near her were greatly struck by her words; and a strong fear fell upon them, and they were very ashamed that they dared to insult the innocent monk, the 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, from young to old, flocked to the house where the maiden lived. Hearing the cries of the maiden there that the hermit was innocent of her disgrace, the inhabitants strongly reproached themselves and grieved greatly that without mercy they all beat the saint. After consulting with the girl's parents, they all decided to go to the Monk Macarius and weep at his feet, asking for forgiveness, so that the wrath of God would not befall them for offending an innocent person. Having learned such a 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! - happy and joyful is this day 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 innocent. She cannot be relieved of the burden, and confessed that you are not the cause of her fall, but one young man. Now all the inhabitants of the village, young and old, want to come to you with repentance in order to glorify God for your chastity and patience and ask your forgiveness so that they do not suffer any punishment from the Lord for having unjustly offended you.
With regret, the humble Macarius listened 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, at nightfall, he got up and departed from those places, going first of all to Mount Nitria, where he 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 Faran desert, for Macarius had long heard of him, even when he lived in the world, and greatly desired 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 in everything to imitate his father. Then, on the advice of the Monk Anthony, Macarius withdrew for a solitary life to the skete desert, where he so shone with deeds and succeeded in monastic life so much that he surpassed many brethren and received from them the title "young old man", because, despite his youth, discovered quite old life. Here Macarius had to fight with demons day and night. Sometimes demons, obviously, having turned into various monsters, rushed with fury at the monk, 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 about to kill him. Sometimes the demons raised an invisible battle against the saint, instilling in him various passionate and impure thoughts, trying in various cunning ways to shake this solid wall built by Christ and destroy it. However, they could not at all overcome this courageous fighter of truth, who had God as his helpers and, like David, exclaimed:
- "Some with chariots (with weapons), others with horses, but I boast in the name of the Lord our God: they staggered and fell, with God I will show strength" (Ps. 19: 8-9; 59: 14) and He will destroy all my enemies - demons, so fiercely attacking me.
One night, the 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 you.
But they said:
Why do you insult us, Macarius, blaspheming us with such words?
Is it possible, the monk objected, that one of the demons would awaken someone to pray and glorify God, or instruct someone 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 neglect of Macarius, they rushed at him in multitudes 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, have opened their mouths against me"(Ps.31:7; 21:14,17-18).
And suddenly all the multitude of demons disappeared with a great noise.
On another occasion it happened that Macarius picked up 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 not able to defeat you. Here I am, everything you do, I do. You fast, I eat nothing 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 reverend asked him.
Your humility, - answered the devil, - that is 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 rector (abba) of the monks living in the skete. About his food and drink, that is, about how he fasted, it is not necessary to say much, because even the weakest of the brothers of his skete could not be reproached either for overeating, or for eating any exquisite food. Although this happened partly due to the lack of any refined food in those places, but mainly for the sake of the competition of the monks staying there, who tried not only to imitate one another in fasting, but also to surpass each other. About other exploits of Macarius, this heavenly man, there are various legends among the fathers. They say that the monk constantly ascended with his mind to the heavenly 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, having spiritual conversations with him. Together with two other disciples of the Monk Anthony and Macarius, he was honored to be present at his blessed death and, as a kind of rich inheritance, he received Anthony's staff, with which he supported his feeble body on the road, dejected by old age and fasting deeds. Together with this staff of Anthony, the Monk Macarius received the purely spirit of Anthony the Great, as the prophet Elisha once perceived such after Elijah the prophet (2 Kings 2:9). By the power of this spirit, Macarius created many marvelous miracles, to the story of which we now turn.
One wicked Egyptian was inflamed with impure love for a married woman. beautiful woman, but could not persuade her to betray her husband, for she was chaste, virtuous and loved her husband. Strongly desiring to take possession of her, this Egyptian went to a certain sorcerer with a request that he, by means of his magic spells, arrange so that this woman would love him, or that her husband would hate her and drive her away from him. The magician, having received rich gifts from that Egyptian, used his usual magic, trying to seduce a chaste woman to an evil deed by the power of magic spells. Not being able to incline the unshakable soul of a woman to sin, the sorcerer enchanted the eyes of everyone who looked at the woman, arranging it so that she seemed to everyone not to be a woman with a human appearance, but an animal that had the appearance of a horse. The husband of that woman, having come home, was horrified to see a horse instead of his wife and was very surprised that an animal was lying on his bed. He addressed her with words, but received no answer, only noticed that she was becoming furious. Knowing that it was supposed to be his wife, he realized that this was done out of someone's malice; wherefore he was greatly grieved, and shed tears. Then he called the elders to his house and showed them his wife. But they could not understand that before them was a man, and not an animal, since their eyes were also fascinated, and they saw an animal. It has been three days since this woman began to seem like a horse to everyone. During this time, she did not take food, because she could not eat 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. Putting a bridle on her, as if on an animal, he went to the dwelling of Macarius, leading his wife, who looked like a horse. When he approached the cell of the monk, the monks who stood 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 thing happened to her? - asked the monks.
This animal you see, the man answered them, is my wife. How she turned into a horse, I do not know. But now three days have passed since the time when this happened, and all this time she has not eaten any food.
After listening to his story, the brethren immediately hurried to the Monk Macarius to tell him about this, but he already had a revelation from God, and he prayed for the woman. When the monks told the saint what had happened and pointed him to the brought animal, the saint said to them:
You yourselves are like animals, because your eyes see a bestial image. She, as created by a woman, remains her, and has not changed her human nature, but only seems animal to your eyes, seduced by magical spells.
Then the monk blessed the water and with a prayer poured it on the woman brought in, and immediately she took on her usual human form, so that everyone, looking at her, saw a woman with a human face. Having commanded to give her food, the Saint made her completely healthy. Then both the husband and the wife and all those 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 did not partake of the Divine Mysteries.
Having instructed the husband and wife, the Saint let them go in peace.
Macarius healed in a similar way a maiden, whom a magician had turned into a donkey, and who, in this form, was brought to the saint by her parents. The other girl, all rotten from wounds and scabs and teeming with worms, he made completely healthy, anointing her with holy oil.
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. Because of the multitude of people who came to him, Macarius had little time to indulge in meditation in solitude. Therefore, the monk dug a deep cave under his cell, about half a stadia long, where he hid from those who constantly came to him and violated his Divine thought and prayer.
The Monk Macarius received from God such grace-filled power that he could even resurrect the dead. And so, one heretic named Jerakites, who taught that there would be no resurrection of the dead, came from Egypt into the wilderness 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 the faith. Being himself skilled in words, he mocked at the simplicity of the reverend's speeches. The Monk Macarius, noticing that the brethren began to waver in faith from the speeches of this heretic, said to him:
Of what use is it to us to quarrel with words, more for the hesitation of those who listen to our dispute than for confirmation in the faith? Let us go to the graves of our brethren who died in the Lord, and to which of 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 these words of the monk, and they all went to the cemetery. There, the Monk Macarius told Jerakite to call from the tomb one of the deceased from the brethren. But Hierakith said to Macarius:
First you do it, because you yourself appointed such a test.
Then the Monk Macarius prostrated himself in prayer to the Lord and, after a long prayer, raised his eyes to the mountain and called out to the Lord:
God! You yourself reveal now which of the two of us believes (in You) more correctly, reveal this, arranging it so that one of the dead lying here rises from the tomb.
Having prayed thus, the monk named by name one recently buried monk, and the dead man immediately answered his voice from the tomb. Then the monks hurriedly dug up the grave and found their brother resurrected in it. Untying the bandages that were on him, they brought him alive from the grave. At the sight of such a marvelous miracle, Ierakit was so horrified that he fled. All the monks drove him away, as they drive away enemies, and drove him far beyond the borders of that land.
On another occasion, the Monk Macarius also resurrected another deceased, as Abba Sisoy narrates.
I was, - he says, - with the Monk Macarius in the skete. It was time for the harvest of grain. Seven of the brethren were hired for the harvest. During it, one widow picked up ears of corn for us and at the same time cried all the time. The Monk Macarius, calling the owner of the field, asked him:
What is it that 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 without having time to reveal to his wife where he had put what he had taken. Therefore, the lender wants to take this woman with her children into slavery. Then Macarius said to him:
Tell the woman to come to our 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 crying all the time, 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,” Macarius said.
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 answered from the grave:
I hid it in my house at the feet under my bed.
Rest again, - Abba Macarius told him, - until the day of the general resurrection!
The brethren, seeing such a miracle, from great fear fell at the feet of the monk. The elder, for the edification of the brethren, said:
All this happened not for my sake, for I am nothing, but for the sake of this widow and her children, God created this miracle. Know, then, that God is pleased with a sinless soul, and whatever she asks from Him, she 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 monk, let us glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the One God, glorified in His saints, forever. Amen.
