St. Marcarius, the Elder, of Egypt (+390 AD)
The name Macarius derives from macha, skillfulness, and ares, virtue, meaning “one skilled in virtue.”
St. Macarius the Elder is often confused with St. Macarius of Alexandria. Both lived in the same part of the world around the same time and supervised monks, thus the confusion is understandable. It is particularly difficult for scholars to agree on how to assign authorship of extant writings attributed to Macarius. However, the life and works of St. Macarius the Elder were handed on to us by the original authors of the lives of the fathers and preserved by the Bollandists. Thus we do know the following.
St. Macarius was born in Upper Egypt (the southern part of the modern day nation, for the Nile river flows downward towards the Mediterranean) around the year 300 AD. He was brought up in the country and tended cattle. As a young boy, he was once influenced by peer pressure to steal and eat some figs. Following his conversion, he never ceased to grievously weep bitter tears for this one sin!
While still in his youth, he heard God calling him to retire from the world. He decided to forsake the spirit of the world and moved to a small village where he dwelt in a simple hut. He made mats from reeds, prayed unceasingly and practiced great mortifications. Sadly, a malicious lady falsely accused him of having deflowered her. When he was accused by the magistrates under her provocation, he refused to defend himself. His silence was taken as a sure sign of guilt. The townspeople considered him the basest of hypocrites. He was insulted, spat upon, dragged through the streets, beaten, and publically humiliated. He suffered it all with great patience! Moreover, he began to work even harder, to make even more mats and send all his extra earnings to the woman who falsely accused himself. He had resolved to provide the necessary sustenance for his enemy. Moved by this heroic virtue, God Himself vindicated Macaraius. When it came time for the woman to give birth, she could not. She fell into extreme anguish and suffered for countless hours. Somehow she realized that she would die in childbirth, not being able to deliver her child, if she did not reveal the truth. Thus she confessed the name of the real man who had been responsible, and immediately the baby was delivered without further complications.
The people of the town underwent a complete change of heart towards Macarius. All their previous excessive rage was turned into excessive piety and admiration for his humility and patience. In order to shun the esteem of men, for he considered himself a vile base sinner, Macarius fled the village and secluded himself with in the vast and deadly desert of Scété. He was approximately thirty years old. Today this area is known as “Wadi El Naturn” or the “Measure of the Hearts”. It was one of the three early Christian monastic centers and was located in the northwestern area of the Nile Delta. These three centers are often referred to commonly as the Nitrian Desert in Christian records, but the locales were distinct, though geographically close and with interrelated histories. For example. St. Antony of the Desert lived to the east of this area and St. Pachomius somewhat to the south.
St. Macarius lived in solitude for sixty years. He became the spiritual father of innumerable holy persons, who placed themselves under his direction. They each lived in isolated hermitages but were governed by the rules he prescribed. When the Arian heresy wrecked the Church in Egypt (and the world), Macarius and his monks became an indefatigable bastion for the true and holy Catholic Faith. In order to help preserve the Faith, one of the orthodox Egyptian bishops scoured the desert until he found Macarius. The bishop then forced him under holy obedience to accept the order of priesthood. This way he would be able to provide the sacraments for his monks and others who fled the bloody Arian persecutions in the heavily populated metropolises. This desert continued to be populated. More churches were built and served by a growing number of priest monks. St. Macarius lived within the patriarchate of the great St. Athanasius, Champion of Orthodoxy and Defender of the Faith. Although we have no records of their ever having met, it is quite likely that Macarius offered Athanasius sanctuary, especially since the great bishop passed through the Scété as he fled to Rome to begin his second exile (339 AD).
The austerities of St. Macarius were excessive. He only ate once a week. He only allowed one disciple to live near him, Evagrius, whose main responsibility was to entertain strangers on his behalf and act as ‘gate keeper” to preserve the solitude of the holy man. Once when Macarius suffered a parching thirst, Evagrius asked him to take but a small sip of water, and the saint responded that it would be sufficient to repose for a little while in some shade. Though he never drank wine, Evagrius learned that if a visitor desired it of him, Macarius would relent in order to deny his own will. However, afterwards Macarius would punish himself by abstaining for two or three days from all manner of drink, including water. Upon discovering this, Evagrius began to beg visitors not to request he eat or drink anything, no matter how emaciated he appeared.
The advice given by St. Macarius to all, monks and laity alike, revolved around five main areas of spiritual discipline: (1) silence, (2) humility, (3) mortification, (4) abandonment of worldly goods, values, and desires, and (5) unceasing prayer. He used to say, “In prayer you need not use many or lofty words. You can often repeat with a sincere heart, Lord, show me your mercy as those knowest best! Or, Assist me, O God!” He took great consolation in praying the ejaculation, “O Lord, have mercy on me, as thou pleases, and knowest best in thy goodness.” His meekness and mildness were so great that they converted heathen pagan priests.
At times, Marcarius was even attacked by devils who were permitted to take on physical form. Once on his way to his cell, the devil approached him with a scythe . He tried to cut the saint down but failed to strike him. The devil then said, “I suffer much violence from you Macarius, because I cannot prevail against you. How is this? Whatever you do, I do. You fast, I eat even less. You deprive yourself of sleep, , I am always awake. There is only one thing in which you outdo me. Your humility! And that is what disarms and conquers me.” On another occasion he saw the devil walking towards his monks with many flasks. “Where are you going, and why so many flasks?” asked the saint. The devil replied, “I am taking drink to the monks. I bring these many bottles so that each one finds a drink he prefers, and then each can also have a second and a third.” On his way back, Macarius asked him “How did you fare?” In anger the devil replied, “Not well. They are all so holy, not one consented to dink, except for a fellow named Theotistus.” Macarius hurried off to find this monk and with many exhortations won him back for Christ. The next day Macarius saw the devil again. On his way back from tempting the monks, Marcarius asked “How did you fare today?” The devil replied in rage, “Badly. Now they are all holy. Worst of all, I have even lost the one I had. He has become the holiest of all.” At this Macarius offered great thanks to God.
Once a young man came seeking St. Macarius’ advise. The saint directed him to go to a cemetery and upbraid the dead with all fervor for their evil. Having done this, the young man returned. St. Macarius then directed him to go back and praise the dead with all zeal for their good. When he came back, the saint asked him what response the dead had given to either tirade. None at all said the young man, neither to the reproaches nor the praises. Macarius replied: “Then go, and learn neither to be moved with injuries nor flatteries. If you die to the world and to yourself, you will begin to live to Christ.” He advised another, “Receive poverty from the hand of God just as cheerfully as riches, hunger and want as plenty, and you will conquer the devil and subdue all your passions.”
One monk confessed that he found it easy to fast a whole week when at the monastery, but was sorely tempted to break his fast of one day when in isolation. The wise Macarius replied that this was on account of vainglory. This fasting pleased others and this was why he could do it, but when alone, his pride made it intolerable not to gratify his passions. He advised him on how to grow in humility. Another monk confessed unceasing temptations towards impurity. Upon examination, Macarius found that the source was his sloth. He advised him to work fervently all day and to eat before sunset. The other faithfully complied and was freed from his spiritual enemy. When he was tempted by the flesh, Macarius filled a large sack with sand and walked in the desert for several days carrying the great weight upon his shoulders. Theosebius, a fellow monk, queried him as to why he carried such a heavy load to seemingly no purpose. Macarius responded, “I am tormenting my tormentor.”
As he neared his death, St. Macarius made a journey across the wilderness to visit with St. Antony the Great. The two prayed together, exchanged mystical wisdom and drew great comfort and inspiration from the other. St. Macarius spoke so passionately to St. Antony’s monks regarding the compunction they needed for their sins, that they were all moved to tears and great contrition. Shortly thereafter, he went on to receive the reward of his labors in the 390th year of Our Lord, after having lived approximately ninety years and spent sixty of them in the wilderness of Scété.