The peculiarity of the Orthodox faith is the veneration of the holy fathers and their works compiled for posterity. One of them was Macarius the Great, whose life is full of instructive stories. He became famous not only for his miracles, but also for his numerous soul-saving works.

The path to monasticism of St. Macarius

The future saint was born at the very beginning of the 4th century, in Egypt, which is why he is considered Egyptian. In his youth, Macarius was married, although very soon he became a widower and devoted himself to the study of the Holy Scriptures. Obeying the word of God, he did not become a monk as long as his parents were alive and took care of them. The life of Macarius the Great as a monk began only after their death. Then he went into the desert, where he spent several months alone.

Then he fulfilled his old dream - he became a disciple of St. Anthony (both saints are revered by both Orthodox and Catholics because they lived long before the division of churches). Macarius the Great was joyfully accepted into the monastic family. A few years later, with the blessing of his spiritual father, he again went into the desert.

Life of Macarius the Great

According to the apostolic rules, a person cannot be a priest until he reaches the age of 33. Unfortunately, now these ancient foundations are not always observed, but in the days of the first ascetics they were taken very seriously. Although Saint Macarius the Great was very wise and had a humble disposition, he was called a “youth” until he was 30 years old. Then people understood that spiritual growth is the work of a lifetime, and only a few chosen by God can reach the upper steps.

• Macarius acquired such a peaceful spirit that even robbers turned to Christ after talking with him. There are many stories about this that are recorded in ancient patericons.

Having reached the age of 40 (formerly considered maturity), the saint was ordained to the rank of priest. He also became the leader of the community in which he lived. During these years, St. often visited. Anthony, I was able to learn a lot from him.

Macarius the Great knew for sure that prayer is the only way to God. He himself composed many of the prayers that are included in the daily prayers for Orthodox Christians. It’s easy to recognize them - the texts are short, but succinct, full of humility and repentance. You will find a few at the end of this article, be sure to read them. Even if there is no feeling of repentance in the heart yet, prayer will melt the heart over time, and the believer will be able to feel all his baseness before the Creator, but also realize His goodness and love.

Conversations of Macarius the Great

For those who seek the salvation of the soul, Macarius the Great left his writings - Conversations, Instructions and Epistles. Spiritual conversations are divided by topic:

• about maintaining purity of heart;
• about prayer;
• about there, how to become patient;
• how to achieve spiritual perfection;
• about love and freedom.

The works of Macarius the Great have been translated into many languages, including Russian. The words of the wise old man provide great food for thought and bring much benefit to the soul. For example, he teaches that the first step is to gain firm faith. Then force yourself to live according to the commandments, even if your heart resists it. Macarius the Great wrote in fairly simple language, so anyone can understand his instructions.

His brother Rufinus wrote about Macarius the Great himself in an essay on the life of monks. There he is given a separate chapter. It consists of several episodes. From the narrative it is clear that even then the elder was respected both among the population and among the hermits. Egyptian monastic communities were very numerous; they played a very important role in the formation of the universal Church.

What do they pray to the saint for?

Having reached adulthood, the monk was awarded the gift of miracles from the Lord. Once he even resurrected a dead man in order to convince a person who denied the possibility of resurrection (even some of the Jewish religious schools did not believe in this).

Although in those days Christianity was already quite well known, it was still persecuted. Emperor Valens, who ruled until 378, exiled Macarius the Great to an island where only pagans lived. The monk was with his friend. While they arrived at the place of exile, the leader's daughter fell ill. The monk healed the girl, which caused all the witnesses to the miracle to convert to Christianity.

When rumors of this reached the authorities, both monks were allowed to return to their monastery. The Monk Macarius the Great lived to a very advanced age. It is believed that saints move to some other level of existence and begin to literally feed on the energy of the Creator (in fact, this is indicated in the Bible that the believer will live by the Word of God). He departed to the Lord in 391. His relics remain partly in Italy, partly in the monastery he founded.

One should ask the saint, first of all, for help in saving the soul. You can also pray for physical health and teaching the truths of Scripture.

Prayer of St. Macarius the Great

Reverend Father Macarius! Look upon us mercifully and lead those who are devoted to the earth to the heights of heaven. You are a mountain in heaven, we are on earth below, removed from you, not only by place, but by our sins and iniquities, but we run to you and cry: teach us to walk in your way, teach us and guide us. Your entire holy life has been a mirror of every virtue. Do not stop, servant of God, crying to the Lord for us. By your intercession, ask from our All-Merciful God the peace of His Church, under the sign of the militant cross, agreement in faith and unity of wisdom, destruction of vanity and schism, confirmation in good deeds, healing for the sick, consolation for the sad, intercession for the offended, help for the needy. Do not disgrace us, who come to you with faith. All Orthodox Christians, having performed your miracles and beneficent mercies, confess you to be their patron and intercessor. Reveal your ancient mercies, and to whom you helped the Father, do not reject us, their children, who are marching towards you in their footsteps. Standing before your most honorable icon, as I live for you, we fall down and pray: accept our prayers and offer them up on the altar of God’s mercy, so that we may receive your grace and timely help in our needs. Strengthen our cowardice and confirm us in faith, so that we undoubtedly hope to receive all the good things from the mercy of the Master through your prayers. Oh, great servant of God! Help all of us who flow to you with faith through your intercession to the Lord, and guide us all in peace and repentance, end our lives and move with hope into the blessed bosom of Abraham, where you now rest joyfully in your labors and struggles, glorifying God with all the saints , in the Trinity glorified, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Video about Saint Macarius

Saint Macarius the Great - life, prayer, conversations, word on purity was last modified: June 22nd, 2017 by Bogolub

Venerable Macarius of Alexandria

O sacred head, earthly angel and heavenly man, venerable and God-bearing Father Macarius! We fall to you with faith and love and pray diligently: show us your holy intercession to the humble and sinners. Because it is a sin for our sake, it is not the imams of freedom for the children of God to ask our Lord and Master for our needs, 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 in justice, hope salvation is undoubted, love for everyone is unfeigned, patience in suffering, constancy in prayers, health of soul and body, fruitfulness of the earth, prosperity of the air, contentment of everyday needs, peaceful and serene life, good Christian life and a good answer at the Last Judgment of Christ. Do not forget, Reverend Father, the deserted place of your deeds, but be kind to it and glorify it with your miracles: and mercifully deliver all who come to venerate the relics of your saints from the temptations of the devil and all evil. Hey, miracle-working saint! Do not deprive us of your heavenly help, but with your prayers bring us all into the haven of salvation, and show us heirs of the All-Bright Kingdom of Christ, let us sing and glorify the ineffable generosity of the Lover of God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and your holy paternal intercession, in forever and ever. Amen.

Sermon before the rite of expelling evil spirits from a person.

Sergiev Posad, Edition of the Church of St. Peter and Paul, 2002, 11 pp., 1.5 MB

The spiritual censor is Abbot Nikolai (Paramonov).

2011, 712 pages, 6 MB

Publishing house “Blagovest”, Moscow, 2011, 480 pp., 80 MB

Publisher: Blessing, 2004 MP3, 192 kbps, 139 MB.

Deacon Alexey 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 the St. Elisabeth Monastery, Minsk. DOWNLOAD

Venerable Macarius of Alexandria

St. Macarius of Alexandria

Born in 295 in Alexandria. He was engaged in trade until he was forty years old, then he accepted holy baptism and retired into the desert. After several years of ascetic life, he was ordained to the rank of presbyter and made abbot of a monastery called “Kelli”, in the Egyptian desert between Mount Nitria and a monastery 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 during the reign of Valens he was expelled from his fatherland. Both Macarii were very similar to each other in character and way of life and had the same common teacher and mentor - St. Anthony the Great (+ 356), from whom they repeatedly received instructions for improvement in a virtuous life.

One day, the Monk Macarius of Alexandria and Macarius of Egypt needed to cross the Nile River on a large ferry, on which two tribunes (chief commanders) also boarded with their magnificent retinue of troops, squires and warriors, adorned with chains and gold 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 thousand officers said to the elders: “Blessed are you who despise the world.” The Monk Macarius of Alexandria responded to this: “We really neglect the world, but the world laughs at you. What you said was not of your will, but prophetically, because we are both called Macarii, that is, blessed.” Touched by these speeches of the Monk Macarius of Alexandria, the tribune, upon returning home, took off his clothes and, distributing his property to the poor, chose a hermit’s life.

The Monk Macarius, increasing his exploits, made it a rule not to eat any bread or brew other than hard millet or some seeds soaked in water. The monk lived in such abstinence for seven years. Then, for three years, he ate a small piece of bread a day (less than a pound), and 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, which requires 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 for six months in a skete swamp, exposing himself to the bites of many large mosquitoes. And when he returned to his cell, the disciples recognized only by his voice that it was their Abba Macarius.

Having heard about the very strict rules of life of the Tavennisiot monastery, where the rector was the Monk Pachomius the Great (+ 348), the Monk Macarius, hiding himself under worldly clothes, during the entire Holy Pentecost did not eat either bread or water, with the exception of a small amount of dry leaves cabbage on Sundays. And he did this only so that other monks would see what he was eating and so that he would not fall into the sin of arrogance. The Monk Macarius worked incessantly at night and did not rest from his labors; he never sat down or lay down the whole time. He stood without opening his lips, not talking to anyone, but in silence with all his heart, offering up prayer to God. Having seen such a feat of the monk, the ascetics of that monastery were put to shame, for they were exalted in mind, proud of their exploits and fasting. The Monk Macarius, showing humility and giving instruction to everyone, returned to his place.

The primordial enemy of the human race became very embittered with the Monk Macarius for his strictly ascetic lifestyle, and therefore began to tempt his mind with vanity, forcing him to go to Rome. Struggling with temptation, the saint poured a bag of sand, took it upon himself and walked for a long time with this burden in the desert until he tired his body and the proud thought left him.

Through his ascetic life, fasting, and renunciation from all earthly things, the Monk Macarius acquired the gift of working miracles 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 meetings, mocked some, inducing drowsiness or thoughts; at other, weaker brothers, inattentive to prayer, they viciously mocked, sitting on their necks and shoulders; from some monks, if demons began to do something indecent in front of them, they were suddenly driven away by some force and no longer dared to stop in front of them 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, received the Holy Mysteries from the hands of Angels, and the careless of the brethren received, instead of the Body of Christ, burning coals, and the Body of Christ taught by the priestly hand returned back to the altar. The demons ran far away from those who were worthy of holy communion. Meanwhile, near the altar with the priest stood the Angel of the Lord and, together with the priest’s, extended his hand to distribute the Divine Mysteries.

St. Macarius became famous for his many miracles of healing the sick and those possessed by demons.

After many labors and exploits, the Monk Macarius departed to the Lord in peace around 394-395, being one hundred years old from birth.

The Monk Macarius was also a church writer; he penned the “Sermon on the Exodus of the Soul,” which is part of the Followed Psalter, a monastic rule in 30 chapters, and a letter to monks.

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Saint Macarius the Great: life, prayer

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Saint Macarius the Great is an Orthodox miracle worker and hermit who achieved veneration as a Saint, and is also the author of religious discourses.

Life of Macarius the Great

Saint Macarius was born around 300 in Lower Egypt (the village of Ptinapor). At the behest of his parents, he married, but soon became a widower. After the death of his parents and wife, the saint distributed all the property that he had to the poor and then went into the desert to visit an old man. The old man received him with all love and preached to him the spiritual science of worship, fasting and prayer services, and also taught him such a craft as basket weaving. Having erected a separate dwelling not far from his cell, the old man assigned a student there.

After spending several years in the desert, he went to Saint Anthony the Great, the father of the Egyptian hermitage, about whom he had heard a lot while in the world and since then he zealously wanted to meet him. The Monk Anatoly himself lovingly received Blessed Macarius, who soon became not only a devoted disciple, but also a follower.

The Monk Macarius the Great lived with the Saint for quite a long time, but then, heeding the advice of Anatoly, he headed to the northwestern part of Egypt to the Skete desert. And it was there that he became famous for his exploits, for which they began to call him “an old man,” because by that time he had barely reached thirty years of age, showing himself to be a mature monk with rich experience.

Since that time, the Monk Macarius the Great of Egypt has performed a considerable number of healings. People, hoping for help, advice and to hear his sacred prayers, came to him from different places.

However, all this did not provide privacy for the Wonderworker, and therefore he dug a deep cave under his dwelling, where he could retire to think about God and say prayers. In his walk before the Lord, the monk was able to achieve such boldness that, after saying 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 (from 364 to 378), the monk, together with Macarius of Alexandria, suffered persecution from Luke, an Arian bishop. Both hermits were captured and put on a ship, taking them to a deserted island where only adherents of paganism lived.

It was there that, after reading the prayers of the Miracle Workers, 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 hermitages.

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 while in a state of spiritual ecstasy, but he never stopped working hard, repenting and crying.

And the Wonderworker embodied his significant ascetic knowledge in comprehensive Theological writings, consisting of fifty spiritual conversations 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 heritage of the divine wisdom of Saint Macarius, and the opinion that the task of a believer and his highest good is the unity of the soul with the Lord is the main idea in his writings. In telling what methods exist for achieving sacred cohesion, the monk took as a basis the knowledge of Egyptian monastic teachers, and also used his own experience.

The skills of holy monks in Communion with God and the path to the Most High 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 hymns.

The Saint died at the age of about 90 in 391.

What do they pray to the Saint for?

During his lifetime, for his rigor, accomplished deeds and purity of spirit, the monk was awarded the title Great, therefore, the text of the prayer said before 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 faith;
• To gain spiritual purity;
• Finding consolation 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 Wonderworker celebrated?

In the Christian Church, a day of celebration in honor of the Saint is established on February 1 (January 19 - old style), where a service is held and an akathist is performed as a form of veneration.

Text of the prayer of Saint Macarius the Great:

Oh, sacred head, reverend father, most blessed Abvo Macarius, do not forget your poor to the end, but always remember us in your holy and auspicious prayers to God. Remember your flock, which you yourself shepherded, 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, who honor you with faith and love.

Remember us unworthy at the Throne of the Almighty, and do not stop praying for us to Christ God, for you have been given the grace to pray for us. We do not imagine that you are dead, even though you have passed away from us in body, but even after death you remain alive. Do not give up on us in spirit, keeping us from the arrows of the enemy and all the charms of the devil and the snares of the devil, our good shepherd. Even though your relics are always visible before our eyes, your holy soul with the angelic hosts, with the disembodied faces, with the heavenly powers, standing at the Almighty Throne, rejoices with dignity.

Knowing that you are truly alive even after death, we bow down to you and pray to you: pray for us to Almighty God, for the benefit of our souls, and ask us time for repentance, so that we may pass from earth to heaven without restraint, from the bitter ordeals of the demons of the air princes and may we be delivered from eternal torment, and may we be heirs of the Heavenly Kingdom with all the righteous, who from all eternity have pleased our Lord Jesus Christ, to Him belongs all glory, honor and worship, with His Beginning Father and with His Most Holy and Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever and ever. Amen.

Angelic Revelation to St. Macarius of Alexandria

Angelic revelation about how important it is to remember the soul after death on the days appointed by the church (3, 9, 40). On these special days for the deceased, we must provide him with all possible assistance. Only the Orthodox Church remembers the dead and only the prayers of the Orthodox Church are heard by God. Thus, the Holy Church covers us with its prayer both in this life and in the future.

Angelic revelation to the Monk Macarius of Alexandria about the afterlife state of human souls and about the days of church commemoration of the dead (the third, ninth and fortieth from the day of death).

Once upon a time, when we were walking through 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, we accidentally 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.

The sinful soul, while still in the body, emits the stench of evil deeds, but much more so 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 tells 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 believed in the Lord from the souls of the wicked who did not believe? Tell me if I have gained your favor. The angels answered: “Listen, Macarius, chosen one of God!

The sinful soul, while still in the body, emits the stench of evil deeds, but much more so 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, in itself is light and pure, but, being in the body and not properly controlling it, each is defiled by sin, some more, some less. But listen, Macarius, how the souls of believers and unbelievers are taken from the body; however, take earthly things for the weakest image of heavenly things. Just as soldiers sent from an earthly king to seize someone, when they come, they take him against his will, and he is struck with fear and trembles at the very presence of those dragging him on a journey without mercy, so when angels are sent to take the soul of a righteous person or a sinner, it is struck with fear, and trembles at the presence of formidable and inexorable angels. Then she sees that wealth and the presence of relatives and friends are vain, invalid, and 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; fears the distance of the journey, etc. life changes; he is also struck by the unmercifulness of the rulers whom he sees before him; worries about his life in the body, cries about separation from it, due to his usual addiction to it. She cannot have that one and only consolation that her own conscience provides if she is not aware of good deeds in herself. Such a soul, even before the determination of the Judge, is incessantly condemned by conscience.”

Abba Macarius offers another question; he says: “I ask you, explain this too: when the fathers ordained to make an offering in the Church to God for the deceased on the third, ninth and fortieth day, then what benefit comes from this to the soul of the deceased?” The angel answered: “God did not allow anything inappropriate 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, the soul of the deceased receives from the angel guarding it relief from the grief that it feels from separation from the body; receives because praise and offerings in the Church of God have been made for her, which is why good hope is born in her. For for two days the soul, together with the angels who are with it, is allowed to walk on earth wherever it wants. Therefore, the soul that loves the body sometimes wanders around the house in which it was separated from the body, sometimes around the coffin in which the body is laid; and thus spends two days, looking for nests for himself, like a bird. And a virtuous soul goes to those places in which it used to do the truth. On the third day, He who rose from the dead on the third day - the God of all - commands, in imitation of His Resurrection, every Christian soul to ascend to heaven to worship the God of all. So, the good Church is in the habit of making 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. The soul considers all this for six days, marveling and glorifying the Creator of all this - God. Contemplating all this, she changes and forgets the sorrow that 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: “Woe is 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 too could be rewarded with this goodness and glory. Alas for poor me! Even now I am surrounded by the worries and untimely care that possessed me in that world. What is there to me in the vineyards and olive trees that I have planted? What benefit will the field I acquired bring me? What good does the gold collected there benefit me? What benefit does the wealth there have for me here? What profit did all the sweetness of life and this world bring me? Alas for me! I worked in vain! Alas for me!

I spent my life recklessly! Alas for me! I loved short-term glory and acquired eternal poverty! Alas for me! What have I endured? Woe is me! I didn’t know how darkened I was. Woe is me! No one can help me now, so that I, the unfortunate one, can receive the glory of the Lord.” After considering all the joy of the righteous for six days, it is again ascended by the angels to worship God. So, the Church does well by performing services and offerings for the deceased on the ninth day. After the second worship, the Lord of all again commands to take the soul to hell and show it the places of torment located there, the different departments of hell and various wicked torments, in which, while the souls of sinners are incessantly weeping and gnashing their teeth. Through these various places of torment the soul rushes for thirty days, trembling, so as not to be condemned to imprisonment in them. On the fortieth day she again ascends to worship God; and then the Judge determines the place of imprisonment appropriate for her based on her cases. So, the Church acts correctly by making remembrances of the departed and those who have been baptized.

This is not the case with souls who have not received Holy Baptism. After separating these unenlightened souls from the body, the inexorable angels, taking them, severely beat them and say: “Come here, wicked soul; know who is your Master and Lord of all. You did not want to know Him, living carelessly in the world, but know Him now, condemned to eternal torment.” And having taken her up to the first heaven, they set her 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. Go away 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 as gods in life.”

The angels, having said this and hugged Macarius, the servant of God, became invisible to us. We will give glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and always and forever and ever. Amen.

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The Monk Macarius the Great, of Egypt, was born in the village of Ptinapor, in Lower Egypt. At the request of his parents, he married, but soon became a widower. Having buried his wife, Macarius said to himself: “Pay attention, Macarius, and take care of your soul, for you too will have to leave earthly life.” The Lord rewarded his saint with a long life, but from then on mortal memory was constantly with him, forcing him to feats of prayer and repentance. He began to visit the temple of God more often and delve into the Holy Scriptures, but did not leave his elderly parents, fulfilling the commandment to honor parents. After the death of his parents, the Monk Macarius ("Macarius" - in Greek means blessed) distributed the remaining estate in memory of his parents and began to fervently pray that the Lord would show him a mentor on the path of salvation. The Lord sent him such a leader in the person of an experienced old monk who lived in the desert, not far from the village. The elder received the young man with love, instructed him in the spiritual science of vigil, fasting and prayer, and taught him handicraft - basket weaving. Having built a separate cell not far from his own, the elder placed a student in it.

One day a local bishop arrived in Ptinapor and, having learned about the virtuous life of the monk, made him, against his will, a clergyman of the local church. However, Blessed Macarius was burdened by the violation of silence, and therefore he secretly went to another place. The enemy of salvation began a stubborn struggle with the ascetic, trying to frighten him, shaking his cell and instilling sinful thoughts. Blessed Macarius repelled the attacks of the demon, protecting himself with prayer and the sign of the cross. Evil people raised a curse against the saint, slandering a girl from a nearby village for seducing her. They pulled him out of his cell, beat him, and mocked him. The Monk Macarius bore temptation with great humility. He meekly sent the money he earned for his baskets to feed the girl. The innocence of Blessed Macarius was revealed when the girl, having suffered for many days, could not give birth. Then she confessed in agony that she had slandered the hermit, and pointed out the real culprit of the sin. When her parents learned the truth, they were amazed and intended to go to the blessed one with repentance, but the Monk Macarius, avoiding disturbance from people, moved away from those places at night and moved to Mount Nitria in the Paran desert. Thus, human malice contributed to the success of the righteous. After living for three years in the desert, he went to Saint Anthony the Great, the father of Egyptian monasticism, whom he had heard about while still living in the world, and was eager to see him. The Monk Abba Anthony lovingly received Blessed Macarius, who became his devoted disciple and follower. The Monk Macarius lived with him for a long time, and then, on the advice of the holy Abba, he retired to the Skete desert (in the northwestern part of Egypt) and there he shone so brightly with his exploits that they began to call him the “elder youth,” since, having barely reached thirty years of age, he showed himself to be an experienced, mature monk.

The Monk Macarius experienced many attacks from demons: once he was carrying palm branches from the desert for weaving baskets; on the way the devil met him and wanted to hit the saint with a sickle, but he could not do this and said: “Macarius, I suffer great sorrow from you, because that I cannot defeat you, you have a weapon with which you repel me, this is your humility." When the saint turned 40 years old, he was ordained a priest and made abbot (abba) of the monks living in the Skete desert. During these years, the Monk Macarius often visited the Great Anthony, receiving instructions from him in spiritual conversations. Blessed Macarius was honored to be present at the death of the holy Abba and received as an inheritance his staff, along with which he received the purely spiritual power of the Great Anthony, just as the prophet Elisha once received from the prophet Elijah extreme grace along with the mantle that fell from heaven.

The Monk Macarius performed many healings; people flocked to him from different places for help, advice, asking for his holy prayers. All this violated the saint’s solitude, so he dug a deep cave under his cell and retired there for prayer and contemplation of God. The Monk Macarius achieved such boldness in his walk with God that through his prayer the Lord raised the dead. Despite such a height of achieved Godlikeness, he continued to maintain extraordinary humility. One day, the holy abba found a thief in his cell, who was loading his things onto a donkey standing by the cell. Without showing that he was the owner of these things, the monk silently began to help tie up the luggage. Having dismissed him in peace, the blessed one said to himself: “We have brought nothing into this world, it is clear that we cannot take anything away from here. May the Lord be blessed in everything!”

One day the Monk Macarius was walking through the desert and, seeing a skull lying on the ground, asked him: “Who are you?” The skull answered: “I was the main pagan priest. When you, Abba, pray for those in hell, we receive some relief.” The monk asked: “What are these torments?” “We are in a great fire,” answered the skull, “and we do not see each other. When you pray, we begin to see each other a little, and this serves us as some consolation.” Hearing such words, the monk shed tears and asked: “Are there even more cruel torments?” The skull replied: “Below, deeper than us, there are those who knew the Name of God, but rejected Him and did not keep His commandments. They endure even more severe torments.”

One day, while praying, Blessed Macarius heard a voice: “Makarius, you have not yet achieved such perfection as the two women living in the city.” The humble ascetic, taking his staff, went into the city, found a house where the women lived, and knocked. The women received him with joy, and the monk said: “For your sake, I came from the distant desert and I want to know about your good deeds; tell us about them, without hiding anything.” The women responded in surprise: “We live with our husbands, we have no virtues.” However, the saint continued to insist, and then the women told him: “We married our own brothers. During our entire life together, we did not say a single evil or offensive word to each other and never quarreled among ourselves. We asked our husbands to let us go to the women’s monastery, but they do not agree, and we took a vow not to utter a single word of the world until death." The holy ascetic glorified God and said: “Truly the Lord does not look for a virgin or a married woman, nor a monk, nor a layman, but appreciates the free intention of a person and sends the grace of the Holy Spirit to his voluntary will, which acts and controls the life of every person striving to be saved.”

During the reign of the Arian Emperor Valens (364 - 378), the Monk Macarius the Great, together with the Monk Macarius of Alexandria, was persecuted by the Arian bishop Luke. Both elders were captured and put on a ship, taken to a deserted island where pagans lived. There. Through the prayers of the saints, the priest’s daughter received healing, after which the priest himself and all the inhabitants of the island received holy Baptism. Having learned about what had happened, the Arian bishop was ashamed and allowed the elders to return to their deserts.

The meekness and humility of the saint transformed human souls. “A bad word,” said Abba Macarius, “makes the good bad, but a good word makes the bad good.” When asked by the monks how one should pray, the monk answered: “Prayer does not require many words, you only need to say: “Lord, as You wish and as You know, have mercy on me.” If the enemy attacks you, then you only need to say: “Lord, have mercy!” The Lord knows what is good for us, and will show us mercy.” When the brethren asked: “How can one become a monk?”, the monk replied: “Forgive me, I am a bad monk, but I saw monks fleeing in the depths of the desert. I asked them how I can become a monk. They answered: “If a person is not refuses everything that is in the world, he cannot be a monk." To this I answered: "I am weak and cannot be like you." Then the monks replied: "If you cannot be like us, then sit in your cell and lament your sins."

The Monk Macarius gave advice to one monk: “Run from people and you will be saved.” He asked: “What does it mean to run from people?” The monk answered: “Sit in your cell and lament your sins.” The Monk Macarius also said: “If you want to be saved, be like a dead man, who is not angry when he is dishonored, and does not become exalted when he is praised.” And again: “If for you reproach is like praise, poverty like wealth, lack like abundance, you will not die. For it cannot be that a true believer and one who strives in piety should fall into the impurity of passions and demonic deception.”

The prayer of St. Macarius saved many in dangerous circumstances and saved them from troubles and temptations. His mercy was so great that they said about him: “Just as God covers the world, so Abba Macarius covered the sins that he saw, as if he had not seen, and heard, as if he had not heard.”

The monk lived to be 97 years old; shortly before his death, the Monks Anthony and Pachomius appeared to him, conveying the joyful news of his imminent transition to the blessed Heavenly abodes. Having given instructions to his disciples and blessed them, the Monk Macarius said goodbye to everyone and rested with the words: “Into Your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.”

Saint Abba Macarius spent sixty years in a desert that was dead to the world. The monk spent most of his time in conversation with God, often in a state of spiritual admiration. But he never stopped crying, repenting and working. The abba transformed his abundant ascetic experience into profound theological creations. Fifty conversations and seven ascetic words remained the precious heritage of the spiritual wisdom of St. Macarius the Great.

The idea that the highest good and goal of man is the unity of the soul with God is fundamental in the works of St. Macarius. Talking about ways to achieve sacred unity, the monk was based on the experience of the great teachers of Egyptian monasticism and on his own. The path to God and the experience of communion with God among holy ascetics is open to every believing heart. That is why the Holy Church included the ascetic prayers of St. Macarius the Great in the commonly used evening and morning prayers.

Earthly life, according to the teachings of the Monk Macarius, with all its labors, has only a relative meaning: to prepare the soul, to make it capable of receiving the Kingdom of Heaven, to cultivate in the soul an affinity with the Heavenly Fatherland. “The soul that truly believes in Christ must shift and change from its present vicious state into another state, good, and from its present humiliated nature into another, Divine nature, and be remade into a new one - through the power of the Holy Spirit.” This can be achieved if “we truly believe and love God and follow all His holy commandments.” If the soul, betrothed to Christ in holy Baptism, does not itself contribute to the grace of the Holy Spirit given to it, then it will be subject to “excommunication from life”, as having been found to be indecent and incapable of communion with Christ. In the teaching of St. Macarius, the question of the unity of God’s Love and God’s Truth is experimentally resolved. The inner feat of a Christian determines the measure of his perception of this unity. Each of us acquires salvation by grace and the Divine gift of the Holy Spirit, but achieving the perfect measure of virtue necessary for the soul to assimilate this Divine gift is possible only “by faith and love with the effort of free will.” Then “as much as by grace, so much by righteousness,” the Christian will inherit eternal life. Salvation is a Divine-human work: we achieve complete spiritual success “not by Divine power and grace alone, but also by bringing our own labors,” on the other hand, we arrive at “the measure of freedom and purity” not only through our own diligence, but not without “assistance from above the hand of God.” ". A person’s fate is determined by the actual state of his soul, his self-determination towards good or evil. “If a soul in this still world does not receive into itself the shrine of the Spirit through much faith and prayer, and does not become a participant in the Divine nature, then it is unsuitable for the Kingdom of Heaven.”

The miracles and visions of Blessed Macarius are described in the book of Presbyter Rufinus, and his life was compiled by the Monk Serapion, Bishop of Tmunt (Lower Egypt), one of the famous figures of the Church of the 4th century.

Venerable Macarius the Great, Egyptian

Born in Egypt around 301. With love and zeal, he served his parents in old age, fulfilling the commandment to honor parents, and after their death he became completely free from everyday worries. Under the guidance of an experienced elder monk, the Monk Macarius began to undergo silent monastic life and handicrafts. At first he settled in a deserted place not far from the village where he lived, then the monk moved to Mount Nitria in the Paran desert.

After living for three years in the desert, he went to the Monk Anthony the Great (U 356), the father of Egyptian monasticism, whom he had heard about while still living in the world, and was eager to see him. The Monk Abba Anthony lovingly received Blessed Macarius, who became his devoted disciple and follower. The Monk Macarius lived with him for a long time, and then, on the advice of the holy Abba, he retired to the Skete desert (in the northwestern part of Egypt) and there he shone so brightly with his exploits that they began to call him the “old man”, since, having barely reached thirty years of age, he showed himself to be an experienced, mature monk. Here the Monk Macarius had to fight demons day and night, and they screamed that they could not defeat him, because he had a great weapon - humility.

When the saint turned 40 years old, he was ordained a priest and made abbot (abba) of the monks living in the Skete desert. During these years, the Monk Macarius often visited the great Anthony, receiving guidance in spiritual conversations. Together with two other disciples of the Monk Anthony, the Monk Macarius was honored to be present at his blessed death, and as a kind of rich inheritance, he received the staff of the Monk Anthony, with which he supported his weak body on the road, dejected by old age and fasting exploits. Together with this staff, the Monk Macarius received the spirit of Anthony the Great, just as the prophet Elisha once received such a spirit after Elijah the prophet. With the power of his spirit, the Monk Macarius performed many wondrous miracles. One day the Monk Macarius spoke with the skull of the chief pagan priest, who spoke about his torment and about the more severe and fierce ones that befell those who knew the name of God, but rejected Him and did not keep His commandments.

Due to the multitude of people who came to him, the Monk Macarius had little time to devote himself to the thought of God at a distance. Therefore, the monk dug a deep cave under his cell, about half a furlong in length, where he hid from those who constantly came to him and violated his thoughts of God and prayer. The Monk Macarius achieved such boldness in his walk before God that, through his prayer, the Lord raised the dead. Despite such a height of achieved godlikeness, he continued to maintain extraordinary humility.

During the reign of the Arian Emperor Valens (364-378), the Monk Macarius the Great, together with the Monk Macarius of Alexandria, was persecuted by the Arian bishop Luke. Both elders were captured and put on a ship, taken to a deserted island where pagans lived. There, through the prayers of the saints, the priest’s daughter received healing, after which the priest himself and all the inhabitants of the island received holy baptism. Having learned about what had happened, the Arian bishop was ashamed and allowed the elders to return to their deserts. The meekness, humility and mercy of the saint transformed human souls. St. spent 60 years. Macarius in the world-dead desert. The monk spent most of his time in conversation with God, often in a state of spiritual admiration. The Abba transformed his abundant and ascetic experience into profound theological works. 50 conversations and 7 ascetic words remained the precious heritage of the spiritual wisdom of St. Macarius the Great. The highest good and goal of man - the union of souls with God - is the main idea in the works of St. Macarius.

The monk lived to be 97 years old, and shortly before his death (U ca. 390-391) the Monks Anthony and Pachomius appeared to him, conveying the joyful news of his imminent transition to the blessed heavenly abodes. The monk began to prepare for his death. Nine days later, a Cherub with many Angels appeared to the Monk Macarius. When the holy soul of the Monk Macarius was taken by the Cherub and ascended into heaven, some of the fathers saw with their mental eyes that the air demons stood in the distance and screamed that the saint had escaped them. Macarius.

Date of publication or update 11/01/2017

To the table of contents: lives of saints

Life of the Venerable Macarius of Zheltovodsk and Unzhensk.

Years of life 1349 - 1444.

Who will give me krill like a pigeon; and I will fly and rest.
He went away in flight and settled in the desert.
Tears of God saving me
from cowardice and from storms (Psalm 54:7-10)

The Monk Macarius, the great desert dweller and wonderworker, “the praise and affirmation of the entire Russian land,” was born in Nizhny Novgorod into a family of townspeople in 1349, during the reign of Konstantin Vasilyevich, who became famous for his piety and strength against enemies. The saint's parents, John and Mary, were distinguished by their piety and were an example among their fellow citizens in family and public life. Feeding mutual love for each other, they kept firm faith in their hearts, took care of spiritual and physical purity, and in all their needs turned with prayer to the only Giver of all blessings - God. They lived in the parish of the Nizhny Novgorod Church of the Holy Myrrh-Bearing Women. Their house was next to a temple, which they visited with reverence. They still point to the place where, according to legend, the saint’s parents lived, and where the saint himself was born.

Macarius of Unzhensky in his life. Kostroma. Icon from the beginning of the 18th century.

The saint's pious and God-fearing parents did not have children for a long time. In their fervent prayers, along with other needs, they asked God to give them good children. The merciful God heard their prayer and gave them a son. What name was given to Macarius at baptism is unknown. It is only known that the son, who was asked for through the prayers of his parents, was baptized in the parish Myronositsk church.

Venerable Macarius of Unzhensky and Jacob of Zheleznoborovsky. 1620s From the Holy Trinity Ipatiev Monastery. Kostroma (see Iconography of the disciples of Sergius of Radonezh).

Having accepted saving grace through holy baptism, Macarius, even in infancy, showed a special sign of God on himself. His heart was drawn to the holy temple even when his lips could not utter praises before the Lord.

The baby, overshadowed by the Holy Spirit, brought comfort to his parents. His calm was interrupted only when the bell was heard calling the faithful to public worship. When the time came for Matins, Liturgy or Vespers, he suddenly changed his quiet smile to tears, even if he was in the arms of his tender mother. Even sleep, pleasant for everyone, especially babies, could not calm the monk. In the midst of deep sleep, wrapped in swaddling clothes, he awoke at the very moment when the bell began to be struck. And, having awakened, instead of words, in a mournful voice he showed his zeal for the Church of God. Tears flowed from the eyes, and with them sobs burst from the baby’s chest. To calm down their beloved son, compassionate parents sought various means.

But it was all in vain. No amount of caresses could console the inconsolable baby. Chosen from his mother's womb to serve God, he could not find consolation in any of the amusements of this world. This greatly worried caring parents, who could not find a reason for such crying. They were afraid to carry it to church, fearing even greater sobs and cries of the baby, indecent to worship. But when they noticed that their son was crying repeatedly at the same time, they began to look at him in bewilderment and wonder. First among themselves, and then with relatives and friends, they began to talk about the baby. “Why,” they said, “all the time he is calm and enjoys quiet sleep; and during Divine services he knows neither sleep nor peace.” Reasoning this way, the saint’s parents, when they got ready to go to church, decided to take the crying baby with them.

“Oh, if,” they thought, “our son would stop crying in the holy church, we would begin to carry him there all the time.” As soon as they entered the church, the baby suddenly received such consolation that his parents had never seen in him before. During church readings and singing, he addressed his mother holding him with tenderness, a smile and affection. On his face was depicted an extraordinary joy, with which the Angels rejoice in heaven, and with which the saint rejoiced. John the Baptist in the womb of Blessed Elizabeth. And without words, he clearly expressed his desire to offer praise and thanksgiving to God. Such joy of the baby consoled his sad parents. From that time on, they learned about the cause of infant tears. At the first ring of the bell, the parents who lived near the Myronositsa Church began to carry their son to the temple, or allowed him to be carried to relatives. Every time the monk was brought into church, he rejoiced in spirit and body. But if he remained in his parents’ house while the service was being performed, then the former crying again appeared in his eyes and lips.

This forced me to carry the baby to church constantly, without missing a single service. From visiting the house of God, tears ceased to wet his face. The constantly joyful baby was a consolation for the parents. They saw the blessing of God on their son and the resting power of the Spirit, preparing him for holy service.

Thus, the Monk Macarius, while still a baby, attracted the special attention of his parents. They were amazed at his extraordinary intelligence and took every possible care of his upbringing. Following the example of other compassionate parents, they used all means to educate him. As soon as the monk reached adolescence, he was immediately sent to learn to read and write. Enlightened by Divine grace, he soon learned to read and understand the Holy Scriptures. None of his peers could compare with him in this understanding. The blessed youth found in the Divine Scripture what his pure heart was looking for. The Word of God was his food and drink. The beginning of his wisdom was not ethereal knowledge, but the abundant fear of the Lord. The examples of ascetics of piety, about whom the monk happened to read, ignited his spirit and carried him along. Along with zeal for listening and reading the word of God, he combined meekness, humility, obedience and other virtues. Out of love for silence, he avoided, if possible, the games with which his peers were amused, and in conversations with them he did not utter a single empty word.

The youth's young life was instructive for everyone. Not only parents and relatives, but also all residents of Nizhny Novgorod were amazed at the piety of such a young boy as Macarius. Constantly visiting God's temple and moving away from worldly vanity, he aroused reverence in others. The good deeds of the young lad involuntarily endeared him to others, and his name became known throughout the city. In Nizhny Novgorod there is a legend about how he covered a pond with boards, from which water was allegedly drawn for the church of St. Myrrh-bearing wives, how he allowed only worthy people to draw water from this pond. We cannot vouch for the authenticity of this legend, which could have changed over the course of more than 600 years. At the very least, it conceals the idea that the Monk Macarius, even before becoming a monk, earned the love and respect of many fellow citizens, who saw in him the actions of God’s grace. But he was not born for the world, and not for earthly honors.

Having devoted himself to serving God, Macarius hated the vanity of the world and loved the hermit life. He saw many obstacles to salvation in the world. The Gospel words about self-sacrifice and the exploits of the desert men convinced him to leave the world and settle in the desert. He liked the monastic way of life very much. Out of love for desert living, Macarius, in addition to his parish church, visited the Pechersky Monastery, founded around 1330. The monastery at that time was located two miles from Nizhny Novgorod down the Volga. The founder of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery was tonsured, St. Dionysius, who came here with his icon, first dug himself a secluded cave on the banks of the Volga River, and then built a monastery for the workers who came to him to obey him in the name of the Ascension of the Lord. With his strict life, he attracted many disciples to himself and was first abbot over them, and then archimandrite. Among the twelve chosen disciples of the founder of the Pechersk monastery, the most famous is St. Euthymius, a close associate of St. Macaria.

In 1352, Grand Duke Boris Konstantinovich summoned him from the Nizhny Novgorod monastery and installed him as archimandrite of the Spaso-Evfimievsky Monastery in Suzdal, which he founded. Among the disciples of St. Dionysius was no less famous for Paul the Tall, “a bookish and wonderful old man,” who died on January 1, 1383 and was mourned by Dionysius himself for his great exploits. Looking at the exploits of the Pechersk abbot with his chosen disciples, Macarius wanted to imitate them and often went from his parents’ house to the monastery. Here he loved to listen to the lives of saints and stories about the exploits of the great hermits. He spent time in the monastery in prayers and soul-saving conversations with the elders. When Macarius heard about the wonderful exploits of Anthony, Theodosius and other desert dwellers, he was inflamed with strong jealousy for the monastic life. He saw in it a direct path to salvation, protected from worldly vanities, and clung to it with all his heart. Desiring salvation for everyone, the Lord prepared it for Himself in a chosen, honest vessel.

The young lad wanted to fulfill his holy desire; but his love for his parents did not allow him to leave them. He debated for a long time about whether it was possible to reconcile ordinary love for parents with complete love for God. But he saw some obstacle: to save his soul, he needed to leave his home, parents and relatives, according to the word of the Gospel (Luke 14:26). To do this, he made an urgent decision to take monastic vows, waiting only for an opportunity. One day, secretly from his parents, he went to the Pechersk Monastery. The light clothes the monk was wearing seemed indecent to him to appear in it at the monastery to join the ranks of the monks. On the way, he met a beggar in thin, torn clothes. The humble youth wanted to exchange clothes with him. The poor man happily agreed to his proposal, surprised at such unexpected alms. Macarius took off his light robe, giving it to the beggar, and he himself put on an old robe.

In beggarly clothes, with a spirit of deep humility and humiliation, he appeared at the Pechersk monastery. Here, in such a changed form, no one recognized him, even among those who had seen him before and talked with him. Arriving at the Pechersky Monastery, the 12-year-old boy appeared to Archimandrite Dionysius. With bows and spiritual humility, he asked the abbot to accept him as one of the brethren. “Father and Lord! - Macarius called to him, “be merciful to me, count me poor among the holy flock you have chosen.” The abbot, strict in rules, saw the young lad, due to his years, not yet capable of monastic life. However, he asked him: “Where are you from and who are your parents?” Calling himself a rootless orphan from another city, Macarius continued to ask for the abbot. Noticing the boy’s increased desire, St. Dionysius pointed out to him his young age, at which it was not convenient to endure monastic feats.

“Believe me, child,” he said with love to the youth, “it is difficult and regrettable to wear the yoke of monastic life. You are still quite young. In my opinion, it is impossible for you to endure the labors of fasting and endure the misfortunes of demonic wiles. Taking care of you, I am afraid that instead of saving your soul, you will love something worldly, which you are now abandoning, and consider the right path of salvation to be difficult and obstinate. Then your good undertaking will not help you, but will turn into destruction, as it is written: no one lays his hand on the head, and in vain turns back, he is ruled in the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62).

From such convincing words, the humble youth shed tears, and with tears asked the abbot to fulfill the vow he had made. “Holy Father! - Macarius answered with firm hope, “didn’t the Lord himself say about me in the Gospel: he who comes to me I will not cast away (John 6:37)?” And now I have come to the merciful God, who wants to save me through you. No sorrow can separate me from Him. I have already tested what is needed for preparation. Do not be afraid to do a godly deed with me and fulfill my request.” After such words, spoken with faith and hope, Dionysius paid special attention to the youth. Surprised by his understanding, the abbot began to see in him not a 12-year-old boy, but a perfect man, overshadowed by grace and able to reach the age of Christ to the extent. Noticing the grace of God resting on him, the abbot considered his convictions unnecessary, and directly told him: “Child! May your good choice be in accordance with your will.”

Having agreed to the request of the 12-year-old boy, St. Dionysius ordered him to prepare to take on the angelic form. And in the Church of the Ascension of the Lord he tonsured him into monasticism, according to the rites of the Orthodox Church. This significant event took place in 1631. During tonsure, the worldly name, unknown to us, was changed. The youth in his new rank was named Macarius. Having performed the rite of monastic tonsure on him, the abbot ordered him to live in the same cell with him. St. Dionysius was for him an elder and a mentor in monastic exploits. The youth, among the twelve disciples chosen by Dionysius, obeyed the abbot in everything. Not a single order, not a single word of his was left unfulfilled. Macarius remembered in all matters the vow given during tonsure, and was always faithful to it. He showed his obedience and humility not only before the abbot, but also before the entire brethren of the Pechersk Monastery.

From the first days of entering the monastic order, he began to lead a very strict life, which could be an example for everyone. Humility, chastity, silence constantly adorned his lofty soul. The prayer he performed day and night was the most reverent. He devoted the time remaining from the Divine service to reading Holy Scripture and talking about the desert exploits of the monks. Not a single empty word came from the lips of the monk, who had been accustomed since childhood to remain silent. His vigil was combined with amazing abstinence. The young hermit attended the common meal with the brethren constantly, so as not to show himself to others as fasting. But even at meals, he was not concerned about satiety, but about reverently serving God, sending Him a prayer of thanksgiving. He ate so little food that for a whole week he ate “no more than one prosphora” of bread with a small amount of water. By pleasing God, he pleased all the brethren who loved him. In the first three years of his asceticism, Macarius managed to surpass all other monks with his strict life.

From the time Macarius secretly left his parents, they looked for him everywhere and could not find him. They shed many tears over the loss of their only and beloved son, but it was all in vain. Finding no consolation in their grief, they asked themselves in bewilderment: “Where has our son hidden? Who stole him from us? Did a fierce beast eat him, or was he killed by evil people, or was he taken by enemies to another land?” - they asked about him not only in their city, but also in the surrounding area. They promised a great gift to anyone who found a son or at least announced him. But no one could give them any consolation. Three whole years passed in such futile worry. The sad parents could not forget about such a son, on whom they pinned all their hopes. The merciful God wanted to console them in their sorrow. At one time, the abbot of the Pechersk Monastery sent an elder to the city for monastic needs. The elder was known to the father of the Monk Macarius. Having met on the road, they began to talk to each other. Preoccupied with the loss of his son, John conveyed his grief to the elder. Hearing about this, the monk began to ask him about his son: how old he was and what he looked like. Having learned about the age and appearance of the lamented youth, the elder immediately imagined young Macarius living in their monastery for 3 years and began to think if it was him? To be more confident in his guesses, he asked John about the time at which he lost his son. The sad parent told him everything in detail: what his son was like in terms of spiritual qualities and when he hid from them. Remembering his good deeds, the parent continued to say that his son constantly refrained from empty games and conversations, spent time in fasting and prayer, visiting the Church of God every day.

Judging by external and internal signs, the elder clearly saw in such a youth an associate of his young Macarius. He began to tell John about the youth who was fleeing with them. - “Three years ago, at the very time that you point to, one handsome youth of about twelve years old, but a perfect man in mind, came to our abbot and told him that he was a rootless orphan and a stranger from another place. He begged the archimandrite to tonsure himself as a monk, led the strictest life at all times, and now he strives in our monastery more than all of us, having gained love and respect from the abbot and his brethren. When he was tonsured, the name given to him was Macarius.” In the young hermit whom the elder spoke about, John recognized his son.

Having said goodbye to the elder, the delighted parent told his wife about the good news, and immediately went to the Pechersky Monastery. Arriving at the monastery, he turned to the abbot, told him about himself and humbly asked him to show him his son, ordained a monk three years ago. Archimandrite Dionysius, seeing the sincere love of a parent for his son, said to Macarius, who lived with him: “Go to your father, about whom you did not tell me. He came to you and wants to see you in a monastic form.” The young hermit answered with a feeling of selflessness: “You know, holy father, that, having accepted a new rank, I left my father and mother with all my relatives. Now my father is the One who created heaven and earth and delivered me from the vanity of this world. And after Him, you are my father, mentor and leader to salvation. For this reason, having loved the heavenly Father, I did not tell you about my earthly father.” These words were also heard by the saint’s father, who stood at the window of his son’s cell.

“My beloved child! - cried the compassionate father, - give some comfort to me and your mother. Show yourself to me and have a little conversation with me. If I saw you, I would rejoice over your salvation.” The monk, firm in his vows, remained adamant. Without leaving the cell and without showing himself to his father, he answered: “You cannot see each other here and talk to me. I vowed to have one Heavenly Father and only expect blessings from Him on my path. It is said in the Gospel: whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me and cannot be My disciple (Matthew 10:37). Wanting to see me here, don’t you want to see me in the future life? Isn't it better to see each other there than here? Do not cry or be sorry for me, but go to your home in peace. However, forgive me for my sins and bless me on the path I have chosen. I hope to see you in the next century." Having received such an unpleasant answer, John burst into tears. Meanwhile, he continued to tell his son: “My beloved child! If you don’t show me your face, I won’t leave my cell. We have already grieved a lot for you. Do you really want to let me go with sadness now? Or do you think that I am not happy about your salvation, and want to hinder you on the path you have chosen? No! I only want to see your face and have a little conversation with you.” The parent's tearful petitions could not touch young Macarius. Completely devoted to the Lord, he remained steadfast in his intention. Noticing such firmness in his fifteen-year-old son, the father said to him with tender love: “If you no longer want to show me your face, then at least stretch out your right hand to me through the open window.” Out of pity for the inconsolable parent, the monk agreed and extended his hand out the window. The consoled father took his son’s hand and, kissing it, said: “My beloved child! Continue to save your soul and pray to God for us, so that we too may be saved through your prayers.” After this, Father Macarius happily returned home and announced to his wife that their son was alive and was seeking salvation in the Pechersk monastery, having become a monk. From such joy, they spent the rest of their lives in spiritual joy, sending praise and thanks to God that He, the Merciful, had given them such a great son.

Having said goodbye to his parents, Macarius did not stay long in the Pechersky Monastery. Archimandrite Dionysius, after predicting the destruction of Nizhny Novgorod by the Mongols, was summoned in 1374, in the first week of Great Lent, by Saint Alexy to Moscow and appointed Bishop of Suzdal and Nizhny Novgorod. After his mentor and leader left the monastery, Macarius continued to strive with the same zeal. He fulfilled his vows of monasticism more than others. His feats of fasting and prayer were extraordinary. He took food only in order not to die of hunger. He went, as before, with the brethren at meals, so as not to appear to be fasting in the eyes of others. Despite the deep humility in which he spent all his time, he could not hide his exploits from people. Everyone paid special attention to him and praised him. But the monk was far from earthly glory. Completely imbued with a sense of humility, he did not want to see the praise and honors that were given to him.

Avoiding worldly glory, the humble monk asked God in his prayers that He, by His power, would deliver him from the surrounding confusion and settle him in a deserted place to which his soul longed. With hope in God to save, he wanted to hide from the Pechersk monastery, as he had previously hidden from his parents’ house. A convenient time to fulfill such a desire opened up, and he took advantage of it with all joy. Leaving the monastery, he went upstream of the Volga River and, reaching the Lukh River, stopped. It was here, according to legend, that Macarius met the Monk Tikhon, the Lukhovsk miracle worker. They both avoided worldly glory and wanted, as the legend says, to strive together. For their exploits, they chose a secluded place, at the confluence of two rivers - Lukha and Dobritsa. But it was as if they were driven out of their chosen place by the surrounding residents who did not understand them. Tikhon went up the Lukh River, and 8 versts from his previous place (5 versts from the city of Lukh, Kostroma province), stopped in the Lukhov region, on Kopytovo, near the rivers Lukha and Vozopoli. Here he gathered the brethren and died on July 16, 1492 as a simple monk. The monastery built by Tikhon is known under the name of the Lukhovskaya Nikolaev Hermitage, where the relics of the saint rest under cover.

And the Monk Macarius, having parted with Tikhon, went along the Dobrina River. Having walked about 60 miles, he stopped on the banks of the Volga, near the settlement of Reshma, Yuryevets district. At this place Macarius first built a small cell. Here, far from the bustle of the world, he labored in desert exploits for quite some time. Vigil, fasting and prayer were constant companions of his life. With his great exploits, the hermit gradually became famous in the surrounding area. Humility elevated him above everyone, earning him fame and respect. Many came to him for good advice and for the salvation of their souls. Carried away by his lofty example, many abandoned their worldly pursuits and vowed to spend a desert life with him. For the gathered brethren, Macarius founded a monastery in the name of the Epiphany of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is now located in the Yuryevets district of the Kostroma province near the settlement of Reshma, and is known under the name of the Makaryevskaya hermitage, ruled first by abbots and then by builders.

Having established a hermitage near the settlement of Reshma and elected an abbot for the brethren, the Monk Macarius did not want to stay with them forever. Worldly glory, which captivated others, could not captivate a true desert dweller who sought praise from the one God. On the contrary, he tried in every possible way to avoid people's rumors about his exploits. Out of love for silent solitude, he wanted to hide from people into the desert. He secretly left, as before, from the monastery he had built down the Volga River. On the way, 200 versts later, he liked the place at Zheltye Vody, on the left side of the Volga River. Having settled near Lake Zheltovodsk, Macarius dug a wretched cave with his own hands and labored here day and night, like other great hermits. However, his solitary life did not last long. Despite all his efforts, he could not hide from others, like a city standing at the top of a mountain. Divine providence long ago determined that the great lamp of piety should not remain hidden, but should be placed on the candlestick and would shine for everyone. The desert life of Macarius opened up for other seekers of silent service to the Lord.

The fame of his great exploits spread everywhere. From royal palaces to heterodox huts. Some sought his blessing, while others wanted to imitate him. For the assembled monks, the monk decided, around 1434, to found a monastery in the name of the Most Holy and Life-Giving Trinity. At this time, Grand Duke Vasily the Dark was hiding from the persecution of his cousin, Prince Dmitry Shemyaka, who wanted to deprive him of the throne, in Nizhny Novgorod. The persecuted prince visited the Monk Macarius and provided him with significant assistance in the construction of the monastery, which, like the builder, was later named Zheltovodsk after the lake adjacent to it. In 1435, a wooden monastery with a church in the name of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity was built. In the newly built Zheltovodsk monastery, Macarius was a mentor and at the same time a servant for all his brethren. He himself prepared food and drink for everyone. In both word and deed he was a leader for the monks in desert exploits.

Among the disciples of Macarius, the Monk Gregory of Pelshem, a native of the Galich boyars of the Lopotovs, is known. Leaving his parents, Gregory came from the city of Galich to the famous Zheltovodsk hermit. In his monastery he was tonsured a monk, and for his great monastic deeds he was awarded the priesthood 18. And after that, the worthy disciple of the Monk Macarius, who enlightened and pacified the Grand Dukes Yuri and Vasily, labored with glory in the Galich, Rostov and Vologda regions. The Monk Gregory died in the monastery of the Mother of God that he built not far from Vologda (1479), named after the surname of the founder Lopotova. The activities of Macarius on the Yellow Waters were not yet limited to the gathering and instructions of disciples similar to the Pelshem miracle worker. The strict life of the great mentor, combined with complete love for his neighbors, involuntarily attracted not only Christians, but also infidel foreigners to him.

They came to him with respect, were amazed at his great piety, and brought him gifts of wheat and honey. The monk received them with love and respect with gifts for his brethren. Treating kindly and talking with the visiting non-believers, the Zheltovodsk ascetic wanted to enlighten them with the Christian faith. Convinced by his wise advice and especially by his life, many of them agreed to accept the true faith professed by Macarius. Converting to Christianity, he baptized the infidels from the Mordovians, Tatars, Cheremis and Chuvash who lived around the monastery he built. They were baptized by a blessed desert dweller in Lake Zheltovodsk, which was named holy for this reason. It was located opposite the holy gates of the monastery until the beginning of the 19th century, when it was closed by the waters of the Volga.

The Zheltovodsk monastery, established by the Monk Macarius and attracting many devotees of piety, soon became famous and became populous. But it was not in a blooming state for long, no more than four years. Expelled from the Golden Horde and not accepted by the Grand Duke of Moscow, Ulu-Makhmet established the Kazan Khanate, founded during the time of Batu and ruined by the Russians at the end of the 14th century. Having conquered all the inhabitants of Bulgaria under his rule, the Horde khan began to expand the boundaries of the state he founded, with his sons Mamutyak and Yagub. In 1439, while ravaging the surrounding countries, they accidentally attacked the monastery of St. Macarius.

Five years after its construction, the monastery was destroyed to the ground by the formidable Tatars. The brethren who escaped there perished under the sword of the barbarians. The founder of the ruined monastery himself, the Monk Macarius, already well known to the Tatars, was taken into captivity with other survivors. When the 90-year-old elder, exhausted from his monastic exploits, but handsome, was introduced to Ulu-Makhmet, he attracted the special attention of the Kazan Khan. Those who brought the captive Macarius spoke about his valor. “This man is meek; neither by word nor by deed did he harm anyone, not only his own people, but even our fellow tribesmen.” Having heard such a review of the captive old man, touched by his majestic appearance, adorned with gray hair, and his deep humility, the formidable khan softened and became meek. Taking pity on him, he angrily shouted at the military leaders: “Why did you insult such a kind and holy man, who did not argue with you, and ruin his residence? Or don’t you know that for such meek people God himself, Who is one above all, can be angry?” With these words, Ulu-Makhmet ordered the release of the innocent and pious old man. Having received his freedom, Macarius began to petition for the release of captive Christians. The Khan agreed to the request of his respected Macarius.

Together with him, 40 captive husbands and several wives and children with all their property were released. Having granted freedom to the prisoners, the Kazan Khan ordered Macarius to no longer remain in the same place, but to choose another, according to his own will. The monk promised to fulfill the order of the gracious khan. He only asked him that, having freed the living, he would give freedom to the dead, and that he should be given permission to bury the monks killed in the same place. The little gullible khan doubted this demand and said to Macarius: “Why are you tempting me, venerable old man? Who demands freedom for the dead? Or do you think that they will rise and live?

To such a strange question, Macarius answered with a feeling of faith and reverence: “I assure you that they will live and rise. Only this will not happen now, but on the day of the general resurrection. Now I only ask you to bury and bury their slain bodies with my own hands, according to our Christian custom.” The Khan was surprised by the wise, loving words of the monk and exclaimed about him out loud in front of everyone standing: “Truly this is a man of God, because he cares not only about the living, but also about the dead.” And turning to Macarius, he allowed his request to be fulfilled: “Go in peace,” he said to him, “and do with the living and the dead as you wish: no one will hinder you.” Finally, the khan ordered Macarius to be escorted to the place of his ruined monastery and said as a consolation to the venerable elder that he would be ready to restore his former monastery one day if its place did not already belong to the Kazan kingdom.

Having repeatedly gotten rid of invisible enemies, the blessed desert dweller also got rid of visible enemies, unwittingly winning them over. On the way back from Kazan with the released captives, Macarius, according to legend, stopped near the place where the city of Sviyazhsk is now. Here, on the right bank of the Sviyaga River, on a high mountain stretching around the square in a semicircle, he laid the foundation of the desert, known as the “Makaryevskaya Sviyazhskaya Subgorodny”.

Arriving at the site of his former monastery, Macarius buried the remaining corpses of the beaten monks with all due honor. Their grave is now located near the altar of the Trinity Cathedral Church. By order of the khan, the monk could not remain for long at the site of the devastated Zheltovodsk monastery. Having mourned his interred brothers, he had to leave this place and retire with the returning captives to another country. Thus, after five years of existence, the Zheltovodsk monastery remained in complete desolation for 190 years, until 1624, when it was again built by the pious elder Abraham, at the behest of the Monk Macarius, who appeared to him three times.

Leaving the Zheltovodsk monastery, Macarius decided to go further from the borders of the Kazan kingdom, upstream of the Volga River. He intended to settle in the Galich region, which was located approximately 240 versts from the devastated monastery. Many ascetics wished to accompany Macarius. Before setting off on a long, difficult journey, he prayed in a spirit of meekness, exhorting his companions not to grieve about food, drink and other needs that were in short supply. “Do not mourn, children,” he asked the accompanying brethren, “do not mourn the disaster that befell us from the Scythian barbarians (Tatars) for our sins. With this misfortune God turns us to salvation. May He, according to His good will, arrange everything for our good. And we only need to repent of our sins before the justice of God. If we accept with thanksgiving the earthly punishments sent by God, then we will also be rewarded with future blessings from him.” The faithful companions gladly accepted such instructions from their leader. Seeing their location, the monk began to consult with them about choosing the path to follow. However, avoiding his former glory, he expressed a desire to stay not in the same place near the Lukha River, but in another place - next to the Unzha River. The saint's companions agreed with his choice. The direct and convenient route to the chosen place lay upstream of the Volga River. But on this path there was danger from enemies who had ravaged the Zheltovodsk monastery and wandered along the banks of the Volga. Then Macarius decided with his brethren to follow a new path, through impassable forests and swamps, without losing sight of the flow of the Volga.

The difficult journey was made even more difficult by the lack of food supplies. The journey took place in June. Soon the travelers faced hunger and thirst. But the merciful God did not leave them completely exhausted. A few days later, the food supply was exhausted and the travelers mourned the ensuing famine. Through the prayers of the saint, to glorify his name, they met an elk on the way. The wanderers wanted to slaughter the captured animal for food, but the ongoing period of Peter's Fast stopped their intention. They turned to the Monk Macarius and began to ask him for his blessing to fulfill their intention and resolve themselves in fasting.

A strict guardian of church rules forbade them to slaughter an animal and violate the sanctity of fasting. He ordered the captured beast to be released, cutting off its right ear. And as a consolation he told them that in three days, on the feast of the apostles Peter and Paul, the released beast would appear before them, and then it would be possible to slaughter it for food. For greater consolation, Macarius, who cared for his companions, sent warm prayers to God to confirm them in patience. Along with prayer, he gave them instructions: “Do not grieve,” he consoled them, “but pray to the Lord. He, who fed Israel with manna for 40 years in the desert, can also feed you invisibly in these days. Have living faith in Him who fed five thousand men with five loaves and two fish, besides wives and children.” The saint’s prayer and admonitions did not go unnoticed. Over the course of three fasting days, the wanderers continued their difficult journey without fatigue. At this time, not only did no one die of starvation, but they did not even feel hunger and did not grieve for obtaining food.

When the feast of the apostles Peter and Paul approached, Macarius turned aside from his companions. Moving away from them, with his arms outstretched to the sky, he prayed to the merciful Lord, who saves from all sorrows and illnesses. “I praise you,” he cried, “Lord Jesus Christ, blessed God, who has kept us alive until now! Truly every breath and every creature will bless You: for through You everything lives and moves. Look down mercifully from Thy holy heights, and hear the prayer of Thy unworthy servant. Just as in ancient times you fed the Jewish people with rainy manna in the desert, and again in the time of the Apostle you fed five thousand people with five loaves. Thus, even now in this desert, feed the people with Your merciful and humane Look. May they be satisfied and praise Your most holy and magnificent Name forever and ever. Amen".

Having completed the prayer, Macarius came to the brethren and exhorted them not to grieve or murmur. Pointing out the harm that comes from sorrow and grumbling, he aroused in them hope in the Lord the Savior, who had already delivered them from vain death and from barbaric captivity. “For this sake,” he continued, “let us not grieve and murmur, lest we anger our Lord and Benefactor, but let us believe and hope in His mercy; He is able to nourish and save all His faithful servants.” After such prayerful consolation, the wild beast, released three days ago, miraculously appeared among the travelers no longer wild, but meek. Taking him in their hands without any effort, they saw that his right ear was cut off. Through this they were convinced that this was the same beast that, at the command of the mentor, was released. Thus, Macarius’s prediction came true in front of all the brethren. With joy they brought the appearing elk to their praying guide, as the culprit of God’s gifts. The monk rejoiced along with his companions and blessed them to use it as food.

Having slaughtered and cooked a wild animal at the stake, the travelers were satisfied and praised God for His great mercy. In this wondrous event, Macarius, as the Holy Church sings, appeared as the second Moses, “working a great miracle with his prayers and feeding the hungry people to abundance.” After everyone was satisfied, the zealous man of prayer convinced his companions not to grieve over food in the future, but to trust entirely in God, who would give them everything they needed. And the word of the saint did not remain fruitless. Continuing their journey with hope in God, in the middle of the desert they found food for themselves miraculously sent. Sometimes an elk appeared before them with meekness, sometimes a deer or another animal. Travelers took them in their hands without any difficulty and slaughtered them for food, with a feeling of gratitude to the Giver of all good things. It is not known whether everyone who walked with the Monk Macarius from Kazan and the Zheltovodsk monastery survived. It is only known that God constantly protected them from the death that surrounded them: from hunger, thirst and wild animals. And the travelers themselves could hardly have survived without such a meek, loving Wonderworker as the Monk Macarius showed himself throughout the entire journey. During the journey, the monk visited the Varnavin Hermitage, where he talked for some time with a close associate, the Monk Barnabas. However, nothing is said about this in the legend, which has preserved information about numerous other stops made by the Monk Macarius while traveling with his companions through the forest.

Some time later, after leaving the devastated monastery, through the prayers of their verbal Shepherd, the wanderers freed from captivity reached the borders of the Galich land and approached Unzha. The city of Unzha at that time was small. There weren't many residents in the surrounding areas. However, the coming of the Monk Macarius did not hide from faithful Christians. Having learned in the city about the approach of the great ascetic, the pious residents came out to meet him, wanting to enjoy seeing him. He was received with joy throughout the city, especially when they heard from his companions that even before the Tatars the monk had earned respect and was released along with other captives, that through his prayers they had been delivered from hunger and death. Hearing about the great deeds of the saint, the Unzhensky inhabitants glorified God and considered His saint a worthy honor. But Macarius, avoiding worldly fame from an early age, did not want to stay in the city. He began to look for silent solitude, asking city residents about such a place. He was pointed to an elevated, deserted place, located 15 miles from the city, downstream of the Unzha River, on the right bank. Some of the newcomers settled in the city, others in the surrounding villages, and the guide Macarius himself examined the indicated place. The desert dweller liked it very much.

Having chosen it for residence, he erected an honest cross here, built himself a small cell from the surrounding forest, and settled in it. Striving in pious labors, in prayer, vigil and fasting, the hermit soon attracted to himself those seeking spiritual salvation. For the gathered monks, through the labors of Makariy, in 1439, a wooden monastery was founded, formerly known as the “Makaryev New Hermitage”, and now the Makaryevsky Unzhensky Monastery. Here, in a semi-mountain, on the southwestern side of the monastery buildings, he dug with his own hands a miraculously found well, to which all who come to the monastery reverence and receive healing from their ailments. In the newly built monastery, the Monk Macarius worked day and night, sending prayers and thanksgiving to God. For his holy life in this place, he was awarded the special grace of God - the gift of miracles.

Among the many miracles, one thing is known.

Not far from the monastery built by the venerable hermit, one young woman was blind, and, in addition, suffered from attacks of the devil. Her father, named Theodore, who was in Moscow on trade business, was looking for medicine to heal his daughter. But I thought about the futility of human help without the protection of God and remembered the Unzhensky ascetic. Returning from the capital, he decided to bring his only daughter to the feet of Macarius and ask for his prayers for her healing. At the same time, the father had a similar pious intention for his sick daughter and mother. Arriving home, Theodore told his wife about his vow made to God in Moscow, and she also remembered her intention. From the conversation it became clear that their desires for their daughter coincided. Therefore, without delay, they began to fulfill their common vow: together with their sick daughter they went into the desert to visit a pious ascetic. Arriving at his monastery, they asked him for his blessing and told him about his daughter, suffering from blindness and demonic obsession. Following this, they earnestly asked Macarius to pray for their daughter, for her healing. The humble hermit refused, considering himself an unworthy sinner. The compassionate parents continued to ask Macarius with great effort. Seeing in them trust in God and zeal, he finally said to them as a consolation: “Know that God can save if your faith is demonstrated before Him. By your faith, He will free your daughter from the attack of the devil and eye disease.” Meanwhile, he took the honest cross into his hands and commemorated the sick young woman with it. Following this, her eyes began to see clearly, and along with her insight, she was freed from the attack of the devil. The healed daughter rejoiced with her parents with inexpressible joy. When leaving the Unzhensk monastery, they all gave thanks to the merciful God and His zealous prayer book.

The Monk Macarius spent the last days of his difficult life in the same exploits to which he had become accustomed from an early age. He rarely left the Unzhensk hermitage, and then only out of spiritual need. Having reached the age of 95, the great ascetic of piety visited the city of Unzha for saving instructions to its inhabitants. Here the venerable old man became unwell. He knew his death. Departing to the Lord, he partook of the Holy Mysteries and commanded that his body be taken to the Unzhensky monastery that he had built and loved. Having prayed to the Lord for the last time, from his deathbed he said goodbye to everyone, bequeathing joy, peace and blessing. On July 25, 1444, the Monk Macarius, named after his two famous monasteries of Zheltovodsk and Unzhensk, the Wonderworker, ended his earthly life. In total, he lived 95 years, of which 83 years he remained a monk. When the monk died, the great Moscow principality was ruled by the same Vasily Vasilyevich the Dark, who helped him establish the Zheltovodsk monastery.

After the repose of the saint of God, a wonderful fragrance spread everywhere, not only in the city, but also in all the surrounding areas. They immediately learned that the Monk Macarius had gone to the Lord, before Whom the very death of the saints is honorable. From all surrounding areas, many people flocked to the deceased monk. Everyone cried inconsolably over the deprivation of such an ascetic, a common benefactor and a zealous man of prayer to God. According to the saint’s own will, his venerable body was solemnly carried from the city to the desert with candles and spiritual singing. In addition to the clergy, the people, with a feeling of regret, saw off the saint of God, following him 15 miles. On the way, they stopped four times with the coffin, and chapels were soon erected at these places, in memory of the touch of holy relics on them. In the Unzhensk monastery the body of the holy ascetic was buried with all due honor. Both during the transfer and during the burial, many different healings were performed on those who flowed to him in faith.

Soon after the repose of St. Macarius, quite a number of hermits gathered to visit his healing relics. A wooden church was erected over the venerable remains of the monk, and the monastery itself was given the name: “Makary’s new hermitage - Zheltovodsky Monastery.” Continuing its existence through the prayers of the saint of God who died in the monastery, it has become more famous since 1596, when Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, having heard about the miracles of the Monk Macarius, sent a builder from the nobles, the pious monk David Khvostov, to the still unsettled monastery. At the request of this builder, who founded the cathedral Trinity wooden church (1601), Tsar Vasily Ioannovich granted several villages with different lands for the establishment and maintenance of the monastery. And in 1620, Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, who came to the monastery to worship the Monk Macarius, first with his mother Martha Ioannovna, and then with the entire Synclite, enriched it with generous gifts. Despite various renovations, the structure of the monastery was still wooden. But since 1663, under Abbot Nathanael, due to frequent fires, stone construction began in it. First, the stone Trinity Church was built. And in 1670, under Abbot Nikita, another stone church was founded in the name of St. Macarius over his relics. When they began to dig the ground for the pillar on the right side, at the foot of the saint’s shrine, they found the relics of a certain monk incorrupt, so that his hood and mantle remained intact, although the coffin had already decayed. Upon questioning, it turned out that this was one of the two disciples of the Monk Macarius, who died after him.

The abbot ordered the found relics to be placed in a new coffin and placed in the corner of the church. The coffin with the relics stood in the church until 1671. But that same year it was decided to bury them inside the church. They began to dig the ground one fathom from the tomb of St. Macarius. At this time, God’s Providence was pleased to reveal the incorruptible relics of His saint, which had remained unknown for 227 years since his repose. On the left side of the shrine, the earth accidentally collapsed, and in this place a slab 4 spans long and one span wide was found. By order of the abbot, the slab was dug. The relics of St. Macarius were found under it. This happened on October 12, 1671. Having examined the holy remains, the entire body was intact, with gray hair. He seemed similar to how the Monk Macarius was and is depicted on icons. The schema, mantle and swaddling cloth remained incorruptible. The lower coffin board was also not damaged at all, but the upper board and the side boards had decayed. Having found the relics of the monk, Abbot Nikita and his brethren rejoiced with great joy. They removed the found relics, without orders from their superiors, from the ground and placed them in another new coffin, wearing the same incorruptible vestments. An ancient miraculous icon, which remained intact after many fires, was placed over the saint’s tomb.

Thus, on October 12, 1671, the Unzhensk monastery began to celebrate the discovery of the holy relics of St. Macarius. But out of simplicity and foolishness, they did not let either the king or the patriarch know about this. The veneration of the uncovered relics continued for about four years. After this time, one of the monks, named Joseph Sviyazhanin, offended by the punishment inflicted on him by Abbot Nikita, looked for an opportunity to take revenge on him. Reporting against the abbot seemed to him a sure means of revenge. Irritated, Joseph secretly left the Unzhensky Monastery in 1675 for the reigning city of Moscow. He reported to the abbot that “without the royal command and without the patriarch’s blessing, he took out the relics of one of the monks from the ground, kept them at the top of the earth and called them the relics of St. Macarius. This is not enough: he even took part of these relics and placed it during the consecration of the water. And when he happens to visit a shrine in Moscow, he gives this water to the Tsar and the Patriarch.” Having learned about such an unauthorized act by Abbot Nikita, Patriarch Joachim was angry with him and reported this to the king. On this matter, in February 1675, the Siberian Archbishop Simeon, who lived there in retirement, with the rector of the monastery, Archimandrite Tikhon, and with Abbot Varlaam, who lived in the same monastery, were sent to Unzha from the Makarievo-Zheltovodsky Monastery. They were ordered to go to the Unzhensky monastery, undertake an investigation there about the relics, examine them and find out about the place of their discovery, and deprive the abbot Nikita of his abbotship for arbitrariness and send him to the Zheltovodsky monastery “under the leadership of the novices.”

By February 28, Archbishop Simeon with two companions arrived at the Unzhensky Monastery and, having examined the open relics, considered them to be the bones of a simple monk, and not the Monk Macarius. He didn’t even want to touch them with his hands, but only used his staff to lift their clothes off. Without paying honor to the relics, he apparently did not believe the monks’ stories about them, but ordered the tomb to be removed and the coffin placed in the corner of the church. Simeon escorted the convicted abbot Nikita with Tikhon and Varlaam to the Zheltovodsky monastery, and he himself wrote in his own way about the discovery of the relics, notifying the patriarch that the abbot had found not the relics of the Monk Macarius, but the bones of a simple monk, and that there were no miracles from them. Simeon’s goal was to, through the humiliation of the Unzhenskaya monastery, elevate the Zheltovodsk monastery and divulge everywhere that the relics of the Monk Macarius rest not in the first, but in the last monastery.

The notified patriarch ordered that the found relics be buried in the same place. By the will of the patriarch, Simeon ordered to dig up a place the size of a man where the tomb stood, and hide there the relics of the Monk Macarius, like the remains of a common man, without any honor. Only during the burial, he secretly took away a part from the relics of St. Macarius and hid it with himself. But the archbishop's insolence was soon put to shame. Due to the rebuke of the Monk Macarius, the ship on which Simion went to the Zheltovodsky monastery did not move from the lake to the Unzha River. This was prevented by the storm, the wind, and the waves that rose against the ship.

Repenting of his crime, Simeon cried out to the Monk Macarius: “Holy Monk Macarius! Have mercy on me and intercede with Christ with your prayers.” With great difficulty, having reached the Volga River, Simeon, instead of the city of Moscow, swam to the Zheltovodsky Monastery to give Archimandrite Tikhon the seized part of the relics of St. Macarius. Having secretly transferred the relics to him for safekeeping, he went to Moscow.

Meanwhile, Patriarch Joachim, instead of the suspended Nikita, sent Mitrofan, “a reverent and virtuous man,” to the Unzhensky Monastery as abbot. But Archbishop Simeon and Archimandrite Tikhon soon suffered God’s punishment for their daring act: both of them, having lost their minds, began to feel constant fear and trembling. Tikhon, having taken part in the criminal actions of Simeon, was forced out of fear to even retire to the Pomeranian countries, and wandered around the monasteries there, hearing everywhere a secret voice: “The imam will not give you peace, until then give me what is mine.” Likewise, Simeon, living in Moscow, constantly heard a terrible voice for himself: “Why did you take away a part of my relics?” From constant fear and horror, the archbishop finally fell into illness and lay there for 40 days. Meanwhile, one night the Monk Macarius appears to him with a menacing rebuke: “Why, elder, have you offended me?” - Simeon answers: “Who are you, saint of God, and what offense have I caused you?”

The monk said: “Why did you take away part of my relics? I will not give you peace until you apply it to my body again. My name is Macarius of Zheltovodsk and Unzhensky.” After these words the monk became invisible. And Simeon, enlightened by a miraculous vision, repented of his crime, began to pray to God and decided to inform the patriarch about this. Having received relief, he appeared to the patriarch, told him about the relics of the Monk Macarius and how part of them was taken from them and given to Archimandrite Tikhon, how after that the monk appeared to him, instilled fear in him and threatened him with punishment. At the same time, he asked the patriarch to take part of the holy relics from Archimandrite Tikhon, send them to the Unzhensky Monastery and place them in the tomb of the saint of God. The Patriarch was surprised by the archbishop's stories. But since he knew about Tikhon’s departure from the Zheltovodsk monastery, he said to Simeon: “What should I do when Tikhon is not in the monastery, and where is he now, I don’t know anything about it.” And when Simeon began to beg the patriarch, he sent written orders to different monasteries to find Tikhon. Simeon's wish came true: Tikhon was found in one of the Novgorod deserts and brought to Moscow to the patriarch. Upon arrival, he was sent to the Zheltovodsky Monastery to retrieve the hidden part of the holy relics. Soon the shrine was brought, and the patriarch reverently presented it to Tsar Theodore Alekseevich, who had just ascended the throne. The king kissed the holy relics and said: “Reverend Father Macarius! Remember me before the throne of the Heavenly King.”

Having ordered what to do with the shrine according to the will of the monk who had appeared, the tsar released the patriarch and said to him: “My grandfather Mikhail Feodorovich of blessed memory was also honored to be in the holy monastery on Unzha.” Then the patriarch called Archimandrite Tikhon to him and gave him part of the holy relics with a written order that he should go to Unzha and there reverently with the abbot open the closed relics of the Monk Macarius. And then, opening the top board of the coffin, he put the removed part of the relics into the coffin, closed them and buried them as before in the ground.

Having received a blessing from the patriarch, Tikhon took some monks with him and went with them to the Unzhensky monastery. He arrived here on March 17, 1677, when Abbot Mitrofan, by order of the patriarch, inspected some churches in the Vetluzh region. In the fourth week of Great Lent, on the feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, Abbot Mitrofan also arrived at the monastery. With him, Archimandrite Tikhon placed part of his relics in the coffin of the Monk Macarius, as the patriarch ordered, and placed the tomb over the relics as before. From Unzhi, Tikhon returned to Moscow and denounced himself for unbelief, for which, as he himself admitted, he was not worthy to have part of the holy relics. And when Abbot Mitrofan arrived in Moscow, Simeon called him to him and said: “Forgive me, brother in Christ! I sinned a lot before the saint of God Macarius and brought his wrath upon myself by hiding his relics in the ground. And for the parts taken from the relics, I suffered a lot, and only through his prayers did I get rid of death. Pray for me too before God and his saint Macarius, so that I may accept remission of my sins.”

Why didn’t Patriarch Joachim, during the obvious miracles of the Monk Macarius, order the relics to be taken out and placed on top of the ground? The manuscript of the Unzhensky Monastery indicates that this depended on the determination of the bishops' council. “Even incorruptible bodies, it is said there, which are found in modern times, are not commanded to dare to soon, except for reliable testimony and the conciliar command, be honored as holy. And where such holy bodies will be found, and I commanded that such holy bodies be tested in every possible way and testified with reliable testimonies before the great and perfect council of bishops.” But since it was impossible or very difficult for the bishops’ council to gather in the Unzhensky deserted place, the patriarch, confident in the incorruption of the miraculous relics of the Monk Macarius, ordered only to build a tomb over them and give them proper veneration. And Abbot Nikita, for unauthorized orders, remained until his death in the Zheltovodsky Monastery.

Thus, from the time of the discovery of the relics in 1671, accompanied by miracles, in the Unzhensky Monastery the memory of St. Macarius, in addition to July 25, began to be celebrated on October 12, as the day of the discovery of his relics. Now the holy relics of the saint of God rest in a rich silver shrine, with a gilded copper lattice, inside the Makaryevskaya Cathedral Church, behind the pillar on the right side, under a magnificent carved, gilded canopy.