THE VENERABLE MAΚARIOS THE GREAT OF EGYPT (19 JANUARY)
Macarius (Makarios) was an Egyptian and one of the younger contemporaries of Anthony the Great. His father was a priest. Out of obedience to his parents, Macarius married. However, his wife died shortly thereafter and he withdrew to the wilderness, where he spent sixty years in labor and struggle, both inwardly and outwardly, for the Kingdom of Heaven.
When they asked him why he was so thin, both when he ate and when he did not eat, he responded: “From the fear of God.” So much did he succeed in cleansing his mind of evil thoughts and his heart of evil desires, that God bestowed upon him the abundant gift of miracle-working, so that he even raised the dead from the graves. His humility amazed both men and demons.
A demon once said to him: “There is only one thing in which I am unable to surpass you. It is not in fasting, for I do not eat anything. It is not in vigils, for I never sleep.” “But what is it?” asked Macarius. “Your humility,” answered the demon. Macarius often told Paphnutius, his disciple: “Do not judge anyone, and you will be saved.” Macarius lived to be ninety-seven years old.
Nine days before his death, St. Anthony and St. Pachomius appeared to him from the other world and informed him that he would die within nine days; and it came to pass. Before his death, Macarius also had a vision in which a Cherubim revealed to him the blessed heavenly world, commended his effort and his virtue, and told him that he had been sent to take his soul into the Kingdom of Heaven. Macarius reposed in the year 390 A.D.
Apolytikion of Macarius the Great of Egypt
First Tone
Thou didst prove to be a citizen of the desert, an angel in the flesh, and a wonderworker, O Macarius, our God-bearing Father. By fasting, vigil, and prayer thou didst obtain heavenly gifts, and thou healest the sick and the souls of them that have recourse to thee with faith. Glory to Him that hath given thee strength. Glory to Him that hath crowned thee. Glory to Him that worketh healings for all through thee.
Kontakion of Macarius the Great of Egypt
Fourth Tone
The Lord God established thee, O great ascetic, in the house of abstinence, like an unerring star that lit the farthest regions with guiding light, Father of Fathers, O righteous Macarius.
A revelation on the torments of hell to St. Makarios the Great
This icon is from the cemetary church of All Saints in the town of Perama, Rethymna, the seat of the municipality of Mylopotamou, by the iconographer Emmanuel Sephake.
St. Makarios of Egypt once was traveling through the desert, and accidentally uncovered a skull with his staff. He bent down, buried it with respect, and prayed for the man to whom it belonged. Then, the man’s soul appeared to him, and informed him that, while he was alive, he was a worshiper of the devils (a priest of Isis), and now he was in hell. “And how is it there?” the Saint asked. “All are found amidst flames” the soul responded, “and we are bound back-to-back. However, when you pray for us, we see each other for the short time that you are praying.” We know from our holy Christian teachers that the fire which the soul mentioned is the Fire of God, which bathes all in the other world. Those with an attitude of egotism experience this as the “fire of hell”. (http://proskynitis.blogspot.com/2011/12/blog-post_6716.html)
Sources: goarch.org / http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com / web.archive.org
