Macarius

Macarius
Macarius
Article on two saints named Macarius, both fourth-century Egyptian monks: St. Macarius the Egyptian ('the Elder') and St. Macarius the Alexandrian ('the Younger')

Catholic Encyclopedia. . 2006.

Macarius
    Macarius
     Catholic_Encyclopedia Macarius
    The name of two celebrated contemporary Nitrian monks of the fourth century:
    Macarius the Alexandrian
    Also called ho politikos either in reference to his city birth or polished manners; died about 405. He was a younger contemporary of Macarius the Egyptian, but there is no reason for confounding or identifying him with his older namesake. More than any of the hermits of the time he exemplified the spirit of emulation characteristic of this stage of monasticism. He would be excelled by none in his austerities. Palladius asserts "if he ever heard of any one having performed a work of asceticism, he was all on fire to do the same". Because the monks of Tabennisi eschewed cooked food in Lent he abstained for seven years. Once, in expiation of a fault, he lay for six months in a morass, exposed to the attacks of the African gnats, whose sting can pierce even the hide of a wild boar. When he returned to his companions he was so much disfigured that he could be recognized only by his voice. He is credited with the composition of a rule for monks, though his authorship is now generally denied.
    Macarius the Egyptian (or "Macarius the Elder")
    One of the most famous of the early Christian solitaries, born about A.D. 300; died 390. He was a disciple of St. Anthony and founder of a monastic community in the Scetic desert. Through the influence of St. Anthony he abandoned the world at the age of thirty, and ten years later was ordained a priest. The fame of his sanctity drew many followers, and his monastic settlement at his death numbered thousands. The community, which took up its residence in the Nitrian and Scetic deserts, was of the semi-eremitical type. The monks were not bound by any fixed rule; their cells were close together, and they met for Divine worship only on Saturdays or Sundays. The principle which held them together was one of mutual helpfulness, and the authority of the elders was recognized not as that of monastic superiors in the strict sense of the word but rather as that of guides and models of perfection. In a community whose members were striving to excel in mortification and renunciation the pre-eminence of Macarius was generally recognized. Several monasteries in the Libyan desert still bear the name of Macarius. Fifty homilies have been preserved which bear his name, but these and an "Epistle to the monks", with other dubious pieces, cannot be ascribed to him with absolute certainty.
    [Note: Saint Macarius the Younger (the Alexandrian) is named in the Roman Martyrology on 2 January, Saint Macarius the Elder (the Egyptian) on 15 January; in Byzantine liturgical calendars, both Saints are commemorated on 19 January.]
    Hist. Lausiaca, xvii; Hist. monachorum, xxviii; a Coptic Life was edited by AMELINEAU in Monuments pour servir a l'histoire de l'Egypte chretienne au IVe, Ve, VIe et VIIe siecles (Paris, 1895), Syriac tr. by BEDJAN in Acta sanctorum et martyrum syriace, V, 1895; BUTLER, The Lausiac History of Palladius, II, 193; ZOCKLER, Askese u. Monchthum (Frankfurt, 1897), 226. For the homilies ascribed to MACARIUS see P.L., XXXIV, 409 sqq.; cf. BARDENHEWER, Patrology, tr. SHAHAN (St. Louis, 1908), 266 sqq.
    PATRICK J. HEALY
    Transcribed by Herman F. Holbrook For Dom Julian Stead, O.S.B., of Portsmouth Abbey, Rhode Island.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIII. — New York: Robert Appleton Company. . 1910.


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  • Macarius — is the name of a number of people: *Macarius of Egypt: (300 390) Egyptian monk and hermit. Also known as Macarius the Elder or St. Macarius the Great *Macarius of Alexandria: Also known as Macarius the Younger. *Macarius Magnes *Macarius of… …   Wikipedia

  • Macarius — Macarius, s. Makarios …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Macarĭus — Macarĭus, s. Makarios …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • MACARIUS I: — MACARIUS I: Episcop. Antiochenus, haereticus obstinatus. Monothelitarum errores sequutus Concilio 3. Constantinopol. A. C. 681. interfuit, ubi a Constantino Pogonato iussus sententiam suam exponere, impudenter asseruit, in IESU CHRISTO neque… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Macarius II — Metropolitan of Moscow Makary (Nevsky) Macarius II (Russian: Макарий; born October 1, 1835 in Vladimir Governorate, Russian Empire–died March 2, 1926 in Moscow Governorate, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union) was the Metropolitan of Moscow and… …   Wikipedia

  • Macarius, S. (3) — 3S. Macarius Alex. Abb. (2. al. 15. und 19. Jan.) Dieser hl. Abt Macarius, zugenannt der »Jüngere«, aus Alexandria, ist von dem gleichnamigen Egyptischen wohl zu unterscheiden. Die griechische Kirche ehrt beide am 19., die lateinische aber… …   Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon

  • Macarius, S. (5) — 5S. Macarius, Abb. (15. al. 19. Jan.) Dieser hl. Macarius darf mit Macarius aus Alexandria, dem »Städter« (Urbanus, ᾿αστός) nicht verwechselt werden. Wie dieser war er ein Schüler des hl. Antonius, welcher den Beinamen »der Große« führt, dessen… …   Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon

  • Macarius I — Metropolitan of Moscow Macarius I Macarius I (Russian: Макарий I), born Mikhail Petrovich Bulgakov (Russian: Михаил Петрович Булгаков) (1816–1882), was the Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna in 1879 1882 and member of many learned societies,… …   Wikipedia

  • Macarius, S. (14) — 14S. Macarius (Macharius), Archiep. Conf. (10. April al. 22. Aug. u. 9. Mai.) Dieser hl. Macarius war nach den Ermittelungen des Boll. Henschen Erzbischof von Antiochia in Pisidien, wohin sich Armenien im weiteren Sinne ausdehnte. Nach des… …   Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon

  • Macarius, SS. (18-20) — 18–20SS. Macarius, Epp. Conff. (4. al. 1. Mai). Der erste dieser hhl. Macarius ist bekannter durch die Verehrung, die ihm nach seinem Tode zu Theil wurde, als durch die Geschichte seines Lebens. Diese liegt so im Dunkeln, daß man nicht einmal… …   Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon

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