Macarius the Great (Macarius of Egypt), monk c.300–90. A native of Upper Egypt, he founded c.330 a monastery in the desert of Scetis. About 340 he was ordained priest. He knew and followed the teachings of Antony of Egypt. Various anecdotes concerning him are to be found in the Apothegmata Patrum and in the Lausiac History: there is no need to think that all of them are authentic, still less that the many writings, including homilies traditionally ascribed to him, are actually his work.
During his lifetime he was certainly highly esteemed in monastic circles; his counsel was greatly appreciated not least by Evagrius, more famous in our own day. At this distance it seems almost impossible to separate the authentic from the apocryphal sayings and deeds. Feast: 15 January.
Bibliography
Click here for a list of abbreviations used in this bibliography.
- H.S.S.C., iii. 278
- Palladius, Lausiac History, c.17
- J. C. Guy, Les Apothegmes des Pères du Désert (1966), pp. 166–82
- Writings attributed to him are in H. Dorries, E. Klostermann, and M. Kroeger, Patristiche Texte und Studien, iv (1964) with Eng. tr. by A. J. Mason (1921)
- see also W. Jaeger, Two Rediscovered Texts of Ancient Christian Literature: Gregory of Nyssa and Macarius (1954)
- Bibl. SS., viii. 425–9
The Oxford Dictionary of Saints. Copyright © David Hugh Farmer 1978, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2003, 2004. All rights reserved.
