How often do Orthodox people, picking up a ready-made prayer book, wonder who wrote this little book? Who invented the prayers themselves? Why are these prayers included in the number of "morning" prayers, while others are designated as "evening" or "for every need"? And why do some prayers have authors, while others do not? And who is he, Saint Great Macarius, whose prayers are read daily by thousands of Orthodox Christians?
Memorial Saint's Day
February 1 (January 19, old style) in Orthodox churches, the name of St. Great Macarius is glorified. All men whose name is Makar can celebrate their name day on this day. And although according to the Orthodox tradition, the day of the saint is celebrated not on the day of his birth, but on the day of repose before the Lord or on the day of his canonization, this should not be taken negatively. Death for a true believer is just a transition from temporary life to Eternal life next to the Lord and all the saints,deserving bliss in eternal life. Leading a Christian life and fulfilling all the commandments that the Lord gave people with love, people are not afraid of meeting God after death. The soul is afraid of death, knowing that unimaginable torments await it there. At the same time, even such a great saint as Macarius did not consider himself worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. His humility was so deep that, even as he died, he was afraid to succumb to temptations and not pass the test. However, everything is in order.
The miracle of the birth of a saint
The life of Saint Macarius the Great began with a real miracle. His parents lived in Egypt, bore the names of ancient saints - Abraham and Sarah. Macarius' father was a presbyter. The very atmosphere in the house was originally filled with deep faith. For many years their marriage remained fruitless. Having decided that it was so pleasing to the Lord, the couple began to live chastely, but did not want to part. For many years their cohabitation was spiritual. Their life consisted of good deeds, prayers, fasting and worship of the Lord.
However, the barbarians attacked the village where they lived. Robbery and violence, unknown until that time by the parents of Macarius, so shocked them that they wanted to leave Egypt. But Abraham saw his forefather in a dream. The ancient holy Patriarch Abraham looked like an old man in dazzling white clothes, with gray hair and a beard. He consoled and told the future father of Macarius that it was not worth leaving Egypt. You need to move to the village of Ptinapor, which was also in Egypt. In addition, the Patriarch promised the presbyter that the Lord would bless his life with the birth of a son, despite the advanced age of his parents. After allonce upon a time the Patriarch himself became a father, being a deep old man, like his elderly wife Sarah. Upon waking up, Abraham told this dream to his Sarah. They trusted the signs of God so much that they did not doubt at all that the dream was prophetic. They offered up a prayer to the Lord, moved to Ptinapor and began to live there as spouses.
Suddenly, Abraham became so ill that he fell ill and could not even move. Everyone was waiting for his near death. But one night he again had a dream in which the Angel of the Lord himself, coming out of the altar, ordered him to get up, as soon a son would be born to him. This child will become a vessel of Divine grace and live his life like an angel. Soon they had a son, whom they named Macarius, which means "blessed." Thus, the miracle of the birth of the Great Saint happened, which was predicted in a dream to his father by the Holy Patriarch Abraham with the Angel of the Lord. It happened around the year 300.
Divine Destiny
It is impossible to imagine that holiness comes to a person by itself. So for Macarius, the Lord created all the conditions. It was not by chance that the village of Ptinapor was chosen by God for the place of relocation of the parents of St. Macarius. It was located near the Nitrian desert. This circumstance helped Macarius to love the desert life.
From childhood, Macarius was distinguished by meekness, humility and obedience to his parents. Soon after entering adolescence, the boy became interested in the study of the Holy Scriptures. Saint Great Macarius tried to defend his opinion in only one thing: his parents persuaded him to marry, but he asked them not to.deprive him of the opportunity to devote himself to a pure spiritual virgin life. The persistence with which the parents wanted to marry him, in the end, bore fruit. Remembering the commandment to love and honor his parents, Saint Macarius succumbed to their persuasion. However, first he asked the Lord to arrange so that this marriage does not interfere with his true purpose.
After the wedding feast, the saint had to play tricks and pretend to be sick so as not to break the vow of virginity, which he made in his heart to the Lord. Soon one of his relatives was about to go into the desert for s altpeter and called Macarius with him. His parents insisted that he go. When the travelers came to the Nitrian mountain, they lay down to rest. In a dream, a man in shining clothes appeared to Macarius and showed him the beauty of the desert, urging him to leave the world and retire to it for further service to the Lord. This vision itself perplexed him, since in those days nothing was known about the hermits. Yes, and his conjugal and filial duty did not allow him to dispose of his life in this way. However, when he came home, he found his wife dying. Thanks to him, she passed into the world as another untouched virgin, which gave her many chances for salvation.
And yet, her death greatly affected the saint. For himself, he decided to remember that his life would end someday, and he would have to answer for his earthly life. He was even more imbued with love for a chaste life, began to spend all his free time in the temple, and constantly read the Holy Scriptures. Soon his parents died, as they were already very old people. During theirillnesses before his death, Saint Macarius devotedly looked after them, not grumbling and not cursing his fate. Having buried his parents, he could finally fulfill the destiny given to him by the Lord himself - like Anthony the Great, retire to the desert for monastic life.
Fateful meeting
But St. Macarius did not immediately decide to take such a step. At first, he was sad for a long time that he did not have any of his relatives left on this earth with whom he could consult, discuss his future life, and tell about his future plans.
However, he trusted in the Lord and continued the traditions of his parents, who, on the days of the remembrance of the saints, arranged a feast to feed the poor and wanderers. On such a day, Saint Macarius prepared dinner and went to the temple. There, during the service, he saw a monk who lived in the desert near the village of Ptinapor. No one had seen him before, for the hermit himself shunned the world. However, on this day, by Divine Providence, he came to the same church as Saint Macarius.
The sight of the hermit greatly impressed the saint. Despite the long fast and the harsh conditions of the desert, which made his face dry and dark, his whole appearance shone with inner splendor. The saint approached the elder and asked him to come to his feast. The old man agreed. After eating the meal, Saint Macarius again approached the elder and asked to receive him as a guest the next day. The elder willingly agreed, doing the will of the Lord.
First Teachings
The next day, Saint Macarius came to the elder and asked to become his teacher. The old man talked all dayMacarius about the difficulties of living alone in the desert. At night, when Saint Macarius fell asleep, the elder began to earnestly pray that the Lord would show him his purpose in the life of this young man. Soon a dream of monks appeared to him, who called on the sleeping Macarius to get up and join their ranks to serve the Lord. He told this dream in the morning to Saint Macarius, urging him not to delay in his decision to leave the world for the sake of serving God.
First Steps to Holy Service
The life of St. Macarius the Great shows how the rejection of worldly fuss begins. First of all, the saint got rid of all the property that his parents had left him. He distributed it to the poor and needy, thereby breaking the strongest bonds with the world, which he himself considered a heavy burden. Leaving nothing for himself, even the most necessary, he seemed to re-enter this life, not tied to it by the possession of things.
Beginning of monasticism
Saint Great Macarius again came to the old man he knew and humbly asked him to become his mentor. The elder, seeing the desire of the young man to start serving as soon as possible, began to teach him the basics of monasticism - prayers, silence, needlework, which will help to get the necessary amount of food for the hermit, as well as lonely service. Soon he moved Saint Macarius to a cave, which he dug especially for him. From that time Saint Macarius became a hermit who served the Lord with his humble life. To earn his living, he wove baskets. For a small fee, they were bought by residents of nearby villages. Soon the glory of the saintthe hermit began to reach the heads of the local church.
Rejection of clerical service
The bishop of the local church was very surprised to learn that a humble hermit appeared in the desert, who leads a pious life. He called Saint Macarius, talked to him and appointed him a clergyman in the parish of Ptinapor. Saint Macarius referred to his youth - at that time he was forty years old. However, the bishop decided that youth could not be a hindrance for him and put him in office of his own free will.
This violated the already established way of life of Saint Macarius. He had to flee and settle in the desert near another village. Here one of the local residents came to his service, who began to serve the saint by selling his baskets and buying the necessary food for the hermit.
Temptations of a Saint
The monastic life seems simple and measured to the laity. Fasting, prayer and work - the rest is by the will of the Lord. However, it is the monks who are most tempted by demons. The life of Saint Macarius the Great contains many facts that speak of how often and strongly the saint was tempted by the enemy of the human race - the Devil. He overcame the saint with sinful thoughts and abusive speech, frightened him with monsters that appeared to him in the midst of prayer. During night vigils, he shook his cell or crawled in like a poisonous snake to distract the saint from prayer. But the monk, remembering the protection of the Lord, protected himself with a cross and prayer, against which the Devil himself was powerless.
Slander against a saint
In the nearest village lived a young man andgirl who loved each other. It was them that the Devil chose as his instrument. The girl's parents were against their marriage, as the young man was poor. But soon their daughter was pregnant. Taught by the Devil and her lover, she shifted all the blame on Saint Macarius, presenting him as a rapist. People in the village beat the saint, cursing him. The man who served him begged the people not to touch the saint, but they did not listen to him. Soon Saint Macarius was close to death, only then they left him. The man who served him carried him to his cell and looked after him.
As soon as the saint came to his senses, he began to work hard to feed the disgraced girl and her unborn child. When the time came for her to give birth, the Lord punished her. She spent several days in terrible pain and torment, until she confessed that she had slandered an innocent. People wanted to ask him for forgiveness, but the saint, not wanting worldly fame, went to other places.
Great Macarius - disciple of Great Anthony
In the stories about the saints, the Great Macarius always goes his own way, which the Lord appointed him even before his birth. For three years he lived in seclusion in a cave on the Nitrian mountain, then he went to Anthony the Great, in order to learn from him the desert life. The great Anthony gladly accepted the new student and shared with him all the knowledge he had. For a long time they were monastics together, but soon Saint Great Macarius again went to a secluded place, where he continued his invisible war with demons.
Once in the desert, Saint Macarius found the skull of a pagan priest, who told him what severe torment those who died unbaptized, because they did not know Jesus, experienced. But those who knew Him and denied Him suffer even more.
It was there that his prayers were born, which still protect us from demons that constantly attack Orthodox Christians with temptations. Reading these prayers, hardly anyone remembers that they were composed by a saint, to whom the Devil himself confessed that his humility does not allow him to break his spirit.
The end of the great journey
Saint Great Macarius died at the age of 97. Thanks to constant vigilance, his life became an example for many Christians how to be saved by humility. His very death is not just a transition to another world, but the story of victory over many demons who wept and groaned, letting his imperishable soul with angels to the Lord. All temptations and intrigues against the saint were shattered by his faith and humility! The greatness of the saint continued to grow as people were saved thanks to his holy prayers. Also, over time, prayers appeared that people offered to the saint himself, asking for his intercession before the Lord.
Holy prayers
What do they pray to St. Macarius the Great? Throughout the Christian world, he is revered as a saint, helping in all possible problems and circumstances - bodily and spiritual. He is often called upon to help with demon possession of relatives, since during his lifetime he himself repeatedly entered into a fight with the Devil and always emerged victorious. But even in ordinary everyday problems, Saint MacariusThe great one will come to the rescue with sincere prayer. It contains very true words. The morning prayer of St. Macarius the Great is small in scope. It is also easy to remember.
Prayer 1st, St. Macarius the Great
God, cleanse me a sinner, for I have done no good before You; but deliver me from the evil one, and may Thy will be done in me, may I open my unworthy mouth without condemnation and praise Your holy name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and forever and ever. Amen.
Translation: God, cleanse me, a sinner, since I have never done good before You; deliver me from the evil, insidious (the name of the devil in Church Slavonic), and may Thy will be in me; give me, without condemnation (with impunity), to open my unworthy lips and praise Your holy name, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and always and forever and ever. Amen.
In Orthodox prayer books in the section "Morning Prayers" it is designated as "Prayer 1st of St. Macarius the Great." There are four of them in the morning block. Prayer 5 of St. Macarius the Great has been moved to the Evening prayer block. Her text is very suitable for an evening home confession.
Since people often turn to the saint with their needs, there are prayers to St. Macarius the Great for various needs. Most frequently recited prayer:
O Reverend Father Macarius! We pray to you, unworthy ones, ask your intercession from our All-Merciful God for us he alth of mind and body, a quiet and charitable life and a good answer at the Last Judgment of Christ. Extinguish with your prayers kindled onthe servants of God (names) are the arrows of the devil, may sinful malice not touch us, but having piously finished temporary life, we will be able to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and glorify the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit with you forever and ever. Amen.
Image of a saint
Before the Great October Revolution, this saint was revered in Russia. But in recent years, he is often overlooked, forgetting that the enemy of the human race himself admitted his defeat before him:
“Macariy! Because of you, I suffer great sorrow, because I am not able to defeat you. Here I am, everything you do, I do. You fast, and I eat nothing at all; you are awake and I never sleep. However, there is one thing in which you are superior to me. This is humility. That's why I can't fight you.”
Unfortunately, not every church has an icon of St. Macarius the Great.
