ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN MARCH
Saints celebrated on the 10th of March
WELCOME!
SAINT MACARIUS, BISHOP OF JERUSALEM
Saint Macarius of Jerusalem was bishop of Jerusalem from 312-34. The date of Macarius’s accession to the episcopate is found in St Jerome’s version of Eusebius’s “Chronicle”. His death must have been before the council at Tyre, in 335, at which his successor, Maximus, was apparently one of the bishops present.
HE WAS WARNED AGAINST ARIUS THE HERESIARCH
Macarius was one of the bishops to whom St Alexander of Alexandria wrote warning them against Arius. The vigour of his opposition to the new heresy is shown by the abusive manner in which Arius speaks of him in his letter to Eusebius of Nicomedia.
HE WAS PRESENT AT THE COUNCIL OF NICAEA
He was present at the Council of Nicaea, and two conjectures as to the part he played there are worth mentioning. The first is that there was a passage of arms between him and his metropolitan, Eusebius of Caesarea, concerning the rights of their respective sees. The seventh canon of the council -"As custom and ancient tradition show that the bishop of Aelia [Jerusalem] ought to be honoured, he shall have precedence; without prejudice, however, to the dignity which belongs to the Metropolis" - by its vagueness suggests that it was the result of a drawn battle. The second conjecture is that Macarius, together with Eustathius of Antioch, had a good deal to do with the drafting of the Creed finally adopted by the Council of Nicaea.
HE WAS INVOLVED IN THE DRAFTING OF THE NICENE CREED
From conjectures we may turn to fiction. In the “History of the Council of Nicaea” attributed to Gelasius of Cyzicus there are a number of imaginary disputations between Fathers of the Council and philosophers in the pay of Arius. In one of these disputes where Macarius is spokesman for the bishops he defends the Descent into Hell. This, in view of the question whether the Descent into Hell was found in the Jerusalem Creed, is interesting, especially as in other respects Macarius’s language is made conformable to that Creed.
VARIOUS DOCUMENTS MENTIONING MACARIUS
Macarius’s name appears first among those of the bishops of Palestine who subscribed to the Council of Nicaeaa; that of Eusebius comes fifth. St Athanasius, in his encyclical letter to the bishops of Egypt and Libya, places the name of Macarius (who had been long dead at that time) among those of bishops renowned for their orthodoxy.
Sozomen narrates that Macarius appointed Maximus, who afterwards succeeded him, Bishop of Lydia, and that the appointment did not take effect because the people of Jerusalem refused to part with Maximus. He also gives another version of the story, to the effect that Macarius himself changed his mind, fearing that, if Maximus was out of the way, an unorthodox bishop would be appointed to succeed him (Macarius).
Tillemont discredits this story because Macarius by so acting would have contravened the seventh canon of Nicaea; because Aëtius, who at the time of the council was Bishop of Lydda, was certainly alive in 331, and very probably in 349. Of course, if Aëtius outlived Macarius, the story breaks down; but if he died shortly after 331, it seems plausible enough. The fact that Macarius was then nearing his end would explain the reluctance, whether on his part or that of his flock, to be deprived of Maximus. Tillemont’s first objection carries no weight. The seventh canon was too vague to secure from an orthodox bishop like Macarius very strict views as to the metropolitan rights of a Semi-Arian like Eusebius.
THE SEARCH FOR THE TRUE CROSS
St Theophanes (died 818) in his “Chronography” makes Constantine, at the end of the Council of Nicaea, order Macarius to search for the sites of the Resurrection and the Passion, and the True Cross.
It is likely enough that this is what happened, for excavations were begun very soon after the council, and, it would seem under the superintendence of Macarius. The huge mound and stonework with the temple of Venus on the top, which in the time of Hadrian had been piled up over the Holy Sepulchre, were demolished, and “when the original surface of the ground appeared, forthwith, contrary to all expectation, the hallowed monument of our Saviour’s Resurrection was discovered”.
THE NEW CHURCH ON THE SITE
On hearing the news Constantine wrote to Macarius giving lavish orders for the erection of a church on the site. Later on, he wrote another letter “To Macarius and the rest of the Bishops of Palestine” ordering a church to be built at Mambre, which also had been defiled by a pagan shrine. Eusebius, though he gives the superscription as above, speaks of this letter as “addressed to me”, thinking, perhaps of his metropolitan dignity. Churches were also built on the sites of the Nativity and Ascension.
Source: Catholic Encyclopedia, 1913
PRAYER:
Grant, we beseech you, almighty God, that the venerable feast of Saint Macarius may increase our devotion and promote our salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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