The Holy Martyr Macarius was descended from poor peasant parents who lived in the village of Kion or Kiossa in Asia Minor: a father named Peter, and a mother named Anthusa. In holy baptism he was named Manuel; when he reached adolescence, his parents gave him to an artisan tailor, from whom he learned not only this skill, but also Christian piety, since the artisan was distinguished by an exemplary pious life. Thus, Manuel lived with his master, a craftsman, until he was 18 years old. When the young man turned eighteen, his father voluntarily renounced his faith and forced his son to become a Muslim.
A few days after circumcision, Manuel retired to St. Mount Athos, where, having visited all the monasteries and monasteries, he fell in love with the monastery of St. Anna and here, having submitted to one virtuous and skilled elder in monastic deeds, he began to spend his life in fasting, vigil and prayer, jealous of his mentor in everything.
After living for some time under the guidance of the elder, Manuel began to ask to be tonsured into an angelic image, to which the elder willingly agreed and tonsured him with the name Macarius. After accepting the angelic image, Macarius also intensified his monastic exploits. But no matter how depressing he was with his exploits, his soul was not at peace: it suffered and shuddered from the vile ritual the Turks performed on him. As a result of this spiritual grief, he shed bitter tears and considered his involuntary fall as if it had occurred from his own will, and therefore, with his utmost obedience to the elder, he applied labor to labor and with a contrite heart in humble prayer asked the merciful God to forgive him his involuntary fall.
Apparently, God’s Providence was pleased to grant the blessed one peace of conscience and joy through the crown of martyrdom, which is why he gave him the idea of giving himself up to torture and reconciling himself with Him through a martyr’s death.
In 1590, having received the blessing of his spiritual father, he returned to Prussa, where he had once renounced, and appeared on the market in monastic robes. The Christian proclaimed the truth and called on everyone crowded around him to renounce error in order to unite with Christ and avoid eternal torment. Soon the Monk Macarius was captured, subjected to terrible torture, and then stoned and beheaded.
Relics of St. Saint Martyr Macarius remained unburied in the ravine for several days. During all this time at night I went to St. relics of the Divine light, which many pious Christians who lived in Brousse were privileged to see. Some of them, driven by jealousy, disregarding fear and danger, decided in one night to take them from the ditch and secretly buried them, and then divided them: the honorable head of the martyr was sent to St. Mount Athos, to the monastery of St. Anna, where Macarius prepared himself for a suffering feat; part of St. His own mother took the relics and took them to her homeland, where they were placed in the church of St. Trinity; the rest of St. The Brus Christians left the relics for the sanctification and preservation of themselves through his intercessory prayers before the throne of God from the attacks of the enemies of the Cross of Christ, which was honestly and reverently placed in the church, in a special ark.
The Holy Martyr Macarius suffered on October 6, 1590.
7 Rev. Sergius of Obnorsky, Nuromsky, Vologda († 1412, commemorated October 7)