Byzantine Saints: Venerable Macarius the Great of Egypt (19 January)

About this sermon

St Macarius the Great of Egypt, commemorated on January 19, is one of the greatest Fathers of Egyptian monasticism and a pillar of Orthodox spiritual theology. Born in the early 4th century in Egypt, St Macarius forsook worldly life after a brief marriage and dedicated himself entirely to prayer, repentance, humility, and ascetic struggle. Guided by holy elders and later by St Anthony the Great, he became a living icon of spiritual discernment and divine love. This video presents the full life, miracles, teachings, persecutions, and spiritual wisdom of St Macarius the Great — including his endurance of slander, victory over demonic attacks, deep humility, teachings on prayer, repentance, free will, and salvation, as well as his mystical theology of union of the soul with God. St Macarius authored 50 Spiritual Homilies and 7 Ascetic Treatises, many of which remain foundational texts in Orthodox spirituality today. Several of his prayers are still used in the Morning and Evening Prayers of the Orthodox Church. ☦️ “Prayer does not require many words… only: ‘As Thou wilt, and as Thou knowest, have mercy on me.’” – St Macarius the Great 📖 His life reminds us that salvation is a divine-human cooperation, accomplished through grace, faith, love, humility, repentance, and free will. 00:00 – Introduction: St Macarius the Great of Egypt 00:24 – Birth, Marriage, and Conversion to Ascetic Life 01:03 – Care for Parents & Obedience to God 01:11 – Desert Elder & Life of Prayer and Fasting 01:30 – Ordination to the Diaconate & Flight into Silence 01:44 – Demonic Attacks and Spiritual Warfare 01:58 – False Accusation and Triumph of Humility 02:39 – Retreat to Mount Nitria 02:49 – Discipleship under St Anthony the Great 03:12 – The “Young Elder” of Scetis 03:26 – Encounter with the Devil on the Road 03:50 – Ordination as Priest & Leadership of Monks 04:07 – Death of St Anthony & Double Portion of Grace 04:23 – Healings, Miracles, and Raising the Dead 04:34 – Cave of Silence and Hidden Prayer 04:51 – The Thief and Perfect Detachment 05:14 – The Talking Skull and Prayer for the Dead 05:54 – Two Married Women Greater Than Monks 06:43 – Teaching on Free Will and Salvation 07:02 – Persecution under Arian Emperor Valens 07:22 – Conversion of Pagans through Miracles 07:49 – Teachings on Prayer and Inner Watchfulness 08:09 – What Makes a True Monk 08:46 – The Cemetery Lesson: Praise & Reproach 09:10 – Spiritual Counsel and Mercy 09:31 – Final Days and Vision of St Anthony 10:08 – Spiritual Writings and Theological Legacy 10:28 – Union of the Soul with God 11:07 – Salvation by Grace, Faith, and Free Will 12:49 – Final Reflections on the Life of St Macarius https://www.oca.org/saints/lives 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 Support Catholic Businesses here - https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ Sensus Fidelium Press - https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ Sensus Fidelium Apps - https://sensusfidelium.tv/ Support Sensus Fidelium - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 🙏🏻PLEASE HELP OUR CHANNEL GROW 🙏🏻 ▶️ 1. Become a Channel Patron: https://www.patreon.com/SensusFidelium ▶️ 2. Visit the website https://www.sensusfidelium.com for Gueranger, Saint of the Day, Apologetics, Meditation by the Saints, Scripture Study and more. ▶️ 3. Subscribe to Other Video Platforms 🔴 BitChute --- https://www.bitchute.com/channel/Sensus_Fidelium/ 🔴 Rumble --- https://rumble.com/c/c-298311 🔴 My Catholic Tube - https://mycatholictube.com/videos/sensus-fidelium-channel/ 🔴 ODYSEE - https://odysee.com/@SensusFidelium:c 🔴 UGETube - https://videos.utahgunexchange.com/@Sensus%20Fidelium 🔴 GloriaTV - https://gloria.tv/Sensus%20Fidelium ▶️ 4. Paypal, Bitcoin, Anedot, Stripe, Square & PO Box donations - https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ ▶️ 5. YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 ▶️ 6. Please share this video 📲, and help others find Christ inside the Catholic Church! Please share this video on Facebook and Twitter using the share button. ▶️ 7. Follow on Social Media: 🔴 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SensusFidelium/ 🔴 Twitter: https://https://twitter.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 YouTube: Click Subscribe, then Click "Notification Bell" = 🔔 🔴 Parler: https://parler.com/profile/Sensusfidelium/posts 🔴 SP3RN: https://www.sp3rn.com/community/pages/14-sensus-fidelium 🔴 GAB: https://gab.com/Sensus_Fidelium 🔴 Bastyon: https://bastyon.com/sensusfidelium 🔴 GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/sensus_fidelium 🔴 INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/sensusfidelium/ 🔴 Telegram: https//t.me/RealSensusFidelium 🔴 Truth Social - @SensusFidelium ▶️ 8. Follow on iTunes: 🔴 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sensus-fidelium-catholic-podcast/id1477010758 #StMacariusTheGreat #OrthodoxSaints #DesertFathers #OrthodoxChristianity #ChurchFathers #January19Saint #ChristianAsceticism #OrthodoxSpirituality #EarlyChurch #LifeOfTheSaints #Pa