St. Macarius of Jerusalem, described by St. Athanasius as being of "the honest and simple style of apostolical men," was Archbishop of the Holy City from A.D. 312-335. His name, which in Greek is, Μακάριος, means "Blessed" and is the same word that Jesus uses to pronounce the Beatitudes at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount (cf. Matthew 5:3-12). St. Athanasius and others─even the heretic Arius himself, who specifically cursed the archbishop─also attest to the unwavering orthodoxy of Macarius.
Only one document that St. Macarius wrote remains extant: a letter he sent during the final year of his life and episcopate to the Church in Armenia. It reveals a thriving church in Jerusalem, with an exceedingly reverential liturgical life. It speaks mostly about recommendations to correct the laxness of the Armenian hierarchy and liturgical life of that time, but in the process it also shows us a glimpse of the theology and practice of the Church in Jerusalem under the governance of Macarius, especially regarding Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. Interestingly, the letter specifically witnesses to the practice of infant baptism2 in the Early Church.
St. Macarius' letter also refers to "the holy Council which was held because of the heretics," meaning the First Nicene Council, which St. Macarius himself attended. Many other sources also attest to his presence there, and the seventh canon of that council even guarantees his autonomy in relation to the Caesarean eparchy, which some take to mean that there was a dispute between the two over jurisdiction. It is also believed that St. Macarius, along with Eustathius of Antioch, was particularly involved in the drafting of the Creed declared by that holy Council.
Around the time of the Council, which took place in A.D. 325, Macarius also assisted St. Helena, Queen Mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, in locating the True Cross of Christ and other implements of the Lord's Passion. According to ancient sources, the Holy Cross was hidden by the Jews after His Resurrection, and its location remained a secret among a select few, until one of them, named Judas, was inspired by God to reveal its location to Sts. Helena and Macarius. Once the excavation took place, they found three crosses at the bottom of a dried-up cistern, along with the Crown of Thorns, and the Titulus with Herod's inscription, "Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudæorum" (John 19:19), etc. Unfortunately, the Titulus was no longer attached to the True Cross, so they did not know how to distinguish It from the thieves' crosses. Providencially, however, the Holy Spirit led St. Macarius to instruct them to carry the three crosses to the bedside of a worthy dying woman. The first two crosses had no effect on her, but the touch of the third, the Holy Cross of Christ, completely healed her. Thus, the True Cross was identified. The same Judas subsequently converted to the Christian faith, took the name Cyriacus, and is likewise honoured by the Church as a Saint. Tyrannius Rufinus, an Italian monk and historian, records that St. Macarius prayed this prayer over the woman before trying the crosses:
"O Lord, who by the Passion of Thine only Son on the cross, didst deign to restore salvation to mankind, and who even now hast inspired thy handmaid Helena to seek for the blessed wood to which the author of our salvation was nailed, show clearly which it was, among the three crosses, that was raised for Thy glory. Distinguish it from those which only served for a common execution. Let this woman who is now expiring return from death's door as soon as she is touched by the wood of salvation."
Following this discovery, Emperor Constantine himself wrote to St. Macarius,7 requesting that he oversee the construction of a magnificent church, the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, to commemorate the sites of the Crucifixion and Burial of Christ where the three Saints had unearthed the precious relics of the Passion.
Aside from these things, we only know that St. Macarius likely presided over the deaconal ordination of St. Cyril of Jerusalem, whose Catechetical Lectures earned Cyril the title "Doctor of the Church," and from Macarius Cyril too inherited the ire of the Arians for his unwavering orthodoxy, but experienced their wrath much more concertedly than did the elder Saint.
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