Desert father of Scetis; the homilies bear his name · c. 300 – 391
Macarius of Egypt
A hermit of the Egyptian desert, called Macarius the Great. The Fifty Spiritual Homilies are ascribed to him, though they were probably written by a Syrian monk about 400; they taught the Eastern church the prayer of the heart and later shaped Wesley.
Writings
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Homilies
Fifty Spiritual Homilies
Fifty homilies of the Egyptian desert on the soul as the throne of God, prayer, the Spirit, the heart and the way of perfection; they shaped Eastern spirituality and, through Wesley, the Methodists.
Portrait: drawn in the site’s engraved style from “Icon of Saint Macarius the Great” (Unknown), public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
