Five years ago, on September 14, 2014, Hierodeacon Macarie from Prodromou Skete on Holy Mount Athos, a wonderful Romanian elder, fell asleep in the Lord. He was born on April 15, 1927; on April 1, 1943, joined the Romanian Sihastria Monastery at the age of fifteen; and devoted the rest of his life to Christ.
We offer our readers some instructions given by the elder two years before his repose and written down by someone who wished to remain anonymous.
Hierodeacon Macarie (Tanase)
From the author
There are some people in this world who you miss because, when you are with them you feel that they are in harmony with what is eternal in you, and give you a chance to forget the passing poverty of this world and foretaste the joy of everlasting consolation. One of such people is Abba Macarie from Prodromou Skete, a monk who attained a high degree of spiritual perfection.
Like Geronda Petroniu and Abba Iulian (Lazăr)—elders hoary with age, he does not need to teach by words; you only need to look at the holy elder to understand everything and know which way to go. He is lean (a clear indication of austere ascetic labors), always taciturn, and his piercing look is directed right into the depths of your soul. But hiding behind the apparent austerity of this monk is a kindness such that I have not seen anywhere else in my life.
When his body became thin because of his ascetic labors, Abba Macarie acquired spiritual vision; so when I would see him I would hasten to turn the corner, fearing that he would instantly see my unworthiness and my sins... And I am still not sure that he does not know me inside out, while there can be no doubts about his humility and purity of soul.
Free from any passions that usually reveal themselves in thoughts, the old church reader of Prodromou Skete has acquired innocence and simple-mindedness to such a great degree that it seems as if he does not live in this world anymore. Since Abba Macarie is one of the monks who have succeeded in the monastic struggle and chased away the gloom from their souls, he can explore the depths of his heart. Christ said that the Kingdom of God is within you (Lk. 17:21), that is precisely why he no longer needs erroneous external actions of any kind for this.
Since I cleave to this world, a dense cloud of sinful thoughts always separates me from God. But the elder understood in his childhood that the wandering mind is caused by noise, and so at the age of fifteen he withdrew from the world to cloister himself behind the monastery walls. Today all that can be found in his cell (where he never invites anyone) are a (hospital) couch, a table with a handful of books on it, a candlestick with a candle of good-quality wax which illuminates his Psalter and the path of salvation, and a big clock in decrepit condition that always wakes him up and gets him to church first.
These objects, complete with an icon corner, make up all the possessions that Abba Macarie has acquired over seventy years of his monastic life. He has neither a mat on the floor nor a chair, so on that only day I was privileged to cross the threshold of his cell I had to sit on… a windowsill (fortunately the thick skete walls are very suitable for this). And the clock is no luxury: Abba Macarie needs it to perform his continuing obedience as a reader.
Elder Macarie is a lover of stillness. So he can only be found in church because he never shows up anywhere else, and if he directs his steps to the cell, he is sure to leave it exactly at the time of communal prayer.
Therefore he is not in the habit of talking without a particular purpose or need, and you will hardly ever hear a word for the good of your soul from him simply because it is difficult to persuade him to speak to anyone. You can only catch him after waiting until all the services and prayers are over, because he has served as a reader all his life and one of his duties is locking the church doors. And then he can either go back to his cell right away or walk towards the skete refectory if Vespers has just finished.
Thus I waylaid him many times and over seven years I collected the words he said. He never spoke much because even when I managed to speak to him face-to-face, he never lingered to talk, saying: “A conversation, even a good one, may lead you into temptation.” Therefore, his words are so rare and so precious.
My talk with the elder
Hierodeacon Macarie (Tanase)
—Oh, father, your words are hard...
—But they speak differently in the world. And the world stops you from speaking to God, staying with Him alone. That is why I fled the world, to fulfil the saying: “Only me and God”1. When only two are having a conversation, it always remains a secret, but when more are involved, it ceases to be a secret.
—Father, why do monks steer clear of the world? I mean their disinclination to communicate with laypeople rather than escape from the world. But perhaps laypeople expect them to answer important questions?
—The wisdom of this world is foolishness for us. You will not become wise in Christ until you get rid of all external knowledge. That is why it is difficult for a monk to be understood by a layman: hidden passions and this-worldly thoughts prevent him from seeing the invisible things with his heart. How can I speak with him about Divine things then? Won’t he say that these are meaningless words? Or he may decide that I am mad. We cannot serve two masters: either you love the world and everything that is in it or you love God.
Besides, monks should beware of the fame that comes from men in case they lose that which comes from God, since earthly glory can cancel heavenly glory. We should never forget what the apostle of the gentiles said: Knowledge puffeth up (1 Cor. 8:1). This is what troubles laypeople face on their way to monks!
—Father, the people of this age want a more “visible” God! I know that thy Father which is in secret (Mt. 6:6) is my Lord, but in our rationalistic age people seek after signs from heaven (cf. Mk. 8:11-12).
—God is mysterious and He accomplishes our salvation mysteriously through the Holy Sacraments. Our relationship with Him is mysterious too, but no one can say that it is unreal, though it is developed in secret. In addition to the visible aspect of the sacraments, all the symbols and actions surrounding them, God performs His miracles in reality yet in a mysterious way. He washes away the sin of Adam in Baptism, enhances your gifts in Chrismation, heals your body and soul by holy oil in Unction, and forgives your sins in Confession.
And if you become pure in everything, God will come to dwell in you when you take Communion. That is a great mystery! And it is possible only in the Church. That is why the salvation of those who are outside the Church is impossible. The only concern of the Church should be helping those who believe in God to unite with Him. Can anything be more important than this? Can anything matter more than salvation? The Church must only be concerned with the salvation of the faithful, and God will care for the rest. And thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly (Mt. 6:4).
—Father, which passions are the most destructive to our souls?
—Lust and anger are the passions that must always be kept in check because they darken our spiritual sight. When the sun sets, it gives place to darkness. Likewise, by moving away the spirit gives place to the passions which are damaging to the soul. And by enjoying external things you forget the internal ones, and the “beast” gets the upper hand over you. If we feed “beasts” with our passions, then how can we subdue them? If we are not killing the visible “beast”, then how will we overpower the invisible evil spirits?
—Father, many of us complain about our sorrows…
—Do you really think that God does not see human suffering? But if He allows this to happen, He does it for our benefit, because maybe this way we atone for our sins in this life and He may deliver us from eternal torture in the life to come. What if by sorrows He covers our secret sins and preserves our good name? Trials are a good thing because they indicate that the Lord has not forgotten us completely. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience (Jm. 1:2-3), Holy Apostle James, the brother of the Lord, said in his epistle.
Fear God alone (and not sorrows) because everything is in His power. And whatever happens to you happens only because it is the will of God or He allows this. Why indulge in all sorts of speculations, if the Lord takes care of you (and I think He does it better than yourself)? Seek all that belongs to Him, and all these things shall be added unto you (Mt. 6:33). If not, keep in mind the words of Apostle Paul: There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it (1 Cor. 10:13).
—Some spiritual fathers comfort me, while others upset me. Why does this happen, father?
—When you fall away from the knowledge of God and your mind yields to thoughts that creep up on you, you lose your inner harmony and peace. And you communicate this state to others.
—Father, can we grow closer to God by theologizing?
—No. It is only with broken hearts that we can draw closer to God. Those who theologize may have excessive confidence in their cognitive ability and lose humility of mind. It is better to cleanse our soul by tears and repentance than to be inquisitive; and, doing this, you will grow nearer to the Lord sooner.
—Abba, I beg you to give me advice!
—Never separate your mind from prayer! It is no use suggesting yourself that it is necessary: if you do not have love, you will not keep your mind focused on prayer and God.
—Some modern young people told me that they assumed that God exists only because they wanted Him to leave them alone! They say they did not ask God to create them, so they ask Him to let them act of their own free will. I am speaking of rather well-educated young people who think that higher education and culture have plunged them into an existential crisis, as it were.
—There are very many erroneous paths and only one good path that leads to God. Indeed culture may aggravate people’s suffering, when they understand how many things they do not know of and realize how much they will never know.
These people are always lonely because unbelief isolates. Any believer knows that his neighbor can bring him salvation, but also spiritual death. I am aware that my brother is my salvation, but this presupposes love. This is the main problem of the young people you are speaking about—their love has grown cold.
—I know, father, unfortunately these things are occurring in the last times…
—God alone knows. You say they are well-educated. It means they read a lot, ask questions, and want to better understand the world. But he who has come to believe in God no longer needs any search because God is sufficient for him: He fills him with everything and can vouchsafe him to understand more than he would have ever understood by gaining worldly wisdom.
If they read extensively, ask them if they have read the best book in the world—the Bible. It is good that they ask questions. True believers have questions too, but they have no doubts. If people make wisdom their priority, it means they are walking their own path and not the path of God. And their own path will not bring them anything but unhappiness because that is not the Divine path!
—What would you advise them to do?
—Not to try to comprehend the world (because it is a futile effort), let alone God (it is a greater folly). Instead, let them try and find out what God wants from them. When they come to understand this, they will know the path as well. And they should always keep in mind what Christ said: Without Me ye can do nothing (Jn. 15:5). This way they will obtain humility which they truly lack.
—Yes, I know that Knowledge puffeth up (1 Cor. 8:1)! Moreover, I even believe that this “knowledge” creates the illusion that we can outsmart satan. Is that true, father?
—If you think that you are fighting against satan, it means you have already been fooled by him!
—How can we break free from his snares and traps then?
—Depart from evil, and do good (Ps. 33:15).
—I know, this is what David the Psalmist said, and I believe he was absolutely right. But it is very difficult to do this in the world. Father, what will you advise me to do to fulfil this verse?
—Dare to be good. You need courage to try to be good because it always seems as if you were doing good alone. But that is far from the truth: you cannot be alone when you are with the Giver of good.
***
Once the elder had said these deep, serious words, I recalled that In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (Jn. 16:33).
Abba Macarie was always remarkable for his lack of care about passing things and his purity from the superfluous. I had always wanted to give him some gift, but I couldn’t because the elder is indifferent to material things. Whenever I asked him what I could bring for him, he would answer that he needed nothing but patience. And again patience, because he that endureth to the end shall be saved (Mt. 10:22). And you will not attain perfection without enduring temptations.
But seeing that I would not leave him alone, one day the elder finally yielded to my persuasion and asked me to bring him some vitamins. Of course, I was happy to bring him the vitamins. However, it later turned out that he had left them on the windowsill and they melted under the broiling sun!
With his mind always directed to God, the Athonite elder Macarie is quietly walking in my memory, stepping on every slab of Prodromou with diligence and praying unceasingly: “Lord Jesus Christ” stepping right forward, “Son of God”, stepping left forward, and, “have mercy on me, a sinner” stepping right forward again.
Thus Abba Macarie of Prodromou Skete is walking toward eternity to meet with God there.
1See: Old Lives of the Desert Fathers. Ch. 11, 12 (5). Memorable Tales. On Abba Alonius, 1: “If a man does not say in his heart, ‘In the world there are only myself and God’, he will not gain peace”.
