PATRISTICS/ Macarius of Jerusalem
Saint Macarius of Jerusalem was Bishop of Jerusalem from 312 to shortly before 335, according to Sozomen.St. Athanasius, in one of his orations against Arianism, refers to St. Macarius as an example of "the honest and simple style of apostolical men." The date 312 for Macarius's accession to the episcopate is found in St. Jerome's version of Eusebius of Caesarea's Chronicles; Tillement . About 325 he accompanied Saint Helena, the mother of Constantine I in her successful search at Jerusalem for the True Cross. When Saint Helena discovered a collection of crosses, one of which was the True Cross, Macarius suggested identifying the real one by touching them to a seriously ill woman, and seeing which one cured her. He supervised the construction of the church of the HolySepulcher. He fought Arianism and the vigour of his opposition to the new heresy is shown by the abusive manner in which Arius speaks of him in his letter to Eusebius of Nicomedia. His death, from natural causes, must have been before the Council of Tyre, in 335, at which his successor, Maximus, was apparently one of the bishops present. Image: Church of the Holy Sepulcher, c. 1885
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