Venerable (Monastic) 5th century

Venerable Macedonius the Hermit of Syria

c. 350 – c. 420

A Syrian hermit who lived in pits and ravines for some forty-five years, eating only barley.

Feast Day

January 24

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Macedonius the Hermit of Syria, the Barley-Eater

Life

Macedonius the Hermit (also called Macedonius Kritophagos, the 'Barley-Eater,' and 'Gouvas,' a Syrian epithet meaning 'pit') was an ascetic of Byzantine Syria who lived at the turn of the fourth to fifth century and died around 420, at approximately seventy years of age.

He began his ascetic life as a wanderer, roaming the cities and wildernesses of Syria, Phoenicia, and Cilicia, sustained entirely on barley moistened with water. He then settled in the wilderness, where he spent some forty-five years dwelling in a deep pit under the open sky, with no roof over his head.

Only as his strength declined in old age did he accept baked bread, and only late in life did he agree to live in a narrow cell built for him by devotees. He became widely known for holiness and for gifts of healing and exorcism, drawing multitudes who sought his guidance and intercession.

Timeline 5 moments Read Hide

c. 350 Birth Macedonius is born in Syria around the middle of the fourth century.
Early life Years of wandering He lives as a wanderer through the cities and wildernesses of Syria, Phoenicia, and Cilicia, sustained on barley and water.
Maturity Forty-five years in a pit He settles in the wilderness and dwells for some forty-five years in a deep pit under the open sky, earning the epithet 'Gouvas.'
Old age Bread and a cell As his strength declines, he accepts baked bread and, late in life, consents to live in a narrow cell built by devotees.
c. 420 Repose He reposes around 420, at approximately seventy years of age.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributions Read Hide

Ascetic Life and Practice

Macedonius's regimen was marked by extreme austerity. For much of his life his sole sustenance was barley moistened with water, the practice that earned him the Greek epithet 'Krithophagos' (Barley-Eater). His decades-long residence in a deep pit, open to the sky, gave rise to the Syrian epithet 'Gouvas,' meaning 'pit.'

He understood food not as indulgence but as necessity, reportedly regarding it as 'medicine that could be taken to stave off death because it is not lawful to shorten one's life to shun labors and conflicts.' Accordingly, he accepted baked bread only when his bodily strength failed in old age, and consented to a narrow constructed cell only late in life.

Healings and Intercession

By the accounts of his life, God granted Macedonius power to expel demons and to heal the infirm, and his reputation drew multitudes seeking his direction and prayers.

He is especially associated with the family of the church historian Theodoret of Cyrrhus. According to the tradition recorded by Theodoret, the saint healed Theodoret's mother, who had been barren; when complications later arose in childbirth, Macedonius traced the Sign of the Cross with his fingers in a vessel of water and told her to drink it, after which she delivered safely.

Sources and Attestation

The principal historical attestation for Macedonius's life comes from Theodoret of Cyrrhus (c. 393 – c. 458), bishop and church historian, who treated him among the ascetics of his 'Historia Religiosa' (A History of the Monks of Syria) and recorded his death around 420.

Theodoret himself bore a personal connection to the saint: his name, 'Theodoret' ('gift of God'), is said to derive from a vow his long-barren parents made when they sought Macedonius's intercession on the condition of dedicating the child to God. Theodoret was later instructed by Macedonius and other ascetics during his upbringing.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Jan 24