Macarius of Corinth

Life events

1. Born — 1731

   Born Michael Notaras (Μιχαὴλ Νοταρᾶς) in 1731. He later took the monastic name Macarius upon entering ecclesiastical life.

2. Consecrated

   Consecrated Metropolitan bishop of Corinth, the episcopal see he held while working to revive the Eastern Orthodox Church under Ottoman rule.

3. Wrote — 1782

   Together with Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain, Macarius collected and compiled the five-volume Philokalia, first published in Venice in 1782. The Philokalia is an anthology of ascetic and hesychast texts spanning the fourth to fifteenth centuries.

4. Died — 1805

   Macarius died in 1805. He was canonized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate and is venerated in the Eastern Orthodox Church with a feast day on April 17 (Julian calendar).

Relationships

Documented claims

• Macarius and Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain jointly compiled the five tomes of the Philokalia, the defining anthology of hesychast spirituality, published in Venice in 1782. (certain)
• The publication of the Philokalia is credited with renewing the hesychast movement within Eastern Orthodoxy during the late eighteenth century. (likely)
• As Metropolitan of Corinth, Macarius worked to revive and sustain the Eastern Orthodox Church under Turkish (Ottoman) rule, positioning the Philokalia as a spiritual resource for a church in a period of political subjugation. (likely)