Saturday 10 March 2018

# Saints

Saint Macarius of Jerusalem

The proving of the True Cross, Jean Colombe in the Très Riches Heures

The 10th of March is the feast day of Saint Macarius of Jerusalem.

Saint Macarius of Jerusalem lived in the 4th century and was the Bishop of Jerusalem between 312 to 335 A.D. He participated in the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. and was opposed to the Arian heresy. He possibly helped draft the Nicene Creed. Saint Athanasius describe him as an example of “the honest and simple style of apostolical men.” When the council ended, Saint Macarius searched for the True Cross with Saint Helena, the queen mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine. He suggested that to identify the real Cross which Jesus was crucified on, that the cross touch it to a seriously ill woman and see if it healed her. The True Cross was found using this technique. Constantine requested that Bishop Macarius oversee the construction of a church in Jerusalem, the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre to commemorate the sites of the Crucifixion and the Burial of Jesus. This church still stands today and is an important site for Christian pilgrimages.

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