BULLETIN, JANUARY 16, 2022

Righteous Hierodeacon Makarios of Kalogeras
He was born to a prosperous family on the island of Patmos. As soon as he
was old enough to leave home, he attended the Patriarchal School in Constantinople,
where he distinguished himself. He became a monk, then a deacon, but always
refused to be ordained to the priesthood, though the Metropolitan of Nikomedia
wished Makarios to be his successor. Instead, he returned to Patmos in 1713 and
entered the Monastery of St John the Theologian, where he remained until his
death.
Though he lived in great asceticism and constant prayer, Saint Makarios was
moved by a concern for the salvation and education of the Orthodox people, who
often lived in great ignorance, even of their own faith, under Ottoman rule. He established
a school in a building adjacent to the monastery, and offered courses free
of charge to any who could come. Modeling the curriculum on that of the Patriarchal
School, he served more as a spiritual father than a worldly professor. The
school grew steadily, partly due to generous contributions from a few wealthy
Greek families and trade guilds in Constantinople. But students, many of them very
poor, still had to pay for their own needs, and Saint Makarios used his own funds to
aid the poorest of them. In addition, he secretly distributed any money that came to
him personally to the poor on Patmos. The school at Patmos became famous
throughout the Greek Church, and its head became a spiritual father not only to his
students but througout the Greek nation. Bishops often asked him to write homilies;
about sixty of these were published in book form as The Trumpet of the Gospel,
which is still widely read today by the faithful. Having greatly edified thousands
while laboring tirelessly for the salvation of his soul, Saint Makarios reposed in
peace in 1737.