Pseudo-Macarius: The Fifty Spiritual Homilies and the Great Letter

The Classics of Western Spirituality

by George A. Maloney (editor)

English (translation)Original Greek

Genres: Theology, Religion, Spirituality, Christianity, Prayer, Mysticism, Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1992

About the author

Father Maloney was a Jesuit priest, and more recently a priest in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

He earned a doctorate in Oriental Theology and founded the John XXIII Institute for Eastern Christian Studies at Fordham University, where he taught Oriental theology and spirituality.

He was fluent in seven languages, including Russian and Greek and travelled extensively throughout Europe, in Russia, Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Turkey, as well as spending two summers on Mt. Athos (The Holy Mountain).

Fr. Maloney was an internationally known Director of Contemplative Ministries and had established himself as a noted retreat director. A passionate and renowned author, he had published over 80 books, journals and articles, translated into numerous languages, on theology, true prayer, and Eastern Christian Spirituality for Western Christians.

Reviews

[Matt Friedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most amazing treasures of the early church which I've yet read. Symeon of Mesopotamia (the probable identity of "Pseudo-Macarius") was one of the most powerful spiritual thinkers of his era, and is likely to have influenced the theology of Gregory of Nyssa. It was one factor influencing the development of sanctification in the theology of John and Charles Wesley, and their friend and colleague John Fletcher, all of whom were had become familiar with these. Wesley published an abridged version of these in his "Christian Library" for his preachers.

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are sermons which I re-read every year. Such a vital well of spirituality and humanism has few equals in the Christian Tradition.

[Andrew McHenry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a challenging read for me. My interest was drawn by the author's famous influences on John Wesley and his movement. I first heard of it when I was in seminary (from 1992 to 1995). Macarius was identified as a key source of the eastern influences on the Wesleyan/Methodist movement.

The preface and introduction are helpful for the historical context, but they are also tedious. Some of the content about comparative older manuscripts is only appropriate for scholars who are looking into studying them directly. Also, these parts never really resolve the question of authorship. The well-known Macarian attribution is quickly dismissed and replaced with a vague suggestion of a Syrian monastic origin - but nothing firmly determinative is ever given.

More information about the monastic context would've been helpful. Part of the reason this was challenging for me is because as I've gotten older, I've become more apt to gauge my Christian life in relationship to Jesus' great commandments: love God and love your neighbor. There's some attention to these, but a lot of the focus is on inward purity of thoughts. It's hard to relate to this without having a sense of how it was pursued in monastic life. Lacking those specifics, the reader is forced to guess.

But we can also take this as a challenge, and not as a reason to dismiss the whole work. There are plenty of good reasons why it was so inspiring for John Wesley (and for others). The yearning for holiness, perfection, and the milestones that come along the way - these are all good. We do well to let it set a higher standard for all of us and call us to something better.

[Ted · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good look into (probably) 4th Century Christian monastic thinking. Themes and topics are readily accessible to the modern mind, giving us scriptural exegesis and spiritual advice.