The Transfer of the Body of St . Macarius to His Monastery in Scetis

The Translocation of the Body of St . Macarius to His Monastery in Scetis

On this day, the church celebrates the return of the body of St . Macarius29 to his monastery in thedesert of Sheahat (Scetis) . After the departure of St . Macarius, some of the natives of the city ofShanshour (Shabsheer) came and stole his body . They built a large church for him, and placed the bodyin it . Later on, his body was moved to another town where he stayed for four hundred forty years, tillthe time of Pope Michael V (Anba Mikhail V), the 71st Pope . When Pope Michael went to thewilderness to observe the holy fast in the monastery, he sighed and said, "How much I yearn that Godwould help us so that the body of our father Anba Macarius be in our midst ."Later on, the abbot of the monastery, the Archpriest (Hegumen) Michael, went with some of the elderson certain business of the monastery, and they thought of bringing back the body of the saint to theirmonastery . They came to where the body was, but the people of the town and the governor ssembledagainst them with swords and sticks and prevented them from taking the body . The elders spent thenight in great sorrow . The governor saw that night a vision of St . Macarius telling him, "Let mychildren take my body and do not prevent them ." The governor was frightened and he called the eldersand gave them the body . The elders took the body with great joy, and many faithful people followedthem to bid the body farewell .When the ship arrived in Mariot, they spent the night . The next morning they celebrated the DivineLiturgy and received the Holy Mysteries . Then they loaded the body on a camel to the wilderness .Midway through the journey, they needed to rest, but the Abbot said, "As the Lord lives, we do notrest until the Lord shows us the place where the angel of the Lord held our father's hand ." So they keptmoving until the camel knelt down and did not get up . The camel started to turn his head around,licking the body and bowing his head down to the ground . Then the elders knew that was the rightplace, and they glorified God .As they reached the monastery, all the monks came out holding candles and singing . Then they carriedthe body on their shoulders and went into the church in a great celebration, and God performed manywonders on that day .May his prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever . Amen .