Venerable (Monastic) Byzantine

Venerable Macarius the Faster Abbot of Khakhuli

second half of the 10th century – c. 1034

Also known as Macarius of Khakhuli

An abbot of the Khakhuli Monastery in Georgia, remembered for strict fasting and monastic discipline.

Feast Day

December 21

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Macarius the Faster, Abbot of the Khakhuli Monastery

Life

Macarius the Faster was a Georgian monastic who served as abbot of the Khakhuli Monastery in the historical region of Tao-Klarjeti in southern Georgia, an area now within the territory of modern Turkey. He lived in the second half of the 10th century and, according to tradition, reposed around the year 1034. He is commemorated by the Orthodox Church on December 21.

He received the epithet 'the Faster' on account of his exceptional ascesis in fasting and prayer. The sources describe him as a great ascetic, teacher, and guide who balanced the leadership of a large monastic community with a life of solitude and contemplative labor. Both novices and experienced elders are said to have come to him for advice and blessings.

Under his direction the Khakhuli Monastery flourished as a center of monastic and intellectual life in Tao-Klarjeti. The monastery had been founded in the second half of the 10th century by King David III Kuropalates, and it became an important center of Georgian literature, learning, and spirituality. Macarius is associated with several distinguished monks who labored at Khakhuli during this period.

Timeline 2 moments Read Hide

second half of the 10th c. Khakhuli Monastery founded King David III Kuropalates establishes the Khakhuli Monastery in Tao-Klarjeti.
c. 1034 Repose Macarius reposes after serving as abbot of Khakhuli.

Contributions & Legacy

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The Khakhuli Monastery

The Khakhuli Monastery lay in the province of Tao, part of the wider Tao-Klarjeti region that formed a heartland of Georgian monasticism and culture. The monastic complex and its church were established in the second half of the 10th century under King David III Kuropalates, and the foundation went on to become a noted center of spirituality, science, and education.

As abbot, Macarius is described as guiding the spiritual and, in the wider sense, the secular life of the surrounding region. The monastery attracted scholars and theologians, and the tradition gathers around his name a number of holy ascetics who lived and labored at Khakhuli.

Disciples and associates

Among those connected with Macarius at Khakhuli, the tradition names Saint Basil, a son of King Bagrat III, who left the royal court for the monastery; the brothers George and Saba of Khakhuli; and Saint Hilarion of Tvali, himself remembered as an abbot of Khakhuli. The young monk who would become Saint George of Mount Athos (George the Hagiorite) is said to have come to Macarius for his blessing.

The anchor record for Macarius is brief, identifying him principally as an abbot of Khakhuli remembered for strict fasting and monastic discipline; the fuller biographical detail rests on the Georgian hagiographic tradition transmitted through the synaxarion.

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints