To the Friends of God

work by Marcarius the Egyptian

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July 14, 2026

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The work "To the Friends of God" is attributed to Macarius the Egyptian, a prominent monk and ascetic of the 4th century Desert Fathers. He lived as a hermit in the Scete Desert for 60 years, known for his wisdom and spiritual guidance.1

The letter "To the Friends of God" is the only literary work definitively ascribed to Macarius. His spiritual teachings, influenced by primitive monasticism, focus on the mystical development of the soul through labor, discipline, and meditation to achieve an inner experience of the divine presence. Later writings, such as the "Spiritual Homilies," were incorrectly attributed to him but were influential in devotional literature. The term "Friends of God" also refers to a medieval Christian movement that emphasized a direct relationship with God outside of formal ceremonies.123

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Macarius the Egyptian
…to Macarius is a letter, To the Friends of God, addressed to younger monks. His spiritual doctrine is not the cultivated speculative thought circulated by the eminent 3rd-century theologian Origen of Alexandria, but, as with the doctrine of the monk Anthony, it is a learning derived from primitive monasticism’s “book…
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…to Macarius is a letter, To the Friends of God, addressed to younger monks. His spiritual doctrine is not the cultivated speculative thought circulated by the eminent 3rd-century theologian Origen of Alexandria, but, as with the doctrine of the monk Anthony, it is a learning derived from primitive monasticism’s “book…
Read More