Episcopate and the Council of Nicaea
Macarius served as bishop of Jerusalem from 312 until his death, a tenure recorded by the church historian Sozomen. His name appears first among the bishops of Palestine who subscribed to the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in 325.
At Nicaea, historical sources suggest that Macarius may have disputed with his metropolitan, Eusebius of Caesarea, over episcopal precedence, a tension reflected in the deliberately vague wording of the council's seventh canon. Scholars have conjectured that he, together with Eustathius of Antioch, significantly influenced the drafting of the Nicene Creed.
He was a firm opponent of Arian doctrine. The heresiarch Arius wrote disparagingly of Macarius in a letter to Eusebius of Nicomedia, an indication of the bishop's vigorous resistance, and Pope Alexander of Alexandria wrote to warn Macarius specifically against Arian teaching.
The Finding of the Cross and the Holy Sepulchre
Around 325, Macarius accompanied Helena Augusta, the mother of Constantine I, during her search in Jerusalem for the relics of the Passion, especially the True Cross. Constantine subsequently directed excavations that appear to have been carried out under Macarius's supervision. When workers demolished a pagan temple structure that covered the site, in the words of the ancient account 'the hallowed monument of our Saviour's Resurrection was discovered.'
Constantine then commissioned the construction of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, and by his detailed written instructions Macarius oversaw the project. The emperor wrote to the bishop urging him to hasten the building of churches at the holy places during the raising of the Church of the Resurrection.
By tradition, three crosses were unearthed, and the True Cross was identified through a miracle: at the inspiration of Macarius, a woman of Jerusalem who was near death from disease was brought to touch the three crosses, and as soon as she came near the Cross of the Lord she was made perfectly whole.
Succession and Legacy
Macarius ordained Cyril of Jerusalem during his long episcopate; because Maximus III intervened between them in the episcopal succession, this ordination was to a lower rank, as deacon or presbyter, rather than to the bishopric.
When Macarius attempted to appoint Maximus as bishop of Lydda (Diospolis), the people of Jerusalem insisted that Maximus be kept with them, and upon Macarius's death Maximus succeeded him as bishop of Jerusalem. He died around 335, before the Council of Tyre held that same year.
Relics
By tradition his relics, including his skull, are said to be preserved in Saint Anthony's Chapel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The chapel's own account, however, refers to the skull of a martyred saint named Macharius, and since Macarius of Jerusalem died as a confessor bishop rather than a martyr, this identification is uncertain and may refer to a different Macarius.
