Feast days: 7 (20) September and 11 (24) October (Synaxis of the Venerable Elders of Optina).
In the world he was Mikhail Nikolaevich Ivanov, born into a family of Oryol gentry — a quiet, sickly boy who loved books, music, and solitude. He lost his mother early; she had loved him and singled him out among her children: "My heart tells me that something extraordinary will come of this child."
After the death of both parents Mikhail divided the inheritance among his brothers, resigned his post in the finance department, and settled on his estate. But worldly life held no interest for him. In 1810 he set out on a pilgrimage to the Ploshchansk Hermitage and never returned to the world. There Macarius met the elder Athanasius, a disciple of the elder Paisius (Velichkovsky), and found in him a discerning spiritual guide. As Paisius's closest disciple, Athanasius devoted himself to the study and translation of patristic literature; having brought many texts from Moldavia, he drew his own pupil into that important labor. Later, at Optina — where Macarius moved in 1834 — he carried on the work his teacher had begun.
At Optina his spiritual director was the elder Leo, to whom Macarius surrendered his will entirely, never daring to undertake anything without his blessing. It was thanks to the elder Macarius that the manuscripts and translations of Paisius (Velichkovsky) gathered at Optina were published; his spiritual children the Kireevskys, husband and wife, gave him much help in this. Under his influence there arose a whole school of publishers and translators of the spiritual literature Orthodox Russia so badly needed, and the bond between the Optina elders and the Russian intelligentsia grew stronger. A. K. Tolstoy and A. S. Khomyakov, N. V. Gogol and A. N. Muravyov came to him for confession and blessing.
For seven years the elders Leo and Macarius together guided the spiritual life of the brethren and of many thousands of people. One story is well known. A possessed man was brought to Macarius — a man who had never heard of the elder and had never laid eyes on him. Rushing at him with the cry "Macarius is coming, Macarius is coming!", he struck the elder on the cheek. Macarius at once offered the other; the sick man collapsed senseless to the floor, and came to healed. The demon could not bear the elder's great humility.
The Lord also granted Macarius the gift of spiritual discernment. To everyone who came to lay open his conscience he offered the remedy suited to that particular infirmity. His humble word was an effective word, a word with authority: it compelled obedience, and made even the unbeliever believe. Humility showed in his appearance, in his dress, in his every movement. His face, lit by the unceasing Jesus Prayer, shone with spiritual joy and with love for his neighbor.
Two years before his death Macarius received the Great Schema. To the very end he went on receiving spiritual children and pilgrims, instructing and blessing them.
On 7/20 September 1860, an hour after receiving the Holy Mysteries of Christ, Macarius departed peacefully to the Lord.