Macedonius...

…(of Mt. Silpius, overlooking ancient Antioch) had as his “wrestling-ground” and “stadium” the tops of mountains; he did not settle in one place, but now dwelt in this one and then transferred to that. This he did not through dislike of the places, but to escape from the crowds of those who visited him and flocked from all sides. He continued living in this way for forty-five years, using neither tent nor hut, but making his stops in a deep hole, whence some called him Gouba, a word which, translated from the Syriac into the Greek language, means “pit.” At the end of this time, now an elderly man, he yielded to those who besought him, and set up a hut; later, at the entreaty of his friends, he made use of cottages that were not his own but belonged to others. He continued living in the hut and the cottages for twenty-five years, so that the time of his contests came together to seventy years.

A certain general who loved riding went up the mountain to hunt. He was accompanied by dogs and soldiers and whatever is needed for a hunt. On seeing the man (Macedonius) from a distance and learning from his companions who it was, he immediately leapt from his horse, went up and spoke to him, and asked him what he did, living there. He replied, “What have you come here to do?” When the general told it was to hunt, he said, “I too am hunting ˆ for my God. I yearn to catch Him, I long to behold Him, and I shall not give up this noble hunt.” After hearing this, the general departed, naturally struck with admiration.

On another occasion, when the city (Antioch) was driven insane by some evil demon and vented its frenzy against the imperial statues, the supreme generals arrived with a verdict of total destruction against the city (AD 387). Macedonius descended from the mountain and stopped the two generals as they were crossing the square. On learning who it was, they leapt down from their horses, clasped his hands and knees, and asked for his blessing. He charged them to tell the emperor that he was a man, with the same nature as those who had acted outrageously, that while anger ought to be proportionate to one’s nature, the emperor had given rein to anger that was out of proportion: because of his own images he was consigning to execution the images of God, and for the sake of bronze statues, delivering bodies to death. “It is easy and simple for us,” he continued, “to remold and refashion bronze figures, but it is impossible for you, even though you are an emperor, to bring back to life bodies you have slaughtered. And why do I say bodies? You cannot refashion over a single hair.” He said this in Syriac, and while the interpreter translated it into Greek, the generals shuddered as they listened and promised to convey the message to the emperor.

Theodoret of Cyrrhus, History of the Monks of Syria, 13.2,6-7
St. Macedonius of Antioch, c.330-c.420
commemorated 24 January