8th–9th century
Saint Macarius the Confessor
Abbot of the Pelekete monastery imprisoned and exiled for defending the holy icons during the years of Iconoclasm.
Biography
Macarius (born Christopher) was born in Constantinople around 785 and, after being orphaned, was raised by a devout uncle. He became a monk at the Pelekete monastery near Prousa and rose to abbot, a renowned spiritual father with a gift for healing, until Patriarch Tarasius summoned him to Constantinople and ordained him a priest.
When Iconoclasm broke out under Leo V the Armenian, he was imprisoned for defending the holy icons and remained in prison until the emperor's death. His successor, Michael the Stammerer, unable to change his convictions, exiled him to the island of Aphousia, where he died around 820.