This study focuses on the spiritual homilies ascribed to Macarius of Egypt, a fourth-century monk and church Father, and their reception among German evangelical Protestants since the sixteenth-century Reformation. The homilies have remained an enduring influence on the mystical spirituality of Eastern Orthodoxy, but they also were introduced among adherents of the Lutheran and Reformed traditions in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, as well as the English Methodists in the eighteenth. For instance, in his Christian Library (1741), John Wesley included translations of twenty-two homilies by Macarius. This interest in Macarius’ works continued into the eras of the Enlightenment and Romanticism, through Historicism, and proceeded into the ecumenical and interreligious initiatives of the twentieth century. As the author Martin Illert demonstrates, the ways in which Macarius and his homilies were received reflects the perceived self-understanding of Protestants over the centuries, as well as their developing appreciation of Eastern Churches. Recalling the work of Ernst Benz, Illert explains that for some Protestants, with the rediscovery of Macarius of Egypt came also the rediscovery of the mysticism of the Orthodox Church (p. xi).

The homilies of Macarius are to be found in various manuscript collections as well as in florilegia. Most texts survive in the original Greek; some are preserved as translations in Latin, Coptic, Arabic, Syriac and other languages. Later translations appeared in German, Dutch, English and French.

Illert’s book is divided into two parts. The first introduces the historical-theological context of the ‘Corpus Macarianum’ and the reception of the work in the Eastern Churches from antiquity to the modern era. The second part follows the acceptance and application of Macarius’ homilies among Protestants since the Reformation of the sixteenth century.

In the first five chapters of the book, Illert examines the texts of the ‘Corpus Macarianum’. He reviews the authorship, dating and historical-theological context in which the homilies were produced, as well as their place in the various liturgical settings of late antiquity. Examples of the poetic imagery and mystical symbolism found in the homilies are treated along with a discussion of various motifs drawn from Macarius’ interpretation of biblical texts. Illert traces the basic features of the spirituality found in the homilies, highlighting the course of the human soul towards the inner purity and beauty of the Christian living in Christ, which culminates in the transformation of the soul as ‘the true image of God’ (p. 35). The first part of the book concludes with the reception of Macarius’ work in various forms in the Eastern Church from the fifth century, through the Byzantine era, up to the modern Orthodox theologians.

As Illert shows, Macarius remains one of the most revered spiritual writers of the Christian East, especially as a teacher of prayer, and his homilies have made a significant contribution to the formation of an Eastern Orthodox identity. His works have come to represent the most treasured form of Eastern Church spirituality, an assessment shared by contemporary Orthodox theologians.

In the second part of the book, Illert describes the appropriation of Macarius beginning in the Reformation era. In 1559, Roman Catholic theologians published a reprint of the Greek text of the homilies accompanied by a Latin translation, which was soon in the hands of Lutheran theological commentators. While Macarius’ teaching on theosis and the place of the divine Law in the Christian life would not be accepted by most Lutherans, nevertheless, his interpretation of biblical texts, for example on the doctrine of baptism, led Lutherans to include Macarius among the patristic authorities who could be relied upon in support of their confessional positions.

During the early seventeenth century Lutheran theologians such as Johann Arndt (1555–1621) and Johann Gerhard (1582–1637) held Macarius in high esteem for his teaching on the virtues of the Christian life. Still, Macarius does not appear to have been a decisive figure on the development of Lutheran theology at this time. Rather he served as a patristic authority whose interpretation of Scripture offered valuable insights for Christians in a later context. In succeeding generations, Lutheran theologians such as Johann Heinrich Ursinus (1608–67) found Macarius helpful in defending the orthodoxy of a mystical theological approach against his own colleagues, even while the understanding of the spiritual enjoyment of fellowship with God as the path towards Christian perfection gradually was taking a firmer hold among German Protestants. The practical emphasis on a fruitful, Spirit-filled life of faith in the image of Christ would become an enduring one.

Later authors during the era of Lutheran Pietism found a deeper resonance in the homilies of Macarius. The theologian and church historian Gottfried Arnold (1666–1714) published his own German translation of the homilies in 1696, with further editions appearing as late as 1740. For Arnold, next to the Scriptures, there was ‘no more splendid instruction’ than the homilies of Macarius. They were a ‘work of the Holy Spirit’ which ‘gracefully yet powerfully unfolds the mysteries of Christianity, which one can never get enough of reading’ (p. 74). Arnold was not alone in his views. Philipp Jacob Spener (1635–1705) listed Macarius as a teacher of spiritual enlightenment. At Halle, August Hermann Francke (1663–1727) recommended the homilies to students of theology, and many other Pietists came under Macarius’ influence. The reasons for this, Illert suggests, centred around the ways that Macarius taught the Christian faith and life in simple, clear language. He had the ability to express theological wisdom in words that were easy to comprehend, without using technical or philosophical terminology. More than that, in his homilies, Macarius conveyed the vivid experience of God’s grace and the joy of Christian faith – true wisdom – in a way that reflected genuine Christian practice, rather than a mere theoretical or superficial teaching.

Similarly, the homilies of Macarius found favour with the founder of Methodism, John Wesley (1703–91), who appreciated their simplicity yet also their spiritual attributes which comprised the model of true Christianity. Wesley remarked that in the homilies Macarius strove to cultivate ‘the real life of God in the heart and soul, that kingdom of God which consists in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost’ (p. 78).

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the origins and authorship of the ‘Corpus Macarianum’ came into question through historical criticism. The existing texts were regarded as later revisions of lost originals, which could only be restored by Protestant theology’s application of literary criticism. It was not until the second half of the twentieth century that this view of the ‘Corpus Macarianum’ was replaced through ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, by looking again to the texts themselves and their reception by Protestants oriented by the model of intertextuality. With this perspective, Illert notes, it is possible to perceive of the ‘Corpus Macarianum’ not merely as an object of Protestant reception, but also to examine the theological impact of Macarius on the Protestant writers who made use of his work (p. xv).

Illert’s book concludes with a positive and hopeful outlook, one drawing from his own experience. In recent decades the study of Macarius’ writings have enabled participants in ecumenical discourse to attain a deeper understanding of themselves while engaging with others on key questions of religious life. Self-perception can develop with the recognition of the confessional identity of others. Shared reflection on the homilies of Macarius provides an opportunity to reexamine one’s own understanding of the lived experience of Christian identity. The reception and use of Macarius’ works by both Protestant and Orthodox Churches offers a constructive approach for ongoing ecumenical conversations and interreligious dialogues, as well as for a renewed appreciation for interaction between Christians long separated from one another.