Macarius of Saharna

Macarie Tincu of Saharna, born in 1888, was abbot and confessor of Saharna Monastery, in Rezina, in the Republic of Moldova. He died on the night of 22 to 23 April 1969. He was canonized locally on 21 December 1995, as the first locally canonized saint of post-⁠Soviet Moldova, and his memory is kept on 13 May Old Style (26 May New Style). He is a canonized saint, not only venerated by the faithful.

From a devout family, at twelve he entered Saharna, where Abbot Joseph received him. He was tonsured a monk, ordained deacon and priest and became the monastery's confessor. After Saharna became a nuns' monastery, he was confessor of the nuns and received the rank of abbot. He was known for prayers for the suffering and for healings.

In 1964 the Soviet regime closed the monastery and turned it into a psychiatric hospital. Macarie lived two more years in a dugout at the edge of the village, where he baptized, married and taught. The authorities forced him, though old, to hard labour, in the quarry and road-⁠building, then, ill, he was allowed to retire to his native village. He passed to the Lord on the night of 22 to 23 April 1969, saying: Glory to Thee, O Lord.

After Saharna was reopened, in 1991, the community asked Metropolitan Vladimir to have his relics exhumed, which were found whole. They were placed in the monastery. On 21 December 1995 he was canonized locally, and in 2019 the Synod of the Orthodox Church of Moldova decided to send the materials about him to the Synodal Commission for Canonization of the Russian Orthodox Church, with a view to a wider canonization. On 25 October 2023 the Synod of Moldova set his commemoration for the whole Church in Moldova and approved the text of his life. His relics are at Saharna Monastery.