From the Prologue of Ochrid
A disciple of Saint Niphon the Patriarch at the time when the latter was occupied with the ascetic life of stillness at Vatopedi. Macarius yearned for martyrdom for the sake of Christ the Lord, and he implored Saint Niphon for his blessing. The clairvoyant patriarch, seeing that this was the will of God, blessed his path to martyrdom. Macarius went to Thessalonica and in a crowd of Turks began to preach Christ as the only true God. The Turks beat him and cast him into prison. When they brought him before the court, Macarius cried out to the Turks: "O if only you would know the truth and be baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit!" The Turks cut off his head in the year 1527. At that very moment, Saint Niphon, seeing in spirit from Vatopedi, announced to a monk the martyr's death of Macarius, saying: "Know, child, that your brother Macarius has today ended his life as a martyr, and he ascends to heaven in triumph and rejoicing in the Lord. By his prayers may we also be deemed worthy of blessedness."
