These two saints were brothers, and their father Valentinus, the Roman Caesar, was a God-fearing man and a supporter of Christianity, who raised his two sons and their little sister in the fear of the Lord.
When Maximus and Domadius grew up, they longed for monastic life. They asked their father to allow them to go to the city of Nicaea to pray at the meeting place of the First Ecumenical Council, which took place in 325 AD. Their father was delighted and sent an entourage of soldiers and servants with them, as was customary for the children of kings. When they arrived, they ordered the soldiers to go back to their father and tell him that they wanted to stay there for a few days.
When they asked to stay with him, he apologised out of fear of their father and recommended them to travel to Syria to learn under the hands of Bishop Agapius, a Tarsus from Cilicia who was of great fame.
They went to Bishop Agapius, who accepted them and clothed them with monastic robes. When the time of his death drew near, they asked him what they should do next. He told them, ‘I saw myself this night standing on a rock south of our dwelling, and I saw a monk standing in front of me with a cap on his head with crosses on it. In his hand was a staff and a cross. When I saw him, I was afraid, but he approached me, greeted me, and said, ‘Do you recognise me?’ I said, ‘No, Father Saint.’ He said to me, ‘I am Macarius the Egyptian and I have come to invite your children to take them to Egypt.’ I said to him, ‘Don’t you take me with them too, Father?’ He said to me, ‘No, but I inform you that after three days you will pass away and go to the Master. The king will send messengers after his sons to take them to Constantinople, so beware of that and command them to come down to Egypt to live near me. For the master has appointed them to me as sons, and I have told you.’ And when he had said this, he disappeared from me. Then he said to them, ‘I longed to see this saint in the flesh, but I have seen him in the spirit, so after my death, go to him in peace.’
God blessed them with the grace to heal the sick, and their name became famous in that country, especially among merchants and travellers. They learned to make boat locks, and they lived on the price of what they sold and donated to the poor and needy with what they had left over.
On one occasion, the viceroy was in the harbour with the soldiers inspecting incoming ships, and he noticed the names of the two saints on one of the ships. He enquired from the owner of the boat about the reason for this. He said, ‘These are the names of two monastic brothers, which I wrote on the bottom of my boat as a blessing so that God would save my trade.’ He recognised them, and took the man and brought him before King Theodosius, who was the chief soldier of King Valentinus and was appointed king after his death.
The king gave three pieces of gold to each sailor. He dismissed them peacefully. Then he sent a delegate named Marcellus to Syria to confirm the news before it was announced in the palace. A few days later, the delegate returned to confirm the news, and there was great joy in the palace. When they met the saints and recognised them, they wept very much, and their mother wanted them to return with her, but they did not accept, and they softened the heart of their mother and sister.
Shortly after that, the Patriarch of Constantinople died, so the attention turned to St Maximus to succeed him. King Theodosius welcomed this, and sent his deputy with some soldiers to summon him, and also wrote to the governor of Syria about it.
The news leaked to the two brothers through the governor’s wife, who loved them as saints. When they learnt of this, they fled and hid with a shepherd for many days, then they changed their clothes and put on civilian clothes and disguises so that they would not be discovered and prayed for God’s guidance to reach Anba Macarius.
They travelled for about nine days until they became tired while walking on the seashore. They found themselves in Shehit, where St. Macarius was, and told him that they wanted to live with him. When he saw that they were children of grace, he thought that they could not live in the wilderness because of the hardship of living there. They answered him saying: ‘Father, if we cannot, we will go to another place.’ He helped them build a cave for them. He helped them build a cave for them, then taught them how to braid wicker, and introduced them to someone who would sell them the labour of their hands and bring them bread.
For three years they did not meet anyone, except that they entered the church to receive the sacraments in silence. St. Macarius wondered that they had been absent from him for so long, prayed to God to reveal their affairs to him, and came to their cave where he slept that night. When he woke up at midnight as usual to pray, he saw the two saints standing in prayer, a ray of light ascending from the mouth of St Maximus to heaven, demons around St Domadius like flies, and the angel of the Lord driving them away with a sword of fire. On the morrow he clothed them with the holy sackcloth and departed, saying, ‘Pray for me,’ and they beat him in silence.
When they had completed their endeavour, the Lord wanted to remove them from the sorrows of this fleeting world. St Maximus began to fall ill with a violent fever, and when he was sick for a long time, he asked his younger brother to go to St Macarius and beg him to come. When he came to him, he found him feverish, so he consoled him and comforted him. He looked up and saw a group of prophets, apostles, saints, John the Baptist and Constantine the King all standing around the saint until he gave up his pure soul with glory and dignity. St Macarius wept and said: ‘Blessed are you, Maximus’.
St Domadius wept bitterly, and asked St Macarius to ask Christ to join him with his brother. Three days later, he too fell ill with a high fever, and Saint Macarius knew it and went to visit him. While he was on his way, he saw the community of saints who had carried the soul of his brother, carrying the soul of St Domadius and ascending it to heaven. When he came to the cave, he found him dead. Saint Maximus died on the 14th of Tuba and his brother Saint Domadius followed him on the 17th of Tuba.
