Mares the Singer of Syria

Mares the Singer was a Syrian ascetic of the fourth and fifth centuries, celebrated for the sweetness of his psalmody. He is commemorated on January 25.

By the accounts he lived as a hut-dweller, keeping his ascetic struggle for thirty-seven years in the village of Omeros, also called Homeron, near Cyrrhus in Syria. He ate only rough food and wore garments made from the hides of wild goats.

He is remembered as having a fair appearance and a pleasant singing voice, by which he received the name 'the Singer.' His repose is placed by the accounts around the year 430.