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Hieromartyr15th century

Hieromartyr Macarius Metropolitan of Kiev

died 1497

Also known as Macarius of Kiev

Metropolitan of Kiev who was seized and slain by raiding Tatars in 1497 while visiting his flock, sealing his pastoral service with martyrdom.

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Commemorated as

The Holy Hieromartyr Macarius, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus

Life

Macarius was Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus at the close of the fifteenth century, a hierarch whose pastoral service ended in martyrdom during a Tatar raid in 1497. Before his elevation he served as archimandrite of the Holy Trinity monastery in Vilnius (the "Vilensk" monastery), and in 1495, after the death of Metropolitan Jonah of Kiev, he was chosen and ordained to the vacant see by an assembly of hierarchs.

His brief tenure fell in a period when the metropolitan See of Kiev lay in lands subject to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and was exposed to repeated incursions. While visiting his flock and serving the divine services, Macarius was killed by raiding Tatars, sealing his episcopal ministry with a martyr's death. The Church venerates him as a hieromartyr, and his relics came to be honored as incorrupt and wonderworking.

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TroparionTone 4

By sharing in the ways of the Apostles,
you became a successor to their throne.
Through the practice of virtue, you found the way to divine contemplation, O inspired one of God;
by teaching the word of truth without error, you defended the Faith,
even to the shedding of your blood.
Hieromartyr Macarius, entreat Christ God to save our souls.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline3 momentsReadHide
  1. 1495Election and ordination as Metropolitan of KievFollowing the death of Metropolitan Jonah of Kiev, Macarius, then archimandrite of the Vilensk Holy Trinity monastery, was chosen and ordained in his place by an assembly of hierarchs: Vassian of Vladimir, Luke of Polotsk, Vassian of Turov, and Jonah of Lutsk.
  2. 1495Confirmation from ConstantinoplePapers of blessing were sent from Constantinople by the Patriarch Niphon, confirming the election of Macarius to the metropolitan See of Kiev.
  3. May 1, 1497Martyrdom by TatarsInvading Tatars killed Metropolitan Macarius of Kiev and All Rus in the village of Strigolovo, at the River Vzhischa, where the saint was conducting divine services. Many of his flock were killed with him or taken into captivity.

Contributions & Legacy

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From archimandrite to metropolitan

Before his elevation to the episcopate, Macarius governed the Holy Trinity monastery in Vilnius as its archimandrite. When the metropolitan See of Kiev fell vacant on the death of Metropolitan Jonah, an assembly of hierarchs — named in the synaxarion as Vassian of Vladimir, Luke of Polotsk, Vassian of Turov, and Jonah of Lutsk — chose and ordained him to fill it in 1495.

His election was confirmed from Constantinople, where the Patriarch Niphon sent papers of blessing recognizing Macarius as Metropolitan of Kiev. He thus took up the leadership of the Orthodox flock in the western lands of Rus during an unsettled time.

Martyrdom and relics

On May 1, 1497, while Macarius was visiting his flock and serving the divine services, Tatars raiding the region attacked. He was killed in the village of Strigolovo by the River Vzhischa; many of those gathered with him were slain alongside him or carried off into captivity.

The Church remembers him as a hieromartyr — a bishop who died for Christ in the course of his pastoral duty. By tradition his relics were found incorrupt and were glorified by God with miracles; they came to rest at Kiev in the cathedral church dedicated to Saint Vladimir.

Companions1 figureShowHide
A distinct later hieromartyr of the Kiev lands, sometimes confused with the Metropolitan; commemorated September 7
Hieromartyr Macariusof Kanev
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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints