Cloud of Witnesses
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Venerable (Monastic)14th century

Venerable Micah of Radonezh

Also known as Micah, disciple of Sergius of Radonezh

One of the first disciples of St Sergius of Radonezh, who shared his master's cell and was found worthy to witness the visitation of the Mother of God to St Sergius; he is remembered for meekness and purity of heart.

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Commemorated as

Our Venerable Father Micah of Radonezh

Life

Saint Micah of Radonezh, also rendered Michael or Mikhei, was a fourteenth-century Russian monastic and one of the first disciples of Saint Sergius of Radonezh. Sergius received him as a disciple and had him share the same cell, and the sources remember Micah for his meekness of soul and purity of heart.

Micah is chiefly remembered as the sole witness, alongside his teacher, of the appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos to Saint Sergius. He reposed in 1385, and his relics rest within the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. His feast is kept on May 6.

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide
KontakionTone 8

Come, assemblies of monastics and choirs of those who fast,
joining together let us praise blessed Micah,
the companion in fasting of venerable Sergius,
with whom he stands before the Holy Trinity
and prays that our souls be saved.

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

TroparionTone 4

Having taken the Lord's yoke* upon your shoulders,
you followed Christ with your teacher, the venerable Sergius,
with whom you were deemed worthy to behold the Most Holy Theotokos,
and hear her sweet voice promise that she would not depart from that place.
Pray, O venerable Micah, for those who revere your holy memory.

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

Timeline4 momentsReadHide
  1. Mid-14th centuryBecomes a disciple of St SergiusMicah joins the monastic community near Radonezh and is received by Saint Sergius as a disciple sharing his cell.
  2. Late in his lifeWitness of the TheotokosPresent in the cell, Micah witnesses the appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos to Saint Sergius after the morning prayers.
  3. 1385ReposeMicah falls asleep in the Lord; his relics are laid to rest at the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra.
  4. 1734Church built over his graveA church is constructed over Micah's grave to commemorate the shared vision of the Mother of God.

Contributions & Legacy

3 contributionsReadHide

Life and Discipleship

Micah came to the monastic community that Saint Sergius had gathered near Radonezh in the middle of the fourteenth century. According to the sources, Sergius accepted him as a disciple and had him share the same cell, an unusual closeness that placed Micah at the center of the community's earliest life.

The accounts of his life emphasize his interior progress rather than any office or external work. He is said to have advanced spiritually through meekness of soul and purity of heart, and it is on these virtues that his memory rests.

The Appearance of the Theotokos

Near the end of Micah's life, after Saint Sergius had completed his morning prayers, a miraculous appearance is recorded as taking place in their cell. A voice announced, 'The All-Pure One draws near,' and an extraordinary light followed. Micah, present with his teacher, fell to the ground in fear.

Saint Sergius afterward informed his disciple that the Most Holy Theotokos had appeared to him. This shared vision is the event for which Micah is principally commemorated, and it ties his memory inseparably to that of his teacher.

Relics & Shrines

Micah fell asleep in the Lord in 1385. His relics were laid to rest within the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra, the monastery founded by Saint Sergius at Makovets Hill near Moscow and long regarded as the most venerated monastic house in Russia.

In 1734 a church was built over his grave to commemorate the appearance of the Mother of God that he and Saint Sergius had witnessed together.

Companions1 figureShowHide
His teacher, whose cell he shared and with whom he witnessed the appearance of the Theotokos.
Sergiusof Radonezh
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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints