On June 8, according to the new style, the Church commemorates the finding of the venerable relics of St. Macarius of Kalyazinsky, the founder of the Trinity Kalyazinsky Monastery, one of the revered Russian saints of the XV century.
St. Macarius, in the world of Matthew, was born in 1402 near Kashin, in the pious family of boyar Vasily Kozh and his wife Irina. From a young age, he gravitated towards prayer, spiritual reading and solitude, but at the behest of his parents he married. After the early death of his parents and wife, Matthew fulfilled his earlier promise and became a monk at the Nikolaevsky Klobuk Monastery named Makariy.
Striving for silence, the monk retreated to a forest desert near the Volga River. There he built himself a cell and began the feat of solitary prayer. Over time, monks began to come to him, wishing to live under his spiritual guidance. This is how the monastery arose, which later became known as Kalyazinskaya. Its founder was distinguished by meekness, humility, the rigor of monastic life and the gift of spiritual guidance. Even during the life of St. Macarius, the monastery became known far beyond the borders of Tver land.
The saint's prayers were accompanied by healings and admonitions. His life has preserved testimonies of helping people who are paralyzed, possessed, sick, and lost. The monk not only healed, but also converted people to repentance, reminding them that bodily illness often becomes a reason for spiritual awakening.
St. Macarius reposed on March 17, 1483, at the age of 82, and was buried near the wooden church built in the monastery he founded. A chapel was built over his grave. Years later, the temple fell into disrepair, and the benefactors decided to build a stone church in its place. During the excavation work for the foundation of the new church, on May 26, 1521, an unbroken coffin was found. There was a fragrance coming from him. Abbot Joasaph and the brethren recognized in the newly found coffin the burial place of the monastery's founder, St. Macarius.
The finding of the relics was a great spiritual event for the Kalyazinsky monastery. The brethren and a multitude of the gathered people performed a prayerful commemoration of the saint, and soon healings began to take place at his venerable relics. The suffering began to come to the monk's shrine: the paralyzed, the blind, the possessed, people suffering from severe bodily ailments. Miracles were performed according to the faith of those who came, and the fame of the Kalyazinsky miracle worker spread throughout Russia.
Metropolitan Daniel of Moscow was informed about the incident. After reviewing the testimonies about the life and miracles of the monk, a celebration was established for the newly-revealed saint. The relics of St. Macarius were solemnly transferred to the church of the Holy Trinity, and Theodosius from Tver organized a service for the relics. Until the middle of the 16th century, veneration of St. Macarius was performed mainly in his monastery, but at the Moscow Cathedral in 1547 he was canonized for general church veneration.
The Kalyazinsky Monastery has remained a place of pilgrimage for centuries. Ordinary people and representatives of the royal house came to the relics of St. Macarius, asking for help, healing and blessings. In the following centuries, the relics of the saint repeatedly became the spiritual center of the monastery. After the closure of the monastery in Soviet times, they were moved to Tver, and in 2012 they were solemnly returned to the saint's homeland — to the city of Kalyazin, to the Church of the Ascension of the Lord.
The memory of St. Macarius of Kalyazinsky is celebrated on March 30, the day of his repose, and on June 8, the day of the finding of his holy relics. This holiday reminds not only of the miraculous appearance of the incorruptible remains of the saint of God, but also of the living connection of generations: the monastery founded by the monk, his prayer feat and posthumous miracles have become part of the spiritual history of the Russian Church.