Around the middle of the 13th century (1237-1240), Russia was invaded by the Mongols. First, the Ryazan and Vladimir principalities were devastated, then the cities of Pereyaslavl, Chernigov, Kiev and others were destroyed in southern Russia. The population of these principalities and cities mostly perished in bloody battles; churches were robbed and defiled, the famous Kiev Lavra was destroyed, and the monks scattered through the forests.
However, all these terrible disasters were, as it were, the inevitable consequence of the invasion of savage peoples, for whom war was an excuse for plunder. The Mongols were usually indifferent to all faiths. The main rule of their life was the Yasa (book of prohibitions), which contains the laws of the great Genghis Khan. One of the laws of Yasa commanded respect and fear of all the gods, no matter whose they were. Therefore, worship services of various faiths were freely served in the Golden Horde, and the khans themselves were often present at the performance of Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, and other rituals.
But, being indifferent and even respectful to Christianity, the khans demanded that our princes perform some of their harsh rituals, for example: passing through a cleansing fire before appearing before the khan, worshipping images of deceased khans, the sun and a bush. According to Christian concepts, this is a betrayal of the holy faith, and some of our princes preferred to suffer death rather than perform these pagan rites. Among them, Prince Mikhail of Chernigov and his boyar Theodore, who suffered in the Horde in 1245, should be remembered.
When Batu Khan called Prince Mikhail of Chernigov to himself, he accepted a blessing from his spiritual father, Bishop John, and promised him that he would rather die for Christ and the holy faith than worship idols. His boyar Theodore promised the same thing. The bishop strengthened them in this holy determination and gave them the Holy Gifts of eternal life. Before entering the khan's headquarters, the Mongol priests demanded that the prince and boyar bow to the south to Genghis Khan's grave, then to the fire and felt idols. Michael replied, "A Christian should worship the Creator, not the creature."
Upon learning about this, Batu became embittered and ordered Mikhail to choose one of two things: either fulfill the priests' demand, or death. Mikhail replied that he was ready to bow to the khan, to whom God Himself had given him over, but he could not do what the priests demanded. Mikhail's grandson, Prince Boris, and the Rostov boyars begged him to take care of his life and offered to take penance for his sin upon themselves and their people. Mikhail didn't want to listen to anyone. He threw off the prince's fur coat from his shoulders and said: "I will not destroy my soul, away with the glory of the corruptible world!" While they were carrying his answer to the khan, Prince Mikhail and his boyar sang psalms and partook of the Holy Gifts given to them by the bishop. The assassins arrived soon. They grabbed Mikhail, started beating his chest with fists and sticks, then turned him face to the ground and stamped on him with their feet, finally they cut off his head. His last word was, "I am a Christian!" After him, his valiant boyar was tortured in the same way. Their holy relics rested in the Archangel Cathedral in Moscow.