The Holy Prince Mikhail of Tver was born in 1272 after the death of his father, Grand Duke Yaroslav Yaroslavich, the brother of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky. During a trip to the Horde, Prince Yaroslav fell ill and, having taken vows with the name Athanasius, died. Mikhail's mother, Ksenia, brought up in her son a fervent love for God. Mikhail was brought up and studied under the guidance of the Archbishop of Novgorod (probably Clement). He replaced his elder brother Svyatoslav in the Tver principality. In 1285, he built a stone church in honor of the Savior of the Transfiguration on the site of the wooden church of Cosmas and Damian. After the death of Grand Duke Andrei Alexandrovich (+ 1305), Mikhail, by right of the eldest, received a label for the grand ducal throne in the Horde, but Prince Yuri Danilovich of Moscow did not obey him, himself seeking grand ducal power.
Often visiting the Golden Horde with the new Uzbek Khan, who converted to Mohammedanism and was distinguished by cruelty and fanaticism, Yuri managed to please the khan, married his sister Konchak and became a grand duke. But he did not calm down and began a new internecine war with Tver. Yuri's army included Tatar detachments sent by Uzbek, led by Kavgady. However, the Tverichi, led by Holy Prince Mikhail, completely defeated Yuri on December 22, 1317. Many prisoners were captured, including Kavgady, whom St. Michael released, and the wife of Prince Konchak of Moscow, but she died unexpectedly in Tver. Prince Yuri slandered the holy Prince Mikhail in front of the khan, accusing him of poisoning Konchaki. The khan became angry, threatening to ruin the princely patrimony of Mikhail, and demanded him to answer. Unwilling to shed the blood of Russian soldiers in an unequal struggle with the khan, Saint Michael humbly went to the Horde, realizing that this threatened him with death. He said goodbye to his family and the Tverites, and took the blessing of his martyrdom from his spiritual father, Abbot John. "Father," said the saint, "I cared a lot about the peace of Christians, but, because of my sins, I could not stop the internecine strife. Now bless me if I have to shed my blood for them, so that they can rest a little, and the Lord will forgive me my sins."
In the Horde, an unjust trial was held over the holy prince, who found him guilty of disobedience to the khan and sentenced him to death. Saint Michael was put on a heavy wooden block and taken into custody. In prison, Saint Michael, as usual, constantly read the Psalter and thanked the Lord for the sufferings sent to him. He asked not to leave him in the upcoming torments. Since the hands of the holy sufferer were chained in a deck, a boy sat in front of him and turned the pages of the Psalter. The holy prince-prisoner roamed with the Horde for a long time, suffering beatings and bullying. They offered him to run away, but the saint courageously replied: "I have never run from enemies in my whole life, and if I am the only one who will be saved, and my people will remain in trouble, what glory will I have? No, the will of the Lord be done." By the grace of God, he was not deprived of Christian consolation: he was visited by Orthodox priests, hegumens Alexander and Mark, and he confessed and took communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ every week, receiving Christian guidance before his death. At the instigation of Prince Yuri and Kavgady, who was taking revenge on the holy prince for his defeat, the murderers broke into the camp where the prisoner was being held. They brutally beat the martyr, trampled him underfoot, until one of them stabbed St. Michael with a knife (+ 1318). The naked body of the holy martyr was thrown to be insulted, then he was covered with clothes and placed on a large board tied to a cart. At night, two guards were assigned to guard the body, but they were seized with fear and ran away. The next morning, his body was not found on the board. That same night, many, not only Orthodox, but also Tatars, saw two bright clouds shine over the place where the body of the martyr lay and, although many predatory animals roamed the steppe, none of them touched him. In the morning, everyone was talking: "Prince Michael is a saint, innocently murdered." From the Horde, the body of the holy prince was transported to Moscow, where he was buried in the Church of the Savior on Bor in the Kremlin. Only a year later, in 1319, Tver learned about the fate of its prince. At the request of his wife, Princess Anna (October 2), and at the request of the Tverites, the relics of St. Michael of Tver were transferred to his hometown and on September 6, 1320, they were laid in the church built by him in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord. The local celebration of the holy prince began shortly after the transfer of his relics to Tver, and the church-wide glorification of the saint took place at the Cathedral in 1549. On November 24, 1632, the incorruptible relics of St. Michael were found. The Holy Prince often provided gracious assistance to the Russian land. In 1606, Poles and Lithuanians besieging Tver repeatedly saw a wonderful horseman riding out of the city on a white horse with a sword in his hands and put them to flight.
When they saw the icon of St. Michael, they swore to Archbishop Feoktistos of Tver that the horseman who appeared was St. Michael.
The Church remembers the Holy Prince Mikhail of Tver
05.12.2023, 06:00