Stefan Makhrishchi

Born and raised in Kiev . Stephen got his hair cut in the Pechersk monastery and spent several years there in obedience and prayer. According to the life, the oppression of the papists forced him, along with other Pechersk monks, to seek refuge in Moscow, where he was favorably received by Grand Duke Ivan II . But the oppression of the papists is an anachronism, since the Union of Krev and the privileges of Catholics appeared only in 1385. In reality, a supporter of the patriarch of Constantinople and the unity of the Russian church escaped from the power of the metropolitan of Kiev, appointed by the patriarch of Bulgaria with the help of Lithuanian princes, who were dissatisfied with the relocation of the legitimate Kiev metropolitans first to Vladimir and then to Moscow, and took advantage of the fact that the metropolitans relatively rarely served in Kiev ^{[1 ]} .

Remaining faithful to the legal metropolitan of Kiev in Moscow, Stefan set himself a cell in the inheritance of the Moscow prince in a secluded place on the banks of the Makhrishchi River, 35 miles from the monastery of Sergiev . Wanting to maintain silence, Stephen at first did not want to accept those who came to him, but then yielded to their requests and in 1358 founded the monastery. A pious man living near Mahra gave the monastery of Makhrishchi his estate with sown fields, he himself accepted the monasticism with the name of Gregory and was a beloved student of Stephen. This was not at the heart of the neighboring owners: they knew the respect of Grand Duke Dmitry for Stephen and were afraid that the lands they owned would be transferred to the monastery. Four of them, the Yurtsov brothers, raised persecution against the abbot and threatened to kill him if he did not leave Mahra. Stefan retired to the north with Gregory, and 60 miles from Vologda on the Avnega River in 1370 founded a desert monastery with the Holy Trinity Church. Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich sent donations to this monastery, and summoned Stephen back to Makhrishchi.

Having lived to a very old age, Stefan adopted the schema and died in 1406 .

Stephen’s relics were found imperishable during the construction of the stone church of the Holy Trinity in 1550 , but left in the new church under cover.

Stephen’s life was written by the abbot (later Bishop of Vologda), Joasaph, at the behest of Metropolitan Macarius, with short notes compiled by the hundred-year-old monk Serapion; Joasaph made a description of the miracles of Stephen and his service. At the beginning of the XVII century, the Mahrish monastery , devastated by the Poles, was attributed to Sergius Lavra .

• Biography Rev. Stephen, Mahrish miracle worker
• Rev. Stefan of Makhrishchi (neopr.) . Orthodox Encyclopedia "ABC of Faith" .
• Rev. Stefan of Makhrishchi (neopr.) . Tsargrad TV .
• Stefan Makhrishchi // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.