Archbishop Misail (I quarter of XVII , the village of Gruzino - April 9 [ April 19 ] 1655 , the village of Aglomazovo ) - bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church , archbishop of Ryazan and Murom .
Glorified on January 12, 1987 as a holy martyr in the guise of locally revered Ryazan saints. Memory April 9/22, in the Cathedrals of Ryazan , Lipetsk and Tambov saints.
Biography
Born in the first quarter of the 17th century in the Georgian village of the Novgorod diocese .
He began his monastic life in the Novgorod Derevyanitsky Resurrection Monastery . He was distinguished by a pious life. He attracted the attention of the hierarchy and the brethren and was ordained a hieromonk .
He was a sacristy of Metropolitan Nikon of Novgorod (Minov) (later the patriarch), who pointed to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Misail as a worthy successor to the late Archbishop of Ryazan Moses .
On April 13, 1651, he was consecrated bishop of Ryazan with the elevation to the rank of archbishop .
Having entered the management of the Ryazan diocese, the archpastor found omissions in monasteries and among the white clergy.
Jealous of the glory of God, Saint Misail at the very beginning of his archpastoral ministry sent a letter to the flock in which he gave her paternal admonitions. The abbots of the monasteries gave instructions to strictly abide by the monastic charters . His appeals to the flock and the clergy were distinguished by simplicity, sincerity, and testified of him as a clever, highly moral archpastor.
From the first year of his archpasture, Archbishop Misail discovered outstanding tireless activity. He paternally delved into the private life of the clergy subordinate to him and often on holidays invited him to visit.
He vigorously fought mainly against popular drunkenness: he rebelled against the Korchniks and their inspectors, who systematically soldered the people, and drove them out of the diocese.
He fought against religious indifference, manifested in extreme and mass coldness towards the Church.
All the widowed priests, who gave rise to the temptation, by force sheared monasticism and sent them to monasteries.
The saint very much loved to perform divine services, and he always performed them solemnly and magnificently. Being a strict monk in private life, restrained in everything, he dressed in expensive clothes during church service.
The main merit of St. Misail to the Church is that he took on the mission of Christianizing the indigenous inhabitants of the Ryazan Territory. In the early years of the hierarchy, he entrusted this work to the monk Artemy, as he himself was engaged in putting in order diocesan affairs, then he was called by Patriarch Nikon to Moscow to the Cathedral to correct church books.
In 1654, he asked the patriarch for blessings to preach among the Mordovians. Having received patriarchal and royal letters, the archbishop himself went to Mordovian villages with several priests. He moved from one village to another, preaching the Orthodox faith. Misael's sermon was a success. More than three hundred pagans were baptized.
Then he made a second trip and spent more than a year in missionary work, while dubbing 4,200 Mordovians .
In February 1655, Archbishop Misail again went to preach in the Shatsky district . P. I. Melnikov-Pechersky wrote that, “moving from place to place, Misail ... baptized Mordvinians, forcing them to cut their sacred groves and burning logs in their cemeteries” [1] . These actions caused discontent among the local population, which often refused to be baptized. Misail received two royal letters from Moscow, which prescribed him to baptize Mordvinians and Tatars and take service people to help, “how many people have come to terms” [2] .
The last journey ended for Misail tragically. In April 1655, returning to Ryazan, he drove into the village of Yambirno and began to read out the royal decree. A hostile crowd of Mordovians gathered around; a fight ensued, and one of the Mordovian arrows pierced the archbishop's left arm and chest. The wound was fatal. He was brought to the village of Aglomazovo , where on April 9 (19) he died from wounds.
According to another version, this happened in the vicinity of the Shatsky village of Konobeev. The chronicle retained the name of the murderer of the Ryazan ruler. It was a Mordvin: Garechishka, "who, through a satanic guidance, shot the most faithful servant of God." [3]
At the request of the saint, he was buried near the Cherneevsky Nicholas monastery at the church of St. Mina, in the forest. The following year, by the will of the patriarch and the king, his body was transferred to the Ryazan Archangel Cathedral .
Notes
- ↑ Melnikov-Pechersky P.I. Essays on Mordovians
- ↑ Mokshin N. F. From the history of the baptism of Mordovians (based on materials from the Shatsky district). S. 18-19.
- ↑ Dubasov I.I. Essays from the history of the Tambov Region .. - Issue 1. - Moscow: Printing House El. Gerbek, corner of Petrovka and the Newspaper per., Khomyakov village, 1883.- S. 8.
Links
- Russian Biographical Dictionary : In 25 volumes / under the supervision of A. A. Polovtsov. 1896-1918.
- Holy Martyr Misail, Archbishop of Ryazan and Murom