The ways of the Lord are mysterious, sometimes a stone that hits you brings recovery. This is what happened with Makarii Bulgakov.
Metropolitan Macarius, in the world Mikhail Petrovich Bulgakov, was born on September 19, 1816 in the village of Surkovo, Kursk province.
Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna Macarius (Bulgakov), work by an unknown artist in the early 1880s
The path to knowledge for Macarius was thorny due to poor health
A short biography of Bulgakov is as follows:
His father was a priest in a village temple. He was known as a good shepherd, but, unfortunately, he died early; Mikhail was only 7 years old at the time.
Therefore, the issue of moral education was strongly developed in Mikhail’s family.
After the death of Pyotr Bulgakov, Stefanida was left alone with six small children, the youngest daughter was only 3 years old, and the eldest was 10 years old.
The mother of the future metropolitan, Stefanida Grigorievna, was the daughter of a clergyman.
Mikhail was the third child in the family; from early childhood he grew up weak and often suffered from scrofula. After the death of his father, he was sent to the priest and godfather - Pavel Nikitsky, several miles from his native village. Here the boy learned to read and write.
In 1825, Stefanida Grigorievna took her son to Kolocha and sent him to study at the parish theological school. Mikhail's studies were difficult due to his weakness and frequent illnesses, but thanks to his diligence and strength of character, he remained among the students.
The next event “turned upside down” the life of the future metropolitan. There are several versions:
- Mikhail was teased about his health and was once hit on the head with a stone.
- Mikhail, as usual, was studying diligently in his room at the school, and the guys were having fun on the street and accidentally hit his window with a stone and hit him in the head.
The result is the same: the stone severely damaged the boy’s head. The treatment affected the entire body as a whole and Mikhail’s health improved, while his diligence and concentration remained. And he quickly became one of the best students.
1051-1147
1. General outline. — 2. Monasteries. — 3. Enlightenment. — 4. Worship. — 5. Clergy. — 6. Morality. — 7. External relations.
Applications
: about Leonty of Rostov; analysis of the legend about Anthony of Pechersk; the teaching of Theodosius of Pechersk to the cellarer; against Catholics; about fasting; message of James; a word about the transfer of the relics of Nicholas of Myra; Metropolitan George against the Latins; Metropolitan's messages Nikifor; Metropolitan's rule John; Yaroslav's charter; book certificate Vsevolod.
Volume 3
By the age of 25, Mikhail Bulgakov had already decided to connect his path with monasticism
The next stage of Michael's education was the Kursk Seminary. His successes were so great that many teachers called him by his first name and patronymic.
In 1837, Bulgakov entered the Kyiv Theological Academy. While studying at this institution, Mikhail decided to connect his future life with the feat of monasticism.
In 1841, when the future metropolitan turned 25 years old, the plan was realized and he took monastic vows. He was given a new name - Macarius, in honor of the holy martyr, Metropolitan of Kyiv Macarius.
The Kiev Theological Academy gave a strong spiritual education to the future metropolitan and within its walls Macarius took monastic vows
In the same year, Macarius was ordained to the rank of hierodeacon, and a little later, upon completion of the academy, to the rank of priest.
Proceedings
- History of the Kyiv Theological Academy. St. Petersburg, 1843.
- The history of the Russian schism, known as the Old Believers. St. Petersburg, 1855.
- History of the Russian Church. St. Petersburg, Printing house of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, 1857
- The history of Christianity in Russia before Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir. St. Petersburg, 1846.
- Macarius (Bulgakov), Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna. History of the Russian Church
12 volumes. St. Petersburg, 1883. (reprint - 1994-1996). - Orthodox dogmatic theology. Volume 1. St. Petersburg, 1883.
- Orthodox dogmatic theology. Volume 2. St. Petersburg, 1883.
- A guide to the study of Christian Orthodox dogmatic theology. M., 1913.
- Introduction to Orthodox Theology. St. Petersburg, 1913.
- Essay on the history of the Russian church in the pre-Tatar period: (Article from “Christian Readings”) St. Petersburg: type. K. Zhernakova, 1847
- Literary works of Maxim the Greek: Article... Macarius, Archbishop. Lithuania and Vilen. St. Petersburg, 1872
- Words and speeches spoken in 1869-1878. St. Petersburg, 1890.
- Words and speeches delivered in the Moscow diocese in 1879-1882. St. Petersburg, 1890.
- Words and speeches spoken in 1841-1868. St. Petersburg, 1891.
- Patriarch Nikon in the matter of correcting church books and rituals. — 1881
After completing his studies, Macarius remains to teach there
Immediately after completing his studies at the Kyiv Theological Academy, Macarius was offered to begin teaching at the newly formed department of the Russian Church and Civil History, he taught both subjects.
Previously, these subjects had not been read anywhere, and the future metropolitan prepared very carefully for lectures and compiled special manuals, which were subsequently published in Christian Reading, and even later formed the basis for a work on the History of Christianity in Rus'.
1842
this year Macarius was transferred to the St. Petersburg Theological Academy to the Department of Theological Sciences
He was best prepared in this subject because... mentors were famous theologians Innokenty Borisov and Dmitry Muretov. Continues to be published in magazines (“Dogmatic teaching of St. Dmitry Donskoy”, etc.), and the book “History of the Kyiv Theological Academy” was also published separately.
Administrative and scientific activities
Metropolitan Manuel (Lemeshevsky) characterized the activities of Metropolitan Macarius as rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy:
Through a series of prudent measures, he established a definite and unchanging order in student life. The students were not burdened by the strictness of the rules; they loved their boss. According to the students themselves, “a more direct, honest and frank teacher-teacher could not be imagined.” No flattery, no servility, beyond a direct relation to the matter, was available to him. The importance of the Reverend in the education of students. Macarius gave importance to church services. He took every measure to make the service in the academic church as solemn as possible, and whenever possible he himself tried to participate in the service.
Bishop Macarius was known as a capable and energetic administrator. At the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, he paid great attention to improving the financial situation of teachers and students and equipping the academic library. While managing the Tambov diocese, he was actively involved in streamlining office work, which had been in a neglected state before him. In the Kharkov diocese, he was the executive editor of the Christian Reading magazine; on his initiative, a church library was created, which could be used by both clergy and secular persons; With the active participation of the bishop, a monastery was founded in the name of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica in the village of Ryasnoye. The number of public schools in the diocese during his administration increased fourfold (in total, by 1869 there were 405 schools in operation). The Bishop sought to increase both the educational level of the Kharkov clergy and the religious piety of his flock - he restored several previously existing religious processions in the diocese. During his tenure at the Lithuanian See, 293 churches were built, repaired and consecrated. As a Moscow metropolitan, he showed himself to be a supporter of establishing order in the church economy and strengthening the preaching activities of the clergy.
In the article about Bishop Macarius, placed in the Brockhaus and Efron dictionary, special attention is drawn to his moderate liberal views, which aroused sharp rejection from the most conservative church leaders:
Everywhere the spiritual mob treated him with hostility. In Moscow, one newspaper made persecution of the metropolitan its specialty, throwing mud at all his speeches and unambiguously hinting at his political views. The representatives of obscurantism were right in that a learned and noble hierarch could not belong to their black camp. In all important cases, he met the needs of society and the movement forward... In the sixties, Macarius, already an archbishop, took part in work on the reform of the theological school and ardently defended the need to provide it with free development in accordance with the requirements of the time. His views on the organization of affairs in the middle and lower schools of the church aroused hatred among the retrogrades.
Metropolitan Manuel noted that when Archimandrite Macarius was a member of the St. Petersburg Ecclesiastical Censorship Committee (1844-1848), he earned “the reputation of a highly humane, impartial and accurate censor.” He was an active supporter of the adoption of the liberal academic charter of 1869, which received the unofficial name “Makaryevsky Charter.”
However, Metropolitan Macarius received the greatest fame as a scientist, the author of major works in the field of theology and history. His main historical work - “History of the Russian Church” in 12 volumes (the 13th was not completed due to his death) - was published in 1883 (republished in 1994-1996). Of his theological works, the most famous are the two-volume work “Orthodox Dogmatic Theology” (translated into New Syriac in 1912 by the mission of the Orthodox Church in Urmia) and “Introduction to Orthodox Theology.”
Review of a contemporary about Metropolitan Macarius.
Metropolitan Manuel about Macarius: “the distinctive features of his character were kindness and affection. The kindness of the soul was manifested in practice in the form of donations of one’s funds to schools, for the construction of churches, for libraries and other purposes. But Bishop Macarius made a particularly remarkable donation in 1867.
He kept all the money he received from his writings until he collected the required amount (120,000 rubles).
120 000 ₽
Macarius invested this amount at interest to pay the annual bonus for domestic talents
Then he deposited this amount in the State Credit Institution forever and bequeathed, after his death, to establish annual bonuses on interest from this amount to encourage domestic talents devoting themselves to the cause of science and generally useful knowledge.”
Thus, Metropolitan Macarius still takes part in encouraging educational activities. His prizes were awarded from 1884 to 1917. There were 4 of them: from the Academy of Sciences (1), the Holy Synod (2) and the Kyiv Theological Academy (1).
The Makariev Prize was resumed in 1997, it is awarded in five categories: “History of the Orthodox Church”, “History of Russia”, “History of Moscow and historical local history”, “History of Orthodox countries and peoples”, as well as a textbook or study guide representing a contribution into science in one of these nominations.
In 2021, the 200th anniversary of the birth of Metropolitan Macarius (Bulgakov) of Moscow and Kolomna was celebrated.
Biography
Family and education
He was born in the village of Surkovo, Novooskolsky district, Kursk province (now Shebekinsky district, Belgorod region) into a poor family of a rural priest, in which there were six children. When the future metropolitan was seven years old, his father died. Despite the need, the mother tried to give her children an education. His lifetime biographies told that in his adolescence he was a sickly and incapable child - until the following event happened to him: when he once hid from his comrades who offended him in the school yard, learning a lesson that was not entirely clear to him, in his His head was hit by a thrown stone from nowhere, which cut “the skull of his head, causing severe bleeding,” after which his health unexpectedly improved and his mental gifts were revealed.
When he was 9 years old, he was assigned to the parish Korochansky theological school. Then he was transferred to the Belgorod district theological school, which he graduated in 1831.
He graduated from the Kursk Theological Seminary (1837; in the last two years of study he taught in the junior classes of the same seminary), the Kyiv Theological Academy with a master's degree in theology (1841). Doctor of Theology (1847; for the work “Introduction to Orthodox Theology”). Honorary member of the Imperial Archaeological Society and the St. Petersburg Theological Academy.
Church service
On February 15 (27), 1841 he was tonsured a monk.
March 25 (April 6), 1841 ordained to the rank of hierodeacon.
On June 29 (July 11), 1841, he was ordained to the rank of hieromonk.
In 1841-1842 - teacher of Russian church and civil history at the Kyiv Theological Academy.
In 1842, at the same time, the rector of the Kiev-Podolsk religious schools.
In 1842-1844 - assistant inspector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy; in 1843, the Synod approved the title of extraordinary professor of theological sciences.
In 1844-1857 - ordinary professor of dogmatic theology at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy; in 1847-1849 he also taught the history of the Russian church, in 1853-1857 - the history of the Russian schism.
In 1844-1850 - inspector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy.
On December 17 (29), 1844, he was elevated to the rank of archimandrite.
On December 20, 1850 (January 1, 1851) (until 1857) he was appointed rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. During the same period, he was the editor of the Christian Reading magazine and the main observer of the teaching of the Law of God in the capital's educational institutions.
On January 28 (February 9), 1851, he was consecrated bishop of Vinnitsa, vicar of the Podolsk diocese, rector of the Shargorod St. Nicholas Monastery (while Bishop Macarius remained rector of the academy). In 1853, he led the creation of a special department at the academy to combat Old Believers.
From May 1 (13), 1857 - Bishop of Tambov and Shatsky.
From April 18 (30), 1859 - Bishop of Kharkov and Akhtyrsky.
On April 8 (20), 1862, he was elevated to the rank of archbishop.
On July 20 (August 1), 1868, he was called to attend the Holy Synod.
From December 10 (22), 1868 - Archbishop of Lithuania and Vilnius.
According to the Nominal Highest Decree to the Holy Synod of April 8 (20), 1879 - Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, member of the Holy Synod.
Death and burial
Grave
Died on June 9 (21), 1882 at 11:35 pm “from an apoplexy” in the bishop’s house in the village of Cherkizovo (now within Moscow); on the day of his death he felt good and “was even more animated than usual.” The funeral service was held on June 14 at the Chudov Monastery; headed by Archbishop of Warsaw Leonty (Lebedinsky); buried on June 15 of the same year in the crypt of the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.
