On December 5, 2021, the Church honors the anniversary day of memory of the holy noble prince Mikhail Yaroslavich Tverskoy - the 700th anniversary of his repose .
Blessed Prince Mikhail Tverskoy. Icon of the 17th century.
The first and most important functions of the ancient Russian prince were not military campaigns, but administrative, fiscal and law enforcement functions. In fact, the princely court was the prototype of the modern regional administration, coupled with the Department of Internal Affairs. One might say that appanage princes were the prototypes of modern heads of regional governments, governors and mayors. But, unlike the latter, among them there were people who, not only in words, but also in deeds, were patriots of their land, sacrificing their lives for the sake of their subjects.
Spiritual exploits of the young prince
In the first half of the 13th century, the Tatars attacked the Russian land, burned many cities and villages, and mercilessly beat thousands of people. Many were taken captive into terrible slavery, and the people were subjected to heavy tribute. In addition to this disaster, internecine strife between the princes continued: they either disputed each other’s right to the grand princely throne, when they went to the Horde to bow to the khans, or slandered one another. Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich Tverskoy lived during this very difficult time . His father, Prince Yaroslav Yaroslavich (baptized Afanasy, 1230-1271, the first independent prince of Tver) - brother of Alexander Nevsky (1221-1263), occupied the grand-ducal throne for seven years, after the death of Alexander.
Mikhail Yaroslavich was born in 1271, after the death of his father. His mother, Princess Ksenia, raised her son in the spirit of the Old Orthodox faith and carefully taught him to read and write.
Mikhail Yaroslavich and his mother Grand Duchess Ksenia stand before Christ. Tver miniature of the 14th century
The young prince loved to read Divine books, avoided children's games and merry gatherings and diligently attended church. Often, secretly from everyone, in the silence of the night, he offered up his fervent prayers to the Lord. He did not like luxurious dishes, he led a temperate and pious life, decorating his soul with the flowers of virtues. Thus Michael acquired the fear of God - the beginning of all wisdom. He treated the poor and needy with special love and gave them generous alms. Those who suffered troubles boldly went to their prince, knowing that he would find help and intercession; whoever suffered misfortunes and sorrows received from him a word of consolation and approval. The prince's holy life was instructive for everyone, and everyone revered him for his piety and concern for people.
In 1294, Prince Mikhail became the husband of Rostov Princess Anna. In 1299 they had a daughter, Theodora, who died in infancy; in 1300 - son Demetrius, in 1301 - Alexander, in 1306 - Konstantin, and in 1309 - Vasily.
On November 22/December 5, the Russian Orthodox Church honors the day of the martyrdom of the Holy Blessed Prince Mikhail of Tver, Grand Duke of Vladimir, husband of the Holy Blessed Princess Anna Kashinskaya. The chronicler called the holy prince a “lover of the fatherland” for the feat he accomplished - the prince went to the Horde to certain death for the sake of saving the Tver principality and the entire Russian land.
The Holy Blessed Prince Mikhail of Tverskoy was born in 1272, shortly after the death of his father, Grand Duke Yaroslav Yaroslavich (brother of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky).
Left in the care of his mother, the pious and wise Princess Ksenia (glorified as a locally revered saint), Mikhail grew up as a God-loving and kind youth, filled with the fear of God. He was brought up under the guidance of the Novgorod Archbishop (probably Clement), and from childhood he fell in love with reading spiritual literature and the Holy Scriptures.
Around 1285, after the death of his elder brother Svyatoslav, Holy Prince Michael ascended the Tver princely throne. He began his reign by building a stone church in Tver in honor of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
The chronicler tells that Saint Prince Michael was tall, strong and courageous. The boyars and people loved him. He diligently read Divine books, diligently donated to churches, and revered the monastic and priestly ranks. He did not tolerate drunkenness and was always distinguished by abstinence. With special love, he patronized the offended and unfortunate, and generously gave alms to the poor. This aroused the reciprocal love of the people.
At the age of twenty-two (November 8, 1294), Saint Michael entered into marriage with Princess Anna, daughter of the Rostov prince Dimitri Borisovich. Trials soon befell him. In 1298, late at night, when everyone in the prince’s courtyard was sleeping, the entrance to the prince’s palace caught fire. No one heard the fire start. The prince himself heard him when he woke up. In his haste, he barely had time to leave the burning palace with the princess. His entire treasury burned down. After that the prince became very ill.
In 1299, the Grand Duchess gave birth to a daughter, Theodora, who died in infancy; in 1300 - son Demetrius, in 1301 - Alexander, in 1306 - Konstantin, and in 1309 - Vasily. The princess herself was involved in the upbringing and education of children.
In the internecine struggle between the sons of Saint Alexander Nevsky, Demetrius and Andrei, for the grand-ducal throne of Vladimir, Saint Michael showed himself to be a peacemaker, trying to reconcile the brothers with each other.
In 1304, after the death of Grand Duke Andrei Alexandrovich, the rights to the great reign according to the right of ladder should have passed to Holy Prince Michael, but his cousin, Prince of Moscow Yuri Danilovich, began to dispute them.
According to the custom of that time, both princes - Mikhail and Yuri went to the Horde, where, despite the machinations of Yuri, Mikhail received the label for the great reign. He made peace with his rival, but there was no agreement between them, the feud continued and sometimes turned into armed confrontation.
In 1313, Saint Prince Michael was again confirmed on the princely throne by the new khan of the Horde, Uzbek. Prince Yuri, who then left for the Horde, stayed there for about three years, using all means to win over Khan Uzbek to his side. For this purpose, he married the khan’s sister Konchaka, and received a charter from Uzbek for the great reign.
Saint Michael, wanting to avoid bloodshed, gave up the grand-ducal throne in Vladimir to Yuri without a fight. When the Moscow prince, together with the Tatar nobleman Kavdagiy, invaded the Tver principality, devastating it and raping civilians, Prince Mikhail, with the blessing of the Tver bishop, was forced to gather a militia. He defeated the army of Prince Yuri and the detachment of Kavgady on December 22, 1317, 40 versts from Tver, near the village of Bortenev.
The Battle of Bortenevsky went down in history as the first significant Russian victory over the Horde warriors.
During the battle, the armor of Saint Prince Michael was all cut off, but there was not a single wound on his body. He forgave his offenders and released his captives, including the Tatar nobleman Kavgady.
Prince Yuri fled with the rest of the army, and his wife Konchaka (baptized Agafya), unfortunately, died suddenly in Tver, which gave rise to rumors of her poisoning.
The Moscow prince, inflaming the anger of Khan Uzbek, accused Saint Michael of disobedience to the khan's authority.
To prevent the devastation of the Tver principality by the Tatars, Prince Mikhail decided to go to the Horde himself. To the persuasion of the people and the boyars not to do this, he replied: “If I deviate somewhere, then my entire patrimony will be full and many Christians will be killed... it is better for us now to lay down our life for many souls.” These words express a deep readiness to follow the Providence of God in everything, love for one’s people and the Fatherland. It is not for nothing that Saint Prince Mikhail of Tverskoy received the glorious name of “lover of the fatherland.”
Having taken the blessing of Tver Bishop Barsanuphius and his confessor, Abbot John, Prince Mikhail said goodbye to his wife Anna, son Vasily and relatives on the banks of the Big Nerl River on August 6, 1318.
On September 6, he arrived at the mouth of the Don, where the Horde was then roaming. Khan Uzbek, amazed by his arrival, received him outwardly favorably, but entrusted the trial to Kavgady and other opponents of Saint Michael, who wanted to destroy him.
After the death sentence was pronounced, the prince was subjected to torture: they put a heavy block around his neck and, tied up, ridiculed and mocked, he was dragged after the khan and his retinue, who moved to hunt to the banks of the Terek (North Caucasus).
By the grace of God, Saint Prince Michael was not deprived of spiritual consolation: he was accompanied by the abbot, two hieromonks and a deacon, as well as his son Constantine. The holy passion-bearer, being in the position of a humiliated and tormented captive, spent about a month in fasting and prayer, confessing every Sunday and receiving the Holy Mysteries. He was offered to flee, but the saint rejected this opportunity: “In all my life I have never run from enemies, and if I alone am saved, and my people remain in trouble, what glory is that to me? No, the will of the Lord be done.”
Preparing for death, the holy martyr consoled himself by singing psalms; since his hands were enclosed in a wooden block, the youth turned over the sheets of the Psalter.
On the night of November 22, 1318, Saint Prince Michael had a dream that informed him of his death. At the request of the passion-bearer, the Divine Liturgy was served, during which he confessed and received Holy Communion. Having said goodbye to the clergy and giving a blessing to his son Constantine, Saint Michael stood up for prayer, reading the Psalter.
When he opened the book, the following words were revealed to him: “My heart is troubled within me, and the fear of death attacks me (Ps. 54:5). Saint Michael said to the priests who were with him: “Tell me, what do these words mean?” They answered him: “Sir, do not let your heart be troubled by these words, for in the same psalm it is said: Cast out your sorrow on the Lord, and He will nourish you (Ps. 54:23).”
These words consoled the sufferer, and he continued reading the Psalms of David. Suddenly a princely youth runs into the tent; he was pale and said in a frightened voice: “Sovereign, Kavgady and George are coming with many people and straight to your tent.” Then the blessed sufferer meekly remarked: “I know why they are coming—to kill me.” Then he sent his son Constantine under the protection of the khan's wife.
Meanwhile, the godless murderers were already not far from the tower of St. Michael. Kavgady and Georgiy stopped at the market, not far from the tent of St. Michael, and dismounted. From here they sent assassins to the holy prince. Like wild animals, the killers jumped into the tent and dispersed all the prince's servants. The saint at that time stood in prayer and glorified his Creator for the last time on earth. Grabbing the saint by the block, the murderers hit him against the wall, so that the wall of the tent broke through. The prince rose to his feet. Then the fierce murderers attacked him in a crowd, trampled on him, beat him mercilessly; then one of them, Romantsev, grabbed a knife, struck the holy prince in the side with it, turned the knife several times in the wound, and finally cut out his heart. Thus the sufferer of Christ gave his holy soul into the hands of the Lord.
A crowd of Tatars and Russians who were in the Horde attacked the tent of the murdered prince and plundered it. The holy and honorable body of the martyr was thrown and lay without any cover, for the murderers tore off the robe from the holy prince. One of the villains came to the auction to Kavgady and George and told them: “Your order has been carried out.”
Then Kavgady and the prince quickly drove up to the tent. Seeing the prince’s naked body, Kavgady reproachfully said to George: “Isn’t he your elder brother, just like your father? Why does his body lie uncovered, abandoned to everyone’s desecration? Take him and take him to your land, bury him in his fatherland according to your custom.”
Prince George listened to this advice. He ordered his servants to cover the saint's naked body, and one of them covered it with his outer clothing. Then the prince ordered the body to be placed on a large board, and the board to be lifted onto a cart and tied tightly.
The son of the martyr prince Konstantin, some boyars and servants barely managed to escape to the khan’s wife and, taking advantage of the patronage of the Tatar queen, escaped an evil death. Other boyars and servants of the Tver prince were stripped, beaten and shackled in iron. Having put Saint Michael to death, the supporters of Prince George - princes and boyars - gathered in one vezha, drank wine, and everyone boasted about the guilt he had invented against the sufferer.
The holy body of Prince Michael, by order of George, was taken to the Adezh River (which means grief). At night two watchmen were assigned to guard him. But great fear fell upon them; the watchmen rushed to run from the cart where the body of the holy martyr lay. Early in the morning they returned to their place and saw a wondrous miracle: only a board was tied to the cart, but the body lay separately, with a wound to the ground, and a lot of blood came out of the ulcer. The saint's right hand was placed under his face, and his left was near the wound. The surprising thing is that many predatory animals prowled the steppe, and not one of them dared to touch the holy remains of the martyr. So truly the death of the righteous is honorable; The death of sinners is cruel. The evil murderer Kavgadiy did not escape the righteous judgment of God: he was soon executed by order of Khan Uzbek.
That same night, many of the Christians and non-believers saw how two clouds overshadowed the place where the honorable body of the murdered prince was located. They came together, then diverged and shone like the sun. In the morning they said: “Prince Michael is a saint. He was killed innocently."
From the Adeja River the body of the saint was taken to Madzhary. Here the merchants who knew Saint Michael wanted to cover his body with expensive fabrics and place it in the holy temple. However, the boyars of Prince George did not allow them to do this; They placed him in a stable and assigned a guard. But God glorified the relics of His saint in a wondrous way: many of the residents at night saw that over that place a pillar of fire rose in the form of a cross from earth to heaven. Others saw a rainbow bending over that stable.
From here the relics of St. Michael were taken further; the carriage with the holy remains of the noble prince drove up to Bezdezh, and some of the inhabitants of that city saw that many people with candles and censers surrounded the body of the martyr, bright horsemen rushed in the air above the chariot. When the body of the saint was brought to this city, the guards did not allow it to be placed in the church, but they placed it in the courtyard and guarded it all night. One watchman dared to lie down on the cart where the body of the sufferer lay. Suddenly an invisible force threw him far to the side. The watchman felt sick and with great difficulty could get to his feet, but, repenting of his sin, he received healing.
Finally, the body of the martyr prince was brought to Moscow and buried in the Kremlin Spassky Monastery, in the Church of the Transfiguration. The blessed Princess Anna did not know about the martyrdom of her husband. A year later, Prince George returned from the khan with a grand ducal label. He brought with him from the Horde the Tver boyars and Prince Konstantin Mikhailovich. Then in Tver they learned about the death of Saint Michael and about his burial in Moscow.
Princess Anna and the children of the holy prince asked the Prince of Moscow to transport the holy relics of the martyr to Tver. George barely gave his consent. Then boyars were sent from Tver to Moscow to transport the relics of St. Michael in triumph. Those who arrived in Moscow were honored to see a wondrous miracle with which the Lord was pleased to glorify His saint. Corruption did not touch his holy body at all. The messengers took the coffin with the relics of the saint and carried it to Tver with great honor.
When the procession approached the city, Princess Anna with her sons Dimitri, Alexander and Vasily rode towards the Volga in nasads, and Bishop Barsanuphius with the entire sacred cathedral and countless people met the holy relics on the shore. The weeping was great; over the crying of the people, church singing could not be heard. Princess Anna wept especially bitterly.
On September 6, 1320, the holy relics of the blessed Prince Michael were buried in the cathedral church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which he built, where his parents, Grand Duke Yaroslav Yaroslavich and Grand Duchess Ksenia, were also buried.
The Lord was pleased to glorify His saint with many miracles. Even before the discovery of his honest relics, pious people prayed at his tomb for the resolution of their ailments and received healing. The local celebration of the blessed Prince Mikhail in Tver probably began soon after the transfer of his relics from Moscow; All-Russian celebration of it was established at the Council of 1549.
In 1606, the Poles and Lithuanians attacked the Russian land; The enemies reached the Tver borders and greatly devastated the country. But the Lord sent a glorious defender to the Russian land. Enemies often saw a wondrous horseman riding out of the city on a white horse with a drawn sword in his hands. Fear then attacked the enemies, and they fled.
When the leaders of the enemy army saw the icon of St. Michael, they swore an oath to St. Theoktistus of Tver (ruled the Tver diocese from 1603 to 1609) that the wondrous horseman whom they saw was St. Michael.
The incorrupt relics of the martyr-prince were found in 1632, on November 24. At the same time, many miracles happened at the saint’s tomb. Some saw a pillar of fire over the cathedral church, where the venerable relics rested.
In 1655, Tver suffered a disaster - a severe pestilence began, and many people died from this disease. The then Archbishop of Tver Lawrence (ruled the Tver diocese from 1654 to 1657), with the blessing of the patriarch, transferred the relics of the saint into a new shrine. At the same time, the saint’s tomb was carried around the city. And from that same day the illness stopped. In memory of such a miraculous intercession of St. Michael, a religious procession was established in Tver.
In 1935, the Transfiguration Cathedral of Tver, where the relics of the city's patron saint were kept, was blown up.
Currently, part of the relics of the holy prince has been preserved and is available for worship in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow.
In 2002, in the center of Tver on Memory Island (at the confluence of the Tmaka River with the Volga), a temple was consecrated in the name of the Holy Blessed Prince Mikhail of Tverskoy.
On the occasion of the 700th anniversary of the martyrdom of the saint in Tver, the reconstruction of the Transfiguration Cathedral began in its historical place.
The name of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich Romanov (1878-1918), brother of the last Russian passion-bearer emperor Nicholas II, is associated with the spread of the name of Holy Prince Michael of Tver in the far reaches of the Russian Empire.
Mikhail Alexandrovich, born on November 22 (December 5 according to the present day), on the day of memory of St. Prince. Mikhail Tverskoy, bore the name of the patron saint of the Tver land.
For the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov in 1913, the governor in the Caucasus, Count Illarion Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov and his wife, built a Russian Orthodox church in Tbilisi in honor of the heavenly patron of Mikhail Alexandrovich, Holy Prince Mikhail of Tver. The temple, in which a particle of the relics of the holy prince has since been kept, has survived all the vicissitudes of Soviet history and everyone who comes to Tbilisi can visit this small island of Russia on Georgian soil.
Several years ago in the city of Perm, in memory of the brother of the last Russian emperor, at the approximate site of the execution of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich in 1918, a temple-chapel was built in the name of St. Michael of Tver.
The Horde city of Majary, where the heavenly sign of the Cross was revealed over the body of the martyr prince, subsequently received the name Holy Cross. After the revolution, the city was renamed Budennovsk. It was here that the memorable events of June 14-19, 1995 took place - the seizure of about two thousand hostages by Basayev’s gang in a local hospital.
On June 18, on the fifth day of the hostages’ captivity, the tension inside the maternity hospital building, from where the groans of two thousand women, children, and old people could be heard throughout the area, reached its climax. For the sufferers, the moment has come when there is no one else to rely on except God. People prayed, even those who had never done so before. And a miracle happened - in the sky above the hospital, many saw the Cross and the Mother of God praying in front of it.
A day later, the hostages will understand that the appearance of the Mother of God foreshadowed their freedom. The day before, fighters from the Alpha group risked their lives to save the hostages. Three of them were killed and more than twenty were injured. However, according to the officers themselves, many more people should have died. And the fact that this did not happen is God’s miracle.
A participant in those events, vice-president of the International Association of Veterans of the Alpha anti-terror unit, Colonel Sergei Polyakov, later said:
“Alpha stormed the hospital only with small arms. We couldn't even use grenades. We also couldn’t shoot at the windows because the militants put women and children in them. Our snipers worked at those moments when militants leaned out of the window between the hostages to fire at us, including from machine guns.
During the assault, we were in full view of the bandits. Such a barrage of fire fell upon us that it was unthinkable to remain alive. It is a miracle of God that our losses in this situation amounted to three people, and the majority remained alive. The fire was so dense that all the trees in the area stood bare, as if in autumn, because all the leaves had been blown away by the shower of bullets.
Before that, I participated in dozens of operations, including in Afghanistan, but none of them compared in complexity to Budennovsk. During the assault, we were given a task beyond human capabilities. And the fact that we managed to cope is explained solely by God’s help.”
“After the operation in Budennovsk, the Alpha group had its own heavenly patron,” says Colonel Polyakov. — We learned that the city of Budyonnovsk had a different name before the revolution — Holy Cross. And on the site of the hospital where the hostages were kept, before the revolution there was a monastery, which was destroyed by the Bolsheviks. The hospital building that we stormed was entirely built from the bricks of a destroyed monastery. And when we began to delve further into history, we learned that it was at this place in the 14th century that the funeral procession with the body of the Tver Prince Mikhail, who was martyred in the Horde, stopped.
After the operation in Budyonnovsk, when we so clearly felt God’s help, we began to venerate the holy and blessed Prince Mikhail of Tverskoy as the heavenly patron of “Alpha”. The day of remembrance of this saint, which is celebrated on December 5, is a special day for the Alfovites.”
Holy Blessed Prince Michael, pray to God for us!
Based on materials from open sources
Confrontation of princes
Rus' was going through a difficult time at that time: princes often rose up against each other and often the rightist had to defend his rights with weapons. Before ascending the throne, Mikhail, according to the forced custom of that time for Rus', went to the Horde to bow to the khan.
The Grand Duke's throne was then occupied by the sons of Alexander Nevsky: Andrei (1255-1304) and Dimitri (1250-1294). There were often strife between the two brothers. Prince Andrei brought the Tatars, who took fourteen cities, including Moscow and Vladimir, heavily plundered the country and were about to march on Tver. The people of Tver were greatly saddened by the fact that their prince was not with them. But they kissed the cross that they would fight the enemy from behind the city walls to the last extreme and would never surrender. Many people came running from other principalities to Tver, who were also ready to fight the enemy. And at this very time, Mikhail Yaroslavich was returning from the Horde. With the greatest joy, the inhabitants of the Tver principality heard the news of the return of their prince; they came out to meet him with a procession of the cross. But the Tatars, having learned about the arrival of Mikhail, did not go to Tver.
The life tells that Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich was tall, strong and courageous. The boyars and people loved him. He diligently read Divine books, diligently donated to churches, and revered the monastic and priestly ranks. He did not tolerate drunkenness and was always distinguished by his abstinence.
Portrait of Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich (1272-1318)
He desired monastic or martyrdom, and the Lord destined him to die a martyr. When Grand Duke Andrei Alexandrovich died, Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tverskoy now became the eldest in the clan, and it was to him that the boyars of the deceased Grand Duke went into his service. Yuri (George) Daniilovich (1281-1325), began to challenge his rights of eldership
The new Grand Duke Mikhail had to go to the Horde to receive a label for the Grand Duke's Vladimir throne. The Prince of Moscow also went there. When he passed through Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus' Maxim (XII century - December 6, 1305), foreseeing the beginning of strife, with a prayer forbade the Moscow prince to go to the Horde and seek grand-ducal power. Yuri assured the bishop that he was not going to dispute the right to the grand-ducal throne, but “on his own business.” He went to the Horde and met there with the Tver prince. The Tatars were very selfish. They wanted to receive as many gifts as possible and told Prince Yuri of Moscow: “If you give more gifts than Prince Mikhail of Tverskoy, we will give you a great reign.” Such speeches greatly embarrassed the Moscow prince, and he began to seek grand-ducal power. A great discord began between the princes.
Portrait of Moscow Prince Yuri (George) Daniilovich (1281-1325)
Yuri tried in every possible way to win the khan over to his side; he gave great gifts to the Horde. Mikhail Yaroslavich was also forced to spend a lot of money, “which was collected from the poor people, and there was great hardship in the Russian land. The discord between the princes intensified." However, the grand-ducal power remained with Mikhail Tverskoy. The nephew of Alexander Nevsky made peace with the Moscow prince, but there was still no agreement between them: the struggle between Moscow and Tver continued. Meanwhile, the young Khan Uzbek (c. 1283-1341) took the throne in the Horde. Mikhail Yaroslavich had to go to bow to the new khan in order to receive from him a paiza (khan's charter) for his great reign. And this time the grand-ducal throne remained with him. After that, the noble prince returned to Rus'.
The Prince of Moscow, about whose grievances Mikhail complained to Khan, was summoned to the Horde and stayed there for about three years. Yuri, through the khan's nobles, used all means to win the khan to his side; he managed to become close to the khan's family, even became related to the khan, marrying his sister Konchaka (named Agathia in holy baptism). Khan Uzbek now gave the label to the grand-ducal throne to his son-in-law, Prince Yuri. Together with him, the khan sent his ambassadors to Rus', and at their head was Kavgady, one of his confidants. Mikhail meekly renounced his grand-ducal dignity; he sent to tell Yuri:
Brother, if the khan gave you a great reign, then I yield to you. Princes, just be content with yours and do not interfere with my inheritance.
Basic biography facts
The life of the blessed Mikhail Yaroslavich is described by many chroniclers. The dramatic death of the prince became one of the tragic symbols of the rule of the Golden Horde in Rus'. Mikhail was born into a devout family; from childhood, his mother taught her children to honor God and love their neighbors. After the death of his father, Mikhail began to reign in the Tver Principality, he was considered rich and also successful. During the reign of Mikhail, the Kashinsky appanage was annexed to the principality, which became the dowry of his wife, Anna Kashinskaya.
Mikhail took part in all the princely strife, as he considered it his duty to protect the lands entrusted to him. He defended the interests of ordinary people who lived under his protection. Mikhail built many churches on his native land. Together with his mother, Princess Ksenia, he built the Tver Cathedral, about which chroniclers left enthusiastic notes. The cathedral was completely destroyed in 1925, so it is impossible to assess the prince’s plans today.
The prince's wife, the blessed saint Anna Kashinskaya, supported his endeavors, was pious, and loved by ordinary people. During her husband's departures, she remained as prince, raised children, and also defended the interests of the Tver people. At the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries, the main task of the princes was to unite the conquered inheritances. The label to rule in Vladimir had to be obtained from the Khan of the Golden Horde. The fight for it was between Prince Mikhail Tverskoy and Yuri Moskovsky.
The Kostroma prince, Alexander, bequeathed the reign of the Vladimir principality to Mikhail. He received his first label from the Khan of the Golden Horde without any special obstacles. Correspondence with the patriarch, Niphon, reveals the clergyman's appeal to Michael. He wrote to Mikhail: “Grand Duke of All Rus'.” The reign lasted from 1305 to 1317. During this period, Mikhail tried to improve relations with the Horde, but did not take into account that the Russian prince could become his opponent.
Yuri continued to lay claim to the throne. Tver residents and Muscovites met on the battlefields. Each battle claimed many lives.
The time has come to confirm the right to the throne of the Vladimir-Tver principality. By this time, Yuri had the advantage. He was married to the sister of Khan Uzbek, Kanchek. Yuri made an agreement with Khan Uzbek, so when Mikhail arrived at the khan, he was captured and then made a prisoner. Mikhail suspected that reprisals would be committed against him, but decided not to hide and go to the Horde without security, so as not to endanger the lives of the soldiers who served him. He regretted that he could not extinguish the hotbeds of raging civil strife, and also rally the Russian princes against the Horde khans.
Yuri slandered the prince, accused him of the death of his wife, and promised the Horde three times more tribute from his inheritance in exchange for the head of the Vladimir prince. Prince Tverskoy was tortured and taken around the uluses, imprisoned in stocks. After some time, he was killed by Yuri's henchmen. His family was able to receive the body only a year later. The tortured body was transported by the people of the Moscow Prince. At first they treated the relics without respect, but some events forced them to refuse transportation and then transfer the body to merchants from Tver.
The remains of the prince were left in a vacant lot overnight, but not a single predator, of which there were many there, approached him. According to eyewitnesses, clouds alternately converged and then dispersed over the body, illuminating it with rays of the sun that came from nowhere. The merchants who traveled alongside the warriors knew who Mikhail Tverskoy was. They covered him with expensive fabrics and left him overnight on the temple altar. Soon, Anna’s wife and the children of the Tver prince were able to bury the remains according to Orthodox customs under the walls of their hometown.
The first military victory of the Tver prince
But the Grand Duke of Moscow did not want reconciliation with Prince Mikhail of Tver. Gathering a large army, together with Kavgady, he attacked the Tver Principality, burning cities and villages. “Enemies took husbands and wives and subjected them to various tortures, abuses and death. Having devastated the Tver principality on one side of the Volga, they were preparing to attack its other part, the Trans-Volga region. Grieving over the disasters of the Russian land, the pious Prince Mikhail called the Tver bishop and boyars and said to them: “Didn’t I give in to my relative? I endured everything, thinking that this trouble would soon end. Now I see that Prince Yuri is looking for my head. I am not guilty of anything before him; if guilty, tell me of what?” The bishop and boyars, shedding tears, answered the prince in one voice: “You are right, our prince, in everything. You showed such humility in front of your nephew, and for this they want to devastate the entire principality. Go against them, sir, and we are ready to lay down our heads for you.”
Mikhail replied:
Brethren! You know what is said in the Holy Gospel: Greater love has no one to sow, but whoever lays down his life for his friends (John 15:13). Now we have to give our lives for many people captured and beaten by enemies.
Prince Mikhail of Tver gathered his regiments and courageously went out to meet the enemy. The enemies met forty miles from Tver (December 22, 1317 in the village of Bortenev). The army of the Moscow prince could not withstand the onslaught of the Tver army and hastily fled.
I.I. Belov. Battle of Bortenevskaya 1317
“Prince Mikhail pursued the enemies, and countless warriors, beaten and crushed by horses, dotted the battlefield; they lay like sheaves in the field during the harvest.” Grand Duke Yuri fled with the rest of the army (to Torzhok, and from there to Veliky Novgorod). His wife Konchaka, many princes and Tatars were taken prisoner by the victors.
Facial chronicle vault. The scene of the desecration and murder of Prince Mikhail Tverskoy
Arrival of Mikhail Yaroslavich to the Golden Horde and his trial
In August, the Grand Duke received an order from the Khan to come to him for negotiations, otherwise the Tatar-Mongol cavalry would move towards Rus'. Mikhail Yaroslavich had to submit to the will of Uzbek, to whom he arrived in September. The following month, the trial of the Grand Duke began under the chairmanship of Kavgadai. Mikhail Yaroslavich was accused of committing a crime against the khan and was arrested. At the second trial in November, all the charges brought against the Tver prince were confirmed. The Horde site at that time was located on the banks of the Terek, where Mikhail Yaroslavich’s creditors arrived. The chained prince was brought to Kavgadai and made to kneel before him. The trial lasted the whole day, after which the chief judge promised the Tver prince a quick release and Mikhail Yaroslavich continued to await his fate in the tent.
The machinations of Yuri Moskovsky against Mikhail Yaroslavich
Seeing Yuri's defeat, Kavgady the day after the battle came to Tver and asked for peace. Mikhail received him with honor, believing his flattering speeches, generously presented Kavgady and his people and released him with honor. Meanwhile, the Grand Duke of Moscow gathered a new army and with it again moved towards Tver. Michael did not want to shed Christian blood in vain again and insisted on making peace with the princes.
At this time, the wife of the Grand Duke, Konchak, unexpectedly died in Tver. A rumor appeared that the Grand Duchess was poisoned in Tver. The Moscow prince and Kavgady hurried to the Horde. They wrote many false testimonies against Prince Mikhail of Tver, as if he, having collected a lot of tribute from the cities, wanted to flee to the Germans, but did not want to go to the khan, that in general he did not obey the khan’s authority. Kavgady did not want the Tver prince to come to the Horde and be able to justify himself. Therefore, he began to persuade the khan that he should quickly send an army to Prince Mikhail. But in August 1318, the noble prince Mikhail went to the khan, speaking to his spiritual father. “Father,” said the holy prince, “I cared a lot about helping Christians, but for my sins they have to endure many hardships because of our strife. Now bless me, father: perhaps I will have to shed my blood for the Orthodox people.”
The prince said goodbye to his loved ones on the banks of the Nerl River. Mikhail Yaroslavich was accompanied by his wife, Princess Anna, and his son, Prince Vasily. Here the prince said goodbye to them forever. In Vladimir they were met by the Khan's ambassador Akhmyl. “Hurry to the Horde,” he said to Mikhail, “the khan is waiting for you; If you don’t show up in a month, the king has decided to go to war against your principality. Kavgady slandered you to the khan that you would not come to him.” Then the boyars began to dissuade the prince from going to the khan: “Here is your son in the Horde, send another.” His sons also told him: “Beloved parent, don’t go to the Horde yourself, it’s better to send one of us; after all, they slandered you before the khan. Wait until his anger passes.”
But the Tver prince answered firmly:
Know, my dear children, it is not you that the khan demands, but me; he wants my head. If I avoid going to the khan, then my homeland will be devastated and many Christians will be killed, and then I myself will not escape death; Isn’t it better now to lay down my life for many?
Library of the Russian Faith Life and murder of Prince Mikhail Tverskoy. Great Menaion of Cheti →
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Iconography
On icons, Mikhail Tverskoy is often depicted next to his mother, Princess Ksenia. Together they planned and then erected the first Orthodox Tver Cathedral, so in their hands you can often see a unique model of the temple.
Later, icons appeared that depict Michael’s tragic farewell to his children before his trip to the Khan of the Golden Horde; it is called “Mikhail’s parting words.” There are several icons depicting the tragic death of the prince.
Sufferer for the people
Preparing for death, the prince wrote a will, distributing the cities of his principality among his sons, and said goodbye to them. The court in the Horde was unjust. The judges brought charges against the prince: “You were proud and did not submit to the khan, you shamed his ambassador and fought with him; he beat many Tatars and did not give tribute to the khan; was planning to flee to the Germans with the treasury; sent the treasury to the pope; killed the wife of Prince Yuri.” The gloating Kavgady was not only a judge, but also an accuser and a false witness against the Tver prince: he rejected all of Mikhail’s excuses, brought false accusations against the valiant prince and acquitted his supporters. After the trial, biased judges informed the khan that Mikhail Yaroslavi was guilty and deserved death.
Mikhail was in the Horde with the Tsar for a month and a half, and Kavgady constantly slandered him to the Tsar. The Tsar, having called his princes, told them: “Judge Mikhail Yaroslavich with Yuri Danilovich, and, having judged, tell me.” And the princes sat down at the court and began to judge Mikhail and Yuri, and everyone helped Yuri, and laid many blames on Mikhail. If Mikhail answered anything, his words were ignored. And those words were true, but they all despised them, but they diligently listened to the words of Kavgady, for he was his own, and an accuser, and took everything to his soul, but forced everyone to believe him. Then they separated, and they were ordered to stand trial next week. And they told the king, thus saying: “Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich is worthy of death by judgment, and your great word as a free king is as you command. And they told the king about his many wines. (Facebook Chronicle).
So the Tver prince was left alone in the hands of the godless. He had only one consolation - prayer, and the passion-bearer, without harboring anger towards his enemies, began to chant inspired psalms. The next day, the Tatars placed a heavy block on the saint’s neck to increase the torment of the blessed one.
At that time, the khan went hunting to the banks of the Terek. According to custom, the entire Horde had to accompany him. Mikhail was also dragged in. This movement was painful for the sufferer. A heavy block lay on his neck; every night the hands of the Tver prince were imprisoned in the same deck. Only one thing consoled him: the abbot, the priests and his son Constantine were allowed to see him.
Library of the Russian Faith. Front chronicle about the trial and execution in the Horde of Grand Duke Mikhail Yaroslavich Tverskoy →
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Even now Kavgady did not leave the prisoner, but only tried to increase his suffering. In order to abuse Mikhail, he ordered to take him to the market, where there were a lot of people. Here he ordered the prince to kneel in front of him and mocked him. A crowd of onlookers came running and looked with curiosity at the one who had previously sat on the grand-ducal throne in honor and glory, and now suffered reproach in chains. The sufferer languished for twenty-six days. More than once the servants suggested to him: “Our lord, Grand Duke, we already have guides and horses ready for you. Run to the mountains and save your life.” But the Grand Duke firmly answered them:
I have never run away from my enemies before, and I will not do so now. If I alone am saved, and my boyars and servants remain here in trouble, then what honor will I have for this? I can't do this. May the Lord's will be done!
December 5 , the day of his departure to the Lord, early in the morning Mikhail Yaroslavich ordered matins and the Divine Liturgy to be performed. With heartfelt attention, shedding tears, the prince listened to the Divine Service, confessed and partook of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. He was preparing for death because that night he had a dream that informed him of his death.
After the liturgy, the prince said goodbye to the clergy who were with him. Then he called his son, Prince Constantine, to his place. Mikhail gave him the last instruction about how he should maintain the Orthodox faith, honor the temples of God, and show mercy to people. Suddenly a princely youth ran into the tent and said in a frightened voice: “Sovereign, Kavgady and Yuri are coming with many people and straight to your tent.” Then the sufferer meekly remarked: “I know why they are coming—to kill me.” Then he sent away his son Constantine.
Kavgadiy and the prince of Moscow stopped at a market place, not far from the tent of the prince of Tver, and dismounted. From here they sent assassins to the prince. “Like wild animals, the murderers jumped into the tent. Grabbing the prince by the block, the killers hit him against the wall, so that the wall of the tent broke through. The prince rose to his feet. Then the fierce murderers attacked him in a crowd, trampled on him, beat him mercilessly; then one of them, by the way, a Russian resident of Moscow, nicknamed Romantsev, grabbed a knife, hit the prince in the side with it and turned the knife several times in the wound, finally cutting out his heart. Thus the sufferer of Christ gave his holy soul into the hands of the Lord. A crowd of Tatars and Russians who were in the Horde attacked the tent of the murdered prince and plundered it. Seeing the prince’s naked body, Kavgady reproachfully said to Prince Yuri Danilovich: “Isn’t he your older brother, just like your father? Why does his body lie uncovered, abandoned to everyone’s desecration? Take him and take him to your land, bury him according to your custom.”
Death of Prince Mikhail Tverskoy in the Horde. Engraving by B. Chorikov
Prince Yuri ordered his servants to cover the saint’s naked body, and one of them covered it with his outer clothing. Then Prince Yuri ordered the body to be placed on a large board, and the board to be lifted onto a cart and tied tightly.
Troparion, tone 8.
Raise your mind to God, and desire to live like the angels. You left the corruptible glory of the earth, blessed one. You laid down your life for your people. You took the crown against your labors, God-wise Michael. Pray to Christ God for those who honor your holy memory with love.
Kontakion, tone 2.
Seeking the highest, and despising earthly glory. And you stained the Church of God with your blood, and you suffered for it, Saint Michael. The unrighteous slaughter is received with joy. With the angels ahead, pray for all of us.
Library of the Russian Faith Canon to the Holy Blessed Prince Michael →
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The trip of Mikhail Yaroslavich Tverskoy to the Horde and his painful death
As one would expect, in the Horde the prince was sentenced to death, “because we are not allowed to eat, he will not follow our morals.” The execution was preceded by weeks and months of torment: stocks were put on Mikhail Yaroslavich’s neck and hands, he was reviled, mocked in his humiliation. But the prince, completely relying on the will of God, found an inexhaustible source of courage and humility. According to the Life, in captivity he hardly slept, constantly reading psalms. Fortunately, he was not deprived of the opportunity to confess and partake of the Holy Mysteries - his confessor, Abbot Alexander (the same compiler of the Life), was with the prince.
More than once Mikhail was offered to flee, but he rejected these offers as unnecessary and prepared to face death.
“And he received,” writes Abbot Alexander, “an unfading crown from the hand of the Lord, which he desired.”
The crown is truly a martyr's one. Before killing the prince with a knife, the killers, among whom were the people of Yuri Danilovich and Kavdygai, who had not forgotten his defeat, beat and trampled him for a long time. This was in 1318.
Miracles performed over the body of the murdered prince
The holy body of Prince Michael, by order of the Moscow prince, was taken to the Adezh River, “which is called sorrow.” “At night, two watchmen were assigned to guard the body of the murdered man. But great fear fell upon them, and they ran away from the cart where the body of the martyr lay. Early in the morning they returned to their place, and saw a wondrous miracle: the body was lying separately, with a wound to the ground. The saint's right hand was placed under his face, and his left was near the wound. The surprising thing is that many predatory animals prowled the steppe, and not one of them dared to touch the body of the martyr. That same night, many of the Christians and non-believers saw how two clouds overshadowed the place where the honorable body of the murdered prince was located. They came together, then diverged, and shone like the sun.”
The merchants who knew Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich wanted to cover his body with expensive fabrics and place it in the holy temple. However, the boyars of Prince Yuri did not allow them to do this; They placed him in a stable and assigned a guard. But God glorified the relics of His saint in a wondrous way: many of the inhabitants saw at night that over that place a pillar of fire rose from the ground to the sky. Others saw a rainbow that bent over the stable, and light horsemen who rushed in the air above the chariot.
Holy Blessed Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich and Saint Arseny of Tverskoy
The body of the martyr prince was brought to Moscow and buried in the Kremlin Spassky Monastery. The blessed Princess Anna did not know about the martyrdom of her husband. A year later, Prince Yuri returned from the khan with a grand ducal label. He brought with him from the Horde the Tver boyars and Prince Konstantin Mikhailovich. Then the residents of Tver learned about the death of their prince and his burial in Moscow. Princess Anna and the children of Saint Michael asked the Prince of Moscow to transport the holy relics of the martyr to Tver. Yuri barely gave his consent. The holy relics of the blessed Prince Michael were transferred to Tver and buried in the cathedral church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which he built.
Monument to Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich in Tver
Discord between Mikhail Yaroslavich and Moscow Prince Yuri Danilovich
In 1304, Grand Duke Andrei Alexandrovich, whom Mikhail had reconciled with his brother ten years earlier, died. And Mikhail became, by right of seniority, the heir to the Vladimir grand-ducal throne. Mikhail Yaroslavich was elevated to him by Metropolitan Maxim of Kiev, and in 1305 he received the corresponding label from the Horde. That is, at first there were no obstacles.
But it soon became clear that the Moscow prince Yuri Danilovich did not want to submit to Mikhail, but, on the contrary, was looking for a great reign. Thus began a discord that lasted for many years and cost the lives of many Russian people. Alas, Saint Maxim, who was a strong supporter of the legal succession of grand-ducal power, died in 1305, and a conciliator from among the princes, as Mikhail Yaroslavich himself once acted in a similar situation, was not found.
One of the first defeats of Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich of Tver in his struggle with Moscow lay on the ecclesiastical plane and was directly related to the death of Metropolitan Maxim. A new metropolitan was needed, and Mikhail made every effort to ensure that he became “his” man—the abbot of the Otroch monastery, Gerontius. But Patriarch Athanasius of Constantinople ordained St. Peter, thereby destroying the plans of Mikhail Yaroslavin.
Saint Peter appeared in Vladimir, and the prince, unable to contain his annoyance, greeted him coldly. Soon, Bishop Andrei of Tver wrote a denunciation against Peter to the Patriarch, accusing him of simony. It is not known whether he made up this slander on his own initiative or in conspiracy with Mikhail, but the matter was clarified, the Tver bishop was convicted of slander, and St. Peter was completely acquitted. But Mikhail Yaroslavich Tverskoy was never able to reconcile with him, which only harmed himself: Metropolitan Peter left Vladimir for Moscow, where Yuri Danilovich met him with open arms.
Church veneration, the threat of decanonization and the mysterious disappearance of relics
Mikhail Tverskoy was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church in the ranks of the faithful in 1549, at the second Makaryevsky Cathedral in Moscow. In 1632, the discovery of the prince’s relics took place. December 5th is considered Memorial Day. The Life of Michael was written by his confessor Alexander, abbot of the Tver Otroch Monastery, shortly after the death of the prince. Alexander accompanied the prince to the Horde and was an eyewitness to the events that took place there. However, Saint Prince Michael, like his wife, the blessed princess Anna Kashinskaya, suffered after the schism of the Russian Orthodox Church. Before the schism, he had an all-night vigil service on Memorial Day, but was demoted to ordinary service.
Monument to Prince Mikhail Yaroslavich in Tver
His “demotion” in the service, like the decanonization of Anna Kashinskaya and other Tver saints, was one of the consequences of the church reform of the 17th century - as a manifestation of a kind of persecution not only against living adherents of the old faith, but also against all evidence of the truth of pre-reform Orthodoxy, as depicted in iconographic and literary monuments, as well as in the incorruptible relics of saints. But the veneration of the decanonized saints, who were demoted in their liturgical status, was fully preserved by the Old Believers.
Church in the name of St. Prince Michael in Tver (ROC)
In 1934, the Tver Transfiguration Church began to gradually be destroyed. On the night of April 3-4, 1935, the cathedral was blown up. After this event, traces of the relics of the noble prince are lost. However, it is known for certain that some of the relics of Tver saints, in particular, the Monk Ephraim of Novotorzh, were transported to the Leningrad Museum of the History of Religion and Atheism, founded in 1932 and located in the famous Kazan Cathedral. It is possible that the relics of Mikhail Tverskoy are still kept in some storeroom of the museum successors of this Soviet institution.
The early years of Mikhail Yaroslavich
Prince Mikhail was born in 1272. He never saw his father, Prince Yaroslav Yaroslavich: he died during a trip to the Horde before the birth of his youngest son. Mikhail was raised by his mother, the holy princess Ksenia, - according to the text of the Life, “in the fear of the Lord and taught the holy books and all wisdom.” It may seem strange that it was Mikhail’s mother who taught him “book wisdom,” but researchers were able to establish that the princess was an exceptionally educated woman for her time and even collected a library.
In the Tver reign, Mikhail replaced his older brother - from his father's first marriage - Svyatoslav. The first years of his reign were relatively calm - except that in 1286 he had to oppose the Lithuanians who invaded the Tver borders. In 1294, the prince successfully performed the function of a mediator-conciliator in the civil strife of his “cousins” - the sons of Alexander Nevsky Dmitry and Andrei - which characterizes him as a person not prone to quarrels. In the same year, he married the daughter of the Rostov prince Dmitry Borisovich, Anna, (who soon after her death began to be revered as the holy blessed princess Anna Kashinskaya).
