Martyrs Michael and Theodore of Chernigov

Prince and ruler

Michael Vsevolodovich belonged to the Olgovichi branch of the Rurikid dynasty. He served as Prince of Pereyaslavl in 1206, of Novgorod-Seversk from 1219 to 1226, and of Chernigov from 1223 to 1235 and again from 1242 to 1246. He held Novgorod in 1225–1226 and 1229–1230, Galicia in 1235–1236, and was twice Grand Prince of Kiev, in 1236–1239 and 1241–1243.

As a ruler he promoted commerce, negotiating trade treaties with Polish and Hungarian powers, and granted the Novgorodians tax relief and broader political autonomy. Sources describe him as pious and meek from childhood. He suffered from poor health that, by tradition, was relieved around 1186 through the prayers of Saint Niketas the Stylite.

Michael took part in the Battle of the Kalka River in 1223, an early clash between the princes of Rus' and the advancing Mongol forces.

Martyrdom at the Horde

When Michael was summoned to the Golden Horde in 1246, the khan's officials required him and his companion Theodore to walk through fire as a purifying rite and to bow before pagan idols — the elements of the sun and fire and an image of the deceased Genghis Khan. Michael refused, declaring that a Christian worships God alone, the Creator of the world, and not creatures.

He acknowledged that he submitted to the khan's earthly authority but maintained that he could not worship idols. According to the account of the Franciscan traveler Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, Michael said he would bow to Batu but not to the image of a dead man, since that was improper for a Christian.

Theodore, Michael's faithful boyar, was offered great honor and his lord's princely rank if he would comply, but he remained steadfast and followed the example of his prince, enduring the same tortures. Both were severely beaten; Michael was beheaded by an apostate named Domanus, and Theodore was likewise beheaded. Their bodies were preserved until faithful Christians were able to bury them in secret.

Veneration and legacy

Michael was canonized as a martyr before 1271 at Rostov. He is venerated in both the Eastern Orthodox and the Roman Catholic churches, with a feast day on September 20. The account of the martyrdom is corroborated by the thirteenth-century report of Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, who recorded conditions at the Mongol court.

Relics & Shrines

Michael's major shrine was the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Chernihiv. Around 1580 — the relics were transferred on February 14, 1578 — Tsar Ivan the Terrible ordered his remains removed from the Transfiguration Cathedral in Chernigov and brought to Moscow's Cathedral of the Holy Archangels in the Kremlin. Since 1774 they have been kept in the Holy Archangels Cathedral in the Kremlin.