Macarius II

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Macarius II (Russian: Макарий) (October 1, 1835, Vladimir guberniya - March 2, 1926, Moscow guberniya) was the Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna from 1912 to 1917, an outstanding missionary and enlightener of the masses in the Altai region (people used to call him the "Siberian pillar of Orthodoxy" and "Apostle of the Altai").

Born to a family of a sexton, Macarius graduated from a theological seminary in Tobolsk (1854) and joined the Altai Holy Mission, which had been set up by the Holy Synod with the purpose of converting the people of the Altay region to Christianity. In 1861, Macarius took monastic vows and was ordained as a celibate priest. In 1861-1864, he was busy with restoring the Chulyshmansky Monastery to a normal state. In 1868-1869, Macarius lived in Kazan and worked on the grammar of the Altai language, publishing a number of divine service books in this language. In 1883, he was appointed head of the Altai Holy Mission and raised to archmandrite and then Bishop of Biysk and vicar of the Tomsk eparchy. In 1891, Macarius was raised to Bishop of Tomsk and Semipalatinsk. In 1905, he became the Bishop of Tomsk and Barnaul (later, archbishop). In 1908, Macarius was ordained as Archbishop of Tomsk and Altay. In 1912, he was summoned to Moscow by the Holy Synod and elected Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, also becoming a member of the synod. In 1913, Macarius became an honorable member of the St Petersburg Theological Academy. On March 20 of 1917, he retired from his post and was sent to Nikolo-Ugreshsky Monastery. Three years later, Metropolitan Tikhon bestowed upon Macarius the honorable lifelong title of Metropolitan of the Altai. Macarius died in 1926.

In 1956, Macarius' remains (still intact, some say) were transferred to Sergiyev Posad and placed under the Assumption Cathedral of the Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra.