Miracle of the Moose

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Venerable Macarius' Miracle of the Moose (Russian: Чу́до преподо́бного Мака́рия У́нженского о лосе́) is a miracle associated with the name of Venerable Macarius of the Yellow Water Lake and the Unzha (1349-1444), a Saint of Russian Orthodox Church. It is thought to have occurred in June 1439 in the woodlands of what today is Semyonov District of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.

Contents

[edit] The account of the miracle in the Life of Venerable Macarius

During the invasion of Russia by the Khan Olug Moxammat of Kazan in 1439, Zheltovodsky (Yellow Lake) Monastery of Holy Trinity was destroyed. Venerable Macarius (Russian: Макарий, Makariy), the founder of the monastery, was taken prisoner along with a few other survivors. After meeting with Macarius, the khan was so impressed by the nonagenarian abbot's piety and love of his neighbor, that he released him and his disciples, on the condition that they leave the Yellow Lake site.

The Yellow Lake (which was located at the fall of the Kerzhenets into the Volga) being too perilously close to the invasion route taken by the Kazan Khanate armies invading Russian principalities and vice versa, the released survivors decided to go a few hundred kilometers to the north, into the fastness of the Galich forests, which are located along the Unzha River in what today is Kostroma Oblast. Taking the easy route along the Volga would not be a safe thing to do in this year of war; so the Saint and his followers choose to travel through the dense woodlands and swamps of the Kerzhenets basin — the land which is even today is almost deserted by people.

After a few days of travel, the monks ran out of food. One day they somehow managed to capture a moose[1] (some later sources say that the moose had been trapped "at a narrow place", perhaps between trees[2]). The followers of Macarius wanted to slaughter and eat the animal. But as this was the time of the Fast of the Holy Apostles, Venerable Macarius prohibited them to do that. Instead, he told them to cut off the moose's right ear and to release the animal. He told them that they only need to wait for three days, until the Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and the moose will come to them again. "Don't be aggrieved", said Macarius, " but pray to the Lord. He who fed the people of Israel in the desert with manna for 40 years, can also feed you these days in a manner invisible. Have a strong faith in Him who fed five thousand people, not counting women and children, with five loaves and two fish!"

For the next three days of the fast the travelles marched along without fatigue. No one died of starvation; no one even felt hunger or thought of food.

On the Feast day of Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, Venerable Macarius went away from his companions and praised the Lord, praying to Him that His people may be fed as had been the people of Israel in the desert or the five thousand people in the days of Apostles. When Macarius returned to his brethren, they saw the moose with no right ear approaching them — and this time, the animal was not wild — it behaved as if it was tame.

After the dinner of bonfire-roasted venison, the travellers praised the Lord for His great kindness. Venerable Macarius told his companions not to worry about food anymore, but rely on God Who will give them food and everything else they need.

The Life of Venerable Macarius does not tell us whether everyone who had left the Yellow Lake with him reached the Unzha alive. But it is said that God had protected them from hunger and from wild beasts during their travel, delivering moose, deer, and other game into their hands.

[edit] Commemoration of the miracle

[edit] Liturgy

The Kontakion of the Hymn for the Feast of Venerable Macarius (July 25 Julian calendar) refers to this miracle when it says of Macarius:

"You were revealed as the second Moses, O Venerable One.
For he divided the sea with a staff,
You have conquered the passions like Amalek,
And you passed through the impassable wilderness with an unwavering mind,
And in it you performed great wonders through your prayers.
You abundantly fed the hungry people."[3]

[edit] Iconography

The Miracle of the Moose appears on some of the icons of Venerable Macarius, sometimes as the main topic of the icon, sometimes as one of the episodes. It is also the topic of one of the new frescoes in the Refectory section of the Ascension Cathedral of Pechersky Ascension Monastery in Nizhny Novgorod

[edit] Toponymy

According to the legend, the place where the moose was caught by the prayers of Venerable Macarius is near today's village Olenevo (from Russian: Олень, olen, deer), some 12 km south-west of the town of Semyonov (Nizhny Novgorod Oblast).

[edit] References

Iconography

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ The animal species referred to as "лось" (loś) in the Russian sources is Alces alces, which is known as moose in North American English and elk in British English. Considering that the events described in the Life of Venerable Macarius took place in Europe in the 14th century, and the earliest extant manuscripts of the Life are thought to have been written in the 17th century, it would be more historically and geographically correct to refer to the animal as an elk. However, the word moose is used in this article as less ambiguous for the majority of modern English speakers.
  2. ^ Count M.V. Tolstoy, Stories from the History of Russian Church (РАССКАЗЫ ИЗ ИСТОРИИ РУССКОЙ ЦЕРКВИ), vol.3 (Russian)
  3. ^ S.V. Bulgakov, Handbook for Church Servers, 2nd ed., 1274 pp. (Kharkov, 1900) pp 0255-0256. Translated by Archpriest Eugene D Tarris. (C) 7/14/05 (English)
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