Makarii

Born 1482; died Dec. 31, 1563. Ecclesiastical and political figure; archbishop of Novgorod from 1526; metropolitan of Moscow and all Rus’ from 1542.

Makarii, a staunch supporter of the strengthening of autocratic authority and a representative of the Josephites, was a proponent of a powerful militant position for the church. It was under his influence that Ivan IV in 1547 assumed the title of tsar. Makarii took up the canonization of a pantheon of Russian “saints” in order to unify local cults. At the church council known as the Stoglav (1551) he succeeded in defeating a government program for the secularization of church lands. He headed a circle of educated bibliophiles. At church councils he resolutely condemned the heresies of M. Bashkin and F. Kosoi, which reflected the antifeudal feelings of the popular masses. Under his direction, compilation of the Stepennaia kniga was undertaken, which substantiated the consolidation of the autocracy and the ideological position of the church. The systematization and reworking of original and translated church literature in the form of the collection Velikie Minei-Chet’i was also carried out. He contributed to the opening of the first Russian printing house.

(pseudonym of Mikhail lakovlevich Glukharev). Born Oct. 30 (Nov. 10), 1792, in Viaz’ma, now in Smolensk Oblast; died May 17 (29), 1847, in Bolkhov, now in Orlov Oblast. Russian church leader; missionary; translator. Son of a priest.

Makarii was a graduate of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. In 1830 he was sent to the town of Biisk, in Tomsk Province, as the head of a mission established by the Synod to convert the unbaptized Altais to Christianity (the “Altai Mission”). It was there that Makarii laid the foundation for the study of the Altai languages; he compiled a dictionary of local dialects. In 1843, Makarii was made father superior of the Bolkhovskii-Optin Monastery. He translated the oldest part of the Bible—the Old Testament—from ancient Hebrew into Russian.

(pseudonym of Mikhail Petrovich Bulgakov). Born Sept. 19 (Oct. 1), 1816, in the village of Surkovo, Novyi Oskol District, Kursk Province; died June 9 (21), 1882, in the village of Cherkizovo, now within the city limits of Moscow. Academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences from 1854.

Makarii was the son of a priest. In 1841 he graduated from the Kiev Theological Academy and he served as rector of this academy from 1851 to 1857. He was a bishop (1857-59), archbishop (1859-79), and metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna (1879-82). Makarii wrote many works on the history of the Russian church, including the 12-volume History of the Russian Church (1866-83), in which he elucidated the political history of the church from the tenth century through the patriarchate of Nikon; it was also valuable for its publication of many new sources.