A boyar's son born near Kashin in 1400, Macarius was married but embraced monastic life after the deaths of his parents and his wife. He founded the Holy Trinity Monastery at Kalyazin and was renowned as a wonderworker.
Feast Day
March 17
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Our Venerable Father Macarius, Abbot and Wonderworker of Kalyazin
Life
Macarius of Kalyazin (1400–1483) was a Russian monastic founder and wonderworker, born into a boyar family in the village of Gribkovo (Kozhino) near Kashin. Given the baptismal name Matthew, he was the son of the boyar Basil Kozha.
Drawn to monasticism from youth, he married at his parents' insistence, but his wife Elena reposed after three years and his parents died shortly before her. After these losses he received monastic tonsure at the Nikolaev Klobukov monastery and later founded a wilderness monastery between two lakes some eighteen versts from Kashin.
He became renowned for humility, asceticism, and miracles of healing during his own lifetime. He reposed on March 17, 1483; his relics were uncovered in 1521 and his veneration was established by the Moscow council of 1547.
Timeline8 momentsReadHide
1400Birth near KashinBorn in the village of Gribkovo (Kozhino) near Kashin into the family of the boyar Basil Kozha, and given the baptismal name Matthew.
c. 1420sMarriage and bereavementThough he yearned for the monastic life from youth, he married Elena at his parents' insistence. His parents died shortly before, and Elena reposed after three years of marriage.
after his wife's deathMonastic tonsureFollowing Elena's death, Matthew became a monk at the Nikolaev Klobukov monastery.
15th centuryFounding of the Kalyazin monasteryHe established a wilderness monastery between two lakes, eighteen versts from Kashin. A local boyar, Ivan Kolyaga, opposed it but fell ill; after the saint healed him, Kolyaga donated his lands and was tonsured, and the monastery took the name Kalyazin from him.
c. 1453Appointed igumenAt the age of fifty-three he was appointed abbot of the monastery by Bishop Moses of Tver.
March 17, 1483ReposeHe reposed on March 17, 1483. Heavy ascetic chains were found on his body at death.
May 26, 1521Uncovering of the relicsHis incorrupt relics were uncovered during construction work at the monastery.
1547GlorificationA church council established his feast, numbering him among the Russian saints glorified at the councils convened under Metropolitan Macarius of Moscow.
Contributions & Legacy
3 contributionsReadHide
Monastic Life and Foundation
After receiving the monastic tonsure at the Nikolaev Klobukov monastery, Macarius withdrew into the wilderness, establishing a monastery on a site between two lakes about eighteen versts from Kashin.
According to his life, a neighboring boyar named Ivan Kolyaga at first opposed the new monastery but was struck with illness. After the saint healed him, Kolyaga gave his lands to the community and himself became a monk; the monastery thereafter bore the name Kalyazin in his memory.
Bishop Moses of Tver appointed Macarius igumen of the monastery when he was fifty-three years old. He was known for extreme humility and ascetic labor, and personally crafted liturgical vessels using a lathe.
Miracles and Traditions
Historically Documented: His life records that even during his lifetime Macarius repeatedly healed the paralyzed and those afflicted by demons. At his death in 1483 heavy ascetic chains were discovered on his body, and in 1521 his relics were found incorrupt during construction at the monastery.
Traditional Accounts: By tradition, wild animals submitted to the saint, a detail his vita preserves among the signs of his holiness.
Relics & Shrines
The incorrupt relics of Macarius were uncovered on May 26, 1521 during building work at the Kalyazin monastery he had founded.
The uncovering is commemorated separately on May 26 (Old Calendar June 8), distinct from his principal feast of repose on March 17.
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