Martyr
Martyr, Right-Believing Right-Believing Prince and Martyr Michael Vsevolodovich of Chernigov
ок. 1185–1246
Right-Believing Prince and Martyr Michael of Chernigov — refused to bow before pagan idols at Batu Khan's camp and was executed together with boyar Theodore in 1246.
Right-Believing Prince and Martyr Michael Vsevolodovich of Chernigov was born c. 1185, Prince of Chernigov and Grand Prince of Kiev. In 1246 he traveled to the camp of Khan Batu to obtain a patent to rule. There the Mongols demanded that, according to pagan custom, he pass between two fires and bow to their idols. Michael, together with his faithful boyar Theodore, flatly refused, declaring that a Christian may bow only to God.
For this refusal both were cruelly tortured and executed on September 20, 1246. The martyrdom of Prince Michael and boyar Theodore became one of the most venerated examples of standing firm in the faith during the era of the Mongol yoke. He was canonized in 1547. His relics were translated to Moscow's Archangel Cathedral in the Kremlin in 1578, where they remain today.