Michael I (Kiev)

Depiction of Michael I at the end of the 19th / beginning of the 20th century

Michael I was probably the first bishop of Kiev (around 988?). He is venerated as a saint in the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church . Memorial days are June 15th and September 30th .

Life

Michael was named the first bishop of Kiev in an ecclesiastical register from the 16th century. His name was not mentioned in Old Russian chronicles .

It is completely unsure when he lived and worked. It is possible that he was the first bishop to accompany Prince Vladimir from Chersonese to Kiev and there presided over the baptism of the Rus.

He is buried in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.

literature

Поппэ А. В., Митрополиты Киевские и всея Руси (988—1305 гг.) , In: Щапов Я. Н., Государство и церковь Древней Руси X — XIII вв. , Pp. 191-206 online

Web links

13 октября - память Святителя Михаила, первого митрополита Киевского

Remarks

↑ It is possible that the Byzantine author Michael Synkellos (8th century) was named the first bishop of Kiev because he wrote exactly the version of the Orthodox Creed that Vladimir I spoke at his baptism according to the Nestor Chronicle. So the assumption of Andrzej Poppe. ( Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. ) . @1@ 2

↑ The news in Joachim's chronicle about Michael (he was a Syrian, among others) are probably 18th century fictions.

↑ Also the assumption that he was a bishop who was sent to Rus by Patriarch Photios I in 867 is not likely. Photios only wrote that he was glad that the unbelievers had turned to the Christian creed. At that time, Russian warriors stood before Constantinople. Therefore some Russian historians suspected that he meant the warriors of the Rus as the infidels. Nothing is mentioned anywhere about a bishop for the Rus.

personal data
SURNAME	Michael I.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Михаїл І.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	first bishop or metropolitan of Kiev
DATE OF BIRTH	10th century
DATE OF DEATH	10th century or 11th century

[1] It is possible that the Byzantine author Michael Synkellos (8th century) was named the first bishop of Kiev because he wrote exactly the version of the Orthodox Creed that Vladimir I spoke at his baptism according to the Nestor Chronicle. So the assumption of Andrzej Poppe. ( Archived copy ( memento of the original from January 2, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. ) . @1@ 2

[2] The news in Joachim's chronicle about Michael (he was a Syrian, among others) are probably 18th century fictions.

[3] Also the assumption that he was a bishop who was sent to Rus by Patriarch Photios I in 867 is not likely. Photios only wrote that he was glad that the unbelievers had turned to the Christian creed. At that time, Russian warriors stood before Constantinople. Therefore some Russian historians suspected that he meant the warriors of the Rus as the infidels. Nothing is mentioned anywhere about a bishop for the Rus.