MICHAEL of ČERNIGOV, saint. — A Russian prince of the Rurikid dynasty, he successively held the office of *primicerius* in Novgorod, in Halych in Galicia, and in Kiev. He thus lived on the margins of Central European culture, but not so far removed from it as not to share in it and indeed to be partly influenced by it during some period of his life. When his native city of Černigov was occupied and largely destroyed by the Tartars in 1241, Michael was forced in 1245 to go to Sarai, the capital of Batu, leader of the Tartars of the Lower Volga. Before being received by this prince, he would have had to undergo certain ceremonies, partly superstitious and partly shamanistic, which he refused to perform, considering them a betrayal of the Christian faith. For this reason, he was cruelly put to death together with his companion Theodore. Both are venerated as saints by the Catholic Church. Feast day: September 20.
Alberto M. Ammann