Macarius II

Who was Macarius II?

Macarius II was the Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna from 1912 to 1917, an outstanding missionary and enlightener of the masses in the Altai region.

Born to a family of a sexton, Macarius graduated from a theological seminary in Tobolsk and joined the Altai Holy Mission, which had been set up by the Holy Synod with the purpose of converting the people of the Altay region to Christianity.

In 1861, Macarius took monastic vows and was ordained a hieromonk. From 1861 to 1864, he was busy restoring the Chulyshmansky Monastery to a normal state. In 1868-1869, Macarius lived in Kazan and worked on the grammar of the Altai language, publishing a number of divine service books in this language. In 1883, he was appointed head of the Altai Holy Mission and raised to the dignity of archmandrite, and then consecrated as Bishop of Biysk and vicar of the Tomsk eparchy. In 1891, Macarius was named Bishop of Tomsk and Semipalatinsk. In 1905, he became the Bishop of Tomsk and Barnaul. In 1908, Macarius was appointed Archbishop of Tomsk and Altay.