Maximus (died 1305) was the Metropolitan

Metropolitan bishop

In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...

 of Kiev

Kiev

Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....

 (1283–1305) who moved the see of Russian metropolitans to Vladimir

Vladimir

Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. Population:...

-on-Kliazma. In spite of the move, the metropolitans were officially known as "Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus'" until the establishment of autocephaly

Autocephaly

Autocephaly , in hierarchical Christian churches and especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop...

 under Jonah in 1448.

Maximus was of Greek

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

 origin. During the war between Tokhta, Khan

Khan (title)

Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...

 of the Golden Horde

Golden Horde

The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...

, and Nogay and the Polovtsy, Maximus left Kiev in 1299 and transferred the metropolitan chair to Vladimir. Maximus is known for his ecclesiastic trips to the Golden Horde and mediation between the quarreling princes of the Northeastern Russia (e.g., Dmitry of Pereslavl

Dmitry of Pereslavl

Dmitry Alexandrovich was Grand Prince of Vladimir-Suzdal from 1276 until 1281 and then from 1283 until 1293.Dmitry was the second son of Alexander Nevsky. When his elder brother Vasily died young, Dmitry remained the chief heir to his illustrious father. As early as 1259, he was left by Alexander...

 and Andrey of Gorodets

Andrey of Gorodets

Andrey III Alexandrovich was a Russian prince, son of Alexander Nevsky, who received from his father the town of Gorodets on the Volga. In 1276, he added Kostroma to his possessions and joined the struggle for Grand Duchy of Vladimir-Suzdal.In 1281 Andrey, joining the Mongol army, expelled his...

, sons of Alexander Nevsky

Alexander Nevsky

Alexander Nevsky was the Prince of Novgorod and Grand Prince of Vladimir during some of the most trying times in the city's history. Commonly regarded as the key figure of medieval Rus, Alexander was the grandson of Vsevolod the Big Nest and rose to legendary status on account of his military...

). In 1301, Maximus attended a patriarch

Patriarch

Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...

al council in Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

. He supported the Prince of Tver and Vladimir Mikhail Yaroslavich

Mikhail Yaroslavich

Mikhail Yaroslavich , also known as Michael of Tver or Michael the Saint, was a Prince of Tver who ruled as Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1304 until 1314 and again from 1315-1318...

 in his struggle with Prince of Moscow Yuri Danilovich for the title of Grand Duke.

He was canonised a saint

Saint

A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...

 in the Russian Orthodox Church

Russian Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...

, and his feast day is celebrated on December 6 (December 19, N.S.

Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...

).

External links

• St Maximus, Metropolitan of Kiev Orthodox Synaxarion
• Icon of the Mother of God of St Maximus