Reign and the Struggle for the Grand Principate
In 1285 Michael commissioned a stone church in Tver honoring the Savior's Transfiguration. After the death of Grand Prince Andrew Alexandrovich in 1305, Michael traveled to the Golden Horde and was confirmed by Khan Tokhta as Grand Prince of Vladimir through seniority, serving from 1304 to 1314 and again from 1315 to 1318; he also held the Princeship of Novgorod in 1309.
His claim was contested by Yurii of Moscow, who eventually secured the patent for the Grand Principate from Khan Uzbek by marrying the khan's sister Konchaka and obtaining Mongol military backing under the general Kavgadii. On December 22, 1317, Michael defeated Yurii's forces at Bortenevo, a village some forty kilometers from Tver, capturing numerous prisoners including Kavgadii and Konchaka.
Konchaka died unexpectedly while in Tver. Yurii exploited her death by falsely accusing Michael before Khan Uzbek of poisoning her. Michael was summoned to the Horde to answer charges of murdering the khan's sister, withholding tribute, and warring against Mongol authority.
Martyrdom at the Horde
Knowing that going to the Horde meant certain death, Michael nevertheless went humbly rather than flee or go to war, in order to spare his principality from devastation. He spent weeks at the court of Khan Uzbek awaiting trial.
On November 22, 1318, assassins murdered him: according to the medieval Russian hagiographic account, they beat and kicked him severely, and one of them stabbed him with a knife and cut out his heart. His body, by tradition, showed no signs of decay during transport first to Moscow and then on to Tver.
Relics & Shrines
Michael's relics were placed in his Transfiguration church in Tver on September 6, 1320, after being transported from Moscow, and local veneration began immediately following this transfer. His official glorification took place at the Council of 1549 under Metropolitan Macarius. On November 24, 1632, his incorrupt relics were uncovered.
The Russian Orthodox Church recognized his sanctity on two grounds: his piety during his final summons to the Horde, knowing it meant certain death, and the discovery that his relics were incorrupt — a traditional sign of sanctity in Orthodox tradition. This recognition came despite the Church having stood in opposition to him during his lifetime owing to conflicts with church authorities.
Miracles & Traditions
Traditional Accounts: The hagiographic tradition relates that two radiant clouds were seen shining over the place where Michael's body lay, and that animals in the steppe left his body untouched overnight.
Traditional Accounts: In 1606, during the Time of Troubles when Polish and Lithuanian forces besieged Tver, witnesses reported seeing an unknown horseman ride out from the city on a white horse with sword in hand, later identified as Saint Michael protecting his city.
