Maximus or Maximos
[May]
Cathedral of St John in DC.[ Johann von Gardner, Vladimir Morosan ]
Russian Church Singing, vol. II
'. (; ; died 6 December 1305) was a
metropolitan bishop
In Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), is held by the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a Metropolis (reli ...
of the
Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus'
The Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus' (; ) was a Metropolis (religious jurisdiction), metropolis of the Eastern Orthodox Church that was erected on the territory of Kievan Rus'. It existed between 988 AD and 1590s AD. The long lasting "tug of war" ...
in the
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is heade ...
. He was consecrated in
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
and reigned from 1283 to 1305.
[ Maximos was of ]Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
origin.
At that time, the Rus' princes were vassals of the Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...
. Khan Tokhta
Tokhta (also spelled Toqta, Toktu, Tokhtai, Tochtu or Tokhtogha; died ) was Khan of the Golden Horde from 1291 to 1312. He was a son of Mengu-Timur and a great-grandson of Batu Khan.
His name "Tokhtokh" means "hold/holding" in the Mongolian l ...
wanted to eliminate the princes' semi-independence. To that effect, he had sent his brother Tudan to the Rus' lands in 1293. Tudan's army devastated fourteen towns. Tokhta himself (also known as Tokhta-Temur) went to Tver
Tver (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa rivers. Tver is located northwest of Moscow. Population:
The city is ...
and forced Dmitry of Pereslavl
Dmitry Alexandrovich (; 1250–1294) was Grand Prince of Vladimir from 1276 to 1281, and again from 1283 until 1293.
Biography
Dmitry was the second son of Alexander Nevsky. When his elder brother Vasily died young, Dmitry remained the chie ...
(also known as Dmitry Alexandrovich), who was allied to Nogai Khan
Nogai, or Noğay ( Kypchak and Turki: نوغای; also spelled Nogay, Nogaj, Nohai, Nokhai, Noqai, Ngoche, Noche, Kara Nokhai, and Isa Nogai; died 1299/1300) was a general and kingmaker of the Golden Horde. His great grandfather was Jochi, son o ...
, to abdicate. Rus' chronicles
The Rus' chronicles, Russian chronicles or Rus' letopis () was the primary Rus' historical literature. Chronicles were composed from the 11th to the 18th centuries, generally written in Old East Slavic (and, later, Ruthenian and Muscovite Russ ...
depicted these events as "The harsh-time of Batu returns.". Some sources suggest that Tokhta and Nogai, who was effectively the co-emperor, had worked together.
Maximos was known for his