Venerable Macarius (Glukharev): the missionary struggle and the translation of the Bible (in honor of the 170th anniversary of his repose and the 225th anniversary of his birth)

The author of this article discusses the activities of the well-known missionary and translator of the Old Testament, Venerable Macarius (Glukharev), who graduated from St. Petersburg Teological Academy in 1817 and was glorified in 2000. Te article is divided into two parts. In the first part, the author offers a brief vita; in the second part, the author describes the saint’s activities in translating the Old Testament into Russian. Tis article is offered as a memorial to this extraordinary and talented man, a true ascetic for Christian enlightenment, while discussing also the difficult problems faced by the Russian Orthodox Church in the first half of the 19th century. Te author discusses both the problem of the Church’s missionary activity, as well as the problem of the translation of the Bible into Russian, a process that was interrupted in 1826 for over thirty years. Venerable Macarius was a key player in both of these areas.