Martyr Michael was born on April 14, 1900, in the village of Foshchevataya, Kursk province, in the family of priest Matfei, who was killed by godless people in 1919. He studied at the Theological Seminary in Belgorod but did not finish due to the revolution of 1917. He served as a psalmist in the churches of the Belgorod diocese and was arrested in 1935. During the interrogation, the investigator asked about his correspondence with his uncle, the Metropolitan of Lithuania, Eleutherius, and how he was living. On July 2, 1935, he wrote a statement to the prosecutor, rejecting the accusations of agitation and emphasizing that his conscience was clear. Soon the investigator summoned him for interrogation, where Michael again stated about the illegal treatment towards him. On September 11, 1935, the verdict was announced: he and other priests were sentenced to various terms of imprisonment and sent to the Far East, where other convicted individuals were also located.
