Michael

Michael, archangel

Michael (mī`kəl) [Heb.,=who is like God?], archangel prominent in Christian, Jewish, and Muslim traditions. In the Bible and early Jewish literature, Michael is one of the angels of God's presence. He is depicted as a warrior-prince leading the celestial armies against wicked forces and as Israel's guardian angel. The intermediary between God and Moses on Mt. Sinai, Michael also confronts the devil over Moses' right of proper burial. In Christian tradition he is the angel with the sword. Michael is venerated in the Roman Catholic and Eastern churches. His feast (jointly with the other archangels) is Michaelmas, Sept. 29; it is the anniversary of the dedication of a Roman basilica to him. On May 8 he is honored for his apparition (492?) on Monte Gargano, Italy. He is supposed to have appeared to Joan of Arc and on the site of Mont-Saint-Michel.

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Michael, persons in the Bible

Michael, in the Bible.

1 Father of Sethur the spy.

2 Chief of Issachar.

3 One of David's captains at Ziklag.

4 Jehoshaphat's murdered son.

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Michael, king of Romania

Michael, 1921–, king of Romania (1927–30, 1940–47). His father, Prince Carol (later Carol II), renounced his right of succession in 1925, and young Michael ascended the throne under a regency on the death of Ferdinand. However, in 1930 his father returned to be recognized as king. When Carol II was deposed in 1940, Michael once more became king. In 1944 he overthrew the dictatorship of Ion Antonescu and concluded an armistice with the Allies (see Romania). Conflicts with the Communist-dominated coalition government after World War II led to his abdication (Dec., 1947) and exile; he was stripped of his Romanian citizenship a year later. He married Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma in 1948. Since the collapse (1989) of Communist rule in Romania, his citizenship has been restored (1997) and he has reestablished a residence in Romania.

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Michael, czar of Russia

Michael (Michael Romanov), 1596–1645, czar of Russia (1613–45), founder of the Romanov dynasty; grandnephew of Anastasia, first wife of Ivan IV. His election as czar, following successive appearances of false pretenders (see Dmitri), ended the so-called Time of Troubles, a period of social and political chaos in Russia that had begun in the late 16th cent. The real power in the government was Michael's father, the patriarch Philaret (d. 1633). During Michael's reign the peasantry was further reduced to serfdom; peace was temporarily obtained with Poland and Sweden; and some Western industrial and military techniques were introduced by foreign manufacturers and other experts. Michael was succeeded by his son Alexis.

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Michael, prince of Serbia

Michael (Michael Obrenović) (mī`kəl ōbrĕ`nəvĭch), 1823–68, prince of Serbia (1839–42, 1860–68); younger son of Prince Miloš. He succeeded his brother, Milan, but was deposed (1842) several years later by supporters of Alexander (Alexander Karadjordjević). In 1858, Miloš was restored to the throne and Michael returned with his father, on whose death (1860) he once more became prince. Michael modernized his country and prepared its complete liberation from Ottoman vassalage. At the end of his reign, the last Ottoman garrisons withdrew from the Serbian fortresses, including Belgrade. Michael was assassinated and was succeeded by his cousin Milan.

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Michael

In the Bible and the Qur'an, one of the archangels. The captain of the heavenly hosts, he was invoked by early Christian armies against the heathen. In Christian tradition he is thought to escort the soul into the presence of God at the time of death. In art he is depicted as a warrior, sword in hand, in triumph over a dragon. His feast day, known in England as Michaelmas, is September 29. See also Mika'il.

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Michael

 or Michael Romanov Russian Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov

(born July 22, 1596—died July 23, 1645, Moscow) Tsar of Russia (1613–45) and founder of the Romanov dynasty. A young nobleman elected as tsar after the chaotic Time of Troubles, he allowed his mother's relatives to direct the government early in his reign. They restored order to Russia and made peace with Sweden (1617) and Poland (1618). In 1619 his father, released from captivity in Poland, returned to Russia and became coruler. Michael's father dominated the government, increasing contact with western Europe and strengthening central authority and serfdom. After his death in 1633, Michael's maternal relatives once again held sway.

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Michael

(born Oct. 25, 1921, Sinaia, Rom.) King of Romania. After his father, the future king Carol II, had been excluded from the royal succession (1926), Michael was proclaimed king under a three-member regency. Carol reclaimed the throne in 1930, and Michael was reduced to crown prince. With Carol's abdication in 1940, Michael again became king but was in effect a prisoner of the military dictator Ion Antonescu. In 1944 he helped lead the coup that overthrew the military regime and severed Romania's ties with the Axis powers. He strongly opposed the communists' subsequent rise to power, but was forced to abdicate in 1947. He went into exile in Switzerland and became an executive with a U.S. brokerage firm. In 1997 his Romanian citizenship was restored; he subsequently visited the country and sought the return of property holdings that were confiscated.

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Michael

1. 1596--1645, tsar of Russia (1613--45); founder of the Romanov dynasty

2. born 1921, king of Romania (1927--30, as part of a three-part regency; 1940--47), who relinquished the throne (1930--40) in favour of his father, Carol II. He led the coup d'?tat that overthrew (1944) Antonescu but was forced to abdicate (1947) by the Communists

3. Saint Bible one of the archangels. Feast day: Sept. 29 or Nov. 8

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Michael

leader of angels against Satan. [N.T.: Revelation 12:7–9; Br. Lit.: Paradise Lost]

See : Angel