Patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church. Patriarch (ecclesiastical rank) in the Catholic Church

, Isaac and Jacob. The sons of Jacob are also called the twelve patriarchs. In all these cases, the meaning of the word patriarch is not religious, but generic, that is, it means ancestors.

In the early Christian church, the head of the church was a bishop. The title of Patriarch has been spreading since the 5th century - it is received by bishops who dominate the metropolitans. The term appears in the documents of the IV Ecumenical Council (451).

With the emergence of independent Slavic states (Bulgaria, Serbia) and the acquisition of autocephaly by their Churches, patriarchs also became their heads.

In Russia

The first Patriarch of the Russian Church was Patriarch Job (years of patriarchate: 1589-1607). During his enthronement he was again ordained bishop. In 1606 Patriarch Hermogenes was elected. He was chosen by Tsar Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky from the candidates proposed by the Council of Bishops.

Patriarchal power in Russia reached its greatest power under Patriarch Filaret, the father of the new Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. During the period of Nikon's patriarchate, a clash occurred between him and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the cause of which was Patriarch Nikon's claims to complete judicial and property immunity of the Russian Church.

The gradual actual subordination of the Patriarchs to secular power ended under Peter I, who, after the death of Patriarch Adrian in 1700, appointed not a Patriarch, but Guardian of the Patriarchal Throne, and in 1721 established the Holy Governing Synod.

The Patriarchate was completely restored by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church 1917-1918. In 1917, Saint Tikhon (Bellavin) was elected Patriarch. After the death of Patriarch Tikhon in 1925, no new Patriarch was elected.

Regulations on the Patriarch in the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church

The main document on the Patriarchate in the Russian Orthodox Church is. According to this document, the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church bears the title: “ His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'", has primacy of honor among the bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church and is accountable to the Local and Bishops' Councils. The name of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' is exalted during divine services in all churches of the Russian Orthodox Church according to the following formula: “ About the Great Lord and Our Father (name of the rivers), His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'».

In modern Orthodoxy

Generally recognized

The title is given to the heads of churches:

• Georgian (Catholicos-Patriarch),

Unrecognized (or partially recognized) titles of the patriarch

• Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in 1990-2000.
• Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church canonical
• Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate

Ancient Orthodoxy

• Russian Ancient Orthodox Church (since 2002)

In the Catholic Church

In Catholicism, the rank of patriarch is mainly held by the hierarchs who head the Eastern Catholic Churches with the status of patriarchy. In the West, the title is rarely used, with the exception of the heads of the Metropolises of Venice and Lisbon, who historically bear the title of patriarch, the Latin Rite Patriarch of Jerusalem, as well as the titular Patriarchs of the Eastern and Western Indies (the latter vacant since 1963).

Patriarchs - the heads of the Eastern Catholic Churches - are elected by the synod of bishops of a given Church. After the election, the Patriarch is immediately enthroned, after which he asks for communion (church communion) from the Pope (this is the only difference between the patriarch and the supreme archbishop, whose candidacy is approved by the Pope). In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the patriarchs of the Eastern Churches are equated with cardinal bishops.

Non-traditional patriarchies

In addition to historically established patriarchates, there are a number of churches and religious movements that use the title of patriarch in their religious hierarchy. For the most part, these are churches that arose over the last century and often do not share a number of traditional conservative Christian positions. These include:

• Catholic Apostolic National Church of Brazil
• International Union of the Charismatic Episcopal Church

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Literature

• // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
• // Jewish Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron. - St. Petersburg. , 1908-1913.

Links

High clergy Episcopate Presbytery Diaconate Low clergy

Catholic hierarchy Episcopate Elders In Catholic orders Abolished

An excerpt characterizing the Patriarch (church rank)

“So it’s all over! - he thought. - And how did this all happen? So fast! Now I know that not for her alone, not for myself alone, but for everyone, this must inevitably happen. They are all so waiting for it, so sure that it will happen, that I cannot, I cannot deceive them. But how will this happen? Don't know; but it will happen, it will certainly happen!” thought Pierre, looking at those shoulders shining right next to his eyes.
Then suddenly he felt ashamed of something. He felt embarrassed that he was the only one occupying everyone’s attention, that he was a lucky man in the eyes of others, that with his ugly face he was some kind of Paris possessing Helen. “But, it’s true, it always happens this way and this is how it should be,” he consoled himself. - And, by the way, what did I do for this? When did it start? I left Moscow with Prince Vasily. There was nothing here yet. Then, why couldn’t I stop with him? Then I played cards with her and picked up her reticule and went for a ride with her. When did this start, when did it all happen? And so he sits next to her like a groom; hears, sees, feels her closeness, her breathing, her movements, her beauty. Then suddenly it seems to him that it is not she, but he himself is so extraordinarily handsome, that is why they look at him like that, and he, happy with the general surprise, straightens his chest, raises his head and rejoices at his happiness. Suddenly some voice, someone’s familiar voice, is heard and tells him something else. But Pierre is so busy that he does not understand what is being said to him. “I’m asking you when you received the letter from Bolkonsky,” Prince Vasily repeats for the third time. - How absent-minded you are, my dear.
Prince Vasily smiles, and Pierre sees that everyone, everyone is smiling at him and Helen. “Well, well, if you know everything,” Pierre said to himself. "Well? it’s true,” and he himself smiled with his meek, childish smile, and Helen smiles.
- When did you receive it? From Olmutz? - repeats Prince Vasily, who seems to need to know this to resolve the dispute.
“And is it possible to talk and think about such trifles?” thinks Pierre.
“Yes, from Olmutz,” he answers with a sigh.
From dinner, Pierre led his lady behind the others into the living room. The guests began to leave and some left without saying goodbye to Helen. As if not wanting to tear her away from her serious occupation, some came up for a minute and quickly moved away, forbidding her to accompany them. The diplomat was sadly silent as he left the living room. He imagined all the futility of his diplomatic career in comparison with Pierre's happiness. The old general growled angrily at his wife when she asked him about the condition of his leg. “What an old fool,” he thought. “Elena Vasilyevna will still be a beauty at 50 years old.”
“It seems that I can congratulate you,” Anna Pavlovna whispered to the princess and kissed her deeply. – If it weren’t for the migraine, I would have stayed.
The princess did not answer; she was tormented by envy of her daughter's happiness.
While seeing off the guests, Pierre remained alone for a long time with Helen in the small living room where they sat down. He had often been alone with Helen before, in the last month and a half, but had never told her about love. Now he felt that it was necessary, but he could not decide to take this last step. He was ashamed; It seemed to him that here, next to Helen, he was taking someone else’s place. This happiness is not for you,” some inner voice told him. - This is happiness for those who do not have what you have. But something had to be said, and he spoke. He asked her if she was happy with this evening? She, as always, answered with her simplicity that the current name day was one of the most pleasant for her.
Some of the closest relatives still remained. They were sitting in the large living room. Prince Vasily walked up to Pierre with lazy steps. Pierre got up and said that it was too late. Prince Vasily looked at him sternly, questioningly, as if what he said was so strange that it was impossible to hear. But after that, the expression of severity changed, and Prince Vasily pulled Pierre down by the hand, sat him down and smiled affectionately.
- Well, what, Lelya? - He immediately turned to his daughter with that casual tone of habitual tenderness that is acquired by parents who caress their children from childhood, but which Prince Vasily only guessed through imitation of other parents.
And he again turned to Pierre.
“Sergei Kuzmich, from all sides,” he said, unbuttoning the top button of his vest.
Pierre smiled, but it was clear from his smile that he understood that it was not Sergei Kuzmich’s anecdote that interested Prince Vasily at that time; and Prince Vasily realized that Pierre understood this. Prince Vasily suddenly muttered something and left. It seemed to Pierre that even Prince Vasily was embarrassed. The sight of this old man of the world's embarrassment touched Pierre; he looked back at Helen - and she seemed embarrassed and said with her eyes: “Well, it’s your own fault.”
“I must inevitably step over it, but I can’t, I can’t,” thought Pierre, and he started talking again about an outsider, about Sergei Kuzmich, asking what the joke was, since he didn’t hear it. Helen answered with a smile that she didn’t know either.
When Prince Vasily entered the living room, the princess was quietly talking to the elderly lady about Pierre.
- Of course, c "est un parti tres brillant, mais le bonheur, ma chere... - Les Marieiages se font dans les cieux, [Of course, this is a very brilliant party, but happiness, my dear..." - Marriages are made in heaven,] - answered elderly lady.
Prince Vasily, as if not listening to the ladies, walked to the far corner and sat down on the sofa. He closed his eyes and seemed to be dozing. His head fell and he woke up.
“Aline,” he said to his wife, “allez voir ce qu"ils font. [Alina, look what they are doing.]
The princess went to the door, walked past it with a significant, indifferent look and looked into the living room. Pierre and Helene also sat and talked.
“Everything is the same,” she answered her husband.
Prince Vasily frowned, wrinkled his mouth to the side, his cheeks jumped with his characteristic unpleasant, rude expression; He shook himself, stood up, threw his head back and with decisive steps, past the ladies, walked into the small living room. With quick steps, he joyfully approached Pierre. The prince's face was so unusually solemn that Pierre stood up in fear when he saw him.
- God bless! - he said. - My wife told me everything! “He hugged Pierre with one hand and his daughter with the other. - My friend Lelya! I'm very, very happy. – His voice trembled. – I loved your father... and she will be a good wife for you... God bless you!...
He hugged his daughter, then Pierre again and kissed him with a foul-smelling mouth. Tears actually wet his cheeks.
“Princess, come here,” he shouted.
The princess came out and cried too. The elderly lady was also wiping herself with a handkerchief. Pierre was kissed, and he kissed the hand of the beautiful Helene several times. After a while they were left alone again.
“All this had to be this way and could not have been otherwise,” thought Pierre, “so there is no point in asking whether it is good or bad? Good, because definitely, and there is no previous painful doubt.” Pierre silently held his bride's hand and looked at her beautiful breasts rising and falling.
- Helen! - he said out loud and stopped.
“Something special is said in these cases,” he thought, but he could not remember what exactly they say in these cases. He looked into her face. She moved closer to him. Her face flushed.
“Oh, take off these... like these...” she pointed to the glasses.
Pierre took off his glasses, and his eyes, in addition to the general strangeness of the eyes of people who took off their glasses, looked fearfully questioning. He wanted to bend over her hand and kiss it; but with a quick and rough movement of her head she captured his lips and brought them together with hers. Her face struck Pierre with its changed, unpleasantly confused expression.
“Now it’s too late, it’s all over; “Yes, and I love her,” thought Pierre.
- Je vous aime! [I love you!] - he said, remembering what needed to be said in these cases; but these words sounded so poor that he felt ashamed of himself.
A month and a half later, he was married and settled, as they said, the happy owner of a beautiful wife and millions, in the large St. Petersburg newly decorated house of the Bezukhyh counts.

The old Prince Nikolai Andreich Bolkonsky in December 1805 received a letter from Prince Vasily, informing him of his arrival with his son. (“I’m going on an inspection, and, of course, it’s not a 100-mile detour for me to visit you, dear benefactor,” he wrote, “and my Anatole is seeing me off and going to the army; and I hope that you will allow him to personally express to you the deep respect that he, imitating his father, has for you.")
“There’s no need to take Marie out: the suitors are coming to us themselves,” the little princess said carelessly when she heard about this.
Prince Nikolai Andreich winced and said nothing.
Two weeks after receiving the letter, in the evening, Prince Vasily’s people arrived ahead, and the next day he and his son arrived.
Old Bolkonsky always had a low opinion of the character of Prince Vasily, and even more so recently, when Prince Vasily, during the new reigns under Paul and Alexander, went far in rank and honor. Now, from the hints of the letter and the little princess, he understood what was the matter, and the low opinion of Prince Vasily turned in the soul of Prince Nikolai Andreich into a feeling of malevolent contempt. He snorted constantly when talking about him. On the day Prince Vasily arrived, Prince Nikolai Andreich was especially dissatisfied and out of sorts. Was it because he was out of sorts that Prince Vasily was coming, or because he was especially dissatisfied with the arrival of Prince Vasily because he was out of sorts; but he was not in a good mood, and Tikhon in the morning advised against the architect coming in with a report to the prince.
“Can you hear how he walks,” said Tikhon, drawing the architect’s attention to the sounds of the prince’s steps. - He steps on his entire heel - we already know...
However, as usual, at 9 o'clock the prince went out for a walk in his velvet fur coat with a sable collar and the same hat. It snowed the day before. The path along which Prince Nikolai Andreich walked to the greenhouse was cleared, traces of a broom were visible in the scattered snow, and a shovel was stuck into the loose mound of snow that ran on both sides of the path. The prince walked through the greenhouses, through the courtyards and buildings, frowning and silent.
- Is it possible to ride in a sleigh? - he asked the venerable man who accompanied him to the house, similar in face and manners to the owner and manager.
- The snow is deep, your Excellency. I already ordered it to be scattered according to the plan.
The prince bowed his head and walked up to the porch. “Thank you, Lord,” thought the manager, “a cloud has passed!”
“It was difficult to get through, your Excellency,” added the manager. – How did you hear, your Excellency, that the minister will come to your Excellency?
The prince turned to the manager and stared at him with frowning eyes.
- What? Minister? Which minister? Who ordered? – he spoke in his shrill, harsh voice. “They didn’t clear it for the princess, my daughter, but for the minister!” I have no ministers!
- Your Excellency, I thought...
- You thought! - the prince shouted, pronouncing the words more and more hastily and incoherently. – You thought... Robbers! scoundrels! “I will teach you to believe,” and, raising a stick, he swung it at Alpatych and would have hit him if the manager had not involuntarily deviated from the blow. - I thought so! Scoundrels! – he shouted hastily. But, despite the fact that Alpatych, himself frightened by his audacity to dodge the blow, approached the prince, obediently lowering his bald head in front of him, or maybe that’s why the prince continued to shout: “scoundrels! throw up the road! He didn’t pick up his stick another time and ran into the rooms.

The hierarchical principle and structure must be observed in any organization, including the Russian Orthodox Church, which has its own church hierarchy. Surely every person who attends services or is otherwise involved in the activities of the church paid attention to the fact that each clergyman has a certain rank and status. This is expressed in different colors of clothing, type of headdress, presence or absence of jewelry, and the right to perform certain sacred rites.

Hierarchy of clergy in the Russian Orthodox Church

The clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church can be divided into two large groups:

• white clergy (those who can marry and have children);
• black clergy (those who renounced worldly life and accepted monastic orders).

Ranks in the white clergy

Even the Old Testament scripture says that before the Nativity, the prophet Moses appointed people whose task was to become an intermediate link in God’s communication with people. In the modern church system, this function is performed by white priests. The lower representatives of the white clergy do not have holy orders; they include: altar boy, psalm-reader, subdeacon.

Altar boy- this is a person who helps the clergyman in conducting services. Such people are also called sextons. Staying in this rank is a mandatory step before receiving holy orders. The person performing the duties of an altar server is secular, that is, he has the right to leave the church if he changes his mind about connecting his life with serving the Lord.

His responsibilities include:

• Timely lighting of candles and lamps, monitoring their safe combustion;
• Preparation of priests' robes;
• Offer prosphora, Cahors and other attributes of religious rites in a timely manner;
• Light a fire in the censer;
• Bring a towel to your lips during communion;
• Maintaining internal order in church premises.

If necessary, the altar server can ring bells and read prayers, but he is forbidden to touch the throne and be between the altar and the Royal Doors. The altar boy wears ordinary clothes, with a surplice on top.

Acolyte(otherwise known as a reader) is another representative of the white lower clergy. His main responsibility: reading prayers and words from holy scripture (as a rule, they know 5-6 main chapters from the Gospel), explaining to people the basic postulates of the life of a true Christian. For special merits he may be ordained subdeacon. This procedure is carried out by a cleric of higher rank. The psalm-reader is allowed to wear a cassock and skufia.

Subdeacon- assistant to the priest in conducting services. His attire: surplice and orarion. When blessed by the bishop (he can also elevate the psalmist or altar server to the rank of subdeacon), the subdeacon receives the right to touch the throne, as well as enter the altar through the Royal Doors. His task is to wash the hands of the priest during services and give him the items necessary for the rituals, for example, ripids and trikirium.

Church ranks of the Orthodox Church

The above-mentioned church ministers do not have holy orders, and, therefore, are not clergy. These are ordinary people living in the world, but wanting to become closer to God and church culture. They are accepted into their positions with the blessing of clergy of higher rank.

Deaconate degree of clergy

Deacon- the lowest rank among all clergy with holy orders. His main task is to be the priest's assistant during worship; they are mainly engaged in reading the Gospel. Deacons do not have the right to conduct worship services independently. As a rule, they perform their service in parish churches. Gradually, this church rank is losing its significance, and their representation in the church is steadily declining. Deacon ordination (the procedure for elevation to the rank of ecclesiastical rank) is carried out by the bishop.

Protodeacon- chief deacon at a temple or church. In the last century, this rank was received by a deacon for special merits; currently, 20 years of service in a lower church rank are required. The protodeacon has a characteristic robe - an orarion with the words “Holy! Holy! Holy." As a rule, these are people with a beautiful voice (they perform psalms and sing at services).

Presbytery Degree of Ministers

Priest translated from Greek means “priest.” Minor title of the white clergy. The consecration is also carried out by the bishop (bishop). The duties of the priest include:

• Conducting sacraments, divine services and other religious ceremonies;
• Conducting communion;
• To carry the covenants of Orthodoxy to the masses.

The priest does not have the right to consecrate antimensions (plates of material made of silk or linen with a particle of the relics of an Orthodox martyr sewn into it, located in the altar on the throne; a necessary attribute for conducting a full liturgy) and to conduct the sacraments of ordination of the priesthood. Instead of a hood he wears a kamilavka.

Archpriest- a title awarded to representatives of the white clergy for special merits. The archpriest, as a rule, is the rector of the temple. His attire during services and church sacraments is an epitrachelion and chasuble. An archpriest awarded the right to wear a miter is called a miter.

Several archpriests can serve in one cathedral. Ordination to the archpriest is carried out by the bishop with the help of consecration - the laying on of hands with prayer. Unlike consecration, it is carried out in the center of the temple, outside the altar.

Protopresbyter- the highest rank for members of the white clergy. Awarded in exceptional cases as a reward for special services to the church and society.

The highest church ranks belong to the black clergy, that is, such dignitaries are prohibited from having a family. A representative of the white clergy can also take this path if he renounces worldly life, and his wife supports her husband and takes monastic vows.

Also, dignitaries who become widowers take this path, since they do not have the right to remarry.

The ranks of the black clergy

These are people who have taken monastic vows. They are prohibited from marrying and having children. They completely renounce worldly life, taking vows of chastity, obedience and non-covetousness (voluntary renunciation of wealth).

The lower ranks of the black clergy have many similarities with the corresponding ranks of the white clergy. The hierarchy and responsibilities can be compared using the following table:

Corresponding rank of white clergy	The rank of the black clergy	A comment
Altar Boy/Psalm Reader	Novice	A lay person who has decided to become a monk. By decision of the abbot, he is enrolled in the brethren of the monastery, given a cassock and assigned a probationary period. Upon completion, the novice can decide whether to become a monk or return to secular life.
Subdeacon	Monk (monk)	A member of a religious community who has taken three monastic vows and leads an ascetic lifestyle in a monastery or independently in solitude and hermitage. He does not have holy orders, therefore, he cannot perform divine services. Monastic tonsure is performed by the abbot.
Deacon	Hierodeacon	A monk with the rank of deacon.
Protodeacon	Archdeacon	Senior deacon in the black clergy. In the Russian Orthodox Church, an archdeacon serving under the patriarch is called a patriarchal archdeacon and belongs to the white clergy. In large monasteries, the chief deacon also has the rank of archdeacon.
Priest	Hieromonk	A monk who has the rank of priest. You can become a hieromonk after the ordination procedure, and white priests can become a monk through monastic tonsure.
Archpriest		Initially, he was the abbot of an Orthodox monastery. In the modern Russian Orthodox Church, the rank of abbot is given as a reward for hieromonk. Often the rank is not related to the management of the monastery. The initiation into abbot is carried out by the bishop.
Protopresbyter	Archimandrite	One of the highest monastic ranks in the Orthodox Church. The conferment of dignity occurs through hirothesia. The rank of archimandrite is associated with administrative management and monastic leadership.

Episcopal degree of clergy

Bishop belongs to the category of bishops. In the process of ordination, they received the highest grace of God and therefore have the right to carry out any sacred actions, including the ordination of deacons. All bishops have the same rights, the eldest of them is the archbishop (has the same functions as the bishop; elevation to rank is carried out by the patriarch). Only the bishop has the right to bless the service with an antimis.

Wears a red robe and a black hood. The following address to a bishop is accepted: “Vladyka” or “Your Eminence.”

He is the leader of the local church - diocese. Chief priest of the district. Elected by the Holy Synod by order of the Patriarch. If necessary, a suffragan bishop is appointed to assist the diocesan bishop. Bishops bear a title that includes the name of the cathedral city. A candidate for bishop must be a representative of the black clergy and over 30 years of age.

Metropolitan- the highest title of a bishop. Reports directly to the patriarch. He has a characteristic robe: a blue mantle and a white hood with a cross made of precious stones.

The rank is given for high merits to society and the church; it is the oldest, if you start counting from the formation of Orthodox culture.

Performs the same functions as a bishop, differing from him in the advantage of honor. Before the restoration of the patriarchate in 1917, there were only three episcopal sees in Russia, with which the rank of metropolitan was usually associated: St. Petersburg, Kiev and Moscow. Currently, there are more than 30 metropolitans in the Russian Orthodox Church.

Patriarch- the highest rank of the Orthodox Church, the main priest of the country. Official representative of the Russian Orthodox Church. Patriarch is translated from Greek as “the power of the father.” He is elected at the Council of Bishops, to which the patriarch reports. This is a lifelong rank, deposition and excommunication of the person who received it, possible only in the most exceptional cases. When the place of the patriarch is not occupied (the period between the death of the previous patriarch and the election of a new one), his duties are temporarily performed by an appointed locum tenens.

Has primacy of honor among all bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church. Carries out the management of the church together with the Holy Synod. Contacts with representatives of the Catholic Church and high dignitaries of other faiths, as well as with government authorities. Issues decrees on the election and appointment of bishops, manages the institutions of the Synod. Receives complaints against bishops, giving them action, rewards clergy and laity with church awards.

A candidate for the patriarchal throne must be a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, have a higher theological education, be at least 40 years of age, and enjoy a good reputation and the trust of the church and people.

Negotiations on the establishment of an independent patriarchal see in Russia began in the summer of 1588. Patriarch Jeremiah of Constantinople, who arrived in Moscow, was solemnly received in the Kremlin, but the process of establishing the patriarchate itself took about six months. On January 29, 1589, the Consecrated Council elected Metropolitan Job of Moscow as the first patriarch of the Russian Church, and Patriarch Jeremiah of Constantinople personally elevated him to the rank of “Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia.” The decision to establish the Moscow Patriarchate was confirmed in May 1590 at a church council in Constantinople by the heads of other local churches. The conciliar charter was delivered to Moscow by Metropolitan Dionysius of Tarnovo in the spring of the following year.

From the very beginning of the Christianization of Russian lands in the 9th–10th centuries. their church hierarchy was part of the structures of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The head of the Russian Church was the Metropolitan of Kiev, whose candidacy was approved by the Patriarch of Constantinople. Until the 14th century. The metropolitan see, with rare exceptions, was occupied by Greek clergy.

Internal strife and Mongol invasions led to the 2nd half of the 13th century. to the decline of Kyiv. In 1299, Metropolitan Maxim moved his residence to North-Eastern Rus', to Vladimir, although he retained the title of Metropolitan of Kyiv. Beginning with Maxim's successor, Metropolitan Peter, the primates of the Russian Church lived primarily in Moscow, which gradually became the center of gathering of Russian lands.

The entry of the southern Russian lands into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland, as well as the relocation of the Kyiv metropolitans to the northeast, led to a series of internal church and administrative conflicts. In the middle of the 15th century. The Western Russian Metropolis was formed, the head of which bore the title of Metropolitan of Kyiv and Galicia. The first hierarchs who lived in Moscow began to bear the title of “Metropolitans of All Rus'.” Since 1448, they were elected by a council of Russian bishops, without approval in Constantinople. Thus, the Russian Church received actual independence (autocephaly), although not legally enshrined.

After the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 and the establishment of the Moscow Metropolitanate's independent status from Constantinople, the Russian Church became the most influential and numerous of the local churches. What is especially important is that it was located on the territory of the last independent state, where Orthodoxy was the official religion. Starting from the time of Ivan the Terrible, Moscow sovereigns took the title of tsars, presenting themselves as successors to the Byzantine Caesar emperors. There was a growing understanding of the need to raise the status of the Russian Church to patriarchy.

However, the elevation of the Moscow Metropolis to the level of patriarchate at that time was hampered by tense relations with the Church of Constantinople. Its leaders were offended by Rus' for its unilateral transition to autocephaly and did not want to officially recognize it. At the same time, without the consent of the Constantinople and other eastern patriarchs, the independent proclamation of a Russian metropolitan as a patriarch would be illegal. If it was possible to install a tsar in Moscow independently, by the force and authority of the Orthodox state, then it was impossible to establish a patriarchate without first resolving this issue by the leading departments. Historical circumstances were favorable for completing the program of autocephaly of the Russian Church through the establishment of the patriarchate only at the end of the 16th century, during the reign of Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich. An important role in the negotiations on this issue was played by the actual ruler of Rus' at that time - the brother of Queen Irina Boris Godunov, the future tsar.

The first stage of preparations for the establishment of the patriarchate in the Russian Church was associated with the arrival of Patriarch Joachim of Antioch to Moscow in 1586. This event became the impetus for the work of Godunov’s diplomats in acquiring patriarchal dignity for the primate of the Russian Church. Joachim first came to Western Rus', and from there he went to Moscow for financial help. And if in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth the patriarch had to witness a new onslaught of Catholics on Orthodoxy and the almost complete decline of the church life of the Kyiv Metropolis, then in Moscow he was greeted with great honor and pomp.

The main purpose of the Patriarchal visit was to collect donations. At the See of Antioch, as well as at other Orthodox churches under Ottoman rule, there was a gigantic debt for those times - 8 thousand gold. The Russians were very interested in the appearance of Joachim in Moscow: for the first time in history, the Eastern Patriarch came to Moscow. In the minds of Godunov and his circle, this unprecedented episode almost instantly and unexpectedly brought to life a project designed to put into practice the idea of ​​​​establishing the Moscow Patriarchate.

In 1587, on the initiative of Godunov, Dionysius, associated with the political opponents of Boris Fedorovich, was replaced at the metropolitan see by the loyal Job, previously the Archbishop of Rostov.

Meanwhile, the Church of Constantinople was going through a period of turmoil and financial difficulties. The new patriarch Jeremiah II, soon after his election, went to the Russian lands to get money.

On July 11, 1588, he arrived in Moscow, where he was met with great honors and placed in the Ryazan courtyard. After 5 days, Jeremiah was received by Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich and Tsarina Irina. They presented the Greek hierarch with silver, money, and sables. Jeremiah handed over to the king and queen the shrines brought to Moscow, including part of the relics of Emperor Constantine. After the gala reception, negotiations between Jeremiah and Boris Godunov took place. Here it turned out that Jeremiah was not ready to discuss the 1586 agreements of the Russian government with the Antioch Patriarch Joachim on the establishment of the Patriarchate in Rus' and came only “for the sake of alms for a church building.” The Patriarch of Constantinople insisted that he could not resolve such an important issue without a council discussion. Finding himself virtually under house arrest at the Ryazan courtyard, Jeremiah made concessions, offering Moscow limited autocephaly. At the same time, it was necessary to remember the Patriarch of Constantinople during divine services and receive consecrated myrrh from him. But by this time the Russian Church had already been virtually autocephalous for a century and a half.

However, Jeremiah continued to search for a compromise: he was ready himself, tired of the endless hardships in Constantinople, to remain patriarch in Rus'. In this case, the Russian side offered Jeremiah a residence in Vladimir; Metropolitan Job would remain in Moscow with the sovereign. Jeremiah agreed to become the Russian patriarch only if he was placed in the capital. Negotiations between Godunov and Jeremiah lasted almost six months. In mid-January 1589, Jeremiah made a promise to install a Russian patriarch in Russia and to bless the further installation of a patriarch in Rus' by a council of Russian bishops; the king had to let him go to Constantinople.

On January 17, 1589, Fyodor Ivanovich convened the Boyar Duma together with the Church Council: 3 archbishops, 6 bishops, 5 archimandrites and 3 cathedral monastery elders arrived in Moscow. The king announced that Jeremiah did not want to be patriarch in Vladimir. Fyodor Ivanovich decided to ask Jeremiah for his blessing to appoint Job as Patriarch of Moscow. On the same day, the Duma was assembled with the Consecrated Council, and the sovereign turned to Job, asking the metropolitan for his opinion regarding the establishment of the patriarchate. Job replied that he, together with all the bishops and the Consecrated Council, “put the Tsar and the Grand Duke at the will of the pious sovereign.”

On January 23, Patriarch Jeremiah and members of the Consecrated Council, with the exception of Metropolitan Job, arrived at the Assumption Cathedral. In the chapel in honor of the Praise of the Mother of God, the traditional place for electing candidates for metropolitan positions, the election of three candidates for the patriarchate took place. Then all the bishops participating in the elections, led by Jeremiah, arrived at the palace. Here the Patriarch of Constantinople reported to the Tsar about the candidates, and Fyodor Ivanovich chose Job. Only after this, the elected Patriarch of Moscow was called to the palace, and he met Jeremiah for the first time. Here, in the royal chambers, Job was named patriarch. In the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, Jeremiah and the named Patriarch Job served a short prayer service. Three days later, the installation ceremony of the first Russian patriarch took place there; Jeremiah and a host of bishops performed the full episcopal consecration of Job.

In early February, Jeremiah spent several days in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra; at the beginning of Lent, he again asked to be released to Constantinople, but Godunov, citing the difficulties of the journey in winter, persuaded him to wait some more time. This was necessary in order to prepare for Jeremiah’s signing a document on the establishment of the Patriarchate in Moscow - the so-called Chartered Charter. A characteristic detail of this letter, drawn up in the royal office, is the mention of the consent of all eastern patriarchs to the establishment of the patriarchate in Moscow. In fact, at that time such consent had not yet been obtained.

The next stage in the approval of the Moscow Patriarch was to include him in a fairly high place in the patriarchal diptychs - the official list of heads of Orthodox churches. The Russians claimed that the Moscow Patriarch would be commemorated in the diptych third, after the Patriarchs of Constantinople and Alexandria, before the Patriarchs of Antioch and Jerusalem. After signing the letter, Jeremiah, having received generous gifts from the king, left Moscow in May 1589.

Fulfilling the promises made in Moscow, in May 1590 he convened a council in Constantinople, at which he spoke about the establishment of the patriarchate in Russia. The Council recognized this act and approved the patriarchal rank for the primates of the Russian Church. The conciliar charter was brought to Moscow the following year by Metropolitan Dionysius of Tarnovo and was presented to the Tsar on June 20. Under the text of the verdict of the Council of Eastern Hierarchs there are 106 signatures (including the signatures of three patriarchs; there is no signature of the High Hierarch of Alexandria, because the See of Alexandria was then vacant). Their modern graphological analysis showed that at least 66 of the signatures were forged. There is no need to doubt the fact that Patriarch Jeremiah held a council regarding the elevation of the Moscow See to the level of patriarchal chair, but it must be recognized that the number of participants in the council was significantly less than the number of signatures under the council verdict. Probably, Jeremiah committed the forgery in hopes of quickly receiving alms from Russia and wanted to create a more representative impression of the cathedral than it actually was.

In 1593, in Constantinople, in the presence of the Moscow ambassador G. Afanasyev, a new council of eastern hierarchs was held, in which the patriarchs of Constantinople, Alexandria (who also temporarily ruled the See of Antioch) and Jerusalem took part. The Council, having agreed with the elevation of the primate of the Russian Church to the rank of patriarch, confirmed the fifth place of the Russian Church in the diptych of Orthodox churches.

Jeremiah, by the grace of God, Archbishop of Costiantinople of the new Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch. When the faithful and quiet autocrat Tsar of all the lands of Russia, Moscow, Kazan, Astorokhan, Novgorod and other Orthodox Christians, Mr. Feodor Ivanovich, accepted our bodily humility (in the margins: moderation) and showed friendship towards us, he had great faith in God and love for the Church of Christ and accepted asked us for dignity by election by the conciliar and by commandment and by law, let us install the Archbishop of Moscow and call him Patriarch, as other names call him, the first Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from the Holy Ecumenical First Council was honored with the dignity of the blessed and Equal-to-the-Apostles King the Great Constantine, and then the Alexandrian, Antiochian and the Orthodox Patriarchs of Jerusalem saw this grace of humility (in the margins: moderation) with our eyes and rejoiced at the kingdom given from God, this kingdom is more widespread and majesty, as this one is now the great Orthodox king on earth, but it was unworthy not to do his will. And having accepted the mind of his patriarch, they installed Mr. Iev in Moscow in the name and grace of the Holy Spirit and gave him a patriarchal letter (in the margins: gold seal) and according to that letter he willed and left so that he will be the Archbishop of Moscow (in the margins: Mr. Iev) the fifth patriarch will rule and will be ( in the margins: to have) patriarchal dignity and honor to be named and venerated with the old patriarchs forever and ever, having done this there in the right place (in the margins: for this I have done it there in the right place...). And when, by the grace of God, our humility (in the margins: moderation) we came to our throne in the city of Kostyantin and announced this matter, as was done in Moscow, the thought and petition of the blessed king clearly and having heard that dignity and praiseworthy deeds and other holy patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch and they loved Jerusalem and it seemed to them grateful and blessed. And also our humility (in the margins: here is our moderation again) with these patriarchs and with the ecumenical (above the line: this) council in one thought and in unity (in the margins: in like-mindedness and union) and in desire for the Holy Spirit we write and declare about this (corrected: through this) conciliar charter, we first confess and perform in the reigning city of Moscow the installation (in the margins: ordination) and the patriarchal naming of the installed lord Iev; for this we perform and for this purpose we send as we write the patriarchal charter and write about everything clearly and deigned by the cathedral and the Moscow lord Iev, the patriarch appointed in advance, calls the patriarch patriarch and venerator with the other patriarchs, and there will be a rank on him and in prayers after with the patriarch of Jerusalem we must remember our name (later corrected: in prayers after the patriarch of Jerusalem we must remember our name) and others, but in their heads and principles to hold and honor the Apostolic See of Constantinople like other patriarchs. And it was granted the patriarchal honor and name, and not only to the Patriarch of Moscow, Mr. Iev, but it was not approved unshakably, but also according to it, the Moscow Council installed the initial authorities as patriarchs, and the name was found, according to the rule, conceived from the Patriarch of this Moscow Mr. Iev about the Holy Dus to our beloved brother and colleague humility and for this purpose the letter laid down was approved for memory forever and strengthened in the summer of 7098, the month of May.

(Russian translation from the original Greek from the Greek Article List No. 3 (now RGADA. F. 52. Op. 1. D. 3).

Reproduced from the publication: Shpakov A.Ya. State and church in their mutual relations in the Moscow state. Part 2. Reign of Fyodor Ivanovich. Establishment of the Patriarchate in Russia. Odessa, 1912. P.351-353.

The charter was signed by Patriarchs Jeremiah of Constantinople, Joachim of Antioch, Sophronia of Jerusalem, 42 metropolitans, 19 archbishops and 26 bishops, and sealed.

© FKU “Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts” (RGADA)
F. 52. Op. 2. No. 5. L. 1

Bogdanov A.P. Russian patriarchs: 1589-1700. T.1. M., 1999.

Job, Patriarch of Moscow // Orthodox Encyclopedia. T.25. M., 2011. P.253-264.

Skrynnikov R.G. Cross and crown: Church and state in Rus' IX-XVII centuries. St. Petersburg, 2000.

Uspensky B.A. Tsar and Patriarch: Charisma of power in Russia: The Byzantine model and its Russian rethinking. M., 1998.

Fonkich B.L. From the history of the establishment of the patriarchate in Russia: Cathedral charters of 1590 and 1593. // Problems of paleography and codicology in the USSR. M., 1974. P.251-260.

Shpakov A.Ya. State and Church in their mutual relations in the Moscow state: The reign of Fyodor Ivanovich; Establishment of the Patriarchate in Russia. Odessa, 1912.

Why did the head of the Russian Church in the 16th century. Was it more difficult to accept the title of patriarch than for a secular sovereign to accept the title of king?

What caused the difficulties of the Orthodox in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th century?

What is the concept of "symphony of power"?

Why was the Russian Church initially dependent on Constantinople?

Job(in the world John) - Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. On the initiative of Saint Job, transformations were carried out in the Russian Church, as a result of which 4 metropolises were included in the Moscow Patriarchate: Novgorod, Kazan, Rostov and Krutitsa; New dioceses were established, more than a dozen monasteries were founded.
Patriarch Job was the first to put the business of printing on a broad basis. With the blessing of Saint Job, the following were published for the first time: the Lenten Triodion, the Colored Triodion, the Octoechos, the General Menaion, the Official of the Bishop's Ministry and the Service Book.
During the Time of Troubles, Saint Job was actually the first to lead the Russians’ opposition to the Polish-Lithuanian invaders. On April 13, 1605, Patriarch Job, who refused to swear allegiance to False Dmitry I, was deposed and, having suffered many reproaches, was exiled to the Staritsa Monastery. After the overthrow of False Dmitry I, Saint Job was unable to to return to the First Hierarchal Throne, he blessed Metropolitan Hermogenes of Kazan to his place. Patriarch Job died peacefully on June 19, 1607. In 1652, under Patriarch Joseph, the incorrupt and fragrant relics of St. Job were transferred to Moscow and placed next to the tomb of Patriarch Joasaph (1634-1640). Many healings occurred from the relics of Saint Job.
His memory is celebrated by the Russian Orthodox Church on April 5/18 and June 19/July 2.

Hermogenes(in the world Ermolai) (1530-1612) - Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. The patriarchate of St. Hermogenes coincided with the difficult times of the Time of Troubles. With special inspiration, His Holiness the Patriarch opposed the traitors and enemies of the Fatherland who wanted to enslave the Russian people, introduce Uniateism and Catholicism in Russia, and eradicate Orthodoxy.
Muscovites, under the leadership of Kozma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, raised an uprising, in response to which the Poles set fire to the city and took refuge in the Kremlin. Together with the Russian traitors, they forcibly removed the holy Patriarch Hermogenes from the Patriarchal Throne and took him into custody in the Miracle Monastery.” Patriarch Hermogenes blessed the Russian people for their liberation feat.
Saint Hermogenes languished in severe captivity for more than nine months. On February 17, 1612, he died a martyr from hunger and thirst. The liberation of Russia, for which Saint Hermogenes stood with such indestructible courage, was successfully completed by the Russian people through his intercession.
The body of the Holy Martyr Hermogenes was buried with due honor in the Chudov Monastery. The holiness of the Patriarchal feat, as well as his personality as a whole, was illuminated from above later - during the opening in 1652 of the shrine containing the relics of the saint. 40 years after his death, Patriarch Hermogenes lay as if alive.
With the blessing of Saint Hermogenes, the service to the Holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called was translated from Greek into Russian and the celebration of his memory was restored in the Assumption Cathedral. Under the supervision of the High Hierarch, new presses were made for printing liturgical books and a new printing house was built, which was damaged during the fire of 1611, when Moscow was set on fire by the Poles.
In 1913, the Russian Orthodox Church glorified Patriarch Hermogenes as a saint. His memory is celebrated on May 12/25 and February 17/March 1.

Filaret(Romanov Fedor Nikitich) (1554-1633) - Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', father of the first tsar of the Romanov dynasty. Under Tsar Theodore Ioannovich, a noble boyar, under Boris Godunov he fell into disgrace, was exiled to a monastery and tonsured a monk. In 1611, while on an embassy in Poland, he was captured. In 1619 he returned to Russia and until his death he was the de facto ruler of the country under his sick son, Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich.

Joasaph I- Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, notifying the four Ecumenical Patriarchs of the death of his father, also wrote that “Pskov Archbishop Joasaph, a prudent, truthful, reverent man and taught all virtue, was elected and installed Patriarch of the Great Russian Church as Patriarch.” Patriarch Joasaph I was elevated to the chair of the Moscow Patriarch by with the blessing of Patriarch Filaret, who himself designated a successor.
He continued the publishing works of his predecessors, doing a great job of collating and correcting liturgical books. During the relatively short reign of Patriarch Joasaph, 3 monasteries were founded and 5 previous ones were restored.

Joseph- Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. Strict adherence to church statutes and laws became a characteristic feature of the ministry of Patriarch Joseph. In 1646, before the onset of Lent, Patriarch Joseph sent out a district order to the entire clergy and all Orthodox Christians to observe the upcoming fast in purity. This district message of Patriarch Joseph, as well as the tsar’s decree of 1647 banning work on Sundays and holidays and limiting trade on these days, contributed to the strengthening of faith among the people.
Patriarch Joseph paid great attention to the cause of spiritual enlightenment. With his blessing, a theological school was founded in Moscow at the St. Andrew's Monastery in 1648. Under Patriarch Joseph, as well as under his predecessors, liturgical and church teaching books were published throughout Russia. In total, under Patriarch Joseph, over 10 years, 36 book titles were published, of which 14 had not been published previously in Rus'. During the years of Patriarchate Joseph, the relics of the holy saints of God were repeatedly discovered and miraculous icons were glorified.
The name of Patriarch Joseph will forever remain on the tablets of history due to the fact that it was this archpastor who managed to take the first steps towards the reunification of Ukraine (Little Russia) with Russia, although the reunification itself took place in 1654 after the death of Joseph under Patriarch Nikon.

Nikon(in the world Nikita Minich Minin) (1605-1681) - Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' since 1652. The Patriarchate of Nikon constituted an entire era in the history of the Russian Church. Like Patriarch Philaret, he had the title of “Great Sovereign,” which he received in the first years of his Patriarchate due to the special favor of the Tsar towards him. He took part in solving almost all national affairs. In particular, with the active assistance of Patriarch Nikon, the historical reunification of Ukraine with Russia took place in 1654. The lands of Kievan Rus, once seized by Polish-Lithuanian magnates, became part of the Moscow state. This soon led to the return of the original Orthodox dioceses of Southwestern Rus' to the bosom of the Mother - the Russian Church. Soon Belarus was reunited with Russia. The title of the Patriarch of Moscow “Great Sovereign” was supplemented by the title “Patriarch of All Great and Little and White Russia”.
But Patriarch Nikon showed himself to be especially zealous as a church reformer. In addition to streamlining the divine service, he replaced the two-fingered sign with the three-fingered one during the sign of the cross, and corrected the liturgical books according to Greek models, which is his immortal, great service to the Russian Church. However, the church reforms of Patriarch Nikon gave rise to the Old Believer schism, the consequences of which darkened the life of the Russian Church for several centuries.
The high priest encouraged church construction in every possible way; he himself was one of the best architects of his time. Under Patriarch Nikon, the richest monasteries of Orthodox Rus' were built: Resurrection Monastery near Moscow, called the “New Jerusalem”, Iversky Svyatoozersky in Valdai and Krestny Kiyostrovsky in Onega Bay. But Patriarch Nikon considered the main foundation of the earthly Church to be the height of the personal life of the clergy and monasticism. Throughout his life, Patriarch Nikon never ceased to strive for knowledge and learn something. He collected a rich library. Patriarch Nikon studied Greek, studied medicine, painted icons, mastered the skill of making tiles... Patriarch Nikon strove to create Holy Rus' - a new Israel. Preserving a living, creative Orthodoxy, he wanted to create an enlightened Orthodox culture and learned it from the Orthodox East. But some of the measures carried out by Patriarch Nikon infringed on the interests of the boyars and they slandered the Patriarch before the Tsar. By the decision of the Council, he was deprived of the Patriarchate and sent to prison: first to Ferapontov, and then, in 1676, to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. At the same time, however, the church reforms he carried out were not only not canceled, but received approval.
The deposed Patriarch Nikon remained in exile for 15 years. Before his death, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich asked Patriarch Nikon for forgiveness in his will. The new Tsar Theodore Alekseevich decided to return Patriarch Nikon to his rank and asked him to return to the Resurrection Monastery he founded. On the way to this monastery, Patriarch Nikon peacefully departed to the Lord, surrounded by manifestations of the great love of the people and his disciples. Patriarch Nikon was buried with due honors in the Resurrection Cathedral of the New Jerusalem Monastery. In September 1682, letters from all four Eastern Patriarchs were delivered to Moscow, releasing Nikon from all punishments and restoring him to the rank of Patriarch of All Rus'.

Joasaph II- Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. The Great Moscow Council of 1666-1667, which condemned and deposed Patriarch Nikon and anathematized the Old Believers as heretics, elected a new Primate of the Russian Church. Archimandrite Joasaph of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra became the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.
Patriarch Joasaph paid very significant attention to missionary activity, especially on the outskirts of the Russian state, which were just beginning to be developed: in the Far North and Eastern Siberia, especially in Transbaikalia and the Amur basin, along the border with China. In particular, with the blessing of Joasaph II, the Spassky Monastery was founded near the Chinese border in 1671.
The great merit of Patriarch Joasaph in the field of healing and intensifying the pastoral activity of the Russian clergy should be recognized as the decisive actions he took aimed at restoring the tradition of delivering a sermon during the service, which by that time had almost died out in Rus'.
During the patriarchate of Joasaph II, extensive book publishing activities continued in the Russian Church. During the short period of the primacy of Patriarch Joasaph, not only numerous liturgical books were printed, but also many publications of doctrinal content. Already in 1667, “The Tale of the Conciliar Acts” and “The Rod of Government,” written by Simeon of Polotsk to expose the Old Believer schism, were published, then the “Big Catechism” and “Small Catechism” were published.

Pitirim- Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. Patriarch Pitirim accepted the rank of First Hierarch at a very old age and ruled the Russian Church for only about 10 months, until his death in 1673. He was a close associate of Patriarch Nikon and after his deposition became one of the contenders for the Throne, but he was elected only after the death of Patriarch Joasaph II.
On July 7, 1672, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, Metropolitan Pitirim of Novgorod was elevated to the Patriarchal Throne; already very ill, Metropolitan Joachim was called to administrative affairs.
After a ten-month, unremarkable patriarchate, he died on April 19, 1673.

Joachim(Savelov-First Ivan Petrovich) - Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. Due to the illness of Patriarch Pitirim, Metropolitan Joachim was involved in the affairs of the Patriarchal administration, and on July 26, 1674 he was elevated to the Primate See.
His efforts were aimed at fighting against foreign influence on Russian society.
The High Hierarch was distinguished by his zeal for the strict fulfillment of church canons. He revised the rites of the liturgy of Saints Basil the Great and John Chrysostom, and eliminated some inconsistencies in liturgical practice. In addition, Patriarch Joachim corrected and published the Typicon, which is still used in the Russian Orthodox Church almost unchanged.
In 1678, Patriarch Joachim expanded the number of almshouses in Moscow, supported by church funds.
With the blessing of Patriarch Joachim, a theological school was founded in Moscow, which laid the foundation for the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, which in 1814 was transformed into the Moscow Theological Academy.
In the field of public administration, Patriarch Joachim also showed himself to be an energetic and consistent politician, actively supporting Peter I after the death of Tsar Theodore Alekseevich.

Adrian(in the world? Andrey) (1627-1700) – Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' since 1690. On August 24, 1690, Metropolitan Adrian was elevated to the All-Russian Patriarchal Throne. In his speech during the enthronement, Patriarch Adrian called on the Orthodox to keep the canons intact, maintain peace, and protect the Church from heresies. In the “District Message” and “Admonition” to the flock, consisting of 24 points, Patriarch Adrian gave spiritually useful instructions to each of the classes. He did not like barbering, smoking, the abolition of Russian national clothing and other similar everyday innovations of Peter I. Patriarch Adrian understood and understood the useful and truly important initiatives of the Tsar, aimed at the good dispensation of the Fatherland (building a fleet, military and socio-economic transformations). supported.

Stefan Jaworski(Yavorsky Simeon Ivanovich) - Metropolitan of Ryazan and Murom, patriarchal locum tenens of the Moscow throne.
He studied at the famous Kiev-Mohyla Collegium, the center of southern Russian education at that time. In which he studied until 1684. To enter the Jesuit school, Yavorsky, like his other contemporaries, converted to Catholicism. In southwest Russia this was commonplace.
Stefan studied philosophy in Lviv and Lublin, and then theology in Vilna and Poznan. In Polish schools he became thoroughly acquainted with Catholic theology and acquired a hostile attitude towards Protestantism.
In 1689, Stefan returned to Kyiv, repented of his renunciation of the Orthodox Church and was accepted back into its fold.
In the same year he became a monk and underwent monastic obedience at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.
At the Kyiv College he worked his way up from a teacher to a professor of theology.
Stefan became a famous preacher and in 1697 was appointed abbot of the St. Nicholas Desert Monastery, which was then located outside of Kyiv.
After a sermon delivered on the occasion of the death of the royal governor A.S. Shein, which was noted by Peter I, he was ordained a bishop and appointed Metropolitan of Ryazan and Murom.
On December 16, 1701, after the death of Patriarch Adrian, by order of the Tsar, Stefan was appointed locum tenens of the patriarchal throne.
Stephen's church and administrative activities were insignificant; the power of the locum tenens, compared with the patriarch, was limited by Peter I. In spiritual matters, in most cases, Stephen had to confer with the council of bishops.
Peter I kept him with him until his death, carrying out under his sometimes forced blessing all the reforms that were unpleasant for Stephen. Metropolitan Stephen did not have the strength to openly break with the tsar, and at the same time he could not come to terms with what was happening.
In 1718, during the trial of Tsarevich Alexei, Tsar Peter I ordered Metropolitan Stephen to come to St. Petersburg and did not allow him to leave until his death, thereby depriving him of even that insignificant power that he partially enjoyed.
In 1721 the Synod was opened. The Tsar appointed Metropolitan Stefan as President of the Synod, who was least sympathetic to this institution than anyone else. Stefan refused to sign the protocols of the Synod, did not attend its meetings and had no influence on synodal affairs. The Tsar, obviously, kept him only in order, using his name, to give a certain sanction to the new institution. During his entire stay in the Synod, Metropolitan Stephen was under investigation for political matters as a result of constant slander against him.
Metropolitan Stefan died on November 27, 1722 in Moscow, on Lubyanka, in the Ryazan courtyard. On the same day, his body was taken to the Trinity Church at the Ryazan courtyard, where it stood until December 19, that is, until the arrival of Emperor Peter I and members of the Holy Synod in Moscow. On December 20, the funeral service for Metropolitan Stephen took place in the Church of the Assumption of the Most Pure Mother of God, called Grebnevskaya.

Tikhon(Belavin Vasily Ivanovich) - Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. In 1917, the All-Russian Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church restored the Patriarchate. The most important event in the history of the Russian Church took place: after two centuries of forced headlessness, it again found its Primate and High Hierarch.
Metropolitan Tikhon of Moscow and Kolomna (1865-1925) was elected to the Patriarchal Throne.
Patriarch Tikhon was a true defender of Orthodoxy. Despite all his gentleness, goodwill and good nature, he became unshakably firm and unyielding in church affairs, where necessary, and above all in protecting the Church from her enemies. The true Orthodoxy and strength of character of Patriarch Tikhon came to light especially clearly during the time of the “renovationism” schism. He stood as an insurmountable obstacle in the way of the Bolsheviks before their plans to decompose the Church from within.
His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon took the most important steps towards normalizing relations with the state. The messages of Patriarch Tikhon proclaim: “The Russian Orthodox Church... must and will be the One Catholic Apostolic Church, and any attempts, no matter from whose side they come, to plunge the Church into a political struggle must be rejected and condemned” (from the Appeal of 1 July 1923)
Patriarch Tikhon aroused the hatred of representatives of the new government, who constantly persecuted him. He was either imprisoned or kept under “house arrest” in the Moscow Donskoy Monastery. The life of His Holiness was always under threat: an attempt was made on his life three times, but he fearlessly went to perform divine services in various churches in Moscow and beyond. The entire Patriarchate of His Holiness Tikhon was a continuous feat of martyrdom. When the authorities made him an offer to go abroad for permanent residence, Patriarch Tikhon said: “I will not go anywhere, I will suffer here along with all the people and fulfill my duty to the limit set by God.” All these years he actually lived in prison and died in struggle and sorrow. His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon died on March 25, 1925, on the feast of the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, and was buried in the Moscow Donskoy Monastery.

Peter(Polyansky, in the world Pyotr Fedorovich Polyansky) - bishop, Metropolitan of Krutitsy, patriarchal locum tenens from 1925 until the false report of his death (late 1936).
According to the will of Patriarch Tikhon, Metropolitans Kirill, Agafangel or Peter were to become locum tenens. Since Metropolitans Kirill and Agathangel were in exile, Metropolitan Peter of Krutitsky became the locum tenens. As a locum tenens he provided great assistance to prisoners and exiles, especially clergy. Vladyka Peter resolutely opposed renewal. He refused to make a call for loyalty to the Soviet regime. Endless prisons and concentration camps began. During interrogation in December 1925, he stated that the Church could not approve of the revolution: “The social revolution is built on blood and fratricide, which the Church cannot recognize.”
He refused to relinquish the title of patriarchal locum tenens, despite threats to extend his prison sentence. In 1931, he rejected the offer of the security officer Tuchkov to sign an agreement to cooperate with the authorities as an informant.
At the end of 1936, the Patriarchate received false information about the death of Patriarchal Locum Tenens Peter, as a result of which on December 27, 1936, Metropolitan Sergius assumed the title of Patriarchal Locum Tenens. In 1937, a new criminal case was opened against Metropolitan Peter. On October 2, 1937, the NKVD troika in the Chelyabinsk region sentenced him to death. On October 10 at 4 o'clock in the afternoon he was shot. The burial place remains unknown. Glorified as New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia by the Council of Bishops in 1997.

Sergius(in the world Ivan Nikolaevich Stragorodsky) (1867-1944) - Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. Famous theologian and spiritual writer. Bishop since 1901. After the death of the holy Patriarch Tikhon, he became the patriarchal locum tenens, that is, the actual primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 1927, during a difficult time both for the Church and for the entire people, he addressed the clergy and laity with a message in which he called on the Orthodox to be loyal to the Soviet regime. This message caused mixed assessments both in Russia and among the emigrants. In 1943, at the turning point of the Great Patriotic War, the government decided to restore the patriarchate, and at the Local Council Sergius was elected Patriarch. He took an active patriotic position, called on all Orthodox Christians to tirelessly pray for victory, and organized a fundraiser to help the army.

Alexy I(Simansky Sergey Vladimirovich) (1877-1970) – Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. Born in Moscow, graduated from the Faculty of Law of Moscow University and the Moscow Theological Academy. Bishop since 1913, during the Great Patriotic War he served in Leningrad, and in 1945 he was elected Patriarch at the Local Council.

Pimen(Izvekov Sergey Mikhailovich) (1910-1990) - Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' since 1971. Participant of the Great Patriotic War. He was persecuted for professing the Orthodox faith. He was imprisoned twice (before the war and after the war). Bishop since 1957. He was buried in the crypt (underground chapel) of the Assumption Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius.

Alexy II(Ridiger Alexey Mikhailovich) (1929-2008) – Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. Graduated from the Leningrad Theological Academy. Bishop since 1961, since 1986 - Metropolitan of Leningrad and Novgorod, in 1990 elected Patriarch at the Local Council. Honorary member of many foreign theological academies.

Kirill(Gundyaev Vladimir Mikhailovich) (born 1946) – Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. Graduated from the Leningrad Theological Academy. In 1974 he was appointed rector of the Leningrad Theological Academy and Seminary. Bishop since 1976. In 1991 he was elevated to the rank of metropolitan. In January 2009, he was elected Patriarch at the Local Council.

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PATRIARCHES OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH. In 1453, the great Orthodox empire, Byzantium, fell under the blows of the Turks. The Muscovite kingdom, on the contrary, remaining the only independent Orthodox power, acquired the authority of a stronghold of the Orthodox faith. The once powerful Church of Constantinople quickly lost its power and fell into decay. Its authority in Moscow was finally undermined by the conclusion by the Greeks of a union with the Roman Catholic Church at the Council of Florence ( cm. UNIA). Distrust of the Greeks and doubts about their Orthodoxy led to the fact that Russian bishops decided in 1480 not to admit Greeks to episcopal sees. Russian bishops no longer went to Constantinople to ask for the blessing of the patriarch for elevation to the metropolitan rank and were installed in Moscow. In fact, the Russian Church gained complete independence, however, according to the canons of the ancient church, the real independence of the church, headed by the patriarch, is possible only if there is an institution of the kingdom accompanying the priesthood. When Ivan IV was crowned king in 1547 according to the Byzantine rite, the last formal obstacle was removed.

The implementation of this idea took place during the reign of Ivan IV’s son, Fyodor Ivanovich. In 1586, Patriarch Joachim of Antioch came to Moscow for royal alms. Deciding to take advantage of the circumstances of this visit, the tsar declared in the Duma that he wanted to establish “the highest patriarchal throne” in Moscow. Patriarch Joachim volunteered to bring the king’s desire to the attention of the Greek Church, so that when establishing a new patriarchate, the canonical rules, which provided for the participation of all eastern patriarchs, would be observed. In 1588, Patriarch Jeremiah of Constantinople arrived in Russia. The tsar expected that he would bring with him the resolution of the ecumenical council on the establishment of the patriarchate in the Russian state, but at the very first audience it turned out that the main purpose of the visit was to receive financial assistance. Then it was decided to detain the patriarch in Moscow and force him to bless the establishment of the Moscow patriarchal throne. Jeremiah was offered to become the Patriarch of Russia, stipulating that he would not live under the sovereign in Moscow, but in ancient Vladimir, and thus the Russian metropolitan would remain the de facto head of the church. As expected, Jeremiah rejected such a humiliating offer. He also refused to appoint any of the Russian metropolitans as patriarch. Then the Greek was made to understand that he would not be released from Moscow until he conceded. On January 26, 1589, Jeremiah elevated Metropolitan Job to the patriarchal throne, whose candidacy was proposed to the Tsar by Boris Godunov. After this, the Greeks were released from Moscow, having given them rich gifts.

Two years later, Moscow received a letter signed by three patriarchs, 42 metropolitans and 20 bishops, approving the patriarchate in Russia. Recent research has shown that most of the signatures were not genuine. Apparently, the Patriarchate of Constantinople, interested in receiving material support from the Russian Tsar, hastened to confirm the act of the Moscow Council, and therefore the signatures of some patriarchs were reproduced, who were unable, for one reason or another, to sign the letter in person. From now on, the Patriarch of Moscow was to occupy fifth place (after the Patriarch of Jerusalem) and was appointed by a council of Russian bishops. Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich was extremely dissatisfied with the latter circumstance and sent a letter to Constantinople, in which he reminded of the promised third place, after the Patriarchates of Constantinople and Alexandria. However, on this issue the Ecumenical Council remained adamant and in 1593 confirmed its decision on the fifth place of the Moscow Patriarch. All the signatures of the hierarchs on the charter of this cathedral are authentic.

The founding of the patriarchate was an important milestone in the history of the Russian Church. The transformation of the Moscow Metropolis into a patriarchate consolidated the fact of the independence of the Russian Church in the norms of canon law and significantly strengthened the influence of the Russian Church in the international arena. From now on, the ritual of ordination to the rank of Patriarch of Moscow took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

Election of the Patriarch.

The order of delivery was as follows. On behalf of the tsar or the guardian of the patriarchal throne, letters were sent to all the highest church hierarchs and abbots of the most significant monasteries, notifying them of the death of the saint and inviting them to Moscow to elect a new patriarch. On the appointed day, all those invited were to appear in the Kremlin in the Golden Chamber, where the Tsar opened the cathedral. The patriarch was elected by lot. The king named six candidates. Papers with their names were doused in wax in the presence of the Tsar, sealed with the Tsar's seal and sent to the church where the Council of Bishops met. The lots were placed on the panagia (breast icon of the Mother of God, a sign of the episcopal rank) of the deceased patriarch and were taken out one by one until the last one remained. This lot was handed over unopened to the king, who opened it and named the name of the new patriarch.

In a liturgical sense, the patriarch received certain advantages. During ceremonial exits, not only a cross, but also candles were carried in front of him. Entering the temple, he put on liturgical clothes in the middle of the church, and while in the altar, he sat on a high place and gave communion to the bishops from his own hands. The high priest's vestments were also somewhat different. Like the Metropolitan, he wore a white hood, but the patriarch's headdress was decorated with a cross or cherubs. The patriarchal miter had a cross at the top. The patriarch was supposed to wear a colored robe over his holy vestments.

The introduction of the patriarchate in Russia was accompanied by a reform of the church structure, which was due to the need to bring it into line with that established in the eastern patriarchates. The Church was divided into metropolitan districts, which included several dioceses. All hierarchs in their dioceses were equal and subordinate to the patriarch, as before to the metropolitan.

Job (d. 1607)

He actively began to implement the conciliar decisions, but he did not manage to implement all the decisions. The time of Job's patriarchate was marked by the establishment of several new church holidays in honor of Russian saints (St. Basil, Cornelius of Komel, Roman Ugletsky, Joseph of Volotsky, etc.). The patriarch worked hard and effectively to preserve Orthodoxy among the newly baptized Tatars, in poverty-stricken Georgia, and in the conquered lands of Siberia and Karelia. Despite the fact that Job was actually Boris Godunov’s protege and subsequently contributed greatly to his ascension to the throne, he greatly valued Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich and was extremely devoted to him. After the death of the sovereign, the patriarch compiled his life, glorifying the meek disposition and mercy of the king. When the first False Dmitry appeared on the historical stage, Patriarch Job firmly opposed him. He anathematized him and in his messages proved that False Dmitry was none other than the runaway Miracle monk Grishka Otrepiev. Having taken the Russian throne, the impostor removed Job from the patriarchate and sent him to Staritsa. The procedure for depriving Job of his dignity was reminiscent of the removal of Philip from the metropolitan throne by Ivan the Terrible. Job died in Staritsa on June 19, 1607.

In 1605, False Dmitry, despite the fact that Job formally remained the head of the Russian Church, independently elected a new patriarch. He became Archbishop Ignatius of Ryazan, a Greek by birth, who before coming to Russia occupied the episcopal see in Cyprus. He recognized False Dmitry as prince and was loyal to Latinism (Catholicism). After the overthrow of False Dmitry, Ignatius was defrocked and exiled to the Chudov Monastery.

Hermogenes (1606–1612)

Metropolitan Hermogenes of Kazan, who under False Dmitry was a member of the Senate established by the Tsar and most consistently opposed his pro-Catholic policies, was elected as the new patriarch. Despite the fact that discord soon emerged in the relations of the new patriarch with the boyar tsar Vasily Shuisky, Hermogenes supported him in every possible way as a crowned tsar. In 1609, when the boyars, dissatisfied with Shuisky, seized Hermogenes and at the place of execution demanded his consent to change the king, the patriarch defended Vasily Shuisky. During the Time of Troubles, the patriarch remained one of the few statesmen who remained faithful to Orthodoxy and the national idea. When trying to elevate Prince Vladislav to the Russian throne, Hermogenes made it an indispensable condition for Vladislav to accept the Orthodox faith and protested against the entry of the Polish army into Moscow. From the Kremlin, he sent letters to Russian cities, in which he blessed the militia units that were being formed there. The Poles put the patriarch into custody and imprisoned him in the Chudov Monastery, where he suffered a painful death from hunger. Patriarch Hermogenes is canonized. Cm. HERMOGENES, ST.

Filaret (1619–1634)

From the moment of the death of Hermogenes (1612), for seven years the Russian Church remained without a patriarch. In 1619, Metropolitan Filaret, the father of the newly elected Tsar Mikhail Romanov, returned from Polish captivity. Mikhail elevated his father to the rank of patriarch. Patriarch Theophan IV, who was then in the capital of Jerusalem, elevated him to the rank of Patriarch of Moscow. The accession of Mikhail Romanov and the enthronement of the patriarch marked the restoration of Russian statehood. The power of the patriarch under Mikhail Romanov reached unprecedented heights, but it was during this period that the consonant actions of the tsar and the patriarch, connected by blood ties, most fully corresponded to the ideal ideas about the “symphony” of the kingdom and the priesthood. As the father of the tsar and his de facto co-ruler, Filaret was called the “great sovereign” and took an active part in state affairs. From Polish captivity, Filaret brought out a firm conviction about the inadmissibility of union for the Russian Church and during the years of his patriarchate he made a lot of efforts to protect Russia from Western religious influences. At the same time, Filaret closely followed the development of theological literature in neighboring countries and hatched plans to create a Greek-Latin school and printing house in Moscow. Worried that the unlimited power he had acquired in the future could be identified with the patriarchal rank and this would introduce complications into the relationship between the successors to the throne and the high priestly throne, he himself chose as his successor the Pskov Archbishop Joasaph, whose main virtue was “insolent” loyalty to to the king. Cm. FILARET.

Joasaph (1634–1640)

no longer occupied such a high position as belonged to the tsar’s father, Patriarch Filaret, and did not bear the title of great sovereign.

Joseph (1640–1652)

After Joasaph, Joseph took the patriarchal see. Under him, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich issued Code, aimed at reducing the role of the church hierarchy and the patriarch in government. The Patriarch humbly accepted the document.

Nikon (1652–1666)

Patriarchal power again achieved its former power under Patriarch Nikon. Born into a peasant family, Nikon (in the world Nikita Minov) made a dizzying career from a village priest to the head of the Russian Church and the “lover” and “companion” of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. At first, Nikon imagined the relationship between royal and patriarchal power in the general structure of state life as a co-government of two equal forces. Trusting the patriarch, the tsar left the appointment of bishops and archimandrites at his complete discretion. The will of the patriarch was the final authority in all church matters. The monastic order, which previously limited the judicial power of the patriarch, was inactive under Alexei Mikhailovich. During the Polish-Lithuanian campaigns, Nikon remained the king's deputy. The most important documents were sent to him for signature, in which, with the consent of the tsar, the patriarch was called, as Filaret once was, a great sovereign. Gradually, contradictions emerged in the relationship between the young tsar and the patriarch, primarily due to the fact that Nikon tried to place the patriarchal power above the royal one. Disagreements led to Nikon voluntarily leaving the patriarchal throne in the hope that he would be asked to return. However, this did not happen. After a long period of doubts and hesitations, in 1666 the Council of Bishops, which was attended by the Patriarchs of Antioch and Jerusalem, deposed Nikon, who had voluntarily left the see, and deprived him of his bishopric and priesthood. Alexei Mikhailovich himself acted as the accuser at the council. The “competition” between the patriarch and the tsar for primacy in power, unprecedented in Russian history, led to the fact that in the future the policy of the sovereigns was aimed at limiting the power of the high priest. Already the Council of 1666–1667 paid special attention to the relationship between state and spiritual authorities. The Council decided that the king had primacy in worldly affairs. The spiritual life of the state was given to the patriarch. The resolution of the Council that the patriarch is not the sole ruler of the church organization, but only the first among equal bishops, was dictated by the sharply negative attitude of the bishops to Nikon’s attempt to demand for himself the special status of the patriarch as the highest and not subject to anyone’s jurisdiction. Cm. NIKON.

Joasaph II (1667–1673).

At the end of the Council, they elected a new patriarch, the quiet and modest Joasaph II. From this moment on, the patriarchate begins to lose the state significance that it previously had.

Pitirim (1673), Joachim (1673–1690), Adrian (1690–1700)

occupied the patriarchal throne after Joasaph II. These were patriarchs who did not interfere in state politics, aiming to preserve at least some of the privileges of the clergy, which were consistently attacked by state power. In particular, Joachim managed to achieve the closure of the monastery order. Patriarchs of the second half of the 17th century. They did not welcome Russia’s rapprochement with the West and tried in every possible way to limit the growing influence of foreigners on Russian life and culture. However, they were no longer able to really resist the power of the young Tsar Peter Alekseevich. At the beginning of his patriarchate, the last patriarch Adrian enjoyed the support of the tsar's mother, Natalya Kirillovna, who, in turn, had influence on her son. After her death in 1694, the conflict between the patriarch and the tsar became inevitable. The beginning of their open confrontation was Adrian’s refusal to forcibly tonsure Evdokia Lopukhina, the first wife of Peter Alekseevich, into a nun, and its culmination was the tsar’s public insult of the patriarch, who came to him as an intercessor for the Streltsy sentenced to execution. Peter expelled the high priest in disgrace, thus destroying the ancient custom of the patriarch grieving for the condemned. Consistently pursuing a policy of undermining the authority and power of the church, in 1700 the tsar ordered the preparation of a new code that would destroy all its privileges.

Abolition of the patriarchate.

After the death of Adrian, the tsar, by his will, placed the Ryazan Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky at the head of the administration of the church with the title of locum tenens of the patriarchal throne, effectively abolishing the institution of the patriarchate. Peter viewed the church exclusively as a governmental institution, so he subsequently replaced the power of the patriarch with the Spiritual College (the Holy Governing Synod), turning the church into one of the state departments that were under the constant control of the monarch. Until 1917, the Holy Synod remained the highest church and government institution in Russia. Cm. JOAKIM.

Restoration of the patriarchate in Russia.

A new era in the history of the Russian patriarchate began in 1917. After the February Revolution, the Holy Synod addressed the archpastors and pastors of Russia with a message, which said that with the changed political system, “the Russian Orthodox Church can no longer remain with those orders that have outlived their time.” " The main issue in the planned reorganization was the restoration of the ancient form of church governance. By the decision of the Synod, the Local Council of 1917–1918 was convened, which restored the patriarchate. The cathedral opened on the feast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary and was the longest lasting in the history of the Russian Church.

Tikhon (1917–1925)

On October 31, 1917, elections were held for three candidates for the patriarchal throne: Archbishop Anthony (Khrapovitsky) of Kharkov, Archbishop Arseny (Stadnitsky) of Novgorod and Metropolitan Tikhon (Belavin) of Moscow. On November 5, 1917, in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, after the Divine Liturgy and prayer service, Elder Alexy of the Zosimov Hermitage drew lots, and the name of the new patriarch was announced, who became Metropolitan Tikhon of Moscow.

In accordance with church canons, the Local Council of 1917–1918 granted the patriarch the right to convene church councils and preside over them, communicate with other autocephalous churches on issues of church life, take care of the timely replacement of episcopal sees and bring guilty bishops to church court. The local council also adopted a document on the legal position of the church in the state system. However, the October Revolution of 1917 entailed fundamental changes in the relationship between the church and the new atheistic state of the Soviets. By decree of the Council of People's Commissars the church was separated from the state, which was regarded by the council as the beginning of persecution of the church.

Patriarch Tikhon occupied the cathedral during a difficult period for the Russian Orthodox Church. The main direction of his activity was the search for a way to establish relations between the church and the Bolshevik state. Tikhon defended the right of the church to remain the One Catholic and Apostolic Church, emphasizing that it should be neither “white” nor “red.” The most important document aimed at normalizing the position of the Russian Church was Appeal Patriarch Tikhon dated March 25, 1925, in which he called on the flock to understand that “the destinies of nations are arranged by the Lord,” and to accept the advent of Soviet power as an expression of the will of God.

Despite all the efforts of the patriarch, an unprecedented wave of repression hit the church hierarchy and the believing people. By the outbreak of World War II, the church structure throughout the country was almost destroyed. After Tikhon's death, there could be no talk of convening a council to elect a new patriarch, since the church existed in a semi-legal position, and most of the hierarchs were in exile and imprisonment.

Sergius (d. 1944)

According to the will of the saint, Metropolitan Peter (Polyansky) of Krutitsky took over the management of the Church as the patriarchal locum tenens. Then this feat was taken upon by Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) of Nizhny Novgorod, who called himself the deputy of the patriarchal locum tenens. The official act of transferring the duties of locum tenens to him took place only in 1936, when the news of the death of Metropolitan Peter (who was shot in 1937) arrived, which later turned out to be false. Nevertheless, in 1941, on the very first day of the war with Nazi Germany, Metropolitan Sergius wrote a message to his flock, in which he blessed the believers to defend the Motherland and called on everyone to help the country’s defense. The danger looming over the country prompted the Soviet state, led by Stalin, to change its policy towards the church. Churches were opened for worship, many clergy, including bishops, were released from the camps. On December 4, 1943, Stalin received the Patriarchal Locum Tenens Metropolitan Sergius, as well as Metropolitans Alexy (Simansky) and Nikolai (Yarushevich). During the conversation, Metropolitan Sergius announced the church’s desire to convene a council to elect a patriarch. The head of government said that there would be no obstacles on his part. The Council of Bishops took place in Moscow on September 8, 1943, and on September 12 the newly elected Patriarch Sergius was enthroned. Cm. SERGY.

Alexy I (1945–1970)

In 1944, the high priest of the Russian Church died. In 1945, the Moscow Council elected Metropolitan Alexy (Simansky) as Patriarch. At the same council it was decided Regulations on the management of the Russian Orthodox Church, which finally legalized the institution of the church and streamlined the relationship between the church and the Soviet state. During Alexy's patriarchate, relations between the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and other autocephalous churches were restored, and the publishing activities of the Moscow Patriarchate were resumed, but during his presidency there was a difficult period of new persecution of the church under N.S. Khrushchev. Cm. ALEXIY I.

Pimen (1970–1990)

After the death of Alexy (1970), Metropolitan Pimen of Krutitsky and Kolomna was elevated to the rank of patriarch. During the patriarchate of Pimen in 1988, under the conditions of “perestroika,” the celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the baptism of Rus' took place. The celebrations dedicated to this event took on a nationwide character and marked the onset of a new era in the history of the Russian Church, which, after a long period of direct and hidden persecution, found hope for freedom. Cm. PIMEN.

Alexy II (1990–2009)

Since 1990, the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church has been Patriarch Alexy II - the fifteenth patriarch from the beginning of the patriarchate, whose activities were aimed at reviving and strengthening the traditions of church life in the context of the beginning of the process of democratization of society. Cm. ALEXI II.

Kirill (2009)

In 2009, by the decision of the Local Council, the Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, was elected Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church - the sixteenth Patriarch from the beginning of the Patriarchate.

Literature:

Russian Orthodox Church 988–1988. Essays on history, vol. 1–2. M., 1988
Skrynnikov R.G. Saints and authorities. L., 1990
Orthodox Church in the history of Russia. M., 1991
Macarius, Metropolitan. History of the Russian Church. M., 1994 et seq.
Monasteries. Encyclopedic reference book. M., 2000