1589 establishment of the patriarchate. Chronological list of patriarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church

One of the most significant events in the history of Orthodoxy was the introduction of the patriarchate in Rus'. The growth and influence of the Russian Church in the Christian world was already especially clearly noted by the end of the 16th century. The soil was created by the Ferraro-Florentine union, which was concluded in the 15th century by the Byzantine Church and the Vatican, after which the Russian metropolitanate began to independently elect its first hierarch. Moreover, in 1453, the Patriarchate of Constantinople found itself completely dependent on the Turkish sultans. It was impossible not to see the great providence of God in this: Russia became the only independent Orthodox state.

History of the introduction of the patriarchate in Rus'

The very idea of ​​the emergence of the Moscow Patriarchate is very closely connected with the establishment of autocephaly of the Russian Church. After the Moscow Metropolis received independent status from the Greeks, the entire Orthodox world realized the exceptional importance of the Russian Orthodox Church as the most influential and numerous.

This happened not only as evidence of the strengthening of the spiritual significance of Rus', but also to strengthen faith before the coming trials of the difficult time of the Time of Troubles. The Russian Church will create that powerful spirit and popular force that will enter the fight against foreign invaders and Catholic aggression.

It was clear to everyone that the patriarchal throne would soon be proclaimed in Moscow. In this regard, tense relations arose with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which was already offended by Rus' because of the transition to autocephaly and did not want to admit it.

However, without the consent of the Eastern Patriarchs, to independently proclaim it would be unacceptable and illegal. In the capital, it was easier to legitimize the tsar by force, but the establishment of the patriarchate without a positive decision from the leading departments was unrealistic.

Historical circumstances only further influenced the introduction of the patriarchate in Rus' during the reign of (the son of Ivan the Terrible). Fyodor reigned (he spent most of his time in prayer, his Christian upbringing did not want to come to terms with the cruel realities of the political life of the state, as a result his name was canonized), and Boris Godunov (brother of Tsar Fyodor’s wife, Irina Godunova) ruled.

Boris Godunov

Boris Godunov was a very ambitious man. At the same time, he was a great statesman who created a program for reforming the Russian state, which could strengthen its power and prestige. Unfortunately, this enterprise of Godunov did not have a solid spiritual foundation, and often his orders were carried out by morally unacceptable means (and on top of that, he was accused of murdering Tsarevich Dmitry, although there is no direct evidence). In addition, the Russian people became greatly impoverished in the spiritual and moral sense after the oprichnina, and therefore were far from all the grandiose plans of their rulers.

Nevertheless, Godunov wanted to see Russia as a great power and was able to bring the matter of establishing the patriarchate to completion.

Start

The first stage of preparation began with the arrival of Patriarch Joachim of Antioch to Moscow in 1586. “Godunov’s” diplomats were actively concerned about this. But before that, he visited the borders and saw the Catholic onslaught of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, which practically destroyed the church life of the Kyiv Metropolis (literally on the eve of the Union of Brest). In royal Moscow he saw the true greatness and glory of the Third Rome. Patriarch Joachim was greeted with great honor and respect; he came for alms, since his department had a debt of eight thousand gold. Godunov took advantage of this moment and began to implement his plan - the introduction of the patriarchate in Rus'.

Metropolitan Dionysius of Moscow

Upon Joachim’s arrival, Metropolitan Dionysius of Moscow did not make himself known. Most likely, he was in cahoots with Godunov and was playing out the scenario. The Patriarch was sent to the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. There, Metropolitan Dionysius appeared before him in all his splendor in luxurious clothes at the service, who was the first to bless the Patriarch of Antioch, but he was unexpectedly offended. The alms-seeker was shown who the real primate of the great Church is.

Here Godunov comes into play, who begins to conduct secret negotiations with Joachim, the main topic of which is the introduction of the patriarchate in Rus'. The date of this grandiose event was already very close. Joachim was not ready for such conversations, but promised to consult with the Eastern Patriarchs. Moscow at this stage was satisfied.

Struggle

The final word was with Constantinople (Istanbul). Dramatic events unfolded there. One after another, the patriarchs were overthrown, the churches were plundered by the Turks, and all funds were stolen. The money and messages from the Moscow sovereign were lost somewhere.

Jeremiah began to restore the new patriarchate, but he had no money for it. And he decided to do like Joachim and also went to Moscow with his hand outstretched. However, he did not know about the early negotiations regarding the creation of the Moscow Patriarchate. And it all started all over again: the same scenario was played out as with its predecessor. Jeremiah was under house arrest for almost a year in luxurious conditions in Belokamennaya.

Patriarch Job

In general, this meeting became fateful for the Russian church. The difficult situation played a positive role in the introduction of the Patriarchate in Rus'.

By this time, in Moscow, as in Istanbul, some changes had occurred. Godunov deposed Metropolitan Dionysius in 1587 in connection with a boyar conspiracy; the rebels demanded the divorce of Tsar Feodor from his wife Irina Godunova due to infertility.

The place of Dionysius was taken by the Rostov Archbishop Job, and as a result, on January 23 (February 2), 1589, he would become the first Patriarch of All Rus'. Already in our time, in 1989, his name will be canonized.

In 1721, Peter I abolished the patriarchate: it would be restored only in 1917 at a local council, and St. Tikhon would be elected patriarch. Then there will be a difficult Bolshevik period for the Russian church. After Tikhon's death, another council was not held. Only in 1943 did this become possible, and Sergius (Starogorodsky) became the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. Patriarch Kirill became the 16th patriarch of Russia.

Thus, the official introduction of the patriarchate in Rus' took place back in the 16th century.

The 14th century was a turning point in the history of Orthodoxy. After the capture of Constantinople by the Turks and the fall of Byzantium, Russia, which did not have its own patriarch, found itself the only independent one in the world. All eastern churches were under the control of the Turkish authorities. The created situation contributed to the fact that the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Job was appointed to serve, recognized as equal among the other four Orthodox patriarchs.

Childhood of the youth John

The name of the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', which he received at holy baptism, is John. Regarding his birth, information has been preserved that he was born in the thirties of the 16th century. According to available data, the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' was born into a family of ordinary people who belonged to the so-called posad class. History has preserved for us only the name of the mother, which she adopted after accepting monasticism - Pelageya.

At an early age, the youth John was sent to a nearby monastery, where he was to be taught literacy and the basics of faith. This may indicate both the piety of the parents, who wished to instill in their child a love of the fatherly faith from childhood, and their certain wealth, since in those years need often forced children to start working from a very early age. However, studies at the holy monastery awakened in the young man a deep religious feeling and a desire to become a monk. Before the future first Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' took the path he had chosen, he had to test the firmness of his intentions.

Church tradition tells that his father, doubting his son’s ability to bear the hardships of monastic life and wanting to turn him away from his plans, found him a bride and persuaded him to marry. Having never contradicted his parents before, John did not dare to object this time either, but on the very day of the wedding he asked permission to go to the monastery and visit the cell of his spiritual mentor.

Ascent to the path of monasticism

He never returned to his home. After a conversation with Archimandrite Herman, the young man firmly decided that his place was not in the vain world, but within the walls of the holy monastery. On the same day, he underwent the rite of tonsure and received the name Job, which he took in honor of the saint Job the Long-Suffering, who was ardently revered by him.

Monastic life is not easy for any newly tonsured monk. Too much connects him with the past and directs his thoughts to what he left in the world, having committed his most important act in life. It can be difficult to get used to the harsh conditions of staying in a monastery, but it is even more difficult to force yourself to obey not your own will, but exclusively the commands of the mentor who has taken charge of the spiritual development of the newcomer.

The future first Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Job was one of those workers who, with equal humility, fulfill any obedience entrusted to them. Before rising to the heights of church power, he went through all stages of monastic service - from a simple novice to the abbot of a monastery. It is known that in 1569, during a visit to the monastery by Ivan the Terrible, he made a favorable impression on the Tsar and after a short time, at his command, he became an archimandrite.

Stages of the Path of Church Ministry

At the end of 1570, he moved to Moscow and became abbot of the Simonov Monastery. Heading one of the largest monasteries in the country for five years, Saint Job took an active part not only in the religious but also in the political life of the country.

In the subsequent period, he heads several more monasteries, and then follows his ordination, first as Bishop of Kolomna, and then as Archbishop of Rostov the Great. Saint Job reached the highest level of power of that period in 1587, becoming Metropolitan of Moscow. However, a new, higher title awaited him - the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

Establishment of the Patriarchate in Russia

The opportunity to have its own patriarch in the country was due to many factors, the main one of which was the increasing role of Russia among other Orthodox states that were at that time under the Turkish yoke. As mentioned above, the former stronghold of the Eastern Church - Byzantium - fell in 1453 under the onslaught of invaders.

It is known that the Turks did not prohibit the activities of the Christian Church in the territories they captured, but behaved extremely unceremoniously towards its representatives, arbitrarily seizing any property they liked. Such expropriations, carried out with constant constancy, took on the character of outright robberies and ultimately led the church organizations located in the occupied territories to complete impoverishment.

Lacking the means to restore destroyed churches and support the clergy, the head of the Byzantine church was forced to turn to the Russian Tsar Feodor Ioannovich for financial assistance. The Russian autocrat took advantage of this favorable opportunity, since, according to the Church Charter, only the existing high priest could install a new patriarch, and in order for the person the tsar needed to become the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', his blessing was required.

The greatest event in the life of the church

The head of the Byzantine church arrived in the Mother See in 1588 and, according to contemporaries, was amazed by the luxury of the royal palace and the splendor of the services held in the capital's churches. In addition, as is known from the same sources, he was indelibly impressed by the manifestation of piety by the Russian people, which he constantly witnessed.

Every day, wherever the patriarch appeared, he was surrounded by dense crowds of people demanding blessings. Not feeling the right to ignore such an ardent expression of religious feelings, he was forced to remain on the street for hours, surrounded by a ring of believers.

Historians note that his initial plans included only receiving financial assistance from the king, and nothing more was discussed. However, realizing that by refusing to fulfill the autocrat’s request to install a patriarch in the Russian church, he would leave empty-handed, Jeremiah was forced to agree, and as a result, on February 5, 1589, the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' ascended to the newly formed patriarchal see. The election of Metropolitan Job for this high mission occurred by the will of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, who favored him and showered him with royal favors.

Activities of the new patriarch

The recently elected first Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', whose powers extended to all spheres of religious life, immediately began internal church reform. Innovations affected both the establishment of additional metropolitanates and increased discipline among the clergy. He saw his main task in strengthening Orthodoxy and the spiritual power of the state. Church historians note that after Metropolitan Job became the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', Russian Orthodoxy was raised to a previously unattainable level.

Activities of the Patriarch during the Time of Troubles

In 1598, the country was plunged into chaos, called the Time of Troubles. The First Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', whose title obligated him to be at the head of the people, actually led the resistance to the Lithuanian and Polish invaders who poured into Russian borders. He sent letters to all corners of the country, in which he called for resistance to foreigners.

When the hordes led by False Dmitry approached Moscow, the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Job was among those who refused to recognize the impostor. According to researchers, at a certain period Grigory Otrepyev was Job’s secretary, so he, like no one else, understood the deception going on. He publicly cursed False Dmitry and all his followers.

When the city was surrendered to the impostor in April 1605, Saint Job refused to swear allegiance to him and was deposed. In August of the same year, supporters of False Dmitry destroyed the patriarchal chambers, and the primate himself, after numerous beatings and humiliations, was sent as a simple monk to the Staritsky Monastery, where he spent two years in constant prayer for the fate of the Fatherland.

The end of the life of the first patriarch

Poor health did not allow him to ascend to the Primate Throne again. He died in 1607 and was buried in the Assumption Monastery, the same one where he once began his monastic service. In 1652, the relics of the deceased were transported to the capital and placed in the Assumption Cathedral. Already in our days, in October 2012, the first Holy Hierarch Job of Moscow and All Rus' was glorified among the saints. It was a natural act that expressed the result of his activities as

Editorial changes to the patriarchal title

It should be noted that the patriarchal title has undergone a number of editorial changes over the centuries, and the title now used in relation to St. Job - the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' - is not entirely correct. The fact is that in the period preceding the reign (until 1652), the country was indicated in the title as “Russia”, and only later the form “Russia” was adopted. In pre-Petrine times, the title contained the words “and Patriarch of all northern countries.”

As for the title that Saint Job bore, in historical documents there are other editions in which Moscow is indicated as the “reigning city”, and Russia is called the “great kingdom”. Other options are also known, found in documents signed by the primates of the Russian Church in different historical periods. It should be noted that such discrepancies are caused mainly by the lack of uniformity in the preparation of official papers in previous centuries - both religious and secular.

Powers of the Patriarch

According to the current charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, the powers of the patriarch include mainly administrative functions that ensure the ability to govern the Church. He is entrusted with the responsibility of convening the Local and Bishops' Councils, as well as scheduling meetings of the Synod. The Patriarch appoints all senior church officials, including heads of religious educational institutions at all levels. Among other patriarchal powers, a special place is occupied by the duty to represent the Church before the government and foreign organizations.

Deputies of the Patriarch

The fulfillment of the functions entrusted to the patriarch would be impossible without a reasonable distribution of responsibilities between his deputies - vicars. Each of them is responsible for organizing church life in a separate district of the vast Moscow diocese. The first vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', who is in charge of its central part, is also the direct deputy of the patriarch and, in the event of his illness, death or retirement, temporarily performs his functions until the election of a successor.

Propaganda of religious knowledge

Since Saint Job, the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', ascended to the First Hierarchal Throne, the history of the Russian patriarchate, interrupted during the time of Peter I and resumed under Stalin, has included sixteen primates of the Russian Church. Thanks to their tireless labors, Orthodox life in our country acquired those forms that allowed it to become the basis of the spiritual connection of many generations of Russians.

It would not be superfluous to note that as much as Russian history, including church history, honors its heroes, it also tries to erase from the memory of the descendants of traitors to the Fatherland. An example of this is the notorious Patriarch Ignatius, who swore allegiance to False Dmitry in 1605 and became an accomplice of the Polish occupiers. His name was forever crossed out from the list of patriarchs and erased from people's memory.

During the period of atheistic persecution of Orthodoxy, everything related to religious doctrine and church history was excluded from school curricula. This caused significant gaps in the knowledge of these disciplines by modern Russian citizens. Even a simple question: “Name the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'” puzzled many. However, nowadays, in most parishes there are also adults, and extensive educational work is being carried out aimed at correcting the current situation.

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 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 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 Rus' 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 full hierarchical ordination over 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, however, 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.

From the book of the historian of the Russian church Anton Kartashev (1875-1960) “Essays on the history of the church in 3 parts. Part 2”, an excerpt from the chapter “Establishment of the Patriarchate”.

The question of the patriarchate literally flared up in Moscow as soon as the news arrived that Patriarch Joachim of Antioch had appeared on the border of Rus', who, as we know, traveled through Lvov and Western Rus' at the most important moment of her life, on the eve of the sad memory of the Brest Cathedral, and was involved in active actions to defend Orthodoxy. The appearance of the Eastern Patriarch on Russian soil was an unprecedented fact in the entire history of the Russian Church.

Muscovites also developed a sense of habitual reverence for their fathers in faith, heirs of the glory of the ancient church, and a thirst to show their piety and the splendor of the kingdom. At the same time, a direct calculation arose to do a big thing - to begin negotiations on the establishment of the patriarchate. This is what they started to do.

The meeting of the patriarch was magnificent, unlike “none” in Poland and the West. Rus'. This alone could not help but flatter the Eastern patriarchs and please them. By order from Moscow, the Smolensk governor was ordered to meet the patriarch “honestly,” provide him with all amenities, food, and escort him to Moscow with honorary guards. On June 6, 1586, Patriarch Joachim arrived in Smolensk and from there forwarded his letter to Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich. This patriarch had already written to Ivan IV before and received 200 gold pieces from him. Letter from Patr. Joachim was full of Byzantine, i.e., immoderate praise for the Tsar of Moscow: “If anyone sees the sky and the heavens and all the stars, even if he has not seen the sun, he has seen nothing, but when he sees the sun, he will rejoice greatly and glorify the creator and. The sun of our faithful peasants in these days, your royal mercy is the only boundary between us.” Based on this, the Moscow Tsar could easily pose the question: is it finally time for the “sun of faithful Christians” to have a patriarch near him?

The Tsar sent honorary ambassadors to meet the guest, to Mozhaisk and Dorogomilovo. 17th VI Patr. Joachim entered Moscow and was placed on the Nikolsky sacrum in Sheremetev’s house.

On June 25 there was a ceremonial reception for the patriarch by Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich. But characteristically - Met. Dionysius did not pay a visit or greetings to the patriarch. This could not have happened without an agreement with the secular authorities. The Metropolitan clearly wanted to make the eastern alms-seeker feel that he was a Russian metropolitan, the same autocephalous head of his church as the patriarch. Antioch, but only the head of a larger, free and strong church - and therefore the patriarch should be the first to go to bow to him. And since the Patriarch wants to get around this by bowing to the Tsar, the first Russian Metropolitan “does not break his hat.”

According to honorable custom, the Patriarch was taken to the palace in a royal sleigh (even though it was summer) - by dragging. The Tsar received him in the “Subscription Golden Chamber”, sitting on the throne, in royal vestments, among the dressed up boyars and officials according to the rank of receiving ambassadors. The king stood up and walked a fathom away from the throne for the meeting. The Patriarch blessed the Tsar and presented him with the relics of various saints as gifts. He immediately handed over to the king a letter of recommendation, handed to him by the Patriarch of Poland Theoliptus together with the Patriarch of Alexandria Sylvester, about helping Joachim cover the debt of the Antiochian see of 8,000 gold.

The king invited the patriarch to his place for lunch that same day! A very great honor according to Moscow rank. In the meantime, the patriarch was instructed to go to the Assumption Cathedral to meet with the metropolitan. This was deliberate in order to overwhelm the guest with official pomp and splendor and to reveal the Russian saint “at the pulpit”, surrounded by a countless host of clergy, in golden brocade vestments with pearls, among icons and shrines, overlaid with gold and precious stones. The poor titled guest had to feel his smallness before the real head of the really (and not nominally) great church. The Patriarch received an honorable welcome at the southern door. They took him to venerate the icons and relics. And at this time, Metropolitan Dionysius and the clergy stood in the middle of the church on the pulpit, ready to begin the liturgy. Like a king, according to the ceremony, he descended from the pulpit a fathom towards the patriarch and hurried to be the first to bless the patriarch. The dumbfounded patriarch, well understanding the insult inflicted on him, immediately declared through the interpreter that this should not have been done, but he saw that no one wanted to listen to him, that this was not the place or time to argue, and fell silent. As the document says, “he said lightly that it would be useful for the Metropolitan to accept his blessing in advance, and he stopped talking about it.” The Patriarch listened to the liturgy, standing without vestments at the rear pillar of the cathedral. The royal dinner after mass and the royal gifts were only the gilding of the pill for the distressed patriarch. The figure of the Russian Metropolitan, which had flashed before the Patriarch like Olympian greatness, again disappeared from him, and he should have felt that there was no need to argue against the height of the Russian Metropolitan. And the king must be repaid for the gifts. Thus, Moscow diplomats created an “atmosphere” for the question of the Russian patriarchate. And the whole matter was carried out by the secular authorities. The patriarchs were drawn to her, they expected favors from her and received them. They had to pay her back. The Russian hierarchy was freed from the risk of diminishing itself and falling into the position of humble supplicants. She didn't ask for anything. It was as if she had everything. And the eastern hierarchs themselves should have felt their duty to her and given her the appropriate title of patriarch.

Immediately after this day, negotiations between the royal authorities and Patriarch Joachim about the patriarchate began. They were carried out secretly, that is, without written documents, perhaps out of fear that the Polish authorities would somehow speak out before the KPl Patriarch against this. In the Boyar Duma, the Tsar made a speech that after a secret conspiracy with his wife Irina, with his “brother-in-law, close boyar and equerry and governor of the courtyard and governor of Kazan and Astrakhan, Boris Fedorovich Godunov,” he decided to pose the following question: “From the beginning, from the ancestors our, Kyiv, Vladimir and Moscow sovereigns - tsars and pious great princes, our pilgrims were supplied by the metropolitans of Kyiv, Vladimir, Moscow and all Russia, from the Patriarchs of Tsaryagrad and Ecumenical. Then, by the grace of Almighty God and the Most Pure Mother of God, our Intercessor, and the prayers of the great miracle workers of the entire Russian kingdom, and at the request and prayer of our ancestors, the pious kings and great princes of Moscow, and on the advice of the Patriarchs of Constantinople (?), special metropolitans began to be appointed in the Moscow state, by the verdict and by the election of our ancestors and the entire consecrated council, from the archbishops of the Russian kingdom even to our kingdom. Now, by His great and ineffable mercy, God has granted us the gift of seeing the coming to Himself of the great Patriarch of Antioch; and we give glory to the Lord for this. And we would also ask His mercy to establish a Russian patriarch in our Moscow state, and we would consult about this with His Holiness Patriarch Joachim, and order with him the blessing of the Moscow patriarchate, to all the patriarchs.” Boris Godunov was sent to the patriarch for negotiations.

In the “Collection of the Synod Library”, Boris Godunov’s speeches to Patriarch Joachim and his answers are conveyed as follows. Godunov suggests to Joachim: “You would advise about this with the Most Reverend His Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, and the Most Holy Patriarch would advise about such a great matter with you with all the patriarchs... and with the archbishops and bishops and with the archimandrites and with the abbots and with the entire consecrated cathedral. Yes, they would send a message to the holy mountain, and to Sinai, so that God would grant such a great thing in our Russian state to be organized for the piety of the Christian faith, and thinking about this, they would announce to us how it would be more suitable for this matter to take place.” Patriarch Joachim, according to the presentation of this document, thanked the Tsar of Moscow on his own behalf and on behalf of the other patriarchs for all the alms for which the Eastern churches pray for him, admitted that it would be “better” to establish a patriarchate in Russia, promised to consult with the other patriarchs: “that is a great thing.” , the entire cathedral, and without this advice it’s impossible for me to do this thing».

The last words sound strange. Almost all official documents about this case are tendentious. And here we involuntarily sense a hidden proposal from the Muscovites to Joachim (perhaps with a promise to pay the 8,000 gold pieces he is seeking), without delay, to install the patriarch himself, and then look for confirmation later.

The negotiations ended quickly. Joachim received something and promised to promote the cause among his eastern brethren.

The Patriarch was allowed to visit the Chudov and Trinity-Sergius monasteries, where he was received with honor and gifts on July 4 and 8.

On July 17, he was again honorably received at parting by the Tsar in the Golden Chamber. The king here declared his alms to the patriarch and asked for prayers. There was not a word about the patriarchate. This has not yet been made public. From here the guests were sent to the Annunciation and Archangel Cathedrals for parting prayers. But to the Assumption Cathedral and to Metropolitan. The patriarch did not visit Dionysius and did not say goodbye to the metropolitan. Joachim's resentment is quite understandable. But Dionysius’s persistent negligence of the patriarch is not completely clear to us. We have to resort to hypotheses. Perhaps, simply by reconnaissance on the road to Moscow (in Lithuania or already within Russia), it turned out that Patriarch Joachim spoke of the Moscow metropolitans (as opposed to the Kyiv-Lithuanian ones) as being arbitrarily autocephalous and not to the benefit of the church, independent of the Greeks . So Dionysius, with the permission of the king, made such a demonstration to the arrogant Greek. Moscow knew how to distribute diplomatic roles...

Or maybe there is “oversalt” in the diplomacy of Metropolitan. Dionysius belonged to him personally, and not to the royal policy and even despite it. The policy was conducted by Boris Godunov. Dionysius belonged to the party opposed to Godunov. The latter had his favorite among the hierarchy to replace Dionysius, Staritsa abbot Job, whom he targeted as a candidate for the patriarchate. Dionysius could suspect that the intriguing Boris, for the sake of his favorite, would agree to some shadow of dependence on them before the Greeks, in order to acquire a magnificent patriarchal title. Hence the sharp demonstration of Dionysius for the sake of preserving perfect autocephaly and the dignity of the Russian Church. The next year, 1587, Metropolitan. Dionysius and Archp. Varlaam of Krutitsa, as open opponents of Boris, was overthrown by the latter, and in the place of Dionysius, Boris’s chosen one, Job, was installed as metropolitan.

On August 1, the patriarch with an honorary escort left for Chernigov. To “push” the Moscow plan, the clerk Mikhail Ogarkov (who wanted to ransom his son from Turkish captivity along the way) was sent along with Patriarch Joachim.

Ogarkov brought rich monetary and material gifts to the Patriarchs of KPl and Alexandria.

In KPl, the Russian claim could only cause a negative reaction. An old and bitter story for the Greeks arose with the emergence of the Bulgarian and Serbian patriarchates. The East resorted to tactics of silence and delay. There was no response for a whole year. But the Communist Party, foreseeing the need to make concessions to the Russians, decided to at least exploit them well. This year, dozens of eastern metropolitans, archbishops, abbots, hieromonks, and monks streamed through Chernigov and Smolensk to Moscow for alms.

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History of the establishment of the patriarchate in Rus'

On February 5 (new style), 1589, during the reign of Tsar Theodore Ioannovich, the patriarchate was established in Rus'. This was a natural and rather symbolic act of Russia’s inheritance of the glory of ancient Byzantium and its ecclesiastical significance, which by that time had fallen under Ottoman rule. The so-called “second Rome” (that is, Constantinople) is being replaced by the “third Rome” in the omnipotence of the Moscow Orthodox state.

So, after the Union of Florence in 1439, people on Russian soil began to doubt the authenticity of the Greek clergy. In addition, the dependence on the Patriarch of Constantinople of the Russian Church in the fifteenth century became nominal, and the capture of Constantinople by the Turks completely reduced it.

Tsar Theodore writes in the so-called “Label Charter on the Establishment of the Moscow Patriarchate” that in the desire to become closer to God, he strives to establish a “great Patriarchal Throne” in Moscow, and with this he turned to His Most Holy Jeremiah (Ecumenical Patriarch), who gave the go-ahead and blessed this is the Third Rome.

And so on the twenty-sixth of January, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, at a meeting of the people and headed by Theodore Patriarch Jeremiah himself, the first Russian Patriarch, Job, was installed.

The election of subsequent Patriarchs took place in this way. After the death of the Patriarch, the so-called guardian of the patriarchal throne (usually Metropolitan of Krutitsky) sent letters on behalf of the king to all the clergy with an invitation to come to Moscow to elect a new Patriarch.

The form of election of the new Patriarch was completely open or through a drawing of lots, which was established after the death of Filaret. So the names of six applicants from the senior hierarchs were written down on six identical papers, after which they were doused with wax on all sides, reprinted with royal seals and sent to the Council, which met in the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow.

After this, three lots were placed on the panagia of the deceased Patriarch, and then all members of the cathedral put on robes and served an akathist to the Mother of God. Then two lots were taken out and put aside, after which they did the same with the remaining three. Of the two, one was chosen containing the name of the new Patriarch. At the same time, the unopened envelope was handed over to the boyar, who gave it to the king, who read aloud the name of the chosen one.