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988-1441 - Metropolitans of all Russia

The Russian Orthodox Church traces its origins to the time of Kievan Rus', the first forerunner of the modern Russian state. In A.D. 988 Prince Vladimir made the Byzantine variant of Christianity the state religion of Russia. In the ninth century, the Greek brothers Cyril (SIHR-ahl) and Methodius (mah-THOO-dee-ahs) - the "Apostles to the Slavs" - were instrumental in converting many Slavs to Orthodox Christianity. These brothers helped create the Glagolitic (glag-ah-LIHTihk) alphabet, a forerunner of Cyrillic. Historically, missionary activity received great emphasis in the orthodox tradition.

When envoys of Kievan prince Vladimir went looking for a religion for the Rus to follow, their report from Constantinople's Hagia Sophia won over Vladimir. Reported the emissaries, "We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth, for surely there is no such splendor or beauty anywhere upon earth." Vladimir's choice of Constantinople represented the richest and the most rewarding spiritual, cultural and political choice that he could make at the time. It brought religion, in the form of a readily understandable Slavic rite, close to the people and gave a powerful impetus to the development of a national culture.

The Russian church was subordinate to the patriarch of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul), seat of the Byzantine Empire. The original seat of the metropolitan, as the head of the church was known, was Kiev. For about two centuries after the introduction of Christianity - from 988 to 1240 - Russia formed, ecclesiastically speaking, part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The metropolitans and the bishops were Greek by birth and education, and the ecclesiastical administration was guided and controlled by the Byzantine Patriarchs. But from the time of the Mongol invasion, when communication with Constantinople became more difficult and educated native priests had become more numerous, this complete dependence on the Patriarch of Constantinople ceased. The Princes gradually arrogated to themselves the right of choosing the Metropolitan of Kief - who was at that time the chief ecclesiastical dignitary in Russia - and merely sent their nominees to Constantinople for consecration.

In the religious development of Russia Moscow held perhaps the foremost place. In 1240 Kieff was taken by the Tatars, who in 1299 pillaged and destroyed much of that mother city of Christian Russia. Peter, Metropolitan of Kieff, who was then in union with Rome, in 1316 changed his see from that city to the city of Vladimir upon the Kliazma, now about midway between Moscow and Nizhni Novgorod, for Vladimir was then the capital of Great Russia. In 1322 he again changed it to Moscow.

After his death in 1328 Theognostus, a monk from Constantinople, was consecrated Metropolitan at Moscow under the title "Metropolitan of Kieff and Exarch of all Russia", and strove to make Great Russia of the north ecclesiastically superior to Little Russia of the south. In 1371 the South Russians petitioned the Patriarch of Constantinople: "Give us another metropolitan for Kieff, Smolensk, and Tver, and for Little Russia." In 1379 Pimen took at Moscow the title of "Metropolitan of Kieff and Great Russia", and in 1408 Fhotius, a Greek from Constantinople, was made "Metropolitan of all Russia" at Moscow.

Shortly afterwards an assembly of South Russian bishops was held at Novogrodek, and, determined to become independent of Moscow, sent to the Patriarch of Constantinople for a local metropolitan to rule over them. In 1416 Gregory I was made "Metropolitan of Kieff and Lithuania", independently of Photius who ruled at Moscow. But at the death of Gregory no successor was appointed for his see. Gerasim (1431-5) was the successor of Photius at Moscow, and had correspondence with Pope Eugene IV as to the reunion of the Eastern and Western Churches.

The next Metropolitan of Moscow was the famous Greek monk, Isidore, consecrated under the title of "Metropolitan of Kieff and Moscow". The Osmanlis or Ottoman Turks, descended from a small clan of nomads who were driven from Khorasan by the pressure of the Mongols, established themselves in Asia Minor in the early part of the thirteenth century. Thence, under a succession of able rulers, they extended their conquests far and wide, and early in the fifteenth century had made Adrianople their capital, and deprived the Eastern empire of almost all its territory except the city of Constantinople itself.

In this great strait the emperor turned for help to the West, and an alliance of East and West could hardly come to pass without a union of the Churches. Michael Palaeologus had already made an attempt at reunion at the Council of Lyons in 1274, but with no permanent result. At Florence in 1439 a reconciliation was arranged on behalf of emperor and patriarch by the adoption of formulae in which the differences between Greeks and Latins were veiled under ambiguous language, while the Oriental prelates recognized the supremacy of the Pope of Rome over the whole Church, with reservation of certain privileges of the Eastern patriarchs. Both emperor and Pope promised help to the struggling East.

When the Council of Florence for the reunion of the East and the West was held, Isidore left Moscow in company with Bishop Abraham of Suzdal and a large company of Russian prelates and theologians, attended the council, and signed the act of union in 1439. Returning to Russia, Isidore arrived at Moscow in the spring of 1441, and celebrated a grand pontifical liturgy at the cathedral of the Assumption in the Kremlin in the presence of Grand Duke Vasili II and the Russian clergy and nobility. At its close Isidore's chief deacon read aloud the decree of the union of the churches. None of the Russian bishops or clergy raised their voices in opposition.

But the grand duke loudly upbraided Isidore for turning the Russian people over to the Latins, and shortly afterwards the Russian bishops assembled at Moscow followed their royal master's command and condemned the union and the action of Isidore. He was imprisoned, but eventually escaped to Lithuania and Kieff, and after many adventures reached Rome. From this time the two portions of Russia were entirely distinct, the prelates of Moscow bearing the title "Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia" and those of Kieff, "Metropolitan of Kieff, Halich, and all Russia". This division and both titles were sanctioned by Pope Pius II. But Kieff continued Catholic and in communion with the Holy See for nearly a century, while Moscow rejected the union and remained in schism.

All the disputation, all the elaborate compromise of Florence was of no effect. The Greek people repudiated what their rulers had concluded. The emperor was received in Constantinople as "a traitor to his own imperial dignity, as a renegade and an apostate" and as the Greeks thus indignantly repudiated all connection with Rome, all subjection to Latin Christianity, the Pope and the princes of Western Christendom thought no more of their treaty of succour and support against the Turks.

Only fifteen years after the return of the emperor John Palaeologus to the East, Constantinople was a Mohammedan city. St. Sophia resounded unrebuked with the Imaum's chant, 'There is but one God, and Mohammed is his Prophet.' In 1453 the city was taken by the Turks; the Eastern empire came to an end, and a large portion of the Eastern Church was ever since in the dominion of an infidel power.

"Two Romes have fallen and have passed away, the western and the eastern; destiny has prescribed for Moscow the position of the third Rome; there will never be a fourth." Such were the words wherein, after the fall of Constantinople, the Russian monk glorified and characterised the historical position of Moscow, which had now replaced Kiev as mistress of Russia. The third Rome took over from Constantinople the idea of the Roman imperium, which Byzantium first of all and subsequently Rome had carried out in theocratic guise. The csesaropapism of Byzantium was revived by Moscow, and the third Rome became a perfected theocracy.