dence, and with it the primacy of the Russian Church, from Kief to Moscow. Graduallj' the metropolitans of the Russian Church became independent of Constanti- nople. In tlie middle of the 17th century, Jonah was appointed by the grand- prince metropolitan of Moscow, and recognised by a synod of all the Russian bishops held at Moscow as metropolitan of Russia. He was the first in whose appointment "the great Church" had no direct share. The metropolitan of Moscow remained, however, in close and friendly relations with the pa- triarchs of the Byzantine empire, and conjointlv witli them the metropolitan Isidor attended the Union Coun- cil of Florence. The fall of Constantinople in 1453 smoothed the way for an entire independence of the Russian Church, which, however, was not fully estab- lished until 1587. In that j'ear, the patriarch Jeremiah of Constantinople, while visiting Russia to obtain sup- port, consented to turn the metropolitan of Moscow into a patriarch in the person of Job, the patriarchate of Russia thus taking, in the opinion of the Eastern bish- ops, the place of the schismatic patriarch of Rome. It was further arranged that the Church of Russia be gov- erned by four metropolitans, six archbishops, and nght bishops. Soon after, the patriarchs of Alexandria and Jerusalem, sixty -five metropolitans and eleven arch- bishops of the Byzantine Church, declared their con- currence in the independent organization of the Russian Church. The Muscovite patriarchs continued, how- ever, to apjily to Constantinople for confirmation until 1657. Soon after, m 1660, the Russian ambassador re- ceived from patriarch Dionysius II of Constantinople and the other Greek patriarchs the documentary dec- laration that the Russian patriarch might in future be elected by his own clergy without needing a confirma- tion by the Greek patriarchs. The Roman popes of the 16th century, especially Leo X, Clement VH, and Greg- ory XIII, made renewed efforts for gaining over the Russian Church to a union with Rome. When Ivan Vasilivitch (1533-84) had been defeated by the Poles, he intimated a readiness ( 1581 ) to unite with the Roman Catholic Church as long as he needed the help of the emperor and the mediation of the pope. Gregory XIII sent the Jesuit Possevino to the grand- prince, who held a religious disputation with the Rus- sians, in which the grand -prince himself took part. Possevino was, in the end, unsuccessful in Russia ; but in those Russian provinces which fell with Lithuania into the hands of the Poles, his efforts had the desired effect. The metropolitan Rahoza of Kief, keenly of- fended by the patriarchs Jeremiah and Job, convoked the bishops of his metropolitan district to a synod held at Brzesc (1593), where the union with Rome was ef- fected in conformit}- with the agreement which had been formed in Florence, with a great respect at first for old ancestral usages. Clement VIII aimounced the union to the Catholic world in his bull Magnus Domi- nus ac laudahiiis, and confirmed the metropolitan in the possession of his traditional rights of jurisdiction (1596), including the right of confirming the bishops of his metropolitan diocese; only the metropolitan him- self was to apply to the papal nuncio in Poland for confirmation. For that part of the Russian Church which refused to enter into the union with Rome, Peter Mogila was in 1633 elected orthodox metropolitan of Kief, with the ajjprobation of king Vladoslav IV. As a bar against the further advance of Roman Catholic and Protestant views, Mogila composed (1642) a catechism, which was confirmed by all the patriarchs as an ofiicial confession of the orthodox Eastern Church.
Important innovations in the liturgy of the Russian Church were made by patriarch Nikon, who has been called by a modern Church historian (Stanley, History of the Eastern Church') " the greatest character in the annals of the Russian hierarchy," " a Russian Chrysos- tom," and also "in coarse and homely proportions a Russian Luther and a Russian Wolsey." The most im- portant among the changes introduced by him was tlie
RUSSIA
162
RUSSIA
revival of preaching, entirely withont an example in 1 the other Eastern churches at that time. Among the innovations which he made in the Kiissian ritual, in or- der to make it more conform to that of Constantinople, were benedictions with tliree fingers instead of two, a ■white altar-cloth instead of an embroidered one, the kissing of pictures to take place only twice a year, a change in the way of signing the cross, and in the in- flections in pronouncing the Creed. Many regarded these changes as an apostasy from orthodoxy, and re- fused to adopt them, but at that time their protests were put down with an iron hand. The man whose energy introduced a new period iii Church history was finally himself deposed from his office. His severity had ex- asperated the clergy, his insolence had enraged the no- bles. In 1667 a council of the Eastern patriarchs, con- vened at Moscow, anil presided over by the czar, for- mally deprived him of his office.
Astill greater change was introduced into the Rus- sian Church by Peter the Great. The aim of his life was to civilize the Kussian empire and to raise it to a level with the remainder of Europe. While travelling in Europe, he studied the Protestant and Roman Catholic systems of belief. He heard the doctrines and studied the religious belief of all the countries which he passed, but he concluded to remain a prince of the Orthodox faith. He believed, however, he would be guilty of in- gratitude to the Most High if, "after having reformed by his gracious assistance the civil and military' order, he were to neglect the spiritual," and "if the Impartial Judge should require of him an account of the vast trust which had been reposed in him, he should not be | able to give an account." Among the practical reforms which he introduced Avere the increase of schools, re- strictions on the growth of monasteries, and regulations respecting the monastic property. But by far the most radical change was the abolition of the patriarchate and the substitution for it of a permanent synod, con- sisting of prelates presided over by the emperor or his secretary. After the death of the eleventh patriarch, Hadrian (1702), whose retrograde policy had greatly exasperated him, Peter allowed his see to remain va- cant, and transferred the admniistration of the patriar- chate to the metropolitan of Riazan, who as exarch had not the full authority of the patriarch, and was not al- lowed to exercise all his functions. This semblance of a patriarchal government lasted for twenty years, and during this time various changes were gradually car- ried through. Taxes were levied on the possessions of cloisters and bishops, the titles and dignities of several episcopal sees which were offensive to the czar were abolished, and the episcopal jurisdiction, which in former times had been wholly unhindered, was now in many respects restricted. A number of reformatory regula- tions were issued for the government of the religious orders. For the reform of the secular clergy Peter wrote with his own hand twenty-six artides of Spirit- vul Reffulations, and for the use of the bishops he issued a pastoral instruction. After having accustomed in this way the clergy and the people to an absolute submission to his all-powerful authority, Peter declared in an as- sembly of bishops, held in 1720 at Moscow, that a pa- triarch was neither necessary for the government of the Church nor useful for the State, and that he was deter- mined to introduce another form of Church government which would be intermediate between the government by one person (the patriarch) and a general council, since both forms of Church government were subject in Russia to great inconveniences and difficulties on ac- count of the vast extent of the emjiire. When some of the bishops objected that the patriarchate of Kief and of all Russia had been erected with the consent of the Oriental patriarchs, Peter exclaimed, " I am your patri- arch !" then, throwing down his hunting-knife on the table, "There is your patriarch!" The plan of Peter was vigorously supported by Theophanes, archbishop of Pskov, and Demetrius of RostofT, adopted by the