Povarova N.A., history student Faculty of KSU (Kostroma)

The evolution of the structure of the Russian church in the X-XIII centuries. as a public institution

The Christian Church is a historically established system, on the one hand, uniting the clergy and laity, on the other hand, a system of authorities and management. The activity of the church is largely a social activity and, naturally, its interaction in this field with the state and its bodies. In the countries of medieval Europe, Christianity acted as a universal form of culture, on the basis of which social norms and political and legal concepts were based. The specificity of the Old Russian state was expressed in the fact that the Orthodox Church performed a number of functions traditionally within the competence of state power, and was thus a kind of appendage of the state apparatus. Christianity was adopted by Russia by decision of the state authorities, which had already gone through a certain path of development and had to adapt to the changing conditions of ancient Russian society.

The structure of the Old Russian church was determined by the directions of its activities and evolved as they developed. At least six such spheres of activity can be distinguished: liturgical, cultural-ideological, public-legal, socio-economic, political, both on a universal scale and within the country, and internal management of the church administration.

It is most appropriate to dwell on the public-administrative factors of the church organization of Rus' in the 10th-13th centuries. The identification of the pre-Mongol period as a special stage in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) is justified on the basis that during this time a certain type of relationship between the church and the state developed, a demarcation of spheres of activity occurred, which determined the place of the church in the life of ancient Russian society. The Mongol-Tatar invasion led to the establishment of a new political system of vassalage in Russia. A third force appeared in the person of the khan, which led to a redistribution of spheres of activity between the state, church and the Mongol administration.

Information about the initial church organization in Russian sources is random and fragmentary, and the history in the first years after the baptism of Rus' is difficult to reconstruct. However, it has been established that the creation of the Russian metropolis occurred no earlier than 996 and no later than 997-998, as part of the church reform of Prince Vladimir. In connection with the formation of the church organization, there is also the question of the role of the Tithe Church, founded in 989-990. and in character it represented a princely church, designed to serve as a Russian Christian center. The establishment of the metropolitanate presupposed the further development of church administration, because the term “metropolis” meant the see of the older city, dominating the dioceses.

In the history of the organization of dioceses in Rus', three stages can be distinguished:

1. The end of the 10th - the first quarter of the 11th centuries, when episcopal sees were created in such major political centers as Novgorod, Belgorod, Chernigov, Przemysl, Turov, Polotsk, Pereslavl, Vladimir Volynsky.

2. The second half of the 11th century, when episcopal administration spread to the entire territory of Russia.

3. XII-XIII centuries, when, in connection with the establishment of a state-polycentric system, the capital of each individual principality laid claim to its own bishopric, as a result of which episcopal sees appeared in Smolensk, Ryazan, and Vladimir Suzdal. The presence of a bishopric became a demonstration of the political independence of the principality. Novgorod bishopric since the 12th century. even had the title of archbishopric, recognized by the Kyiv Metropolitan, but not by the Patriarch of Constantinople. Thus, in the very adoption by the Novgorod ruler of the title of archbishop, one can see a political demonstration associated with the formation of a special republican system of the Novgorod land.

By the middle of the 13th century. There were 16 dioceses in Rus'. The church-administrative structure was formed not according to the Byzantine principles of organization, but according to the Russian state structure and was a product of its internal development.

The need for material support for the created administrative structure gave rise to the ancient Russian tithe - a grant for the maintenance of the church from princely income. A tithe of tribute was established, collected centrally, and went to the needs of the cathedral churches. In addition, a judicial tithe of duties and fines was collected. But if some historians are inclined to believe that it was also collected centrally, others are confident that the judicial tithe was granted in the form of granting the church the right to court in a number of cases with the right to collect court fees and fines in its favor. The tithe amounts were usually maintained at 10%. Tithes were absent in Roman and Byzantine law; the modern Old Russian tithe of the Carolingians was private. A similar system of centralized tithes was found among the Slavic peoples; the Polish tithe was closest to the ancient Russian one, from which we can conclude that the Russian tithe went back to the ancient form of providing for the servants of the Slavic pagan cult. Another part of the church’s income came from trade duties, which took shape towards the end of the 12th century. as “tenth week from trading.” At the turn of the 16th-13th centuries. The church was in charge of the service of weights and measures. At the beginning of the 13th century. Episcopal taxes were introduced from cities and towns.

The public legal sphere of activity of the ancient Russian church covered three broad areas. In the first round of cases - crimes in cases against faith, the church and the norms of Christian morality, as well as cases relating to private family life, the entire Christian population of the country was subject to church court. The other side of church jurisdiction was expressed in the fact that the clergy and the so-called “church people” were subject to the bishop’s court in all cases. The third sphere of action of the church court covered persons feudally dependent on the church. Some researchers associate the establishment of church jurisdiction with the need to financially support the church. In this light, church jurisdiction arose as a result of a directive from civil authorities, recorded in the charter of Prince Vladimir “On tithes and ecclesiastical courts.” A number of historians believe that the church subordinated to its jurisdiction those matters that were not in the public legal sphere, but under the jurisdiction of the family or community. This is indicated, in particular, by the list of crimes - divorces and “crimes against Christian morality”, which essentially constitute the life of a large family, in one of the early editions of Vladimir’s charter on the courts. In a later edition of the charter of the 13th century. included crimes against faith and the church, sorcery, sorcery, conversion to another religion, sacrilege, etc. But the revolt of the Magi in 1071, as a socially dangerous phenomenon, was suppressed by secular authorities. In fact, those cases against the faith that did not have a social orientation (magic in the form of the application of the experience of traditional medicine) were subject to the church court.

Over time, there was a further demarcation of the spheres of jurisdiction of the state and the church. The church court was given the sphere of family and marriage relations. The sphere of public life was regulated by the civil code - “Russian Truth”. However, numerous lists of church statutes prohibited secular officials from intervening in church affairs, under threat of financial liability and even damnation; apparently secular authorities often overstepped the boundaries of their areas of competence. Over time, as church jurisdiction expanded, mixed courts and the consideration of some cases in a two-stage procedure came into practice. The church statutes of Vladimir and Yaroslav on courts are based on the ancient Russian system of law, where penalties were used as punishment. Byzantine penitentiaries provided for penance as a religious punishment, and as a civil punishment - punishments associated with self-mutilation and execution. An experiment in the use of the Byzantine system of punishment was carried out under Prince Vladimir as part of the church reform of 996-997. on the initiative of the Greek clergy, but was not successful, since the abolition of court fines undermined the financial foundations of the state.

Cult practice was originally carried out by Greek priests. Over time, work began on training our own personnel. In church administration, princely people were involved in current activities in the absence of church officials. As the church organization developed, the bishoprics acquired their own staff. It was headed by the lord's viceroy, the lord's tiun was in charge of economic activities, the lord's mytnik was in charge of collecting income from the service of weights and measures, and the titheman was in charge of collecting a share of court fees. It follows from this that governance was also modeled on a secular state structure.

The church organization also included the cathedral choir, monasteries, and archimandrites. The cathedral choir represented the cathedral organization of the white clergy of the cities. The scope of their activities included the organization of daily worship, the leadership of the priests of all city churches, or if there were several cathedrals, groups of churches in the city, the choir had the significance of a collective governing body of churches. The earliest mentions of it relate to the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Kyiv at the end of the 11th century, later in Novgorod, Smolensk, Vladimir Volynsky, Rostov. Sources connect the establishment of the choir not with the episcopal, but with the princely initiative.

The creation of monasteries dates back to the first half of the 11th century. During the reign of Yaroslav the Wise, the monasteries of St. George and St. Irina, which became the place of religious worship of the princely house. During the XII-XIII centuries, monasteries not only of the ruling, but also of other princely lines operated in Kyiv.

Archimandrites were urban organizations of black clergy.

Internal political activity of church hierarchs in Rus' in the 10th-13th centuries. was expressed, on the one hand, in mediation between princes during the settlement of conflicts, and on the other, in participation in a broad council, if issues of succession to the throne were discussed, bypassing existing traditions. As the role of the church organization as a landowner strengthened, the contradictions between church and secular authorities increased, but they had not yet acquired a systematic character.

Analysis of the structure of the Old Russian church during the 10th-12th centuries. shows that, although administratively it was subordinate to Constantinople, it developed as a national one - its territory coincided with the borders of the national state, the system of church government, church jurisdiction developed in accordance with the ancient Russian state structure. Although the Greek metropolitans sought to direct the activities of the Russian Church in accordance with Byzantine foreign policy interests, the church organization and its close interaction with the civil authorities prevented the implementation of such ideas. The church was under much stronger influence of princely power. Thus, episcopal sees were replaced in practice according to the will and material capabilities of the princes; only consent was required from the metropolitan. A textbook case was when in 1185 the Rostov prince Vsevolod installed Bishop Luke on the see against the will of the metropolitan. Thus, the Russian Orthodox Church was born and formed in conditions of close interaction with the civil authorities.

I Romanov readings."Romanov's collection" . Kostroma. May 29-30, 2008.

With the establishment of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, the Russian Church was included by the Golden Horde khans in the management system they created. At the same time, they adhered to the rule that they resorted to in other conquered countries - the clergy became a privileged category of the population. This did not mean that during the numerous Tatar raids, designed to eradicate any thought of resistance, the clergy did not suffer on an equal basis with the population - we were talking about the system of tax and administrative benefits that the Orthodox Church and its ministers received.

Since the 60s of the 13th century. The practice of issuing khan's letters to metropolitans was established, which listed the privileges granted: exemption from paying tribute (primarily the Horde "exit"), duties and duties.

It would be a mistake to associate the religious tolerance of the Horde khans, researchers note, with some special attitude towards the Orthodox religion (the ruling elite already under Khan Berke in the third quarter of the 13th century turned to Islam). In the huge Mongol power, where different religions coexisted, religious tolerance was the norm of state policy for a long time - otherwise it could threaten the unity of the empire.

The organization of the Russian church during the Mongol period generally remained unchanged. Of great importance during this period was the formation of a new diocese in the center of the Golden Horde, i.e., the Sarai diocese. The Sarai bishop played a big role in the Russian church, especially in the second half of the 13th century. and the first half of the 14th century. At the same time, the Russian Church continued to constitute one metropolis. However, the Metropolitan changed his location, moving from the southwest to the northeast. This was caused primarily by the devastation and decline of Kyiv due to Mongol raids. Already Metropolitan Kirill (1250-1280) lived most of his bishopric in Vladimir. Before the start of his spiritual career, Kirill was close to Prince Daniil Romanovich. However, the persistent desire of the Galician prince to receive help against the Tatars from Catholic monks and the Pope forced the metropolitan to reorient himself towards the northeastern princes. Metropolitan Maxim (1283-1305) finally moved the seat of his see from Kyiv to Vladimir. In 1299, Kyiv was so terribly devastated by the Tatars that all its inhabitants fled, and the Metropolitan had to flee with them. After Metropolitan Peter, the metropolitan's stay was established in Moscow, although the metropolitan see was officially assigned to Moscow only under Metropolitan Alexy. However, the metropolis for a long time continued to bear the name “Kyiv” (and all Rus').

Metropolitan Peter (1308–1326) became a major political figure, whose name is traditionally associated with the rise of Moscow. When in 1309 Metropolitan Peter, ordained by the Patriarch of Constantinople, came to Vladimir, he met there with an extremely hostile reception from the Grand Duke of Vladimir Mikhail Yaroslavich Tver. The latter hoped to install his protege at the department (two candidates were sent to Constantinople, one of whom was Mikhail Yaroslavich’s protege), so he could not come to terms with the failure of his candidate. Hostile towards the new metropolitan, he sought at all costs to overthrow him from the pulpit, trying to do this twice.

The situation required Metropolitan Peter to search for an ally, and he was found in the person of Moscow Prince Yuri Danilovich, an irreconcilable and unsuccessful rival of Mikhail Yaroslavich. That is why he begins to leave his cathedral city and visit or live in the diocesan suburb - Moscow, with a prince friendly to him. It should be recalled here that during this period of time there was a struggle between the Moscow and Tver princes for the Grand Duke's Vladimir table. Having pushed the Metropolitan away from himself, Mikhail Yaroslavich made an irreparable mistake, which gave an unexpected advantage to Moscow compared to Tver. The Moscow princes immediately appreciated the unexpected happiness that befell them - to have the Metropolitan as their supporter. Metropolitan Peter's ties with Moscow especially strengthened in the last period of his life, under Prince Ivan Danilovich (Kalita), who did a lot to turn Moscow into the religious center of North-Eastern Rus'. With the blessing of Peter, the stone Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was built here. When the Metropolitan died in Moscow during his travels (1326), Ivan Kalita buried him in the Assumption Cathedral and achieved canonization. Peter soon became one of the most revered saints in Rus'. In the eyes of the Russian people of those years, this event, without a doubt, was a sign of the Lord. The importance of Moscow increased even more, as it became the ecclesiastical, spiritual center of all Rus'. In the name of Metropolitan Peter, the Russians swore an oath even then, in the 14th century, and looked at him as their sorrower and protector - after all, he went to the Horde to beg the khan not to offend his flock. A century after his death, legends about him circulated throughout Rus'.

After the death of Peter, the Greek Theognostus (1328–1353) became metropolitan, who finally moved to Moscow. At first, Theognost supported Ivan Kalita in his struggle for the grand-ducal throne with the Tver and Suzdal princes. When, after the unsuccessful uprising of 1327, the Tver prince Alexander Mikhailovich found refuge in Pskov, the metropolitan imposed excommunication on the entire city. This prompted the Tver prince to leave for Lithuania. However, later Theognost, concerned about the excessive rise of Ivan Kalita, contributed to the return of the Tver prince.

Theognost had to put in a lot of effort in order to maintain the unity of the metropolis. The Lithuanian princes, who dreamed of church independence, tried in every possible way to create their own metropolitanate. To this end, they put strong pressure on the Patriarch of Constantinople. With great difficulty, Theognostus managed to maintain the unity of the metropolis and overthrow the “self-proclaimed” metropolitans of Southwestern Rus'. However, it was clear that with the formation of two centers that competed with each other for supremacy in the unification of ancient Russian lands, a split in the metropolis could not be avoided. In passing, we note that the final separation of the Orthodox bishoprics in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into an independent metropolitanate occurred a century later - in 1459.

Theognost's successor was Metropolitan Alexy (1354–1378). He became the first Muscovite metropolitan in the history of the Russian church, a protege of the northeastern princes. The son of the Chernigov boyar Fyodor Byakont, who moved to Moscow in the second half of the 13th century, the future metropolitan was the godson of Ivan Kalita. The fact is that Fedor Byakont was one of the

10-12 of the noblest boyars and enjoyed the special trust of Prince Simeon Ivanovich; when he left, he, like his father, often left Fedor as Moscow governor. The baby was named Eleutherius at baptism. Distinguished from childhood by deep religiosity and a lively mind, the boyar's son secluded himself within the walls of the Moscow Epiphany Monastery, where he was tonsured a monk under the name Alexy.

Noticing the efficient and well-educated monk, Metropolitan Theognost in 1340 appointed him as his governor in Vladimir. At the end of the 40s. Theognost, together with Grand Duke Simeon Ivanovich, sends an embassy to Constantinople, which starts talking about the elevation of Alexy to the metropolis of “all Rus'” after the death of Theognost. The request was granted; in the letter of Patriarch Philotheus on the appointment it was emphasized that this was done as an exception. The candidacy of Alexy did not raise any objections among the Golden Horde, which was concerned about the strengthening of Lithuania. The Khan's headquarters hoped that the appearance of a Muscovite metropolitan should inevitably lead to a church schism of the united Russian metropolitanate, which united the northeastern lands and the lands of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania with the spiritual authority of the “Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus',” thereby hoping to push Lithuania and Moscow against each other. In the first years of his metropolitanate, Alexy had to strain all his strength to prevent a split in the metropolitanate. Later, under pressure from the Lithuanian prince Olgerd, the Patriarch of Constantinople installed a separate Metropolitan Cyprian in Lithuania with the condition that after the death of Alexy he would remain in the newly united Russian metropolitanate.

From 1359, with the death of Ivan Ivanovich the Red, the saint became the guardian of his nine-year-old son Dmitry, the future Donskoy - this meant that Alexy became the de facto ruler of Rus'.

Taking advantage of the Moscow prince's minority, the Suzdal prince Dmitry Konstantinovich received a label from the Horde for a great reign. But Moscow, led by a sophisticated metropolitan ruler, very soon not only regained what it had lost, but also began to gain new positions. In 1363, the Metropolitan intervened in the strife between Dmitry of Suzdal and his younger brother Boris, who illegally seized Nizhny Novgorod. He sent his ambassadors to Prince Boris - Archimandrite Pavel and Abbot Gerasim, summoning him to Moscow for trial. Boris refused to go to the Metropolitan. Then Alexy's ambassadors used their powers and banned church services in Nizhny. This meant that townspeople were practically unable to baptize newborns, marry newlyweds, perform funeral services, and therefore bury the dead. It is clear that the frightened Boris, fearing a general rebellion against him, the culprit of such cruel measures, sent his boyars to Moscow for negotiations. But since the prince persisted, in 1364 the Metropolitan again sent his representative to Nizhny Novgorod, this time Abbot Sergius of Radonezh. Sergius resorted to an already tried and tested method: he closed all the churches, and Boris had to retreat. Moreover, the Moscow army was sent to help Dmitry Suzdal. Boris left Nizhny Novgorod to his brother, and he himself went to live in Gorodets. Grateful to Moscow, Dmitry of Suzdal in 1364 voluntarily refused the label for the great reign of Vladimir, sent to him from the Horde. Moreover, he concluded a political alliance with Moscow, and married his daughter Evdokia to the Moscow prince Dimitri.

The only serious conflict between the matured prince and the metropolitan was in Alexy's declining years, when the prince tried to install him as a successor to his confessor and printer (keeper of the princely seal) Mityai. As a result, Alexy never blessed Mityai for the metropolis.

Alexy's successors, the Bulgarian Cyprian and the Greek Photius, pursued a fairly independent policy, caring for the unity of their metropolis and not allowing open support for the Moscow rulers.

The death of Photius marked the beginning of a long struggle for the vacant department between Moscow and Lithuanian proteges.

In this protracted church turmoil, neither side achieved decisive success - in 1437, Isidore, a protege of the patriarch, the last Russian metropolitan from the Greeks, sent from Constantinople, appeared in Moscow. Soon he went to the Florence Cathedral, where he became one of the active supporters of the unification of the Eastern and Western churches and recognition of the power of the Pope.

The fact is that, being an offshoot of the Byzantine church, the Russian church was greatly affected by the political and religious crises that occurred in the Middle East between 1350 and 1450. In 1355, the Ottoman Turks crossed the Dardanelles and settled in Gallipoli. From there they quickly extended their power to the Balkan Peninsula, subjugating the remnants of the Byzantine Empire. In 1400, Bulgaria and Serbia were conquered by the Turks. The Byzantine emperor in Constantinople found himself in a desperate situation. His only hope was help from the West. The Pope was ready to proclaim a crusade against the Turks, provided that the Greek Church submitted to him. An Ecumenical Council was convened in Italy to discuss the possibility of uniting the Roman and Greek churches. The Union was approved by the Council of Florence in 1439.

However, in Constantinople a significant group of the clergy and the majority of the people refused to accept it. Politically, the crusade organized by the pope in 1444 was a failure. In 1453, Constantinople was captured by the Turks, the Byzantine emperor was overthrown, and Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque. However, the Turks did not destroy the Greek Church as an existing institution and allowed the election of a new patriarch. Now the church union was rejected, and the Greeks returned to Orthodoxy.

In Rus', the union was decisively rejected; it was perceived as a retreat from Orthodoxy. Isidore, who returned in 1441 as a cardinal, was placed under temporary arrest by Grand Duke Vasily II, from where he subsequently escaped, which was turned a blind eye in Moscow. Later, Isidore left for Rome and was sent by the papal legate to Constantinople, where he was captured by the Turks.

Having gotten rid of Isidore, the Russians were confused: what to do next? They did not want to break with their mother church in Constantinople, but at the same time they began to feel a deep distrust of it. For several years they waited for the restoration of Orthodoxy in Byzantium. Finally, Vasily II convened a council of Russian bishops to elect a new metropolitan; in 1448, Bishop Jonah of Ryazan became him. This, however, did not mean a clear break with Constantinople, but was an emergency measure, and when Orthodoxy again triumphed in Byzantium, the blessing of the patriarch was still sought by future Moscow candidates.

However, the union, and then the subsequent fall of Constantinople, undermined the authority of the Greek church; submission to the patriarch was psychologically difficult for the Russian church, since he was in the camp of the infidels. This was expressed in a change in the position of the Russian Church: the Moscow Metropolis became autocephalous (autonomous), separated from the Patriarch of Constantinople. Thus, Bishop Jonah became the first Russian autocephalous metropolitan.

  RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH- autocephalous local Orthodox church.

Educated in con. X century after Russia adopted Christianity. There are different points of view about the organization of the early Russian Church. Some scholars believe that immediately after the Baptism of Rus', a metropolitan from Constantinople arrived in Kyiv, and the Russian Church itself was initially one of the metropolises of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The sources name the names of the possible first metropolitans - Michael, Leon (Leontes), John, Theophylact. Other researchers argue that the early Russian Church was subordinate to the Ohrid patriarchate, which was in power from 972 to 1O18. in Western Bulgaria. The third group of scientists believes that in Rus' there were either no metropolitans at all, or they did not play any significant role. In any case, ancient Russian sources do not say anything definite about the metropolitans. The Russian Church was governed by a council of bishops and reported directly to the Kyiv prince. The main cathedral of Kievan Rus was the Tithe Church (Church of the Virgin Mary) in Kyiv. Perhaps at the turn of the X-XI centuries. in Kievan Rus there were Christian communities focused on different church centers.

In the 11th century the position of the Russian Church largely depended on the relations of Kievan Rus with the Byzantine Empire. During the years of reconciliation, the influence of the Patriarchate of Constantinople increased. The Tale of Bygone Years reports that around 1037, during the reign of Yaroslav Vladimirovich the Wise, the Greek Metropolitan Theopemptos arrived in Kyiv from Byzantium. Many modern researchers generally consider Theopemptus the first metropolitan in Rus'. During the complications of relations with Byzantium, the Kyiv princes sought to get rid of church dependence. Thus, in 1051, a council of Russian bishops, without the sanction of the Patriarch of Constantinople, elected Metropolitan Hilarion of Kyiv, who became the first Russian at the metropolitan see. Contradictions between Russia and Byzantium also existed in the 2nd half. XI century For example, it is known that at that time there were two metropolises and two metropolitans in Rus' - in Kyiv and Pereyaslavl. By the XI-XII centuries. refers to the emergence of the first Russian Orthodox monasteries and the formation of monasticism. In con. XI century The first Russian saints, the brothers Boris and Gleb, were canonized.

The split between the Catholic and Orthodox churches in 1054 significantly affected the position of the Russian Church. Since that time, the Russian Church has gradually turned into a metropolis of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Until the end XIII century the center of the Russian Church was Kyiv, and the main cathedral was the Kiev Cathedral of St. Sophia. Until sep. XIV century Russian metropolitans were mainly Greeks sent from Constantinople. Only three metropolitans were Russian - Hilarion in the 11th century, Kliment Smolyatich in the 12th century. and Cyril in the 13th century.