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A HISTORY OF RUSSIAN CHRISTIANITY Volume I A HISTORY OF RUSSIAN CHRISTIANITY Volume I: From the Earliest Years through Tsar Ivan IV Daniel H. Shubin Algora Publishing New York © 2004 by Algora Publishing. All Rights Reserved www.algora.com No portion of this book (beyond what is permitted by Sections 107 or 108 of the United States Copyright Act of 1976) may be reproduced by any process, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, without the express written permission of the publisher. ISBN: 0-87586-287-X (softcover) ISBN: 0-87586-288-8 (hardcover) ISBN: 0-87586-289-6 (ebook) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data — Shubin, Daniel H. The history of Russian Christianity / Daniel H. Shubin. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-87586-287-X (pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN 0-87586-288-8 (alk. paper) — ISBN 0-87586-289-6 (ebook) 1. Russia (Federation)—Church history. I. Title. BR932.S55 2004 274.7—dc22 2004012764 Wooden Building in Eklutna Village Crosses stand on the onion domes of a Russian Orthodox shrine in Eklutna Village. © Kevin Fleming/CORBIS Photographer: Kevin Fleming Printed in the United States vii PROLOGUE 1 I. INTRODUCTION II. SOURCES 2 III. NAMES, PLACES, AND DATES 4 IV. ABBREVIATIONS 7 PART 1. THE PRE-HISTORIC ERA 9 1. APOSTLE ANDREW 2. THE PRINCES ASKOLD AND DIR 14 3. PRINCES OLEG AND IGOR AND PRINCESS OLGA 16 4. EARLY ORTHODOXY IN RUSSIA 18 PART 2. THE ERA OF KIEVAN RUSSIA 21 5. GRAND PRINCE VLADIMIR THE GREAT 21 6. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF VLADIMIR’S CONVERSION 28 7. THE BAPTISM OF RUSSIA 34 8. PRINCE YAROSLAV 37 9. THE EARLY METROPOLITANS 38 10. METROPOLITANS ILARION AND KLIMENT 41 11. EARLY SAINTS AND MARTYRS 44 12. RULES OF THE RELIGION 47 13. MONASTERIES AND MONASTICISM 49 14. THE PECHER MONASTERY 54 15. CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS STRIFE AND JUSTICE 59 16. PAGAN REACTIONS 62 17. ECCLESIASTICAL FINANCES 64 18. CHURCH-STATE RELATIONSHIP 67 19. EARLY DISSENTERS, JEWS AND CATHOLICS 70 20. MORALITY OF KIEVAN RUSSIA 72 21. RELIGOUS LITERATURE 76 22. ORTHODOX HOLIDAYS 80 TABLE OF CONTENTS History of Russian Christianity viii 23. WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY FASTS 81 24. THE MONGOL INVASION 83 PART 3. THE ERA OF MONGOL OCCUPATION 87 25. METROPOLITAN KIRILL III 87 26. METROPOLITAN MAKSIM 93 27. METROPOLITAN PETER 95 28. METROPOLITAN THEOGNOST 98 29. METROPOLITAN ALEKSEI 101 30. ARCHIMANDRITE MIKHAIL AND THE PATRIARCHAL INTERVAL 105 31. METROPOLITAN PIMEN 108 32. METROPOLITAN KIPRIAN 113 33. METROPOLITAN FOTIUS 117 35. THE STRIGOLNIKS 121 35. METROPOLITAN ISIDORE AND THE COUNCIL OF FLORENCE 124 36. METROPOLITAN JONAH 130 37. METROPOLITAN THEODOSIUS 134 38. METROPOLITAN FILIPP I 135 39. CHURCH DEVELOPMENT DURING THE OCCUPATION ERA 137 40. MONASTERIES AND MONASTICISM 139 41. SERGEI OF RADONEZH 141 42. SOLOVETSKI MONASTERY 143 43. EXPANSION OF MONASTERIES 144 44. MORALITY AND NATIONAL LIFE 147 45. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION 149 46. SAINTS AND FOOLS IN CHRIST 151 PART 4. THE ERA OF MOSCOVITE RUSSIA 155 47. METROPOLITAN GERONTI 155 48. ABBOT JOSEPH VOLOTZKI, METROPOLITAN ZOSIMA, AND THE JUDAIZERS 158 49. METROPOLITAN SIMON 167 50. METROPOLITAN VARLAAM 172 51. MOSCOW — THE THIRD ROME 173 52. ELDER NIL OF SOR 175 53. SCHOLAR MAKSIM THE GREEK 176 54. METROPOLITAN DANIEL 180 55. METROPOLITAN JOASAF 182 56. METROPOLITAN MAKARI 183 57. ABBOT ARTEMIE 189 58. METROPOLITAN AFANASI 191 59. METROPOLITAN FILIPP II 192 60. METROPOLITAN KIRILL IV 195 Table of Contents ix 61. METROPOLITAN ANTONI AND THE ENIGMA OF TSAR IVAN IV (THE TERRIBLE) 196 62. METROPOLITAN DIONYSEI 198 63. THE ANTI-TRINITARIAN MOVEMENT 199 64. THE SAINTS OF MOSCOVITE RUSSIA 204 65. EXPANSION OF RUSSIAN ORTHODOXY 206 66. ECCLESIASTICAL AND MONASTIC CONDITIONS 209 67. MORAL CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE 213 68. THE DOMOSTROI 215 69. ELDERS AND MYSTICS 217 BIBLIOGRAPHY 223 PRIMARY SOURCES 223 SECONDARY SOURCES 224 INDEX 225 1 PROLOGUE I. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this 3-volume work is to provide to the reader a history of the Christianity of Russia from its earliest beginnings to the modern age. This first volume of the history begins with the tradition of the visit of Apostle Andrew and concludes about 1590, shortly after the death of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. (Volume 2 will deal with the era through the death of Tsar Peter the Great in 1725, while Volume 3 will conclude in 1990, the year of the termination of Soviet control over Russia.) Although Russian Orthodoxy is the primary topic, dissenting and sectarian groups of the era are included, along with discussion of the presence of Catholicism and the influx of Protestantism. This history is intensive as well as objective, aiming to give the reader fluency in the events, people and eras that comprise the history of Russian Christianity, including not just the higher levels of church activities but saints and serfs, dissenters and sectarians, as well. It is difficult to write solely a history of the Russian Orthodox Church, because the history of Russia as a state, people and culture is completely interwoven with their religion, and every event, person and location has a religious involvement or attachment to it. In writing this history the author has sought to focus on Russian religion while including those areas of Russian political history and tradition which are needed to explain the religious history. Russian Christian history is largely that of Russian Orthodoxy, and fiction and legend need to be removed in order to present an objective account. With History of Russian Christianity 2 Russian Orthodox history, two problems are present. The first is the meager information provided prior to AD 1240, when major cities, churches and monasteries of Russia were utterly destroyed by Mongol invaders. For the next 240 years, Russia was under Mongol occupation. The second problem is credibility. Russian Orthodoxy has rewritten its history over the years, beginning with the mid-14 th century, incorporating much improbable embellishment. For example, records claiming that miracles were performed by the relics of saints abounded in earlier periods, while declining in later eras when more reliable documentation was available, and they were becoming almost non- existent in the contemporary era. A few of the initial sections, those dealing with Apostle Andrew, Princess Olga and Prince Vladimir, may appear to be exposés, but the intent of the author is to illustrate the development of legends that have become part of the traditional history of Russian Orthodoxy. The book is arranged in chronological and topical sequence. First it is divided into periods of major division within the history of Russia, and then each period is divided into its major characters, primarily metropolitans and patriarchs in chronological order, along with topics of interest that apply to that period at the end of the section. II. SOURCES In writing this history of the Christian religion of early Russia, the author used the following texts, all in Russian. For the era from Apostle Andrew to the era of Metropolitan Makari: Evgeni Evgenich Golubinski, Istoriya Russkoi Tserkvi, four volumes, edition of 1901-1911. For the period after Metropolitan Makari to the conclusion of the volume: Anton V. Kartashyov, Ocherki po Istorii Russkoi Tserkvi, two volumes, 1932. Secondary sources were the following, in order of importance and usage: H. Talberg, Istoriya Russkoi Tserkvi, 1959, two volumes. Pyotr Vasilievich Znamenski, Istoriya Russkoi Tserkvi, 1896. Filaret (Gumilevski), Archbishop of Chernigov, Istoriya Russkoi Tserkvi, 1848. Count Mikhail Vladimirovich Tolstoi, Rasskazi iz Istorii Russkoi Tserkvi, 1898. Feodor Vasilich Livanov, Raskolniki I Ostrozhniki, 5 volumes, 1871-1875 Prologue 3 Andrei P. Bogdanov, Russkie Patriarkhi, two volumes, 1999. Nikolai Ivanovich Kostomarov, Raskol, 1903. Makarius (Bulgakov), Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomensk, Istoriya Russkoi Tserkvi, 1857, eight volumes. Pavel Nikolaevich Miliukov, Ocherki po Istorii Russkoi Kulturi, volume 2, 1930 (1994 reprint). Nikolai Ivanovich Prokovyev, Ed. Drevnaya Russkaya Literatura, 1980. Nikolai Rudnev, Razsuzhdenie o Eresyakh I Raskolakh, 1838. Golubinski and Kartashyov have been translated and paraphrased en masse as the bulk of the content of this history of the Russian Orthodox Church, and their language may be evident as the reader progresses reading the history. E.E. Golubinski (1834-1912) was the most prominent and thorough church historian of his era and a professor at the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. Anton V. Kartashyov (1875-1960) was professor of church history at St. Petersburg Theological Academy. Later, with the dissolution of the Holy Synod under the Provisional Government, Kartashyov was elected as Minister of Confessions April 18, 1917, a position which only lasted a few months. After the Russian Revolution, Kartashyov migrated to Paris, where he taught at the St. Sergius Theological Institute. Some of Kartashyov has also been used in the period from Vladimir the Great to Metropolitan Makari. Reliable and objective sources for ancient history of Russian Orthodox Church are meager. The Russian chronicles are unlike those of nationalities whose histories go back several thousand years and whose populace included scholars and whose culture possessed an established language with alphabet and grammar. The earliest record of Russian Orthodox history is the Chronicle of Nestor (referred to in this volume as pseudo-Nestor), which is also known as the Primary Chronicle. The traditional account is that the monk Nestor wrote his chronicle in 1110-1113, during his residency at Kiev Pecher Monastery. It was supplemented by the monk Sylvester in 1116 by order of Prince Vladimir Monomakh, and by an unknown author in 1118 by order of his son Mstislav Vladimirovich. However, the most reliable evidence presently available indicates that the chronicle which bears the name of Nestor was actually composed about 50 years after his death. The Primary Chronicle has a short paragraph on the visit of Apostle Andrew to Russia and then the founding of Kiev in the late 7 th century. It then starts with actual history, beginning about AD 900 with Oleg and concluding History of Russian Christianity 4 about 1098 with the history of an attack that year of the Polotzki on Kiev and its defense by Prince Izyaslav Yaroslavich. The original codices are long lost in history and subsequent editions follow two routes of transmission, the Kievo- Suzdal, and the Kievan. Each of these two transmissions suffered further editing over time. The earliest editions at present are the Lavrentian (from Suzdal and dated 1377, last copied by the monk Lavrentie), and the Ipatyevski (from the end of the 14 th century, and which acquires its name from Kostroma Ipatyevski Monastery, where it was located; its final editor is unknown). There are other, later chronicles that cover a short period of Kievan history prior to its destruction by the Mongols. These are the Novgorod, written in 1130, and the Galitzia-Volin, composed shortly after 1240. The only documents that survived the devastation of Kiev were those earlier taken to Suzdal under Prince Andrei Bogolubski. III. NAMES, PLACES, AND DATES All of the names in the text are in their transliterated Russian form with the English equivalent — if there is one — in parentheses. Due to the above- mentioned dearth of scholars and the late establishment of an alphabet and grammatical rules for the Slavic languages, spellings of names may reasonably vary over time and in different regions. The word Russ (or Rus’) has been abandoned in favor of Russia throughout the text and the people are referred to as Russians, by which the author means the descendents of the inter-marriage of native Slavs and invading Scandinavians. The adjective form of Moscow utilized is Moscovite, rather than the Anglicized and etymologically incorrect Muscovite. In Russian, the middle name is the patronymic, that is, it is derived from the father’s name, and pertains equally to both son and daughter. For sons, the ending is -vich, such as Yaroslav Vladimirovich, meaning Yaroslav son of Vladimir. For daughters, the ending is -evna (or a variation) so that Anna Vasilievna is “Anna daughter of Vasili” and Elizabeth Petrovna designates “Elizabeth daughter of Peter.” The son of the tsar was referred to as Tsarevich; the wife of the tsar was Tsaritza; and the daughter — or sometimes the wife of the Tsar not recognized as empress — was the Tsarevna. Female family names always end in -a or -ya, while for men the family name ends in -ski or a consonant. For example, Peter the Great is Pyotr Alekseevich Romanov, while his sister was Sophia Alekseevna Romanova. Prologue 5 Many early Russia heroes possess a name assigned to them by the Orthodox Church; their original names are lost in history and no doubt had pagan and Slavic roots. Vladimir literally means Prince of Peace. Such a name has a strong Christian identity and would be most appropriate for the individual introducing Christianity into Russia. Sviatopolk means Holy Regiment; Sviatoslav means Holy Slav; Yaroslav means Bright Slav; Andrei Bogolubski is Andrew (named after the apostle) beloved of God. Apart from the heroes of the early era, the balance of secular names are traditional Russian, such as Igor, Olga, Ivan, Vasili, and Vsevolod. All males who are tonsured and become monks and all females who take the veil and become nuns abandon their birth names and assume new names for the duration of their monastic careers. The names are usually selected from a list of Russian saints and other holy people of the ages. This is the reason that many of the names of the Orthodox clergy, as the reader will notice, are the same. To distinguish these people and to avoid confusion, the secular name is often included (in parenthesis); otherwise, it is up to the reader to distinguish between the individuals, such as Vladimir the Great and his grandson Vladimir Monomakh, and the various Josephs, Jonahs, Dionysiuses, Sergeis, and Nikons in the text. The clergy of Orthodoxy were divided into married and monastic. The married clergy were the “white” clergy. They were primarily the village or town parish priests, deacons or lower ranks. The highest rank a married priest could attain was protopope (arch-priest or proto-priest), who was senior priest in a parish or had charge over several small parish churches. A married priest was often referred to as a white priest. The monastic (unmarried) clergy were referred to as the “black” clergy. Beginning with the bishop and up to the patriarch, the Church hierarchy was always chosen from the monastic clergy. Because some lower positions could be held by either married or monastic, the monastic priest always had “monk” attached to his title, or was referred to as a hieromonk or black priest. The hierodeacon was a deacon of the m