In the 17th century Orthodoxy remained the spiritual and religious foundation of Russian society. It determined many aspects of life (from domestic issues to state ones) and interfered in the daily life of both a simple peasant and a noble boyar.
Starting from 1589, the head of the church is the patriarch. In his submission were metropolitans, bishops, archbishops, black monastics and white clergy of villages and cities. A lot has changed over the course of a century. But none of them left such a mark in church history as Patriarch Nikon did.
The path to power
The future patriarch was a bright figure from the very beginning. His path to the coveted pulpit is amazing. Nikita Minich (worldly name Nikon) was born in 1605 in the poorest peasant family. He was orphaned early and spent almost all of his childhood in the Makariev Zheltovodsky Monastery. Over time, he took the priesthood and first served in the Nizhny Novgorod region, and from 1627 in Moscow.
After the death of three small children, he persuaded his wife to go to the monastery, and he himself also took tonsure at the age of 30. In 1639 Nikon leftAnzersky skete, left his mentor, the stern elder Eliazar, after which he lived for 4 years as a hermit near the Kozheozersky monastery. In 1643 he became the mentor of the said monastery. In 1646 he went to Moscow on church business. There, the future Patriarch Nikon met Vonifatiev and enthusiastically accepted his program. At the same time, his own mind, views and energy made a strong impression on the king. At the word of Alexei Mikhailovich, Nikon was approved as archimandrite of the Novospassky Monastery, which was the court abode of the Romanovs. From that moment on, his path to the rank of patriarch was swift. He was elected to them 6 years after his arrival in Moscow - in 1652.
Activities of Patriarch Nikon
He himself perceived it much broader than a simple transformation of church life, changes in rites and editing books. He strove to return to the foundations of the dogma of Christ and forever establish the place of the priesthood in Orthodoxy. Therefore, his first steps were aimed at improving the moral state of society.
The patriarch initiated the issuance of a decree that prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages in the city on fasting days and holidays. It was especially forbidden to sell vodka to priests and monks. Only one drinking house was allowed for the whole city. For foreigners, in whom Patriarch Nikon saw the bearers of Protestantism and Catholicism, a German settlement was built on the banks of the Yauza, where they were evicted. This is about social change. There is also a need for reform within the church. It was associated with differences in the rites of Russian and Eastern Orthodoxy. Also, this issue had political significance, so at that time the struggle with the Commonwe alth for Ukraine began.
Church reforms of Patriarch Nikon
They can be summarized in several paragraphs:
- Editing Bible texts and other books that are used during worship. This innovation resulted in a change in some of the wording of the Creed.
- The sign of the Cross from now on had to be folded from three fingers, and not from two, as before. Small prostrations were also cancelled.
- Also, Patriarch Nikon ordered to conduct religious processions not towards the Sun, but against.
- Three pronunciations of the exclamation "Hallelujah!" replaced double.
- Instead of seven prosphora, five were used for proskomidia. The inscription on them has also changed.
