Elder Philotheus, author of the concept of "Moscow - the Third Rome". Elder Philotheus' message to Grand Duke Vasily III

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

In 2009, the researchers of the Pskov Archaeological Center discovered the grave of Elder Philotheus. It is located in the necropolis, near the Cathedral of the Three Saints, among other burials. This cathedral is part of the Eleazarov Monastery, from where the famous messages were sent to Moscow. These letters are devoted to a variety of issues. However, the most famous author brought the theory of "Moscow - the Third Rome". Briefly, it is formulated in the expression that two Romes have already fallen, now there is a third, and there will be no fourth.

Relevance of the idea

Many Russians took the discovery of the grave of the Pskov elder Philotheus, who is a preacher of the main Russian idea, as a sign of our national revival. And you need to treat him very responsibly, remembering today this wonderful person and the meaning of the words spoken by the elder.

About the theoryPhilotheus "Moscow - the Third Rome" is said a lot today. You can hear about it both from supporters of the political and spiritual strengthening of our country, and from its opponents. But can they all explain the meaning of these words and their origin? After all, in this case we are talking about such an idea that underlies the self-consciousness of Muscovite Russia, which is of a religious and political nature. It has retained its fundamental role to this day.

The era of the rise of the Moscow principality

The year of birth of the Pskov elder is 1465, and he died in 1542. The years of his life fell on the 2nd half of the 15th - the 1st half of the 16th century. Filofei was a witness to the time when the rapid rise of the Grand Duchy of Moscow took place. In fact, it turned into another, Orthodox kingdom.

During the conscious life of the monk Philotheus, Moscow in 1480 was finally liberated from the Horde. An intensive gathering of Russian lands began. So, there was an accession:

• Tver - in 1485;
• Pskov - in 1510;
• Novgorod - in 1514;
• Ryazan - in 1520.

And, finally, in 1523, when a letter was written to a deacon named Misyur-Munekhin and a letter from Elder Philotheus to Grand Duke Vasily III, dedicated to the Third Rome, Novgorod-Seversky Principality joined Moscow. After 30 years, Moscow troops will go far to the east to annex Kazan, Astrakhan and Siberia.

But this process associated with the geopolitical riseMuscovy, there must be a deep ideological basis, which at that time could only be religious. Muscovite Russia was supposed to appear to the world as a stronghold of Orthodox civilization.

European claim to the Third Rome

But such a monumental building cannot be erected due to someone's arbitrariness. It must have a solid foundation, and at the same time it is necessary to take into account such factors as external and internal resistance. This was precisely what Elder Philotheus understood well.

It should be noted that at that time many countries in Europe were trying to build something like the Third Rome. They calculated the genealogies of their monarchs and invented artificial succession. This can be clearly seen in the heraldry of many small principalities and cities, which has an aggressively pompous character.

But, according to researchers, it was the Moscow principality that had the prerequisites to call itself the Third Rome. However, this did not happen for a long time, it took almost 100 years for this fact to be recognized nationwide.

Modesty mentality

Why did this happen? There are many different versions of the answer to this question. One of them, lying on the surface, is an unprecedented modesty that characterizes the Russian, East Slavic mentality. This is clearly seen in the development of the culture of monasticism in Medieval Russia.

However, such modesty can sometimes turn into false self-abasement. Then, having all rights, as well asopportunities to assert their advantages, the Russians leave it to others. So the elder himself described himself as a rural man who studied letters, did not understand anything in Hellenic wisdom, did not talk with smart philosophers, but only studied the grace-filled Law in order to cleanse his soul from sin.

Meanwhile, the ideas of Philotheus, the texts of his messages testify to European scholarship, to the mastery of rhetorical science. Otherwise, the representatives of the educated elite, who are at the Moscow court, would never listen to him, would not ask him for advice, they would simply know nothing about him.

Anti-Christian tendencies

The onset of the Renaissance in Europe brought with it not only positive tendencies, but also anti-Christian and neo-pagan ones. A number of, in fact, occult movements arose, of which a fairly large number were observed. Some of them actively penetrated into Russia. As a rule, this happened through Novgorod and the B altic lands.

Today little is said about this, but then there was the possibility of the victory of such syncretic movements in our country, because even the Grand Dukes themselves favored them. Some of the church hierarchs were also tempted by these heresies. To overcome them, the efforts of prominent figures of the Russian Church were needed. Among them, one can note the saints Archbishop Gennady of Novgorod and the Monk Joseph Volotsky.

Message to the Stargazers

Starting from 1484 in the Russian state, Nikolai Bulev, a physician and astrologer, an envoy of the Pope, began to actively promote his ideasRimsky. He became the personal physician of Vasily III, the Grand Duke. He was opposed by great authorities, including Saint Maximus the Greek, but despite this, his influence did not decrease.

To understand the astrological teachings of Bulev, Mikhail Grigoryevich, the Grand Duke's deacon, by the name of Misyur-Munekhin, turned to Elder Philotheus, which is evidence of the authority of the latter for the Moscow court. At the turn of 1523-1524. he writes the famous epistle to the deacon of the Grand Duke called "The Epistle to the Stargazers".

In it, an Orthodox monk expresses his categorical rejection of astrology, considering it as a heretical, false teaching. It also explains the basics of the Christian worldview, which prohibit attributing good and evil to astronomical phenomena, otherwise a person is not responsible for his own will, and the meaning of the Last Judgment disappears.

Thus, Philotheus continues the polemic of such authorities as St. Gennady, Joseph of Polotsk and Maxim the Greek, which had an anti-occult orientation. It is important to emphasize that the beginning of the presentation of the theory "Moscow - the Third Rome" was laid in the midst of a dogmatic controversy directed against the false teachings of paganism.

Filofey, denouncing both faith in astrology and other troubles of that time, reminds the deacon, and through him the Grand Duke, of the unique historical situation in Russia. And also about the mission entrusted to her, and why it is very important at this moment not to deviate from the Orthodox faith, but to adhere to it as never before.

Religious-politicalbasics

To understand the theory of Philotheus, you need to get acquainted with the basics of the religious and political history of Christian civilization, which he himself recalls. These foundations go back to the biblical stories of the prophet Daniel. The latter, interpreting the dream of the king of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar, predicts the existence of four kingdoms that succeed each other in time. The very last of them will be destroyed by the Lord God himself.

Hippolytus of Rome, who was the father of the church of the 2nd century, spoke of the Babylonian, Persian, Macedonian and, finally, the Roman kingdom. It is important to note that these kingdoms were not simple national monarchies, but were the only empires that, during their existence, claimed to be the expression of the entire world civilization, the entire world order as such.

The Romans, who professed paganism, like the Christian Romans, believed that Rome would always stand, that is, until the end of time. And the reason for this is not the strength of the Romans themselves, but the fact that the Roman order is a world order that resists world chaos. In the so-called eternal city, many Christians saw a mystical power related to the end of time. It prevents the coming of the Antichrist. The Apostle Paul spoke of this power in 2 Thessalonians.

When Rome adopted Christianity as the state religion in the 4th century, the idea of Rome as a “katechon”, which in Greek means “holding”, began to be expressed by theologians directly, as, for example, in St. John Chrysostom.

AfterFall of Rome

The Christian Roman Empire was the basis of Christian European civilization, and at the same time its ideal. But there was a fall of its western part, and the Latins themselves went into Catholicism. New Rome, the center of the Roman Empire, Constantinople became an Orthodox "catechon". The existence of Byzantium lasted more than 1000 years. It was from there that the Orthodox faith came to Russia. Under the onslaught of the Muslim Turks, Constantinople fell in 1453.

Elder Philotheus, like many other theologians, said that the reason for the fall of Byzantium was its deviation into the Catholic heresy, which occurred in 1439 at the Union of Florence. Of course, this was not the only reason for the decline of the Byzantine Empire, but if one adheres to a purely theological point of view, then one can say that there could be no greater sin than accepting heresy. And it was for him that the Romans paid the price.

This fall for the entire Orthodox world was a catastrophe on a cosmic scale. The "katechon" fell - the one holding, which threatened the onset of the time of the Antichrist. In this regard, various kinds of predictions and apocalyptic moods were in great honor. And Renaissance astrology only fueled them.

As for Nikolai Bulev, Western false prophecies were spread to him, promising the onset of a new global flood, and someone believed them. Although there is a promise from the Lord God in the Bible, never again to send a flood to the Earth. Thus, the prophecy of Philotheus about Moscow - the Third Rome was opposed to the indicated false prophecy and was written in an atmosphere when in the West and inRussia, some people were preparing for the flood.

Third Rome

At this time Filofey reminds that New Rome has not disappeared. There is another Orthodox independent country in the world, this is Great Russia. But it is unlikely that before him no one in Russia thought about it. After all, she was the direct heiress of the Second Rome.

Grand Duke John III was married in 1472 to Sophia Palaiologos, niece of Constantine XI, the last Byzantine emperor. Thus, the dynastic succession was secured - from the Paleologs to the Rurikovichs. After that, Ivan III, at the same time being carried away by the described teachings that penetrated from the West, begins to build Muscovite Russia on the model of the new Byzantium.

He adopts the Byzantine double-headed eagle, which is a symbol of the Christian empire, placing the coat of arms of Moscow on his chest. Italian architects from 1485 to 1515 the Kremlin is being built according to Byzantine models. Although the kingdom will be officially proclaimed only in 1547 under Ivan IV, the Grand Duke is already called the sovereign.

Thus, Philotheus' prophecy about the Third Rome was an expression of the thought that already dominated the minds of the Moscow elite. Although she certainly had opponents. These are the enemies of both Orthodoxy and the strengthening of Russia.

From the messages of the monk Philotheus it is clear that under the Third Rome he meant both the doctrinal and political power of the Russian state. After all, it hardly makes sense to be called Third Rome without the Third Roman Empire.

Historical Background

They are seen in what, howRussia, the successor of Byzantium, has a universal, ecumenical mission of the Orthodox Empire. On the one hand, it should be a stronghold of Orthodoxy, and on the other, it should spread this faith throughout the world.

Elder Philotheus had a predecessor in the 11th century - Hilarion, Metropolitan of Kyiv, who is the author of the "Sermon on Law and Grace". He prophesied to Russia the fulfillment of a unique Christian mission. But at the time of Hilarion, it was at a completely different stage of historical development and could remain only a small Kievan principality, which was unable to fulfill its great destiny.

Filofey lived in a completely different era, when the idea of the Russian mission already had a specific historical justification. It was the fall of Byzantium, the wedding with a Byzantine princess, followed by the establishment of the kingdom and the introduction of the patriarchate. Such opportunities rarely appear in countries and peoples. But the monk, in his messages, hinted to the emperor that the acquisition of such a mission is by no means a reason for pride, but should only contribute to greater affirmation in the Orthodox faith.

Many are asking quite a legitimate question about whether it is obligatory for an Orthodox person to agree with the idea of Philotheus. Like any other religious-political concept, the theory of the Third Rome is not a dogma. This is only the theological opinion, which is well-established. In theology, such an opinion is called "theologian". This is a kind of wish that can be affirmed or denied.

At the same time, this theologian was not justprivate wish of one monk. He was based on a number of solid historical facts, among which:

• continuity between Byzantium and Muscovy;
• an authoritative theological tradition based on both Scripture and Tradition.

Moreover, the idea in question was officially enshrined in church documents. In Moscow, in 1859, during the reign of Fyodor Ioannovich, a patriarchate was established. In connection with this event, in the Charter issued by the Local Council, the seal of the Patriarch of Constantinople was affixed, and there are his words about the Third Rome. These words are very reminiscent of thoughts from the message of Philotheus. Just from that time, the talk about “Moscow - the Third Rome” began.