Patriarch is the highest church rank in the autocephalous Christian Orthodox Church. The word itself consists of a combination of two root components and is interpreted in Greek as “father”, “dominion” or “power”. This title was adopted by the Church Council of Chalcedon in 451. After the Christian Church split in 1054 into Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Catholic), this title was fixed in the hierarchy of the Eastern Church, where patriarch is a special hierarchical title of a clergyman who has the highest church authority.
Patriarchs
In the Byzantine Empire at one time the Church was headed by four patriarchs: Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem. Over time, when such states as Serbia and Bulgaria gained independence and autocephaly, a patriarch also stood at the head of the Church. But the first patriarch in Russia was chosen in 1589 by the Moscow Council of Church Hierarchs, headed at that time by Patriarch Jeremiah II of Constantinople.
The Patriarchs of Russia had a great influence on the development of the Orthodox Church. Themthe selfless ascetic path was truly heroic, and therefore the modern generation needs to know and remember this, because each of the patriarchs at a certain stage contributed to strengthening the true faith in the Slavic peoples.
Job
The first Moscow Patriarch was Job, who held this sacred position from 1589 to 1605. Its main and main goal was the strengthening of Orthodoxy in Russia. He was the initiator of a number of church reforms. Under him, new dioceses and dozens of monasteries were established, church liturgical books began to be printed. However, this patriarch was deposed in 1605 by conspirators and rebels because of their refusal to recognize the authority of False Dmitry I.
Hermogen
Behind Job, the patriarchate was headed by Hieromartyr Hermogenes. His reign dates from 1606 to 1612. This period of rule coincided with a period of severe unrest in the history of Russia. His Holiness Patriarch Job openly and boldly opposed foreign conquerors and the Polish prince, whom they wanted to raise to the Russian throne. For this, Hermogenes was punished by the Poles, who imprisoned him in the Miracle Monastery and starved him to death. But his words were heard, and soon detachments of militia were formed under the leadership of Minin and Pozharsky.
Filaret
The next patriarch in the period from 1619 to 1633 was Fyodor Nikitich Romanov-Yursky, who after the death of Tsar Fyodor Romanov became a legitimate contender for his throne, as he was John's nephewGrozny. But Fedor fell into disgrace with Boris Godunov and was tonsured a monk, receiving the name Filaret. During the time of unrest under False Dmitry II, Metropolitan Filaret was taken into custody. However, in 1613, Filaret's son, Mikhail Romanov, was elected Russian Tsar. Thus, he became co-ruler, and Filaret was immediately assigned the rank of patriarch.
Joasapha I
The successor of Patriarch Filaret from 1634 to 1640 was the Archbishop of Pskov and Velikoluksky Joasaphas I, who did a lot of work on correcting errors in liturgical books. Under him, 23 liturgical books were published, three monasteries were founded, and five previously closed ones were restored.
Joseph
Patriarch Joseph ruled in the rank of patriarch from 1642 to 1652. He paid great attention to spiritual enlightenment, so in 1648 the Moscow Theological School "Rtishchev Brotherhood" was founded at the Andreevsky Monastery. It was thanks to him that the first steps were taken towards the reunification of Russia with Little Russia - Ukraine.
Nikon
Subsequently, from 1652 to 1666, the Russian Orthodox Church was headed by Patriarch Nikon. He was a deep ascetic and confessor who actively contributed to the reunification of Ukraine with Russia, and then Belarus. Under him, the two-fingered sign of the cross was replaced by a three-fingered one.
Joasaph II
The seventh patriarch was Joasaph II, Archimandrite of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, who ruled from 1667 to 1672. He becameto continue the reforms of Patriarch Nikon, under him they began to educate the peoples of the northeastern outskirts of Russia on the border with China and along the Amur River. During the reign of His Beatitude Joasaph II, the Spassky Monastery was created.
Pitirim
Moscow Patriarch Pitirim ruled for only ten months from 1672 to 1673. And he baptized Tsar Peter I in the Chudsky Monastery. In 1973, with his blessing, the Tver Ostashkovy Monastery was founded.
Joachim
All the efforts of the next Patriarch Joachim, ruling from 1674 to 1690, were directed against foreign influence on Russia. In 1682, at a time of unrest over the succession of the patriarch, Joachim called for an end to the streltsy uprising.
Andrian
The tenth patriarch Andrian stayed in holy orders from 1690 to 1700 and was important in that he began to support the undertakings of Peter I in the construction of the fleet, military and economic transformations. His activities were connected with the observance of the canons and the protection of the church from heresy.
Tikhon
And then, only after 200 years of the Synodal period from 1721 to 1917, Metropolitan Tikhon of Moscow and Kolomna, who ruled from 1917 to 1925, ascended the patriarchal throne. In the context of the civil war and revolution, he had to resolve issues with the new state, which had a negative attitude towards the church.
Sergius
Since 1925 MetropolitanSergius of Nizhny Novgorod became Deputy Patriarchal Locum Tenens. During the Great Patriotic War, he organized the Defense Fund, thanks to which money was collected for orphans and for armaments. A tank column was even created under the name of Dmitry Donskoy. From 1943 to 1944 he received the rank of patriarch.
Alexy I
In February 1945, a new Patriarch Alexy I was elected, who remained on the throne until 1970. He had to deal with the restoration of destroyed churches and monasteries after the war, establish contacts with fraternal Orthodox churches, the Roman Catholic Church, non-Chalcedonian churches of the East and Protestants.
Pimen
The next head of the Orthodox Church was Patriarch Pimen, who was in office from 1971 to 1990. He continued the reforms initiated by the previous patriarchs and directed all his efforts to strengthening relations between the Orthodox world of different countries. In the summer of 1988, Patriarch Pimen led the preparations for the celebration of the millennium of the Baptism of Russia.
Alexy II
From 1990 to 2008, Bishop Alexy II became Patriarch of Moscow. The time of his reign is associated with the spiritual flowering and revival of Russian Orthodoxy. At this time, many churches and monasteries were opened. The main event was the opening of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. In 2007, the Act of Canonical Conversion of the Orthodox Church of Russia with the Orthodox Church Outside of Russia was signed.
Kirill
On January 27, 2009, the sixteenth Moscow Patriarch was elected, who became Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad. This outstanding clergyman has a very rich biography, because he is a hereditary priest. Over the five years of his reign, Patriarch Kirill has shown himself to be an experienced politician and a competent church diplomat, able to achieve excellent results in a short time thanks to excellent relations with the president and head of government of the Russian Federation.
Patriarch Kirill is doing a lot to unite the Russian Orthodox Church abroad. His frequent visits to neighboring states, meetings with clergy and representatives of other faiths strengthened and expanded the boundaries of friendship and cooperation. His Holiness clearly understands that it is necessary to raise the morality and spirituality of people and, first of all, the clergy. He states that the church needs to engage in missionary work. The Patriarch of All Russia speaks out sharply against false teachers and radical groups that plunge people into obvious confusion. Because behind the beautiful speeches and slogans is hidden a weapon for the destruction of the Church. Patriarch Kirill understands better than anyone what a great title is. How huge is its significance in the life of the country. A patriarch is, first of all, a huge responsibility for the entire country and the entire Russian Orthodox people.
