Throughout the XIV century, accompanied by the innumerable hardships of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, the only highest church hierarch who did not submit to the power of the Golden Horde was St. Cyprian, Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Russia. Having dedicated his life to serving God and having acquired the crown of holiness, he entered Russian history as a prominent political figure of his era, a writer, translator and editor.
The early life of the future saint
Extremely little is known about the childhood and adolescence of Metropolitan Cyprian, and most of the biographical material of this period is based on hypotheses that have very shaky foundations. So, it is assumed that he was born around 1330 in the capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom - the city of Tarnovo. There is also an opinion that, by its origin, he was the offspring of the ancient boyar family Tsamblakov, which is also not documented.
The year of his taking monastic vows is also unknown, it is only assumed that this event took place in the Kilifarevsky monastery, which is still the largest spiritualcenter of Bulgaria. Nevertheless, information has been preserved that in 1363 Cyprian left the monastery, and together with his confessor, the Monk Theodosius, and three other monks, he went first to Constantinople, and then to Athos, where he labored in one of its monasteries.
The process of spiritual development of the future Metropolitan of Moscow Cyprian was greatly influenced by his acquaintance and long-term communication with the Patriarch of Constantinople Philotheus Kokkin, for whom he served as a cell attendant. Under his guidance, he learned the basic skills of asceticism and joined in constant inner prayer.
Confrontation between the Moscow and Lithuanian Principality
From the biography of Metropolitan Cyprian, it is clear that his further fate was largely determined by the political processes that took place within the Old Russian state, so they should be discussed in more detail. It is known that the second half of the XIV century was filled with the struggle of the Moscow and Lithuanian principalities for the unification under their rule of all Russian lands, including those that formally belonged to Hungary, Poland and Moldova.
This caused serious concern on the part of the Patriarch of Constantinople, who sought by all means to keep the Kyiv Metropolis under his control, which in the current situation was divided between the warring principalities. Taking a pro-Moscow position and expressing support for Metropolitan Alexy, he provoked the Lithuanian ruler, Prince Olgerd, to resort to the threat of conversion to Catholicism of all Orthodox living on hislands.
Wishing to reconcile the warring parties and preserve the unity of the Kyiv Metropolis, the Primate of the Church of Constantinople sent, according to the chronicle, Metropolitan Cyprian (then still his cell-attendant) to Lithuania to search for ways to reconcile Prince Olgerd with the Moscow rulers, both spiritual and secular. It was an extremely difficult diplomatic mission, which he managed to brilliantly carry out.
Messenger of the Ecumenical Patriarch
Thanks to his negotiations with the Russian and Lithuanian princes, in which Cyprian spoke not on his own behalf, but as a representative of the Patriarch of Constantinople, that is, the Ecumenical Patriarch (these titles are identical to this day), it was possible to carry out a number of measures that made it possible to find solution acceptable to both parties. Moreover, as a result of his activities, an all-Russian coalition led by Moscow was formed, and Lithuania took part in the growing anti-Tatar movement.
During his diplomatic trip to the Russian principalities, the future Metropolitan Cyprian met with many prominent religious and public figures of that era, one of whom was St. Sergius of Radonezh. He met him when he accompanied Metropolitan Alexy of Moscow, the de facto ruler of the state, on his trip to Pereslavl-Zalessky. He also visited the sketes of northern monks who were very close to him in spirit.
Rejected Metropolitan
However, the peace established thanks tothrough the efforts of Cyprian, turned out to be fragile. Very soon, Prince Mikhail of Tver put forward claims to the supremacy and forced Moscow to retaliate. The collapse of the coalition of Russian lands was largely facilitated by foreigners, in particular representatives of the commercial circles of Genoa, who were interested in strengthening the Horde and planted anti-Moscow sentiments everywhere. To top it off, the Lithuanian prince Olgerd renounced his earlier commitments and openly opposed Moscow.
Under these conditions, Patriarch Felofiy of Constantinople ordained his faithful servant Cyprian as Metropolitan of Kyiv and Lithuania and decided after the death of Metropolitan Alexy to make him the head of the entire Russian Church. This was a very incorrect decision, since during the life of Metropolitan Alexy, Cyprian was appointed to the chair already occupied by him.
The fruits of the patriarch's indiscretion showed up in the very near future - neither in Kyiv, nor in Vladimir, nor in Moscow itself, the powers of his protege were recognized. Even after the death of Metropolitan Alexy, which followed in 1378, Vladyka Cyprian could not take his place, rejected by the majority of church hierarchs.
In the grand prince's disfavour
However, after a long and exhausting struggle that involved secular and spiritual authorities at all levels, he gradually managed to win back his position. As for the members of the episcopate, in their eyes he raised his own authority, having achieved the return of the Church of the lands illegally taken from her by the boyars.
However, the Moscow department remained the same for himinaccessible, mainly due to opposition from the Grand Duke Dmitry Ivanovich (Donskoy), who predicted his protege, Metropolitan Mityai, for this position. He went to Constantinople to receive a blessing from the Ecumenical Patriarch, but died on the way under unclear circumstances.
Heading the Moscow Metropolis
To overcome the negative attitude towards himself from the Grand Duke of Moscow Dmitry Ivanovich and representatives of the higher clergy, Cyprian was helped by the internal political situation in the state that had changed in many ways by the end of the 70s. From passive submission to the Golden Horde, Russia moved to active resistance, which resulted in the famous Battle of Kulikovo in 1380.
During this period, many boyars and clerics who tried to pursue the pro-Tatar line fell into disgrace and were executed, and at the same time those who advocated the overthrow of the hated yoke were ex alted. Among them was Metropolitan Cyprian. In a letter sent to the Pskov prince Andrei Olgerdovich and his brother Dimitri, he blessed them to fight the Horde. This became known to the Grand Duke, and soon after the victory in the Battle of Kulikovo, he offered Cyprian to take the vacant position of the head of the Moscow Metropolis.
Rising to the highest level of church power, he was primarily concerned with strengthening the memory of those who in former times successfully worked for the good of the fatherland. This is how the “Life of Metropolitan Peter” compiled by Cyprian, the first ofprimates of the Russian Church, who chose Moscow as his place of residence and thereby contributed to its elevation among other cities. He also established the veneration of Prince Alexander Nevsky, who was not yet canonized at that time.
A new turn of events
The subsequent period in the life of Metropolitan Cyprian of Moscow brought him a lot of mental anguish and experiences, which, like his unexpected rise, were the result of a changed domestic situation. In 1382, the Tatar Khan Takhtamysh captured and plundered Moscow, after which Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy, who had barely escaped death, was forced to resume paying tribute. The pro-Tatar party again raised its head and gained strength, whose representatives pursued mainly their personal, and by no means state interests.
Through their efforts, Cyprian was removed from his chair, which went to another applicant - Metropolitan Pimen. A stubborn litigation began between them, for the resolution of which both went to Constantinople. Slandered by enemies and deposed, Metropolitan Cyprian of Moscow found himself in an extremely difficult situation, only the death of Ecumenical Patriarch Nikon and the accession to the throne of his successor Anthony, who knew him well and had good feelings for him, helped him get out of it.
Cyprian returned to Moscow in March 1390 and again took the chair that belonged to him by right. The turmoil in the Church had ended by this time, and the unity of the metropolis was broken only by the willfulness of the Novgorodians, notwho recognized the authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople and did not accept the Metropolitan appointed by him. However, the troops of the Moscow prince sent in 1393 brought clarity to their rebellious minds, and the general harmony was restored.
Christian Church Uniting Activities
At the end of the 14th century, the threat of an Ottoman invasion loomed over Byzantium and a number of other Christian states, and the only way to avoid it was to unite our efforts. The obstacle in this case was not so much political differences as the religious confrontation between Catholicism and Orthodoxy.
In this regard, Metropolitan Cyprian called for the speedy unification of these two areas of Christianity, but not under the authority of the Pope, as the representatives of the so-called Uniate party demanded, but on the basis of a jointly developed concept that would eliminate all the theological contradictions that had developed between them. To do this, he proposed to convene a general church council, in which representatives of all Christian states could take part. Cyprian devoted the last years of his life to the solution of such a complex, but extremely relevant problem at that time.
The end of life's journey
In 1400, the metropolitan moved his residence from the capital to the village of Golenishchevo near Moscow, where he was busy translating the works of the holy fathers of the church into Church Slavonic, as well as working on his own writings, both theological and purely secular. It is noted that the socio-political content of literary activityMetropolitan Cyprian covered a wide range of issues.
In particular, several documents concerning the claims of the Polish-Lithuanian princes to the western regions of Russian lands came out from under his pen. This question worried him so much that in 1404 he personally went to Lithuania and, being present at the negotiations between the princes Jagiello and Vitovt, convinced them to refrain from decisive action.
St. Cyprian, Metropolitan of Moscow, reposed in the Lord on September 16, 1406. From the village of Golenishcheva, his ashes were transported to Moscow and, after a solemn funeral, were buried in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin. In 1472, during the reconstruction of the cathedral, the incorruptible relics of the righteous man were found and reburied next to the grave of his successor in the administration of the Russian Church, Metropolitan Photius. Official canonization took place only in 1808.
Charter of Metropolitan Cyprian
Having completed his earthly journey, Vladyka Cyprian left behind a rich literary heritage, which, as mentioned above, included both religious writings and socio-political works. The so-called Charter of Metropolitan Cyprian of 1391 was especially famous among them.
It is a detailed written response to the complaint of the serfs who were owned by the Konstantinovsky Monastery located near Vladimir. In a letter addressed to him, they complained about the unbearable burden of the duties assigned to them.hegumen Ephraim, as well as other forms of exploitation.
From the text of the document it is clear that before accepting and making public his decision, Metropolitan Cyprian conducted a detailed investigation into the merits of the complaint submitted to him. To this end, he sent his representative to the monastery - a certain Akinfiy, who asked the old-timers about whether the size and shape of the currently established duties are the result of the arbitrariness of their abbot, or whether they correspond to the previously established tradition. A similar survey was conducted by him among the residents of Vladimir, who often visited the monastery, and, importantly, among the serfs themselves.
As a result of the inquiry, Akinfiy established that the abbot, against whom the complaint was received, did not introduce anything new into the previous order, demanded from the tax-paying peasants the same as his predecessors, and, thus, the subject of discussion may not be his actions, but the previously established custom itself. That is why the duties of the peasants, according to the letter of Metropolitan Cyprian, were recognized as completely legal, and the complaint filed by them remained without consequences. However, in all likelihood, there were consequences, but not for the abbot, but for the complainants themselves.
