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120-532: The leaders of the Old Believers, including Avvakum Petrov and Ivan Neronov , were originally members of the Zealots of Piety . This group of church reformers gathered around Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and the tsar's confessor Stefan Vonifatyev in the late 1630s, and also included the future Patriarch of Moscow Nikon. Upon Nikon's elevation to the patriarchal throne, he and the tsar hoped to revitalize

240-834: A Metropolitan of Kiev and All Russia , but resident in Moscow, by a council of Russian bishops in 1448 without consent from the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople initiated the effective independence of the Eastern Orthodox Church in the Grand Duchy of Moscow . By then, apart from Muslim and Jewish minorities and pagan subject peoples, the Russian people were Christianised , observing church festivals and marking births, marriages, and deaths with Orthodox rituals. The main objectives of reformers in

360-473: A battle was narrowly avoided. In the treaty, Dmitry agreed to refrain from making himself the grand prince and he paid the tribute owed to the Tatars. Yury was summoned to Novgorod and did not pay the tribute to the khan, leading to Dmitry to go to Sarai and receive the patent for the grand princely title in 1322. Yury was then summoned by Özbeg, and on his way to Sarai, Dmitry's brother Aleksandr robbed him in

480-489: A comparative analysis. Such a task would have taken many years of conscientious research and could hardly have given an unambiguous result, given the complex development of the Russian liturgical texts over the previous centuries and the lack of textual historiographic techniques at the time. Without waiting for the completion of any comparative analysis, Nikon overrode the decrees of the Stoglavy Synod and ordered

600-406: A cultural revival, exemplified by the icons and frescoes of the monk Andrei Rublev . Hundreds of monasteries were founded by disciples of St. Sergius in distant and inhospitable locations, including Beloozero and Solovki . Apart from their cultural functions, these monasteries were major landowners who could control the economy of an adjacent region. They served as outposts of Moscow's influence in

720-455: A formal trial took place at the end of the year. Mikhail was executed and Yury was made the grand prince. Little is known about Yury's reign as grand prince, but relations between Moscow and Tver soon improved and a treaty was concluded in 1319 between Yury and Dmitry of Tver . However, in 1321, a representative of the khan instructed Yury to march on Tver. The two forces met on the Volga and

840-670: A former strategic adviser to Vladimir Putin , is a proponent of edinoverie, since it combines Apostolic succession of the ROC , while preserving pre-Nikonite liturgical tradition. Vladimir officially converted the Eastern Slavs to Christianity in 988, and the people had adopted Greek Orthodox liturgical practices. At the end of the 11th century, the efforts of St. Theodosius of the Caves in Kiev ( Феодосий Киево-Печерский , d. 1074) introduced

960-525: A founder-member, as well as the future patriarch Nikon, who joined in 1649. Their original aim was to revitalise the parishes through effective preaching, the orderly celebration of the liturgy, and enforcement of the church's moral teachings. To ensure that the liturgy was celebrated correctly, its original and authentic form had to be established, but the way that Nikon did this caused disputes between him and other reformers. In 1646, Nikon first met Tsar Aleksei, who immediately appointed him archimandrite of

1080-563: A genuine correction, rather than aligning the texts of Russian liturgical books and practices, customs and even vestments with the Greek versions that Nikon considered were universally applicable norms. Nikon also attacked Russian Church rituals as erroneous, and even in some cases heretical, in comparison with their contemporary Greek equivalents. This went beyond the recommendation of Patriarch Paisios of Jerusalem, who suggested that differences in ritual did not of themselves indicate error, accepting

1200-552: A patent for the grand princely title, a Tatar army, and a Tatar wife, who was the sister of the khan. Kavgady, the chief representative of the khan, sent his ambassadors to Tver to scare Mikhail into submission, but Mikhail's army proceeded to defeat Yury's army in December 1317. In early 1318, the two parties met on the Volga for another battle, but they reached an agreement. Kavgady and Yury laid their accusations against Mikhail and

1320-509: A result of opposition to the Nikonite reform, they do not constitute a single monolithic body. Despite the emphasis on invariable adherence to the pre-Nikonite traditions, the Old Believers feature a great diversity of groups that profess different interpretations of the church tradition and often are not in communion with each other. Some groups even practice re-baptism before admitting a member of another group into their midst. Since none of

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1440-585: A result of the Black Death, and a new vertical pattern of princely succession from father to son was defined. Ivan's successors continued the " gathering of the Russian lands " to increase the population and wealth under their rule. In the process, their interests clashed with the expanding Grand Duchy of Lithuania , whose subjects were predominantly East Slavic and Orthodox. Grand Duke Algirdas of Lithuania allied himself by marriage with Tver and undertook three expeditions against Moscow (1368, 1370, 1372) but

1560-627: A side-effect of condemning the past of the Russian Orthodox Church and her traditions, the innovations appeared to weaken the messianic theory depicting Moscow as the Third Rome . Instead of the guardian of Orthodox faith, Moscow seemed an accumulation of serious liturgical mistakes. It is argued that changing the wording of the eighth article of the Nicaean Creed was one of the very few alterations that could be seen as

1680-459: A unified monarchy. Having consolidated the core of Russia under his rule, Ivan III became the first Moscow ruler to adopt the titles of tsar and "Ruler of all Rus ' ". Ivan competed with his powerful northwestern rival, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, for control over some of the semi-independent former principalities of Kievan Rus' in the upper Dnieper and Donets river basins. Through

1800-506: A war with Lithuania , Vasily captured Smolensk in 1514, and a peace treaty in 1522 confirmed Moscow's gains. Vasily also advanced the Russian border in the east and supported the pro-Russian party in the Khanate of Kazan . The unification of Russia gave rise to a new political system characterized by the dominance of the grand prince, who viewed the country as his personal patrimony. The historian Sergey Platonov wrote: "The authority of

1920-484: Is always cool, silvery, in contrast to Novgorodian painting which inevitably tends towards the warm, the yellowish, the golden". Dionisius continued the traditions of Andrei Rublev and the Moscow school at the turn of the 16th century. The art of the miniature in illuminated manuscripts also continued to develop in Moscow, with manuscripts like the Khitrovo Gospels containing rich illustrations. After

2040-460: Is coeval with the arrival of the Antichrist . As a result of this eschatological belief, as well as the church and state's mass persecution of the Old Believers, many fled to establish colonies and monasteries in the wilderness. No bishops opposed Nikon's reforms (besides Paul of Kolomna , who was banished to a monastery), so the Old Believers had no ability to ordain new priests, meaning

2160-401: Is mentioned under the year 1282 as taking part in a feudal war between his two older brothers. The 16th-century Book of Royal Degrees says that Daniel was given Moscow on his father's death in 1263. The size of the original territory of the Moscow principality is not known, but it likely encompassed the basin of the upper Moskva River , stretching approximately between the eastern influx of

2280-477: Is that wherever the books read 'Церковь' [meaning Church ], Nikon substituted 'Храмъ' [meaning Temple ] and vice versa. According to a source sympathetic to the Old Believers: The incorrectly realized book revision by Nikon, owing to its speed, its range, its foreignness of sources and its offending character was bound to provoke protest, given the seriously assimilated, not only national but also

2400-751: The Danube Delta . In the Imperial Russian census of 1897 , 2,204,596 people, about 1.75% of the population of the Russian Empire self-declared as Old Believers or other denominations split from the Russian Orthodox Church . By the 1910s, in the last Imperial Russian census just before the October Revolution , approximately ten percent of the population of the Russian Empire said that they belonged to one of

2520-658: The Eucharist . The Bezpopovtsy rejected "the World" where they believed the Antichrist reigned; they preached the imminent end of Creation, asceticism , adherence to the old rituals and the old faith. More radical movements which already existed prior to the reforms of Nikon and where eschatological and anticlerical sentiments were predominant, would join the Bezpopovtsy Old Believers. The Bezpopovtsy claimed that any priest or ordinary who had ever used

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2640-477: The Grand Principality of Moscow ( Russian : Великое княжество Московское ), was a medieval Russian principality . Its capital was the city of Moscow . Moscow became a separate principality when Daniel ( r.  1263–1303 ), the youngest son of Alexander Nevsky , received the city and surrounding area as an appanage on his father's death. By the end of the 13th century, Moscow was one of

2760-553: The Holy Roman Emperor ; however, it would not be until 1547 that the title of tsar became official with the coronation of his grandson, Ivan IV . Ivan III also laid claim to the legacy of Kievan Rus' , which led to conflicts with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania . The Russian state was later also known in Western Europe as Muscovy under Polish–Lithuanian influence, and the use of both names persisted until

2880-613: The Imperial Academy of Sciences . Research was continued later mainly by Serge A. Zenkovsky , a specialist on Russian ecclesiastical culture. Golubinsky, Dmitriyevsky, Kartashov and Kapterev, amongst others, demonstrated that the rites, rejected and condemned by the church reforms, were genuine traditions of Orthodox Christianity , altered in Greek usage during the 15th–16th centuries but remaining unchanged in Russia. The pre-Nikonite liturgical practices, including some elements of

3000-578: The Novospassky monastery in Moscow. In 1649, Nikon was consecrated as the Metropolitan of Novgorod and, in 1652, he became Patriarch of Moscow . During his time in Novgorod, Nikon began to develop his view that the responsibility for the spiritual health of Russia lay with senior church leaders, not the tsar. When he became patriarch, he started to reorganise the church's administration so it

3120-709: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , to attract local Orthodox rebels. Their rite was closer to the Greek than that in the Muscovite realm. Nikon did not accept the existence of two different rites in the same church. Supported by Tsar Aleksei, Nikon carried out some preliminary liturgical reforms. In 1652, he convened a synod and exhorted the clergy on the need to compare Russian Typikon , Euchologion , and other liturgical books with their Greek counterparts. Monasteries from all over Russia received requests to send examples to Moscow to have them subjected to

3240-561: The Rus' Orthodox Church , which experienced a resurgence in influence, due to the monastic reform of St. Sergius of Radonezh . Educated by Metropolitan Alexis , Dmitri posed as a champion of Orthodoxy and managed to unite the warring principalities of Rus' in his struggle against the Horde. He challenged Khan's authority and defeated his commander Mamai in the Battle of Kulikovo (1380). However,

3360-718: The Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) to conquer West Russian provinces and Ukraine, developed ambitions of becoming the liberator of the Orthodox areas which at that time formed part of the Ottoman Empire . They also mention the role of the Near-East patriarchs, who actively supported the idea of the Russian Tsar becoming the liberator of all Orthodox Christians and who suggested that Patriarch Nikon might become

3480-518: The Rzhev area and forced him to flee to Pskov . Ivan I ( r.  1325–1340 ) became prince after Yury was murdered by Dmitry of Tver , while the title of grand prince went to Aleksandr of Tver . After the residents of Tver launched a revolt against Tatar rule in 1327, Özbeg Khan dispatched a punitive force led by Ivan and Aleksandr of Suzdal , causing Aleksandr of Tver to flee to Lithuania. Afterwards, Ivan presented himself before Özbeg and

3600-586: The Tsardom of Russia . The English names Moscow and Muscovy , for the city, the principality, and the river, are derived from post-classical Latin Moscovia , Muscovia , and ultimately from the Old Russian fully vocalized accusative form Московь , Moskov' . Moscow is first mentioned under the year 1147 in the locative case ( na Moskvě ). The modern Russian form, Moskva , first appears in

3720-470: The grand prince of Vladimir . During the Mongol invasions of 1237–1238, Moscow was sacked following the destruction of Ryazan . The city is not mentioned again until the late 13th century. The first prince of Moscow was Daniel ( r.  1263–1303 ), the youngest son of Aleksandr Nevsky , and he was given Moscow as an otchina , where he established a local branch of Rurikid princes. Daniel

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3840-552: The "facade of autocracy" and applied the term to later Muscovite history. Relations between Moscow and the Golden Horde varied at times. In the last two decades of the 13th century, Moscow gained the support of one of the rivaling Mongol statesmen, Nogai , against the principalities that were oriented towards the khan. After the restoration of unity in the Golden Horde in the early 14th century, Moscow generally enjoyed

3960-415: The 14th century, the grand princes of Moscow began to style themselves as the rulers of all Russia . During his consolidation of territories, Ivan III adopted the title of sovereign ( gosudar ) of all Russia. After rejecting Mongol suzerainty, he also styled himself as autocrat ( samoderzhets ). In his foreign correspondence, he adopted the title of tsar and rejected the offer of kingship by

4080-489: The 14th century. The oldest endonyms used in documents were Rus ( Russian : Русь ) and the "Russian land" ( Russian : Русская земля , romanized :  Russkaya zemlya ). The 14th-century Zadonshchina , which belongs to the Kulikovo cycle of works, stresses the unity of the Russian princes and describes the principalities of Moscow, Novgorod , and others as being part of the "Russian land". A new form of

4200-451: The 1666 Great Moscow Synod , which brought Patriarch Macarius III Ibn al-Za'im of Antioch, Patriarch Paisios of Alexandria , and many bishops to Moscow. Some scholars allege that the visiting patriarchs each received both 20,000 rubles in gold and furs for their participation. This council officially established the reforms and anathematized not only all those opposing the innovations but the old Russian books and rites themselves as well. As

4320-515: The 16th century, many from the secular clergy , were to standardise the liturgy throughout the Muscovite realm. This resulted in the holding of the Stoglavy Synod , a Russian church council in 1551, whose decrees formed the basis of Orthodox ritual and liturgy in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. This synod condemned many popular religious practices; among other things, it forbade the practice of polyphony . In addition, while stressing

4440-541: The 17th century into the 19th century. The Old Believers considered such self-immolations not as a suicide but as a martyr’s death and an act of protest. In 1678, in the Paleostrov self-immolation, one of the largest, on an island in Lake Onega over 2,700 people perished at the sight of soldiers and officials who were sent to stop the burnings. In totaly, there were over 100 officially registered self-immolations of

4560-446: The 17th century, Greek and Russian Church officials, including Patriarch Nikon of Moscow, had noticed discrepancies between contemporary Russian and Greek usages. They reached the conclusion that the Russian Orthodox Church had, as a result of errors of incompetent copyists, developed rites and liturgical books of its own that had significantly deviated from the Greek originals. Thus, the Russian Orthodox Church had become dissonant with

4680-811: The Church to the state. Nevertheless, the Old Believers sought above all to defend and preserve the purity of the Orthodox faith, embodied in the old rituals, which inspired many to strive against Patriarch Nikon's church reforms even unto death. Avvakum Petrov Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.150 via cp1114 cp1114, Varnish XID 924484622 Upstream caches: cp1114 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:44:08 GMT Grand Duchy of Moscow The Principality of Moscow ( Russian : Московское княжество ), from 1363

4800-488: The Great (reigned 1682–1725) (Old Believers had to pay double taxation and a separate tax for wearing a beard )—to intense, as under Tsar Nicholas I (reigned 1825–1855). The Russian synodal state church and the state authorities often saw Old Believers as dangerous elements and as a threat to the Russian state. There were Old Believers who chose death rather than give up their faith. Collective suicides by fire continued from

4920-464: The Great passed an act that allowed Old Believers to practise their faith openly without interference. In 1905, Tsar Nicholas II signed an act of religious freedom that ended the persecution of all religious minorities in Russia. The Old Believers gained the right to build churches, to ring church bells, to hold processions and to organize themselves. It became prohibited to refer to Old Believers as raskolniki (schismatics), as they were under Catherine

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5040-675: The Great—reigned 1762–1796, a name they consider insulting. People often refer to the period from 1905 until 1917 as "the Golden Age of the Old Faith". One can regard the Act of 1905 as emancipating the Old Believers, who had until then occupied an almost illegal position in Russian society. Some restrictions for Old Believers continued: for example, they were forbidden from joining the civil service. Although all Old Believers groups emerged as

5160-432: The Greek ones of his time. In doing so, according to the Old Believers, Nikon acted without adequate consultation with the clergy and without gathering a council. After the implementation of these revisions, the Church anathematized and suppressed—with the support of Muscovite state power—the prior liturgical rite itself, as well as those who were reluctant to pass to the revised rite. Those who maintained fidelity to

5280-653: The Gzhelka and the western influx of the Ruza . The northeast of the territory consisted of the basin of the upper Klyazma . By the turn of the century, Moscow was one of the leading principalities within Vladimir-Suzdal . Daniel defeated Ryazan in 1301, after which Kolomna and Serpukhov were incorporated into the Moscow principality. Pereyaslavl was also temporarily annexed to Moscow, and after Daniel's death, his sons seized Mozhaysk in 1304. At this point,

5400-402: The Moscow grand principality adopted the ideology of an Orthodox tsardom after the fall of Constantinople , which was incompatible with the recognition of suzerainty of the khan, and as a result, the grand prince began to declare the independence of Moscow in diplomatic relations with other countries. This process was complete during the reign of Ivan III. A distinct school of icon painting

5520-416: The Moscow princes took on the character of the authority of a lord of the manor over its land and people... The prince was not only the ruler of the country; he was also its owner". During the appanage period, princes and their retinues played a major administrative and social role in their principalities; however, with the rise of the grand principality of Moscow, the role of those princes were subordinated to

5640-414: The Moscow printed editions of 1610, 1633 and 1641, continues to be used by modern Old Believers. In the course of the polemics against Old Believers, the official Russian Orthodox Church often claimed the discrepancies, which emerged in the texts between the Russian and the Greek churches, as Russian innovations, errors, or arbitrary translations. This charge of "Russian innovation" re-appeared repeatedly in

5760-524: The Nikonite Rites had forfeited apostolic succession . Therefore, the true church of Christ had ceased to exist on Earth, and the Bezpopovtsy therefore renounced priests and all sacraments except baptism . The Bezpopovtsy movement has many sub-groups. Bezpopovtsy have no priests and no Eucharist , but may elect a mentor ( наставник ) or church leaders ( настоятели or начётчики ) to lead

5880-658: The Old Believer branches (census data). Some Old Believers evaded state persecution by fleeing to the Altai Mountains , a mountainous region near the Russian border with Mongolia. The convents of the Pomorskii group were built there at the beginning of the 20th century with the financial support of Savva Morozov , a rich textile mill owner and a member of the Pomorskii community himself. In 1762, Catherine

6000-956: The Old Believers. Old Believers were driven by persecutions to the fringes of Russia and became the dominant denomination in many regions, including the Pomors of the Russian Far North , in the Kursk region, in the Ural Mountains , in Siberia , and the Russian Far East . Many Old Believers fled Russia altogether, particularly for the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , where the community exists to this day. The 40,000-strong community of Lipovans still lives in Izmail Raion ( Vylkove ) of Ukraine and Tulcea County of Romania in

6120-538: The Russian Church through the ecumenical Eastern Orthodoxy of the Greek Church, introducing various Greek reforms to the liturgy. Old Believers believe these reforms to be heretical, believing the pre-reform rites to be the authentic practices of the early church. Old Believer theology is characterized by this strict adherence to pre-reform traditions, as well as the belief that the reformed church's heresy

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6240-540: The Russian typicon Oko Tserkovnoe , were demonstrated to have preserved earlier Byzantine practices, being closer to the earlier Byzantine texts than some later Greek customs. Remarkably, the scholars who opened the new avenues for re-evaluation of the reform by the Russian Church themselves held membership in the official church (A. V. Kapterev, for instance, was a professor at the Slavic Greek Latin Academy ) but nevertheless took up serious study of

6360-554: The Studite liturgical practices were gradually replaced in Russia with the so-called Jerusalem Typicon or the Typicon of St. Sabbas —originally, an adaptation of the Studite liturgy to the customs of Palestinian monasteries. The process of gradual change of typica continued throughout the 15th century and, because of its slow implementation, met with little resistance—unlike Nikon's reforms, conducted with abruptness and violence. In

6480-473: The United States. In 1652, Nikon of Moscow , patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church from then until 1658, introduced a number of ritual and textual revisions with the aim of achieving uniformity between the practices of the Russian and Greek Orthodox churches. Nikon, having noticed discrepancies between Russian and Greek rites and texts, ordered an adjustment of the Russian rites to align with

6600-456: The Zealots of Piety against him. Their protests led to their excommunication and exile and, in some cases, imprisonment or execution. It was not disputed by the reformers that the Russian texts should be corrected by reference to the most ancient Greek, but also Slavonic, manuscripts, although they also considered that many traditional Russian ceremonial practices were acceptable. In addition,

6720-434: The ambition to aim for such control. Both the popovtsy and bespopovtsy, although theologically and psychologically two different teachings, manifested spiritual, eschatological and mystical tendencies throughout Russian religious thought and church life. One can also emphasize the schism's position in the political and cultural background of its time: increasing Western influence, secularization , and attempts to subordinate

6840-711: The anti-reform priesthood would quickly vanish. This dilemma led to the split among the Old Believers into the Popovtsy (the priested ones) and the Bespopovtsy (the priestless ones); the Popovtsy accept priests ordained by the reformed Russian Church, while the Bespopovtsy reject any priest ordained after Nikonite reforms. The widespread persecution of Old Believers came to an end with Tsar Nicholas II 's Edict of Tolerance in 1905. The total number of Old Believers at

6960-582: The beginning of the 20th century is difficult to estimate, as many still feared persecution for admitting their faith, but contemporary sources put the total between 10 and 20 million. Persecution was renewed in the Soviet era , ending during Gorbachev 's perestroika reforms of the Soviet Union. In the early 21st century, the number of Old Believers is estimated to be between 2 and 3 million, mostly in Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, and

7080-463: The bishops joined the Old Believers, except Bishop Pavel of Kolomna , who was put to death for this, apostolically ordained priests of the old rite would have soon become extinct. Two responses appeared to this dilemma: the Popovtsy (поповцы, "with priests") and the Bezpopovtsy ("priestless"). The Popovtsy represented the more moderate conservative opposition, those who strove to continue religious and church life as it had existed before

7200-507: The causes and background of the reforms and of the resulting schism. Their research revealed that the official explanation regarding the old Russian books and rites was unsustainable. As Serge A. Zenkovsky points out in his standard work Russia's Old Believers , the Old Believer schism did not occur simply as a result of a few individuals with power and influence. The schism had complex causes, revealing historical processes and circumstances in 17th-century Russian society. Those who broke from

7320-414: The city in 1478 and the city surrendered. Ivan imposed his direct rule on the city and abolished its system of government. Tver offered even less resistance, and when Ivan launched a new campaign against Tver in 1485, its prince fled to Lithuania. Ivan incorporated other appanages into the grand principality, while other princes acknowledged him as their overlord. As a result, Ivan began to rule Russia as

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7440-420: The claims were taken up by his sons, Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka , who pursued their claims well into the 1450s. Although he was ousted from Moscow on several occasions, taken prisoner by Olug Moxammat of Kazan , and blinded in 1446, Vasily II eventually managed to triumph over his enemies and pass the throne to his son in 1462. At his urging, a native bishop was elected as Metropolitan of Moscow, which

7560-412: The community and its services. Apart from these major groups, many smaller groups have emerged and became extinct at various times since the end of the 17th century: Edinovertsy ( единоверцы , i.e. "people of the same faith"; collective, единоверчество; often referred to as Orthodox Old Ritualists, православные старообрядцы): Agreed to become a part of the official Russian Orthodox Church while saving

7680-406: The course of the 15th—17th centuries, Russian scribes continued to insert some Studite material into the general shape of Jerusalem Typicon . This explains the differences between the modern version of the Typicon , used by the Russian Orthodox Church, and the pre-Nikonite Russian recension of Jerusalem Typicon , called Oko Tserkovnoe (Rus. "eye of the church"). This pre-Nikonite version, based on

7800-439: The death of Ivan II, the title was temporarily lost until Dmitry ( r.  1359–1389 ) regained it, after which Moscow was elevated to a grand principality . He also inflicted a milestone defeat on the Tatars in 1380, which greatly increased Moscow's prestige. As the Golden Horde declined, its hegemony was increasingly challenged. Vasily I ( r.  1389–1425 ) focused on enlarging his principality, but

7920-408: The decrees of the Council of Florence , the Greek patriarchate had compromised its authority and forfeited any right to dictate to Russia on liturgical matters. Tsar Aleksei, Nikon and some of the Zealots of Piety decided that the best way to revitalise the Russian church was to conform with the usages of the Greek church and accept the authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople . By the middle of

8040-494: The defeat of the Tatars in the Battle of Kulikovo , heroic accounts of the battle were written with considerable artistry, including The Tale of the Battle with Mamai and Zadonshchina . The latter crafted a proto-national myth about the need for unification against foreign enemies: "Let us lay down our lives for the Russian land and the Christian faith". Muscovite Russia was culturally influenced by Slavic and Byzantine cultural elements. In Muscovite Russia, supernaturalism

8160-451: The defections of some princes, border skirmishes, and the long inconclusive Russo-Lithuanian Wars that ended only in 1503, Ivan III was able to push westward, and the Moscow state tripled in size under his rule. Vasily III ( r.  1505–1533 ) continued his father's policy of annexing the other appanages. He annexed Pskov and Ryazan in 1510 and 1521, respectively, completing the process of "gathering" (Great) Russian lands. During

8280-424: The early 18th century. Moscow is first mentioned in chronicles under the year 1147, as part of the principality of Rostov-Suzdal . The importance of Moscow greatly increased during the second half of the 12th century, and it was converted into a fortified gorod (stronghold) in the 1150s. On the death of Vsevolod III in 1212, Moscow appears to have been passed to his son Yury , who succeeded his father as

8400-455: The end of the appanage era and the beginning of a period in Russian history known as Muscovite Russia . He also stopped paying tribute and his defeat of the Tatars in 1480 traditionally marks the end of Tatar suzerainty. Vasily III ( r.  1505–1533 ) completed his father's policy of annexing the remaining appanages, and his son Ivan IV ( r.  1533–1584 ) was crowned as tsar in 1547, thereby officially proclaiming

8520-419: The end of the struggle between Moscow and Tver, and Ivan's nephew-in-law, Konstantin , continued to rule Tver as a loyal servant. To secure his position, Ivan began absorbing surrounding principalities. In particular, Ivan was credited by his grandson Dmitry Donskoy in his will with purchasing the principalities of Beloozero , Galich and Uglich . Ivan also developed Moscow to attract people and produce

8640-476: The existing rite endured severe persecutions from the end of the 17th century until the beginning of the 20th century as "Schismatics" (Russian: раскольники , raskol'niki ). They became known as "Old Ritualists", a name introduced under the empress Catherine the Great , who reigned from 1762 to 1796. Those who adopted new liturgical practices started to call themselves pravoslavnye ( православные , 'those believing rightly', 'orthodox'). The installation of

8760-479: The favor of the khan until 1317 and 1322–1327. For the following thirty years, when relations between the two parties improved, Moscow was able to achieve sufficient economic and political potential. Further attempts to deprive its rulers of the status of grand prince were unsuccessful after the Horde sank into internecine war and proved to be fruitless during the reign of a relatively powerful khan such as Mamai , whereas Tokhtamysh had no other choice but to recognize

8880-407: The genuine orthodox identity of the Russian people. The protest was indeed global: the episcopate, the clergy, both regular and monastic, the laity and the ordinary people. Opponents of the ecclesiastical reforms of Nikon emerged among all strata of the people and in relatively large numbers (see Raskol ). However, after the deposition of Patriarch Nikon (1658), who presented too strong a challenge to

9000-455: The grand prince and the emerging state apparatus. Traditional institutions like the veche were abolished, and appanage princes were incorporated into the boyar class. As a result, they became increasingly part of the service class . Some historians have argued that a ruling class, which included the grand prince and leading boyars, governed the country by consultation and consensus-building. Nancy Shields Kollmann in particular called it

9120-420: The growing power of the Golden Horde. The power of the Horde over Moscow was greatly limited during the reign of Dmitry Donskoy , who gained recognition of the grand principality of Vladimir as a hereditary possession of the princes of Moscow; while the Horde continued to collect tribute, it could no longer have a serious impact on the internal structure of Russia. During the reigns of Vasily II and Ivan III ,

9240-470: The hastily published new editions of the service books contained internal inconsistencies, and had to be reprinted several times in quick succession. Rather than being revised according to ancient Slavonic and Greek manuscripts, the new liturgical editions had actually been translated from modern Greek editions printed in Catholic Venice. The locum tenens for Patriarch Pitirim of Moscow convened

9360-424: The hierarchy of the official State Church had quite divergent views on church, faith, society, state power and social issues. Thus the collective term "Old Believers" groups together various movements within Russian society which actually had existed long before 1666–67. They shared a distrust of state power and of the episcopate, insisting upon the right of the people to arrange their own spiritual life, and expressing

9480-460: The latter annexed Smolensk. The peaceful years of his long reign were marked by the continuing expansion to the east (annexation of Nizhny Novgorod and Suzdal , 1392) and to the north (annexation of Vologda , Veliky Ustyug , and Perm of Vychegda , 1398). Nizhny Novgorod was given by the Khan of the Golden Horde as a reward for Muscovite's help against a rival. The reforms of St. Sergius triggered

9600-401: The latter's death. Although Simeon had to contend with three rival princes for the grand princely title, Özbeg had approved his father's will in 1339, indicating that he supported Simeon's succession to the grand princely throne. Simeon received the patent a few months later. As a result, the princes of Moscow continued to hold the title almost uninterruptedly. At the start of Simeon's reign,

9720-475: The leading principalities within the grand principality of Vladimir , alongside Tver . A struggle between the princes of Moscow and Tver began after Mikhail of Tver became the grand prince in 1304. Yury ( r.  1303–1325 ) contested the title and was later made grand prince in 1318 by the khan of the Golden Horde , who held suzerainty over the princes. However, Yury lost the title four years later. Ivan I ( r.  1325–1340 ) won back

9840-448: The name became common by the 15th century; the vernacular Rus was transformed into Ros(s)iya or Rus(s)iya , and borrowed from Greek : Ρωσία , romanized :  Rosía or Latin : Russia . In the 1480s, the scribes Ivan Cherny and Mikhail Medovartsev mention Russia under the name Rosia ( Росиа ), and Medovartsev also mentions the sceptre "of Russian lordship" ( Росийскаго господства , Rosiyskago gospodstva ). In

9960-411: The need for accurate copying of sacred documents, it also approved of traditional Russian liturgical practices that differed from contemporary Greek ones. During the reign of Aleksei Mikhailovich (r. 1645–1676), the young tsar and his confessor , Stefan Vonifatiev, sponsored a group, mainly composed of non-monastic clergy and known as the Zealots of Piety . These included the archpriest Avvakum as

10080-547: The neighbouring principalities and republics. Another factor responsible for the expansion of the Grand Principality of Moscow was its favourable dynastic situation, in which each sovereign was succeeded by his son, while rival principalities were plagued by dynastic strife and splintered into ever-smaller polities. The only lateral branch of the House of Moscow, represented by Vladimir of Serpukhov and his descendants,

10200-432: The new Patriarch of Constantinople. The numerous changes in both texts and rites occupied approximately 400 pages. Old Believers present the following as the most crucial changes: Today's readers might perceive these alterations as trivial, but the faithful of that time saw rituals and dogmas as strongly interconnected: church rituals had from the beginning represented and symbolized doctrinal truth. The authorities imposed

10320-463: The new khan, Özbeg , staying there for two years. In his absence, the Novgorodians launched a revolt against Mikhail's governors and sent an appeal to Yury, who was confirmed as prince in 1315. However, Mikhail was able to convince the khan to summon Yury and remove him from the political scene. Mikhail was able to establish his authority in Novgorod once again, but in 1317, Yury returned with

10440-467: The northern areas of Ryazan and direct access to Vladimir . It was also provided with a river network that facilitated trade. Yury ( r.  1303–1325 ) began his reign with a struggle against Tver for succession to the grand principality. According to traditional succession practices, the throne was to be passed to Andrey 's eldest cousin, Mikhail of Tver . As Daniel had died before he could become grand prince, his descendants were barred from

10560-556: The number of Old Believer bishops in Russia reached ten and they established their own episcopate, the Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy . Not all popovtsy Old Believers recognized this hierarchy. Dissenters known as beglopopovtsy obtained their own hierarchy in the 1920s. The priestist Old Believers thus manifest as two churches which share the same beliefs, but which treat each other's hierarchy as illegitimate. Popovtsy have priests, bishops and all sacraments , including

10680-460: The old rites and books and those who wished to stay loyal to them at the synod of 1666. From that moment, the Old Believers officially lacked all civil rights. The State had the most active Old Believers arrested, and executed several of them (including Archpriest Avvakum) some years later in 1682. After 1685, a period of persecutions began, including both torture and executions. Government oppression could vary from relatively moderate, as under Peter

10800-535: The old rites. First appearing in 1800, the Edinovertsy come under the omophorion of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate – Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia , abbreviated as ROCOR – have come into communion under different circumstances and retain being old believers in the traditional context and retain the use of the pre-Nikonite rituals. Alexander Dugin , sociologist and

10920-406: The other Orthodox churches. The unrevised Muscovite service-books derived from a different, and older, Greek recension than that which was used in the current Greek books, which had been revised over the centuries, and contained innovations. Nikon wanted to have the same rite in the Russian tsardom as those ethnically Slavic lands, then the territories of Ukraine and Belarus, that were then part of

11040-526: The political and religious center of Russia, but Ivan vastly expanded the domain of the grand prince with the " gathering of the Russian lands ". After Novgorod's boyar class turned to Lithuania for support, Ivan's army defeated the Novgorodian army in 1471, after which Ivan took an oath of allegiance from Novgorod, but left its system of government in place. After the Novgorodian authorities attempted to turn to Lithuania again, Ivan's army marched against

11160-420: The possibility that differences have developed over time. He urged Nikon to use discretion in attempting to enforce complete uniformity with Greek practice. Nevertheless, both patriarch and tsar wished to carry out their reforms, although their endeavors may have had as much or more political motivation as religious; several authors on this subject point out that Tsar Aleksei, encouraged by his military success in

11280-416: The principality of Bryansk returned to Moscow's sphere of influence after the pro-Moscow Dmitry Romanovich was once again installed as prince. As a demonstration of his political sympathies, Dmitry had his daughter married to Simeon's younger brother Ivan . In 1352, Simeon marched into the neighboring principality of Smolensk , located to the west of Moscow, and was able to extend his authority there with

11400-402: The printing of new editions of the Russian psalter , missal , and a pamphlet justifying his liturgical changes. The new psalter and missal altered the most frequently used words and visible gestures in the liturgy, including the pronunciation of Christ's name and making the sign of the cross . In addition, the overbearing manner in which he forced the changes through turned Avvakum and others of

11520-564: The reforms in an autocratic fashion, with no consultation of the subject people. Those who reacted against the Nikonite reforms would have objected as much to the manner of imposition as to the alterations. Changes were also often made arbitrarily in the texts. For example, wherever the books read 'Христосъ' [ Christ ], Nikon's assistants substituted 'Сынъ' [meaning the Son ], and wherever they read 'Сынъ' they substituted 'Христосъ'. Another example

11640-424: The reforms of Nikon. They recognized ordained priests from the new-style Russian Orthodox church who joined the Old Believers and who had denounced the Nikonite reforms. In 1846, they convinced Ambrose of Belaya Krinitsa (1791–1863), a Greek Orthodox bishop whom Turkish pressure had removed from his see at Sarajevo , to become an Old Believer and to consecrate three Russian Old Believer priests as bishops. In 1859,

11760-573: The religious center of the country, and he died in 1326. Peter was succeeded by Theognostus , who, like his predecessor, pursued policies that supported the rise of Moscow. During the first four years of his tenure, the Dormition Cathedral was completed and an additional four stone churches were constructed. Theognostus also proceeded with the canonization of Peter in 1339, which helped to increase Moscow's prestige. Simeon ( r.  1340–1353 ) succeeded his father as prince upon

11880-454: The removal of the pro-Lithuanian prince, who was likely replaced with either Dmitry's son or nephew. As a result, Simeon was able to temporarily halt the eastward expansion of Lithuania. He was also able to force Novgorod to make a treaty with Moscow, in which the city recognized Simeon as its prince and agreed to grant him additional tax revenues. Although the khan, Jani Beg , was prepared to support Simeon in his conflict with Lithuania, he

12000-500: The resources needed to maintain his position, a policy reflected in his sobriquet, Kalita ( lit.   ' moneybag ' ). As grand prince, Ivan collected tribute from not only his own possessions but also from other Russian princes. The khan at the start of Ivan's reign was content with allowing the Muscovite prince to enjoy undisputed supremacy. As a result, Ivan was able to use the funds he acquired to develop Moscow. He also had access to Novgorod's wealth, which helped him to pay

12120-567: The so-called Studite Typicon to Russia. This typicon (essentially, a guide-book for liturgical and monastic life) reflected the traditions of the urban Monastery of Stoudios in Constantinople . The Studite typicon predominated throughout the western part of the Byzantine Empire and was accepted throughout the Russian lands. At the end of the 14th century, through the work of Cyprian, Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus',

12240-519: The supremacy of Moscow over the Russian principalities. The traditional divide and conquer strategy of the Mongols failed, and the following period is characterized by a lack of support from the Horde. Although Moscow recognized the khan as its suzerain in the early years of the "Tatar yoke", despite certain acts of resistance and disobedience, it refused to acknowledge the khan's suzerainty in 1374–1380, 1396–1411, 1414–1416 and 1417–1419, even despite

12360-485: The territory of the principality had increased almost three-fold and included the entire Moskva River along with its tributaries , allowing Moscow to become self-sufficient. Its southern border included a large stretch of the Oka , from Serpukhov to the east of Kolomna, which gave it some protection from Tatar incursions. To the east, there was a dense forest zone which functioned as a natural barrier. Moscow also had access to

12480-513: The textbooks and anti- raskol treatises and catecheses, including, for example, those by Dimitry of Rostov . The critical evaluation of the sources and of the essence of the church reforms began only in the 1850s, with the groundbreaking work of several church historians, Byzantinists , and theologians, including S. A. Belokurov , A. P. Shchapov , A. K. Borozdin, N. Gibbenet and, later, E. E. Golubinsky , A. V. Kartashev , A. A. Dmitriyevsky, and Nikolai F. Kapterev . The last four were members of

12600-556: The throne to his son Vasily I without bothering to obtain the Khan's sanction. Vasily I (1389–1425) continued the policies of his father. After the Horde was attacked by Tamerlane , he desisted from paying tribute to the Khan but was forced to pursue a more conciliatory policy after Edigu 's incursion on Moscow in 1408. Married to the only daughter of the Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania , he attempted to avoid open conflicts with his powerful father-in-law, even when

12720-655: The throne, Simeon's cousin Konstantin took advantage of the power struggle in Sarai and took control of Nizhny Novgorod and Gorodets . Simeon attempted to dislodge his cousin, and in 1343, he convinced the boyars of Nizhny Novgorod and Gorodets to switch allegiance, but Jani Beg returned the boyars to Konstantin and confirmed him as prince. In 1352–1353, the Black Death reached Russia , which killed Simeon along with his sons. The ruling family of Moscow remained small as

12840-426: The title of grand prince and was able to collect tribute for the khan from other Russian princes, which increased Moscow's wealth. The seat of the Russian Orthodox Church was also moved to Moscow, which later gave it the status as the spiritual center. Ivan I defeated Tver and secured the grand princely title for his sons Simeon ( r.  1340–1353 ) and Ivan II ( r.  1353–1359 ). Following

12960-486: The title. Yury decided to contest Mikhail's claim to the title, but ultimately the decision went to Toqta , the khan of the Golden Horde , who held suzerainty over the principalities and later confirmed Mikhail as the grand prince in 1305. In 1306, Yury established his authority over Ryazan with support from the khan as part of the Tatars' strategy to adjust the balance of power in the conflict between Moscow and Tver. Mikhail of Tver attempted to consolidate his power and

13080-553: The tribute; however, relations with Novgorod worsened following the election of a new archbishop in 1330, which paved the way for a pro-Lithuanian faction in the city. At the beginning of Ivan's reign, the new Russian Orthodox metropolitan, Peter , moved his residence to Moscow in 1325. During Peter's tenure in Moscow, Ivan laid the foundation for the Dormition Cathedral , which was built using stone. Peter had intended to make Moscow his burial place, and therefore

13200-458: The tsar's authority, a series of church councils officially endorsed Nikon's liturgical reforms. The Old Believers fiercely rejected all innovations, and the most radical among them maintained that the official Church had fallen into the hands of the Antichrist . The Old Believers, under the leadership of Archpriest Avvakum Petrov (1620 or 1621 to 1682), publicly denounced and rejected all ecclesiastical reforms. The State church anathematized both

13320-482: The victory did not bring any short-term benefits; Tokhtamysh in 1382 sacked Moscow hoping to reassert his vested authority over his vassal, the Grand Prince, and his own Mongol hegemony, killing 24,000 people. Nevertheless, Dmitri became a national hero. The memory of Kulikovo Field made the Russian population start believing in their ability to end Tatar domination and become a free people. In 1389, he passed

13440-609: Was confirmed as the prince of Novgorod in 1307, but Yury retained control of Pereyaslavl and was able to gain control of Nizhny Novgorod . Mikhail marched against Moscow in 1308, but the Muscovites were able to stand their ground. Mikhail also failed to win the support of the Church, and when he launched an expedition to Nizhny Novgorod, his army was stopped by Metropolitan Peter in Vladimir. After Toqta died in 1312, Mikhail visited Sarai to renew his patent and pay respects to

13560-470: Was firmly anchored to the Moscow principality. The situation changed with the ascension of Vasily I's successor, Vasily II (r. 1425–1462). Before long his uncle, Yuri of Zvenigorod , started to advance his claims to the throne and Monomakh's Cap . A bitter family conflict, the Muscovite War of Succession (1425–1453), erupted and rocked the country during the whole reign. After Yuri died in 1432,

13680-404: Was forced to resume paying tribute following a Tatar invasion. Vasily II ( r.  1425–1462 ) consolidated his control of Moscow after an internal struggle. His reign also saw the declaration of de facto autocephaly by the Russian Church. Ivan III ( r.  1462–1505 ) absorbed nearly all of the Russian states and laid the foundations for a centralized state, leading to

13800-478: Was formed in Moscow in the second half of the 14th century, and would be led by Andrei Rublev , one of the most celebrated Russian icon painters. Among his most notable works is The Trinity , which dates to the early 15th century. The first original Russian school, the Suzdal school, was merged with the Moscow school in the early 15th century. Igor Grabar said it could be distinguished by "a general tone, which

13920-431: Was given the title of grand prince. Özbeg divided the principalities of Vladimir and Novgorod between Aleksandr of Suzdal and Ivan, and upon Aleksandr's death in 1331, Ivan became the sole grand prince. Aleksandr of Tver eventually returned to Tver and was given a full pardon and reinstated as prince by the khan. However, Aleksandr was soon recalled to Sarai in 1339, where he was executed. The death of Aleksandr marked

14040-458: Was tantamount to a declaration of independence of the Russian Orthodox Church from the Patriarch of Constantinople (1448). Ivan III ( r.  1462–1505 ) succeeded his father and his reign has been considered to mark the end of the appanage period and the beginning of a new period in Russian history known as Muscovite Russia . At the start of Ivan's reign, Moscow was already

14160-438: Was unable to take it. The main bone of contention between Moscow and Vilnius was the large city of Smolensk . In the 1350s, the country and the royal family were hit by the Black Death . Dmitry Ivanovich was aged nine when his parents died and the title of Grand Duke slipped into the hands of his distant relative, Dmitry of Suzdal . Surrounded by Lithuanians and Muslim nomads, the ruler of Moscow cultivated an alliance with

14280-452: Was unwilling to provide unlimited support to Moscow, for fear that it would become too strong. He permitted the grand prince to enjoy the traditional rights of the throne and to maintain his nominal authority over other princes, but he interfered in Moscow's relations with Suzdal, supported anti-Muscovite elements in Ryazan, and contributed to Tver's fragmentation. When Jani Beg first occupied

14400-420: Was wholly under his own control. In 1649, a Greek delegation, headed by Patriarch Paisios of Jerusalem , arrived in Moscow and tried to convince the tsar and Nikon that current Greek liturgical practices were authentically Orthodox and that Russian usages that differed from them were local innovations. This led to a heated debate between the visiting Greeks and many Russian clerics who believed that, by accepting

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