HISTORICAL ROOTS OF THE “RUSSIAN WORLD” IN THE STATE TRADITION OF THE MOSCOW ORTHODOS

Abstract

The article examines the process of the emergence and development of the Russian Orthodox Church as an important factor in the formation of the doctrine of the “Russian world”. The stages of the formation and establishment of Orthodoxy in the Moscow principality, the proclamation of metropolitan and patriarchal statuses are revealed. Attention is focused on the fact that it was the Church of Kyivan Rus that spread the Orthodox faith in Russian lands. Having adopted Christianity in 988 under Prince Volodymyr, Kyivan Rus became a state, in which under the influence of Byzantine and European civilizations, education, writing, science and culture developed very quickly. It is emphasized that the Christianization of Moscow lands was very slow and difficult due to a number of objective reasons. It should be noted that in connection with the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Kyivan Rus, the capture of Kyiv in 1240 and the strengthening of the Moscow principality, according to the decision of the Patriarchal Council of Constantinople in 1354, the relocation of the Russian Metropolis to Volodymyr-on-Klyazma was authorized. The article indicates that the Moscow authorities were interested in the transfer of the metropolitan center to Moscow and actively assisted their hierarchs in this process. Using various forms and methods: bribery, deception, falsification, intimidation, the Muscovite tsars achieved their goals, first the establishment of the Moscow Metropolis, and then the Moscow Patriarchate. Attention is drawn to the fact that the proclamation of the Moscow Patriarchate was carried out in gross violation of canon law, and the annexation of the Kyiv Metropolitanate to the Moscow Patriarchate. The impact of the Lublin Union of 1569 and the Pereyaslav Council of 1654 on the weakening of the Kyiv Metropolitanate, which led to the non-canonical capture of the Kyiv and Chernihiv dioceses, is characterized. Special attention is paid to the church reform of Peter I and the role of Ukrainian scientists S. Yavorskyi and F. Prokopovych in its implementation and their influence on the state-building processes of the Russian Empire. The abolition of the title of patriarch and the proclamation of the head of the Russian Church by the “Holy Synod”, headed by Emperor Peter I, testified to the subordination of the church to the state and the management of the church was carried out by a state institution. This state of Russian Church life lasted until 1917. It was under Peter I that the fundamental ideas of the doctrine of the “Russian world” were laid. The article proves that the Russian Orthodox Church arose from its mother, the Kyiv Patriarchate. The enormous influence of the Ukrainian clergy and Ukrainian theologians on the development of the Russian Church is emphasized. Under Peter I, even the secret of confession was violated. Now the priests were turning into secret service agents.