The First Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia: Historical Titles and Authorities

In the history of Orthodoxy, the fourteenth century has become a turning point. After the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453 and the fall of Byzantium, Russia, which did not have its own patriarch, was the only independent Orthodox country in the world. All the eastern churches were under the control of the Turkish authorities. The situation created contributed to the fact that in 1589, the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Job, recognized equal among the four other Orthodox patriarchs , was put to the ministry.

The Childhood of the Youth of John

The name of the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, received by him at holy baptism is John. Regarding his birth, information was preserved that he appeared in the world in the thirties of the 16th century. According to available data, the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia was born into a family of ordinary people who belonged to the so-called state estate. History has preserved for us only the name of the mother, adopted by her after the adoption of monasticism - Pelagia.

At an early age, the boy John was given to a nearby monastery, where he had to pass his literacy and the basics of faith. This may also testify to the piety of parents who, since childhood, have instilled a love for the fatherly faith in the child, and their certain prosperity, since in those years, the need often made children begin to work from the earliest years. However, studies in the holy abode aroused in the youth a deep religious feeling and desire to accept monasticism. Before the future First Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia stepped onto his chosen path, he would have to test the firmness of his intentions.

Church tradition tells us that his father, doubting his son's ability to bear the burdens of monastic life and wishing to turn him away from his plan, sought out his fiancée and encouraged him to marry. Never before having confessed to his parents, John did not dare to protest this time, but on the very day of the wedding he asked permission to go to the monastery and visit the cell of his spiritual mentor.

Climbing the path of monasticism

He did not return to his home. After a conversation with Archimandrite Herman, the young man firmly decided that his place was not in a vanity world, but within the walls of a holy monastery. On the same day, he went through the ceremony of tonsure and received the name of Job, which he received in honor of the long-revered Saint Job of the Long-suffering.

The monastic life is not easy for any newly-ordained monk. Too much connects him with the former and directs thoughts to what he left in the world, having committed his most important act in life. It is difficult to get used to the harsh conditions of being in the cloister, but it's even harder to force yourself to obey not your own will, but solely the commands of the mentor who took care of the spiritual becoming of the newcomer.

The future First Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Job was one of those workers who with equal humility fulfill any obedience entrusted to them. Before rising to the heights of ecclesiastical authority, he went through all the stages of monastic ministry - from a simple novice to the abbot of the monastery. It is known that in 1569, during a visit to the monastery by Ivan the Terrible, he made a favorable impression on the tsar and in a short time at his command became an archimandrite.

Stages of the Way of Church Ministry

At the end of 1570, he moved to Moscow and became the rector of the Simonov Monastery. Heading for five years one of the largest monasteries in the country, Saint Job takes an active part not only in the religious, but also in the political life of the country.

In the following period, he heads a few more monasteries, and then follows his ordination first to the rank of bishop of Kolomna, and then to the archbishop of Rostov the Great. The highest level of power of that period, Saint Job reaches in 1587, becoming Metropolitan of Moscow. However, ahead of him was a new, higher title - the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

Establishment of the Patriarchate in Russia

The possibility of having one's own patriarch in the country was conditioned by many factors, chief among them is the increase of Russia's role among other Orthodox states that were under Turkish rule at that time. As mentioned above, the former stronghold of the eastern church - Byzantium - fell in 1453 under the onslaught of the invaders.

It is known that the Turks did not forbid the activity of the Christian church in the territories they had conquered, but behaved very unceremoniously towards its representatives, arbitrarily capturing any property that they desired. Similar expropriations, conducted with constant constancy, assumed the character of undisguised robberies and eventually led the church organizations located in the occupied territories to complete impoverishment.

Without the means to restore the destroyed churches and the maintenance of the clergy, the primate of the Byzantine church was forced to turn to the Russian Tsar Fedor Ioannovich for material assistance. The Russian autocrat took advantage of this favorable opportunity, since, according to the Church Charter, a new patriarch could only be installed as an acting prime minister, and his blessing was required to make the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia the man needed by the tsar.

The greatest event in the life of the church

The head of the Byzantine church arrived in the Mother See in 1588 and, according to the testimony of his contemporaries, was struck by the luxury of the royal palace and the splendor of divine services held in the capital's churches. In addition, as is known from the same sources, it has made an indelible impression of the manifestation of piety by Russian people, whose witness he constantly became.

Every day, wherever the patriarch appears, he was surrounded by dense crowds that demanded blessing. Not feeling right to ignore such a hot expression of religious feelings, he was forced to stay for hours on the street, surrounded by a ring of believers.

Historians note that his initial plans were only to get money from the tsar, and nothing more was involved. However, realizing that he refused to fulfill the request of the autocrat to set up a Russian patriarchate church, he would leave with empty hands, Jeremiah was forced to agree, and as a result, on February 5, 1589, the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia ascended to the newly formed Patriarchal Department. The election for this high mission of Metropolitan Job was at the will of Tsar Fedor Ioannovich, who favored him and showered him with monarchy favors.

Activities of the new patriarch

The newly elected first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, whose powers extended to all spheres of religious life, immediately embarked on an internal church reform. Innovations have touched on both the establishment of additional metropolitan areas, and increased discipline among the clergy. He saw his main task in strengthening the Orthodoxy and spiritual power of the state. Church historians note that after the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Metropolitan Job became, Russian Orthodoxy was raised to an unattainable level before.

Activities of the Patriarch during the Time of Troubles

In 1598 the country was plunged into the abyss of chaos, called the Time of Troubles. The First Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, whose title obliged him to be at the head of the people, actually led the resistance to the Lithuanian and Polish invaders pouring into Russian borders. He sent letters to all the ends of the country, in which he called for rebuff to foreigners.

When Moscow approached hordes headed by False Dmitry, the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Job was among those who refused to recognize the impostor. According to the researchers, in a certain period Gregory Otrepiev was a secretary at Job, so he, like no one else, understood the fraud. He publicly cursed False Dmitry and all his followers.

When, in April 1605, the city was handed over to an impostor, Saint Iov refused to swear an oath and was deposed. In August of the same year, supporters of the False Dmitri defeated the patriarchal chambers, and the primate himself after numerous beatings and humiliations as a simple monk was sent to the Staritsky monastery, where he spent two years in incessant prayer for the fate of the Fatherland.

End of life of the first patriarch

Damaged health did not allow him to rise again on the First Hierarchal Throne. He died in 1607 and was buried in the Assumption Monastery, the very place where the monastic ministry once began. In 1652, the relics of the deceased were transported to the capital and placed in the Assumption Cathedral. Already in our days, in October 2012, the saint, the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, was glorified as a saint. This was a natural act, which expressed the result of his activities as head of the church.

Editorial changes to the patriarchal title

It should be noted that the patriarchal title has undergone a number of editorial changes over the centuries, and the title, the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, now in use with St. Job, is not entirely correct. The fact is that in the period that preceded the reign of Patriarch Nikon (until 1652), the country was listed in the title as "Rusia", and only later the "Russia" form was adopted. In pre-Petrine times the title contained the words "and all the northern countries the Patriarch."

As for the title worn by Saint Job, in the historical documents there are other editions in which Moscow is listed as "the reigning city," and Russia is called "the great kingdom." There are other variants known in the documents signed by the priests of the Russian Church in different historical periods. It should be noted that such discrepancies are caused mainly by the absence in former centuries of uniformity in the compilation of official papers, both religious and secular.

Powers of the patriarch

According to the current statute of the ROC, the powers of the patriarch include mainly administrative functions that ensure the possibility of governing the Church. He is responsible for convening the Local Council and Bishops' Council, as well as the appointment of meetings of the Synod. The patriarch appoints all senior church officials, including heads of spiritual educational institutions of all levels. Among other patriarchal powers, the responsibility is to represent the Church before the government and foreign organizations.

Deputy patriarchs

The performance of the functions entrusted to the patriarch would be impossible without a reasonable assignment of responsibilities between his vicariate deputies. Each of them is responsible for organizing the church life in a separate district of the vast Moscow diocese. The first vicar of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, in charge of which is its central part, moreover, is also a direct deputy patriarch and, in the event of his illness, death or retirement, temporarily performs his functions until the election of a successor.

Propagation of religious knowledge

Since Saint Job, the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, ascended to the First Hierarchal Throne, the history of the Russian patriarchate, which was interrupted during the time of Peter the Great and resumed under Stalin, has sixteen priests of the Russian church. Thanks to their vigilant works Orthodox life in our country has found those forms that allowed it to become the basis of the spiritual connection of many generations of Russians.

It will not be superfluous to note that, as far as Russian history, including the church history, honors its heroes, it also tries to erase from the memory of the descendants of the traitors of the Motherland. An example of this can be the infamous patriarch Ignatius, who swore allegiance to False Dmitry in 1605 and became an accomplice of the Polish invaders. His name has been permanently deleted from the list of patriarchs and erased from the people's memory.

During the atheistic persecution of Orthodoxy, everything that pertained to dogma and church history was excluded from school curricula. This caused significant gaps in the knowledge of these disciplines by modern citizens of Russia. Even the simple question: "Call the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia" put many at a dead end. However, in our days in most parishes there are Sunday schools for children and adults, as well as extensive educational work aimed at correcting the situation.