The patriarch is ... Patriarchs of Russia. Patriarch Kirill

The patriarch is the highest church order in the autocephalous Christian Orthodox Church. The word itself consists of a combination of two root components and, in Greek, is interpreted as "father", "domination" or "power." This title was adopted by the Chalcedonian Church Council in 451. After the Christian Church split in 1054 into the Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Catholic), this title was entrenched in the hierarchy of the Eastern Church, where the patriarch is a special hierarchical title of a cleric who possesses the highest ecclesiastical authority.

Patriarchs

In the Byzantine Empire, at one time the Church was headed by four patriarchs: Constantinople, Alexandria, Antiochus and Jerusalem. In the course of time, when such states as Serbia and Bulgaria gained independence and autocephaly, they also had a patriarch 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 the patriarch of Constantinople, Jeremiah II.

Patriarchs of Rus had a great influence on the development of the Orthodox Church. Their self-sacrificing selfless 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 nations.

Job

The first Moscow Patriarch was Job, who held this sacred office from 1589 to 1605. Its main and main goal was the strengthening of Orthodoxy in Russia. He initiated a number of church reforms. With it, new dioceses and dozens of monasteries were established, church liturgical books began to be printed. However, this patriarch in 1605 was deposed by conspirators and rebels because of the refusal to recognize the power of False Dmitry I.

Germogen

For Job, the patriarchate was headed by the martyr Hermogen. His reign dates from 1606 to 1612. This period of government coincided with a period of severe turmoil in the history of Russia. His Holiness Patriarch Job openly and boldly opposed the foreign conquerors and the Polish prince, whom they wanted to raise to the Russian throne. For this Hermogenes was punished by the Poles, who put him in custody in the Chudov Monastery and starved there. But his words were heard, and soon the militia detachments were formed under the leadership of Minin and Pozharsky.

Filaret

The next patriarch in the period from 1619 to 1633 became Fyodor Nikitich Romanov-Yursky, who, after the death of Tsar Fyodor Romanov, became a legitimate contender for his throne, since he was the nephew of Ivan the Terrible. But Fyodor fell into disgrace with Boris Godunov and was tonsured as a monk, after receiving the name Filaret. In times of trouble under False Dmitry II, Metropolitan Filaret was taken into custody. However, in 1613 the son of Filaret, Mikhail Romanov, was elected Russian tsar. Thus, he became a co-ruler, immediately after Filaret, the rank of patriarch was entrenched.

Joasaph I

The successor to Patriarch Filaret from 1634 to 1640 was the Archbishop of Pskov and Velikie Luka, Joasaph I, who did a great job of correcting mistakes in the liturgical books. With him, 23 liturgical books were issued, three monasteries were founded and five previously closed.

Joseph

Patriarch Joseph reigned in the rank of patriarch from 1642 to 1652. He paid much attention to spiritual enlightenment, therefore in 1648 the Moscow Spiritual School "Rtishchev Brotherhood" was founded at the St. Andrew's Monastery. It was thanks to him that the first steps were taken to reunify Russia with Little Russia - Ukraine.

Nikon

In the following, 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. With it, the double- cross sign was replaced by the three- fingered sign .

Joasaph II

The seventh patriarch was Joasaph II, archimandrite of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, who ruled from 1667 to 1672. He began to continue the reforms of Patriarch Nikon, with him began to educate the peoples of the northeastern regions of Russia on the border with China and along the Amur River. During the reign of the blessed Joasaph II, the Spassky Monastery was created.

Pitirim

The Moscow Patriarch Pitirim ruled only ten months from 1672 to 1673. And he baptized Tsar Peter the Great in the Chudskoy Monastery. In 1973, with his blessing, the Tverskoy Ostashkov Monastery was founded.

Joachim

All the efforts of the next patriarch Joachim, ruling in 1674 to 1690, were directed against foreign influence on Russia. In 1682, at a time of distemper, due to the succession of the patriarch, Joachim came out for the cessation of the Strelka uprising.

Andrian

The tenth patriarch, Andrian, remained in the holy dignity from 1690 to 1700 and was important in that he supported the initiatives of Peter I in the construction of the fleet, military and economic reforms. His work was related to the observance of canons and the protection of the church from heresy.

Tikhon

And then, only 200 years after the Synodal period from 1721 to 1917, Metropolitan Tikhon of Moscow and Kolomna ascended to the patriarchal throne, who ruled from 1917 to 1925. In the conditions of civil war and revolution, he had to solve problems with a new state, negatively related to the church.

Sergius

Since 1925, Metropolitan Sergius of Nizhny Novgorod has become Deputy Patriarchal Locum Tenens. During the Great Patriotic War the Defense Foundation was organized by him, thanks to which money was collected for orphaned children and for armament. Even a tank column was created under the name of Dmitry Donskoy. From 1943 to 1944 he was ordained a patriarch.

Alexy I

In February 1945, a new patriarch, Alexy I, was elected on the throne until 1970. He had to deal with the restoration work 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 became the continuer of 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 preparations for the celebration of the Millennium of the Baptism of Rus.

Alexy II

From 1990 to 2008, Patriarch of Moscow became Bishop Alexy II. The time of his reign is connected with the spiritual flowering and the revival of Russian Orthodoxy. At that 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 on the Canonical Appeal of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Orthodox Church Outside of Russia was signed.

Kirill

January 27, 2009 was elected the sixteenth Moscow Patriarch, who became Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad Cyril. This outstanding clergyman has a very rich biography, because he is a hereditary priest. During five years of his reign, Patriarch Kirill proved himself to be an experienced politician and literate church diplomat, who can achieve excellent results in a short time thanks to his excellent relations with the president and the head of the government of the Russian Federation.

Patriarch Kirill does much to unite the Russian Orthodox Church abroad. His frequent visits to neighboring states, meetings with clergymen and representatives of other faiths strengthened and broadened the boundaries of friendship and cooperation. The Holy One clearly understands that it is necessary to raise the morality and spirituality of people and, first and foremost, priests. He states that the church must be engaged in missionary work. The Patriarch of All Russia sharply speaks out against false teachers and radical groups who are plunging people into obvious distemper. Because behind the beautiful speeches and slogans there is hidden a weapon for the destruction of the Church. Patriarch Cyril, as no one understands what a great title. How huge is its significance in the life of the country. The patriarch is, above all, a huge responsibility for the whole country and the entire Russian Orthodox people.