Many of us know the history of the emergence of Christianity in our country. However, not everyone remembers the role that the Kiev metropolitans played in this matter. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to get acquainted with the main milestones in the history of the Russian church, as well as with its current state.
How did the Russian Church appear in Kiev?
The Orthodox Church in Kiev is the oldest in Russia. It was established in 988. Its beginning coincided with the fateful decision of Prince Vladimir on the Baptism of his young state.
The first Kiev archpastors came from Byzantium. It is reliably known that Mikhail was the first to be appointed to this position, the second was a man named Leonty. The first spiritual mentors needed a lot: they needed to bring the light of the Christian faith to the pagan tribes, translate liturgical books into the local dialect, establish contact with the local elite, and build the first temples.
We point out that the institute of Kiev bishops in itself developed quite actively. So, already in 1051, Hilarion, the author of the famous “Words of the Law and Grace” was appointed to this post. Further, the list of Kiev metropolitans was continued by many famous figures of spiritual culture: Konstantin Blessed, Fedor, Mikhail and many others.
The impoverishment and revival of the metropolis
A serious problem for Ancient Russia was the infamous Golden Horde invasion and subsequent yoke, which ended in the complete ruin of the Russian land and the church in Kiev.
Despite the fact that the population of the state, which was in a state of feudal fragmentation, declined sharply, the institution of bishops continued to exist. Even when the center of Russia from Kiev was moved to other cities - Vladimir, and later to Moscow, the spiritual mentors continued to call themselves Kiev.
The Kiev metropolitans did a lot for the country in the years of trials. By their example, they supported compatriots, conducted sermons of active resistance to the invaders.
After the strengthening of the role of Moscow, it was this northern city, which became the capital of Medieval Russia, that became the center of Russian church life.
The fateful year of the church’s development was the year 1461, when the Russian Orthodox Church gained independence from the Byzantine Empire, which was under serious pressure from the Ottoman Turks. It was then that the head of the church in Kiev began to be called Moscow and All Russia. And the spiritual mentors of Western Galician Rus received the title of bishops of Kiev and Galitsky.
Western Kiev Metropolis
The fate of the Western Kiev Church is interesting and instructive. The Kiev metropolitans, who called themselves the spiritual mentors of Kiev and Galitsky, were under the strong influence of the Commonwealth. As a result of strong Catholic influence, the Orthodox bishops of the western outskirts of Russia were forced to agree to accept a union. Union suggested that the monks, priests and their spiritual children obey the Pope, but retain the right to serve in Orthodox Orthodox rites.
This decision was not ecclesiastical, but purely political. Only it helped to preserve the integrity of the Kiev Church of Western Russia itself.
However, as a result of the political events of the accession to Russia, first of the Left-Bank, and then of the Right-Bank Ukraine, the Kiev Church became part of the Moscow Patriarchate, and the Uniate Church was rejected. It happened in 1686.
The history of the development of Orthodoxy in Kiev from Peter Alekseevich Romanov to the Bolshevik revolution
As you know, Peter the Great carried out reforms in all areas, including in church life. However, the spiritual clergy in Kiev found themselves on the outskirts of his powerful empire, so these reforms hardly touched them. Moreover, Peter tried to use the head of the Kiev Orthodox Church, which was subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchal Chair, as a political figure, seeking to strengthen Russia's influence on Ukrainian lands.
Therefore, the Russian Orthodox Church existed in tsarist Russia in very favorable conditions of support from the government. And only the reforms of Catherine the Great, carried out in 1762 and 1763, forced the Kiev clergy to abandon most of its lands.
In the Soviet years
The persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church, which was announced by the Bolsheviks, changed a lot in Kiev.
However, the true lamps of faith found themselves here, one of which was Metropolitan John Sokolov. John lived a long life full of trials and joys. In 1944 he was appointed Exarch of Ukraine. He did everything in order to revive Orthodox churches in this part of the territory of Soviet Ukraine.
Metropolitan Joasaf Lelyukhin was appointed Exarch of Ukraine in 1964. He tried to defend the Church in a difficult time of persecution. He left a noticeable mark in the history of the Ukrainian Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.
The history of the split: 1990-2018
The split of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is one of the saddest pages in the modern history of Ukraine. The reason for the split was the behavior of the head of the Russian church in Kiev.
Metropolitan Filaret (Denisenko) deliberately chose a split after the collapse of the USSR and the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church refused to choose him for the post of patriarch. As a result, this post was taken by Patriarch Alexy II.
By the way, the split itself was predicted back in the middle of the 20th century by the famous Russian saint Lavrenty of Chernigov, who said that it was the head of the church in Kiev, driven by pride and acting together with the godless authorities, that would go into the split. However, the same Lavrenti predicted overcoming this split.
Today Filaret Denisenko is a self-selected patriarch of the Kiev Patriarchate created by him. In the Russian Orthodox Church, this person is anathematized as a schismatic and traitor to the unity of the church.
Currently, Filaret is actively supporting Ukrainian radical nationalists, being a native of Donbass, he calls on Ukrainian security forces to bomb his small homeland, he is a member of the CIA and other services seeking to weaken Russia in the international arena.