The patriarch is the highest ecclesiastical dignity in the autocephalous Christian Orthodox Church. The word itself consists of a combination of two root components and is translated from Greek as “father”, “domination” or “power”. This title was adopted by the Council of Chalcedon in 451. After the Christian church split in 1054 into Eastern (Orthodox) and Western (Catholic), this title was fixed in the hierarchy of the Eastern Church, where the patriarch is a special hierarchical title of a clergyman who has the highest church authority.
Patriarchs
In the Byzantine Empire at the time, the Church was headed by four patriarchs: Constantinople, Alexandria, Antiochus and Jerusalem. Over time, when states such as Serbia and Bulgaria gained independence and autocephaly, they also became the head of the Church patriarch. But the first patriarch in Russia was elected in 1589 by the Moscow Council of Church hierarchs, at that time headed by the patriarch of Constantinople Jeremiah II.
The patriarchs of Rus had a great influence on the development of the Orthodox Church. Their selfless 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 the strengthening of the true faith in the Slavic peoples.
Job
The first Moscow patriarch was Job, who held this sacred position from 1589 to 1605. Its main and main goal was to strengthen Orthodoxy in Russia. He initiated a number of church reforms. Under him, new dioceses and dozens of monasteries were established, and church liturgical books began to be published. However, this patriarch in 1605 was deposed by conspirators and rebels due to the refusal to recognize the authority of False Dmitry I.
Germogen
After Job, the patriarchate was led by the martyr Hermogenes. His reign dates from 1606 to 1612. This period of rule coincided with a period of severe turmoil in the history of Russia. His Holiness Patriarch Job openly and boldly opposed the foreign invaders and the Polish royal, whom they wanted to elevate to the Russian throne. For this, Germogen was punished by the Poles, who put him in custody in the Miracle Monastery and starved to death there. But his words were heard, and soon detachments of militias formed under the leadership of Minin and Pozharsky.
Filaret
The next patriarch from 1619 to 1633 was Fyodor Nikitich Romanov-Jurassic, who, after the death of Tsar Fyodor Romanov, became a legitimate contender for his throne, as he was the nephew of Ivan the Terrible. But Fedor fell into disgrace to Boris Godunov and was tonsured a monk, receiving the name Filaret. During the time of troubles under False Dmitry II, Metropolitan Filaret was taken into custody. However, in 1613, Filaret’s son, Mikhail Romanov, was elected Russian Tsar. Thus, he became a co-ruler, immediately the patriarch’s rank was attached to Filaret.
Joasaph I
The successor to Patriarch Filaret from 1634 to 1640 was the Archbishop of Pskov and Velikiy Luki Joasaph I, who did a lot of work to correct mistakes in liturgical books. Under him, 23 liturgical books were published, three monasteries were founded, and five previously closed ones were restored.
Joseph
Patriarch Joseph ruled the patriarch from 1642 to 1652. He paid great attention to spiritual enlightenment, so in 1648 the Moscow Theological College "Rtishchev Brotherhood" was founded at the St. Andrew's Monastery. It was thanks to him that the first steps were taken towards the reunification of Russia with Little Russia - Ukraine.
Nikon
Subsequently, from 1652 to 1666, the Russian Orthodox Church was led by Patriarch Nikon. He was a deep ascetic and confessor, who actively contributed to the reunification of Ukraine with Russia, and then Belarus. Under him, the duodenal sign of the cross was replaced by tripled.
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, and under him began to educate the peoples of the north-eastern outskirts of Russia on the border with China and along the Amur River. Under the reign of His Beatitude Joasaph II, the Spassky Monastery was created.
Pitirim
The Moscow Patriarch Pitirim ruled for only ten months from 1672 to 1673. And he baptized Tsar Peter the Great in the Peipsi Monastery. In 1973, with his blessing, the Tver Ostashkov Monastery was founded.
Joachim
All the efforts of the next Patriarch Joachim, who reigned from 1674 to 1690, were directed against foreign influence on Russia. In 1682, at the time of turmoil due to the succession of the patriarch, Joachim called for an end to the Streltsy uprising.
Andrian
The tenth patriarch Andrian spent the holy dignity from 1690 to 1700 and was important in that he began to support the initiatives of Peter I in the construction of the fleet, military and economic transformations. His activity was related to the observance of canons and the protection of the church from heresy.
Tikhon
And then, only after 200 years of 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 the civil war and revolution, he had to solve issues with the new state, negatively related to the church.
Sergius
Since 1925, Metropolitan Sergius of Nizhny Novgorod became the Deputy Patriarchal Locum Tenens. During the Great Patriotic War, he organized the Defense Fund, thanks to which money was raised for orphans and weapons. A tank column was even created under the name of Dmitry Donskoy. From 1943 to 1944 he received the rank of patriarch.
Alexy I
In February 1945, the new Patriarch Alexy I was elected, who remained on the throne until 1970. He had to deal with the restoration work of the destroyed churches and monasteries after the war, to 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 held the post from 1971 to 1990. He became the successor of the reforms begun 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 the preparations for the celebration of the millennium of the Baptism of Russia.
Alexy II
From 1990 to 2008, Bishop Alexy II became the Moscow Patriarch. The time of his reign is associated with the spiritual flourishing and revival of Russian Orthodoxy. At this 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 Treatment of the Russian Orthodox Church with the Orthodox Church Outside of Russia was signed.
Kirill
On January 27, 2009, the sixteenth Moscow Patriarch was elected, which was Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad. This outstanding clergyman has a very rich biography, because he is a hereditary priest. Over the five years of his reign, Patriarch Kirill proved himself to be an experienced politician and competent church diplomat, able to achieve excellent results in a short time thanks to excellent relations with the president and head of the government of the Russian Federation.
Patriarch Kirill does a lot for the unification of the Russian Orthodox Church abroad. His frequent visits to neighboring states, meetings with clergy and representatives of other faiths strengthened and expanded the boundaries of friendship and cooperation. His Holiness clearly understands that it is necessary to raise the morality and spirituality of people, especially priests. He states that the church needs to do missionary work. The Patriarch of All Russia sharply speaks out against false teachers and radical groups that plunge people into apparent turmoil. Since behind beautiful speeches and slogans is hidden an instrument for the destruction of the Church. Patriarch Kirill as no one understands what a great title. How huge is its significance in the life of the country. The patriarch is, first of all, a huge responsibility for the whole country and the entire Russian Orthodox people.