In July 1652, with the approval of the Tsar and Grand Duke of All Russia Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, Nikon became the patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (in the world he was called Nikita Minin). He took the place of Patriarch Joseph, who died on April 15 of the same year.
During the dedication ceremony, which was held in the Assumption Cathedral, Nikon forced the Boyar Duma and the king to promise not to interfere in the affairs of the church. By this act, he, having barely ascended the throne of the church, significantly raised his authority in the eyes of the authorities and ordinary people.
Union of secular and church authority
The loyalty of the king in this matter is explained by certain goals:
carry out church reform, making the church more similar to the Greek one: introduce new rites, ranks, books (even before Nikon was elevated to the rank of patriarch, the tsar became close to him on the basis of this idea, and the patriarch should have acted as his supporter);
solving foreign policy problems (war with the Commonwealth and reunification with Ukraine).
The king accepted the conditions of Nikon, and also allowed the participation of the patriarch in solving important state issues.
Moreover, Alexei Mikhailovich granted Nikon the title "great sovereign", which had previously been awarded only to Filaret Romanov. Thus, Alexei Mikhailovich and the patriarch entered into a close alliance, finding their interests and advantages in this.
The beginning of change
Having become a patriarch, Nikon began to actively suppress all attempts to intervene in church affairs. As a result of his energetic activity and persuasion with the tsar, by the end of the 1650s a number of measures were implemented that determined the main features of Nikon's reform.
The transformation began in 1653, when Ukraine was included in the Russian state. This was no coincidence. The sole order of the religious leader included changes in two main rites. The church reform of Patriarch Nikon, the essence of which was to change the position and kneeling, was expressed in the following:
the bow of the earth was replaced by a belt;
the double- edged sign of the cross, adopted in Russia along with Christianity and which was part of the holy Apostolic tradition, was replaced by triple-finger.
First persecution
The first steps in reforming the church were not reinforced by the authority of the church council. In addition, they fundamentally changed the foundations and habitual traditions, which were considered indicators of true faith, and caused a wave of indignation and discontent among the clergy and parishioners.
The main directions of the church reform of Patriarch Nikon resulted from the fact that several petitions were laid on the tsar’s table, in particular from his former like-minded colleagues in the church service - Lazar, Ivan Neronov, Deacon Fedor Ivanov, archpriests Daniel, Avvakum and Loggin. However, Alexei Mikhailovich, being in good relations with the patriarch, did not take the complaint into account, and the head of the church hastened to stop the protests: Habakkuk was exiled to Siberia, Ivan Neronov was imprisoned in the Spasokamenny monastery, and Archpriest Daniil was sent to Astrakhan (before that, he was deprived of dignity clergyman).
Such an unsuccessful start of the reform forced Nikon to reconsider his methods and act more deliberately.
The subsequent steps of the patriarch were reinforced by the authority of the hierarchs of the Greek church and church council. This created the appearance that decisions were made and supported by the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, which significantly strengthened their influence on society.
Conversion reaction
The main directions of the church reform of Patriarch Nikon caused a split in the church. Believers who supported the introduction of new liturgical books, ceremonies, church ranks, began to be called Nikonians (New Believers); the opposing side, upholding the usual customs and church traditions, called itself Old Believers, Old Believers or Old Orthodox. However, the Nikonians, taking advantage of the patronage of the patriarch and the king, proclaimed opponents of the reform schismatics, blaming them for the split of the church. They considered their church to be dominant, Orthodox.
The environment of the patriarch
Vladyka Nikon, not having a decent education, surrounded himself with scholars, a prominent role among which was played by Arseny Grek, brought up by the Jesuits. Having moved to the East, he converted to Mohammedan religion, after some time - Orthodoxy, and after that - Catholicism. He was exiled to the Solovetsky Monastery as a dangerous heretic. However, Nikon, having become the head of the church, immediately made Arseniy Grek his main assistant, which caused a murmur among the Orthodox population of Russia. Since the ordinary people could not argue with the patriarch, he boldly completed his plan, relying on the support of the king.
The main directions of the church reform of Patriarch Nikon
The head of the church did not pay attention to the discontent of the population of Russia with their actions. He confidently walked towards his goal, rigidly introducing innovations in the religious sphere.
The directions of the church reform of Patriarch Nikon were expressed in the following changes:
during the rite of baptism, wedding, consecration of the temple, circumvention is done against the sun (whereas in the old tradition it was done in the sun as a sign of following Christ);
in the new books the name of the Son of God was written in the Greek manner - Jesus, while in the old books - Jesus;
the double (pure) hallelujah was replaced by a triple (tregubo);
instead of the semiprosporia (the divine liturgy was performed precisely at the seven prosphora), the five-prosphoria was introduced;
liturgical books were now printed in Jesuit printing houses in Paris and Venice, and were not written by hand; besides, these books were considered distorted, and even the Greeks called them sinful;
the text of the Symbol of Faith in the editorial office of Moscow printed liturgical books was compared with the text of the Symbol written on the saccos of Metropolitan Photius; discrepancies found in these texts, as well as in other books, led to the fact that Nikon decided to correct them and make them on the model of Greek liturgical books.
So, on the whole, the church reform of Patriarch Nikon looked like. The traditions of the Old Believers were redone more and more. Nikon and his supporters encroached on the change of ancient church foundations and rituals adopted since the time of the Baptism of Russia. The drastic changes did not contribute to the growth of the authority of the patriarch. The persecution of people devoted to old traditions led to the fact that the main directions of the church reform of Patriarch Nikon, like himself, became hateful to the common people.