Missionaries penetrated into Russia
during this period and the Russian Princess Olga was converted to Christianity
in 955, although the effective Christianization of Russia actually received its
greatest impetus with the conversion of Olga's grandson, Vladimir, in 988.
According to Russian tradition, Grand Prince Vladimir of Kiev decided that
an official religion was necessary for his country and he was unsure which to
choose: the Islam of the Volga Bulgars, the Judaism of the Khazars (on the
lower Volga), the Latin Christianity of the Germans, or the Orthodox faith of
the Greeks. Accordingly he sent envoys to the various regions to enquire of
their faiths and to make a report to him.
The envoys fulfilled their appointed
mission and then reported to Vladimir:
When we
journeyed among the Bulgarians [of the Volga region], we beheld how they worship in their temple,
called a mosque, while they stand ungirt. The Bulgarian bows, sits down, looks
hither and thither like one possessed, and their is no happiness among them,
but instead only sorrow and a dreadful stench. Their religion is not good. Then
we went among the Germans, and saw them performing many ceremonies in their
temples; but we beheld no glory there. Then we went on to Greece, and the Greeks led us to the edifices
where they worship their God, and we knew not whether we were in heaven or on
earth. For on earth there is no such splendor or such beauty, and we are at a
loss how to describe it. We know only that God dwells there among men, and
their service is fairer than the ceremonies of other nations.... [From the Russian
Primary Chronicle].
After receiving the report of the envoys,
Vladimir went to war with the Byzantine
Empire and laid siege to the Greek city of
Kherson. He promised to accept Christianity if he was successful in this
campaign and after the capture of the city, he did, in fact, embrace Orthodoxy
and was given in marriage Anna, the sister of the Byzantine Emperors Basil and
Constantine. Returning to his capital of Kiev, Vladimir ordered
that all pagan idols be destroyed. The people were exhorted to renounce
paganism whereupon they embraced the Orthodox faith and received Baptism in
988. From this date Russia became officially Christian.
With the conversion of Vladimir (later
canonized by the Russian Church — commemorated July 15), Orthodoxy spread
rapidly and already, within fifty years, the Russian Church had her first
canonized Saints, the martyred brothers Boris and Gleb († 1015 —
commemorated together on July 24). In 1051 the first Russian Monastery (The Monastery
of the Caves) was founded in Kiev by St. Anthony († 1073 — commemorated July 10), later
reorganized by St. Theodosius († 1074 — commemorated May 3 and
August 14; he and St. Anthony are commemorated together on September 2). In
1037, Theopemptos was consecrated Metropolitan of Kiev and all but two of the
Metropolitans of this period were Greeks, appointed by Constantinople. (The first
Russian Metropolitan was Hilarion in 1051, and the other Clement in 1147). To
this day, the Russian Church still sings in Greek the greeting to a Bishop, Eis polla eti, Despota, in recognition of the debt owed by the Russian Church to
Greek Byzantium.
Disaster befell the Kievan State in 1237
with the onslaught of the Mongols, who ruled until 1480, and during this period
only the Church kept alive national consciousness, much as was later done by
the Greek Church under the Turkish yoke. The primary See of the Russian Church was
moved from Kiev to Moscow by St. Peter, Metropolitan of Kiev († 1326 — commemorated
December 21), and henceforth ceased to be the city of the chief Hierarch.
Three important Saints shone in this
period: St. Alexander Nevsky, Prince of Novgorod († 1263 —
commemorated August 30 and November 23), who preserved the political structure
of his Principality (alone unharmed by the Mongols in their invasion) against
the Swedes, Germans and Lithuanians; St. Sergius of Radonezh († 1392 — commemorated September 25 and July 5), founder of the famous
Trinity — St. Sergius Monastery at Sergiev Posad (Zagorsk) near Moscow, (from
which Monks spread out through all of Northern Russia), probably one of Russia's
greatest national figures (as was St. Sava in Serbia); and St. Stephen, Bishop
of Perm († 1396 — commemorated April 26) who, in a sense, was the first of the
long line of missionaries who were eventually to come to Russian America.
After the Council of Florence in
1440, Constantinople had accepted union with the Roman Catholic Church and Russia
could not accept a Metropolitan from there. Finally, in 1448, a council of
Russian Bishops elected their own Metropolitan and from this date the Russian Church has
reckoned her independence. In 1453 Constantinople fell to the Turks and from this date the Russian Church
remained the sole free branch of Orthodoxy. Men began to see Moscow as the
Third Rome, and the Grand Duke of Moscow assumed the titles of the Byzantine
Emperors — Autocrat and Tsar — the earthly protector of Orthodoxy. Accordingly,
with the rising power of Russia,
in 1589, the head of the Russian Church was raised to the rank of Patriarch (the first being Patriarch
Job), ranking fifth after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem.
The Russian Church was not
without its own turmoils however. In 1503 came the beginnings of a split in the
monastic ranks between the Non-Possessors (followers of St. Nilus of Sora († 1508 — commemorated May 7)), who argued for monastic poverty, and
the Possessors (followers of St. Joseph of Volokolamsk, † 1515, commemorated September 9), who defended monastic landholding.
The Non-Possessors were more lenient and gentle concerning the treatment of
heretics, considering it to be solely a Church matter, while the Possessors,
great supporters of the idea of the Third Rome, believed in a close association
between Church and State in such matters (and many others as well). In this
struggle the Possessors were victorious, but recognizing the sanctity of both
leaders, the Church has enrolled both Joseph and Nilus in the Calendar of
Saints.
In the mid-17th Century there occurred in
the Russian Church a major split due to the liturgical reforms of Patriarch Nikon
(1605-1681) who attempted to correct certain corruptions in the liturgical
books and liturgical practice. The result was the splitting off of the Old
Believers, who resisted the changes (many of which were ill-founded), as well
as their persecution, and this schism has endured to the present day. The
leaders of the Old Believers, including the Archpriest Avakkum, were burned at
the stake and Nikon himself suffered persecution, since the Council of
Moscow, which met in 1666-7, endorsed his reforms, but deposed him from
his Patriarchal Office because of his intemperance and arrogance.
A third major event which was to
have a profound effect on the Russian Church, was
the abolition of the Patriarchate by Tsar Peter I (the Great) in 1721. The Patriarch
had died in 1700 and Peter, wishing no more Nikons, refused to allow the
appointment of a successor. Accordingly, in 1721 he issued his celebrated
Spiritual Regulations, and the Russian Church was
placed under an uncanonical Synodal System, whereby a Synod of twelve members,
drawn from the Bishops, Abbots and secular Clergy appointed by the Government
ruled the Church. However, all meetings were attended by a government functionary,
the Chief Procurator, representing the Tsar, and all decisions had to be
approved by the Sovereign. At the same time monasticism was severely restricted
and later in the Century more than half the monasteries were closed by Empress
Catherine II (the Great — 1762-96) and their lands confiscated.
This Synodal Period, which lasted until
1917, was a period of spiritual low for the Church, although there were a few
bright spots. Missionary activity, always a strong feature of the Russian Church,
expanded throughout Siberia and Central Asia, eventually reaching Alaska. Certain monasteries were revitalized, including the famous center
of Valaam, and the spiritual traditions of Mt. Athos,
especially popularized by Paisius Velichkovsky and his Philokalia, reached Russia,
through the efforts of Metropolitan Gabriel of Moscow and his disciple,
Nazarius, Abbot of Valaam. A special system of spiritual direction, eldership
(or starchestvo) developed, especially popularized at the Optino Hermitage
under the Elders Leonid, Macarius, Amvrosy and Joseph, and a few Saints shone
during this time, especially St. Tikhon of Zadonsk († 1783 —
commemorated August 13), a revitalizer of pastoral life, and St. Seraphim of
Sarov († 1833 — commemorated January 2 and July 19).
Finally, in 1917, with the Fall of
the Monarchy, the Patriarchate was re-established and Tikhon, Metropolitan of
Moscow, was elected Patriarch by the All-Russian Council of that year. Sadly,
however, the Church was soon engulfed in the fires of the Bolshevik Revolution
of that year and the unprecedented persecutions which followed. The Russian
Orthodox Church since 1917 has endured sufferings without parallel,
contributing a new rank of Martyrs to the Church Triumphant, yet despite the
severe decimation of her faithful, clergy, and institutions, she still remains
a powerful spiritual and moral force in the Orthodox world, confirming that the
Church of Christ is built upon a rock, for in the words of the Savior, the
gates of Hell shall not prevail against it (Matt. 16:18).