The history of the
Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) begins with the
Christianization of Kievan Rus' in 988 during the reign of
Vladimir the Great. Under Vladimir, the
metropolis of Kiev was established and it remained under the jurisdiction of the
patriarch of Constantinople until 1589. After Kiev lost its significance, the seat of the metropolitan was moved to
Vladimir in 1299. In 1325, it was moved to
Moscow. The ROC declared
autocephaly in 1448, shortly before the
fall of Constantinople, owing to its protest over the
Council of Florence. The Russian Church came to function independently as a council of Russian bishops elected their own
metropolitan without reference to Constantinople. After
Constantinople fell in 1453, Moscow became the only independent Orthodox power and its leaders soon began to advance the claim that Moscow was the successor to the
Byzantine Empire, calling it the "
third Rome". The fall of Constantinople, viewed by the Russians as divine punishment, confirmed the nascent independence of the Russian Church. The political and territorial consolidation of Russia was reflected by the unification and standardization of Orthodoxy.
Regularization of canonical status In 1589,
Metropolitan Job was consecrated as the first Russian patriarch with the blessing of
Jeremias II of Constantinople. As a result, the patriarchate was granted equal status to those of
Constantinople,
Antioch,
Jerusalem and
Alexandria. In the decree establishing the
patriarchate, the whole
Russian tsardom is called a "third Rome". In 1590, a council held in Constantinople confirmed the new status of Moscow, and three years later, the four other Orthodox patriarchs ratified this at another council with the support of 42 bishops. Moscow differed in that it was the only independent Orthodox power and this led to the culmination of the idea that Moscow was the "third Rome". The Russian Church was accorded the fifth place in the
diptych of the
Eastern Orthodox Church.
Disestablishment by the state Upon the death of
Patriarch Adrian in 1700,
Peter I of Russia () decided against an election of a new patriarch. Peter believed that Russia's resources, including the church, could be used to establish a modern European state and he sought to strengthen the authority of the monarch. He established a commission for drafting new legislation that would limit church privileges and introduce taxation of dioceses. Peter replaced the patriarch with a council known as the
Most Holy Synod in 1721, which consisted of appointed bishops, monks, and priests. The church was also overseen by an ober-procurator that would directly report to the emperor. Peter's reforms marked the beginning of the synodal period of the Russian Church, which would last until 1917. He also soon secured the agreement of the other patriarchs to recognize the synod as the legitimate successor of the Russian patriarch in all ecclesiastical affairs of the ROC. Peter's reforms created a centralized administrative structure with effective control over all dioceses.
Restoration The office of the patriarch was restored by decision of the
All-Russian Local Council on . The first patriarch elected after its restoration was
Tikhon. However, the
October Revolution and resulting civil war disturbed the unity of the ROC as Tikhon was unable to maintain communication with various dioceses. In the following years, a number of entities in newly independent states declared their independence from the ROC. The main body of the ROC, led by Tikhon, was subject to persecution by the Soviet government. In 1990,
Alexy II was elected as the patriarch of Moscow and he oversaw the revival of the ROC with the reopening of numerous dioceses and the restoration of thousands of churches and monasteries. He was succeeded by Kirill in 2009. The ROC is administered according to the Church Statute of 2000, overseeing all Orthodox parishes in Russia directly or providing jurisdictional guidance to autonomous churches. ==Selection==