Published October 21, 2022 | Version v1
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ACTIVITY OF METROPOLITAN PHOTII AND THE PROBLEM OF DIVISION OF THE KYIV METROPOLIS BETWEEN THE MOSCOW STATE AND THE GRAND DUCHY OF LITHUANIA

Creators

  • 1. Ph.D. in Historical Sciences, chief editor of the «The Athens of Chernigov» academic journal, academic secretary of the Lazar Baranovich Research Institute of Religion, at the T.G. Shevchenko "Chernigіv Collegium" National University (13/106 Peace Avenue, Chernihiv, 14021, Ukraine).
  • 2. postgraduate student of the T.G. Shevchenko National University «Chernigivsky Collegium», Department of World History and International Relations (13/106 Myru Avenue, Chernihiv, 14021, Ukraine).

Description

     The purpose of the article is to highlight the problematic church-political events that took place in the process of the division of the Kyiv Metropolis in the early 15th c. Then the permanent military-political conflict between Muscovy and the GDL was supplemented by a religious and spiritual struggle for the «heritage of Kievan Rus». Church hierarchs were also involved in this conflict – Metropolitans Photii and Gregory Tsamblak. The research methodology is based on the use of both general scientific and specialized methods, such as historical-genetic, historical-comparative, structural, biographical, historiographical, etc. The novelty of the work lies in the analysis of a set of complex circumstances, factors and reasons that prompted Metropolitans Photii and Gregory Tsamblak - each from the position of the authorities and episcopate of the state in which they were - to preserve the integrity of the Kyiv Metropolis, and later - to the first division of the Russian Church and the separate existence of metropolitan sees in Kyiv and Moscow. The main church-political processes of that time are described in detail, a number of hypotheses are put forward regarding the problematic issues in this context. The analysis, synthesis of historical facts and views of researchers made it possible to make following conclusions. Firstly, church hierarchs were often forced to voluntarily or under pressure to take a certain political side - as was the case with Metropolitan Photii, who sabotaged, despite certain canonical and objective circumstances, the existence of the Kievan Metropolitan See separate from Moscow. Secondly, an important factor, despite the political weakening of Byzantium, was the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which tried to balance between two sides, often unsuccessfully. Finally, the formation of the metropolitan see in some states on the territory of former Rus was a natural phenomenon of the maturity of late feudal states, however, these problems were not always solved peacefully and canonically. The ecclesiastical division of the Kyivan Metropolis in the early 15th c. was of great importance for the history of the Orthodox Church in Rus not only in this period, but also in the history of the Russian Church in general, as it largely reflected (and initiated) future trends towards a deeper and final division of the Rus Metropolis into Kyiv and Moscow, and thus - the formation of separate independent Ukrainian and Russian local churches.

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References

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