Church Reform
- Reform inspired Church leaders, most of them wanted to revise its liturgy and rituals.They looked to Orthodox of Greek and Eastern Europe, because their rituals are more accurate
- They sought to revise rituals, becasue they believed that community members don't' receive grace as individual but as a whole.
- They looked at Religious text and rituals of Greek Orthodox and Eastern Europe to make it the most accurate form
Patriarch Nikon
- Nikon was a monk in the who served as the Patriarch of Moscow. He was also one of the figure head of reforms in Russia
- His followers built schools that used Latin and Greek.
- One of his innovations created a schism, which was making a cross with 3 fingers not 2. Because of this, many viewed, that the was going against their old traditions
- Facing resistance from religious conservatives , Nikon was protected by the tsars in Solovestskii
Patriarch Nikon
Avvakum and Old Belief
- Priest Avvakum, a religious conservative, refused Nikon's reform
- He and his followers, the Old Belief, thought Nikon's reform would threaten eternal salvation
- Because of hatred, they viewed tax collectors as Antichrist, and the tsars as evil becasue of the protection they gave to Nikon
- the tsars didn't like this so they banished Old Belief to Siberia, and killed Avvakum in 1681
- Old belief split into different sects, and became popular to Russian Merchants who faced challenges from western Europe
Avvakum
Tsarist Control over the Church
- The schism weakened Russian Orthodox Church, but increased authority of tsars
- they continued to increase control from 16-18 century until Peter the Great made religious affair in government
- Tsars began to take over monasteries from the church. Because of how they could use these monasteries as fortifications. Ivan 3 also agreed to this.