This article explores the intricate relationship between the Gospel message, the development of theology, and the historical trajectory of the Russian Orthodox Church. It examines key moments and figures in the history of the Russian Church, analyzing how interpretations of the Gospel and the evolution of theological perspectives have shaped the Church’s identity, its role in Russian society, and its interaction with broader historical processes.
Keywords: Russian Orthodox Church, theology, gospel, religion, Christianity.
The history of the Russian state is not separately linked to the history of the Russian Orthodox Church. A fundamental change among the Slavic peoples occurred in 988 with the adoption of Christianity by Prince Vladimir and the baptism of Rus. The formation of the Russian state begins on this date. At all stages of our country's development, secular power is not separate from ecclesiastical power.
All governments that came to power legitimately or illegitimately have always been legitimized through the power of the church. The adoption of Christianity in Russia (Orthodoxy), an event about which a huge number of scientific works have been written by various researchers. There are a lot of arguments that the adoption of Christianity was beneficial from a political point of view, and this is indeed the case. This is an economically and militarily advantageous alliance with Byzantium.
But as the subsequent history of the stages of development of our state shows, this is primarily God's providence. And so, with the adoption of Christianity in Russia, the Russian Orthodox Church begins its history. From the beginning, as a metropolis with secular and ecclesiastical authority in Kiev, and then during the most difficult period of the Tatar-Mongol yoke from 1242 to the end of the 15th century, with the transition to Vladimir, and then to Moscow.
The Tatar-Mongol period of our state played a huge role in the unification and formation of the state around the Moscow Principality. At the end of which, only Russia with a political and ecclesiastical center in Moscow turned out to be an independent state on the political map of that time. By this time, Byzantium, with its center in Constantinople, was losing its political importance, and in 1439, the Byzantine Emperor Palaiologos, in order to preserve the state, signed a union with the Roman Catholic Church. Russian society, both ecclesiastical and secular, does not accept the condition of the unia, on our part it was signed by Metropolitan Isidore of Moscow.
Who, upon arrival in Moscow, was deposed by Grand Duke Vasily ll. Russian Russian hierarch Jonah then becomes metropolitan, and the Russian Orthodox Church finally becomes an independent metropolis independent of the Patriarch of Constantinople. From that moment on, Russia embarked on the path of an independent, independent state with two branches of government: secular and ecclesiastical, and in 1589 the Patriarchal see was established in Moscow. St. Job becomes the first patriarch. The further development of our state is inextricably linked with the church's history.
Russia is moving towards an Empire in its history — the Slavic Empire. And she becomes the heir to both the spiritual and political great Byzantine civilization. The monk Felotheus outlined this idea in his letters at the beginning of the 16th century: «Two Romans have fallen, the third stands (Moscow), and the fourth will not happen». Subsequent historical events in our country take place in the key of this saying. The Russian Orthodox Church is developing in symbiosis with the state, despite the various periods of its development. With the arrival of Peter the Great in the year one thousand seven hundred, the synodal period begins, which will end in 1917.
The adoption of baptism in Russia is symbolic and it is possible to draw parallels with the Bible, the transition from the old to the new Testament. The Russian Orthodox Church and the state live according to the gospel, according to the good news and the precepts of the Lord God Jesus Christ. Conventionally, a comparison can be made: the period before the baptism of Rus is the period of the Old Testament, after the baptism of Rus and to this day is the New Testament. The Russian Orthodox Church has always played a significant role in all spheres of the Russian state and society, and in difficult times it consolidated the people and secular authorities around itself.
Russian culture, literature, painting, everything that defines the national code and the authenticity of our people is imbued with the spirituality of Russian Orthodoxy. During one of the most difficult trials of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet Government turned to the Russian Orthodox Church as the only and true spiritual center of our people. Therefore, the howl became national, national and liberating.
Today, the Russian Orthodox Church. as at all times, on the stone of true faith, without adapting to various political trends. The recent history in which we live shows the danger of such illusory political trends. In the recent past, it was Georgia, today it is Ukraine, and this is an attempt to undermine the situation in Belarus.
A departure from biblical evangelical values leads to chaos and war. The entire history of the Russian Orthodox Church and our people is God's providence without any doubt. In confirmation of this, we can recall that on May 6, 1945, the Berlin garrison, by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the German Land Forces, Field Marshal Keitel, stopped resisting, which in fact is the end of the Second World War and it was Easter.
In conclusion, I will quote our president. To the question of an American journalist, after visiting Moscow and other Russian cities, how do you manage to govern this country, the answer is striking in its truthfulness and sincerity, which America did not understand, and I do not govern this country, God governs, and if this is not the case, then I do not understand anything at all.
References:
- Вселенская Церковь и русское православие / Николай Зернов. — Paris: YMCA-press; London: Содружество Св. Албания и Преподобного Сергия Радонежского, 1952. — 318, [1] с.
- Рассказы из истории русской церкви / [Соч.] графа М. Толстого. — Москва: В Унив. тип. (Катков и Кº), 1865–1870. / Кн. 4. — 1870. — 214, II с.