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This article lists the metropolitans and patriarchs of Moscow , spiritual heads of the Russian Orthodox Church. Since 1308, there have been 59.
The Russian Orthodox Church traces its beginnings to the Christianization of Kievan Rusʹ at Kiev in 988 AD. In 1316 the Metropolitan of Kiev changed his see to the city of Vladimir, and in 1322 moved again to Moscow. In 1589, the see was elevated to a Patriarchate. The Patriarchate was abolished by the Church reform of Peter the Great in 1721 and replaced by the Most Holy Governing Synod, and the Bishop of Moscow came to be called a Metropolitan again. The Patriarchate was restored by the 1917–18 Local Council and suspended by the Soviet government in 1925. It was reintroduced for the last time by the 1943 Bishops' Council, during World War II by the initiative of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. To this date, 19 of the Metropolitans have been glorified in the Russian Orthodox Church.
For a list of metropolitans before the seat of the Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus' was moved to Moscow, see List of metropolitans and patriarchs of Kyiv.
| No. | Primate | Portrait | Reign | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Peter |  | 1308–1326 | |
| Seat vacant 1326–1328 | ||||
| 2 | St. Theognostus |  | 1328–1353 | |
| 3 | St. Alexius |  | 1354–1378 | |
| Mikhail (Mityay) (ru) |  | 1378–1379 | Locum tenens | |
| Seat vacant 1379–1381 | ||||
| 4 | St. Cyprian |  | 1381–1382 | First tenure |
| 5 | Pimen | | 1382–1384 | In opposition |
| 6 | St. Dionysius I |  | 1384–1385 | In opposition |
| Seat vacant 1385–1390 | ||||
| St. Cyprian | | 1390–1406 | Second tenure | |
| Seat vacant 1406–1408 | ||||
| 7 | St. Photius |  | 1408–1431 | |
| Seat vacant 1431–1433 | ||||
| 8 | Gerasim (ru) | | 1433–1435 | |
| 9 | Isidore of Kiev |  | 1436–1441 | Deposed by the Grand Prince of Moscow, Vasily II, over his acceptance of the Council of Florence. The deposition was not recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. |
| Seat vacant 1441–1448 (according to the Grand Duke of Moscow) | ||||
Isidore of Kiev, who was of Greek origin, submitted to the articles of the Bull of Union with the Greeks which united the Orthodox Church in Russia with the Latin Church. Following his acceptance of the Council of Florence, Isidore returned to Moscow in 1441 as a Ruthenian cardinal. He was arrested by the Grand Prince of Moscow — Vasily II, and accused of apostasy. The Grand Duke deposed Isidore and in 1448 installed his own candidate as Metropolitan of Kiev — Jonah. This was carried out without the approval of Patriarch Gregory III of Constantinople. When Isidore died in 1458, the Orthodox dioceses within the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, including Kiev, were reorganized. The metropolitan see was moved to Vilnius, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. A parallel succession to the title ensued between Moscow and Vilnius.
The Grand Prince of Moscow voided the Union of Florence and imprisoned Metropolitan Isidore for some time. Following that incident, the Grand Prince removed Isidore from office and appointed his own man — Jonah. These decisions were not recognised by Patriarch Gregory III of Constantinople who continued to recognise Isidore as the canonical metropolitan. As a result, in 1448, Jonah unilaterally changed his title to "Metropolitan of Moscow and all Rus' " which was tantamount to a declaration of independence of the Church in eastern Rus' from the Patriarchate of Constantinople. All sixteen successive hierarchs of the Metropolis of Moscow and all Rus' were selected by the civil power and installed without the approval of Patriarchate of Constantinople. Successive patriarchs continued to recognize Isidore and his successors as hierarchs of the Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus'.
| No. | Primate | Portrait | Reign | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Jonah |  | 1448 | 1461 | Installed without the approval of Patriarch Gregory III of Constantinople who continued to recognize Isidore until his death in 1458. |
| 2 | Theodosius | | 3 May 1461 | 13 September 1464 | Became the second Metropolitan to be appointed by the Grand Duke of Moscow. He was not recognised by the Patriarch of Constantinople. |
| 3 | St. Philip I |  | 11 November 1464 | 5 April 1473 | |
| 4 | St. Gerontius |  | 29 June 1473 | 28 May 1489 | |
| 5 | Zosimus | | 26 September 1490 | 17 May 1494 | Removed from the metropolitan throne on charges of heresy |
| 6 | Simon |  | 22 September 1495 | 30 April 1511 | |
| 7 | Varlaam | | 3 August 1511 | 18 December 1521 | |
| 8 | Daniel 1492–1547 |  | 27 February 1522 | 2 February 1539 | Deposed by the Shuyskys after the death of de facto regent Elena Glinskaya and the fall of her favorite Ivan Ovchina-Telepnev. |
| 9 | St. Joasaphus Skripitsyn died 1555 | | 6 February 1539 | January 1542 | Deposed by the Shuysky |
| 10 | St. Macarius |  | 19 March 1542 | 31 December 1563 | |
| 11 | Athanasius died 1575 | | 5 March 1564 | 16 May 1566 | |
| 12 | St. Herman Grigory Sadyrev-Polyev |  | July 1566 | Metropolitan-elect. Expelled from Moscow after a dispute with Ivan IV | |
| 13 | St. Philip II Feodor Kolychyov 1507–1569 |  | 25 July 1566 | 4 November 1568 | Deposed and believed to have been later killed by Ivan IV's officials |
| 14 | Cyril III (IV) 1492–1572 | | 11 November 1568 | 8 February 1572 | |
| 15 | Anthony | | May 1572 | 1581 | |
| 16 | Dionysius II died 1591 | | 1581 | 13 October 1587 | Deposed |
| 17 | St. Job |  | 11 December 1587 | 23 January 1589 | Elevated to "Patriarch of Moscow" |
| No. | Primate | Portrait | Reign | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. Job | | 23 January 1589 | June 1605 | |
| — | Ignatius |  | 30 June 1605 | 16 May 1606 | |
| 2 | St. Hermogenes |  | 3 July 1606 | 17 February 1612 | |
| Seat vacant 1612–1619 | |||||
| 3 | Filaret Fyodor Romanov 1553–1633 |  | 24 June 1619 | 1 October 1633 | Father of Michael of Russia |
| 4 | Joasaphus I |  | 6 February 1634 | 28 November 1640 | |
| Seat vacant 1640–1642 | |||||
| 5 | Joseph Ignaty Dyakov |  | 27 May 1642 | 15 April 1652 | |
| 6 | Nikon Nikita Minin 1605–1681 |  | 25 July 1652 | 12 December 1666 | |
| — | Pitirim |  | 1658 | 1667 | locum tenens |
| 7 | Joasaphus II |  | 31 January 1667 | 17 February 1672 | |
| 8 | Pitirim | | 7 July 1672 | 19 April 1673 | |
| 9 | Joachim Ivan Savyolov 1620–1690 |  | 26 July 1674 | 17 March 1690 | |
| 10 | Adrian |  | 26 August 1690 | 16 October 1700 | |
| — | Stefan |  | 1700 | 1721 | Locum tenens |
| No. | Primate | Portrait | Reign | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stefan Simeon Yavorsky (1658–1722) | | 1721 | 1722 | President of the Most Holy Synod . Stefan refused to sign the Synod's documents, did not attend its meetings. Peter I apparently appointed him only to give a certain sanction to the new institution. |
| 2 | Theophan Prokopovich (1681–1736) |  | 1722 | 1736 | Vice president of the Synod and its prime member since 15 July 1726 |
| Seat vacant 1736–1742 | |||||
| 3 | Joseph (ru) Volchansky |  | 1 September 1742 | 10 June 1745 | Archbishop of Moscow and Vladimir |
| 4 | Plato I (ru) Pavel Malinovsky | | 5 April 1748 | 14 June 1754 | Archbishop of Moscow and Sevsk |
| Hilarion (ru) Grigorovich (1696–1759) | | 1754–1757 | Coadjutor | ||
| 5 | Timothy (ru) Tikhon Shcherbatsky (1698–1767) |  | 22 October 1757 | 3 January 1767 | Metropolitan of Moscow and Kaluga |
| 6 | Ambrosius Andrey Sertis-Kamensky (1708–1771) |  | 18 January 1768 | 16 September 1771 | Archbishop of Moscow. Murdered during the Moscow plague riot of 1771 |
| Samoel (ru) |  | 1771–1775 | Coadjutor | ||
| 7 | Plato II Levshin (1737–1812) |  | 20 January 1775 | 13 June 1812 | Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna since 1787 |
| Seat vacant 1812–1818 | |||||
| 8 | Augustine (ru) Alexey Vinogradsky (1766–1819) |  | 19 February 1818 | 15 March 1819 | Archbishop of Moscow and Kolomna |
| 9 | Seraphim (ru) Stefan Glagolevsky (1763–1843) |  | 15 March 1819 | 19 June 1821 | Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna |
| 10 | St. Philaret Vasily Drozdov (1783–1867) |  | 15 July 1821 | 2 December 1867 | Archbishop of Moscow and Kolomna, metropolitan since 1826 |
| 11 | St. Innocent Ivan Veniaminov (1797–1879) |  | 5 January 1868 | 12 April 1879 | |
| 12 | Macarius I Mikhail Bulgakov (1816–1882) |  | 20 April 1879 | 21 June 1882 | |
| 13 | Joannicius (ru) Ivan Rudnev (1826–1900) |  | 27 June 1882 | 17 November 1891 | |
| 14 | Leontius (ru) Ivan Lebedinsky (1822–1893) |  | 17 November 1891 | 13 August 1893 | |
| 15 | Sergius (ru) Nikolay Lyapidevsky (1820–1898) |  | 21 August 1893 | 23 February 1898 | |
| 16 | St. Vladimir Vasily Bogoyavlensky (1848–1918) |  | 5 March 1898 | 6 December 1912 | |
| 17 | St. Macarius II Mikhail Nevsky (1835–1926) |  | 8 December 1912 | 2 April 1917 | |
| No. | Primate | Portrait | Election | Reign | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | St. Tikhon Vasily Bellavin (1865–1925) |  | 1917–18 | 4 December 1917 [1] | 7 April 1925 [2] | 7 years, 4 months and 3 days | |
| — | Peter Pyotr Polyansky (1862–1937) |  | — | 12 April 1925 | December 1925 / 11 September 1936 | 10–11 years | Metropolitan of Krutitsy, locum tenens |
| — | Sergius Ivan Stragorodsky (1867–1944) |  | — | December 1925 | 27 December 1936 | 17 years, 9 months | Metropolitan of Nizhny Novgorod, acting locum tenens |
| 27 December 1936 | 12 September 1943 | Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna, locum tenens | |||||
| 12 | Sergius Ivan Stragorodsky (1867–1944) |  | 1943 | 12 September 1943 [3] | 15 May 1944 [4] | 8 months and 3 days | |
| 13 | Alexy I Sergey Simansky (1877–1970) |  | 1945 | 4 February 1945 [5] | 17 April 1970 [6] | 25 years, 2 months and 13 days | |
| 14 | Pimen Sergey Izvekov (1910–1990) |  | 1971 | 3 June 1971 [7] | 3 May 1990 [8] | 18 years and 11 months | During Pimen's reign the 1000th anniversary of the Christianization of Rus' was celebrated, and the 1988 Local Council was held in connection with the celebration. |
| 15 | Alexy II Aleksei Ridiger (1929–2008) |  | 1990 | 10 June 1990 | 5 December 2008 | 18 years, 5 months and 25 days | |
| 16 | Kirill Vladimir Gundyayev (born 1946) |  | 2009 | 1 February 2009 | Incumbent | 15 years, 9 months and 11 days (as of 12 November 2024) | |
The Russian Orthodox Church, alternatively legally known as the Moscow Patriarchate, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The primate of the ROC is the patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'.
Cyprian was a prelate of Bulgarian origin, who served as the Metropolitan of Kiev, Rus' and Lithuania and the Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus' in the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. During both periods, he was opposed by rival hierarchs and by the Grand Prince of Moscow. He was known as a bright opinion writer, editor, translator, and book copyist. He is commemorated by the Russian Orthodox Church on May 27 and September 16.
The Metropolis of Moscow and all Rus' was a metropolis that was unilaterally erected by hierarchs of the Eastern Orthodox Church in the territory of the Principality of Moscow in 1448. The first metropolitan was Jonah of Moscow; he was appointed without the approval of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. The metropolis split from the Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus' because the previous metropolitan — Isidore of Kiev — had accepted the Union of Florence. Seventeen prelates succeeded Jonah until Moscow's canonical status was regularised in 1589 with the recognition of Job by the Ecumenical Patriarch. Job was also raised to the status of patriarch and was the first Patriarch of Moscow. The Moscow Patriarchate was a Caesaropapist entity that was under the control of the Russian state. The episcopal seat was the Dormition Cathedral in Moscow.
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Jonah of Moscow was Metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus' from 1448 until his death in 1461.
The history of the Russian Orthodox Church is commonly traced back to the Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus', established upon the Conversion of Volodimer in c. 988 for ecclesiastical administration of Kievan Rus'. Several decades after the end of Kievan Rus' due to the Mongol invasion in 1237–1241, metropolitan Maximos of Kiev and all Rus' relocated to Vladimir on the Klyazma in Suzdalia in 1299, and his successor Peter moved to Moscow in 1325, while still keeping "of Kiev and all Rus'" in their titles.
Michael Rohoza was the Metropolitan of Kyiv, Galicia and all Rus' in the Patriarchate of Constantinople of the Eastern Orthodox Church from 1588 to 1596. In 1595, he signed the Union of Brest which moved the metropolis from the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to the jurisdiction of the Holy See. By this act, the Ruthenian Uniate Church was formed in the territory of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. From 1596 until his death in 1599, he held the title of "Metropolitan of Kyiv, Galicia and all Ruthenia" in the Ruthenian Uniate Church.
Gregory the Bulgarian, or Gregory II was Metropolitan of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus'. His title to the metropolitan see was acknowledged both by the Holy See and by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople due to their joint acceptance of the Council of Florence which united the Latin and the Eastern Orthodox Churches for a short period of time.
The Metropolis of Lithuania was a metropolis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Eastern Orthodox Church. It was erected on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania between 1315 and 1317. It was disestablished in 1371. The seat (cathedra) of the metropolis was initially in Navahrudak. It had only two metropolitan bishops. The establishment took place in the aftermath of the Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus' which was exploited by the rulers of Lithuania to greatly expand their territory. To help legitimize their annexations and to bind their new subjects more closely to the state, the royal powers favoured the erection of a metropolis for the inhabitants of the Grand Principality. To avert the possibility of the state going over to the Holy See, the hierarchs based in Moscow latterly supported the erection of the metropolis as the lesser of two evils. Throughout the existence of the metropolis, the metropolitans struggled for religious control of the Rus' eparchies with the secular and religious powers in the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, the Principality of Tver, and the Grand Duchy of Moscow.
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The Metropolis of Halych was a metropolis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Eastern Orthodox Church. It was erected on the territory of the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia in 1303 by Patriarch Athanasius I of Constantinople. The episcopal seat of the metropolis was in the city of Halych in the "Cathedral of the Assumption".
The Metropolis of Kiev and all Rus' was a metropolis of the Eastern Orthodox Church that was erected on the territory of Kievan Rus'. It existed between 988 AD and 1440s AD. The long lasting "tug of war" between bishops from the Great Duchy of Lithuania and Ruthenia and bishops of the Great Duchy of Moscow resulted in reorganization of the metropolis as the bishops from Moscow refused to recognize decisions of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Canonically, it was under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The metropolitan seat (cathedra) was located in the city of Kiev until it was moved to Vladimir-na-Klyazme in 1299 and then Moscow in 1325.
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The Metropolis of Kyiv was an autonomous metropolis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople with center in Kyiv after its formation in 988 as a result of the Christianization of Rus by Volodymyr the Great until January 6, 2019, when it received the Tomos on Autocephaly.
Metropolis of Kiev is an episcopal title that has been created with varying suffixes at multiple times in different Christian churches, though always maintaining the name of the metropolitan city — Kiev (Kyiv) — which today is located in the modern state of Ukraine. Following the Council of Florence and the Union of Brest, there are now parallel apostolic successions: in the Russian Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the Ruthenian Uniate Church and its successors. They include:
The Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus' was a metropolis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the Eastern Orthodox Church that was erected in 1441. The canonical territory was the western part of the traditional Kievan Rus' lands — the states of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland. The episcopal seat was initially in the city of Navahrudak, which is today located in Belarus; later it moved to Vilnius in Lithuania. It was disestablished in 1595/6 with the creation of a new ecclesial body — the Ruthenian Uniate Church.
The Metropolis of Kiev is a metropolis of the Eastern Orthodox Church that was transferred to the Patriarchate of Moscow in 1685. From 988 AD until 1596 AD, the mother church of the Metropolis of Kiev, Galicia and all Rus' had been the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Moscow Patriarchate was a Caesaropapist entity that was under the control of the Russian state. While nominally ruled by a metropolitan bishop, since its inception, the secular authorities of the Tsardom of Russia altered the territorial remit of the Kyiv metropolis, stripped it of its suffragan sees and transformed the office from an ecclesiastical province to an archbishopric to an honorific or empty title.
Primates of the Russian Orthodox Church | |
|---|---|
| Metropolitans of Kiev and all Rus' (988–1461) |
|
| Metropolitans of Moscow and all Russia (1461–1589) | |
| Patriarchs of Moscow and all Russia (1589–1721) | |
| Metropolitans and archbishops of Moscow (1721–1917) | |
| Patriarchs of Moscow and all Russia (1917–present) | |
