Nikon, born Nikita Minin was the seventh Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' of the Russian Orthodox Church, serving officially from 1652 to 1666. He was renowned for his eloquence, energy, piety and close ties to Tsar Alexis of Russia. Nikon introduced many reforms, including liturgical reforms that were unpopular among conservatives. These divisions eventually led to a lasting schism known as Raskol (schism) in the Russian Orthodox Church. For many years, he was a dominant political figure, often equaling or even overshadowing the Tsar. In December 1667, Nikon was tried by a synod of church officials, deprived of all his sacerdotal functions, and reduced to the status of a simple monk.
Old Believers, also called Old Ritualists, are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow between 1652 and 1666. Resisting the accommodation of Russian piety to the contemporary forms of Greek Orthodox worship, these Christians were anathematized, together with their ritual, in a Synod of 1666–67, producing a division in Eastern Europe between the Old Believers and those who followed the state church in its condemnation of the Old Rite. Russian speakers refer to the schism itself as raskol (раскол), etymologically indicating a "cleaving-apart".
The Schism of the Russian Church, also known as Raskol, was the splitting of the Russian Orthodox Church into an official church and the Old Believers movement in the 1600s. It was triggered by the reforms of Patriarch Nikon in 1653, which aimed to establish uniformity between Greek and Russian church practices. In the 1630s and 1640s, Nikon had been a part of a group known as the Zealots of Piety, a circle of church reformers whose acts included amending service books in accordance with the "correct" Russian tradition. When Nikon became Patriarch of Moscow in 1652, he continued the practice of amending books under the guidance of Greek Orthodox advisors, changing practices in the Russian Church to align with the Greek rite. This act, along with the acceptance of the Nikonian reforms by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and the state, led to the rupture between Old Believers and the newly reformed church and state.
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, also called Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia or ROCOR, or Russian Orthodox Church Abroad (ROCA), is a semi-autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church. Currently, the position of First-Hierarch of the ROCOR is occupied by Metropolitan Nicholas (Olhovsky).
The Catacomb Church as a collective name labels those representatives of the Russian Orthodox clergy, laity, communities, monasteries, brotherhoods, etc., who for various reasons, moved to an illegal position from the 1920s onwards. In a narrow sense, the term "catacomb church" means not just illegal communities, but communities that rejected subordination to the acting patriarchal locum tenens Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) after 1927, and that adopted anti-Soviet positions. During the Cold War of 1947-1991 the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia popularized the term in the latter sense, first within the Russian diaspora, and then in the USSR. The expression "True Orthodox church" is synonymous with this latter, narrower sense of "catacomb church".
Kirill or Cyril is a Russian Orthodox bishop. He became Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church on 1 February 2009.
Archbishop Elisey is the archbishop of the diocese of The Hague and the Netherlands of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). His monastic name, "Elisey", is the equivalent of the Latin Eliseus and the English Elisha.
The Kórmchaia Book, also known as the Books of the Pilot (Russian: Ко́рмчая книга, Ко́рмчая from кормчий, Church Slavonic: кръмьчии 'helmsman, ship's pilot'; Pidalion or Nomocanon, are collections of church and secular law, which constituted guide books for the management of the church and for the church court of Orthodox Slavic countries and were also the transmission of several older texts. They were written in Old Church Slavonic and Old East Slavic.
The Orthodox Encyclopedia is a specialized encyclopedia, published by the Church Research Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" under the general editorship of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia since 2000. As of October 2024, 73 alphabetical volumes has been released.
Metropolitan Tikhon is a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church and a popular writer. He is the Metropolitan of Pskov and Porkhov; in October 2023 it was reported that he was to be moved to the Diocese of Simferopol and Crimea.
Athanasius III Patellarios was the Patriarch of Constantinople in 1634, 1635 and 1652. Before his patriarchate Athanasius was metropolitan of Thessaloniki. He participated at Patriarch Nikon's book editing reforms in 1653.
Vladimir Romanovich Legoyda is a Russian public figure, journalist, university professor, expert in cultural studies, political science and religious studies. He is Candidate of Political Sciences and professor of the Department of World literature and culture, Moscow State Institute of International Relations; co-founder, editor-in-chief of Foma magazine, Chairman of the Department for Church's Society and Mass Mediа Relations and Acting Head of the Press Service of the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'.
The Diocese of the Philippines and Vietnam is a diocese of the Patriarchate of Moscow created on 26 February 2019, directly under the Patriarchal Exarchate in Southeast Asia (PESEA).
The Patriarchal Exarchate in Western Europe is an exarchate created by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) on 28 December 2018.
The Spanish-Portuguese diocese (SPD) or Diocese of Madrid and Lisbon is a diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) created on 28 December 2018. The diocese is part of the Patriarchal Exarchate in Western Europe.
The Patriarchal Exarchate in South-East Asia is an exarchate created by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) on 28 December 2018.
Metropolitan Eugene is a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan of Tallinn and All Estonia and primate of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, former rector of Moscow Theological Academy (1995–2018) and Chairman of the Educational Committee of the Holy Synod (1994–2018). After on January 18, 2024, Estonia announced that it would not renew Reshetnikov's residence permit Reshetnikov left Estonia on February 6, 2024. His residence permit was evoked because he was assessed to be a security risk due to his justification of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and his defense of the Russian government.
The Diocese of Thailand is a diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church which covers the territory Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. It is part of the Patriarchal Exarchate in South-East Asia.
The Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate (DECR) is one of the synodal institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church. It was established on 4 April 1946.
Metropolitan Leonid is a retired bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church. He holds the title "Metropolitan of Klin". Former Patriarchal Exarch of Africa (2021-2023).
