Chronology of Russian Church Council’s Work in the 16th Century

Abstract

The paper reveals the history of the main body of the Russian Church governance in the 16th century — the Church Council. The author makes an attempt to reconstruct the chronology of its meetings. It is essential to answer the question if the Council was the real body of the church governance or not. In the historiography sometimes it is regarded as not important body because of the few Council’ decrees have remained (the decrees of 1503, 1566, 1572, 1580 etc.). The author of the paper has broadened the historical sources’ base for the study of this church-administrative phenomenon. The research is based on the decrees, the chronicles, the acts, the records of income and expenses, the books of donations, the diplomatic documents, appointment lists, the colophons and the records on the church art’s artefacts, the data of epigraphy, documents on the appointment and resignation of Russian bishops and others. The main concern of the Council was the appointment of new bishops. That’s why the main attention of the article is paid to time when the bishops were appointed, when they left their dioceses or died. The result of the research is represented in the list of 84 cases of the Council’s work which took place or probably took place in the 16th century. It was established that it usually took place in late autumn — at the beginning of winter and finished its work at the end of winter — in the first half of spring. The continuance of meetings lasted from several weeks to several months. It was connected, on the one hand, with establishing of sleigh-road, on the other hand, with the desire of bishops to take part in Easter service in their dioceses (from the 22th of March till the 25th of April). It was found out that the chronology of the Council’s work influenced the political events (forgiveness of boyars, the coronation of Ivan IV, negotiations with the foreign ambassadors, the departure of the sovereign for Aleksandrovskaya sloboda in 1564 etc.). Because all the Councils without exception took place in Moscow the author presupposes that the division of the country into oprichnina and zemshchina didn’t influence the functioning of Council and the tzar was sure of the church elite’s loyalty even in the period of intensive repressions.