Peter the Great’s Project to Defend the Philadelphia Metropolitanate

Abstract

The article uses the materials of the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire to study the mission of Hegumen Gerasim Foca, who in 1722 came to ask Emperor Peter the Great for help to the Orthodox of Venice. For the first time, the Greek community appealed to the head of the Russian state, delegating a cleric of St. George’s Church to do so. Correspondence between the College of Foreign Affairs and the Holy Synod provides details of the case and the project of assistance to the Orthodox of Venice. From the case files, we also learn about the decision of the Russian government to open a diplomatic mission in the republic. The documents contain information about the personality of Gerasim Foca, as well as about the circumstances of his life in Russia. At the same time, the project, aimed at helping the faithful of Italy and strengthening Russia's influence in the Apennines and the Balkans, remained unrealized.However, during the 18th century, the cooperation of the Russian government with the Greeks was successful, which led not only to the opening of the consulate and the restitution of the orthodox church but later to the establishment of the regular embassy and the Russian chapel. The Russian consulate, which Greeks invariably leaded, co-existed in parallel with the Russian embassy and continued its activities after the abolition of the Venetian Republic.