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The new patriarch, Tikhon, had an independent approach toward the communist regime that had overthrown the provisional government. Under the official pretext that there was starvation in large sections of the country, the government in 1922 decided to confiscate all church valuables. The patriarch cooperated, but insisted on control of some church property such as the sacred vessels, and other liturgical items. For this, Patriarch Tikhon was placed under house arrest and the offices of the patriarchate were closed.
A group of [[priest]]s including [[Alexander Ivanovich Vvedensky|Alexander Vvedensky]] and [[Vladimir Krasnitsky]], organized a temporary ''Temporary Higher Supreme Church Administration'', which turned into a group aimed at deposing the patriarch and introducing radical church reforms. Some [[bishop]]s supported the ''Temporary Supreme Church Administration'', but mostly the support came from married clergy who were excluded from the [[Bishop|episcopacy]] by [[canon law]], progressive intellectuals, and the government.
The Renovated Church [[deposition|deposed]] Patriarch Tikhon at one of its councils, and in August 1923 reestablished the [[Holy Synod]] (originally proclaimed by Peter the Great in 1721 to replace the patriarchate) to rule the church. It introduced controversial reforms to the episcopate and to the liturgy.
The undoubtedly deceitful nature of the Church takeover was evident to the faithful. The Living Church struggled much against the [[patriarch]] and his followers. Living Church leaders cooperated with the secret police having hundreds of "Tikhonite" clergy executed as counterrevolutionaries.
