16,951
edits
Changes
correct title and personage involved in the patriarchate
While the Russian people sympathized deeply with the afflictions of their brethren in Constantinople, they did not have sufficient military strength to come to their relief.
In 1588 , during reign of the Grand Duke Theodor applied to Tsar Feodor I (Theodore) of Moscow, Boris Godunov requested of the Patriarch of Constantinople for permission to form a new Patriarchate for the Russian people. The question was referred to the other Patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem, and they all decided that, although the Councils had established five Patriarchates, the exact number was not a matter of divine right, but of ecclesiastical convenience, and consequently, the request could be granted.
In 1589, Metropolitan [[Job of Moscow]] became the first Patriarch of Moscow; the autocephaly of the Church of Russia being officially acknowledged by the Mother-Church of Constantinople. The patriarchs of the ancient churches recognized the Russian patriarch as the fifth in honor, defining the [[canonical territory|canonical boundaries]] of the Church of Moscow as being that of Moscow and the "Northern lands".
