Christianity And Government In Russia And The Soviet Union

Reflections On The Millennium

Sergei Pushkarev

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9780429713170
• Subtopic: Sociology
• Index: Social Sciences

Translated from the Russian. These essays were written over the course of more than 40 years. Their authors--Pushkarev, Rusak, and Yakunin--have all been exiled or imprisoned for their outspoken views.

PART ONE The Role of the Orthodox Church in Russian History

Sergei Pushkarev

DOI: 10.4324/9780429044274-1

1 THE ANCIENT PERIOD: TENTH THROUGH THIRTEENTH CENTURIES

DOI: 10.4324/9780429044274-2

The Orthodox Christian faith came to Rus from Greek Byzantium in the tenth century and first spread to Kiev, the capital city, which had lively ties with Constantinople. Grand Princess Olga of Kiev, who ruled the state during her son Sviatoslav's minority, converted to the Christian faith in 957, and in 988 her grandson, Prince Vladimir the Saint, Equal to the Apostles, was baptized and then baptized his subjects in Kiev. Christianity subsequently spread rapidly across all Rus.

In 1037 a metropolitan appointed by the Patriarch of Constantinople came to Kiev from Byzantium, accompanied by a group of Greek clergy. They began zealously to organize and enlighten their new flock. With them they brought the Holy Scriptures and liturgy books written in Slavonic (in about 860, brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius, Equal to the Apostles and missionaries to the Slavs, had completed the ambitious task of developing the Slavonic alphabet and translating the Holy Scripture and service books into Slavonic).

Dioceses were established in many Russian cities in the late tenth century and the centuries that followed. Saint Illarion (who was, according to the chronicler, "a good, literate, and pious man") had already been appointed to serve as the first Russian metropolitan by 1051, during the reign of grand Prince Iaroslav the Wise. At about this time, the monastic movement began to develop in Rus. St. Antoni, a monk from Mt. Athos, founded the Monastery of the Caves (Kievopecherskaia lavra) in Kiev. St. Feodosi (d. 1074) was the monastery's organizer and second abbot.

Founded by the great ascetics, the Monastery of the Caves became a prototype for other Russian monasteries which quickly emerged, particularly in the major urban centers of Kiev and Novgorod, and it played a very significant role in the religious and general cultural life of Kievan Rus. Many of the church's outstanding leaders and monks came from this monastery, and the Russian literary tradition was also born within its walls. The Monastery of the Caves quickly became a center for education. Sermons and lives of saints, as well as the Russian chronicle, were first put in writing there. We owe most of what we know about ancient Russian history to the enlightened and industrious monks of the Monastery of the Caves (such as St. Nestor the Chronicler, who lived in the second half of the eleventh century).

It should be noted that the works of the ancient Russian chroniclers are not only deeply religious but profoundly patriotic. Although Russia was being divided into separate principalities during the Kievan period, the chronicler of that time thought and wrote about Russia as a single entity. He urged the princes to unite to defend Russia from outside enemies and appealed for an end to internal discord and internecine strife, perceiving them to be the work of Satan, the enemy and tempter of the human race.

The monks of ancient Russia looked upon their literary activities, such as writing lives of saints, sermons, and chronicles and translating and copying the Holy Scriptures, liturgy books, and the works of the church fathers as sacred work dedicated to God. "For great is the benefit of books," writes a chronicler, "for they show us the true way to repentance, and we obtain wisdom and learn moderation through them. They are the source of the river that quenches the earth's thirst and of wisdom, for books are immensely profound and with them is sorrow consoled."

At the same time, church construction and the need for religious artwork spurred the development of ancient Russian art, which produced (at first aided by Greek masters, and later independently) many marvelous monuments of religious art, such as St. Sophia's Cathedral in Kiev and the Church of the Blessed Virgin in Vladimir.

The church's role in ancient Russian society and politics was also significant since it encountered a semi-pagan society with many barbarian practices and crude customs in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries. These included a primitive form of marriage in which the wife was abducted or purchased; polygamy, which was common among the wealthy; cruel forms of slavery (because slaves were seen as draft animals, it was not considered criminal or even morally reprehensible to beat, maim, or even kill a slave); blood feuds to avenge for murder, which, rather than punishment by law, were the custom among free people; and a primitive form of government that lacked any moral foundation and was supported only by its armed druzhina (the prince's personal armed militia).

"Although the church did not immediately eliminate ingrained habits and prejudices, it gradually imparted new ideas and attitudes by retraining minds, changing morals, and preparing the people to accept new standards. In this way, it deeply penetrated the legal and moral foundations of society," writes the famous Russian historian, Vasilii Kluchevsky. First, the church introduced a Christian form of marriage and did its best to regulate family relations. The first Christian princes transferred legal jurisdiction over criminal cases, anti-religious or immoral acts, and family law to the church. Although the church did not directly or categorically condemn slavery, it did attempt to temper crueler forms of slavery by appealing to masters to show mercy and compassion toward their slaves and to recognize that it was sinful to torture slaves and to burden them with backbreaking labor. The church preached the Christian concept of brotherhood among all people, teaching that all were children of one heavenly father and encouraging masters to view their slaves as living human spirits rather than dumb animals.¹

The church opposed the custom of blood feuds and together with secular leaders attempted to formulate judicial norms and establish punishments that fit the nature of and reasons for crimes.

In an attempt to encourage civil order and morality in all of Russian society, the prince entrusted the church with a special community of church people. These church people were under the church's jurisdiction and direct control and included monks, the clergy, church employees and their families, individuals living on church-owned land and economically dependent on the church, slaves who had been freed by the wills of their former owners, beggars, the homeless, the poor, cripples, wanderers, and so on. From its very beginnings the church served as a social welfare organization for the weakest and least fortunate elements of society who were threatened by death or slavery in the cruel, crude struggle for survival that was typical of barbaric periods in history.

In the sphere of government and politics, the church tried to increase the prince's political, spiritual, and moral authority in the eyes of leaders and subjects alike. Before Christianity was brought to Russia, the Russian prince had not been so much a political leader as he had been a military leader or conqueror who used his druzhina to force his subjects into submission and to exact tributes from them that approached outright robbery. Sometimes the people in wealthy cities along the great waterway "from the Varangians to Greece" (that is, along the Dnieper and Volkhov rivers; Kiev and Novgorod were the main cities along this waterway) would ask the princes and their armed druzhina to guard their foreign trade routes and the borders of their provinces.

Of course, the adoption of Christianity did not eliminate the ancient Russian prince's role as a conqueror or ruler whom the people asked for protection from external threats. These roles remained part of the political practice and consciousness of ancient Rus for a long time, although the church did introduce and actively propagate other, more exalted views about the origin and essential character of the prince. The Greek clergy and later the Russian clergy instilled in the Russian princes the lofty concept that the sovereign should exhibit the dignity and authority of the Byzantine emperors. According to Kluchevsky, "the clergy who came introduced the Kievan prince to the Byzantine idea that the sovereign was a man appointed by God not only to protect his country from outside enemies, but to establish and maintain order within the country." The prince was supposed to administer justice, defend the weak and oppressed, and punish criminals. "You have been sent from God to punish the wicked and show mercy to the good," the bishops told Vladimir. Metropolitan Ilarion praised Prince Vladimir because he "frequently consulted very humbly with the bishops, whom he considered spiritual fathers, about establishing the law among people who had recently come to know the Lord."

From Christianity's very arrival in Rus, the princes would ask the most visible and authoritative members of the clergy, such as the bishops and abbots, for advice regarding any government-related issue. These representatives of the clergy met in the prince's council with the senior members of the druzhina (kniazhie muzhi) and the local elders (startsye gradski). In 1096 when Sviatopolk Iziaslavovich, the grand prince of Kiev, and his cousin, the famous Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh, conceived the great campaign against the Polovtsians, who were Russia's worst enemy at that time, they asked Prince Oleg Sviatoslavich of Chernigov for advice: "Come to Kiev so that we can present our views on the Russian land to the bishops, abbots, elders, and the people of the city so that we can defend the Russian land from the pagans."

At that time, however, Russia was not only troubled by foreign enemies. Russia had been divided into many different principalities, and the princes often quarreled among themselves, subjecting their people to additional grief and destruction with their discord and internecine strife. Therefore, the clergy's next task was to curb the quarreling of the princes and to reconcile them.

In 1097 when princes Vladimir Monomakh, David, and Oleg, who were allies, tried to go to war against Prince Sviatopolk of Kiev, the people of Kiev asked Metropolitan Nikolai to act as a mediator in order to prevent civil war. On behalf of the citizens of Kiev Metropolitan Nikolai passionately admonished the princes who had come to Kiev with their armies: "Prince, we pray that you and your brothers will not destroy the Russian lands. For if you begin fighting among yourselves, the pagans (the Polovtsians) will rejoice and conquer our land, which your fathers and grandfathers earned with much labor and valor. They took care of the Russian land and added other lands to it, and now you want to imperil the Russian land." When Vladimir Monomakh heard what the metropolitan said, "he did not refuse his request because he loved the metropolitan, his bishops, his abbots, and especially the monks...." The war had been prevented.

In the late twelfth century (1195) Metropolitan Nikifor told Prince Rurik Rostislavich of Kiev: "Prince! We have been set down in the Russian land by God to restrain you from bloodshed...." In 1230 Metropolitan Kirill of Kiev "and all Rus," Bishop Porfirii of Chernigov, an abbot from a Kiev monastery, and one of the senior members of the prince's druzhina went to see Iurik, Iaroslav, and Sviatoslav Vsevolodovich, the princes of northeastern Rus. The clergy had been sent by Prince Vladimir of Kiev and Prince Mikhail of Chernigov in order to avert the growing danger of war between the princes of northeastern Rus and those of western Rus. "And God saw to it that the metropolitan's work was not in vain," says the chronicler. "And Iaroslav, his older brother Georgii, his father the metropolitan, and Bishop Porfirii agreed to make peace with Mikhail, and great was the glory of it." In 1270 when there was danger of war between Prince Iaroslav of Suzdal and Novgorod, and the enemy forces were already facing one another ready for combat, "the metropolitan sent a message to Novgorod, saying 'God has appointed me archbishop of Russia. You are to obey God and me and not permit bloodshed. I give my word that Iaroslav will lose his anger. And God forbid that Christians should go to war against one another.'"

The role of the archbishop of Novgorod, who led the church of the free and freedom-loving "Lord Novgorod the Great," should be mentioned here. At that time, the archbishop of Novgorod held the most important position in the Novgorod government council, or veche, and he had to give his blessing to the council's important decisions. The archbishop's name was often listed first on diplomatic agreements with other states and treaties with princes (before the names of the posadnik and tysiatskii).(TN) The archbishop, aided by a large staff (the so-called "Sofians"), managed the church's enormous estates, including Saint Sophia's Church (the cathedral in Novgorod). A special large military unit called the "bishop's regiment" was composed of people who lived on the church's estates. The archbishop of Novgorod and the clergy under him often made peace between hostile groups and averted bloodshed during the political strife and social discord that were so common in Novgorod the Great.

Because of its ideals of a more just, ordered society and its education, the ancient Russian clergy was endowed with religious and moral authority that was superior to that of secular leaders. However, the clergy did not merely stand on the sidelines and observe the interests, needs, and concerns of community life, but instead worked and cooperated with secular society and the government. In fact, the church canonized some of the most devout and valiant Russian princes for their devotion and service to God. These included Oleg and Vladimir who were enlightened educators; Boris and Gleb, martyrs who were killed by Sviatopolk, the fratricide; and in later times, princes Alexander Iaroslavich Nevskii and Dovmont (Timofei) Pskovskii, warriors who defended Rus from the onslaught of the Roman Catholic West; and princes Mikhail Vsevolodovich Chernigovskii and Mikhail Iaroslavich Tverskoi, martyrs who were killed during the period of the Tatar yoke. Whether builders, defenders, or martyrs for Russia, upon their deaths they became its heavenly protectors.

1. Later on, in the late fifteenth century, Reverend Iosif Volotskii, the well-known religious figure and writer, wrote a letter attempting to convince slave owners to be merciful to their slaves: "The divine scriptures command us not to treat slaves as slaves, but to be merciful to them as if they were our brothers, giving them sufficient food and clothing and concerning ourselves with their salvation.... And you, slave owner, make sure that you heed the commands of the Holy Scriptures, for they state that 'great and terrible woe and eternal suffering await those who do not take care of their slaves and do not show mercy to members of their household and those who are given to their care, but only overburden them with work, punish them physically, do not give them food or clothing, starve them, and do not concern themselves with their souls....' They should remember that all are God's creation, one flesh with God, and all are blessed equally with myrrh. Everyone's life is in God's hands and all will stand before the Lord on the Day of Judgement."

TN The Posadnik was the chief official of a self-governed territory, and the tysiatskii was the second highest offical in Novgorod after the posadnik. Both were appointed by the popular assembly or veche.

2 FROM THE TATAR CONQUEST TO THE END OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY

DOI: 10.4324/9780429044274-3

“RUSSIAN FAITH” DEVELOPS RUSSIAN NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS

While Rus was under the "Tatar yoke" (from the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries), the important task of preserving and strengthening the Russian national character and form of government fell to the Orthodox Church. The Russian people's very sense of national unity was a result of the religious unity that had emerged earlier when the Russian Orthodox population opposed the "pagan" East (Islam), on the one hand, and the Roman (Catholic) West on the other.

"The Russian Church carefully preserved the idea of unity among the Russian people. Russian national consciousness also emerged as a result of the 'Russian faith.' All of those who lived in Tver, Moscow, Riazan, Polotsk, Novgorod, Chernigov, Kiev, and other cities realized that they were one Russian people primarily because they all professed one 'Russian faith'" (I. I. Lappo). In the first half of the thirteenth century (before the Tatar Conquest), the metropolitan of Kiev, who was the head of the Russian Church, was already being referred to as "metropolitan of 'all Rus.'" However, it was not until the fourteenth century that the grand princes began using the title "grand prince of all Rus," and at that time the title was not, of course, as much an expression of political reality as it was a claim to political power (the political unification of "all Rus" still lay in the distant future). Rus was united through its church long before it was united as a nation or state, and its religious unity was one of the powerful forces that promoted its political unification.

In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, as the separate Russian lands around Moscow were gradually united into one nation and political entity, metropolitans Petr (served 1308-1326), Aleksii (served 1353-1378), and Iona (1448-1461) played key roles in unifying national forces. These three illustrious hierarchs were the pillars of the Russian church and state. All of them participated actively in affairs of state and furthered the unification of Rus and Moscow and the increased authority and power of the grand prince of Moscow and "all Rus."

The metropolitans moved their see from Kiev to northeastern Rus in 1299-1300, when Metropolitan Maksim, "not tolerating the Tatar violence," (according to the chronicle) moved north from the ruins of Kiev to Vladimir-on-the-Kliazma, the capital of northeast Russia. When St. Petr (born in Galicia) succeeded Maksim, he established friendly ties with Prince Ivan Danilovich Kalita of Moscow and helped him in state affairs. Metropolitan Petr lived in Moscow for a long time and, according to the legend, predicted its future glory and grandeur. His successor, Metropolitan Feognost, settled permanently in Moscow, making Moscow the religious capital of Russia and thereby greatly increasing its national and political significance.

Metropolitan Feognost's successor, St. Aleksii (born in Chernigov) not only managed and provided for the Church with zeal, but was extremely active in the government. When Grand Prince Ivan Ivanovich of Vladimir and Moscow died in 1359, Metropolitan Aleksii became the guardian of his young son, Dmitrii, who later became the celebrated hero of the battle of Kulikovo, and did much to help Dmitrii gain the throne in 1362. Until the grand prince came of age, however, the metropolitan was the de facto head of state. He tried to increase the prince's authority and unite the other Russian princes "in love and peace" under the grand prince of "all Rus." Until he died, he helped and advised Grand Prince Dmitrii Ivanovich in administrative and diplomatic affairs.

SERGIUS OF RADONEZH, ABBOT OF TRINITY MONASTERY

St. Sergius ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents Page
• Acknowledgments Page
• Introduction Page
• PART ONE The Role of the Orthodox Church in Russian History
• PART TWO Witness for the Prosecution
• PART THREE The Orthodox Church and Prospects for the Future
• Translator's Bibliography
• Index