The figure of the Russian Orthodox Church Stefan Yavorsky was the Metropolitan of Ryazan and the locum tenens of the patriarchal throne. He rose thanks to Peter I, but he had a number of disagreements with the tsar, which eventually turned into a conflict. Shortly before the death of the locum tenens, a Synod was created, with the help of which the state completely subjugated the Church.
Early years
The future religious leader Stefan Yavorsky was born in 1658 in the town of Yavor, in Galicia. His parents were poor gentry. According to the terms of the Andrusovo peace treaty of 1667, their region finally passed to Poland. The Orthodox Yavorsky family decided to leave Yavor and move to the left-bank Ukraine, which became part of the Muscovite state. Their new homeland turned out to be the village of Krasilovka near the town of Nezhin. Here Stefan Yavorsky (in the world he was called Semyon Ivanovich) continued his education.
In his youth, he already independently moved to Kyiv, where he entered the Kiev-Mohyla Collegium. It was one of the main educational institutions in Southern Russia. Here Stefan studied until 1684. He attracted the attention of the future Metropolitan of Kyiv Varlaam Yasinsky. The young man differed not onlycuriosity, but also outstanding natural abilities - a grasping memory and attentiveness. Varlaam helped him go to study abroad.
Study in Poland
In 1684, Stefan Yavorsky went to the Commonwe alth. He studied with the Jesuits of Lvov and Lublin, got acquainted with theology in Poznan and Vilna. Catholics accepted him only after the young student converted to Uniatism. Later, this act was criticized by his opponents and ill-wishers in the Russian Orthodox Church. Meanwhile, many scholars were becoming Uniates who wanted access to Western universities and libraries. Among them were, for example, the Orthodox Epiphany Slavonetsky and Innokenty Gizel.
Yavorsky's studies in the Commonwe alth ended in 1689. He received a Western diploma. For several years in Poland, the theologian learned rhetorical, poetic and philosophical art. At this time, his worldview was finally formed, which determined all future actions and decisions. There is no doubt that it was the Catholic Jesuits who instilled in their student a persistent dislike for the Protestants, against whom he would later oppose in Russia.
Return to Russia
Back in Kyiv, Stefan Yavorsky renounced Catholicism. The local academy accepted him after the test. Varlaam Yasinsky advised Yavorsky to become a monk. Finally, he agreed and became a monk, taking the name Stephen. At first he was a novice in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. When Varlaam was elected metropolitan, he helped his protégé becometeacher of oratory and rhetoric at the Academy. Yavorsky quickly received new positions. By 1691, he had already become a prefect, as well as a professor of philosophy and theology.
As a teacher, Stefan Yaworsky, whose biography was connected with Poland, applied Latin teaching methods. His "pets" were future preachers and high-ranking government officials. But the main disciple was Feofan Prokopovich, the future main opponent of Stefan Yavorsky in the Russian Orthodox Church. Although later the teacher was accused of spreading Catholic teachings within the walls of the Kyiv Academy, these tirades turned out to be groundless. In the texts of the lectures of the preacher, which have survived to this day, there are numerous descriptions of the mistakes of Western Christians.
Along with teaching and studying books, Stefan Yavorsky served in the church. It is known that he performed the wedding ceremony of Ivan Mazepa's nephew. Before the war with the Swedes, the clergyman spoke positively about the hetman. In 1697, the theologian became hegumen at the St. Nicholas Desert Monastery in the vicinity of Kyiv. This was an appointment that meant that soon Yavorsky was waiting for the rank of metropolitan. In the meantime, he helped Varlaam a lot and traveled to Moscow with his instructions.
An unexpected twist
In January 1700, Stefan Yavorsky, whose biography allows us to conclude that his life path was approaching a sharp turn, went to the capital. Metropolitan Varlaam asked him to meet with Patriarch Adrian and persuade him to create a new Pereyaslav see. Messengerfulfilled the order, but soon an unexpected event occurred that radically changed his life.
The boyar and military leader Alexei Shein died in the capital. Together with the young Peter I, he led the capture of Azov and even became the first Russian generalissimo in history. In Moscow, they decided that the recently arrived Stefan Yavorsky should say the grave word. The education and preaching abilities of this man showed themselves in the best way with a larger concourse of dignitaries. But most importantly, the Kyiv guest was noticed by the tsar, who was extremely imbued with his eloquence. Peter I recommended to Patriarch Adrian to make the envoy Varlaam the head of some diocese not far from Moscow. Stefan Yavorsky was advised to stay in the capital for a while. Soon he was offered a new rank of Metropolitan of Ryazan and Murom. He brightened up the waiting time in the Donskoy Monastery.
Metropolitan and Locum Tenens
On April 7, 1700, Stefan Yavorsky became the new Metropolitan of Ryazan. The bishop immediately took up his duties and immersed himself in local ecclesiastical affairs. However, his solitary work in Ryazan was short-lived. Already on October 15, the elderly and sick Patriarch Adrian died. Aleksey Kurbatov, close associate of Peter I, advised him to wait with the election of a successor. Instead, the tsar established a new office of locum tenens. In this place, the adviser proposed to appoint the Archbishop of Kholmogory Athanasius. Peter decided that he would not become the locum tenens, but Stefan Yavorsky. The sermons of the Kyiv envoy in Moscow led him to the rankMetropolitan of Ryazan Now, in less than a year, he jumped to the last step and formally became the first person of the Russian Orthodox Church.
It was a meteoric rise, made possible by a combination of good circumstances and the charisma of the 42-year-old theologian. His figure has become a toy in the hands of the authorities. Peter wanted to get rid of the patriarchate as an institution harmful to the state. He planned to reorganize the church and directly subordinate it to the kings. The first embodiment of this reform was just the establishment of the post of locum tenens. Compared to the patriarch, a person with this status had much less authority. Its possibilities were limited and controlled by the central executive power. Understanding the nature of Peter's reforms, one can guess that the appointment of a literally random and alien person for Moscow to the position of the head of the church was deliberate and pre-planned.
Stefan Yavorsky himself was hardly looking for this honor. The Uniatism, through which he went through in his youth, and other features of his views could cause a conflict with the metropolitan public. The appointee did not want major troubles and understood that he was being put in a "execution" position. In addition, the theologian missed his native Little Russia, where he had many friends and supporters. But, of course, he could not refuse the king, so he humbly accepted his offer.
Fight against heresy
Everyone was unhappy with the changes. Muscovites called Yavorsky a Cherkasy and an oblivant. Jerusalem Patriarch Dositheus wrote to the Russian Tsar that he should not be promotednatives of Little Russia. Peter paid no heed to these warnings. However, Dositheus received a letter of apology, the author of which was Stefan Yavorsky himself. The opal was clear. The patriarch did not consider the Kyivian "quite Orthodox" because of his longstanding collaboration with Catholics and Jesuits. Dosifey's answer to Stefan was not conciliatory. Only his successor Chrysanthos compromised with the locum tenens.
The first problem that Stefan Yavorsky had to face in his new capacity was the question of the Old Believers. At this time, the schismatics distributed leaflets around Moscow, in which the capital of Russia was called Babylon, and Peter was called the Antichrist. The organizer of this action was a prominent scribe Grigory Talitsky. Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky (the Ryazan see remained under his jurisdiction) tried to convince the perpetrator of the unrest. This dispute led to the fact that he even published his own book on the signs of the coming of the Antichrist. The work exposed the mistakes of the schismatics and their manipulation of the opinions of believers.
Stefan Yavorsky's Opponents
In addition to Old Believer and heretical cases, the locum tenens received the authority to determine candidates for appointments in empty dioceses. His lists were checked and agreed upon by the king himself. Only after his approval did the chosen person receive the rank of metropolitan. Peter created several more counterbalances, which markedly limited the locum tenens. First, it was the Consecrated Cathedral - a meeting of bishops. Many of them were not Yavorsky's henchmen, and somewere his direct opponents. Therefore, each time he had to defend his point of view in open confrontation with other church hierarchs. In fact, the locum tenens was only the first among equals, so his power could not be compared with the former powers of the patriarchs.
Secondly, Peter I strengthened the influence of the Monastic order, at the head of which he put his faithful boyar Ivan Musin-Pushkin. This person was positioned as an assistant and comrade of the locum tenens, but in some situations, when the king considered it necessary, he became a direct boss.
Thirdly, in 1711 the former Boyar Duma was finally dissolved, and the Governing Senate arose in its place. His decrees for the Church were equated with royal ones. It was the Senate that received the privilege to determine whether the candidate proposed by the locum tenens is suitable for the place of bishop. Peter, who was increasingly involved in foreign policy and the construction of St. Petersburg, delegated the authority to manage the church to the state machine and now intervened only as a last resort.
The Case of Lutheran Tveritinov
In 1714 there was a scandal that further widened the abyss, on opposite sides of which stood statesmen and Stefan Yavorsky. There were no photographs then, but even without them, modern historians were able to restore the appearance of the German Quarter, which grew especially under Peter I. Foreign merchants, craftsmen and guests mainly from Germany lived in it. They were all Lutherans or Protestants. This Western teaching has becomespread among the Orthodox residents of Moscow.
The free-thinking doctor Tveritinov became a particularly active propagandist of Lutheranism. Stefan Yavorsky, whose repentance before the church took place many years ago, remembered the years spent next to Catholics and Jesuits. They instilled in the locum tenens a dislike for Protestants. The Metropolitan of Ryazan began the persecution of Lutherans. Tveritinov fled to St. Petersburg, where he found patrons and defenders in the Senate among Yavorsky's ill-wishers. A decree was issued according to which the locum tenens had to forgive imaginary heretics. The head of the church, who usually compromised with the state, this time did not want to give in. He turned for protection directly to the king. Peter did not like the whole story of the persecution of the Lutherans. The first serious conflict broke out between him and Yavorsky.
Meanwhile, the locum tenens decided to present his criticism of Protestantism and views on Orthodoxy in a separate essay. So, he soon wrote his most famous book, The Stone of Faith. Stefan Yavorsky in this work led the usual sermon on the importance of preserving the former conservative foundations of the Orthodox Church. At the same time, he used the rhetoric that was common among Catholics at that time. The book was full of rejection of the Reformation, which then triumphed in Germany. These ideas were promoted by the Protestants of the German Quarter.
Conflict with the king
The story of the Lutheran Tveritinov became an unpleasant wake-up call, signaling about the relationshipChurches and states held opposite positions on Protestants. However, the conflict between them was much deeper and only expanded over time. It worsened when the essay "Stone of Faith" was published. Stefan Yavorsky, with the help of this book, tried to defend his conservative position. The authorities banned its publication.
Meanwhile, Peter moved the capital of the country to St. Petersburg. Gradually, all the officials moved there. The Locum Tenens and Metropolitan of Ryazan Stefan Yavorsky remained in Moscow. In 1718, the tsar ordered him to go to St. Petersburg and start working in the new capital. This angered Stefan. The king sharply responded to his objections and did not compromise. At the same time, he expressed the idea of the need to create a Spiritual College.
The project for its discovery was entrusted to Feofan Prokopovich, an old student of Stefan Yavorsky, to develop. The Locum Tenens did not agree with his pro-Lutheran ideas. In the same year, 1718, Peter initiated the appointment of Feofan as the Bishop of Pskov. For the first time he received real powers. Stefan Yavorsky tried to oppose him. The repentance and fraud of the locum tenens became the topic of conversations and rumors that spread in both capitals. Many influential officials, who had made a career under Peter and were supporters of the policy of subordinating the church to the state, were opposed to him. Therefore, they tried to denigrate the reputation of the Metropolitan of Ryazan by a variety of methods, including recalling his connections with Catholics while studying in Poland.
Role in the trial of Tsarevich Alexei
Meanwhile, Peter had to resolve another conflict - this time a family one. His son and heir Alexei did not agree with his father's policy and, in the end, fled to Austria. He was returned to his homeland. In May 1718, Peter ordered Stefan Yavorsky to come to St. Petersburg to represent the church at the trial of the rebellious prince.
There were rumors that the locum tenens sympathized with Alexei and even kept in touch with him. However, there is no documentary evidence for this. On the other hand, it is known for sure that the prince did not like his father's new church policy, and he had many supporters among the conservative Moscow clergy. At the trial, the Metropolitan of Ryazan tried to defend these clergymen. Many of them, along with the prince, were accused of treason and executed. Stefan Yavorsky could not influence the decision of Peter. The locum tenens himself buried Alexei, who mysteriously died in his prison cell on the eve of the execution of the sentence.
After the creation of the Synod
For several years, the draft law on the creation of the Spiritual College was being worked out. As a result, it became known as the Holy Governing Synod. In January 1721, Peter signed a manifesto on the creation of this authority, necessary to control the church. The newly elected members of the Synod were hastily sworn in, and already in February the institution began regular work. The patriarchate was officially abolished and left in the past.
Formally, Peter put Stephen at the head of the SynodYavorsky. He was opposed to the new institution, considering him the undertaker of the church. He did not attend meetings of the Synod and refused to sign the papers published by this body. In the service of the Russian state, Stefan Yavorsky saw himself in a completely different capacity. Peter, however, kept him in a nominal position only in order to demonstrate the formal continuity of the institution of the patriarchate, locum tenens and the Synod.
In the highest circles, denunciations continued to circulate, in which Stefan Yavorsky made a reservation. Fraud during the construction of the Nezhinsky Monastery and other unscrupulous machinations were attributed to the Metropolitan of Ryazan with evil tongues. He began to live in a state of incessant stress, which significantly affected his well-being. Stefan Yavorsky died on December 8, 1722 in Moscow. He became the first and last long-term locum tenens of the Patriarchal Throne in Russian history. After his death, a two-century synodal period began, when the state made the church part of its bureaucratic machine.
The fate of the "Stone of Faith"
It is interesting that the book "Stone of Faith" (the main literary work of the locum tenens) was published in 1728, when he and Peter were already in the grave. The work, which criticized Protestantism, was an extraordinary success. Its first print run sold out quickly. The book has since been reprinted several times. When during the reign of Anna Ioannovna there were many favorites-Germans of the Lutheran faith in power, the "Stone of Faith" was again banned.
The work not only criticized Protestantism, but, more importantly, it became the best systematic presentation of the Orthodox dogma at that time. Stefan Yavorsky emphasized those places where it differed from Lutheranism. The treatise was devoted to the attitude towards relics, icons, the sacrament of the Eucharist, sacred tradition, attitude towards heretics, etc. When the Orthodox party finally triumphed under Elizabeth Petrovna, the “Stone of Faith” became the main theological work of the Russian Church and remained so throughout the entire 18th century.
