One of the transformations of Peter I was the reform of church administration that he carried out, aimed at eliminating the church jurisdiction autonomous from the state and subordinating the Russian hierarchy to the Emperor.

In 1696, the government obliged the white clergy not to make any unsalary expenses from its treasury without a personal decree of the sovereign. Beginning in 1697, a number of decrees prohibited the erection of new church buildings, the construction of monasteries, the payment of salaries to bishops who had estates, and the financial privileges of the church were abolished. In 1700, the Patriarchal Order was abolished, the affairs of the laity were transferred to other orders, and the fight against heresies and schism was made the responsibility of a “locum tenens.” Temporarily, instead of Patriarch Adrian, who died in December 1700, a new position was established: “Exarch of the Holy Patriarchal Throne, Guardian and Administrator,” to which Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky of Murom and Ryazan was appointed, whose power was greatly limited. He had to resolve the most important issues of church administration together with other hierarchs, who were called to Moscow “for the sacred council” for this purpose. By decree of January 24, 1701, the Patriarchal order was restored, and at its head Peter put the secular person of the former Astrakhan governor A.I. Musina-Pushkin. The management of the real estate of the patriarchal and bishop's houses and monasteries was transferred to the order. In 1701, a series of decrees were issued to reform the management of church and monastic estates and the organization of monastic life. The patriarchal order again began to be in charge of the trial of the monastic peasants and control the income from church and monastic landholdings.

Church employees were subject to poll tax. According to the “Spiritual Regulations” of 1721, the Spiritual College was established (soon renamed the Synod). According to the decree of May 11, 1722, a special secular official was appointed to oversee affairs and discipline in the Synod. The Synod became a state institution, subordinate to the supreme authority of the king, who became the head of the church. Priests had to take an oath of faithful service to the state and thereby became civil servants, dressed in a special uniform. In addition, priests, under threat of torture, were obliged to violate the secret of confession and inform on their flock.

The king developed a persistently negative attitude towards the monastics. In a decree dated December 30, 1701, he set as an example the ancient monks, who “with their own industrious hands produced food for themselves and, living a communal life, fed many beggars with their own hands.” The current monks, the king reasoned, “have eaten alien labors themselves, and the early monks have fallen into many luxuries.” 23 years later, the king expressed the same thoughts: most of the monks “are parasites,” because they lead an idle life (“the root of all evil is idleness”), they care only about themselves, while before they were tonsured they were “thrice-eating: that is, to their home , the state and the landowner." In 1724, Peter the Great issued a decree according to which the number of monks in a monastery directly depended on the number of people they had to look after, that is, the number of tonsures was sharply reduced. According to Peter, the monasteries were to be turned into almshouses for crippled and elderly soldiers or into workhouses; It was planned to teach the nuns literacy, spinning, sewing, and lace-making, so that there would be “benefits for society.”

In 1721, Peter approved the Spiritual Regulations, the drafting of which was entrusted to the Pskov bishop, the Tsar's close Little Russian Feofan Prokopovich. As a result, a radical reform of the church took place, eliminating the autonomy of the clergy and completely subordinating it to the state. In wartime, valuables had to be removed from the monastery storages. But Peter still did not go for the complete secularization of church and monastic properties, which was carried out much later, at the beginning of the reign of Catherine II.

Another feature of the church policy of Peter I was the declaration of religious tolerance in the manifesto of 1702, granting foreigners the right to freely practice their religion and build churches for this. This measure was due to the attraction of foreign specialists to Russian service. Therefore, the era of Peter was marked by a trend towards greater religious tolerance. Peter also terminated the “12 Articles” adopted by Sophia, according to which Old Believers who refused to renounce the “schism” were subject to burning at the stake. The “schismatics” were allowed to practice their faith, subject to recognition of the existing state order and payment of double taxes. Complete freedom of faith was granted to foreigners coming to Russia, and restrictions on communication between Orthodox Christians and Christians of other faiths were lifted (in particular, interfaith marriages were allowed).

All these transformations caused muted, and sometimes obvious, discontent of the clergy, for they destroyed the old Moscow system and customs, to which they were so committed in their ignorance. Nevertheless, Peter still managed to find among the clergy a true supporter of the reforms and a reliable ally in their implementation - Feofan Prokopovich.

As a statesman, Peter did not allow the independence of the church in the state, and as a reformer who devoted his life to the cause of renewal of the fatherland, he did not like the clergy, among whom he found the largest number of opponents of what was closest to him. Peter looked at the clergy in such a way that they “are not another state” and must, “along with other classes,” obey general state laws. But he was not an unbeliever - Peter was taught church piety from childhood, he learned the order of church services, participated in all church ceremonies and remained a deeply religious person until the end of his days, believing that all good things, expressed, for example, in victories in theater of war, and the evil that came from the Falls, such as the tragedy on the Prut, is nothing more than God’s favor.

The case of Tsarevich Alexy, with whom many clergy pinned hopes for the restoration of former customs, was extremely painful for some of the higher clergy. Having fled abroad in 1716, the Tsarevich maintained relations with Metropolitan Ignatius (Smola) of Krutitsky, Metropolitan Joasaph (Krakovsky) of Kiev, Bishop Dosifei of Rostov, and others. During the search carried out by Peter, Peter himself called “conversations with priests and monks” the main reason for treason. As a result of the investigation, punishment fell upon the clergy who were found to have connections with the Tsarevich: Bishop Dosifei was defrocked and executed, as well as the Tsarevich’s confessor, Archpriest Jacob Ignatiev, and the clergyman of the cathedral in Suzdal, Theodore the Desert, who was close to Peter’s first wife, Queen Evdokia; Metropolitan Joasaph was deprived of his see, and Metropolitan Joasaph, summoned for questioning, died on the way from Kyiv.

Peter used Prokopovich's talents to, firstly, justify his decision to deprive his son Alexei of the right to inherit the throne and, secondly, to justify the advantages of the collegial system over individual management. But Prokopovich’s main contribution to Peter’s transformative undertakings was to substantiate the groundlessness of the theocratic claims of the clergy and the untenability of Nikon’s idea of ​​​​the advantage of spiritual power over secular power.

A prominent figure of the era of Peter the Great, Feofan Prokopovich, argued that the priesthood is simply “another rank among the people, and not another state,” that in spiritual and temporal power the sovereign and patriarch are represented by one person - the emperor. The idea of ​​the primacy of secular power over spiritual power and the uselessness of the patriarchate is closely related to the system of proof of the superiority of collegial government over individual management. The relations that developed between the church and the royal government, which resulted in the Church reform of Peter 1, required a new design from a legal point of view. Prokopovich drew up the Spiritual Regulations in 1721, which provided for the destruction of the patriarchal institution and the creation of a new body called the “Spiritual Collegium,” which was soon renamed the “Holy Government Synod.” This document outlined the essence of church reform: the monarch was declared the head of the church, and the management of church affairs was entrusted to the same officials who were in the civil service and received a salary, like the officials who sat in the Senate and collegiums.

The difference from the patriarchal institution was that the Synod was attended by officials dressed in robes. Control of state power over the activities of the Synod was carried out by the Chief Prosecutor, a secular person declared by the instructions to be the same “eye of the sovereign” as the Prosecutor General of the Senate. The Synod's complete dependence on the state was expressed not only in the salaries received, but also in the oath taken by its members. Members of the Synod swore an oath of allegiance to the reigning family, pledged to safeguard the state's interests, and to regard the monarch himself as the supreme judge in spiritual matters. The clergy were also assigned police functions - they were allowed to neglect secret confession and report to the authorities in cases where the person confessing was plotting something against the existing order.

It was the creation of the Synod that marked the start of the absolutist period in the history of Russia. During this period, all power, including church power, was in the hands of the sovereign, Peter the Great. Thus, the church loses its independence from royal power, as well as the right to dispose of church property. The church reform of Peter the Great turned clergy into government officials. Indeed, during this period, even the Synod was supervised by a secular person, the so-called chief prosecutor.

Before Peter the Great ascended the throne, church affairs were in a bad state. The Church needed radical reforms, but none of the kings and Peter dared to do this. The problems were as follows. In the Russian Church of the second half of the 17th century, there was almost a complete absence of a system of education and enlightenment. The problem was also that the church had vast territories of land and enjoyed many benefits, which greatly affected the merchants. Also, people subordinate to the church were tried by the church court. All this caused the indignation of the kings, but because of fear of the influence of the church among the common masses, the kings were afraid to take drastic measures.

When Peter took the helm of the country, he often saw discontent on the part of the clergy. This was mainly due to the fact that the clergy did not want to accept the innovations introduced by Peter. Since Peter devoted his entire life to the modernization of the country, he wanted the clergy not to put themselves above other classes, and also, like everyone else, to be subject to general laws. He was also against the fact that the head of the Russian Church tried to place himself on an equal footing with the emperor. Although Peter was not an unbeliever, it was often said that he took a neutral position with the church. When the clergy tried to maintain independence from the courts, Peter stopped this immediately.

Peter began his first changes in the Russian Church during the life of Patriarch Adrian (the head of the Russian Church in 1700), namely banned the building of churches in Siberia. When the patriarch died, the question arose about who would carry out the affairs of the patriarch, then Peter decided to restore the Monastic Order, which began to manage church lands and households. All other patriarchal affairs were distributed according to the relevant orders. Subsequently, Peter issued several more decrees, thereby further reducing the independence of the clergy from other sectors of society. Life also became easier for those whose religion differed from the Orthodox. Now Catholics and Protestants could not fear persecution from the Russian Church. However, the Old Believers were persecuted, since Peter did not like Russian antiquity.
In order for more people to become spiritually richer, decrees were issued that provided for fines if a person did not confess within a certain time(usually once a year at least). On the other hand, this decree was adopted for the purpose of denunciations; priests were obliged to report to the authorities the confessions of interested people.

At the same time, Peter led an active struggle against beggary. It was forbidden not only to ask for alms, but also to give it. All those begging for alms were taken to the Monastery Prikaz for trial. If it turned out that the person asking for alms was someone else’s peasant, then his landowner was charged a fine of 5 rubles. If the peasant was caught again, he was sent to hard labor, having previously been beaten. People who wanted to help the poor were encouraged to give help to almshouses. By 1718, there were already more than 4,500 beggars and more than 9 dozen almshouses in Moscow. Peter had to admit that the number of beggars was constantly increasing, even after tough measures had been taken. Therefore, Peter issued a decree in which he recommended following the example of Metropolitan Job of Novgorod, who organized good charitable assistance to those in need in Novgorod.

An important event in Peter's church reform was the formation on January 25, 1721 of the Holy Governing Synod, or the Spiritual College in other words. Now the church was governed not by one patriarch, but by a college of priests. Now the emperor himself and secular officials were in power over the Synod. Peter spiritually beheaded the Church by subjugating it to himself. The Synod included 12 clergy, and three of them should have the rank of bishop. The Synod resembled civil colleges not only in its composition (president, 2 vice-presidents, 4 advisers, 5 assessors), but also in the structure of its office work and office. The activities of the Holy Synod were monitored by the chief prosecutor; he could interfere in the decisions of the Synod if the decisions of the Synod contradicted civil laws and decrees of Peter. The Synod was obliged to monitor the spiritual education of the population and was to study the qualities of people for appointment to the rank of bishop.

During the reign of Peter, the clergy turned into a class that had its own privileges and responsibilities. Through the clergy, Peter wanted to influence the masses. As is known in Ancient Rus', access to the clergy was very easy. Almost anyone could become a priest. Basically, the holiest ranks were inherited from father to son. Under Peter, the number of different kinds of priests became so large that he took measures that made it difficult to enter the clergy, and at the same time simplified exit from the clergy. Also, one of Peter’s measures was to establish a certain number of priests per number of inhabitants.

Peter had a particular dislike for the monks; with each new decree, he tried to limit the monks’ freedom of action. For example, a young man could not enter a monastery until he turned 30, and women were not tonsured as nuns before the age of 50. Monks were prohibited from visiting secular houses and institutions. He did not allow the construction of new monasteries, made it difficult to enter monasticism, and from monasteries he made institutions suitable for the state - hospitals, factories, etc. Also, monks were forbidden to leave the monastery for a long time and they had to live their entire lives in the monastery. Compulsory education in theological schools was also introduced for the children of clergy, and those who did not study in a church school should be excluded from the clergy.

OTHER REFORMS OF PETER THE GREAT.

This event in the life of the young king marked the beginning of his transformative activities. The first reforms of Peter I were aimed at changing the external signs of Russian life: he ordered beards to be shaved and ordered to dress in European clothes, introduced music, tobacco, balls and other innovations into the life of Moscow society, which shocked him.

By decree of December 20, 1699, Peter I approved the calendar from the Nativity of Christ and the celebration of the New Year on January 1.

Foreign policy of Peter I

The main goal of Peter I's foreign policy was access to the Baltic Sea, which would provide Russia with a connection with Western Europe. In 1699, Russia, having entered into an alliance with Poland and Denmark, declared war on Sweden. The outcome of the Northern War, which lasted 21 years, was influenced by the Russian victory in the Battle of Poltava on June 27, 1709. and victory over the Swedish fleet at Gangut on July 27, 1714.

On August 30, 1721, the Treaty of Nystadt was signed, according to which Russia retained the conquered lands of Livonia, Estonia, Ingria, part of Karelia and all the islands of the Gulf of Finland and Riga. Access to the Baltic Sea was secured.

To commemorate the achievements in the Northern War, the Senate and Synod on October 20, 1721 awarded the Tsar the title of Father of the Fatherland, Peter the Great and Emperor of All Russia.

In 1723, after a month and a half of hostilities with Persia, Peter I acquired the western shore of the Caspian Sea.

Simultaneously with the conduct of military operations, the vigorous activity of Peter I was aimed at carrying out numerous reforms, the purpose of which was to bring the country closer to European civilization, increase the education of the Russian people, and strengthen the power and international position of Russia. The great tsar did a lot, here are just the main reforms of Peter I.

Reform of public administration of Peter I

Instead of the Boyar Duma, in 1700 the Council of Ministers was created, which met in the Near Chancellery, and in 1711 - the Senate, which by 1719 had become the highest state body. With the creation of provinces, numerous Orders ceased to operate and were replaced by Collegiums, which were subordinate to the Senate. The secret police also operated in the control system - the Preobrazhensky order (in charge of state crimes) and the Secret Chancellery. Both institutions were administered by the emperor himself.

Administrative reforms of Peter I

Regional (provincial) reform of Peter I

The largest administrative reform of local government was the creation in 1708 of 8 provinces headed by governors, in 1719 their number increased to 11. The second administrative reform divided the provinces into provinces headed by governors, and the provinces into districts (counties) headed with zemstvo commissars.

Urban reform (1699-1720)

To govern the city, the Burmister Chamber was created in Moscow, renamed the Town Hall in November 1699, and magistrates subordinate to the Chief Magistrate in St. Petersburg (1720). Members of the Town Hall and magistrates were elected by election.

Estate reforms

The main goal of the class reform of Peter I was to formalize the rights and responsibilities of each class - the nobility, peasantry and urban population.

Nobility.

1. Decree on estates (1704), according to which both boyars and nobles received estates and estates.


2. Decree on Education (1706) - all boyar children are required to receive primary education.


3. Decree on single inheritance (1714), according to which a nobleman could leave an inheritance to only one of his sons.


4. Table of Ranks (1721): Service to the sovereign was divided into three departments - army, state and court - each of which was divided into 14 ranks. This document allowed a lower-class person to earn his way into the nobility.

Peasantry

Most of the peasants were serfs. Serfs could enroll as soldiers, which freed them from serfdom.

Among the free peasants were:

• state-owned, with personal freedom, but limited in the right of movement (i.e., by the will of the monarch, they could be transferred to serfs);


• palace ones that belonged personally to the king;


• possessional, assigned to manufactories. The owner had no right to sell them.

Urban class

Urban people were divided into “regular” and “irregular”. The regulars were divided into guilds: 1st guild - the richest, 2nd guild - small traders and wealthy artisans. Irregulars, or “mean people,” made up the majority of the urban population.

In 1722, workshops appeared that united masters of the same craft.

Judicial reform of Peter I

The functions of the Supreme Court were carried out by the Senate and the College of Justice. In the provinces there were court appeal courts and provincial courts headed by governors. Provincial courts dealt with the cases of peasants (except for monasteries) and townspeople not included in the settlement. Since 1721, court cases of townspeople included in the settlement were conducted by the magistrate. In other cases, cases were decided by the zemstvo or city judge alone.

Church reform of Peter I

Peter I abolished the patriarchate, deprived the church of power, and transferred its funds to the state treasury. Instead of the post of patriarch, the tsar introduced a collegial highest administrative church body - the Holy Synod.

Financial reforms of Peter I

The first stage of Peter I's financial reform boiled down to collecting money for maintaining the army and waging wars. Benefits from the monopoly sale of certain types of goods (vodka, salt, etc.) were added, and indirect taxes were introduced (bath taxes, horse taxes, beard taxes, etc.).

In 1704 it was held currency reform, according to which the kopeck became the main monetary unit. The fiat ruble was abolished.

Tax reform of Peter I consisted of a transition from household taxation to per capita taxation. In this regard, the government included in the tax all categories of the peasant and townspeople, who had previously been exempt from tax.

Thus, during tax reform of Peter I a single cash tax (poll tax) was introduced and the number of taxpayers was increased.

Social reforms of Peter I

Education reform of Peter I

In the period from 1700 to 1721. Many civilian and military schools were opened in Russia. These include the School of Mathematical and Navigational Sciences; artillery, engineering, medical, mining, garrison, theological schools; digital schools for free education for children of all ranks; Maritime Academy in St. Petersburg.

Peter I created the Academy of Sciences, under which the first Russian university was established, and with it the first gymnasium. But this system began to operate after the death of Peter.

Reforms of Peter I in culture

Peter I introduced a new alphabet, which facilitated learning to read and write and promoted book printing. The first Russian newspaper Vedomosti began to be published, and in 1703 the first book in Russian with Arabic numerals appeared.

The Tsar developed a plan for the stone construction of St. Petersburg, paying special attention to the beauty of the architecture. He invited foreign artists, and also sent talented young people abroad to study “arts”. Peter I laid the foundation for the Hermitage.

Medical reforms of Peter I

The main transformations were the opening of hospitals (1707 - the first Moscow military hospital) and schools attached to them, in which doctors and pharmacists were trained.

In 1700, pharmacies were established at all military hospitals. In 1701, Peter I issued a decree on the opening of eight private pharmacies in Moscow. Since 1704, state-owned pharmacies began to open in many cities of Russia.

To grow, study, and create collections of medicinal plants, apothecary gardens were created, where seeds of foreign flora were imported.

Socio-economic reforms of Peter I

To boost industrial production and develop trade relations with foreign countries, Peter I invited foreign specialists, but at the same time encouraged domestic industrialists and traders. Peter I sought to ensure that more goods were exported from Russia than were imported. During his reign, 200 plants and factories operated in Russia.

Reforms of Peter I in the army

Peter I introduced annual recruitment of young Russians (from 15 to 20 years old) and ordered the training of soldiers to begin. In 1716, the Military Regulations were published, outlining the service, rights and responsibilities of the military.

As a result military reform of Peter I a powerful regular army and navy were created.

Peter's reform activities had the support of a wide circle of the nobility, but caused discontent and resistance among the boyars, archers and clergy, because the transformations entailed the loss of their leadership role in public administration. Among the opponents of Peter I's reforms was his son Alexei.

Results of the reforms of Peter I

1. A regime of absolutism has been established in Russia. During the years of his reign, Peter created a state with a more advanced management system, a strong army and navy, and a stable economy. There was a centralization of power.


2. Rapid development of foreign and domestic trade.


3. The abolition of the patriarchate, the church lost its independence and authority in society.


4. Tremendous progress has been made in the fields of science and culture. A task of national importance was set - the creation of Russian medical education, and the beginning of Russian surgery was laid.

Features of the reforms of Peter I

1. The reforms were carried out according to the European model and covered all spheres of activity and life of society.


2. Lack of reform system.


3. Reforms were carried out mainly through harsh exploitation and coercion.


4. Peter, impatient by nature, innovated at a rapid pace.

Reasons for the reforms of Peter I

By the 18th century, Russia was a backward country. It was significantly inferior to Western European countries in terms of industrial output, level of education and culture (even in the ruling circles there were many illiterate people). The boyar aristocracy, which headed the state apparatus, did not meet the needs of the country. The Russian army, consisting of archers and noble militia, was poorly armed, untrained and could not cope with its task.

Prerequisites for the reforms of Peter I

In the course of the history of our country, by this time significant shifts in its development had already occurred. The city separated from the village, agriculture and crafts were separated, and manufacturing-type industrial enterprises arose. Domestic and foreign trade developed. Russia borrowed technology and science, culture and education from Western Europe, but at the same time developed independently. Thus, the ground was already prepared for Peter's reforms.

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The position of the church under Emperor Peter I

Church reforms of Peter I

Modern historians argue that when considering the features of Peter’s church reform, it is worth taking into account not only the period of Peter’s reign and his relationship with the Church, but also the similar previous experience of past Russian tsars.

First of all, it is worth highlighting the conflict between the patriarchate and the royal power, which developed throughout almost the entire seventeenth century, in which one of the key figures was the father of Peter the Great, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. This conflict had very clear, deep reasons. After all, it was in the seventeenth century that the Russian state began to transform from a class monarchy into a so-called absolute monarchy.

At the same time, the absolute monarch relied in his policy on professional officials who might not be associated with official class groups, as well as on the regular army. It should be noted that this process of transforming the country into an absolutist-type power in that historical period took place throughout Europe and a mandatory circumstance for such a transformation was the conflict between the state and the Church, which sometimes had serious bloody (for representatives of the clergy) consequences.

One of the first attempts to deprive the clergy of autonomy was the Council Code, signed in 1649 by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. According to him, the state took away from the hierarchy some judicial functions over citizens inhabiting church estates. The clergy regarded this step as the beginning of secularization and further complete confiscation of church territories, which ultimately happened in the eighteenth century. Thus, it was the Council Code that was the main reason for the conflict between Peter and the Church in the seventeenth century.

Death of Patriarch Hadrian. Abolition of the patriarchate.

After the death of the last seventeenth-century patriarch, Adrian, in 1700, the Russian Tsar suspended the patriarchate for twenty-one years. However, a year later he restores the abolished Monastic Order, which previously managed church estates from the state and carried out certain judicial functions over people living on church estates. This confirms that at first the tsar was only interested in the fiscal aspect and the actual size of the income of the Church that the dioceses and the patriarchal region, in particular, brought to it.

However, around the end of the Northern War, which lasted just twenty-one years, Peter the Great tried to practice new forms of state-church relations. After all, during the period of hostilities, no one had any idea whether a new patriarch would be chosen. Most likely, the monarch himself did not know the exact answer to this question.

Establishment of the Synod

But a year after the signing of the Peace of Nystad, Peter the Great found a person who was supposed to quickly provide the emperor with an updated diagram of relations between the state and the Church. This person was Feofan Prokopovich, Bishop of Narva and Pskov. Having met the given time, he presented to the sovereign the Spiritual Regulations, according to which from now on the patriarchate was abolished in Russia, and in its place a new collegial body called the Holy Governing Synod appeared.

At the same time, the Spiritual Regulations themselves, in their essence, were not a document or a law, but a journalistic work that substantiated and to some extent justified the renewed state-church relations in the country.

The Synod was a collegial body, all of whose members were personally appointed by the emperor. At the same time, this body was entirely dependent on the will of the emperor. At first it was planned that the composition of the Synod would be mixed. Thus, it was supposed to include bishops, married priests (the so-called white clergy) and representatives of the monastic clergy. The Synod was led by the president of the spiritual college. Thus, Peter the Great abolished the patriarchate and left the Russian Church for two hundred years without hope of returning Church Councils.

In 1722, just a year after the formation of the Council, the Russian emperor supplemented it with another important decree, according to which the position of chief prosecutor now appeared in the Synod. The clergy were immediately alarmed by this news. Perhaps because the sovereign’s decree itself was formulated in a rather general form. From the text of the document it followed that the chief prosecutor should be “an officer of sober behavior who constantly monitors order in the Synod.” As can be seen, it was completely unclear from the text whether this officer would interfere in the affairs of the Synod or whether he was supposed to monitor the general order in the proceedings. The chief prosecutors themselves did not understand this.

For this reason, throughout the eighteenth century, they interpreted the text of the royal decree according to their own inclinations and needs. Some interfered in the affairs of the clergy every now and then, while others perceived their position as an honorable pension and were far from everything that was happening in the Synod.

Table: church reform of Peter I

Peter I remained in the history of our country as a cardinal reformer who abruptly turned the course of life in Russia. In this role, only Vladimir Lenin or Alexander II can compare with him. During the 36 years of independent rule of the autocrat, the state not only changed its status from a kingdom to an Empire. All spheres of life in the country have changed. The reforms affected everyone - from the homeless to the nobleman from St. Petersburg under construction.

The Church did not stand aside either. Possessing endless authority among the population, this organization was distinguished by its conservatism and inability to change and interfered with the growing power of Peter. Inertia and adherence to the traditions of priests did not prevent the emperor from making changes in religious circles. First of all, this is, of course, the Orthodox Synod. However, it would be wrong to say that the changes ended there.

The State of the Church on the Eve of Reform

The highest church body under Peter 1 at the beginning of his reign was the patriarchate, which still had great power and independence. The Crown Bearer, of course, did not like this, and on the one hand he wanted to subordinate all the higher clergy directly to himself, and on the other, he was disgusted by the prospect of his own Pope appearing in Moscow. The guardian of the throne of St. Paul did not recognize anyone’s authority over himself at all. Nikon, for example, strived for the same thing under Alexei Mikhailovich.

The young tsar's first step in relations with the Orthodox clergy was a ban on the construction of new monasteries in Siberia. The decree is dated 1699. Immediately after this, the Northern War with Sweden began, which constantly distracted Peter from sorting out his relationship with Orthodoxy.

Creating a Locum Tenens Title

When Patriarch Adrian died in 1700, the tsar appointed a locum tenens to the patriarchal throne. They became the Metropolitan of Ryazan. Adrian’s successor was allowed to engage only in “matters of faith.” That is, to engage in heresy and worship. All other powers of the patriarch were divided between orders. This concerned primarily economic activity on the lands of the Church. The war with Sweden promised to be long, the state needed resources, and the tsar was not going to leave extra funds to the “priests.” As it turned out later, this was a calculated move. Soon the parish bells began to be melted down for new cannons. The highest church body under Peter 1 did not resist.

The locum tenens had no independent power. On all important issues he had to consult with the other bishops, and send all reports directly to the sovereign. For the time being, the reforms were frozen.

At the same time, the importance of the monastic order increased. In particular, he was tasked with taking control of an ancient Russian tradition - begging. Fools and beggars were caught and taken to the order. Those who gave alms were also punished, regardless of rank and position in society. As a rule, such a person received a fine.

Creation of the Synod

Finally, in 1721, the Holy Governing Synod was created. At its core, it became an analogue of the Senate of the Russian Empire, which was responsible for the executive branch, being the highest body of the state, directly subordinate to the emperor.

The Synod in Russia implied such positions as president and vice-president. Although they were soon abolished, such a step perfectly demonstrates Peter I’s habit of using the practice of the Table of Ranks, that is, creating new ranks that have nothing in common with the past. Stefan Yarovsky became the first president. He did not enjoy any authority or power. The position of vice president performed a supervisory function. In other words, he was an auditor who informed the tsar about everything that happened in the department.

Other positions

The position of chief prosecutor also appeared, who regulated the relationship of the new structure with society, and also had the right to vote and lobbied for the interests of the crown.

As in secular ministries, the Synod had its own spiritual fiscals. In their sphere of influence was all spiritual activity in the country. They monitored the implementation of religious norms, etc.

As noted above, the Synod was created as an analogue of the Senate, which means it was in constant contact with it. The link between the two organizations was a special agent who delivered reports and was responsible for communication.

What was the Synod responsible for?

The responsibility of the Synod included both clergy affairs and matters related to the laity. In particular, the highest church body under Peter 1 was supposed to monitor the performance of Christian rituals and eradicate superstitions. It is worth mentioning here about education. The Synod under Peter 1 was the final authority responsible for textbooks in all kinds of educational institutions.

Secular clergy

According to Peter, the white clergy was supposed to become an instrument of the state that would influence the masses and monitor their spiritual condition. In other words, the same clear and regulated class as the nobility and merchants was created, with its own goals and functions.

Throughout its entire history, the Russian clergy was distinguished by its accessibility to the population. This was not a priestly caste. On the contrary, almost anyone could join there. For this reason, there was an overabundance of priests in the country, many of whom stopped serving in the parish and became vagabonds. Such ministers of the Church were called “sacral.” The lack of regulation of this environment, of course, became something out of the ordinary during the time of Peter 1.

A strict charter was also introduced, according to which during the service the priest was only supposed to praise the tsar’s new reforms. The Synod under Peter 1 issued a decree obliging the confessor to inform the authorities if a person admitted in confession to a state crime or blasphemy against the crown. Those who disobeyed were punished by death.

Church education

Numerous audits were carried out to check the education of the clergy. Their result was mass defrocking and reduction of social class. The highest church body under Peter 1 introduced and systematized new standards for obtaining the priesthood. In addition, now each parish could only have a certain number of deacons and no more. In parallel with this, the procedure for leaving one's rank was simplified.

Speaking about church education in the first quarter of the 18th century, we should note the active opening of seminaries in the 20s. New educational institutions appeared in Nizhny Novgorod, Kharkov, Tver, Kazan, Kolomna, Pskov and other cities of the new empire. The program included 8 classes. Boys with primary education were accepted there.

Black clergy

The black clergy also became the target of reforms. In short, the changes in the life of the monasteries boiled down to three goals. Firstly, their number has been steadily decreasing. Secondly, access to ordination became difficult. Thirdly, the remaining monasteries were to receive a practical purpose.

The reason for this attitude was the monarch’s personal hostility towards the monks. This was largely due to childhood impressions in which they remained rebels. In addition, the emperor was far from the lifestyle of a schema-monk. He preferred practical activities to fasting and prayer. Therefore, it is not surprising that he built ships, worked as a carpenter, and did not like monasteries.

Wanting these institutions to bring some benefit to the state, Peter ordered them to be converted into infirmaries, factories, factories, schools, etc. But the life of the monks became much more complicated. In particular, they were forbidden to leave the walls of their native monastery. Absentees were severely punished.

The results of church reform and its future fate

Peter I was a convinced statesman and, according to this conviction, made the clergy a cog in the overall system. Considering himself the only bearer of power in the country, he deprived the patriarchy of any power, and over time completely destroyed this structure.

After the death of the monarch, many excesses of the reforms were canceled, but in general terms the system continued to exist until the revolution of 1917 and the Bolsheviks coming to power. Those, by the way, actively used the image of Peter I in their anti-church propaganda, praising his desire to subordinate Orthodoxy to the state.

Nevrev N.V. Peter I in foreign attire
before his mother, Queen Natalya,
Patriarch Andrian and teacher Zotov.
1903

Since its inception in 1589, the institution of the patriarchate has become the second political center of the Moscow state after secular power. The relationship of the Church to the state before Peter was not precisely defined, although at the church council of 1666-1667. the supremacy of secular power was fundamentally recognized and the right of hierarchs to interfere in secular affairs was denied. The Moscow sovereign was considered the supreme patron of the Church and took an active part in church affairs. But church authorities were also called upon to participate in public administration and influenced it. Rus' did not know the struggle between church and secular authorities, familiar to the West (it did not exist, strictly speaking, even under Patriarch Nikon). The enormous spiritual authority of the Moscow patriarchs did not seek to replace the authority of state power, and if a voice of protest was heard from the Russian hierarch, it was solely from a moral position.

Peter did not grow up under such a strong influence of theological science and not in such a pious environment as his brothers and sisters grew up. From the very first steps of his adult life, he became friends with the “German heretics” and, although he remained an Orthodox man by conviction, he was more free about Church Orthodox rituals than ordinary Moscow people. Peter was neither a scolder of the Church, nor a particularly pious person - in general, “neither cold nor hot.” As expected, he knew the circle of church services, loved to sing in the choir, sing the Apostle at the top of his lungs, ring the bells at Easter, celebrate Victoria with a solemn prayer service and many days of church ringing; at other moments he sincerely called on the name of God and, despite the obscene parodies of the church rank, or, rather, the church hierarchy he did not like, at the sight of church disorder, in his own words, “he had on his conscience the fear that he would not be unresponsive and ungrateful If the Most High neglects the correction of the spiritual rank.”

In the eyes of the Old Testament zealots of piety, he seemed infected with foreign “heresy.” It is safe to say that Peter, from his mother and the conservative patriarch Joachim (d. 1690), more than once faced condemnation for his habits and acquaintance with heretics. Under Patriarch Adrian (1690-1700), a weak and timid man, Peter met with no more sympathy for his innovations. And although Adrian did not clearly prevent Peter from introducing certain innovations, his silence, in essence, was a passive form of opposition. Insignificant in itself, the patriarch became inconvenient for Peter as the center and unifying principle of all protests, as a natural representative of not only church, but also social conservatism. The Patriarch, strong in will and spirit, could have been a powerful opponent of Peter if he had taken the side of the conservative Moscow worldview, which condemned all public life to immobility.

Understanding this danger, Peter, after the death of Adrian in 1700, was in no hurry to elect a new patriarch. Ryazan Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky, a learned Little Russian, was appointed “Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne.” Management of the patriarchal household passed into the hands of specially appointed secular persons. It is unlikely that Peter decided to abolish the patriarchate immediately after the death of Adrian. It would be more accurate to think that Peter then simply did not know what to do with the election of the patriarch. Peter treated the Great Russian clergy with some distrust, because many times he was convinced of their rejection of reforms. Even the best representatives of the old Russian hierarchy, who were able to understand the entire nationality of Peter’s foreign policy and helped him as best they could (Mitrofaniy of Voronezh, Tikhon of Kazan, Job of Novgorod), even they rebelled against Peter’s cultural innovations. For Peter, choosing a patriarch from among the Great Russians meant risking creating a formidable opponent for himself. The Little Russian clergy behaved differently: they themselves were influenced by European culture and science and sympathized with Western innovations. But it was impossible to install a Little Russian as patriarch because during the time of Patriarch Joachim, Little Russian theologians were compromised in the eyes of Moscow society, as people with Latin errors. For this they were even persecuted. The elevation of a Little Russian to the patriarchal throne would therefore cause a wave of protest. In such circumstances, Peter decided to leave church affairs without a patriarch.

The following order of church administration was temporarily established: at the head of the church administration were the locum tenens Stefan Yavorsky and a special institution, the Monastic Prikaz, with secular persons at the head. The Council of Hierarchs was recognized as the supreme authority in religious matters. Peter himself, like previous sovereigns, was the patron of the church and took an active part in its governance. But he was extremely attracted by the experience of the Protestant (Lutheran) church in Germany, based on the primacy of the monarch in spiritual matters. And in the end, shortly before the end of the war with Sweden, Peter decided to carry out the Reformation in the Russian Church. This time too, he expected a healing effect on the confused church affairs from the colleges, intending to establish a special spiritual college - the Synod.

Peter made the Little Russian monk Feofan Prokopovich the domestic, tame Luther of the Russian Reformation. He was a very capable, lively and energetic person, inclined to practical activity and at the same time very educated, having studied theology not only at the Kyiv Academy, but also at the Catholic colleges of Lvov, Krakow and even Rome. The scholastic theology of Catholic schools instilled in him a hostility towards scholasticism and Catholicism. However, Orthodox theology, then poorly and little developed, did not satisfy Theophan. Therefore, from Catholic doctrines he moved on to the study of Protestant theology and, being carried away by it, adopted some Protestant views, although he was an Orthodox monk.

Peter made Theophan bishop of Pskov, and later he became archbishop of Novgorod. A completely secular man in his mind and temperament, Feofan Prokopovich sincerely admired Peter and - God be his judge - enthusiastically praised everything indiscriminately: the personal courage and dedication of the tsar, the work of organizing the fleet, the new capital, colleges, fiscal officials, as well as factories, factories, mint, pharmacies, silk and cloth factories, paper spinning mills, shipyards, decrees on wearing foreign clothing, barbering, smoking, new foreign customs, even masquerades and assemblies. Foreign diplomats noted in the Pskov bishop “immense devotion to the good of the country, even to the detriment of the interests of the Church.” Feofan Prokopovich never tired of reminding in his sermons: “Many believe that not all people are obliged to obey state authority and some are excluded, namely the priesthood and monasticism. But this opinion is a thorn, or, better said, a thorn, a serpent’s sting, a papal spirit, reaching us and touching us in some unknown way. The priesthood is a special class in the state, and not a special state.”

It was to him that Peter instructed him to draw up regulations for the new administration of the Church. The Tsar was in a hurry to the Pskov bishop and kept asking: “Will your patriarch be in time soon?” - “Yes, I’m finishing my cassock!” - Feofan answered in the same tone as the king. “Okay, I have a hat ready for him!” - Peter noted.

On January 25, 1721, Peter published a manifesto on the establishment of the Holy Governing Synod. In the regulations of the Theological College published a little later, Peter was quite frank about the reasons that forced him to prefer synodal government to the patriarchal one: “From the conciliar government, the Fatherland need not be afraid of rebellions and embarrassment, which come from its only spiritual ruler.” Having listed examples of what the lust for power of the clergy led to in Byzantium and other countries, the tsar, through the mouth of Feofan Prokopovich, concluded: “When the people see that the conciliar government has been established by a royal decree and a Senate verdict, they will remain meek and lose hope of the help of the clergy in riots. " Essentially, Peter conceived the Synod as a special spiritual police. Synodal decrees imposed heavy duties on priests that were not characteristic of their rank - they not only had to glorify and extol all reforms, but also help the government in identifying and catching those who were hostile to innovations. The most blatant order was the violation of the secrecy of confession: having heard from the person confessing that he had committed a state crime, his involvement in a rebellion or malicious intent on the life of the sovereign, the confessor was obliged to report such a person to the secular authorities. In addition, the priest was charged with identifying schismatics.

However, Peter was tolerant of the Old Believers. They say that their merchants are honest and diligent, and if so, let them believe what they want. To be martyrs for stupidity - neither they are worthy of this honor, nor will the state benefit. Open persecution of Old Believers ceased. Peter only imposed double government taxes on them and, by decree of 1722, dressed them in gray caftans with a high glued “trump card” of red color. However, calling on the bishops to verbally exhort those who were stuck in schism, the tsar sometimes still sent a company or two of soldiers to help the preachers for greater persuasion.

Among the Old Believers, the news spread more and more widely that far in the east, where the sun rises and “the sky is close to the earth” and where the Rahman-Brahmans live, who know all worldly affairs, about which the angels who are always with them tell them, lies on the sea- Okiyans, on seventy islands, the wonderful country of Belovodye, or the Opon kingdom; and Marko, a monk of the Topozersky monastery, was there and found 170 churches of the “Asir language” and 40 Russian ones, built by the elders who fled from the Solovetsky monastery from the royal massacre. And following the happy Marco, thousands of hunters rushed to the Siberian deserts in search of Belovodye to see with their own eyes all the ancient beauty of the church.

By establishing the Synod, Peter emerged from the difficulty in which he had been for many years. His church-administrative reform preserved an authoritative body of power in the Russian Church, but deprived this power of the political influence that the patriarch could use.

But from a historical perspective, the nationalization of the Church had a detrimental effect on both itself and the state. Seeing in the Church a simple servant of the state, who had lost her moral authority, many Russian people began to openly and secretly leave the bosom of the church and seek satisfaction of their spiritual needs outside of Orthodox teaching. For example, out of 16 graduates of the Irkutsk seminary in 1914, only two expressed a desire to remain in the clergy, while the rest intended to go to higher education. In Krasnoyarsk the situation was even worse: none of its 15 graduates wanted to take the priesthood. A similar situation occurred in the Kostroma seminary. And since the Church has now become part of the state system, criticism of church life or complete denial of the Church, according to the logic of things, ended in criticism and denial of the state order. That is why there were so many seminarians and priests in the Russian revolutionary movement. The most famous of them are N.G. Chernyshevsky, N.A. Dobrolyubov, I.V. Dzhugashvili (Stalin), A.I. Mikoyan, N.I. Podvoisky (one of the leaders of the seizure of the Winter Palace), S.V. Petliura, but the full list is much longer.