Moscow (Russia) -- Description and travel; Moscow (Russia) -- History
he suddenly reappeared with many monks at early matins in the Uspenski
Cathedral, peremptorily ordered the officiating clergy to perform
certain offices. The clergy at once apprised the Tsar, who in turn
ordered his boyards to command Nikon to leave the Cathedral. Nikon
pleaded that he had been instructed by Jonas in a vision to act as he
had done, but the Tsar only repeated the command; he stated then that he
had power to heal the sick, but the Tsar was inflexible and Nikon
retired. At a council in 1666 he was formally deposed, and withdrew to a
distant monastery where he continued his researches; he was pardoned by
the Tsar Theodore in 1681 but died whilst on his journey to meet his
sovereign.
Joachim, the succeeding Patriarch, opposed Nikon's innovations, and held
tenaciously to the customary practice and attempted to stifle schism by
persecuting relentlessly. He forbade Catholics to worship, banished
Jesuits, barely tolerated Calvinists and Lutherans, and burned to death
Kullman the German mystic for proclaiming false doctrines. When he died
in 1690 he besought Peter to drive all heretics and unbelievers from
Russia--it is to him that Peter erected the chapel on the Srietenka. As
in 1682 and earlier, the "old believers" had been cruelly tortured for
not conforming to the innovations of Nikon, more especially the
unfortunate and obstinate Boyarina Morozov and her sister Princess
Urusov, so with the change of the head of the Church the people were
condemned for such acts as they had previously been commended for
performing, and now knew not whom to believe. With the accession of
Peter to sole power, and the enforcement by him of practices foreign to
former habit, the people associated all his innovations with those
purely clerical ones which had recently met with opposition and caused
persecution and suffering. It was impossible to stamp out opposition,
exile but spread the discontent. When Peter quarrelled with the Church,
the clergy were unable to cope with the popular reaction against the
innovations of Nikon and his disciples. Peter was at last induced to
persecute the noncontents, but these, disgusted with his secular
innovations, fled into distant parts of the country and even abroad,
where for long they were politically an element of grave danger to the
state, but, the rule of Nikon was established and the old believers
regarded as Raskolniki, or dissenters.
These, under persecution, and lacking adequate direction again split
into two sections; one, the popovtsi, or those who acknowledge the
priesthood and depend for their clergy upon schismatics from among the
orthodox, who after ordination, find their practice preferable.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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