The figure of the Russian Orthodox Church, Stefan Yavorsky, was Metropolitan of Ryazan and locum tenens of the patriarchal throne. He was exalted thanks to Peter I, but he had a number of disagreements with the king, which eventually grew 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 Javor, in Galicia. His parents were not rich noblemen. According to the conditions of the Andrus Peace Treaty of 1667, their land finally passed to Poland. The Yavorsky Orthodox family decided to leave Yavor and move to the left-bank Ukraine, which became part of the Moscow state. The village of Krasilovka near the city of Nizhyn turned out to be their new homeland. Here Stefan Yavorsky (in the world he was called Semyon Ivanovich) continued his education.
In his youth, he independently moved to Kiev, where he entered the Kiev-Mohyla College. She was one of the main educational institutions in southern Russia. Here Stefan studied until 1684. He attracted the attention of the future Metropolitan of Kiev Varlaam Yasinsky. The young man was distinguished not only by curiosity, but also by outstanding natural abilities - his grip on memory and attentiveness. Varlaam helped him go to study abroad.
Studying in Poland
In 1684, Stefan Yavorsky went to the Commonwealth. He studied with the Jesuits of Lviv and Lublin, met with theology in Poznan and Vilna. The Catholics accepted him only after the young student went to Uniate. Later this act was criticized by his opponents and ill-wishers in the Russian Orthodox Church. Meanwhile, many scientists who wanted access to Western universities and libraries became uniates. Among them were, for example, the Orthodox Epiphanius Slavonetsky and Innokenty Gisel.
Study Yavorsky in the Commonwealth ended in 1689. He received a western diploma. For several years in Poland, the theologian studied 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 Jesuit Catholics who instilled in their student a persistent hostility towards the Protestants, against whom he would later speak out in Russia.
Return to Russia
Returning to Kiev, Stefan Yavorsky renounced Catholicism. The local academy took him after a test. Varlaam Yasinsky advised Yavorsky to take monastic rank. Finally, he agreed and became a monk, taking the name of Stephen. At first he was a novice in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. When Varlaam was elected Metropolitan, he helped his protégé become a teacher of the orthodox 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 Jaworski, whose biography was associated with Poland, used Latin teaching methods. His “pets” were future preachers and high-ranking government officials. But Feofan Prokopovich, the future main opponent of Stephen Yavorsky in the Russian Orthodox Church, became the main student. Although the teacher was later accused of spreading Catholic teaching within the walls of the Kiev Academy, these tirades turned out to be baseless. 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 academic studies on books, Stefan Jaworski served in the church. It is known that he held the wedding ceremony of his nephew Ivan Mazepa. Before the war with the Swedes, the clergyman spoke positively about the hetman. In 1697, the theologian became hegumen at St. Nicholas Desert Monastery in the vicinity of Kiev. This was an appointment, which 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.
Unexpected turn
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 Pereyaslavl chair. The messenger fulfilled the commission, but soon an unexpected event occurred that radically changed his life.
In the capital, the boyar and commander Alexei Shein died. He, along with the young Peter I, led the capture of Azov and even became the first Russian generalissimo in history. In Moscow, it was decided that the recent tombstone should be said by the recently arrived Stefan Yavorsky. This person’s education and sermon abilities showed up in the best way with a large number of dignitaries. But most importantly - the tsar noticed the Kiev guest, who was extremely imbued with his eloquence. Peter I recommended that Patriarch Adrian make the ambassador Varlaam the head of a diocese not far from Moscow. Stefan Yavorsky was advised to stay in the capital for a while. Soon he was offered the new rank of Metropolitan of Ryazan and Murom. He brightened up the waiting time at 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 plunged into local church affairs. However, his solitary work in Ryazan was short-lived. Already on October 15, the elderly and sick patriarch Adrian died. Approximate Peter I Alexei Kurbatov advised him to wait with the election of a successor. Instead, the king instituted a new position as locum tenens. In this place, the adviser proposed to put the Archbishop of Kholmogorsk Athanasius. Peter decided that he would not become the locum tenens, but Stefan Yavorsky. The sermons of the Kiev envoy in Moscow led him to the rank of Metropolitan 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 rapid take-off, made possible by a combination of good circumstances and the charisma of a 42-year-old theologian. His figure became a toy in the hands of power. 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 with the patriarch, a person with this status had much less authority. Its capabilities were limited and controlled by the central executive branch. Understanding the nature of the Petrine reforms, one can guess that the appointment of a literally random and alien person for Moscow to the place of head of the church was deliberate and preplanned.
This honor was hardly sought by Stefan Yavorsky. The cohesion through which he passed in his youth, and other features of his views could cause a conflict with the capital's public. The appointee did not want major troubles and understood that he was being placed in a "firing" position. In addition, the theologian missed his native Little Russia, where he had many friends and supporters. But of course he couldn’t refuse the tsar, therefore he humbly accepted his offer.
The fight against heresies
Everyone was unhappy with the changes. Muscovites called Yavorsky Cherkasy and Oblivan. The patriarch of Jerusalem, Dosipheus, wrote to the Russian Tsar that he should not promote the natives of Little Russia upstairs. Peter did not pay the slightest attention to these warnings. However, Dositheus received an apologizing letter, the author of which was Stefan Yavorsky himself. The opal was clear. The patriarch did not consider the citizen of Kiev “completely Orthodox” because of his long-standing cooperation with Catholics and Jesuits. The answer of Dosifey to Stefan was not conciliatory. Only his successor Chrysanthus compromised with the locum tenens.
The first problem that Stefan Yavorsky had to face in a new capacity was the issue of the Old Believers. At this time, schismatics distributed leaflets throughout Moscow, in which the capital of Russia was called Babylon, and Peter the antichrist. The organizer of this action was a prominent book writer Grigory Talitsky. Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky (the Ryazan department remained in his charge) tried to convince the culprit of the unrest. This debate led to the fact that he even published his own book on the signs of the coming of Antichrist. The work exposed the mistakes of the schismatics and their manipulation of the opinions of believers.
Opponents of Stefan Yavorsky
In addition to Old Believer and heretical affairs, 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 balances that markedly limited the locum tenens. Firstly, it was the Consecrated Cathedral - a collection of bishops. Many of them were not Yavorsky's henchmen, and some were 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 previous powers of the patriarchs.
Secondly, Peter I strengthened the influence of the Monastic Order, at the head of which he placed his loyal boyar Ivan Musin-Pushkin. This man was positioned as an assistant and comrade of the locum tenens, but in some situations, when the king considered it necessary, he became the direct chief.
Thirdly, in 1711, the former Boyar Duma was finally dissolved, and the Government Senate arose in its place . His decrees for the Church were equated with royal ones. It was the Senate that received the privilege of determining whether the candidacy proposed by the locum tenens suited the place of the bishop. Peter, who was increasingly drawn into the foreign policy and construction of St. Petersburg, delegated the authority to control the church to the state machine and now intervened only as a last resort.
The case of the Lutheran Tveritinov
In 1714 there was a scandal that widened the gap even further, on both sides of which stood statesmen and Stefan Yavorsky. Photographs did not exist then, but even without them, modern historians were able to restore the appearance of the German settlement, which especially grew under Peter I. Foreign merchants, craftsmen and guests mainly from Germany lived in it. All of them were Lutherans or Protestants. This Western teaching began to spread among the Orthodox inhabitants of Moscow.
A particularly active propagandist of Lutheranism was the freethinking doctor Tveritinov. Stefan Jaworski, whose repentance before the church happened many years ago, remembered the years spent next to Catholics and Jesuits. They instilled a dislike for Protestants in the locum tenens. Metropolitan Ryazan began the persecution of Lutherans. Tveritinov fled to St. Petersburg, where he found patrons and defenders in the Senate among the ill-wishers of Yavorsky. A decree was issued according to which the locum tenens had to forgive the alleged heretics. The head of the church, who usually compromised with the state, this time did not want to give in. He applied 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 express his criticism of Protestantism and views on Orthodoxy in a separate essay. So, he soon wrote his most famous book, Stone of Faith. Stefan Yavorsky in this work conducted the usual sermon on the importance of preserving the former conservative foundations of the Orthodox Church. However, he used the rhetoric that was then common among Catholics. The book was filled with rejection of the reformation, which then triumphed in Germany. These ideas were propagandized by the Protestants of the German settlement.
Conflict with the king
The story of the Lutheran Tveritinov became an unpleasant bell, signaling the attitude of the church and the state, holding opposite positions regarding the Protestants. However, the conflict between them was much deeper and only expanded over time. He was aggravated when the work “Stone of Faith” was published. Stefan Yavorsky with the help of this book tried to defend his conservative position. Authorities have banned its publication.
Meanwhile, Peter transferred the country's capital to St. Petersburg. Gradually, all the officials moved there. Locum Tenens and Metropolitan of Ryazan Stefan Yavorsky remained in Moscow. In 1718, the king ordered him to go to St. Petersburg and start working in the new capital. This caused Stephen's discontent. The king sharply answered his objections and did not compromise. Then he expressed the idea of the need to create a Spiritual College.
The project for its discovery was entrusted to develop Feofan Prokopovich - a longtime student of Stefan Yavorsky. The Locum Tenens did not agree with his proletarian ideas. In the same 1718, Peter initiated the appointment of Theophanes as the Pskov bishop. He first received real powers. Stefan Yavorsky tried to oppose him. The repentance and fraud of the locum tenens became the subject of talk and rumor spreading in both capitals. Many influential officials were opposed to him, having made a career under Peter and were supporters of a course towards subordinating the church to the state. Therefore, they tried to tarnish the reputation of Metropolitan Ryazan with a variety of methods, including recalling his connections with Catholics while studying in Poland.
The 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 policies and, in the end, fled to Austria. He was returned to his homeland. In May 1718, Peter ordered Stephen Yavorsky to come to St. Petersburg to represent the church in the trial of the rebel prince.
There were rumors that the locum tenens sympathized with Alexei and even maintained contact with him. However, there is no documentary evidence of this. On the other hand, it is well known that the prince did not like the new church policy of his father, and he had many supporters among the conservative Moscow clergy. At the trial, Metropolitan Ryazan tried to protect these clergy. Many of them, along with the prince, were accused of treason and executed. Stefan Yavorsky could not influence Peter's decision. 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 bill on the establishment of the Theological Collegium was being worked on. As a result, it became known as the Most 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 in February the institution began its permanent work. The patriarchate was officially abolished and left in the past.
Formally, Peter put at the head of the Synod Stephen Jaworski. 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 papers issued by this body. In the service of the Russian state, Stefan Yavorsky saw himself in a completely different capacity. Peter, on the other hand, held him in a nominal position only to demonstrate the formal continuity of the institute of patriarchate, locum tenens, and the Synod.
In the higher circles, denunciations continued, in which Stefan Yavorsky made a reservation. Fraud during the construction of the Nezhinsky monastery and other unscrupulous frauds were attributed to the Metropolitan of Ryazan with evil languages. He began to live in a state of ongoing stress, which significantly affected his well-being. Stefan Yavorsky died on December 8, 1722 in Moscow. He became the first and last many years locum tenens of the Patriarchal throne in Russian history. After his death, the two-century synodal period began, when the state made the church a part of its bureaucratic machine.
The fate of the "Stone of Faith"
Interestingly, the book “Stone of Faith” (the main writer's work of the locum tenens) was published in 1728, when he and Peter were already in the grave. A work criticizing Protestantism was an extraordinary success. His first print run was quickly sold out. Later, the book was reprinted several times. When during the reign of Anna Ioannovna there were many German favorites of Lutheran religion in power, the “Stone of Faith” was again banned.
The work not only criticized Protestantism, but, more importantly, it became the best at that time systematic presentation of Orthodox dogma. Stefan Jaworski emphasized those places in which it differed from Lutheranism. The treatise was dedicated to the attitude to relics, icons, the sacrament of the Eucharist, sacred tradition, attitude to 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 eighteenth century. .