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The principal religion of Russia for over a millennia was Christianity which came to be dominated by was Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The Russian Russian Orthodox Church is believed to have been founded by the Apostle Andrew, although this is by tradition rather than any real historical records. St. Andrew may have visited Scythia and Greek colonies along the northern coast of the Black Sea. One tradition reports Andrew reaching what was to become Kiev. St. Andrew's Cathedral today is reportedly located where At Andrew planted a cross. Better historical records show the influence of Byzantium and the Eastern Church on Slavic lands by the 9th century. Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius translated parts of the Bible into Old Church Slavonic (863-869). This was an important step in the Christianization of the Slavs. Patriarch Photius or Patriarch Ignatios at Constantinople sent the first Christian bishop to Novgorod (866-67). Christianity had begun to make inroads with the Kievian nobility (mid-10th century). While the Mongols conquered Russia, they did not attempt to destroy the Church. By the time Ivan drove out the Tartars, Russia was thoroughly Orthodox Christian. The fall of Constantinople (1453) made Moscow to claim the role as the center of the Orthodox Church. Religious diversity occurred as a result of Tsarist military campaigns. Western rite Roman Catholics were brought into the Empire with the acquisition of the Western Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania. The conquest of Estonia and Finland brought Protestants. Until this time, Jews were not permitted in Russia. These conquests brought large numbers of Jew in to the Empire. Catherine's success againt the Ottomans in the south brought Muslims into the Empire.
The principal religion of Russia for over a millennia was Christianity which came to be dominated by was Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The Russian Russian Orthodox Church is believed to have been founded by the Apostle Andrew, although this is by tradition rather than any real historical records. St. Andrew may have visited Scythia and Greek colonies along the northern coast of the Black Sea. One tradition reports Andrew reaching what was to become Kiev. St. Andrew's Cathedral today is reportedly located where At Andrew planted a cross. Better historical records show the influence of Byzantium and the Eastern Church on Slavic lands by the 9th century. Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius translated parts of the Bible into Old Church Slavonic (863-869). This was an important step in the Christianization of the Slavs. Patriarch Photius or Patriarch Ignatios at Constantinople sent the first Christian bishop to Novgorod (866-67). Christianity had begun to make inroads with the Kievian nobility (mid-10th century). Greek and Byzantine priests were active. Princess Olga of Kiev was the first ruler of Kievan Rus to convert to Christianity (945/957). Olga's grandson, Vladimir the Great, made Kievan Rus' a Christian state. Prince Vladimir I of Kiev officially adopted Byzantine Rite Christianity (988). The Russian Orthodox Church has come to see this date as the creation of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Church thus traces its apostolic succession through the Patriarch of Constantinople. The Kievan church was a Metropolitanate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. As Kiev began to decline with the Mongol invasions, the Metropolitanate and thus the center of the Russian Church moved to Moscow (1326). While the Mongols conquered Russia, they did not attempt to destroy the Church. By the time Ivan drove out the Tartars, Russia was thoroughly Orthodox Christian. The fall of Constantinople (1453) made Moscow to claim the role as the center of the Orthodox Church. The most important schism in the Russian Orthodox Church was the Old Believers who (старове́ры or старообря́дцы) who separated from the official date-supported Russian Orthodox Church (1866). They objected to church reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon (1652-66). Patriarch Nikon was disturbed by differences he noted between differences with the Greek Orthodox rites and texts.
The Eastern and Western Churches for centuries had been moving apart, but it was Great Schism that finally separated the two great branches of Christianity (11th century). Pope Sergius wrote a confession of faith which included the controversial filioque in the creed (1009). The Church in Constantinople removed the Pope and the Roman Church from the diptychs, the official list of sister churches and bishops. The division between the Churches had reached crisis proportions by mid-century. The major issues were the filioque, the authority of the pope, and varying liturgical practices. The issues had been simmering for some time. The differences reached crisis proportions. The Pope suppressed Eastern (Greek) liturgical practices in southern Italy and Patriarch Michael Cerularius of Constantinople suppressed Latin practices in the East (1052). The Pope dispatched a mediator (1053), but mediation failed and the Pope excommunicated the Patriarch (1054). Most historians date this as the formal split in the Christian Church. Although the Eastern and Western churches were essentially separate Churches before the Great Schism, after 1054 there were in fact as well as practice a Western Catholic and a Eastern Orthodox Church separated by dogma and at times outright hostility.
The most important schism in the Russian Orthodox Church was the Old Believers who (старове́ры or старообря́дцы) who separated from the official date-supported Russian Orthodox Church (1866). They objected to church reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon (1652-66). Patriarch Nikon was disturbed by differences he noted between differences with the Greek Orthodox rites and texts. He unilaterally ordered that the Russian rites be changed to bring them into conformity with the Greek rites. He proceeded rapidly. There was no real consultation with the clergy and he did not call a Church council as one might expect for such a major change. The Old Believers held firm to the liturgical practices of the Russian Orthodox Church before Patriarch Nikon's reforms. The term for the schism is raskol (раскол), means cleaving apart. Meeting resistance, the Orthodox heirarchy supported by the Tsarist Government acted to suppress the Old Believers. The Old Believers vigorously pursued their opposition. Archpriest Avvakum Petrov (c1620-82) assumed leadership of the conservative party within the Old Believers' movement and denounced all ecclesiastical reforms, refusing any compromise even after a Church council was belatedly called. . The Church hierarchy anathematized both the old rites and books as well as the individuals remaining loyal to the old rites--Synod of 1666. This mean that the Old Believers officially were stripped of their civil rights. The Hierarchy ordered the Old Believers arrested. Several including Archpriest Avvakum were executed (1682). The Hierarchy launched a comprehensive program of persecutions (1685). The intensity of the persecution varies. Under Peter the Great (1682–1725)it was fairly mild--double taxation. Other under tsars it was intense, such as Nicholas I (1825–55). In the Tsarist state, religious diversity was often seen as a security threat. Old Believers arrested were tortured and sometimes executed. Some Old Believers fled Russia to escape the persecution. This was the beginning of the establishment of Old Believer communities in Europe. There are important centers in the Ukraine and Romania and eventually around the world, including America and Australia. The Hierarchy never succeeded in eliminating the Old Believers heresy. The Old Believers even remained the dominant force in isolated areas far from Moscow such as the Far North as well as pockets elsewhere (Kursk region, the Urals, Siberia, and Russian Far East). The last Imperial Russian census found that about 25 percent of the Russian Empire adhered to Old Believer branches (1910). With the victory of the Bolsheviks and the atheism campaign, more Old Believers sought refuge abroad. The Moscow Patriarchate revoked the anathemas imposed on the Old Believers (1971).
Religious diversity occurred as a result of Tsarist military campaigns. The Russian ethnic heartland is not diverse weither in etnicity or religion. The Russian Empire was, howver, very fiverse. Western rite Roman Catholics were brought into the Empire with the acquisition of the Western Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania. The conquest of Estonia and Finland brought Protestants. Until this time, Jews were not permitted in Russia. These conquests brought large numbers of Jews into the Empire. Thiswas especially the case of Poland. Catherine's success against the Ottomans in the south and Central Asia brought Muslins into the Empire.
The Russian Revolution brought the Communists to power who promoted atheism (1917). Stalin pursued a ruthless program to suppress both the Orthodox Church and Islam. Under Stalin, the program was pursued with great vigor. The collectivization program and the Ukrainian Famine significantly undermined the highly religious peasantry which had been a bastion of the Orthodox Church and traditions. Stalin pursued the atheism campaign with considerable brutality. The program had considerable success, but did not succeed in totally destroying religion. The campaign was largely suspended during the World War II Great Patriotic War after the German invasion (1941). Stalin positioned the war effort as an effort to sabe Mother Russia and Russian traditions--not Communism. After Stalin's death, the atheism campaign was not suspended, but it was no longer as brutally pursued. A person could still get into real trouble for teaching children about God, mostly people outside the family. And religious devotion was not good for a person's career or even access to higher education.
There has been a revival since the fall of Communism and the dissolution of the Soviet Union (1991). President Putin has revived many Communist practices and policies such as the suppression of a free press, democracy, and basic civil liberties, but the Soviet atheism campaign is not bone of them. This has led to a revival of religion in Russia, at lest with the Russian Orthodox faith. We doubt if Putin is a true believer, but he probably sees Orthodoxy as a pillar of Russian nationalism and his dictatorial state. Basically the same role the Orthodox Church played in the Tsarist era. Today in Russia boys dress up for special occasions which now includes attending church or outings of various sorts.
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