Patriarch Nikon of Moscow

Patriarch of Moscow from 1652 to 1666, Nikon revised Russian Orthodox books and rites to align them with contemporary Greek practice. His reforms provoked the Raskol, a lasting schism in Russian Orthodoxy.

Raskol: The schism in Russian Orthodoxy caused by disputes over Nikon’s liturgical reforms. The rupture that made Nikon’s reforms a defining crisis in Russian religious history.
Liturgical reform: The revision of a religious community’s prescribed rites, texts, or forms of worship. Nikon’s program changed worship practices as well as the books that prescribed them.
Alexei Mikhailovich: Tsar of Russia from 1645 to 1676 and the second ruler of the Romanov dynasty. His close alliance with Nikon helped elevate the patriarch and advance reform.
Caesaropapism: A political arrangement in which a ruler exercises substantial authority over religious institutions. Nikon’s claims for patriarchal authority challenged the tsar’s control of church governance.
Old Believers: Russian Orthodox Christians who rejected Nikon’s liturgical reforms and preserved older rites. They resisted Nikon’s changes and maintained the practices his reforms displaced.
Church Slavonic: A liturgical language used by Slavic Orthodox churches, including the Russian church. Nikon’s revisions altered the Church Slavonic service books used in Russia.
Patriarchate of Moscow: The ecclesiastical office and institution governing the Russian Orthodox Church under its patriarch. Nikon’s authority and conflict with the tsar centered on the powers of this office.
Patriarch Joachim of Moscow: Patriarch of Moscow from 1674 to 1690, known for strengthening church opposition to Latin influence. Joachim inherited the post-Nikon settlement and served under a less confrontational relationship with the tsar.
Council of Moscow (1666–1667): A church council that condemned Nikon’s conduct while endorsing his liturgical revisions. It separated approval of the reforms from support for Nikon’s patriarchal authority.
Sign of the cross: A Christian devotional gesture tracing a cross over the body. Changing from two fingers to three became one of the reform’s most visible disputes.

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