The Effect Of The Russian Orthodox Religion — страница 2

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for another conflict that was to seriously undermine the power of the church. The third Rome theory was formulated by the monk Philotheus in the fifteenth century. He asserted that Russia was the heir and protector of the only true faith. Rome and Constantinople had both fallen and Moscow was the third and final seat of Orthodoxy. This theory legitimized the Russian Orthodoxy’s power and affirmed that she was no longer dependent on Constantinople. A church schism occurred in the seventeenth century due to changes in ritual implemented by the Patriarch Nikon. His attempts to rectify inconsistencies in the rituals of the Greeks and the Russians were merely to establish greater solidarity and continuity between the two faiths. Russia was trying to help the Greeks who were living

under Turkish rule since 1439. Russia had a sense of manifest destiny and she felt that she had been chosen to defend the Eastern Orthodox peoples. The belief that ritual must be sacrosanct caused the alteration of ritual to be considered heretical. Those who refused to change their rhythms of worship were called Old Believers and they were executed and silenced by the authorities. The Old Believers insisted on following the old forms because they feared committing heresy. The way they saw the situation was that Rome had fallen because of heresy. Moscow was the last seat of Orthodoxy and if Russia fell from the grace of God, it would mean the end of the world. The basic issue in the schism was the relationship between the Russian and Orthodox churches. Some felt that since Russia

had adopted Orthodoxy from Byzantium she should remain a ?junior partner’. Others felt that it was Russia’s destiny to be a leader and to free her Eastern brethren. The Orthodox relegion has been essential to the people to bring them a sense of hope and destiny and a glimpse of heaven on earth. The choice of Orthodoxy was as influential as the Mongul Yoke on the formation of the Russian character. Orthodoxy brought the people a lot of joy, created a sense of community, intensified the countries isolation, created beautiful art, started wars, complicated politics, and best of all, reminded the people to love each other. 375