Patriarch Job and his role in the events of the Time of Troubles

When mentioning the Troubles, we usually talk about persons who held the first secular posts in the state. I remember Boris and Fyodor Godunov, impostors starting with False Dmitry the First, Pyotr Basmanov and others.

A significant role in the history of that time was played by a man who was also a representative of the elite of power - but not secular, but spiritual.

Patriarch Job was one of those who found the strength to resist the impostor and the horde of interventionists he attracted to Rus'. Saint Job could have limited himself to passive protest, or even even recognized the illegal ruler, in order to preserve his own life and privileges, but he did not do this.

Growing Up Years

The future Saint Job, the first Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', was born in the town of Staritsa in 1525. His parents were townspeople and had no family ties with representatives of noble boyar families. Little Ivan (this name was given to the child at baptism) was sent to the monastery to learn to read and write.

As a student he showed himself to be attentive, talented, and God-fearing. After completing the training period, he returned to the world to his parents. They decided to marry their son because the time had come. Before marriage, the future patriarch asked permission to visit his spiritual mentor to receive a blessing for the family union. It turned out that he remained in the monastery, taking monastic vows and becoming a monk. In monasticism he received the name “Job”.

Saint Job and the Russian Church during his Patriarchate

By God's providence, at the origins of the Russian Patriarchate, a man of exceptional spiritual and mental gifts was placed, remarkable and bright, despite his very simple origins: St. Job (in the world - John) was from the townspeople of the city of Staritsa. He was born in the middle of the 16th century, during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. From a young age he was associated with the Staritsky Assumption Monastery, where he studied at the monastery school. His spiritual mentor was Archimandrite German of the Staritsa Monastery. Here the future Patriarch became a novice, and then a monk.

Job was a man of extraordinary ability. He was well-read, read and sang beautifully, had a phenomenal memory and a pleasant appearance - he was tall and had regular facial features. His memory amazed his contemporaries. He knew the Gospel, the Psalter and the Apostle by heart, and remembered many prayers, including all the texts of the liturgies of John Chrysostom and Basil the Great, which he performed without the Service Book, by heart. He also recited even the long prayers at Pentecost Vespers from memory. Moreover, Job was very pious. He never scolded or raised his voice, he was distinguished by meekness and humility, which did not leave him even after he became the Primate of the Russian Church. Job never drank wine, which especially amazed his contemporaries. Every day, unless he was sick, Job celebrated the liturgy. All this characterizes Job as an ascetic and ascetic, a man of holy life. Therefore, it is not surprising that Job very quickly attracted the attention of Ivan the Terrible, who appointed him rector of the Staritsky Monastery instead of the deceased Herman.

In 1569, Job was first mentioned as the archimandrite of the Staritsky Assumption Monastery, and in 1571 he was already transferred to Moscow, to the Simonov Monastery, where he also became an archimandrite. In 1575 he was transferred as abbot to the Novospassky Monastery. Job's outstanding abilities and rare spiritual virtues contributed to his rapid rise. In 1581 he became Bishop of Kolomna, and in 1586 - Archbishop of Rostov. Since 1587, Job has been Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus'. And finally, in 1589 he became the first Patriarch in the history of Russia. Job was God's true chosen one, and it was this remarkable personality who was destined to open a new stage in the history of the Russian Church. At the same time, his Patriarchate came during the terrible trials of the Time of Troubles.

Russian Church in the Patriarchate of St. Job is noticeably strengthening, which is reflected in its diocesan structure. In addition to the already mentioned four metropolises, 5 archdioceses and 2 bishops that existed in the Russian Church before the establishment of the Patriarchate, three new sees appeared under Job, which was a very rare phenomenon for Rus' (sometimes for several centuries not a single new diocese was established in the Russian Church) . In 1589 the Pskov bishopric was formed, in 1591 - the bishopric of Korel and Oresh (it existed only until 1611, when the Izhora and Karelian lands were occupied by the Swedes, and the department ceased to exist), in 1602 the Astrakhan bishopric was created archdiocese.

Like St. Macarius St. Job strengthened the Russian Church with new canonizations of saints. Under Job, St. Basil the Blessed (1588) and Rev. Joseph Volotsky (1591), previously venerated only locally since 1578. Canonization of St. Guria and Herman of Kazan and Barsanuphius of Tver Patriarch Job reinforced his efforts to Christianize Kazan and the Volga region, to which he paid a lot of attention. In 1591, St. was glorified locally. Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow, whose relics were transferred from the Tver Otroch Monastery to Solovki. In 1597, Rev. was canonized. Anthony the Roman, and in 1600 - Rev. Korniliy Komelsky. Locally glorified under St. Job St. noble princes Daniil of Moscow and Roman Uglitsky.

Missionary activity at St. Jobe actively proceeded not only in the Volga region, but also in the North-West, in Karelia, where a missionary diocese was created specifically for this purpose, as well as in Siberia, which was recently annexed to the Russian state.

Saint Job was close to Godunov, who patronized him in every possible way. Job, in turn, supported Godunov, which in itself casts doubt on the textbook image of a villain with which historians, since the time of Karamzin, have become accustomed to assigning Godunov, which is hardly fair. Godunov’s activities contained much that was useful for the Russian state and the Church, which resonated with the holy Patriarch. Job’s attention to Russian state ideology is also felt in his attitude to the idea of ​​Moscow - III Rome, which was manifested in the “Tale of Tsar Theodore Ioannovich” and “Testament” written by him. St. Job also took a noticeable part in the political life of Russia. Tsar Theodore extremely respected his opinion. The English traveler Fletcher described the meeting of the Duma under Tsar Theodore Ioannovich this way: on Fridays, the sovereign gathered the Patriarch with metropolitans, bishops, noble boyars and Duma clerks. After one of the Duma clerks presented any issue requiring discussion, the Tsar first of all listened to the opinion of the Patriarch, and only then did the boyars begin the discussion.

But the time of Job's priesthood was far from cloudless, even during the reign of the meek Tsar Theodore. The murder of St. turned into a shock for the entire Russian state. Tsarevich Dimitri, committed in Uglich on May 15, 1591. Popular rumor accused the tsar's brother-in-law Boris Godunov of this. However, although this opinion became almost universal, there was no evidence of Boris’s guilt either at that time or now. The accusations brought against Patriarch Job of complicity with Godunov look even more unfounded.

After the death of Tsarevich Dimitri, Tsar Theodore Ioannovich appointed a commission to investigate the circumstances of Dimitri's death and the subsequent rebellion in Uglich. It was headed by Prince Vasily Shuisky, the future tsar. The commission concluded that young Dimitri himself ran into a knife or pile while playing in the yard. However, the residents of Uglich, incited by Dimitri’s relatives on his mother’s side - Queen Maria Nagaya - started a real rebellion and, without any trial, killed those who were allegedly responsible for the death of the prince. Naturally, the riot had to be pacified. Patriarch Job signed the decision of the Shuisky investigative commission with extreme caution: “Before the Sovereign Tsar Mikhail and Gregory Nagikh and the Uglitsky townspeople, treason is obvious. Tsarevich Dimitri suffered God’s judgment.” That is, with this opinion of Patriarch Job, the Church, in essence, dissociated itself from making any judgment on this very dark matter.

As an example of a more objective view of the problem of the Uglich case, one can cite the point of view of academician S.F. Platonov. Based on sources, he noted that the legend of the murder of Tsarevich Dmitry was recorded in writing no earlier than the canonization and transfer of the relics of St. Tsarevich Dimitri, that is, after the accession of Shuisky. Having become king after the murder of False Dmitry I, Vasily Shuisky changed his previous opinion about the reasons for the death of the prince and began to talk about Godunov’s involvement in the murder in Uglich. All this happened already in 1606, i.e. 15 years after the Uglich tragedy occurred.

In 1591, Boris Godunov could not yet be considered the only and indisputable contender for the royal throne. He had rivals, first of all, the Romanovs, the most influential of the boyars and close relatives of Tsar Theodore on his mother’s side. Feodor Nikitich Romanov (future Patriarch Filaret), for example, was Tsar Theodore's cousin, while Boris was only a brother-in-law. The removal of Demetrius as a possible heir did not yet solve the problem of succession to the throne in favor of Godunov. All the most noble boyars who could hope to seize the throne could be equally interested in the death of Tsarevich Dimitri. The Moscow reigning house was one of the branches of the Rurikovichs, so the related representatives of any princely family of Rurik and even Gediminovo origin, as well as the Romanovs, could well lay claim to the throne. In addition, Theodore was still quite healthy in 1591, and there was no thought about his imminent death. He could have children: this is how it was, in essence, - soon Princess Theodosia was born, who died, however, in infancy. So the murder of Dmitry in itself did not solve anything.

At the same time, if the murder of the prince did not open the path to the throne for the contenders, then it could cast a shadow on Godunov. So the real killers of the prince could well have been Godunov’s opponents, who wanted to “kill two birds with one stone”: to clear the path to the throne and at the same time compromise Boris. And, finally, if we follow the initial premise of the investigation of any crime - the need to determine who benefits from it - then one more point cannot be discounted. The murder of Dmitry follows the establishment of the Russian Patriarchate and practically coincides with the beginning of the preparation of the Union of Brest in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. It is quite possible to assume that the events of the Time of Troubles are a continuation of the Uniate enterprise of Rome and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Since the intrigue with False Dmitry became the main point of the entire turmoil of 1605-1612 started by the Poles and Jesuits, it can be assumed that the murder could have been committed by agents of Catholic Poland. There were more than enough of them in Russia, including among the boyars.

The negative characterization of Boris, which has become familiar to us, and which is firmly established in the works of many prominent historians, is in fact very controversial. On the contrary, Academician Platonov paints Godunov in different colors: a talented statesman and political figure, a man of the broadest horizons and high moral qualities. Platonov believed that the unrest and the case of the Pretender were organized by the high-born boyars: the boyars so hated Godunov as an upstart and the thief of power, which they themselves had coveted, that they were ready to go on an adventure with the figurehead of the false prince, just to overthrow Boris, whom they hated. The very fact of the canonization of Patriarch Job, who did not believe that the murder of Demetrius was organized by Godunov, in itself can serve as a basis for revising the traditional version of the Uglich tragedy. At the same time, the question of Godunov’s participation or non-participation in the murder of St. Demetrius has nothing to do with the very fact of the canonization of the prince and in no way diminishes his holiness. Whoever and for whatever reasons killed St. Demetrius, he died a passion-bearer, having suffered innocently to death.

In January 1598, Tsar Theodore Ioannovich died. Patriarch Job wrote a biography of this righteous king. In fact, it's almost like living. Job wrote about Theodore: “Although he held the scepter of the glorious Russian kingdom in his hands, he always directed his mind towards God, and accompanied his heartfelt faith with good deeds. He depressed the body with church songs, daily rules, all-night vigils, abstinence and fasting, and anointed the soul with the teachings of divine scriptures, decorating it with good morals. He was very poor-loving, having mercy on widows and orphans, and especially revered the priestly and monastic ranks, always satisfying them with extensive alms. And his generous alms always flowed to distant lands like an endless river.”

After the death of Theodore, the question arose about electing a new king. Theodore himself bequeathed the crown to his wife Irina, whom he entrusted to the care of Patriarch Job, Godunov and Theodore Nikitich Romanov. However, Queen Irina, mourning her husband and being, like the late tsar, of an equally deeply religious nature, took monastic vows with the name of Alexandra in the Novodevichy Convent.

After this, Godunov was elected to the throne with the active support of Patriarch Job. Many subsequently accused Job of allegedly paying Boris for his Patriarchate by actively supporting his candidacy for the throne. Job organized the famous religious procession from Moscow to the Novodevichy Convent, where Boris took refuge with his sister, refusing the Monomakh crown. Boris several times declared his refusal to accept royal dignity, which should be considered not as hypocrisy, but as a desire to force the people to give him as much support as possible, which later happened. If Godunov’s refusal to take the throne was just a performance that did not have national recognition behind it, it would have been instantly used by the boyars to overthrow Boris and seize power. But at the Zemsky Sobor, which elected Boris to the throne, even the high-born boyars, who were hostile to Godunov, spoke out for him. This means that this was the mood of the majority of the Russian people, which it was difficult for Boris’s enemies to go against. It is obvious that Patriarch Job, like most people who care about the good of the Fatherland, considered Godunov the most suitable candidate for the Russian throne, which is entirely natural: Boris had a gigantic experience of government activity behind him, a sincere desire to create a great power out of Russia and the brilliant makings of a colossal politician scale. Job did not see another candidate for sovereignty more suitable than Boris.

Both Boris and Job understood perfectly well that the boyars were hostile to Godunov, so Boris demanded, when giving his consent to the kingdom, to draw up a special “laid letter” and an oath of allegiance to the tsar and the new dynasty, the text of which said: “if whoever does not want to serve and begins to spread rumors among people, whether he be of the holy rank, or from the boyars, or from any other rank, according to the rules of the holy fathers and according to the conciliar code of our humility, let him be deposed from his rank and excommunicated from the Church and from the communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ."

In 1598 Boris became king. The first years of his reign passed calmly, but then unfavorable climatic conditions caused shortages and famine. The impoverished people began to grumble and rebel, which the conspiratorial boyars did not fail to take advantage of for anti-Godunov propaganda. Then Godunov began to persecute his opponents. Denunciations, executions and disgraces began. Many turning to Job said: “Why, Holy Father, have you seen this happening, but remain silent?” Then the Patriarch, according to a contemporary, “day and night with incessant tears in prayer stood in the church and in his cell; constantly sang prayers in the cathedral, with crying and great sobbing; “The people also prayed with tears that they would cease from every evil deed, especially from arguments and snitching, and that they would cease their incessant tears and incomprehensible crying.”

And yet Job was hardly mistaken when he supported Godunov. Godunov’s cruelties were of a different nature than that of Ivan the Terrible: not a manic whim, but a severe necessity for the sake of curbing sedition. But the most dramatic thing was that Russian society at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries was spiritually sick; the people, morally wild during the Oprichnina years, embittered and at the same time withdrawn into ritual piety, had largely lost their true understanding of Orthodox spirituality. Troubles were inevitable: the Russian people themselves were an explosive mass, to which a fuse was only brought from the outside, and the fire of turmoil began to blaze. And even the personality of the monarch could very little influence the course of events. Theodore, the righteous king, could not do anything; he only consciously withdrew from matters that he was no longer able to resolve. Godunov tried to carry out reforms and strengthen the state, but in doing so he only accelerated the tragic outcome. However, if the legitimate Tsar Rurikovich still kept the Russian people from apostasy by the fact of his existence, then Godunov, elected by the people, on the contrary, without bringing the expected satisfaction, the elective nature of his reign only irritated him even more. The Russian people ceased to be the New Israel and fell away from Christ. The boyars threw themselves into the maelstrom of intrigues and conspiracies, mired in ambitious thoughts and a thirst for enrichment. Ordinary people, exhausted by food shortages and hunger, were ready to do anything to satisfy the most basic needs. National and state consciousness was disintegrating en masse. So it was not in vain that Job constantly prayed and cried, anticipating what a catastrophe was coming to Rus'.

And finally, when the ground for unrest was already quite ready, in 1603 an impostor appeared in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth who called himself the miraculously saved Tsarevich Dmitry. False Dmitry I, as historians later began to call him, was supported in Catholic Poland and Rome, but what was worse was that, first secretly and then openly, many boyars and nobles who were dissatisfied with Boris took his side. An unprecedented turmoil began. In April 1604, the impostor secretly converted to Roman Catholicism through confirmation. In his letter to Pope Clement VIII, False Dmitry promised to profess the Roman Catholic faith and instill it in the Russian people. Thus, the cause of unrest took a religious turn, and support for the impostor by any of the Russians became a betrayal not only of the Fatherland, but also of Orthodoxy.

Events developed rapidly. In August 1604, the impostor set out on a campaign against the Moscow state. Already in October 1604, his motley army invaded Russia. Although the army of Tsar Boris was more numerous and better armed, it actually did not resist, since the troops were led by traitor boyars who hated Godunov. The troops of False Dmitry, which included many Poles and other foreign mercenaries, were constantly replenished with Cossacks. The common people believed the boyars who betrayed Godunov and greeted the impostor as the real Demetrius - the “natural king.” As soon as the first Russian cities surrendered to False Dmitry at the beginning of 1605, the new Pope Paul V sent the impostor a congratulatory message in which he called him “the king of all Russia, Muscovy, Novgorod, Kazan, etc.”

At the same time, letters were sent from Moscow to Russian cities and towns, saying that the “prince” who had appeared was in fact an impostor. Patriarch Job came out especially ardently in support of Godunov, who understood better than others how disastrous the consequences of the impending turmoil would be for Russia. Job sent messages to the dioceses in which he demanded that the bishops explain to the people that the invasion of the impostor threatened Orthodoxy and was fraught with the onset of Catholicism. In letters and speeches from the pulpit, Job called the impostor the fugitive monk Grigory Otrepyev. However, despite the speeches of Patriarch Job and the efforts of Godunov, it was no longer possible to calm the unrest. The hatred of the boyars for Tsar Boris and complete confusion among the people led to the fact that support for False Dmitry was almost universally provided. He triumphantly marched across Russia as a natural sovereign, whom the people, tired of the shortages and other disasters of Godunov’s time, greeted with undisguised joy. True, this legitimate background very soon gave way to a different mood - the darkest sides and instincts awoke among the people, the desire to “go for a walk” and “steal”, taking advantage of the turmoil.

In such a dramatic situation, Tsar Boris Feodorovich Godunov died on April 13, 1605. His death was sudden and, as some historians believe, violent: perhaps he was poisoned by the boyars. Godunov's son Theodore became sovereign. But the young king, almost a child, although gifted and educated, could not do anything in the conditions of complete collapse of the state. They initially swore allegiance to the younger Godunov, but already at the beginning of May the boyars completely betrayed him. Everything was finally decided in favor of False Dmitry. Moscow rebelled, the impostor was recognized as the legitimate king, and Theodore was declared deposed. The Godunov family was put under arrest. Then the widow of Tsar Boris, Tsarina Maria Grigorievna, and her son, Tsar Feodor Borisovich, were brutally killed. Princess Ksenia Borisovna was left alive: the impostor, mocking the defeated dynasty, made her his concubine. Later, Ksenia became a nun.

No less tragic was the fate of Saint Job. When on June 10, 1605, Muscovites received False Dmitry’s response to their message, in which they recognized the impostor as tsar, Job tried to reason with his dispersed flock from the pulpit of the Assumption Cathedral. But the people did not heed the voice of their Patriarch. Then Job put down his panagia and turned with a fiery prayer to the Mother of God in front of Her Vladimir Icon. In his prayer, the Patriarch said that he had served the Most Holy Lady for 19 years, and now, for the sins of the people, the true Orthodox faith is being attacked by heresy. Job asked the Mother of God not to leave the dying Russian people in her care. But the crowd went wild. Job was dragged out of the cathedral, beaten and dishonored, then brought to the Place of Execution, where he was publicly reviled. The Patriarchal courtyard was plundered. The High Hierarch was stripped of his Patriarchal robes and sent into exile in a simple cassock. At the request of Job himself, the place of his exile was designated his native Staritsky Assumption Monastery, where the archimandrite at that time was Dionysius (Zobninovsky), the future rector of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, a hero of the subsequent years of unrest, who was later canonized as a saint of the Russian Church. Archimandrite Dionysius kept the elder Patriarch in the best conditions and was a great consolation to the saint. Job in these sorrowful days.

On June 20, 1605, False Dmitry entered Moscow with general jubilation. The Ryazan Archbishop, the Greek Ignatius, even before False Dmitry entered the capital, went to Tula, swore allegiance to the impostor himself and swore in others. For this, the impostor honored him with the rank of Patriarch. Just 4 days after entering Moscow, the new tsar ordered the council of bishops to elect Ignatius as Primate of the Russian Church. There is every reason to believe that Ignatius, who once studied in Rome, had long been a secret Uniate. He was an outspoken careerist and adventurer, an absolutely unprincipled person. Ignatius, however, tried to obtain a blessing for the Patriarchate from the deposed Job, to whom he traveled to Staritsa twice specifically for this purpose. But Job did not give a blessing to the impostor’s henchman, saying on this occasion: “The ataman is for the gang, and the shepherd is for the sheep.”

Among the Russian bishops, the example of Job, who did not want to consider the impostor the legitimate king even under the threat of deprivation of life, was followed only by Astrakhan Archbishop Theodosius, who also refused to recognize False Dmitry as sovereign. Brought by the thief's henchmen to Moscow, he, being brought before the Tsar, denounced him to his face as an impostor. Surprisingly, False Dmitry did not order his execution, but, declaring him crazy, sent him into exile.

Soon after his installation, Ignatius sent out a district message, with which he announced that “the native Tsar Dimitri Ioannovich” had been elevated to the throne. At the same time, Ignatius began negotiations with Rome about union. Already in December 1605, Cardinal Borghese informed the papal nuncio in Poland, Rangoni, about Ignatius’s readiness to introduce a union in Russia. To promote Catholicism, many Jesuits came to False Dmitry, to whom he gave the Godunovs' house in the Kremlin, where they performed their services to the sound of an organ.

False Dmitry I, who flooded Moscow with foreigners and openly flouted Orthodox traditions, soon aroused general hostility among the people. The boyars had even less reason to tolerate him than in the case of the Godunovs - none of the Moscow nobility, of course, believed in the story of the miraculous salvation of the son of Ivan the Terrible. The boyars needed False Dmitry only to get rid of Godunov. But the impostor suddenly began to demonstrate greater independence. This was not included in the calculations of the boyars. On May 17, 1606, as a result of a conspiracy led by Shuisky, a coup occurred, which was greatly facilitated by popular indignation at the dominance of foreigners and the impious behavior of the tsar. False Dmitry I was killed. Already on May 18, the day after the murder of the impostor, Ignatius was removed from the Patriarchate and imprisoned in the Miracle Monastery of the Moscow Kremlin. On May 19, 1606, the head of the conspiratorial boyars, Prince Vasily Ivanovich Shuisky, became the new tsar.

Shuisky immediately after his accession to the throne sent to Saint Job in Staritsa with a proposal to once again lead the Russian Church, but the elderly Patriarch refused to return to the pulpit, citing weakness and blindness. Vasily Shuisky's crowning ceremony took place on May 25. The sovereign was crowned by the first bishop in honor after the Patriarch, Metropolitan Isidore of Novgorod.

Soon, at the end of June 1606, a new Patriarch was elected. He became the Kazan Metropolitan Ermogen, the future martyr. Patriarch Job blessed him to be his successor, and on July 3, 1606, the enthronement of the new Primate of the Russian Church took place.

At the beginning of 1607, in order to stop the ferment among the people that did not cease with the death of the first impostor, Patriarch Hermogenes and the Consecrated Council decided to call Saint Job from the Staritsa and carry out nationwide repentance in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. It took place on February 20, 1607 in the presence of two holy Patriarchs - Job and Hermogenes. Many people gathered in the cathedral, where the completely blind and weak Job arrived from the Staritsky Assumption Monastery, dressed in a simple monastic robe. Representatives of the people submitted a petition into Job's hands, which enumerated their numerous guilts: perjury against Boris and Theodore Godunov, recognition of the impostor and Job's deposition from the Patriarchate, etc. Muscovites asked Job for forgiveness for themselves and for all Russian people. After reading the petition, Job and Hermogen ordered a letter of permission to be read from the pulpit to the people, in which the guilt of all those who had deviated into the turmoil was forgiven and resolved. The people were urged not to violate the kiss of the cross in the future, but to serve the legitimate Tsar Vasily. The certificate was greeted with tears of emotion.

But, alas, soon everything was forgotten again. Moreover, the rite of repentance, as well as the very election of Shuisky to the throne, were actions in which almost exclusively Muscovites took part. All this had little effect on the mood of residents of other Russian cities, where fermentation continued. Calm never came, and the turmoil in Rus' continued.

St. Job died in Staritsa on June 19, 1607 and was buried there. Later, on the initiative of Metropolitan Nikon of Novgorod, the future Patriarch, Job’s relics were discovered in March 1652 and transferred to the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, where they remain hidden to this day. Patriarch Joseph, under whom this event took place, asked to be buried at the feet of Patriarch Job, which was done literally a few days after the ceremony of reburial of the remains of the first Russian Patriarch - Joseph died on Holy Week of the same 1652.

The veneration of Saint Job as a local Moscow saint has been noted since the middle of the 17th century. Church-wide glorification of St. Job took place at the Council of Bishops in October 1989, during the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Patriarchate in Rus'.

Career

If the concept of “career growth” is applicable to clergy, then we can say that Job quickly walked up the steps of the career ladder, without having any secret claims to occupy important positions. He simply carried out his duties honestly and zealously.

One day Ivan the Terrible arrived at the monastery. His visit was probably not an accident: Staritsa was one of the centers of the oprichnina established by Ivan the Terrible. For the biography of the future saint, this event was of exceptional importance: the stern king honored the diligent young monk with his attention. The sovereign liked him for his honesty, conscientiousness in the performance of his duties, and piety. Soon after the royal visit, Job was appointed abbot of the Staritsky monastery.

After some time, Job becomes an archimandrite. The year 1571 became another important milestone in the biography of the saint: he was invited to Moscow, offering to take the post of abbot of the Simonov Monastery. Job agreed.

Job later became Bishop of Kolomna, and then Archbishop of Rostov.

Shortly before the onset of the Time of Troubles, which was difficult for Russia, the future patriarch became the closest ally of Boris Godunov. Finally, he was elected metropolitan by the council of bishops.

In 1589 he became the 1st Russian Patriarch.

The main activities of Patriarch Job and their results

One of the areas of activity was the strengthening of the Russian Orthodox Church.

As Patriarch, Job (1598-1605) initiated many reforms of the church with the aim of strengthening its role in the state, as well as strengthening its independence from the Byzantine church. It was Job who was elected the first Patriarch of Russia.

The content of Job's reforms: the establishment of new dioceses, the founding of several dozen monasteries and churches (12 churches were built under him in Moscow alone). He strove to improve church life and took a number of measures to improve the morality of church leaders and maintain decorum in churches.

Job paid great attention to the development of the spirituality of the people. Under him, the beginning of printing liturgical books accessible to the people was laid. And here he was the first in Rus'.

Job wrote his own essays. One of his works is “The Tale of the Honest Life of Tsar Ivan Fedorovich,” in which he wrote about the establishment of patriarchates in Rus' by this tsar and described the most important events of that time.

The result of this activity was a significant strengthening of the role of the church in the state, its independence from Byzantium, and active participation in the affairs of the country.

Another area of ​​activity of Patriarch Job was to promote the strengthening of legitimate power.

Job’s activity occurred during the Time of Troubles, when there was a real threat of the overthrow of the legally elected Tsar Boris Godunov, which would inevitably lead to the decline of the role of Orthodoxy. False Dmitry 1, a protege of Catholic Poland, encroached on Orthodoxy and mocked the traditions that had developed over centuries. The impostor considered one of the goals of his policy to join the people of Russia to the Catholic Roman Church through a union, that is, an alliance. He even received financial support from the Pope.

Job did not recognize the new tsar; in his sermons he denounced the impostor in every possible way, assuring the Russian people that False Dmitry wanted to convert Rus' to Orthodoxy.

He refused to swear allegiance to him, for which he paid with his deposition. He was beaten, shamefully dragged through all the squares, but he was left alive, publicly cursed and sent into exile. Job was faithful to the legitimate authority to the end and devoted to the Orthodox Church.

After Vasily Shuisky came to power, Job returned to Moscow. Nationwide repentance was brought to him. Job ended his life in his solitude in 1607.

The result of this activity is active resistance to illegal power, defending the independence of the country. Job was one of the first who began the fight against imposture, against the dominance of foreigners, which threatened the independence of Russia.

Thus , the significance of the activities of the first Patriarch of Russia Iva is difficult to overestimate. It was he who began reforms on the independence of the Russian Orthodox Church, strengthened its role in the state, contributed to the strengthening of legitimate state power, and was faithful to Orthodoxy, despite the difficult years of testing during the Time of Troubles.

Job was canonized by the Orthodox Church in 1989.

Activity

In the history of Russia, the years of Job's stay at the pinnacle of spiritual power were marked by the active spread of the Christian faith in the Volga region and Siberia, the canonization of St. Basil, and the spread of literacy.

Job was engaged in book printing, strove to ensure that as many people as possible became acquainted with the covenants of Christ, and tried in every way available to him to strengthen Orthodoxy in Rus'. Since this task was made easier by teaching people to read and write, the patriarch advocated education.

He himself was engaged in writing theological treatises. His appeals to the people and to believers have been preserved. The highest officials of the state turned to him for help and support in difficult times. Thus, Irina, Boris Godunov’s sister, received a lengthy message of consolation from him after the death of her only, long-awaited and hotly mourned daughter. Job switched from the “high” book style, with which he usually composed his messages, to simple folk language, consoling the royal person.

Job managed to both provide assistance to private individuals and deal with matters important to the state. On his initiative, 4 metropolises appeared in Rus': Kazan, Novgorod, Krutitsa, Rostov. This made it easier for the highest spiritual authorities to monitor the territories under their control. Stone temples were built everywhere. Job himself invested in the construction personal funds granted to him by the kings.

Realizing that the unity of church and secular authorities could ensure the integrity and relative stability of the state, Job provided all possible assistance and support to the Godunovs - first Boris, then his son Fyodor.

(1598-1605)

Job's two letters

Rumors, however, circulated among the people, and intensified the more the problems were brewing in the Russian state under Godunov. But there were problems with crop failures and unresolved consequences of the division of lands during the oprichnina period, and the very legitimacy of the “unborn” tsar aroused popular suspicion and fear. In turn, Tsar Boris, realizing the precariousness of his position, initiated repressive processes, guessing around, like Ivan the Terrible, betrayals and conspiracies.

And so in 1603, False Dmitry I entered the political arena, proclaiming himself a miraculously saved prince. The Poles, who had plans for Moscow and a dominant role in the entire Slavic world, and the Jesuits, who saw in him an opportunity to conclude the Russian Church in a union, took his side.

Job was already 78 years old at the time, but it was he who spoke out against it. The first thing the patriarch did was send two letters, one to the Rada of the Polish Crown, in which Job reported that False Dmitry was, in fact, a runaway monk, Grigory Otrepiev. It was from Job that this version of the impostor’s personality came.

And the second letter was addressed to the military head of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Prince Konstantin Ivanovich Ostrozhsky, with a call to identify Otrepiev as the impostor, since the prince was personally familiar with the stripping, and to arrest him. But the Poles, in general, did not care much about the personality of False Dmitry, they had already bet on him, and were not going to give up their plans for Moscow.

Job approved of Godunov

After the death of Fyodor Ioannovich in 1598, Boris Godunov, who was already the de facto ruler of the state, became king. The procedure for his election itself was very long and full of intrigue. In fact, Godunov had to be “begged” for the throne, after, among other things, Patriarch Job’s approval of his candidacy.

The line of the Moscow Rurikovichs on Fyodor Ioannovich was cut short because back in 1591, under still unclear circumstances, the only direct heir, Tsarevich Dmitry, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, died. However, there were rumors that the prince was killed by people sent by Godunov.

Boris Godunov conducted an investigation, the official conclusion of which was that the prince, suffering from epilepsy, fell on the knife. This episode is important not only in the context of the further development of the logic of the Time of Troubles, but also because Job played his role in legitimizing these investigative conclusions, who, without adding or subtracting anything, signed the investigation protocols.

This is where historians see the patriarch’s personal loyalty to Godunov. But, as further history will show, with Job everything was somewhat more complicated.

Powers of the Patriarch

According to the current charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, the powers of the patriarch include mainly administrative functions that ensure the ability to govern the Church. He is entrusted with the responsibility of convening the Local and Bishops' Councils, as well as scheduling meetings of the Synod. The Patriarch appoints all senior church officials, including heads of religious educational institutions at all levels. Among other patriarchal powers, a special place is occupied by the duty to represent the Church before the government and foreign organizations.