Great Moscow Council rules on church schism

Name: Great Moscow Council rules on church schism
Start: 1666
End: 1667

Type Event Region Eastern Europe Time 1666–1667

In 1666–1667 Tsar Alexei convened a pan-Orthodox council in Moscow, including Greek, Jerusalem, and Antioch representatives, to review Patriarch Niko…

Timeline

1666Moscow (Kremlin and church venues) · RussiaTsar Alexei convened Orthodox representatives from Russia and abroad to formally deliberate the liturgical and ecclesiastical authority disputes caused by Nikon's reforms.
1666–1667Moscow · RussiaThe council confirmed Nikon's liturgical reforms as orthodox but deposed and exiled him for overstepping tsar and church law, and cursed those who insisted on the old rites.
1667–1669Across Russia · RussiaThe council's curses and forced imposition of the new rites drove believers such as Avvakum into a complete break with the official church; Old Believer communities spread across Russia and faced sustained persecution.

Sources

Nikon's Reforms and the Old Believers https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nikon-Russian-patriarch