Russian Orthodox Church Moves Toward Autonomy (1430s)

Name: Russian Orthodox Church Moves Toward Autonomy (1430s)
Start: 1437
End: 1440

Type Event Region Eastern Europe Time 1437–1440

In the 1430s, the Moscow Metropolitanate gradually moved toward church autonomy amid the decline of Constantinople's patriarchal authority and the im…

Timeline

1437Moscow · RussiaThe Patriarch of Constantinople appointed the Greek bishop Isidore as Metropolitan of Moscow, replacing the deceased Photius. This reflected Byzantine patriarchal authority over the Russian Church, but also aroused Moscow's doubts about the foreign origin of the archbishop candidate.
1438–1439Florence · ItalyIsidore led a Russian delegation to the Council of Florence, where in 1439 he signed the decree of union with Roman Catholicism on behalf of the Eastern Church. The Moscow Church and secular authorities were deeply dissatisfied, and the sense of autonomy increased significantly.
1440Moscow · RussiaThe Russian Church and the Grand Duchy of Moscow openly rejected the Florentine Union and no longer accepted metropolitans unilaterally appointed by Constantinople. By 1440, the Moscow Church had embarked on the path of independently electing its metropolitan, and Byzantine patriarchal authority existed in name only.

Sources

Encyclopaedia Britannica: Russian Orthodox Church https://www.britannica.com/topic/Russian-Orthodox-Church
The Orthodox Church in the History of Russia — John Meyendorff (1996)