In January 1547, the crowning of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan Vasilyevich took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin...

Royal crown and throne. State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve "Moscow Kremlin" / RIA Novosti

Ivan Vasilyevich was the first of the Russian sovereigns to become the Tsar of All Rus', and the Russian state publicly declared itself as the heir to the great Byzantine Empire.

“It is impossible for Christians to have a Church and not have a king”

Since the Baptism of Rus', Byzantium has been a kind of standard for the Russians, by which they trusted the political structure, development of culture and art. So, according to the Grand Duke of Moscow Simeon the Proud, the kingdom of the Romans “is the source of all piety and the school of legislation and sanctification.”

Even on the eve of the fall of Constantinople, the authority of the Byzantine emperor in the eyes of the Russians was extremely high. The Tsar revealed the Byzantine idea in a letter to the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily I Dmitrievich(1389) Patriarch Anthony IV of Constantinople: “Holy King [meaning the Byzantine Emperor. – T.S.] occupies a high position in the Church, but not like other local princes and sovereigns. The kings first established and established piety in the universe; the kings convened Ecumenical Councils, they also confirmed by their laws the observance of what the divine and sacred canons say about right dogmas and the improvement of Christian life, and they labored a lot against heresies.<…>In every place where there are Christians, the name of the king is remembered by all patriarchs and bishops, and none of the other princes and rulers has this advantage.<…>It is impossible for Christians to have a Church and not have a king. For the kingdom and the Church are in close union and communion with each other and it is impossible to separate them from each other.<…>There is only one king in the universe, and if some other Christians have appropriated the name of king to themselves, then all these examples are something unnatural and illegal.”

Having absorbed the lessons of Byzantine teachers, in Rus' they well grasped the very idea of ​​the tsar as a kind of God-given and God-approved power, called upon, in agreement with the priesthood, to protect and strengthen orthodoxy in the universe...

Union and the Fall of the Second Rome

Vasily the Dark in 1440 rejected the union with the Latin Church, accepted by Metropolitan Isidore at the Council of Florence. Engraving by B.A. Chorikova.XIXcentury

The Moscow princes never forgot that they were connected with the imperial house by ties of consanguinity. As written in the instructions given in 1489 Ivan III Russian ambassador sent to the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick of Habsburg, the princes in Rus' “from the beginning were on friendly terms with the leading Roman kings... and our sovereign was with them in brotherhood and love...”.

However, the image of a universal ruler for many decades remained an unattainable, although attractive, ideal for Moscow rulers. It is known that since the time Dmitry Donskoy individual princes in some cases called themselves kings. But this was a title “for internal use”: it only emphasized the importance of princes as independent rulers who received this status by right of inheritance. When communicating with the outside world, the Russian princes did not demand that the rulers of other countries call them tsars.

The situation changed dramatically in the middle of the 15th century. In 1439, a union between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church was signed in Florence, and a few years later, in 1453, Constantinople fell under the blows of the Turks. The fact that the Byzantine emperor, called by God to protect the foundations of the faith, decided to sign a union, made an indelible impression on the Russians. And they were even more impressed by the fall of the Second Rome under the blows of the “infidels”: in Moscow it was perceived as “God’s punishment” for the alliance of the Greeks with the Latins.

In this situation, for the first time in a new role for Russian rulers, the guardian of Orthodoxy acted Vasily the Dark. In one of the polemical works directed against the union, “The Tale of the Council of Florence,” the Grand Duke of Moscow is already called “the affirmation of the entire Russian land, and the confirmation and support of the Greek faith.”

Royal wedding

The significance of the royal wedding was all the more palpable for the Russians. Ivan IV in January 1547, demonstrating to the whole world Russia's right to inherit the role that Byzantium and its emperor, revered as the king of all Orthodox Christians, once played in the international arena.

Some historians (in particular, this point of view was held Vasily Klyuchevsky) believe that the initiative to crown the kingdom came directly from the young Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich, who at that time was not even 17 years old. However, most researchers (following Nikolai Karamzin) it is believed that the first to come up with such an idea was the then head of the Russian Church, Metropolitan Macarius, one of the closest advisers to the future tsar and his spiritual mentor.

It is known that Ivan IV was crowned king without receiving the blessing of the Patriarch of Constantinople and, therefore, illegally according to medieval canons. The wedding of the young sovereign took place in accordance with the rite and ritual, which were developed especially for this occasion, most likely by Metropolitan Macarius.

As researchers note, the order compiled at that time had a number of differences from the Byzantine one. Thus, the Russian rite did not include the declaration of the Tsar as a saint, which followed immediately after the anointing. Apparently, the ritual of anointing itself was not performed on Ivan IV. The fact is that the detailed text of the Byzantine order was sent from Constantinople only in the early 1560s, when, after long negotiations, Ivan the Terrible post factum managed to obtain a patriarchal blessing for the wedding that had already taken place and thereby ensure the legality of his royal title.

Metropolitan Macarius placed on the Grand Duke the signs of royal dignity - the cross, barmas and Monomakh's cap - and blessed him. Then he addressed the newly crowned sovereign with instructions, who was assigned a very important role in the ceremony. The shepherd exhorted the tsar: “Love and honor your brothers according to the flesh... But favor and take care of the boyars and nobles in their fatherland; To all the princes and princelings, and to the children of the boyars, and to all the Christ-loving army, be approachable, merciful, and greeted according to your royal rank and rank; Look after all Orthodox Christians and have mercy on them and take care of them from the bottom of your heart...”

Why is Ivan the Fourth?

Interestingly, Ivan the Terrible was not always designated as the Fourth. Firstly, in the pre-Petrine era, digital designations for monarchs did not exist at all. And secondly, it is known that in 1740 Ivan Antonovich was proclaimed emperor under the name of John III.

Thus, Ivan the Terrible was considered John I, since it was he who was the first to be crowned king. And only Nikolai Karamzin in his “History of the Russian State” began counting with Grand Duke Ivan Kalita: then Ivan the Terrible became the Fourth. Subsequently, this tradition was established in historiography.

Ivan I (Kalita)

Ivan II (Red)

Ivan III (the Great)

Ivan IV (the Terrible)

"The Great Orthodox Autocracy"

In Europe, the change in the title of the Moscow ruler was perceived painfully: if previously the grand duke was equal in importance to the prince or grand duke, now the tsar became on the same level as the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

Catholic Europe proclaimed Ivan an “impostor,” but Protestant countries quickly recognized his royal dignity - England and Denmark were the first in this series. Later, the Holy Roman Emperor joined this position. Maximilian II. The Polish kings, relying on the support of the papal throne, did not recognize the Moscow rulers as tsars until the 17th century. This problem was one of the key points of further Russian-Polish conflicts...

Orthodox local churches, soon after the coronation of Ivan Vasilyevich, recognized his new title, and even the Patriarch of Constantinople commemorated the Russian Tsar according to a ritual previously applied only to Byzantine emperors. In the new historical conditions, when Rus' turned out to be the only Orthodox state not subject to the Turkish Sultan, co-religionist countries began to perceive it as a “great Orthodox autocracy.” It was from now on that they saw the stronghold of Orthodoxy. Numerous embassies of seekers of alms and protection from Constantinople and the monasteries of Athos gradually inspired the Russian rulers with the idea of ​​their duty to “deliver the oppressed Christians from the Hagaryan tribe.”

Despite the fact that in Moscow these ideas were treated with great caution, they fell on well-prepared soil. Already in 1548, the brethren of the Hilandar monastery, in a letter to Ivan IV, called him “the only right sovereign, the white king of the eastern and northern countries... the saint, the great pious kingdom, the Christian sun... the affirmation of the seven cathedral pillars.” And in 1557, those sent from the Patriarch of Constantinople with a letter of petition called the Russian Tsar “the holy kingdom” and declared a conciliar code “to pray to God for the Tsar and Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich, like the former pious tsars.”

It is difficult to say for sure whether this conciliar code was the result of the policy of Ivan IV, who demanded recognition of his royal title, or whether it was one of the policies of the eastern clergy, which proved to the Russians that their duty was to protect the eastern church. What is clear is that Ivan the Terrible took these ideas very directly.

The crowning of Ivan IV. Miniature of the Front Chronicle. 16th century

Having been crowned with the royal crown, he truly felt like an autocrat, equal to the Byzantine emperors - the rulers of the eastern half of the world. However, in real politics, he had to face the sharp non-recognition of his new status by the sovereigns of the European powers and the “disobedience of his subjects.” From now on, all the activities of the tsar - political, literary and journalistic - were devoted to building a sophisticated system of evidence of his legal right to the royal crown.

Monomakh throne

Despite the hostile attitude on the part of Western rulers, Ivan the Terrible himself felt that he was anointed by God, and to resist whose will was the same as to resist the will of God. He saw one of his most important tasks as changing the traditional Russian attitude towards the ruler as first among equals. By all means available to him, the crowned sovereign put into practice the idea that the king is a sacred figure. This was reflected not only in the political steps he took soon after becoming king, and in the literary works that came from his pen, but also in the unique artistic “program” carried out by the tsar.

One of the points of this “program” was the appearance of the famous Monomakh throne in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin in 1551, that is, four years after the coronation. Ivan the Terrible was well aware of the existence of a special imperial place of prayer in Hagia Sophia of Constantinople: it was called a mitatorium and was located in the southeastern exedra of the temple. The idea of ​​the “throne” in the Assumption Cathedral was clearly inspired by the Byzantine model.

The royal prayer place still stands near the altar on the south side of the temple. This monumental structure has the shape of a quadrangle with a tent roof. Here, under the shade of the tent, the crowned king, like some kind of shrine, ascended to pray on the days of solemn services in the Assumption Cathedral.

Let us note, however, that if the idea of ​​the mitatorium itself was borrowed from Byzantium, then the shape and decor of the “throne” are very original. Its side walls are decorated with bas-reliefs on which legendary scenes from Russian history are reproduced. It tells how the Russian Grand Duke Vladimir Monomakh received as a gift from the Byzantine emperor the signs of royal dignity - a crown and barmas, was crowned king with them and earned the right to be called Tsar. This legend had enormous political significance during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. It was used to prove the legality of the Grand Duke's right to the royal crown and was mentioned in almost all official documents of that time.

The carved inscription on the valance (frieze) of Monomakh's throne represents a biblical text dating back to the Second and Third Books of Kings. This is the promise of the Lord to the Israeli kings David and Solomon, confirming the divine character of royal power: “I chose you as a king, took you by your right hand, and arranged for you to rule over my people all the days of your life...”

In combination with the subjects of the bas-reliefs, where the main character was the Russian Grand Duke, the biblical text was perceived as a promise to the royal family of Rurik and the Russian Tsar as the successor of the Old Testament tsars and Byzantine emperors. It is no coincidence that in one of his messages, Ivan the Terrible, based on the genealogy of the “pre-law” kings descended from Abraham, explained the emergence of the institution of royal power in this way: “And God made a promise to Abraham: as a father with many tongues I will make you, and kings will come from you.”

Metropolitan Macarius

One of the most significant church figures of the era of Ivan the Terrible was Metropolitan Macarius of Moscow and All Rus'. A native of Moscow, he took monastic vows at the monastery of St. Paphnutius of Borovsky. In 1526, Macarius became Archbishop of Novgorod and Pskov, and in 1542 he was elevated to the Moscow metropolitan see. A number of historians believe that it was he who proposed to Ivan to marry into the kingdom. He also blessed the king for a campaign against the Kazan Khanate in 1552, which ended with the capture of Kazan.

Under him, the glorification (canonization) of Russian saints continued, for which two large church councils were convened - in 1547 and 1549, and in 1551 the Stoglav Council was held, the decisions of which were recorded in a collection known as Stoglav. Under the leadership of Metropolitan Macarius, the “Great Cheti-Menaia” was compiled - the first complete set of lives of saints, patristic teachings and other theological texts (it was later revised by Saint Demetrius of Rostov). The collection, arranged by month, consisted of 12 volumes.

Macarius patronized the pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov: The printing yard on Nikolskaya Street in Moscow was opened with the active participation of the Metropolitan. After the fall of the “Chosen Rada,” Macarius was the only member of it who escaped royal disgrace. He died on the last day of 1563. In 1862, his image was immortalized among the sculptural images of major church figures on the famous monument “Millennium of Russia” in Veliky Novgorod, and in 1988, at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Macarius was canonized.
Metropolitan Macarius crowns Ivan IV. Engraving from the original by K.V. Lebedeva

Portrait gallery of the Archangel Cathedral

There was another Byzantine custom: upon accession to the throne, emperors gave orders for the construction of their future tomb, they were even brought pieces of marble so that they could choose material for the sarcophagus. The purpose of this ceremony was to remind the king of his human, mortal and sinful nature.

Following Byzantine examples, Ivan the Terrible took special care to decorate the Moscow Archangel Cathedral - the tomb of the Rurikovichs, where in the altar part, in the deaconry, a place was prepared for the royal burial. The cathedral itself was painted by royal decree in 1564–1565.

The main distinguishing feature of the temple's painting program, in the development of which Ivan IV probably took part, were the tombstone portraits of the princes of the Moscow house, the ancestors of the crowned tsar, buried in it. It is noteworthy that all the princes were depicted with halos above their heads as representatives of the dynasty that gave birth to the anointed king that Ivan the Terrible felt himself to be. Their holiness confirmed and legitimized his right to the royal crown.

It is no coincidence that a portrait of the Byzantine emperor appeared on the walls of the Archangel Cathedral Manuel Palaiologos(in the painting updated in the 17th century, Manuel turned into Michael), which was placed on the southeastern pillar among the images of Russian princes. His portrait in this series once again confirmed that the imperial tradition did not die with the fall of the Byzantine Empire, but found its development at the court of the Russian Tsar.

In the system of painting the Archangel Cathedral, the portrait of the emperor no longer demonstrated the idea of ​​​​the power of the head of the Christian world, but symbolized the loyalty of the Russian princes to the imperial idea and the traditions that they had adopted from Byzantium. It served as a reminder of the right of the Muscovite power - the new Rome - to inherit the status of a Christian empire.

To prove royal origin, in addition to demonstrating the holiness of the family, detailed knowledge of the family tree was also necessary, and the deeper into the centuries its roots went, the more grounds were found to confirm the greatness of the dynasty.

Byzantine Emperor Michael Palaiologos. Fresco of the south-eastern pillar in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin

The relevance of this idea is evidenced by the correspondence of Ivan the Terrible with European monarchs. In a letter to the Swedish king Johan III, who did not want to recognize the Russian Grand Duke as tsar, Ivan IV expressed doubts about the royal origin of Johan himself and pointed out that the Swedish sovereign did not justify his claims with genealogical constructions: “It will be most reliable if you send a record of your royal family, about which You wrote that it is 400 years old - who and what sovereign sat on the throne after whom, with which sovereigns they were in brotherhood, and from there we will understand the greatness of your state.” From this point of view, the princely portraits in the Archangel Cathedral not only confirmed the legitimacy of the power of the reigning autocrat, but were also intended to demonstrate the power and greatness of the state.

Sacralization of power

Over the long years of his reign, the first Russian crowned Tsar, Ivan Vasilyevich, experienced a lot - from the joyful and cheerful rapture of the greatness of his power, rightfully inherited from the Byzantine emperors, to gloomy disappointment and a feeling of powerlessness to change anything in his own fate and the fate of his state, which turned out to be his subjects with executions of unprecedented cruelty.

The tsar was always consistent in one thing: throughout his life in a variety of ways - by composing literary works, introducing into everyday life the rituals of the Byzantine imperial court, creating artistic ensembles with a complex ideological program that revealed the idea of ​​the kingdom - he preached the concept of charismatic, adopted from Byzantium, that is, endowed with special grace-filled gifts, royal power.

Ivan IV succeeded in this field. Thanks to his efforts, traditional Russian ideas about power have changed significantly. From now on, the king was seen not just as a person who was supposed to be given a certain kind of honor, but as an object of sacred feeling and faith. From that moment on, the process of sacralization of tsarist power began to gain strength, which already a century later formed a specifically Russian attitude towards autocracy as a concept belonging not so much to the field of law as to the field of faith.

Tatiana Samoilova,
candidate of art history (with the participation of Nikita Brusilovsky)

The period preceding the reign of Ivan IV was difficult in terms of the political and economic situation. The scattered principalities were at enmity with each other. Neighboring states - Lithuania, Germany, Poland - sought to take over. Civil strife and Tatar-Mongol raids did not allow Rus' to exist and develop peacefully.

The Tsar was the first Tsar of Orthodox Rus'. The crowning of Ivan the Terrible took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, with a huge crowd of people. What kind of person is this? How will Russia be governed in quite difficult times?

Wedding ceremony

The crowning of Ivan the Terrible as king promised changes for the better. The ceremony took place on January 16, 1547, in compliance with the Byzantine script existing at that time. Such attributes as the cross of the life-giving tree, the royal staff and other church objects were used. The wedding ceremony was marked by pomp and grandeur. The boyars, nobles and church ministers present were dressed in expensive decorations made of brocade, gold and precious stones.

The ringing of church bells, general rejoicing - all this represented a big, colorful holiday. The crowning of Ivan the Terrible gave him a high title, and Rus' was equated with the Roman Empire. Moscow became the reigning city, and the Russian land became the Russian kingdom. The young Moscow prince was anointed with myrrh, which in religious terms meant “chosen by God.” The Church had a certain interest in all this: to achieve priority in government and the further strengthening of Orthodoxy.

Crowning of Ivan the Terrible

The Catholic rulers did not approve of these events. They considered Ivan IV an impostor, and his wedding an unheard-of insolence. The period in which Ivan the Terrible had to reign turned out to be very difficult. Six months after the wedding, fires began that destroyed tens of thousands of houses, property, livestock, and food supplies. This is all that is necessary for life. And the worst thing is that more than one thousand people died in the fire. The grief that befell led the people to discontent and despair. Riots, uprisings, and unrest began. The crowning of Ivan the Terrible as king turned out to be a difficult ordeal for him.

It was necessary to solve important problems: to strengthen “court and truth” and further expand Orthodox Rus'. The Grand Duke of Moscow, Ivan III, dreamed about this, laying the core of the Russian state. However, there were many obstacles along the way. Each principality gravitated towards independence. The boyars fought among themselves for power. The princes strove for power and greatness.

Methods of government

According to historians, as a result of secret murders, Ivan IV was left an orphan at the age of eight. He considered himself abandoned, resentful and harbored anger against humanity. Growing up, he acquired cruelty, for which over time he began to be called Terrible. The crowning of Ivan the Terrible (1547) is the beginning of a period of cruelty and violence in Rus' on the part of the Grand Duke, who received the title of Emperor. An example is the complaint of 70 Pskov residents about the excesses of the governor, Prince Pronsky. He subjected the complainants to severe torture. This entailed the permissiveness of local managers. Feeling impunity, they continued their rampage.

Permissiveness and its consequences did not take long to pay off: bloody terror began. This caused confusion and popular unrest in Moscow and other cities. To suppress discontent, cruel measures were used: terrible executions, in which the king himself took part.

The positive side of reign

And historians noted the crowning of Ivan the Terrible as a positive achievement for the Russian state. Among the reforms is the restriction of localism (service code), obliging not only serfs to serve, but also the landowners themselves. The local government reform provided for the replacement of the power of governors with elected bodies. This significantly limited abuse. Much attention was paid to the construction business. Old ones were updated and new stone buildings for various purposes appeared.

In 1560, a beautiful and pleasing sight appeared in Moscow even today. The crowning of Ivan the Terrible led to significant changes in foreign policy.

Foreign policy

As a result of the strengthening of paramilitary forces, the borders of the Russian state were expanded. In 1556 it was finally conquered and annexed to Kazan. In the same year, the Astrakhan Khanate was conquered. On June 30, 1572, a decisive battle took place near Moscow, as a result of which the Tatars were defeated and fled, leaving the famous commander Divey-Murza in captivity. The Tatar yoke was ended forever. The crowning of Ivan the Terrible and the century of his reign are defined as a time of significant changes.

In the history of Orthodox Rus', the turning point in the last years of the reign of Ivan the Terrible was the death of his son. Historians note that the king killed his son in a fit of anger, inflicting a wound on his temple with a staff. Having recovered from what had happened, Ivan the Terrible realized that he had destroyed the future of his dynasty. The youngest son Fedor was in poor health: he could not lead the country. The loss of the heir due to his own cruelty completely undermined the king's health. The worn-out body could not withstand the nervous shock; three years after the death of his son, on March 18, 1584, Ivan the Terrible died.

Bright personality in Rus'

After the death of the king, a monastic rite of tonsure was performed on him, giving him the name Jonah. The crowning of Ivan the Terrible as king can be briefly described as a bright, but at the same time a dark spot in the history of Great Orthodox Rus'. The psychological shock he received at a very young age and the burden of fame, power, and responsibility that fell on him determined his personal actions and government decisions.

For history, the crowning of Ivan the Terrible (1547) was the beginning of a significant era in the formation of the Russian state. Thanks to its first tsar and his reign, the Russian Empire emerged, which exists and develops to this day.

Royal wedding

In June 1547, a terrible Moscow fire caused a popular revolt against the relatives of Ivan's mother - the Glinskys, to whose charms the crowd attributed the disaster. The riot was pacified, but the impressions from it, according to Ivan the Terrible, brought “fear” into his “soul and trembling into his bones.”

The fire almost coincided with Ivan's crowning, which for the first time was then combined with the sacrament of Confirmation.

Crowning of Ivan the Terrible in 1547

Royal wedding - a solemn ceremony borrowed by Russia from Byzantium, during which future emperors were dressed in royal clothes and a crown (diadem) was placed on them. In Russia, the “first-crowned” is the grandson of Ivan III Dmitry, he was married to the “great reign of Vladimir and Moscow and Novgorod” on February 4, 1498.

On January 16, 1547, the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan IV the Terrible was crowned king in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin with the cap of Monomakh, with the placement of a barm, a cross, a chain and the presentation of a scepter. (At the coronation of Tsar Boris Godunov, the awarding of an orb as a symbol of power was added.)

Barmy - a precious mantle, decorated with images of religious content, was worn during the wedding of the Russian tsars.

Power - one of the symbols of royal power in Muscovite Rus', a golden ball with a cross on top.

Scepter - rod, one of the attributes of royal power.

Scepter (1) and orb (2) of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and princely barmas (3)

The church sacrament of Confirmation shocked the young king. Ivan IV suddenly realized himself as “abbot of all Rus'.” And this awareness from that moment largely guided his personal actions and government decisions. With the crowning of Ivan IV, for the first time in Russia not only a Grand Duke appeared, but also a crowned tsar - the anointed one of God, the sole ruler of the country.

This text is an introductory fragment. From the book Secrets of the House of Romanov author

author

THREATENING OF THE KINGDOM The ringing of bells floated over Moscow. They rang in all the Kremlin cathedrals - at the Savior on Smolenskaya Square, at St. Nicholas the Wonderworker at the Stone Bridge over the Moscow River. They were echoed by the outlying churches and monasteries - Novinsky, Simonov, Andronev and others. IN

From the book Russia in the Time of Ivan the Terrible author Zimin Alexander Alexandrovich

Crowning of the Kingdom 1 Complete collection of Russian chronicles (hereinafter: PSRL). St. Petersburg, 1904, vol. XIII, p.

From the book Tsar of Terrible Rus' author Shambarov Valery Evgenievich

17. WEDDING TO THE KINGDOM The boyar rule spoiled the nobility. She was self-willed and carried out orders somehow. There were squabbles and intrigues around the Grand Duke for influence over him. And abuses continued to occur locally; feeding was viewed as nourishing food.

From the book The Last Emperor author Balyazin Voldemar Nikolaevich

The crowning of the kingdom The beginning of the reign of Nicholas II did not cause worries or fears in anyone: the situation in Russia was calmer and more stable than ever. Healthy financial system; the largest army in the world, although it has not fought for a long time and is resting on its laurels

From the book Alexey Mikhailovich author Andreev Igor Lvovich

Crowning Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich was not in excellent health. He often complained of “bodily grief” and especially of pain in his legs, which is why during the king’s trips he was carried “to and from the cart in a chair.” Later, the king’s sons “grieved with their legs” and bodily weakness

From the book of the Romanovs. Family secrets of Russian emperors author Balyazin Voldemar Nikolaevich

The crowning of the kingdom The beginning of the reign of Nicholas II did not cause worries or fears in anyone: the situation in Russia was calmer and more stable than ever. Healthy financial system; the largest army in the world, although it has not fought for a long time and is resting on its laurels

author Istomin Sergey Vitalievich

From the book The Time of Ivan the Terrible. XVI century author Team of authors

Crowning on January 16, 1547, the crowning ceremony of Ivan IV took place. The adoption of the royal title, of course, was a very important step both for Ivan himself and for the country. In Rus', the emperors of Byzantium and the khans of the Golden Horde were called tsars. And now he appeared

From the book Daily Life of Moscow Sovereigns in the 17th Century author Chernaya Lyudmila Alekseevna

author

From the book History of Russia. Time of Troubles author Morozova Lyudmila Evgenievna

Godunov's crowning of the throne The installation of the new sovereign on the royal throne was scheduled for September 1. It was on this day that the new year began at that time. In later sources, however, other dates were found: September 2 or 3. According to established custom, the ceremony was held on

From the book History of Russia. Time of Troubles author Morozova Lyudmila Evgenievna

Crowning of the kingdom False Dmitry was in Tula until the end of May and from there he sent letters about his victories throughout the country. In them, he assured the Russian people that he was the true son of Ivan the Terrible. However, not all cities welcomed his messengers with joy. There have been cases

From the book I Explore the World. History of Russian Tsars author Istomin Sergey Vitalievich

Crowning of the kingdom In June 1547, a terrible Moscow fire caused a popular revolt against the relatives of Ivan's mother - the Glinskys, to whose charms the crowd attributed the disaster. The riot was pacified, but the impressions from it, according to Ivan the Terrible, let “fear” into his “soul and trembling into

From the book Native Antiquity author Sipovsky V.D.

Accession and crowning of the kingdom A great and joyful day for the Russian people was February 21, 1613: on this day the “stateless” time in Rus' ended! It lasted three years; for three years the best Russian people fought with all their might to get rid of their enemies, save the church,

From the book Life and Manners of Tsarist Russia author Anishkin V. G.

the solemn presentation of symbols of his power to the Tsar, accompanied by the Sacrament of Confirmation and other church rites.

The rite of coronation of Orthodox monarchs has been known since ancient times. The first literary mention of it came to us from the 4th century, from the time of Emperor Theodosius the Great. The divine origin of royal power was not in doubt then. This view of power was reinforced among the Byzantine emperors by the opinion about the Divine origin of the signs of royal dignity themselves. Constantine VII Porphyrogenite (931-959) writes in instructions to his son: “If ever the Khazars or the Turks, or the Rosses, or any other of the northern and Scythian peoples demand, as a sign of slavery and subordination, sending him royal insignia: crowns or robes , - then you should know that these clothes and crowns were not made by people and were not invented and made by human art, but in the secret books of ancient history it is written that God, having installed Constantine the Great as the first Christian king, sent him these clothes and crowns through His angel." .

Confession of faith was an indispensable requirement of the coronation ceremony. The emperor first solemnly proclaimed it in the church and then, written with his own signature, handed it over to the patriarch. It contained the Orthodox Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed and a promise to preserve the apostolic tradition and the establishment of church councils.

God was pleased to arrange it so that the successors of the Byzantine emperors were the Russian great princes, and then the tsars. The first royal insignia was received by Saint Vladimir “for the sake of his courage and piety,” according to the holy Metropolitan Macarius. This happened for a reason - “such a gift is not from man, but by God’s ineffable destinies, transforming and transferring the glory of the Greek kingdom to the Russian Tsar.” Ivan the Terrible himself fully shared this view of the continuity of the Russian kingdom. He wrote about himself: “Our sovereign calls him Tsar because his ancestor, Grand Duke Vladimir Svyatoslavovich, how he himself was baptized and baptized the Russian land, and the Greek Tsar and the Patriarch crowned him king, and he was crowned Tsar.”

The rite of the crowning of John IV was not very different from how his predecessors were crowned. And yet, the accession of Grozny became a turning point: in the formation of the Russian people - as a God-bearing people, Russian statehood - as a religiously meaningful faith-protective structure, Russian self-awareness - as an awareness of liturgical duty, the Russian “churched” worldview - as a prayerful sense of the providence of everything that happens. The conciliarity of the people and their sovereignty merged into one, embodied in the personality of the Russian Orthodox Tsar. Grozny became the first Anointed of God on the Russian throne. Several editions of the detailed description of the rite of his wedding that have come down to us leave no doubt: John IV Vasilyevich became the first Russian sovereign, at whose crowning the church Sacrament of Confirmation was performed over him.

The anointing of kings with holy myrrh (fragrant oil of a special composition) has its basis in the direct command of God. The Holy Scripture often speaks about this, reporting about the anointing of the Old Testament kings by the prophets and high priests as a sign of granting them the special grace of God for the godly governance of the people and the kingdom. The Orthodox Catechism testifies that “confirmation is a sacrament in which the believer, when anointing the parts of the body with the sacred oil in the name of the Holy Spirit, is given the gifts of the Holy Spirit, restoring and strengthening them in spiritual life.”

For the first time, the rite of crowning the kingdom in its entirety according to the rite of crowning the Byzantine emperors was performed in 1584 during the crowning of Fyodor Ivanovich. The main component of the ceremony was the “great” exit of the sovereign with his retinue to the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Inside the Assumption Cathedral, on the side of the western doors, a special royal place was built for the Metropolitan to lay the royal crown on the head of the king. At the same time, for the first time, as a coronation regalia, the Russian sovereign was given an orb (“sovereign apple”) with a top in the form of a cross as a symbol of power over all the lands of the Orthodox world. The name comes from the Old Russian "d'rzha" power.
Also, Metropolitan Dionysius for the first time gave into the hands of the king a symbol of the supreme royal power - a scepter - a staff lavishly decorated with gems and crowned with a symbolic coat of arms, made of precious materials. After confirmation and communion at the altar, the procession of the sovereign took place from the Assumption to the Archangel Cathedral.

In September 1598, the crowning of Boris Godunov took place. The crowning and anointing of Fyodor Borisovich Godunov, who inherited the throne, were not performed due to the short duration of his reign.

The crowning of False Dmitry I took place in July 1605. First, in the Assumption Cathedral, Patriarch Ignatius laid a crown on him and presented him with a scepter and orb, then in the Archangel Cathedral, Archbishop Arseny crowned him with the cap of Monomakh.

In May 1606, Patriarch Ignatius, contrary to the protest of Archbishop Hermogenes, performed the anointing and coronation of Marina Mnishek, who refused baptism and communion according to the Orthodox rite.

In June 1606, Metropolitan Isidore of Novgorod crowned Vasily Shuisky as king.

Due to the absence of the patriarch, the ceremony of crowning Mikhail Romanov in July 1613 was performed by Metropolitan Ephraim of Kazan.

In 1645, Patriarch Joseph crowned Alexei Mikhailovich as king.

When Fyodor Alekseevich was crowned king in June 1676, the wedding ceremony was again carefully regulated in accordance with the wedding rite of the Byzantine emperors.

In the summer of 1682, the coronation of two brothers, co-rulers Ivan Alekseevich and Peter Alekseevich (later Peter I), took place. For this ceremony, a double silver throne was specially made; for Peter Alekseevich, the so-called Monomakh cap of the second outfit was made according to the model of Monomakh’s cap. At the crowning of Ivan and Peter Alekseevich, Ivan Alekseevich received the scepter and orb from the hands of the highest church hierarch as his elder brother.

With the adoption by Peter I of the title of Emperor of All-Russia, the rite of coronation was replaced by coronation, which entailed significant changes. The imperial mantle or porphyry with a chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called replaced the ancient royal clothing with barmas and a gold chain, the imperial crown replaced the Monomakh cap. The model for the first Russian crown made of gilded silver and precious stones was the crown of the Byzantine Empire, composed of two hemispheres, symbolizing the unity of the eastern and western parts of the Roman Empire.

After the replacement of the representation of the church in the person of the patriarch with the conciliar representation of the synod, the rite of crowning the kingdom also changed significantly. If previously the leading role in the ceremony belonged to the patriarch or metropolitan, now it has passed to the person being crowned himself. Before Peter I, the royal regalia was entrusted to the king by the highest clergy. This person sat next to the king in the drafting place and addressed the king with instructions. According to the new order, the sovereign sat on the throne not with the leading bishop, but with the empress. He himself placed the crown on himself and himself raised it to the head of the empress.

The first coronation took place in 1724 over Catherine I, the wife of Peter I. Two thrones were placed in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. After the solemn procession, to the ringing of bells and the sounds of regimental orchestras, the emperor elevated his wife to the throne. When the Empress recited the Creed and the Bishop read a prayer, the Emperor placed the robe on the Empress. Having crowned her and presented her with the orb, Peter I led Catherine to the Royal Doors for confirmation and communion of the Holy Mysteries.

At the crowning of Elizabeth Petrovna in 1741, the litany (prayerful petition), troparion (church hymn in honor of the holiday), paremia (readings from the Bible) and reading the Gospel were first introduced into the rites. The litany included a prayer for the crowned monarch.

At the coronation of Catherine II in September 1762, she, the first of the reigning persons, put on the crown with her own hands, and after anointing through the Royal Doors of the church iconostasis, she went to the altar to the throne and received the Holy Mysteries according to the royal rite.

Pavel Petrovich was the first of the Russian tsars to be crowned in 1797 along with his wife. After the ceremony was completed, the monarch, taking his place on the throne and placing the regalia on the pillows, took off his crown and, touching it to the forehead of the kneeling empress, put it on himself. Then he placed on his wife a smaller crown, a chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called and the imperial purple.

During the coronation of Nicholas I in 1826, he was presented with a cross for kissing, which was worn by Peter I during the Battle of Poltava and saved him from death. In this way, the church emphasized the heroic spirit of the emperor, shown during the Decembrist uprising in 1825.

The coronation of Alexander III in May 1883 attracted more than half a million people.

Celebrations marking the coronation of the last Russian Emperor, Nicholas II, in May 1896, were overshadowed by the tragedy on Moscow's Khodynka Field: two thousand people died in a stampede for free gifts.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources