Study of the History of the Synods of 1666 and 1666–1667

Abstract

In the 16th–17th centuries, the Russian Church was undergoing the same process of confessionalization as the churches in other European countries. A special role in it was played by the patriarchate of Filaret, when the Synod of 1620 recognized immersion baptism as the only correct way to baptize and formulated the features that distinguish Moscow Orthodoxy from both Catholics and other churches. Under Filaret, the state and church systems of government merged, and “Procheiron laws” began to be applied against violators of church rules. Reforms of Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich opened a new stage of confessionalization, changing the already approved symbols, which was perceived as the introduction of a “new faith.” Handwritten materials from the Synods of 1666 and 1666–1667 are considered, and an attempt is made to answer the question why they have never been published in full. It is shown that only those Acts that were included in the Service Book of 1667 became known to contemporaries. The changes in relation to the previous period of confessionalization were radical.