Anthony, Metropolitan of Moscow
Encyclopedia
Anthony was Metropolitan
of Moscow and All Rus' from 1572 to 1581.
Very little is known of Anthony's life prior to being named metropolitan. From 1568 to his appointment as metropolitan, he was Archbishop of Polotsk and Velikie Luki. He was appointed metropolitan by Ivan the Terrible.
Anthony's tenure was sometimes difficult, as Ivan the Terrible, in addition to setting up the Oprichnina
and engaging in a number of wars that significantly harmed Muscovite society, set about attacking the church during his reign.
In 1573 and 1580, Anthony convened church councils to deal with monastic landholdings, probably tied to Ivan's efforts since the 1550s to secularize monastic lands, an effort that was checked by the Stoglav Council in 1551.
In 1575, Ivan executed several boyars and okolnichi as well as a number of important ecclesiastics in Cathedral Square in the Moscow Kremlin; among them were Archbishop Pimen
of Novgorod and Archimandrite
Evstafii of the Chudov Monastery
. The heads of the archbishop and archimandrite along with several other churchmen were thrown into the courtyard of the metropolitan's palace, either as a warning to Anthony or as a suggestion that he was somehow tied to or responsible for their fate.
Anthony died in the beginning of 1581.
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
of Moscow and All Rus' from 1572 to 1581.
Very little is known of Anthony's life prior to being named metropolitan. From 1568 to his appointment as metropolitan, he was Archbishop of Polotsk and Velikie Luki. He was appointed metropolitan by Ivan the Terrible.
Anthony's tenure was sometimes difficult, as Ivan the Terrible, in addition to setting up the Oprichnina
Oprichnina
The oprichnina is the period of Russian history between Tsar Ivan the Terrible's 1565 initiation and his 1572 disbanding of a domestic policy of secret police, mass repressions, public executions, and confiscation of land from Russian aristocrats...
and engaging in a number of wars that significantly harmed Muscovite society, set about attacking the church during his reign.
In 1573 and 1580, Anthony convened church councils to deal with monastic landholdings, probably tied to Ivan's efforts since the 1550s to secularize monastic lands, an effort that was checked by the Stoglav Council in 1551.
In 1575, Ivan executed several boyars and okolnichi as well as a number of important ecclesiastics in Cathedral Square in the Moscow Kremlin; among them were Archbishop Pimen
Pimen
Pimen may refer to:*Pimen, Metropolitan of Moscow, aka Pimen the Greek, Metropolitan of Moscow from 1382-1384*Patriarch Pimen I, , 14th Patriarch of Moscow and the head of the Russian Orthodox Church...
of Novgorod and Archimandrite
Archimandrite
The title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...
Evstafii of the Chudov Monastery
Chudov Monastery
The Chudov Monastery was founded in the Moscow Kremlin in 1358 by Metropolitan Alexius of Moscow. The monastery was dedicated to the miracle of the Archangel Michael at Chonae...
. The heads of the archbishop and archimandrite along with several other churchmen were thrown into the courtyard of the metropolitan's palace, either as a warning to Anthony or as a suggestion that he was somehow tied to or responsible for their fate.
Anthony died in the beginning of 1581.