Cyprian, Metropolitan of Moscow
Encyclopedia
Cyprian (c. 1336 – 16 September 1406) was Metropolitan of Moscow (since 1381), Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia (since 1390). (The official title was Metropolitan of Kiev and All Rus' until 1448, even though the metropolitans were in Vladimir-on-Kliazma and later Moscow since 1299.)
He lived for some time at Mount Athos
. In 1376 he was ordained as a bishop in Constantinople at the behest of the Lithuanian grand duke Algirdas
. Was Metropolitan of Kiev
. Because this ordination was not recognized by Moscow, he became the metropolitan of “all Rus’” only in 1389. He resided thereafter in Moscow, although he visited Kiev and other Ukrainian eparchies.
Cyprian was a clergyman of Bulgarian
nationality
. In 1373, the Patriarch of Constantinople
Philotheus Kokkinos
picked him for his devout lifestyle and excellent education and sent him to Lithuania
and Muscovy on a mission to reconcile the prince
s of Lithuania and Tver
with Metropolitan Alexius. In 1375, after the hostilities between Moscow
and Lithuania had started all over again, the Lithuanian princes asked to appoint Cyprian their Metropolitan. Philotheus Kokkinos made Cyprian Metropolitan of Kiev
, all Russia and Lithuania, so that he could unite both ecclesiastical province
s after the death of Alexius
.
In 1378, Metropolitan Alexius died. As a result of the ensuing skirmishes and intrigues, Cyprian became Metropolitan of Moscow in 1381. One year later, however, he fled from Moscow due to the approaching armies of Tokhtamysh
. Subsequently, he was removed from Russia and replaced with Metropolitan Pimen
(1382–1384). The latter was succeeded by Metropolitan Dionysius
(1384–1385). In 1390, Cyprian was returned to Moscow by Vasili II, who he had always supported, and appointed Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia.
Cyprian is remembered as a wise and experienced church administrator who fought for the unity of the Russian church. In fact, he is mainly responsible for uniting the Church in Russia and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
. He faced serious opposition during his metropolitanate; Dmitry Donskoy and his advisors were excommunicated for opposing Cyprian's efforts to take up his place in Moscow, and Novgorod the Great – especially Archbishops Aleksei and Ioann II
– also opposed his efforts to adjudicate ecclesiastical cases there, which would have allowed him to gain the court fees from Novgorod during the time he sat in judgement there.
Cyprian was an erudite person and oversaw the copying and creation of a number of important works, including the Troitskaia Chronicle (or Troitskaya letopis) and, probably, the Metropolitan Justice (also known as the Pravosudiye metropolich’ye or Правосудие митрополичье). He also rewrote the Life of Metropolitan Peter, originally written around 1327. He also corrected biblical books and translated a number of ecclesiastic works from Greek
into Old Church Slavic.
Cyprian is buried in the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. He was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church
in the 15th century. St. Kiprian Peak
on Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands
, Antarctica is named for Cyprian.
He lived for some time at Mount Athos
Mount Athos
Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in Macedonia, Greece. A World Heritage Site, it is home to 20 Eastern Orthodox monasteries and forms a self-governed monastic state within the sovereignty of the Hellenic Republic. Spiritually, Mount Athos comes under the direct jurisdiction of the...
. In 1376 he was ordained as a bishop in Constantinople at the behest of the Lithuanian grand duke Algirdas
Algirdas
Algirdas was a monarch of medieval Lithuania. Algirdas ruled the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1345 to 1377, which chiefly meant monarch of Lithuanians and Ruthenians...
. Was Metropolitan of Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
. Because this ordination was not recognized by Moscow, he became the metropolitan of “all Rus’” only in 1389. He resided thereafter in Moscow, although he visited Kiev and other Ukrainian eparchies.
Cyprian was a clergyman of Bulgarian
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
nationality
Nationality
Nationality is membership of a nation or sovereign state, usually determined by their citizenship, but sometimes by ethnicity or place of residence, or based on their sense of national identity....
. In 1373, the Patriarch of Constantinople
Patriarch of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome – ranking as primus inter pares in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which is seen by followers as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church....
Philotheus Kokkinos
Philotheus Kokkinos
Philotheos Kokkinos was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople for three periods from November 1353 to 1354, 1354, and 1364 to 1376. He was appointed patriarch in 1353 by the emperor John VI Kantakouzenos, deposed by John V Palaiologos in 1354 and then restored by Patriarch Callistus I of...
picked him for his devout lifestyle and excellent education and sent him to Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
and Muscovy on a mission to reconcile the prince
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
s of Lithuania and Tver
Tver
Tver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...
with Metropolitan Alexius. In 1375, after the hostilities between Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and Lithuania had started all over again, the Lithuanian princes asked to appoint Cyprian their Metropolitan. Philotheus Kokkinos made Cyprian Metropolitan of Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, all Russia and Lithuania, so that he could unite both ecclesiastical province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
s after the death of Alexius
Alexius
Alexius is the Latinized form of the given name Alexios , especially common in the later Byzantine Empire. Variants include Alexis with the Russian Aleksey and its Ukrainian counterpart Oleksa/Oleksiy deriving from this form...
.
In 1378, Metropolitan Alexius died. As a result of the ensuing skirmishes and intrigues, Cyprian became Metropolitan of Moscow in 1381. One year later, however, he fled from Moscow due to the approaching armies of Tokhtamysh
Tokhtamysh
Tokhtamysh was the prominent khan of the White Horde, who briefly unified the White Horde and Blue Horde subdivisions of the Golden Horde into a single state. He was a descendant of Genghis Khan's eldest grandson, Orda Khan or his brother Tuqa-Timur...
. Subsequently, he was removed from Russia and replaced with Metropolitan 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...
(1382–1384). The latter was succeeded by Metropolitan Dionysius
Dionysius I, Metropolitan of Moscow
Saint Dionysius I ; baptismal name: David was a Russian Orthodox metropolitan in 1384-1385.As a young man David entered the Kiev Caves Lavra, where he was tonsured a monk and given the religious name Dionysius...
(1384–1385). In 1390, Cyprian was returned to Moscow by Vasili II, who he had always supported, and appointed Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia.
Cyprian is remembered as a wise and experienced church administrator who fought for the unity of the Russian church. In fact, he is mainly responsible for uniting the Church in Russia and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...
. He faced serious opposition during his metropolitanate; Dmitry Donskoy and his advisors were excommunicated for opposing Cyprian's efforts to take up his place in Moscow, and Novgorod the Great – especially Archbishops Aleksei and Ioann II
Ioann (Archbishop of Novgorod)
Ioann was Archbishop of Novgorod the Great and Pskov from 1388 until his retirement in 1415. He is not to be confused with Archbishop Ilya, who ruled in the twelfth century and who is often referred to as Ioann in hagiographic literature, but was apparently called Ilya during his...
– also opposed his efforts to adjudicate ecclesiastical cases there, which would have allowed him to gain the court fees from Novgorod during the time he sat in judgement there.
Cyprian was an erudite person and oversaw the copying and creation of a number of important works, including the Troitskaia Chronicle (or Troitskaya letopis) and, probably, the Metropolitan Justice (also known as the Pravosudiye metropolich’ye or Правосудие митрополичье). He also rewrote the Life of Metropolitan Peter, originally written around 1327. He also corrected biblical books and translated a number of ecclesiastic works from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
into Old Church Slavic.
Cyprian is buried in the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin. He was canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
in the 15th century. St. Kiprian Peak
St. Kiprian Peak
St. Kiprian Peak is a rocky peak of elevation 270 m in the southeast extremity of Breznik Heights on Greenwich Island, Antarctica. Situated 1.54 km east of Vratsa Peak, 1.7 km south of Ilarion Ridge, 1.63 km west of Fort Point, and 800 m northeast of Kormesiy Peak. Overlooking...
on Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands
South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...
, Antarctica is named for Cyprian.