Patriarch Adrian was the last pre-revolutionary Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

Adrian caught the eye of Patriarch Joachim

Patriarch Joachim

Patriarch Joachim was the eleventh Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, an opponent of the Raskol , and a founder of the Slavic Greek Latin Academy....

, when he was still an archmandrite at 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...

. In 1686, Joachim appointed him metropolitan

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 Kazan

Kazan

Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...

 and Sviyazhsk

Sviyazhsk

Sviyazhsk or Zöyä is a rural locality in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located at the confluence of the Volga and Sviyaga Rivers...

. On August 24, 1690, Adrian was chosen to replace Joachim on his post. Patriarch Adrian was a staunch adherent of traditional norms and opposed Peter the Great

Peter I of Russia

Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...

's reforms

Reform movement

A reform movement is a kind of social movement that aims to make gradual change, or change in certain aspects of society, rather than rapid or fundamental changes...

 (e.g., he criticized Peter's decree on mandatory shaving of beards). Adrian's relations with the tsar

Tsar

Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...

 were tense; however, he had to accept some of Peter's criticism about deficiencies in management of 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...

.