Kirill II or Cyril II (russian: Кирилл II; died 6 December 1281) was the
metropolitan of Kiev
Metropolitan of Kyiv is an episcopal title that has been created with varying suffixes at multiple times in different Christian churches, though always maintaining the name of the metropolitan city — Kiev. The title takes its name from the city ...
from 1242 until his death. He was close to the khan of the
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fragme ...
,
Mengu-Timur
Munkh Tumur or Möngke Temür ( mn, ᠮᠦᠨᠺᠬᠲᠡᠮᠦᠷ, Мөнхтөмөр; russian: Мангутемир, Mangutemir) (?–1280), son of Toqoqan Khan and Köchu Khatun of Oirat (daughter of Toralchi Küregen and granddaughter of ...
.
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n chronicles record that King
Mengu-Timur
Munkh Tumur or Möngke Temür ( mn, ᠮᠦᠨᠺᠬᠲᠡᠮᠦᠷ, Мөнхтөмөр; russian: Мангутемир, Mangutemir) (?–1280), son of Toqoqan Khan and Köchu Khatun of Oirat (daughter of Toralchi Küregen and granddaughter of ...
and Metropolitan Kirill sent
Sarai Bishop Theognostus to the
Emperor Michael VIII and the Patriarch of Constantinople as their joint envoy with letters and gifts from each of them. This embassy was probably held around 1278, as Theognostus returned to Sarai in 1279.
It appears that relations with Egypt were also discussed by Theognostus with the emperor and the patriarch. Anyway, at about the same time, Meng-Timur tried to establish direct diplomatic ties with Egypt through Constantinople.
Prior to 1251 was close to Prince
Daniel of Galicia
Daniel of Galicia ( uk, Данило Романович (Галицький), Danylo Romanovych (Halytskyi); Old Ruthenian: Данило Романовичъ, ''Danylo Romanovyčъ''; pl, Daniel I Romanowicz Halicki; 1201 – 1264) was a King ...
(Danylo Halytskyi).
In 1246 on the road to Nicaea he was negotiating with the Hungarian King
Bela IV
Bela may refer to:
Places Asia
*Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India
*Bela, a small village near Bhandara, Maharashtra, India
*Bela, another name for the biblical city Zoara
* Bela, Dang, in Nepal
* Bela, Janakpur ...
, which resulted in the marriage of a Hungarian princess to Daniel Galitsky.
Around 1251 Kirill left Daniel Galitsky, who in 1254 received the royal crown from the Pope.
In 1251, he went to Novgorod, where he first met with
Alexander Nevsky.
Since 1251 Kirill almost continuously resided in the north-east of Russia, working closely with Prince Alexander Nevsky, constantly traveling around the country.
In 1252, Alexander Nevsky became a ruler of
Vladimir
Vladimir may refer to:
Names
* Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name
* Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name
* Volodymyr for the Ukr ...
instead of his brother Andrew Yaroslavich, and the Metropolitan solemnly met Alexander Nevsky, who returned from the Horde, and supported his reign. Prince Alexander Nevsky and Kirill chose to recognise Mongol domination, and opposed
Western Catholic expansion.
Church
Around 1252 Cyril received a charter from
Batu Khan
Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Kh ...
, which guaranteed the inviolability of the Orthodox Church. A charter of 1267, issued by
Berke Khan
Berke Khan (died 1266) (also Birkai; , tt-Cyrl, Бәркә хан) was a grandson of Genghis Khan and a Mongol military commander and ruler of the Golden Horde ( division of the Mongol Empire) who effectively consolidated the power of the Blue ...
, has been authentically preserved. In 1258 he founded the bishopric in Tver. In 1261, with the assistance of Alexander Nevsky, an Orthodox diocese was founded in Sarai. In 1274 a council of bishops of the Russian Church was held in Vladimir, with the aim to order and restore the ecclesiastical legislation.
In 1279, Khan Meng-Timur issued a charter that defended the faith and the sanctity of the rights of clergy from abuse by Mongol officials. Kirill appointed bishops to Vladimir, Rostov and Sarai.
Kirill died in
Pereslavl-Zalessky
Pereslavl-Zalessky ( rus, Переславль-Залесский, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈslavlʲ zɐˈlʲɛskʲɪj, lit. ''Pereslavl beyond the woods''), also known as Pereyaslavl-Zalessky, is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located on the main Mosc ...
, Grand Duchy of Vladimir and Suzdal. At first his body was moved to Vladimir, but later to Kiev where he was buried on a territory of the Sophia Cathedral compound.
Further reading
* Cherepnin, L.V. ''Chronicler of Daniel of Galicia (Летописец Даниила Галицкого)''. "Istoricheskie zapiski", #12. 1941.
* Fuhrmann, Joseph T. "Metropolitan Cyril II (1242–1281) and the Politics of Accommodation". ''Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas'', Neue Folge, 24, 2 (1976), pp. 161–172.
* Shchapov, J.N. ''State and church in the Old Ruthenia 10-13th centuries (Государство и церковь Древней Руси Х–XIII вв)''. Moscow 1989
* Galician-Volhynian chronicles. Research. Text. Comments (Галицько-Волинський літопис. Дослідження. Текст. Коментар). Kiev 2002
External links
* Kotlyar, M.F.
Kyrylo II'. Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirill III, of Kiev
Metropolitans of Kiev and all Rus' (988–1441)
Year of birth unknown
1281 deaths
Russian saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church
Burials at Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv