Philip I (; died 1473) was Metropolitan of Moscow and all Rus', the

primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

of the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

, from 1464 to 1473. He was the third metropolitan in Moscow to be appointed without the approval of the

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the List of ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople, archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox ...

as had been the norm.

Biography

According to Archimandrite Macarius (Veretennikov), he was born in the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

at the beginning of the 15th century. He served as a patriarchal clerk-official and lived in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. During his tonsure, he was named after the

Philip the Apostle Philip the Apostle (; Aramaic: ܦܝܠܝܦܘܣ; , ''Philippos'') was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Later Christian traditions describe Philip as the apostle who preached in Greece, Syria, and Asia-Minor. I ...

. He arrived to Russia apparently after the death of Metropolitan

Photius Photius I of Constantinople (, ''Phōtios''; 815 – 6 February 893), also spelled ''Photius''Fr. Justin Taylor, essay "Canon Law in the Age of the Fathers" (published in Jordan Hite, T.O.R., and Daniel J. Ward, O.S.B., "Readings, Cases, Mate ...

, after 1431. He stayed in Russia for a long time, became Russified, and the memory of his Greek origin was almost lost. In 1464, he was appointed Metropolitan of Moscow, hand-picked by

Theodosius Theodosius ( Latinized from the Greek "Θεοδόσιος", Theodosios, "given by god") is a given name. It may take the form Teodósio, Teodosie, Teodosije etc. Theodosia is a feminine version of the name. Emperors of ancient Rome and Byzantium ...

at the time of his

resignation Resignation is the formal act of relinquishing or vacating one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or ...

, just as Theodosius had been picked by his predecessor, Iona In the 1470s, Philip was actively engaged in a struggle against the Polish–Lithuanian influence over

Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...

, particularly the influence of the Metropolitan of Lithuania and the fear that Novgorod would defect to him and eventually go over to Catholicism. While he was instrumental in bringing Sophia Paleologue from Rome to Moscow in 1472, Philip was against admitting a

papal legate 300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate. A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...

in her entourage into

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, thus continuing his opposition to Catholicism or "Latinism" in his province. That same year, Philip started reconstructing the

Cathedral of the Dormition The Cathedral of the Dormition (), also known as the Assumption Cathedral or Cathedral of the Assumption, is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos. It is located on the north side of Cathedral Square of the Mosco ...

in the

Moscow Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...

. The original cathedral, built by Metropolitan Petr in 1326, was in a dilapidated state; Philipp hired inexperienced workers and soon after his death the building collapsed. It was rebuilt by

Aristotile Fioravanti Ridolfo "Aristotele" Fioravanti (also spelled Fieraventi; ; – ) was an Italian Renaissance architect and engineer. He was active in Moscow from 1475, where he designed the Dormition Cathedral during 1475–1479. Biography Little is known ab ...

under Metropolitan Gerontius. Metropolitan Philip died on 5 April 1473 and was buried in the Cathedral of the Dorimition in the Moscow Kremlin.Golubinskii, ''Istoriia russkoi tserkvi'', vol. 2, pt. 1, p. 548.

Biography

References

Sources

Further reading