The Stoglav Synod (), also translated as the Hundred Chapter Synod or Council of a Hundred Chapters, was a
church council (''sobor'') held in
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 ...
in 1551, with the participation of
Tsar
Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
Ivan IV
Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584. ...
,
Metropolitan Macarius (presiding), other higher clergymen, and possibly representatives of the
Boyar Duma
A duma () is a History of Russia, Russian assembly with advisory or legislative functions.
The term ''boyar duma'' is used to refer to advisory councils in Russia from the 10th to 17th centuries. Starting in the 18th century, city dumas were for ...
. It convened in January and February 1551, with some final sessions as late as May of that year. Its decrees are known as the ''
Stoglav''.
Purpose and decisions
In 1542, Macarius was elected Metropolitan of Moscow and all Russia, and he later supported Ivan IV's coronation and marriage to
Anastasia Romanovna
Anastasia Romanovna Zakharyina-Yurieva (; 1530 – 7 August 1560) was the tsaritsa of all Russia as the first wife of Ivan IV of Russia, Ivan IV, the tsar of all Russia. She was also the mother of Feodor I of Russia, Feodor I, the last lineal ...
. When Ivan left Moscow to
campaign in Kazan, Macarius served as head of state. In 1551, the Tsar summoned a synod of the
Russian Church, led by Macarius, to resolve discrepancies and issues in the church, as well as address certain spiritual and existential issues of Russian society. Ivan gave four speeches to the council, asking questions on church opinion concerning various rites and practices of the church, and the clergymen deliberated and presented a consensus to Ivan which would be later codified.
There is some debate over the timeline of the council in 1551. The ''
Stoglav'' document itself, the written church code produced by the council, states that the council began February 23rd and concluded May 11th. However, no original copy of the code exists, and over a hundred different handwritten copies are known. Most scholars, including
Yevgeny Golubinsky, recognize the date in the ''Stoglav'', February 23rd, as the beginning of the council. Others, such as Dmitry Stefanovich, suggest that the council begin in early January and ended in February, with the dates in the written code describing the period during which the clergymen compiled the code from their earlier deliberations.
The Stoglav Synod proclaimed the inviolability of
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...
properties and the exclusive jurisdiction of
church courts over