HOLY
430
H0L7
named various temporary administrators till his
scheme should be ready. "First the Metropolitan of
Sary, then the Metropolitan of Ryazan administered
the patriarchatedurinj; tliis period of twenty-one years.
Peter did not allow either of tliem to make any new
laws or take any steps of importance. Meanwhile he
himself reorganized the Church, like his army and his
government, on a German model. He abohshed many
monasteries, brought the control of all ecclesiastical
property under the State, modified the atlministration
of dioceses, appointed, deposed, and transferred Ijishops
as he liked. At last on 25 Jan., 1721, the ukase ap-
peared, abolishing the patriarchate and establishing a
Most Holy Directing Synod in its. place. The idea of
this synod (obviously a quite different thing from the
traditional synods that met at intervals to examine
some special question), like most of Peter's reforms,
came from Germany. Luther had proposed com-
missions of pastors and lajTnen to be sent by the
head of the State (the Elector of Saxony in the first
instance, 1527) to hold visitations of districts in the
interest of the sect. Out of these commissions grew
the Consistories. They are meant to take the place
of bishops and to have episcopal authority, as far as
such a thing is possible in Lutheranism. They judge
"all cases which belonged to ecclesiastical jurisdic-
tion of old" (Richter, " Gesch. der evangel. Kirchen-
verfassung", p. S2), can excommunicate, and could
in the eighteenth century punish by torture, fines, and
prison. They are appointed by the secular govern-
ment, have a state official, the " Kommissarius" or
procurator, at their head, with a notary, and consist
of superintendents, pastors, theologians, and lawyers,
all appointed by the Government. The Russian Holy
Synod is an exact copy of this. Its object was to
bring the Church into absolute dependence on the
State. Under this synod the Russian Church is cer-
tainly the most Erastian religious body in the world.
As soon as he had established the synod, Peter wrote
to Jeremias III of Constantinople announcing its erec-
tion, demanding his recognition of it, and that it should
be recognized equally by the other patriarchs. Jere-
mias made no difficulty. In 1723 he published an
encyclical declaring that the Russian Synod "is and
is named our brother in Christ, a holy and sacred
Council. It has authority to examine and determine
questions equally with the four apostolic holy Patri-
archs. We remind and exhort it to respect and follow
the laws and customs of the seven holy General Coun-
cils and all other things that the Eastern Church
observes" (Silbemagl, p. 102). So the principle of a
Holy Directing Synod was accepted by the Orthodox
Church. It was to take the place of a patriarch and to
have patriarchal authority. Such was not, how-ever,
the tsar's idea. When the Russian Inshops petitioned
him to restore the Patriarchate of Moscow he struck
his breast and exclaimed: " Here is your Patriarch"
(Kattenbusch, p. 190, note). Nor has any Holy
SjTiod in Russia ever been allowed any sort of inde-
pendent authority over the Church. The synod is
always the agent of the State's power.
II.' The Russi.\n Holy Synod. — This is the model of the others. The ukase of 1721 is still the law de- termining its rights and duties. An examination of this will show how radically Erastian the whole ar- rangement is. The ukase begins by explaining what the sj-nod is and giving the reasons for its establish- ment. The government of many is better than that of one; moreover, if the Church has one head it is difficult for the State to control it. Countless abuses in the Russian Church have made tliis reform not only desirable but absolutely necessary. The second part of the ukase describes what causes are subject to the jurisdiction of the synod. The general ones are that It has to see that all things in Russia take place accord- ing to the law- of Christ, to put dowTi whatever is con- trary to that law, and to watch over the education of
the people. The special categories subject to the
.■^ynod are five: (1) bishops; (2) priests, deacons, and
all the clergy; (3) monasteries and convents; (4)
schools, masters, students, and also all preachers; (5)
the laity inasmuch as they are affected by churcli law
(questions of marriage, etc.). The third part of the
document describes the duties, rights, and methods of
the synod (Gondal, "L'Eglise russe", p. 42; Katten-
busch, p. 191). The synod meets at Petersburg.
Its members are partly ecclesiastical persons, partly
laymen. All are appointed by the tsar. Originally
there were to be twelve ecclesiastical members; but
this number has been constantly changed at the tsar's
pleasure. A ukase of 1763 determined that there
should be at least six ecclesiastical memljers. The
Metropolitans of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kiev, and
the Exarch of Georgia are always members (the.se per-
sons, as all bishops, areappointed by the Government);
one or two other archbishops, a titular metropolitan,
the tsar's confessor, the head chaplain of the army and
navy, and some other bishops make up the number.
Bishops who have dioceses may only attend the meet-
ings of the synod for half the year. During the other
half they must return to their sees. The lay members
consist of the procurator (Oberprocuror) and a number
of commissioners. The eldest metropolitan present is
chairman but has no more authority than any other
bishop. In spite of the protests of Russian theolo-
gians it is evident that the real head of the synotl is the
procurator. He is always a layman, generally an
officer in the army. He sits as representing the Gov-
ernment, and must be present at all meetings. The
procurator has to prepare and examine beforehand all
questions to be discussed; he can quash any proceed-
ings at once, can forbid any law to be passed till he has
consulted his — and the .synod's — imperial masterabout
it. lie is a.ssisted in his work by a chief secretary, an
"executor", two secretaries, and other officials, all of
cour.se lajTnen like himself. So obvious is it that the
procurator is really the hea<l of the synod that Rus-
sians themselves (except the theologians who write to
defend their Church from the charge of Erastianism)
are quite conscious of it. When Mr. Palmer was in
Russia it was a common joke to point to the procura-
tor in his officer's uniform and say: "That is our
patriarch" (Palmer, "Visit to the Russian Church",
1.S95, pp. 48, 73, 221). Every member of the Holy
Synod before taking his place in it has to swear this
oath: "I swear by the Almighty and by His holy
Go.spel that I will do my duty in all assemblies, de-
cisions and discussions of the Spiritual law-giving
Synod, that I will seek only truth and justice, that I
will act according to mv conscience without respect of
persons, according to tlie laws of the Synod approved
by his Imperial Majesty. I swear liy the living God
tliat I will undertake all business of the law-giving
Synod with zeal and care. I promise as servant and
suliject fidelity and obedience to my true and natural
master the Tsar and Emperor of all Russia and his
illustrious successors, and to those whom he may ap-
point by virtue of his undoubted right in this matter.
/ acknowledge him as supreme judge in this spiritual
assembly. I swear by the all-knowing God that I
understand this oath according to the full force and
meaning which the words have to all who read or hear
them" (Silbernagl, op. cit., pp. 104-105).
Of the Erastian nature of the Ru.ssian Holy Synod, then, it would seem that there can be no doubt; and since the whole Church of Russia, every bishop, mon- astery, and school, is submitted absolutely and with- out appeal to the synod, it is not unjust to describe it as the most Erastian religious body in the world. This statement, however, much offends many modern Russian theologians. A centurj- or so ago they ac- cepted the tyranny of the tsar over Church as well as over State as a matter of course; nor did they seem to be much distressed by it. Now, contact with Western
