Taĭny Moskovskoĭ Patriarkhii (Rossii͡a︡, istoricheskie rassledovanii͡a︡) (Russian Edition) by Andreĭ Bogdanov

The Moscow Patriarchate was established during the relatively calm reign of Fedor Ioanovich (1557-1598). The author questions the reasons for the timing of this important event in the history of the by then well-established Russian Orthodoxy. He points out that it could have just as well occurred either before, under Ivan the Terrible, or later, when the "sly" and powerful Boris Godunov ruled the country. This book looks at the role of the Patriarchate in the tumultuous times that followed Fedor's reign. The three successive Patriarchs of that period played the second most important, and, in the seditious period that followed Boris's death, the primary role in salvaging and strengthening of the Russian state. Many archive sources are reevaluated and some unusual conclusions are reached. Bibliography.