Vyacheslav Valentinovich Shaposhnik Doctor of History, professor, the Institute of History, Saint-Petersburg State University (Mendeleevskaya linia, 5, Saint-Petersburg, Russia, 199034)
v.shaposhnik@spbu.ru
Shaposhnik V. V. Metropolitan Macarius during the period of boyar rule (1542–1547), Religiya. Tserkov’. Obshchestvo. Issledovaniya i publikatsii po teologii i religii [Religion. Church. Society: Research and publications in the field of theology and religious studies], Saint-Petersburg, 2022, vol. 11, pp. 174–193.
doi: 10.24412/2308-0698-2022-11-174-193
Language: Russian
The article deals with the first years of Metropolitan Makariy’s primacy, which fell on the period of Boyar rule (1542–1547). The author’s attention is focused on his participation in political events. It has been assumed in academic studies that the appointment of the Archbishop of Novgorod Macarius as a metropolitan was associated with his proximity to one of the boyar groups — the princes of Shuiskiy. However, an appeal to the sources allows us to conclude that the main reason for the election of Macarius was his active work as Archbishop of Veliky Novgorod and the respect he enjoyed in the Russian Church. Some researchers consider that the metropolitan was a leader of the forces advocating against of boyar rule. However, availible to us sources do not allow making such unambiguous conclusions. Macarius strove to maintain a neutral position in the court struggle, which allowed him to keep his position. In the events of the summer of 1547 (the Moscow uprise and the removal of the Glinskiy princes from power), the metropolitan also did not play a significant role. He was neither an opponent of the Glinskiy princes, nor their supporter, but remained neutral. At the same time, Macarius used the traditional right to mourn for the disgraced and participated in the meetings of the Boyar Duma. During this period, he made the greatest contribution to the preparation and conduct of the Ivan IV coronation in January 1547. It seems that the position chosen by the metropolitan — conscious noninterference in political events — was the most correct.
Key words: Metropolitan Macarius, boyar rule, Ivan IV, coronation, Moscow uprise
URL: http://rcs-almanac.ru/en/en-shaposhnik-2022/
