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How did the Moscow patriarchate begin in 1589?

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Jesus Christ: mosaic — Eastern Orthodoxy Jesus Christ, detail of the Deesis mosaic, from the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, 12th century.

The establishment of the Moscow patriarchate in 1589 was a significant milestone in the history of the Russian Orthodox Church, marking the culmination of Russia's efforts to achieve full ecclesiastical independence and prestige as the "third Rome."12

Prior to 1589, the head of the Russian church held the title of metropolitan and remained nominally subordinate to the patriarch of Constantinople. However, Moscow sought to elevate its status to match its growing political power and its self-perception as the last bulwark of true Orthodoxy.31

The opportunity arose in 1589 when the patriarch of Constantinople, Jeremias II, visited Russia on a fund-raising tour. Moscow took advantage of the financial needs of the Eastern patriarchs, offering financial support in exchange for the creation of a Russian patriarchate. Under pressure from his hosts, Jeremias II consecrated Job, the metropolitan of Moscow, as the first "patriarch of Moscow and all Russia." This appointment was later confirmed by the other Eastern patriarchs in 1593, which granted the Moscow patriarchate the fifth place in the honorific order of the Oriental sees.143