For the first time, the rite of crowning the kingdom in its entirety according to the rite of crowning the Byzantine emperors was performed in 1584 during the crowning of Fyodor Ivanovich. Home integral part The ceremony was the “great” entrance of the sovereign with his retinue into the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Inside the Assumption Cathedral, on the side of the western doors, a special royal place was built for the Metropolitan to lay the royal crown on the head of the king. At the same time, for the first time, as a coronation regalia, the Russian sovereign was given an orb (“sovereign apple”) with a top in the form of a cross as a symbol of power over all the lands of the Orthodox world. The name comes from the Old Russian "d'rzha" power.
Also, Metropolitan Dionysius for the first time gave into the hands of the king the symbol of the supreme royal power scepter - a staff lavishly decorated with gems and crowned with a symbolic coat of arms, made of precious materials. After confirmation and communion at the altar, the procession of the sovereign took place from the Assumption to the Archangel Cathedral.

In September 1598, the crowning of Boris Godunov took place. The crowning and anointing of Fyodor Borisovich Godunov, who inherited the throne, were not performed due to the short duration of his reign.

The crowning of False Dmitry I took place in July 1605. First, in the Assumption Cathedral, Patriarch Ignatius laid a crown on him and presented him with a scepter and orb, then in the Archangel Cathedral, Archbishop Arseny crowned him with the cap of Monomakh.

In May 1606, Patriarch Ignatius, contrary to the protest of Archbishop Hermogenes, performed the anointing and coronation of Marina Mnishek, who refused baptism and communion according to the Orthodox rite.

In June 1606, Metropolitan Isidore of Novgorod crowned Vasily Shuisky as king.

Due to the absence of the patriarch, the ceremony of crowning Mikhail Romanov in July 1613 was performed by Metropolitan Ephraim of Kazan.

In 1645, Patriarch Joseph crowned Alexei Mikhailovich as king.

When Fyodor Alekseevich was crowned king in June 1676, the wedding ceremony was again carefully regulated in accordance with the wedding rite of the Byzantine emperors.

In the summer of 1682, the coronation of two brothers, co-rulers Ivan Alekseevich and Peter Alekseevich (later Peter I), took place. For this ceremony, a double silver throne was specially made; for Peter Alekseevich, the so-called Monomakh cap of the second outfit was made according to the model of Monomakh’s cap. At the crowning of Ivan and Peter Alekseevich, Ivan Alekseevich received the scepter and orb from the hands of the highest church hierarch as his elder brother.

With the adoption by Peter I of the title of Emperor of All-Russia, the rite of coronation was replaced by coronation, which entailed significant changes. The imperial mantle or porphyry with a chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called replaced the ancient royal clothing with barmas and a gold chain, the imperial crown replaced the Monomakh cap. The model for the first Russian crown made of gilded silver and precious stones was the crown Byzantine Empire, composed of two hemispheres, symbolizing the unity of the eastern and western parts of the Roman Empire.

After the replacement of the representation of the church in the person of the patriarch with the conciliar representation of the synod, the rite of crowning the kingdom also changed significantly. If previously the leading role in the ceremony belonged to the patriarch or metropolitan, now it has passed to the person being crowned himself. Before Peter I, the royal regalia was entrusted to the king by the highest clergy. This person sat next to the king in the drafting place and addressed the king with instructions. According to the new order, the sovereign sat on the throne not with the leading bishop, but with the empress. He himself placed the crown on himself and himself raised it to the head of the empress.

The first coronation took place in 1724 over Catherine I, the wife of Peter I. Two thrones were placed in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. After the solemn procession, to the ringing of bells and the sounds of regimental orchestras, the emperor elevated his wife to the throne. When the Empress recited the Creed and the Bishop read a prayer, the Emperor placed the robe on the Empress. Having crowned her and presented her with the orb, Peter I led Catherine to the Royal Doors for confirmation and communion of the Holy Mysteries.

At the crowning of Elizabeth Petrovna in 1741, the litany (prayerful petition), troparion (church hymn in honor of the holiday), paremia (readings from the Bible) and reading the Gospel were first introduced into the rites. The litany included a prayer for the crowned monarch.

At the coronation of Catherine II in September 1762, she, the first of the reigning persons, put on the crown with her own hands, and after anointing through the Royal Doors of the church iconostasis, she went to the altar to the throne and received the Holy Mysteries according to the royal rite.

Pavel Petrovich was the first of the Russian tsars to be crowned in 1797 together with his wife. After the ceremony was completed, the monarch, taking his place on the throne and placing the regalia on the pillows, took off his crown and, touching it to the forehead of the kneeling empress, put it on himself. Then he placed on his wife a smaller crown, a chain of the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called and the imperial purple.

During the coronation of Nicholas I in 1826, he was presented with a cross for kissing, which was on Peter I during Battle of Poltava and saved him from death. In this way, the church emphasized the heroic spirit of the emperor, shown during the Decembrist uprising in 1825.

Coronation Alexandra III in May 1883 attracted more than half a million people.

Celebrations marking the coronation of the last Russian Emperor, Nicholas II, in May 1896, were overshadowed by the tragedy on Moscow's Khodynka Field: two thousand people died in a stampede for free gifts.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

The period preceding the reign of Ivan IV, politically and economic situation was not easy. The scattered principalities were at enmity with each other. Neighboring states - Lithuania, Germany, Poland - sought to take over. Civil strife and Tatar-Mongol raids did not allow Rus' to exist and develop peacefully.

The Tsar was the first Tsar of Orthodox Rus'. The crowning of Ivan the Terrible took place in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin, with a huge crowd of people. What kind of person is this? How will Russia be governed in quite difficult times?

Wedding ceremony

The crowning of Ivan the Terrible as king promised changes for the better. The ceremony took place on January 16, 1547, in compliance with the Byzantine script existing at that time. Such attributes as the cross of the life-giving tree, the royal staff and other church objects were used. The wedding ceremony was marked by pomp and grandeur. The boyars, nobles and church ministers present were dressed in expensive decorations made of brocade, gold and precious stones.

Ringing church bells, general rejoicing - all this represented a big, colorful celebration. The crowning of Ivan the Terrible determined for him high title, and Rus' was equated with the Roman Empire. Moscow became the reigning city, and the Russian land became the Russian kingdom. The young Moscow prince was anointed with myrrh, which in religious terms meant “chosen by God.” The Church had a certain interest in all this: to achieve priority in government and the further strengthening of Orthodoxy.

Crowning of Ivan the Terrible

The Catholic rulers did not approve of these events. They considered Ivan IV an impostor, and his wedding an unheard-of insolence. The period in which Ivan the Terrible had to reign turned out to be very difficult. Six months after the wedding, fires began that destroyed tens of thousands of houses, property, livestock, and food supplies. This is all that is necessary for life. And the worst thing is that more than one thousand people died in the fire. The grief that befell led the people to discontent and despair. Riots, uprisings, and unrest began. The crowning of Ivan the Terrible as king turned out to be a difficult ordeal for him.

It was necessary to solve important problems: to strengthen “court and truth” and further expand Orthodox Rus'. The Grand Duke of Moscow, Ivan III, dreamed about this, who laid the nucleus Russian state. However, there were many obstacles along the way. Each principality gravitated towards independence. The boyars fought among themselves for power. The princes strove for power and greatness.

Methods of government

According to historians, as a result of secret murders, Ivan IV was left an orphan at the age of eight. He considered himself abandoned, resentful and harbored anger against humanity. Growing up, he acquired cruelty, for which over time he began to be called Terrible. The crowning of Ivan the Terrible (1547) is the beginning of a period of cruelty and violence in Rus' on the part of the Grand Duke, who received the title of Emperor. An example is the complaint of 70 Pskov residents about the excesses of the governor, Prince Pronsky. For subjecting the complainants brutal torture. This entailed the permissiveness of local managers. Feeling impunity, they continued their rampage.

Permissiveness and its consequences did not take long to pay off: bloody terror began. This caused confusion and popular unrest in Moscow and other cities. To suppress discontent, cruel measures were used: terrible executions, in which the king himself took part.

The positive side of reign

And historians noted the crowning of Ivan the Terrible as a positive achievement for the Russian state. Among the reforms is the restriction of localism (service code), obliging not only serfs to serve, but also the landowners themselves. Reform local government provided for the replacement of the power of governors with elected bodies. This significantly limited abuse. Much attention devoted to construction. Old ones were updated and new stone buildings for various purposes appeared.

In 1560, a beautiful and pleasing sight appeared in Moscow even today. The crowning of Ivan the Terrible led to significant changes in foreign policy.

Foreign policy

As a result of the strengthening of paramilitary forces, the borders of the Russian state were expanded. In 1556 it was finally conquered and annexed to Kazan. In the same year, the Astrakhan Khanate was conquered. On June 30, 1572, a decisive battle took place near Moscow, as a result of which the Tatars were defeated and fled, leaving the famous commander Divey-Murza in captivity. WITH Tatar yoke was over forever. The crowning of Ivan the Terrible and the century of his reign are defined as a time of significant changes.

A turning point in the history of Orthodox Rus' recent years During the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the death of his son occurred. Historians note that the king killed his son in a fit of anger, inflicting a wound on his temple with a staff. Having recovered from what had happened, Ivan the Terrible realized that he had destroyed the future of his dynasty. The youngest son Fedor was in poor health: he could not lead the country. The loss of the heir due to his own cruelty completely undermined the king's health. The worn-out body could not stand it nervous shock, three years after the death of his son, on March 18, 1584, Ivan the Terrible died.

Bright personality in Rus'

After the death of the king, a monastic rite of tonsure was performed on him, giving him the name Jonah. The crowning of Ivan the Terrible as king can be briefly described as a bright, but at the same time a dark spot in the history of Great Orthodox Rus'. The psychological shock he received at a very young age and the burden of fame, power, and responsibility that fell on him determined his personal actions and government decisions.

For history, the crowning of Ivan the Terrible (1547) was the beginning of a significant era in the formation of the Russian state. Thanks to its first king, his reign, there appeared Russian empire, which exists and develops to this day.

One of the few forms of reflection of all the majesty and splendor of royal life and the royal court is the crowning of the sovereign. Undoubtedly, home life, the implementation of diplomatic receptions are a direct vision of this life, but the wedding in its size, significance and content surpasses other events in the life of the Russian royal court, and it does not happen so often - once in the life of the monarch. Therefore, we initially pay attention to this phenomenon. Crowning is an event from which the reign begins, a certain era of each monarch begins, especially if we are talking about the period of the second half of the 16th century and beyond. We begin our reconstruction of the Russian world of the royal court from this moment in order to reflect the logical sequence of events in the life of the sovereign. Before talking about the peculiarities of the crowning of Russian tsars, we consider it necessary, first of all, to define such a concept as “coronation of the kingdom” and talk about the history of this phenomenon.

The crowning of the kingdom is a solemn rite that originally arose in the East, from here it passed to Byzantium and from the latter it was borrowed by Russia. The first more accurate information about the Wedding of sovereigns does not go back further than half of the 5th century. According to the description of Byzantine historians, the wedding of the first Byzantine emperors combined all the features of the accession to the throne of the previous Roman emperors.

In Russia, the "first crowned" was Dmitry, the grandson of John III (February 4, 1498). Until the end of the 15th century, both chronicles and other monuments speak only about the rank of “reign,” and, moreover, very briefly. One can only assume that the rite of enthronement, or sitting on the “golden table” (“The Tale of Igor’s Campaign”), was performed in the temple of the main city, through the metropolitan and the participation of secular dignitaries. The sacred wedding performed over Dmitry Ivanovich for the first time was fully consistent with the ancient Greek rites, with minor changes. The second time Moscow saw a wedding ceremony was in 1547, when Ivan Vasilyevich IV was crowned king. In addition to the barm and the Monomakh cap, other signs of royal dignity were assigned to the king; So the Metropolitan laid on him the “cross from the Life-Giving Tree”, a golden chain and handed him a scepter. However, the wedding of Ivan IV itself was not captured through the eyes of foreigners; they were only informed about it two years later. Thus, foreigners arriving in Russia in the second half of the 16th century could observe the process of coronation only during the coronation of Fyodor Ioannovich, the son of Ivan the Terrible.

And so the solemn exit of the king begins, observing a certain hierarchy, which is reflected not only in the clear sequence of the exit of the clergy, but also in the sequence of the removal of icons, starting with the icons of the Mother of God, and then others, along with church utensils. “The king with all the nobility, in a certain order, entered the church...” Maintaining this order of exit is to respect the elders or most noble people of that time.

Next, the royal retinue heads to the churches. The walk begins with prayers in the Annunciation Cathedral, then the retinue goes to the tombs of their ancestors in the church named Archangel Michael and then to the Church (Assumption) of the Most Pure Mother of God, where the royal wedding takes place. As we can assume, this whole procession carries a deep meaning. In the Annunciation Cathedral, the Tsar prays for God’s blessing on the work he is doing, for some help before starting the crowning of the kingdom, as was customary in Rus' for every person who started any business, because this business received God’s support. Next, the royal retinue goes to the tombs of their ancestors, praying in memory of the deceased, in memory of their ancestors, and only after this the main action begins, which takes place in the Church of the Most Pure Mother of God. The crowning ceremony of the Russian tsars is directly and closely connected with the church, with the veneration of God and one’s ancestors; moreover, the entire procession is accompanied by church singing.

The main action takes place in the Church of the Most Pure Mother of God. When the sovereign enters the church, the deacons with a choir of singers begin to loudly sing many years to the king, then the patriarch and metropolitan in response begin to sing a hymn like a prayer. The king sits down in a “place specially prepared for him,” a “special chair,” near which it is worth knowing, and also in a certain order. A prayer is read, after which the king is dressed, “which is done very decorously and solemnly” in “the richest and most priceless outfit,” a crown is put on the sovereign’s head, right hand he is given a scepter and an orb, and on the left - a sword of justice, richly decorated, and all six crowns are placed in front of the king - symbols of his power over the lands of the country. After which the Metropolitan begins to read the prayer. Horsey very clearly notices all the splendor, beauty and richness of the royal attire: “he was wearing outer clothing, decorated with various precious stones and many oriental most valuable pearls...”, as well as the weight of the clothes - “it weighed 200 pounds, its train and skirts carried six princes (dukes)". What incredible strength does the Russian sovereign have to bear such a heavy burden?! The power of the royal shoulder, its steadfastness and steadfastness, which should show that the royal shoulder is ready to take upon itself the burden that is called the power given to it over the state.

While moving, the king holds in his hands a rod made of unicorn bone, the cost of which Horsey tells us with incredible accuracy: “a rod made of unicorn bone three and a half feet long, decorated with rich stones, bought by the former king ... which cost him 7,000 sterling marks.” . The absence of stinginess is another feature of the crowning of Russian tsars. The scepter and orb are carried before the Tsar by Boris Fedorovich Godunov; a rich cap decorated with stones and pearls is carried by another prince, and the six crowns of the king are carried by others. The Tsar approaches the great church gates and the people shout: “God save Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich of all Rus'.” Thus, the heir to the throne becomes king - Fyodor Ioannovich hears the speech native people, whom he will serve with loyalty and truth, in this speech he notes the consent of the people and their blessing for his (royal) rule. Next, the sovereign goes to the horse brought to him, “covered with a blanket embroidered with pearls and precious stones, the saddle and all the harness were removed accordingly, as they say, everything cost 300 thousand sterling marks.” Here, as in the case of the unicorn bone rod, one can see the luxury of the royal court; at the same time, the element of coronation associated with the presentation of a horse speaks of the monarch’s readiness to be a warrior and defender of his state.

As a necessary element for the movement of the king, Gorsey identifies a stage “150 fathoms long, two wide and three feet raised above the ground...” so that the king could freely walk from one church to another and so that the huge crowd of people who came to see this event, did not interfere with the sovereign’s progress and did not crush him. The scale of what was happening speaks of the incredible importance of this event, for there were people who were crushed by the crowd, eager to see the king walking, to tear off a piece of gold brocade, red velvet or scarlet sword that covered the stage along which the newly elected king had just walked. "Everyone wanted a piece to keep as a memory." Here we see that this event has incredible significance in the minds of the people, eager to touch their king.

Then the tsar follows to the Duma, where he also takes his royal seat, “decorated as before,” and six of his crowns are on the table. One of his entourage holds the royal cup and jug of gold, on both sides of him stood two people called bells (kindry). Horsey gives detailed description servants' clothes, which once again speaks of his admiration for the luxury of the royal court: "in white clothes woven with silver, with staffs and golden axes in their hands." Princes and nobles in rich clothes are located next to the king around in order of seniority. The king allows everyone to kiss his hand, then moves to his royal place at the table, where his noble people serve him with honor. The array of silver and gold dishes from floor to ceiling that Horsey depicts also speaks of the pomp and luxury of the celebrations. After this, the king begins to distribute positions and lands to his subjects, and the size of the lands is very large.

The festivities of the royal coronation end with the firing of cannons, “called the royal firing.” The clarity and power of the shots, and in the right place at the exact distance (2 miles), amazes the mind of a foreigner and causes him surprise. He writes: "...170 large guns of all calibers, beautifully made. These guns fired at once into specially prepared ramparts. 20 thousand archers, dressed in velvet, trimmed with silk and stave, were placed in 8 rows over 2 miles, they fired twice very slim."

In his narration, the description of the coronation ceremony of the Russian Tsar, Jerome Horsey, ends with a phrase that sums up all his admiration for the royal court: “This royal coronation requires a lot of time and paper for its real description. It is worth saying that such a spectacle has never been seen in Russia,” which speaks of the scale and magnificence of this phenomenon.

Thus, characteristic features The wedding of a king to the kingdom is characterized by pomp and luxury, traditionality, thoughtfulness and symbolism of the procession, as well as a combination of spiritual and secular rites.

Everyday life Moscow sovereigns in the 17th century Chernaya Lyudmila Alekseevna

Royal wedding

Royal wedding

Ceremony was the core and foundation of court culture. The fundamental ceremonial of the Russian state, an extraordinary event in the daily life of the royal court, which marked the entry of the monarch into his “sovereign rank,” was the crowning.

The ceremony of crowning the first sovereign from the House of Romanov contained almost no innovations compared to similar procedures of his crowned predecessors. Only among the attributes of the monarch’s attire did a gold chain with the full title of the Russian sovereign engraved on it appear for the first time. Perhaps the powerful chain with tightly bound links (each was attached not only to the next one, but also to the next three) symbolized the revived unity of the country. Otherwise, the wedding ceremony was deliberately built according to the traditional canon, in order to emphasize the continuity of legitimate royal power throughout its entire course.

However, the course of preceding events was unusual. On May 2, 1613, the ceremonial entry of the elected Tsar into Moscow took place; city residents came out to greet him with miraculous icons. The procession, in which all residents of Moscow “from young to old” allegedly participated, was led by the Consecrated Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church. Having entered the Kremlin, the procession headed to the Assumption Cathedral, where a festive prayer service was served. After this, members of the Boyar Duma and the sovereign’s court, as well as those present at the ceremony “of all ranks” took the oath. What feelings filled the soul of the young tsar when, after taking the oath, all the elders of the Duma and the court kissed his hand? Michael ceased to be a private person, becoming the “royal face”, the new shrine of the state. Eyewitnesses testified that the eyes of those present sparkled with tears of tenderness and delight, fueled by the hope for the speedy pacification of the country.

The crowning took place more than two months later, on July 11, 1613. The preparation for this grandiose event took place under difficult conditions - with the empty treasury it was necessary to put the destroyed Kremlin in order, so it is not surprising that it took so much time. One could have expected an even longer preparatory period, however, in connection with the unfinished Troubles, it was necessary to quickly consolidate the decision of the Zemsky Sobor and hold a proper ceremony. They began to collect money from all over the “land”. The king and his mother were “struck with the brow” every morning, in accordance with tradition, that is, they were greeted with gifts and money. Thus, elected people from Vyatka brought “three forty sables and 50 gold.” And there were many such offerings, especially from wealthy merchants.

On the eve of the wedding, a solemn prayer service began to be held in all Moscow churches, after which a decree was announced about tomorrow’s celebrations and an invitation to all residents of the city to participate in them with the condition of wearing an elegant “golden” dress.

The “Wedding Ceremony” that has come down to us describes everything that happened in detail. The most direct participation in the preparation of the ceremony was taken by the leader of the second militia, which liberated Moscow from the Poles in 1612, Prince Dmitry Mikhailovich Pozharsky. He, together with the future treasurer Nikifor Vasilyevich Trakhaniotov, “guarded with fear” the royal regalia at the State Courtyard - the scepter, orb, Monomakh’s cap and barmas - and accompanied them to the Royal Chamber, where Monomakh’s hat was transferred directly into the hands of the Tsar’s uncle Ivan Nikitich Romanov. Mikhail Fedorovich, having bowed to the symbols of royal power and kissed the cross, remained in his chambers, and the procession with regalia set off through Cathedral Square to the Assumption Cathedral: boyar Vasily Petrovich Morozov was at the head, followed by boyar Prince Dmitry Timofeevich Trubetskoy carrying the royal scepter, boyar Ivan Nikitich Romanov is the crown, the boyar Prince Boris Mikhailovich Lykov is the “sovereign apple.” Then Morozov returned to the royal chambers and led the second procession to the Assumption Cathedral, this time together with the hero of the occasion. The Tsar was surrounded by okolniks and ten chosen stewards - all young, to match the ruler: Prince Yuri Yansheevich Suleshev, Prince Vasily Semenovich Kurakin, Prince Ivan Fedorovich Troekurov, Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Pronsky, Ivan Vasilyevich Morozov, Prince Vasily Petrovich Cherkassky, Vasily Ivanovich Buturlin, Lev Afanasyevich Pleshcheev, Andrei Andreevich Nagoy, Prince Alexey Mikhailovich Lvov. Following the royal escort were the rest of the ceremony participants: boyars, nobles, clerks, members of the Zemsky Sobor, which elected the tsar and who came to Moscow from different districts, as well as a mass of townspeople - “they are countless.”

In great detail, the “Wedding Rite” retells the words of the Kazan Metropolitan Ephraim addressed to the newly elected monarch, who replaced the absent patriarch and gave orders on his behalf and on behalf of “the whole earth”: “Bolar of your own, O pious, God-loving king, and favor and take care of the nobles to their fatherland, to all the princes and princelings and children of the boyars and to the entire Christ-loving army, be approachable and merciful and welcoming, according to your royal rank and rank; Look after all the Orthodox peasants and have mercy on them, and take care of them with all your heart, but stand royally and courageously for those who are offended, do not allow and do not allow them to be offended not according to justice and not according to the truth.”

Since the so-called restrictive note that the first Romanov allegedly gave upon election and which G. Kotoshikhin wrote about has not yet been discovered, many researchers believe that the metropolitan’s words are the requirements that were presented to the elected tsar on behalf of the entire people. In our opinion, the wishes listed in the bishop’s speech contain only traditional political and social ideas for the “sovereign rank”, known since the 16th century. Moreover, Ephraim’s speech almost verbatim repeated the speech of Metropolitan Macarius at the coronation in 1547 of the first crowned Russian Tsar, Ivan the Terrible: “...Private and take care of your boyars and nobles in their fatherland, to all the princes and princelings and boyar children and to all the Christ-loving army be approachable, and merciful, and welcomed according to your royal rank and rank...” It is clear why Ephraim was guided by the speech of the primate more than half a century ago: it was important to restore the continuity of power, including the very procedure of crowning the kingdom, so the whole the ceremony of the wedding of Ivan the Terrible, supplemented by some details from the ceremony of Fyodor Ivanovich. The Metropolitan spoke about the treachery and deceit of the Poles, and emphasized the importance of the election of the rightful heir to the throne - Mikhail Romanov.

Then came the culminating moment of the ceremony - anointing. After him, the king’s chosenness by God became, as it were, finally legitimized, sanctified by God. Confirmation was first included in the ceremony in 1584 at the wedding of Fyodor Ivanovich, a blood relative by birth. maternal line Mikhail. After confirmation, the tsar proceeded to the Archangel Cathedral, where, according to tradition, he venerated the coffins of the great princes (thus emphasizing his connection with the house of Rurikovich, although they were not his blood ancestors), and then to Blagoveshchensk. Upon leaving each cathedral, the king was showered with gold coins, which after the ceremony were snatched up by onlookers - as many as they could.

At the end of the event, according to tradition, a feast took place, convened “for the sake of the royal robbing without seats,” that is, it did not prescribe a specific seating arrangement for the participants at the table, and therefore prevented parochial disputes, which, as a rule, poisoned all festive feasts “with seats.” The feast lasted three days and was accompanied by the distribution of ranks and gifts, which was also an old tradition. The sovereign awarded land grants and promotions. Prince Dmitry Pozharsky received the rank of boyar, Nizhny Novgorod resident Kuzma Minin received the title of Duma nobleman, Prince Dmitry Trubetskoy was awarded the estate that previously belonged to Boris Godunov. It is symbolic that immediately after the crowning of the kingdom, Mikhail Fedorovich ordered the clock on the Frolovskaya (Spasskaya) tower to be repaired, as if giving a countdown to the new time that began with his reign.

The crowning of Alexei Mikhailovich took place on September 28, 1645. It was postponed twice - first because of mourning for his father, and then for his mother, and finally took place the day after the fortieth anniversary of Tsarina Evdokia Lukyanovna. The ceremony differed from the previous one - and from subsequent ones - in greater pomp, demonstrating the new king’s special love for rituals. The day before the celebration, September 27, a royal “drawing place” was set up in the cathedral, described in the “Wedding Rite” as follows: “... the high place of the velma was decorated, and 12 steps were made and the drawing place and steps were covered with cloth, purple kind." A royal throne of Persian workmanship and a chair for the patriarch were installed there. Alexei Mikhailovich generally loved to sit on a raised platform and contemplate everything that was happening from above, and therefore any ritual during his reign was accompanied by the erection of lush tents with many or fewer steps. Just before the wedding began, the royal regalia and the life-giving cross were delivered from the State Court. Alexei Mikhailovich's confessor, Archpriest of the Annunciation Cathedral Stefan Vonifatiev, carried, placing on his head, a heavy golden dish on which lay the life-giving cross, Monomakh's cap, diadem and chain, and treasurer B. M. Dubrovsky and boyar V. I. Streshnev - a scepter and power. The regalia were brought into the cathedral and laid out on three lecterns, from where they were already taken according to the “rank” in right time certain people.

In the second hour of the day, that is, at 9–10 o’clock in the morning (the countdown of the daytime hours began at dawn), Alexey Mikhailovich came to the Golden Chamber, where he was met by the boyars and close people dressed in a “golden dress.” From here the procession “with all piety” went to the Assumption Cathedral. During the tsar’s procession to the cathedral, the treasurer and two clerks “guarded the path,” that is, they made sure that no one crossed the path of the sovereign. Observance of this sign, which existed since pagan times, was very important for the superstitious Alexei Mikhailovich, who all his life feared the evil eye, damage, “whispering women” and other similar things.

A prayer service was served in the Assumption Cathedral, after which the Tsar and Patriarch Joseph climbed the steps to the platform and took their places. To the right of them were the boyars, to the left were the clergy. Then the king and the primate exchanged formal speeches. Alexey Mikhailovich mentioned Rurik, Vladimir Monomakh, his “grandfather” Fyodor Ivanovich, touched upon the events of the Time of Troubles, which disrupted the order of transfer of power, said a few words about the restoration of legal rule under his father Mikhail Fedorovich and about his pious rule, and in conclusion asked the patriarch to commit , legitimate heir to the throne, wedding ceremony. His speech persistently emphasized the idea of ​​the legality of his rights to the throne and the continuity of power. On the one hand, this was a response to rumors about a “replacement” prince that circulated among the people due to the fact that Alexei was the third child of an already middle-aged father; on the other hand, a response to proposals sometimes made “drunk” to transfer power to the Danish prince Valdemar or another foreign ruler. Finally, this persistent refrain about the legitimacy of the new dynasty stemmed from the uncertainty of its members, the fear of the next impostors and unrest.

The Patriarch, in turn, supported and continued the main idea of ​​the Tsar’s monologue. For the first time, a prayer about the power of the Russian ruler over the entire Universe was added to the patriarch’s speech. (This idea should have appealed to Alexei Mikhailovich, especially in his mature years, when he dreamed of leading the entire Orthodox world and was trying on the role of “the second Constantine the Great.” In fact, the church reforms of Patriarch Nikon, which began in 1653, aimed at unifying Russian and Greek churches rituals and liturgical books, worked for this idea of ​​elevating the Russian monarch to a universal role, and therefore were so zealously supported by the tsar.) After this, the patriarch accepted from the hands of the tsar’s maternal grandfather, boyar V.I. Streshnev, the Monomakh crown and placed it on Alexei Mikhailovich, handed him the scepter and orb.

The boyars present congratulated the sovereign, and the patriarch delivered a sermon: “For the Lord God speaks to the prophets: I raised you up, the king of righteousness, and took you by the hand and strengthened you. For this reason, kings and princes hear, and understand that power has been given to you from God and strength from the Most High, for the Lord God has chosen you as His place on earth, and has elevated you to His throne and seated you, and placed mercy and belly on you. It is fitting for you, having received from the Most High the commandment of human rule for the sake of an Orthodox king, not only to take care of your own and to rule your own, but also to save everything you have from anxiety and keep his flock unharmed from wolves, and to fear the sickle of heaven...” One can imagine what a balm These words poured into the heart of the sixteen-year-old “zealot of ancient piety.”

Next, a solemn mass was served, which Alexei Mikhailovich defended “in all his royal rank.” The liturgy ended with the rite of anointing and communion. During the anointing, the royal crown was held by F.I. Sheremetev. At the end of the ceremony, the tsar, upon leaving the Assumption Cathedral, was showered with gold coins by Nikita Ivanovich Romanov, his cousin (he, even before the royal wedding, was granted boyar status with Prince A.N. Trubetskoy, and therefore golden rain promised to fall on his head) . The procession, with a huge crowd of people, proceeded to the Archangel Cathedral “to venerate the tombs of their ancestors,” then to the Annunciation Cathedral. The “Wedding Rite” specifically says about the people: “The nation’s many multitudes, countless Orthodox Christians, stand each in their place with fear and trembling, with much heartfelt joy.”

The feast that concluded the “assuming of office” of the new king was grandiose (“extremely honest and great”) and lasted several days in the Chamber of Facets. Every day the king favored and had mercy on someone. The highest Duma rank was granted to princes Ya. K Cherkassky, M. M. Temkin-Rostovsky, F. F. Kurakin. They entered the court elite under the auspices of the royal “uncle” Boris Ivanovich Morozov.

The coronation celebrations ended with a visit to the tsar’s favorite monasteries “by promise,” that is, by oath: Savvino-Storozhevsky, Nikolo-Ugreshsky and Pafnutyevo-Borovsky.

Alexei Mikhailovich loved to remember this event, and therefore indicated annually on September 28, “on this day he was crowned with the royal crown,” to serve the patriarchal liturgy and ring the bells. For example, in 1668, a service was held in the palace church of St. Eudokia, “and the bell rang from Evdokia from above.”

The wedding of his son Fyodor Alekseevich might not have taken place if his elder brother Alexei had not died in 1670. My father had to appoint another successor - Fedor became him. On the day of the New Year according to the pre-Petrine calendar, September 1, 1674, the ceremony of declaring the prince heir to the throne took place. And two years later, after the sudden death of Alexei Mikhailovich, the crowning of Feodor took place. Since it was already the third for the Romanov dynasty, it absorbed the experience of the two previous ceremonies. The organizers of this ceremony only added or removed some details. An interesting description of the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich was given by Patriarch Joachim in a speech addressed to his son and successor: “... with your royal, cheerful and brave support, you kept strong throughout your great Russian kingdom, and brought many states and lands into citizenship with the sword and the grace of your sovereign, and all Orthodox Christianity in peace, and silence, and in prosperity, quietly and serenely building, and with all the good things in the universe, and in all the great surrounding states, the sovereigns had a glorious and terrible name, and all the surrounding great sovereigns were with him, the great sovereign “I wish to be in friendship and love with His Royal Majesty.”

Fyodor, like his father, ordered to build in the Assumption Cathedral “a high place, like a drawing room, where he, the great sovereign, will be crowned on his royal throne with the royal crown, and the holy barmas, and all his royal rank, and everything that goes with it.” “It is suitable for the Tsar’s Majesty’s wedding, then he ordered everything to be prepared.” On the morning of the wedding day, a throne was brought to the temple - “a royal place of gold with precious stones with many stones, called Persian, and the attack was wrapped in golden velvet”; A chair for the patriarch was placed nearby. Some historians believe that, keeping in mind Patriarch Nikon’s claims to power, at Fyodor’s wedding the chair for the patriarch was not placed next to the monarch’s chair. But this statement is not confirmed by the source, which describes the entire ceremony in detail. The “Ordinary for the installation of Theodore Alekseevich as king” also says that the patriarch, accompanied by church hierarchs, was the first to come to the cathedral and take his drawing place. The king first went into his home church of the Savior Not Made by Hands and venerated the icons, then went to the Chamber of Facets, where court officials gathered in golden robes with pearl necklaces, high hats and golden “chaps.” Here the sovereign awarded the boyars I. M. Streshnev (from the okolnichi) and M. I. Morozov (from the stolniks), and the Duma nobles - A. S. Khitrovo.

Then the Tsar, in a golden opashne with low (pearl) lace and a pearl stripe adorning his chest, surrounded by boyars, Duma, okolnichy and room people, ceremoniously proceeded to the Assumption Cathedral. The path from the Church of the Savior to the Faceted Chamber, and from it to the Assumption Cathedral, the archpriests of these churches sprinkled holy water. The Sovereign's confessor, Archpriest of the Annunciation Cathedral, Nikita Vasiliev, was entrusted with a golden dish with a cross and bars; two deacons supported him by the arms. The royal crown was carried by the boyar I. M. Streshnev, the scepter - I. F. Streshnev, the “apple of the royal rank” - the treasurer I. B. Kamynin, the “golden dish with precious stones” - the Duma clerk Dementy Bashmakov, and the stand (stand for the orb ) - Duma clerk Vasily Semenov. The procession takes place under constant bell ringing, was apparently very beautiful, because the author of the description of the ceremony especially emphasized that the piety and decorum of the procession made a great impression on all those present.

At the crowning of Fyodor Alekseevich, the Tsar, for the first time after his anointing, was allowed to receive communion directly into the altar, where no Russian monarch had ever entered before. It was part of the Byzantine ceremony for the wedding of emperors, emphasizing the sanctity of secular power. Even Alexei Mikhailovich was called “the second Constantine the Great” by the Greek hierarchs, who regularly came to Russia either for alms or for church councils, but he did not accept the imperial title and this detail of the Byzantine rite of installation was not used during his coronation. Only him younger son Peter in 1721 after graduation Northern War was awarded the title of Emperor at the same time with the nicknames Father of the Fatherland and Great. Fyodor Alekseevich, although he was not proclaimed emperor, went through the ritual of entering the altar for communion, which became an important intermediate stage in the ascent of Russian rulers to the imperial title.

In all other respects, the rite of the crowning of Fyodor followed the rite of his father. Both of them emphasized in every possible way the blood succession connection with the Byzantine imperial house: during the ceremony, the thought was heard more than once that “we will receive the highest honor and the royal crown and diadim from the Greek king Constantine Monomakh: for this reason, Monomakh was named, from him all the great sovereigns I am crowned with the crown of the kingdom.”

An absolute innovation was the presentation to the Tsar of a special poetic opus, “The Good-Glass Gusl,” written on the solemn occasion by Simeon of Polotsk.

The compilers of the “Wedding Rites,” which recorded the entire ritual, repeatedly emphasized that all those present were fettered by “fear and trembling” before the grandeur and piety of this sacrament. Similar special events were engraved in the memory of their contemporaries for a long time and remained a topic for discussion and reminiscence for a long time.

Of course, the coronation was the most striking event of the entire reign of the Russian autocrat, but it was far from the only memorable celebration in the daily life of the royal court.

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“Moscow Kingdom” /XV–XVI centuries/

Royal wedding

In June 1547, a terrible Moscow fire caused a popular revolt against the relatives of Ivan's mother - the Glinskys, to whose charms the crowd attributed the disaster. The riot was pacified, but the impressions from it, according to Ivan the Terrible, brought “fear” into his “soul and trembling into his bones.”

The fire almost coincided with Ivan's crowning, which for the first time was then combined with the sacrament of Confirmation.

Crowning of Ivan the Terrible in 1547

Royal wedding - a solemn ceremony borrowed by Russia from Byzantium, during which future emperors were dressed in royal clothes and a crown (diadem) was placed on them. In Russia, the “first-crowned” is the grandson of Ivan III Dmitry, he was married to the “great reign of Vladimir and Moscow and Novgorod” on February 4, 1498.

January 16, 1547 Grand Duke Moscow's Ivan IV the Terrible was crowned king in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin with the cap of Monomakh, with the placing of a barm, a cross, a chain on him and the presentation of a scepter. (At the coronation of Tsar Boris Godunov, the awarding of an orb as a symbol of power was added.)

Barmy - a precious mantle, decorated with images of religious content, was worn during the wedding of the Russian tsars.

Power - one of the symbols of royal power in Muscovite Rus', a golden ball with a cross on top.

Scepter - rod, one of the attributes of royal power.

Scepter (1) and orb (2) of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and princely barmas (3)

The church sacrament of Confirmation shocked the young king. Ivan IV suddenly realized himself as “abbot of all Rus'.” And this awareness from that moment largely guided his personal actions and government decisions. With the crowning of Ivan IV, for the first time in Russia not only a Grand Duke appeared, but also a crowned tsar - the anointed one of God, the sole ruler of the country.

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author

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Crowning of the Kingdom 1 Complete collection of Russian chronicles (hereinafter: PSRL). St. Petersburg, 1904, vol. XIII, p.

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