Доклады Международного конгресса ИИСАА. Т. 1

254 Proceedings of the International Congress on Historiography and Source Studies of Asia and Africa.Vol. I. 2020 Juliette Rassi (Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon) Relations between the Orthodox Church of Antioch and Russia from the 16 th to the 17 th CC. Summary : Relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Antiochian Orthodox Church date back to the Middle Ages, when at the beginning of the 12th century the Russian pilgrim Hegumen Daniel arrived in the East for visiting the Holy Places. At that time, the Christian East was controlled by the Crusaders, who conquered it and formed principalities that lasted for almost two hundred years. The Eastern Orthodox Christians were subjected to the Franks, and their churches and convents, including the Church of the Resurrection and the main Church of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch, the Church of St Peter, were confiscated. As for the first visit of an Oriental prelate to Russia, it dates only to the 16th century, when Patriarch of Antioch Joachim V (Yuwakim Daww), accompanied by religious figures and Oriental laics, went to Russia in 1585 and arrived in Moscow in 1586. Russian Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible had previously sent financial aid to the Eastern churches including The Church of Alexandria and Jerusalem, so the reason of the voyage was to ask him for financial assistance toAntiochian Eastern Orthodox Christians, who were suffering because of the heavy taxes imposed by the Ottomans. The Patriarch of Antioch was well received by Tsar Feodor, son of Ivan IV, who granted the wishes of the Patriarch. Thus, Joachim V’s trip to Russia was successful, and it was likewise a success for Russia. At that time, the Russian Tsar wanted to transform the Bishopric of Moscow into a Patriarchy, thus he made approaches on the matter to the Patriarch of Antioch who agreed to discuss the issue with other Oriental Patriarchs. Eventually, the request of the Russian Orthodox Tsar was granted before the end of the 16th century. Patriarch Joachim's first trip was followed by another one in the 17th century by the Antiochian Patriarch Makarius Ibn al-Za'im. Pushed by more pressing financial issues than before, he went to Russia and other Christian countries to ask for the help of Russian Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and other Christian sovereigns. At that time the situation of the Orthodox Christians was even more complicated. On the one hand, they were subject to the vexations of the Ottomans; on the other hand, they were shaken in their Orthodox faith by the Catholic missionaries who tried to convert them. Moreover, some of the Eastern Christians at that time converted to Islam. The first journey of Patriarch Makarius lasted seven years (1652–1659), during which he was welcomed by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich who gave him everything he