The second part focuses on dramatic events from the second half of the 15th to the beginning of the 17th centuries: the reign of Ivan the Terrible and the oprichnina, religious disputes and the struggle against heresies, the establishment of the patriarchate in Moscow and the Church-historical life of Western Rus’. Some of the most vivid pages tell about Christian ascetics of the early 17th century and about the role of the Church in saving the Fatherland during the terrible trials of the Time of Troubles. From every historical event, the author draws, above all, moral lessons: to educate the younger generation with people of high spiritual culture who love their homeland, it is necessary to give them the chance to touch the glorious pages of their native history—so rich in worthy examples of true service to God and the Fatherland.
Contents:
I. Sophia Palaiologina. The End of the Tatar Yoke. Affairs with Lithuania
II. Dispute Over Monastery Property. Venerable Nil Sorsky, Joseph Volotsky, Vassian Kosoy
III. Maxim the Greek
IV. Holy ascetics and evangelists
V. The Beginning of Ivan the Terrible’s Reign
VI. Councils in Moscow
VII. Religious disputes
VIII. The Fall of Sylvester. Executions. The Oprichnina. St. Philip, Metropolitan
IX. The calamities and sufferings of Russia in the final years of Ivan’s reign. Negotiations with Possevino
X. Establishment of the patriarchate in Moscow
XI. Patriarch Job under Godunov
XII. The impostor and his dealings with Rome
XIII. The Time of Troubles and Patriarch Germogen
XIV. Holy ascetics of the early 17th century