Ignatius of Moscow

Who was Ignatius of Moscow?

Ignatius was a Russian Orthodox bishop of Greek descent who was the second Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia in 1605-1606, even though his status is now disputed and he is frequently omitted from the list of Patriarchs of Moscow by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Ignatius was reported to be of Cretan descent. He came to Russia in 1595 as a member of an ecclesiastic mission, sent by the Patriarch of Constantinople. He took part in the coronation of Boris Godunov. In the early 17th century, Ignatius was appointed Archbishop of Ryazan. After the death of Godunov, he expressed support to False Dmitriy I and, even before the pretender reached Moscow, was swearing in his supporters in Tula. On June 30, 1605, Ignatius was elected patriarch by the council of bishops to replace Patriarch Job, who was sent into exile for refusing to acknowledge the pretender's rights for Russian throne. Ignatius performed the coronation of False Dmitriy I on July 21, 1605 and later also celebrated the coronation of his wife Marina Mnishek and their marriage. At that time, Ignatius was also an ardent opponent of the Unia.

After the assassination of False Dmitriy I, Ignatius was removed from his see and confined in the Chudov Monastery by the order of Tsar Vasili IV. In 1610, patriarch Ignatius supported False Dmitriy II. In 1611, he was freed from the monastery by the Polish occupation forces of Moscow and went to Poland, where he would later settle in Wilno. At that time he also converted from Russian Orthodoxy to Byzantine Russian Rite Catholicism, thus entering into the full communion with the Pope.