The Process of Forming of the Lithuanian Orthodox Metropolitanate in the 14th Century and its Religious and Political Context

This work is devoted to the study of the process of creation of the Lithuanian Orthodox metropolis and the accompanying religious and political situation on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and North-Eastern Russia. The basis of this study is the history of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the XIV century, namely the issues of its religious history. 1317 was the year of Foundation of the first Lithuanian Orthodox metropolis, independent from the Russian Metropolitan in Moscow and subordinated directly to Constantinople. Around the same time, the Church component of the foreign and domestic policy of The Grand Duchy of Lithuania begins to play a significant role. In the context of this situation, some questions become especially important, namely, what was the date of Foundation of the Orthodox metropolis on the lands of the Principality, as well as the reasons for its creation. Given the numerous attempts to create a metropolis, it is also important to determine what was the religious identity of the elites of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, what was the religious and Church policy of the state and the General situation of Orthodoxy, especially in the context of the history of the three Vilna martyrs. What was the attitude of Constantinople to the attempts of fragmentation of the United Russian metropolis, and what benefit he pursued.