The Petersburg Period begins with the death of Patriarch Adrian and the establishing by Emperor Peter of the Most Holy Synod and comes to an end with the February coup d'etat.
Contents: (1) Review of Petersburg period; (2) Establishment of Most Holy Synod; (3) Activity of the Most Holy Synod.

1 -- Overview of Petersburg Period
The Petersburg period (1700-1917, 217 years) begins with the death of Patriarch Adrian (1700) and the establishment by Emperor Peter of the Holy Synod (1721) in St. Petersburg. The period comes to an end with the February coup d'etat of 1917.
    With the arrival of the reformer of Russia, Emperor Peter the First (Great), friction with the Church began and at the first opportunity he abolished the patriarchate. Instead of the patriarch the Most Holy Synod was founded. Some people consider that this negatively reflected on the Church and on society and that development of the Church was impeded.

2 -- Establishment of Most Holy Synod
In Russia, before Emperor Peter the First, there were two heads of state: the tsar and the patriarch. They cooperated and helped each other and the Church had complete freedom. The Russian Church was always in close communication with the people and the state, was never separated from them and always served their true interest. Such cooperation of Church and state is called by the Greek word "симфония" [symphony] (in Russian "согласие" [agreement]).
    Emperor Peter the First made reforms to benefit Russia, but not everybody agreed with him. He met resistance and animosities from all sides, including the clergy. Therefore, after the death of patriarch Adrian (1690-1700), a new patriarch was not elected. The Ryazan metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky was placed as an acting patriarch (1700-1721); which means that he temporarily replaced the patriarch. Till 1700, in the Russian Church, there were ten (10) patriarchs. In 1721 Peter the Great established the Most Holy Synod which replaced the patriarch. The Synod at first was called the "Духовной коллегия" [Spiritual-Religious Collegium].
    This change in management of the Russian Church was approved and confirmed by the eastern patriarchs. They recognized the Most Holy Synod as their brother having equal authority with them and the same power in the church hierarchy; that is, they recognized that the Most Holy Synod has the same authority as the patriarch. Thus the Most Holy Synod replaced the patriarch.
    The Most Holy Synod consisted of: (1) President, (2) Two Vice-presidents, (3) Four senior advisers and (4) Four "asessorov" [lower-level advisers]. The first president of the Synod was Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky. Later, the secular titles were replaced by more suitable names: (1) the presiding member, (2) members of the Synod and (3) other attending members of the Synod.
    By order of Emperor Peter the First, Metropolitan Feofan Prokopovich published the "Духовный Регламент" [Spiritual-Religious Rules]. In it the ancient church rules, which were still in force, were adapted to the contemporary situation in the Russian Church. "Духовной коллегия" [the Spiritual-Religious Collegium] was subordinated to the tsar through a special officer, called -- "оберпрокурор" . Thus the Russian Church lost its independence and its freedom.
    Having replaced the patriarch, the Most Holy Synod took up also the running and managing of the patriarchal business affairs. Its main tasks were:

1. 1. Supervision over the accuracy of teaching and proper conduct of Divine Services,
2. 2. Election and installation of worthy archbishops and clergymen,
3. 3. Supervision of religious [spiritual] educational institutions,
4. Censorship of religious [spiritual] books,
5. Divorce business [affairs] and other related issues.

3 -- Activity of Most Holy Synod
With the acceptance of the holy Orthodox faith in Russia, spiritual education and the opening of schools began. Holy Count Vladimir, right after baptism, ordered to gather children and to teach them. Metropolitan Michael gave teachers instructios how to teach children. "Ярослав Мудрый" [Yaroslav the Wise] (Vladimir's son) opened a school in Novgorod, where up to 300 children were taught. Similarly in other cities, at bishop's "кафедра" [seat] also were opened schools for children.
    During the Mongolian invasion many schools were closed, but then they were opened again.
    Under Patriarch Philaret, in the Chudovo monastery in Moscow, a Greek-Latin school was opened. Under patriarch Ioakim (Joachim) in Moscow an Academy was opened, where the Likhudy brothers taught; they were Greeks who had graduated from the University of Padua
    From the time that the Most Holy Synod was established, schools began to flourish. Peter the First restored the Academy, which was in decline (after the removal of the Likhudy brothers) and entrusted it to Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky. Stefan Yavorsky's friend, Metropolitain Dmitry Rostovsky, started a school in Rostov using his own funds. In many cities religious schools were opened due to the care and work of archibishops.
    At the end of 1807, under the order of Emperor Alexander I, religious [spiritual] schools were reorganized and divided into 4 categories:

1. "Академии" [Academies],
2. "Семинарии" [Seminaries],
3. "Духовные училища, уездные" [Religious district schools], and
4. "Духовные училища, приходские" [Religious parish schools]

1. St. Petersburg (1809),
2. Moscow (1816),
3. Kiev (1819),
4. Kazan (1842).

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Примечания [Notes].
[П1] Notes in square brackets were not part of the original Russian text. They are various translations, notes in Cyrillic and others.
[П2] Russian Alphabet (SE-03)