Patriarch Adrian of Moscow


Patriarch Adrian was the last pre-revolutionary Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
Adrian caught the eye of Patriarch Joachim, when he was still an archmandrite at Chudov Monastery. In 1686, Joachim appointed him metropolitan of Kazan and Sviyazhsk. On 24 August 1690, Adrian was chosen to replace Joachim on his post. Patriarch Adrian was a staunch adherent of traditional norms and opposed Peter the Great's reforms. Adrian's relations with the tsar were tense; however, he had to accept some of Peter's criticism about deficiencies in management of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Adrian sought to eradicate Latinizations in the Church in Ukraine. He introduced a confession requiring bishops-elect to state that the epiclesis, rather than the Words of Institution, transforms the gifts at the liturgy into the body and blood of Christ.