Courting the “After” Life of St. Metropolitan Filipp II (Kolychev) and of Patriarch Iov at the Court of Tsar Aleksei

Abstract Tsar Aleksei’s rationale for ordering, on the same day, the transfer to Moscow of St. Filipp’s and of Patriarch Iov’s remains served to legitimize his rule by linking the Romanov tsars more firmly to the previous Riurikovich dynasty, and reaffirming the notion of a righteous, rightful tsar in Moscow. Honoring the deposed metropolitan and patriarch also enhanced their cults. Both men had led the Church in times of violence and chaos: Filipp during the Oprichnina period and Iov during the early Time of Troubles. Both were removed from Church leadership by secular authority in ways reminiscent of martyrs. Filipp was removed by a recognized tsar, Ivan IV , who later ordered his execution, giving Aleksei the opportunity to apologize on behalf of his “ancestor.” Iov, who had written a laudatory Life of Tsar Fedor, was removed by the first serious pretender to the throne, the First False Dmitrii, and physically beaten by a mob.