Filaret

Born circa 1554; died Oct. 12 (22), 1633. Russian political figure. Patriarch (from 1619). Son of N. R. Zakhar’in. Father of the first tsar of the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail Fedorovich; on his maternal side, first cousin of Tsar Fedor Ivanovich.

Filaret, whose secular name was Fedor Nikitich Romanov, occupied a high post during the reign of Fedor Ivanovich. In late 1600 or early 1601, however, under orders from Boris Godunov, he was arrested and exiled to the Antonii-Siia Monastery, where he was forced to take monastic vows. In 1605, during the reign of the First False Dmitrii, he was recalled from exile and given the post of metropolitan of Rostov. In May 1606, Filaret took part in the overthrow of the pretender. On Oct. 11 (21), 1608, he was captured in the taking of Rostov by the Tushino units of the Second False Dmitrii and was sent to the Tushino camp. He was appointed patriarch but adopted a temporizing policy. Having returned to Moscow in May 1610, he took part in the overthrow of V. Shuiskii in July 1610.

Filaret favored the accession of a member of a foreign dynasty to the Russian throne. He helped formulate the policies of the Semiboiarshchina (Seven Boyars) and took part in the conclusion of a treaty on Aug. 17 (27), 1610, with the Polish hetman Żołkiewski; in accordance with this treaty, Władisław, the son of the Polish king Sigismund III, was to be recognized as the Russian tsar. In September 1610, near the besieged city of Smolensk, Filaret headed the “great embassy,” which was to confirm the articles of the treaty. However, in the course of the negotiations, he refused to agree to Sigismund’s new terms. As a result, he was arrested in April 1611 and sent to Poland, where he remained in captivity until the middle of 1619.

While Filaret was being held in Poland, his 16-year-old son Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov was made tsar (1613). In July 1619, Filaret returned to Moscow and was immediately installed as patriarch. He was the de facto ruler of the country from the time of his return until the end of his life.

(also Philaret; secular name Vasilii Mikhailovich Drozdov). Born Dec. 26, 1782 (Jan. 6, 1783), in Kolomna; died Nov. 19 (Dec. 1), 1867, in Moscow. Archbishop of Moscow (from 1821) and metropolitan of Moscow (1825–67).

The son of a deacon, Filaret graduated from the Trinity Seminary. He took monastic vows in 1808. Between 1809 and 1819 he was first the inspector and then the rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy. During the same period he was also a professor of philosophy and a member of the Bible Society. As a member of the Synod from 1819 to 1849, he exerted a great influence on both ecclesiastical and state affairs. Filaret drafted a number of state documents, including the act transferring the throne to Nicholas I and the Manifesto of Feb. 19, 1861.