Orthodox Russia and the Roman Catholic Church in the Thirteenth Century: Concerning their Relationship

Abstract

This article examines one of the most complicated periods in the Russian history of the thirteenth century. The main attention is paid to covering two issues: 1) consideration of various methodological approaches to the study of the relationship between Orthodox Rus’ and Catholic Rome; 2) the problem of the choice made by Alexander Nevsky. The research is based on the principle of Orthodox understanding of history, methods of textual and historical-comparative analysis. The article makes an attempt, based on the study of historical documents, to refute theses that are popular today among liberal historians about the relations between Russian Orthodox and Catholics in the thirteenth century. A lot of space in the work is also taken up by highlighting the true goals of Catholic Rome. This article also focuses on the important role of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky, as well as other Russian princes who refused to accept Catholicism and thereby contributed to the preservation of the spiritual independence of Old Rus’. At the end of the study, a conclusion is made about the absence of a selfless desire on the part of Catholic Rome to help the Russian lands in the fight against the Mongol-Tatar conquerors. Adopting the Catholic faith would mean for Russia not only political dependence on the West, but also the loss of its identity.