Most Holy Synod

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Headquarters of the Holy Synod of the Russian Empire in St. Petersburg.

The Most Holy Directing Synod (Russian: Святейший Правительствующий Синод) was the highest governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church between 1721 and 1918–when the Patriarchate was restored. At the time of its disestablishment, it was the oldest governing body among the various Orthodox Churches. The jurisdiction of the Holy Synod extended over every kind of ecclesiastical question and over some that are partly secular.

The Synod was established by Peter I of Russia on January 25, 1721 as a part of secularization, and the establishment was followed by the abolition of the Patriarchate. This Caesaropapist reform was framed by two Ukrainian clerics, Stephen Yavorsky (the Synod's first president) and Feofan Prokopovich. The Synod was composed partly of ecclesiastical persons, partly of laymen appointed by the tsar. Among them were the Metropolitans of Saint Petersburg, Moscow and Kiev, and the Exarch of Georgia. Originally, there were to be twelve ecclesiastical members, but the number has been constantly changed by tsars.