to the chief bishop in performing divine services and dedicating henchmen. This kind of temporary vicars were visiting Greek bishops who lived in Russia sometimes for several years, as well as Russian senior bishops who lived in retirement; both of them, feeling like guests, helped—so to speak—the bishop-host for his hospitality and kindness, without at all intending to take part in the diocesan administration. There were examples of permanent vivariums of the same kind; so to assist the Novgorod Metropolitan Job, his confessor Joel, archimandrite of the monastery of Anthony the Roman, an apparently elderly man, who remained in the same monastery and died before his patron (was bishop 1708-12), was dedicated to him as a vicar.
With the establishment of St. Synod, the highest government came up with the idea of giving the institution of the vicariate independent significance. Three times in the 1st half of the 18th century, as far as we know, this idea was proposed by the government and three times rejected by St. synod.
In the points of instruction of St. Synod of January 24 1724 by the hand of Peter I in paragraph 4 it was written:
The synod bishops have a vicar life, and they are in charge of zemstvo affairs and give answers in everything.
The Synod made the following objection: “You command me to be a vicar of the synodal bishops, and how should those vivariums and cell ministers be supported?”, and as a bishop’s vicar, in the opinion (i.e., the synod), it is not proper to enter into zemstvo affairs, since other bishops present in the houses do not enter into zemstvo affairs, but such cases are carried out by their judges and the clerks who are stationed in their houses.”
The Emperor yielded to the opinion of the synod and decided:
Bishops will appoint clerks instead of vicars.
Another time, by decree of Catherine I of July 15, 1726, it was commanded: the synodal members should not touch the dioceses in any way, so that there would be no interference in their proper management (that is, in the conduct of synodal affairs). And for this purpose, in the diocese, appoint vicars who must give an answer and report on everything. But the decree remained unfulfilled.
For the third time, a zealous guardian of the fulfillment of royal respects
JUP, Chief Prosecutor Ev. Synod of the 25th of May 1742 entered Ssvokh with the following sciamievk "vicars in the diocese have not yet been determined. And although those present in the Holy Synod of the Yen, their eminences, having found themselves from their dioceses in the absence, and according to them, the cases that happen are corrected in those available from them dioceses' offices, but from this the Eminences, in the process of synodal affairs, have difficulty, the tan and the shadow of the archarchy, an unnecessary continuation is made. Moreover, the extreme lack of my need for the tone is that their Eminences, according to the strength of the spiritual regulations of their promises, visit churches in the dioceses and all kinds of superstitions. It is impossible to eradicate schisms because of the rank of one’s positions.* In accordance with the above decree, the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod will make a worthy determination.
The Holy Synod seemed to express a desire to take up the proposal of the Chief Prosecutor and demanded the necessary information, but the matter dragged on and remained unfinished.
This struggle between two ideas about a vicar: the desire to have a vivarian assistant in the priesthood and the reluctance to have a vivarian participant in the administration - was best expressed in the story of the failed attempt of Arseny Mopiyanskash, Metropolitan of Kyiv, to acquire a vicar for himself.
From November 11, 1758 and. Arseny Mogyalyansky sent to St. The Synod made the following report: “For the weakness of my health, I intend to maintain for assistance in the ordination of the vivarium, and see in the Vievo-Pechersk Lavra living, until the determination of your Holiness, the Greek Archbishop Gerasim, a well-behaved husband and able to assist in this, accept in himself as I wish for a vivarium, which is the will of his Eminence. For the life and maintenance I have to determine for his Eminence - he will live as a vivarium in his place - the diocese of my Vievsky Hermitage, which is now in a monastery without an archimandrite, will be at my discretion for the maintenance of His Eminence. Therefore, your Holiness will be completely satisfied. I ask the Most Reverend Archbishop Gerasim, on the basis stated above, to appoint me as a vivarium*.
F THE Kyiv DIOCESE IN THE XXIII CENTURY.