Patriarch Filaret



fullname Fyodor Nikitich Romanov

Born: 1553, Moscow, Russia Died: October 11 (Old Style October 1), 1633, Moscow

Patriarch of Moscow, who became the de-facto ruler of Russia during the reign of his son, Mikhail Feodorovich. Fyodor was born in Moscow and was the first to bear the Romanov surname. He made himself a soldier and a diplomat during the reign of his first cousin, Feodor I. On the death of the childless tsar, Feodor became a popular candidate for the throne. But he was forced to agree in the election of Boris Godunov and became a monk under the name Philaret (Filaret) in 1601.

Filaret was kept in the strictest confinement in the Antoniev Monastery until he was released by False Dmitriy I. In 1609, he was named Patriarch of all Russia by False Dmitry II but later became a prisoner in the hands of Polish king, Sigismund III Vasa. He was released as a result of the Truce of Deulino (1618) and was enthroned Patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia in June 2 of the same year.

Filaret established a government ruled by two sovereigns, he and his son, Tsar Michael. He replenished the treasury by a more equable system of collecting the taxes, and reorganized the Muscovite army with the help of foreign officers. His death put an end to the Russo-Polish War (1632-33).