Nikita Viktorovich Bashnin,
Doctor of Historical Sciences, St. Petersburg Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Bishop Sylvester, Archbishop Nektarios the Greek and the Certification by the Seals of Church Hierarchs of the Approved Charter on the Election of Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov to the Throne: To the Formulation of the Problem
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2026-2-1
This article presents the results of a study of the biographies of two church hierarchs: Bishop Sylvester and Archbishop Nektarios the Greek. On June 26, 1613, Nektarios was consecrated Archbishop of Vologda and Velikoperm. The previous Vologda bishop, Bishop Sylvester, was appointed to Pskov and arrived there on October 8, 1613. In 1616 (the exact date is unknown), after a denunciation, Nektariy was sent to prison in the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, where he remained until 1621. After the death of Archbishop Cornelius of Vologda and Velikoperm (March 17, 1625), Nektariy was returned to the Vologda cathedra, where he died on June 3, 1626. In April−May 1613, the “approved” charter on the election of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov to the throne was drawn up. Ten seals of metropolitans, archbishops, and bishops were attached to this document. However, to date, only one work by P.G. Lyubomirov has been published in historiography that has focused on the seals and signatures of church hierarchs. Analysis of phototype reproductions of the seals, as well as the creation of a 3D model of the discovered wax seals of Archbishop Nektarios and Archbishop Makariy, led to the conclusion that the certification of the 1613 Charter with the seals of church hierarchs was not a one-time act, and the circumstances of this event remain unclear. The use of sphragistic material has allowed for further advancement in the study of this issue. Considering that Archbishop Nektarios the Greek was in Moscow and participated in the events of May-July 1613, he could have affixed his seal to the charter only after his consecration on June 26 and, apparently, after the matrix had been prepared. He did not sign the back of the charter, however, as the Vologda See was vacant in May 1613, and he was not yet Archbishop of Vologda and Belozersk. Bishop Sylvester, despite the fact that Karelia had been captured by the Swedes and he was a bishop without a see, signed and affixed his seal in accordance with his hierarchical position in the Russian Church.
Publishing: 28/04/2026
The article has been received by the editor on 15/01/2026
How to cite: Bashnin N.V. Bishop Sylvester, Archbishop Nektarios the Greek and the Certification by the Seals of Church Hierarchs of the Approved Charter on the Election of Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov to the Throne: To the Formulation of the Problem // Historical Courier, 2026, No. 2 (46), pp. 13−34. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2026/ISTKURIER-2026-2-01.pdf]
The study was carried out as part of a project supported by the Russian Science Foundation: “Sealings of Russian Bishops in the 17th and First Quarter of the 18th Century: Representation of Power” (project No. 25-28-03213).
Links: Issue 2 2026
Keywords: Approved charter; Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich Romanov; sphragistics; Vologda archbishop’s house of St. Sophia; Archbishop of Vologda and Velikoperm Nekatriy the Greek; Bishop of Korela and Oresh Sylvester