"The Lord Has Revealed His New Great Mercy Upon the Russian Orthodox Church". Notifying Charter of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and Russia, to Heads of Orthodox Churches

The paper introduces into scientific circulation the informing charter (alternatively known as a communicative or intronisation charter) of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon, addressed to Patriarch Herman of Constantinople and other Heads of Local Orthodox Churches in the spring 1918. The paper also clarifies the reasons for the six-month delay in dispatching the charter. It is concluded that these problems arose because of the need to accompany the charter with a special conciliar document that would put forward grounds for the restoration of the Patriarchate in Russia. This document received the title Ulozhennaia gramota, and its preparation came to be extremely drawn-out. The paper examines the response of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to the news of the election of Patriarch Tikhon. Fanar tried to postpone the recognition for an indefi nite period, but could not do it because of the position of other local Churches