I think it proper to clarify the nature of the western rite liturgy in its Russian context, commonly called the Liturgy of St. Peter. This name is not due to authorship, but that the Roman canon was said in Old, i.e. pre-Petrine Russia, on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, as well as on the feasts of all saints of western background, such as Pope St. Clement, Benedict and especially, Gregory the Dialogist. In the centralizing reforms of Peter, such liturgical ecumenism was eliminated, though it was retained by the Old Belief.

In short, the Liturgy of St. Peter is the Byzantine service with the Roman canon, Gloria and Agnus Dei, it also relies on the Roman lectionaries. In our current position, it is the perfect liturgical tradition for those of us who are of western background, but specialize in the life and tradition of Old Russia. It is to Russia what the Galician rite is to the French, a mixture, a blending of traditions bringing about a synthesis, a synthesis that proves the true universality of Orthodoxy regardless of liturgical usages or preferences.

It is well known that Fr. John Shaw (soon to be bishop for the ROCOR) has discovered and translated the Liturgy of St. Peter as it was found at the Serbian monastery of Hilandar at Athos, and that Bishop Daniel of Erie for the Old Rite (ROCOR) himself has great interest in the western heritage of Old Russia. What is less well known is the historical basis for this service, a service that was instrumental in shaping the Armenian liturgy, providing it with its own western elements, as well as keeping the Old Roman tradition alive in Russia as part of a living tradition. Prior to the 4th Crusade, Old Russia was as western as eastern.

Certain traditions of the Old Russia rite strongly suggest strong western influence:

a. The lestovka, which is essentially a western maniple subdivided so one can pray with it. It is a symbol of the “priesthood of all believers” in that it contains, symbolically, the full life of Christ, the trinity and the seven sacraments. Because of the “populist” nature of the lestovka, it was banned by Nikon. The lestovka was associated with the ancient tradition of the people of the parish elected a priest, it was eliminated as soon as the “reformed” Russia church began imposing priests from above.

b. The “flaps” (complete with the red piping) worn by the Old Rite monks is directly taken from the flaps worn by monsignors in the Roman Church.

c. The Old Rite “forgiveness” prayers, eliminated by Nikon, are nearly identical to the Confession in the Roman rite, both in content as well as its dialogue form.

d. The Liturgy of St. Peter itself.

e. The pinning of the Antimension to the altar itself rather than placing it on the altar after the great entrance. The Old Rite tradition is similar to that of the “altar stone” in the west rather than the Greek tradition.

As soon as St. Olga had returned from Byzantium (959) where she was erroneously said to have converted to the Byzantine rite (the annalists have mysteriously skipped this episode), she went to the Germans, not the Greeks, for bishops and liturgical books. The Holy Roman Empire sent bishop Libertius, and, after his death (961), Archbishop William of Mainz consecrated Adalbert, a Benedictine, with a specific mission to spread the Roman rite in Rus. The delegation was attacked by robbers while in Russia and left the country, greatly to the chagrin of Otto, the Emperor of Germany. It is conceivable, as some have claimed, that the German delegation was harassed by Sviatoslav, the son of Olga and Igor, for whom Olga was standing in as regent. Since Olga’s son never converted and remained a pagan in exchange for the support of his followers, this is not ruled out of court by specialists.

What is even more important is that it is clear that St. Olga was not baptized in Constantinople, but rather by German Benedictines, since, though there were closer political and financial relations with the Greeks, it was the Germans who Olga called on to baptize the country. This suggests that St. Olga herself was western rite, having been brought to the faith by the Benedictine order operating out of Germany. The ancient chronicles of Russia do not mention Olga’s baptism in Constantinople, but only the Greek chronicles do.

Between 972 and 980, determinate with the reign of Yaropolk, the papacy under Benedict VII had sent envoys to Russia, though there are no records that have survived as to the purpose or outcome of that mission. The fact remains, however, that many of the Christians of Rus prior to the conversion of St. Vladimir were of the western rite.

However, even if this were not the case, it remains that after the conversion of Vladimir, the western papacy regularly sent missionaries to Russia, and there is no record whatsoever of Vladimir being hostile to them. The first major mission was sent to Rus under Vladimir in 986 (years before his conversion), bringing relics, and significantly, many liturgical books, presumably of the western rite. Again in 988, when Vladimir was at Cherson, another major mission was sent from Rome carrying gifts again, of relics and liturgical books.

Again, regardless of our view on these things, it remains clear that the west was as equally active in Rus as the East. For example, when Vladimir’s son Sviatopolk, married the daughter of the King of Poland, Boleslaw, not only is there no record of any discomfort over the distinction of rites, but the Polish bishop, Reinbern (clearly of German background), was sent to Russia as the royal family’s chaplain.

One must keep in mind that it is false history to set up impenetrable walls between east and west prior to the schism. In north Africa and the Levant, west and east liturgized side by side on a regular basis. St. John Cassian brought the Egyptian services and monastic typikon to Gaul. St. Jerome went back and forth from Bethlehem to Rome. St. Methodious, co-laborer with St. Cyril, performed the Roman liturgical services. St. Romuald, the Benedictine hermit, was from Ravenna, seat of the Greek exarch, where Greek and Roman liturgical forms existed side by side, as they did at Milan, a Greek, not a Latin, city. The same might be said of south Italy and Sicily, where west and east functioned together, and where liturgical borrowing was common, encouraged, and reached a point where there is very little talk of an unbridgeable distinction between the rites. St. Nilus of Calabria might be mentioned in this context, a Greek monk who took up the rule of Romuald, and, for good measure, the life of St. Theodoros of Tarsus, head of the English Church might also be mentioned. When Metropolitan +Nicholas of Russia was touring the Holy Land in 1100, the Latin king Baldwin I was his patron and protector throughout his pilgrimage. Examples here might be multiplied, but the fact is that the rites became ossified only when the distinction between west and east became such, at the earliest, after the sack of Constantinople by the 4th crusade in 1204.

Western missionaries were a regular occurrence in Russia, as evidenced by the famous German monk Mauritius of Ratisbon, was active in spreading the western rite under St. Vladimir, and was treated as a personal friend by the monarch himself. Noteworthy in this respect as well is St. Bruno of Querfert, (not to be confused with the founder of the Carthusians) also preached the western rite in Russia, spreading the Benedictine rule and the life of the anchorite in Rus. This St. Bruno was a student of Romuald and was interested in spreading the anchorite life in Russia according to the Benedictine rule, and was received very well by Vladimir. When Bruno was martyred, he became the first martyr saint of Russia, prior to Sts. Boris and Gleb, who then overshadowed him. Afterwards, St. Boniface went to Russia as a missionary, and even received the title of Apostle to Russia.

Even more telling here was the request to the Roman pope for a bishop for Russia under the now canonized Yaroslav the Wise of Kiev, who was sent Bishop Alexis, who served according to the Roman rite in the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Kiev. It remains the case that Yaroslav’s relations with Henry III were far better than with Constantinople, since the next Russian bishop was chosen by a local synod, and not sent from the New Rome.

St. Olaf of Norway, once exiled from Scandinavia, settled in Novgorod and became confidant of Vladimir. He also brought with him western rite clergy, relics and service books, establishing the Roman rite in northern Russia and Novgorod specifically.

For these reasons did the church in Rus-Ukraine not separate from Old Rome after the delegation of Cardinal Humbert, who, it might be added, had left for New Rome from Kiev, and returned there after the unpleasantness of 1054, and remained in Russia for some time, bringing with him western liturgical books. The Russian church did not enter into the schism with the Romans until 1204. This is proven by the fact, little spoken of these days, when the body of St. Nicholas was removed from Bari to escape the Muslims, a synod was held in 1089 in Bari, where one Russian bishop was present. A new feast was decided upon, that held first on may 9, 1089, which was then held in Russia from that time forward, and promoted in Russia by +Ephraim of Kiev, though rejected by the Greek church. Relics of St. Nicholas were sent by the pope of the time to Kiev, and mutual prayers and liturgical services were engaged in, showing that there was no schism.

If there was a schism in Russia with Rome prior to 1204, then how does one explain the endless train of marriages from the Russian royal houses to the Latins throughout this period? Mystislav, later Grand Prince of Russia in 1095, married Christine of Sweden. Vsevelod married Agnes, his daughter, to Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor. Sviatoslav’s daughter, Predslava, married King Colman of Humgary while Sviatopolk himself married the daughter of the King of Poland, both after the official, “schism” date of 1054. Izislav was married to Bella of Hungary in 1146. Many more examples could be multiplied. Regardless, the western rite, including Roman names like Agnes and Clement, was common in Old Russia. Even further, another papal delegation was sent to Russia in 1091, under Urban II, where liturgical books and relics, as well as common prayer services, were brought to the country. This was repeated again in 1167 and again in 1169. It was the 4th Crusade, however, that ended all this.

Hence, there is ample evidence that the western rite predates the eastern in Russia, and even after the introduction of the Greek rites, the Old Roman rite was regularly preached and served in Russia. Hence, the Liturgy of St. Peter derives from these sources, as well as the highly westernized liturgy of Armenia. These customs were banned by Nikon and his successors, leaving only the Old Faith preserving them. It might also be added that, because of this, the Roman Canon is part of the living tradition of Orthodoxy, and has been a part of Orthodox life among the Slavs from time immemorial.