On July 17, Joachim was honored with a farewell audience with Fyodor Ioannovich, accepted rich gifts and on August 11 left Moscow for Chernigov, and from there abroad. Together with him, generous alms were sent to other patriarchs. The clerk Mikhail Ogarkov, who accompanied this cargo, had with him letters to the Patriarch of Constantinople Theoliptus and Sylvester of Alexandria, the texts of which are given in the article list; they also say nothing about the idea of establishing a Moscow Patriarchate.

In time we will solve this riddle, but for now we will turn to the historical and journalistic legend, which does not mention Metropolitan Dionysius, but colorfully describes the "thought" of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich. This is a very serious official work, the author of which used the documents of the Ambassadorial Order (in particular, the lists of articles) and, most importantly, the support of the authorities (if not Godunov's direct instructions). It is quite possible and even probable that the legend goes back to the office of the first Russian Patriarch Job, for the author provides information and characteristics that are inaccessible and inadmissible for a mere mortal.

According to the legend, Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich told the Boyar Duma the idea that had occurred to him and had already been discussed with Tsarina Irina to arrange a patriarchal throne in Moscow. False delicacy did not allow historians to doubt that a well-developed plan belonged to an imbecile monarch, and to question its true author. However, the mention of the council with Irina Fyodorovna, who was always (and at that time especially) inclined to follow the instructions of her brother Boris Godunov, answers this question quite clearly.

It is quite possible that Fyodor Ioannovich was only required to agree with the main idea, and the report on his behalf in the Boyar Duma was made by a confidant: this happened so often that it became a tradition. This is all the more probable since the "tsar's speech" was remarkably eloquent, which distinguished Godunov to the highest degree and was not at all characteristic of his son-in-law. Of course, the rhetorical beauty could have been introduced by the author of the legend, but the logic of the speech, as we shall see, corresponds to the actual circumstances. Fortunately, we can not only assume that the author of the idea was Boris Godunov, but also prove it.

What did the church hierarchs, boyars, okolnichy, Duma nobles and clerks hear at the meeting of the Duma at the end of June - beginning of July 1586? That originally the Metropolitans of Kiev, Vladimir, Moscow and All Russia were appointed "by the Patriarchs of Constantinople and Ecumenical. Later... Metropolitans began to be appointed in the Muscovite state, by the verdict and election of our forefathers and the entire Holy Council, from the archbishops and bishops of the Russian Kingdom, even to our kingdom.

That is, changes over the centuries have taken place in favor of the independence of the Russian Orthodox Church. Meanwhile, the Eastern Patriarchates were falling into desolation. To this day, "by the will of God, as our punishment, the Eastern patriarchs and other hierarchs bear only the name of hierarchs, while they are deprived of almost all authority; but our country, by the grace of God, is coming to a great expansion."

"Now," continued the orator, "by His great and ineffable mercy, God has granted us to see the coming to Himself of the great Patriarch of Antioch: and for this we send glory to the Lord. And we would also ask Him for mercy, so that he would establish a Russian Patriarch of Moscow in our state, and would consult about this with His Holiness Patriarch Joachim, and order with him to bless the Patriarchate of Moscow to all the patriarchs.

It should be noted that, concerned about the "progress of the faith in Christ," the orator did not at all intend to ask Joachim to immediately bless the Patriarch of Moscow. The equerry boyar Boris Fyodorovich Godunov, who was immediately sent to the metochion of the Patriarch of Antioch and, as noted in the legend, conveyed to him word for word the "royal speech", in no way hurried Joachim.

"You would advise about this with His Holiness the Ecumenical Patriarch (of Constantinople. — A.B.), and His Holiness the Patriarch would advise on such a great matter with all of you, patriarchs... and the archbishops, and the bishops, and the archimandrites, and the abbots, and with the entire consecrated council; and to the Holy Mountain [to Mount Athos] and to Sinai, so that God would grant that such a great deed would be arranged in our Russian state, and if we thought about it, we would be told how it would be appropriate for that deed to take place."

As the legend relates, Patriarch Joachim adhered to exactly the same position: that it was "suitable" for a patriarch to be in Moscow, but that such a great deed could not be accomplished without consulting with other patriarchs and the authorities of the Eastern Church. The guest promised that he would soon organize such meetings.

With this answer, Boris Godunov returned to the sovereign, who received from the Boyar Duma the full approval of "his" plan, with the only proviso: the patriarchal throne should be established in Moscow with the consent of the entire Eastern Church, "let not the Latins and other heretics who write on our holy faith say that in Moscow the patriarchal throne was established by the tsarist power alone."

"All this happened," writes the famous church historian Metropolitan Macarius, "in the days of Metropolitan Dionysius, when Job was only Archbishop of Rostov; consequently, the completely arbitrary opinion is known that Boris Godunov himself conceived the idea of establishing a patriarchate in Russia in order to elevate his favorite, Metropolitan Job, to this rank, and all the more to attract him to himself for his ambitious purposes."

But what role did Metropolitan Dionysius play in the events described? According to the list of articles, he took a tough and conflicting position in relation to Patriarch Joachim, who arrived in Moscow. He refused to receive a guest, even when he was received by Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich. An attempt to bring the two hierarchs together in the Assumption Cathedral, where Dionysius was supposed to serve the Liturgy, led to the cruel humiliation of Joachim. The Patriarch even visited the Chudov Monastery with the permission of the sovereign, and not at the invitation of the Metropolitan, who demonstratively avoided meeting Joachim in his monastery residence!

S. M. Solovyov asserts that "it was the arrival of Patriarch Joachim in Moscow and this (in the Assumption Cathedral. — A. B.) his clash with Metropolitan Dionysius... prompted Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich to take a decisive step. Perhaps this is true. But if, as the eminent historian believes, it was a matter of demonstrating "the incongruity of the relations of the Moscow metropolitan with the patriarchs," then the Russian secular and spiritual authorities, driven by the same "motive," should have acted together.