Patriarch Ignatius

Ignatius ("Игнатий" in Russian) (1540–1620), a cleric of Greek descent, was the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia in 1605-1606.

Ignatius came to Russia in 1595 as a member of an ecclesiastic mission, sent by the Patriarch of Constantinople. He took part in the coronation of Boris Godunov. In the early 17th century, Ignatius was appointed Archbishop of Ryazan. After the death of Godunov, he took the side of False Dmitriy I. Before the impostor reached Moscow, Ignatius was swearing in his supporters in Tula. On June 30, 1605, Ignatius was appointed patriarch by the order of Feodor II instead of Jove, who had been ousted. When False Dmitriy I came to power, Ignatius crowned him on July 21, 1605. Ignatius was also known as a ferocious opponent of Catholicism.

After the deposition and assassination of False Dmitriy I, Ignatius was deposed and placed in the Chudov Monastery by the order of Vasili IV. In 1610, Ignatius supported False Dmitriy II. In 1611, he was freed from the monastery by the Polish authorities of Moscow and went to Poland, where he would later settle in Wilno (Vilnius) and also convert from Russian Orthodoxy to Greek Catholicism, and thus to full communion with the Pope.

Ignatius is now considered a pseudo-patriarch by the Russian Orthodox Church and his name is omitted from the official list of the Russian patriarchs of Moscow and All Russia.