Sending the Holy Myron as an Instrument of Russian Church Policy in the 19th Century

Abstract The consecration and distribution of the Holy Myron since the early Byzantine times was a matter of liturgical practice and canon law, but also a question of political and ecclesiastical domination in the Orthodox Church. In the age of nationalism and struggle for church and political independence in the Balkans the distribution of the Myron was also an instrument of “soft power” used by Russia in its imperialistic aspirations in the frames of the Eastern question and the concurrence with the Greek Megali idea. The Myron from Russia in the 19th century was sent to the bishops of the Slavonic countries or the Danube principalities. Normally it happened in crucial periods of political uncertainty and preceded the official recognition of church autocephaly, when the consecration of the Holy Myron was enacted already in situ. The article aims at examining cases of requests for receiving Holy Myron from Russia by the Orthodox bishops of the Balkans and examining the reasons, details and consequences of these acts.