ABSTRACT

The relations between Russia and the Vatican are founded on the history of the relationship between two churches, which is burdened by the dispute over the legacy of St Peter. The genesis of the animosity between the churches has already been extensively examined and described in scientific literature and will therefore not be discussed here. The schism of 1054, the Crusades, the plundering of Constantinople, the Union of Florence, the expansion of states bordering Russia to the West – mainly the Catholic Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Lutheran (since the sixteenth century) Sweden – the Union of Brest and the creation of the Greek Catholic Church are the most important reasons not only for the conflict between the Vatican and the ROC, but also for the anti-Occidentalism in Russian tradition.