Rise of the Russian Orthodox Church, 1448-1589
The Orthodox faith in Rus and Russia, although developing its own traditions, looked to the patriarch of Konstantinoupolis as head of the church. The highest authorities in Rus lands were metropolitans, appointed by the patriarch. Over time, the decline and fall of the Eastern Roman Empire weakened and impoverished the patriarch, while the rise of Moskva strengthened its metropolitan, who eventually was titled Metropolitan of Moskva and All Rus.
In 1448, five years before the fall of Konstantinoupolis to the Muslim Ottoman Empire, the Moskva bishops elected their metropolitan without consulting the patriarch. This ended appointments made by the patriarch, although the patriarch remained the spiritual head of the Rus church. Organizational and doctrinal matters would hence be decided by the Russian metropolitan and bishops, such as the reforms of 1551.
In 1589, the division became official. The Patriarch of Konstantinoupolis, in Russia to raise badly-needed funds, could not resist pressure to allow the Moskva Metropolitan to assume the title of patriarch. Accordingly, Moskva Metropolitan Iov ("Job") became the first Patriarch of Moskva and All Rus, co-equal to the Patriarch of Konstantinoupolis.