{"product_id":"2026200010575-secondhand-the-church-reform-of-peter-the-great","title":"The Church Reform Of Peter The Great","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003eCondition: Good. Jacket: Worn\/faded - no tears. Page Condition: Yellowed. Markings: No markings. Binding condition: Binding intact. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFew rulers in history reshaped the spiritual and institutional life of a nation as dramatically as Peter the Great, and The Church Reform of Peter the Great stands as the definitive scholarly account of this seismic transformation. James Cracraft chronicles the systematic dismantling of the traditional Russian Orthodox patriarchate and its replacement with the Holy Synod — a state-controlled ecclesiastical body that brought the Church firmly under the authority of the Tsar — illuminating how this reform was not merely administrative, but a profound ideological revolution that redefined the relationship between sacred and secular power in Russia.\n\nCracraft argues with meticulous precision that Peter's ecclesiastical reforms were inseparable from his broader programme of Westernisation, drawing on a wealth of primary sources to present a nuanced portrait of a ruler who wielded religious policy as an instrument of statecraft. The author's style is rigorously academic yet compellingly readable, situating the Church reform within the wider currents of Petrine Russia and European Enlightenment thought. For students of Russian history, religious history, or the mechanics of autocratic modernisation, this work raises a question that lingers long after the final page: when a state remakes its Church, which institution truly holds power?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49130711351515,"sku":"2026200010575-SECONDHAND","price":30.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/4de5eafb-770d-460a-9a27-5b16cb24ec8d.png?v=1786589021","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026200010575-secondhand-the-church-reform-of-peter-the-great","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}