RUSSIAN ARISTOCRATIC WOMEN AND THE ORTHODOX CHURCH: BETWEEN DEVOTION, POWER, AND INFLUENCE IN THE MODERN ERA (15TH-18TH CENTURIES)

Abstract

This article examines the role of Russian aristocratic women (15th–18th centuries) in the Orthodox Church, using religion as a tool of power. Despite misogynistic dogma, boyar women and tsarinas used monasteries to exert authority, manage property, and influence politics. Figures like Sofia Alekseyevna, Natalia Naryshkina, and Catherine II leveraged devotion to legitimize their rule. The study highlights the paradox that, despite ecclesiastical restrictions, these women transformed the Church into a strategic space of action, contributing to the cultural and political shaping of modern Russia.