Adrian could only look at Mezievich with a sullen face, hoping that he would see that his expression would stop.
Despite all his other little quirks, and despite his inability to do anything at his age, Metzjevich is still old-hearted, but he always considers himself to be the strongest when it comes to matters of faith.
He opened his mouth and said:
"Your Majesty, the Privy Council will naturally not belong to the church, but now the orphanages in various places, as well as the personnel therein, should belong to the church."
Peter looked at Mezievich and said:
"But I heard that except for a few nuns, the people inside are all state-owned serfs. Do these people also need to be affiliated with the church?"
Mecijevic said impassionedly:
"Your Majesty, if you give me your permission, there's nothing wrong with it!"
"good."
Peter smiled and said:
"Go and fetch Bestudev."
Bestudev came, and when he heard what Metzjevich said, he was extremely angry and immediately shot back without hesitation:
"Your Majesty! Please allow me to issue a decree instructing all the land and people under the church to return to the state!!!"
Mecijevich's expression suddenly changed. Just as he was about to speak, Ivanovich went out and took some letters and handed them to Peter.
The letter had already been opened. Peter took a look at it and handed it to Adrian.
Adrian's face was sullen, and he smelled a hint of conspiracy.
Then he reluctantly picked up the letter and read it, his hands trembled, and then he said:
"Your Majesty, bishops can get married, and it is understandable that they have such enthusiastic words."
But he was very angry in his heart, both towards Metzjevich and Peter.
Peter couldn't help but look at Adrian differently and said:
"Patriarch, can these obscene words of Metzjevich be understood?"
After hearing the words of the emperor and the patriarch, Mecijevich couldn't help but look at the letter. When he saw the handwriting on it, his expression changed. Why is the letter he wrote to Ymel and other ladies here?
Mecijevich felt like he was torn apart, as if he was now naked.
Peter said:
"Let's not talk about the Archbishop's colorful personal life, but let's talk about Notre Dame. The Archbishop proposed that Notre Dame belong to the church. What do you think, Archbishop?"
Shocked by what Bestudev said just now, Adrian said:
"If His Majesty gives permission, the church will naturally be willing to serve, but if His Majesty is not willing, that's okay."
Ivanovich said at this time:
"Patriarch, according to the plan of Notre Dame, the orphanages under Notre Dame will carry out education in philosophy, theology, mathematics, astronomy, law and other subjects in the future. Do you mean that the church is responsible for this matter?
?”
Adrian shook his head and said:
"This is not within the scope of the church's responsibilities. The church's responsibility is to convey the word of God. It has no obligation to teach these. If the church does this, then the bishops and priests will no longer be the leaders of the people, but will be responsible for everyone.
It is not the teaching of the Orthodox Church for a hired worker to be responsible for every meal."
Peter said with a smile:
"So it seems that the church should not be secular?"
Adrian said matter-of-factly:
"Naturally, the church is only responsible for the guidance of the soul."
Peter nodded and smiled:
"In this case, Archbishop Mezyjevich's proposal will not work. If Notre Dame wants to teach these things, it is obviously very secular."
Ivanovic added:
"There are only a few nuns in Notre Dame, and most of them are state-owned serfs. Since the church is responsible for spiritual guidance, it should abandon secular affairs. As the Deputy Minister of General Affairs said, the 1 million serfs and land under the church's jurisdiction should all be state-owned.
Hua, Patriarch, what do you think?"
Adrian looked at several people in disbelief, he knew it was a conspiracy! It was definitely a conspiracy!!!
Peter, Ivanovich, and Bestudev are working together to make this old man mad!!!
Queen Elizabeth just wanted the church to have less land, but Peter wanted to take away all the serfs and land from the church?
Adrian stood up angrily and said:
"Your Majesty, this is absolutely impossible!"
Then he ignored it and left.
Mecijevich, on the other hand, was completely stunned.
He just expressed that the Notre Dame Decree did not respect Our Lady and wanted Notre Dame to return to the church. How could he say that all the serfs and land of the church had been returned to the country?
…
The matter of releasing Mecijevich ended badly. Mecijevich was released, but the archbishop lost his mind.
The look in the Patriarch's eyes when he left almost burned him to death.
The next day, something happened that shocked all the nobles outside the parliament.
A law is being hotly debated in Parliament, namely, "Exemption from secular duties of the church."
These secular possessions included serfs and property owned by the church.
The nobles were all ecstatic, as if they had smelled the smell of bloody sharks.
The church has dioceses all over Russia. If serfs and land are not controlled by the church, can nobles in various places get a share of the pie?
The exemption of the church from secular duties was not only discussed in Parliament, but also promulgated.
Immediately, with the promotion of the Privy Council, the Parliament established a committee of inquiry and began to truly investigate the specific properties of the church.
This order made church personnel worried, and some were ready for battle.
Under the Patriarch is the Holy Council, which is composed of eight archbishops.
Some archbishops were indifferent and devoted themselves to serving Our Lady, while others were filled with indignation.
Four archbishops who were knowledgeable in theology gathered at the Moscow Palace and went on a hunger strike to seek an audience with Her Majesty the Queen.
When she was about to starve to death, the Queen still didn't see them.
A radical archbishop threatened to immolate himself in the palace, but Queen Elizabeth finally met him.
The four people immediately cheered up and verbally criticized Peter in front of the Queen, hoping that the Queen would order an end to the matter.
And Queen Elizabeth said calmly:
"As for the Orthodox Church, why couldn't Peter do what Peter the Great could do? And the ultimate reason for this is that one of your archbishops is not pious, but wants to seize Notre Dame. I can't fulfill your request."
"Besides, if you want to self-immolate, don't do it in the palace."
After Elizabeth finished speaking, she went to the palace tailoring department. She had recently begun to design her own fashion.
An interview with the Queen failed, and a strongly worded letter of condemnation was subsequently submitted to Parliament.
The letter stated:
"To exempt the church from secular duties is to destroy the church and the state! Everyone should protect the Orthodox Church!"
The letter also violently condemned all those who questioned the church's right to own land and serfs, from Ivanovich in the Mysterious Office to Bestudev and Vorontsov in the Privy Council, claiming that these people would
The hand reaches for the gift offered to God, intending to appropriate the wealth given to the church by God's people.
Then these letters of condemnation pointed the finger directly at Peter and opened fire in full force.
However, the Holy Council underestimated the situation.
They did not realize that there were various forces in the country that were opposed to the church.
The great aristocracy has always been a secular force. Local landowners hope to further obtain the land and labor under the church's name. Government officials who are struggling with the country's financial situation also agree with this announcement, hoping to use the church's wealth and income.