Case of Dmitry Tveritinov and political struggle in Russia in early 18th century

The case of Dmitry Tveritinov turned out an important milestone in the church policy of Peter I. After the establishment of the Senate in 1710, senators began to claim increasing involvement in church affairs. This made Metropolitan Stefan (Yavorsky) displeased. The case of Tveritinov’s heresy proved to be very important as a motive for a controversy about the power limits between the Senate headed by the Dolgorukovs’ “party” and the Holy Council headed by Metropolitan Stefan (Yavorsky). The Dolgorukovs’ interceded for Tveritinov because the heretic had a friend and accomplice - the fiscal M. A. Kosoy, a client of Ya. F. Dolgorukov. The senators were delaying the trial, so knowing about the inconsistency of the evidence during the investigation, Peter I preferred to resolve the situation as gently as possible. However, the case of Tsarevich Alexei changed the situation: the Dolgorukovs lost the favor of the tsar, and the tsar was in need of support of Metropolitan Stefan (Yavorsky). Therefore, in late 1717, Peter I settled the case of Dmitry Tveritinov in favor of the metropolitan. The events connected with Tveritinov’s case challenged Peter I to seek a new way of managing church affairs, and this resulted in the establishment of the Most Holy Synod.