The “metropolitan untruth” of two Constantines: is it possible to expect justice from church courts in Russia?

The article attempts to comprehend the phenomenon of the so-called “metropolitan untruth” noted in the Russian chronicles of the middle to second half of the 12th century. It is shown that during the period of the primacy of Metropolitans Constantine I and II, the problem of the validity of their judicial decisions acquired a wide resonance. The actions of the Kiev archpastors were assessed as non-canonical and contrary to Divine truth. Probably, such a sharp perception of the decisions made was facilitated not only by the behavior of the first hierarchs themselves, but also by the peculiarities of canonical legal consciousness, which were based, among other things, on the ideals of Russkaya Pravda. It is concluded that the inconsistency of the Byzantine canonical legal norms with the realities of medieval Rus, obviously, gave rise to a feeling of injustice in the metropolitan church courts. The article was written on the basis of a report made by the author at the IV Barsov Readings at St. Petersburg Theological Academy on December 7, 2020.