Been watching a documentary on the history of the Russian Empire, and while I knew Tsar Peter harmed Russia, I had no clue that he went so far as to force people to dress different, shave their beards, etc... He even melted down church bells for canons just so he could have a port on the Baltic... Not to mention abolishing the Patriarchate (in favor of a Holy Synod and Metropolitan)...
He also apparently said that men couldn't join a monastery until they turned 50, and he did that because he wanted them to serve in his army instead...
What else did he do? What other harm did he cause to the Church?
It's kind of funny because the documentary/program is constantly singing his praises for bringing old, ancient, decaying Russia into a new, more enlightened Western World... They even acted like it was an okay thing that he physically ripped out the beards of people on the streets...
sigh... I didn't realize he had done as much as he did... Why do we call him "Great"?
Also, I didn't think this would be considered political, so I put it here, I'm sorry if it is...