Ivan Grozny, was the first ruler of Russia to call himself Tsar. The research into this complex man for my podcast is coming along having just received a book entitled Ivan the Terrible by Robert Payne and Nikita Romanoff (a grand nephew of Nicholas II). Originally published in 1975, it looks like an excellent piece of work. Will have to balance it off with other works on their way though.

One interesting thing about Ivan’s name, is that Grozny, the name given to him by fellow Russian’s does not mean Terrible as many think. Its meaning is closer to the word powerful than Terrible. More on that in the Ivan IV podcast series starting in two weeks.

A fascinating man, St. Sergius, born Bartholomew, was to change the size and shape of Russia for centuries to come. The spiritual leader of the Russian Orthodox people, he inspired men to go into the forests of Russia and to build small churches and monasteries far from the horrors that beset the Russian people. With the plague running rampant and people fed up with the constant bickering amongst the princes of Russia, they enthusiastically took up the task.

Within a few hundred years, the Russian Orthodox Church owned fully 1/3rd of the land of the Rus. They caused one of the largest expansions the country had yet seen. Join me in today’s podcast on the man of God, St. Sergius of Radonezh.