Patriarch Nikon

Nikon was Patriarch of Moscow from 1652 to 1666. A close adviser of Tsar Alexis, he reformed Russian liturgical books and rituals to bring them into line with contemporary Greek practice, ordering for example the sign of the cross with three fingers rather than two. Opposition to the reforms produced the schism of the Old Believers, and his claims for church authority against the tsar led to his deposition by a church council in 1666.