'''''Russification''''' refers to the attempt to bring non-Russian church life into conformity with a perceived standard established in the [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox]] tradition. Its usual manifestation is in terms of language, particularly the liturgical use of [[Church Slavonic]], but also in other liturgical customs, such as [[church music]], [[vestments]] or [[typikon]].
In some respects, Russification mirrors the [[Hellenization]] of the non-Greek minorities whose [[church]]es came more directly under the control of the [[Ecumenical Patriarchate]] during the Ottoman period (15th-20th centuries), and its philosophical undergirding is often associated with the often Messianic notion of Moscow as the [[Third Rome]].
==Background==