AH Challenge - Catholic Russia

Somewhat inspired by the extinguish Latin Christendom thread, I challenge you to create a TL where Russia embraces Catholicism instead of Orthodoxy. POD is up to you, bonus points if it's after 1500, more bonus points if it's not Latin Catholicism (ie Chaldean, Antiochian, etc. Russia). Have at it!
 
I was going to post this earlier, but AH stopped working for two hours and then my computer froze.

I had two thoughts:

1), the reason Pope Paul II allowed the marriage of Sophia Paleologue to Ivan III of Russia was a hope that it would [somehow] reunite Catholic and Orthodox Christianity. so maybe his plan works after the marriage.

2) there was a Council, maybe of Florence or somewhere else, in the 15th century, that aimed to reconcile the differences between the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches...... so maybe that one works too and Russia becomes 'catholic'
 
I was going to post this earlier, but AH stopped working for two hours and then my computer froze.

I had two thoughts:

1), the reason Pope Paul II allowed the marriage of Sophia Paleologue to Ivan III of Russia was a hope that it would [somehow] reunite Catholic and Orthodox Christianity. so maybe his plan works after the marriage.

How well would the Russian nobility take it if Sophia managed to convert Ivan to Catholicism? I'm not that familiar with Russian history, but "not very well" seems a safe bet.

2) there was a Council, maybe of Florence or somewhere else, in the 15th century, that aimed to reconcile the differences between the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches...... so maybe that one works too and Russia becomes 'catholic'

Council of Florence, and the key event there seems to be the death of Patriarch Joseph II. If he lived a bit longer, he might have - with sufficient doses of handwavium - been able to push union through on the Eastern side.

A top-down conversion (say a combination of those two events) will be resisted, but let's apply some more handwavium and say between Tsarist pressure (Catholic Cossacks!) and Jesuits unleashed, Russia accepts the change after a century or so. X million Russians form an enormous Eastern Rite Church - the tension between the Patriarch of Moscow and the Bishop of Rome will be interesting, to say the least.
 
Russia choose orthodoxy due to trade ties with Orthodox Constantinople.
Have the Muslims win in their invadsion in the 700's,
or the Russ in the 900's, with the collapse of Constantinople.

Russia will be more open to allying with the powers of the West.
 
Russia choose orthodoxy due to trade ties with Orthodox Constantinople.
Have the Muslims win in their invasion in the 700's,
or the Russ in the 900's, with the collapse of Constantinople.

Russia will be more open to allying with the powers of the West.


Well if Constantinople fell in 700s, Orthodox Russia, or even Christian Russia would be unlikely. Ties with Muslim Constantinople would be most likely have a Muslim Russia as the result.
 
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