Philotheus of Pskov claimed that after Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, the Russian Tsar was the only legitimate Orthodox ruler, and that Moscow was the Third Rome because it was the final successor to Rome and Constantinople, the centers of Christianity in earlier periods.
Theofilos af Pskov hævdede, at efter som Konstantinopel var faldet til Det osmanniske rige i 1453 var den russiske zar den eneste retmæssige ortodokse hersker, og at Moskva var "Det tredje Rom", eftersom han var den sidste efterfølger til Rom og Konstantinopel, center for kristendom i tidligere perioder.