v. 1. From the earliest years through Tsar Ivan IV -- v. 2. The patriarchal era through Tsar Peter the Great 1586 to 1725 -- v. 3. The synodal era and the Sectarians 1725 to 1894 -- v. 4. The orthodox church 1894 to 1990, Tsar Nicholas II to Gorbachev's edict on the freedom of conscience.