Peter the Great was born in Moscow on Thursday May 30, 1672, on the feast of Saint Isaac of Dalmatia (Hugues 1). Pyotr Alexeevich, his official name, was the fourteenth child of Alexi I and his second wife Nataliya Kryillovna Naryshkina. Peter stood an incredible six feet seven inches tall. He began by sharing power with his half-brother Ivan, an invalid, but obtained exclusive power at the age of twenty-four, after Ivan's death in 1696 ("Peter I of Russia" 1). Through his domestic, military, and governmental reforms, Peter the Great enabled Russia to be considered one of the leading states in Eastern Europe (“Peter the Great” 1). Peter the Great wanted to bring Russia into a new era. He achieved his goal of domestic reform through Russia's economy, Church, and education. By strengthening the industrial, commercial and agricultural aspects, Peter hoped that a wealthier Russia would invest in its military to increase its strength, and therefore increase Peter's power. Unfortunately, he did not achieve as much as he hoped, but he helped propel Russia into a period of rapid economic growth ("Peter the Great - Domestic Reforms" 2). Peter also saw the need for reform in the Church. Not only did the Church have a great source of wealth that Peter wanted a share of, but it also had land, power, and serfs rivaling those of the Tsar. When the head of the Church died in 1700, Peter did not replace him; rather, he turned over Church property to a branch of government. In turn, submit him to the command of Peter. In 1721 the church was regulated as it fell entirely under state control. This regulation set out everything the clergy could do and, in a sense, controlled their daily lives. The task of the clergy was to “make their congregations totally submissive to the state by convincing them that Peter was anything but divine in order to secure for the population of Russia the total subordination of the crown” (“Peter the Great – internal reforms” 1 ). If Russia had any hope of becoming a superpower, it could not be achieved until the educational aspect of society was modernized. Peter knew that good education of soldiers and officers was essential to the success of an army. With this in mind, he created schools of navigation and mathematics, artillery and languages, medicine, engineering and sciences ("Peter the Great - internal reforms »).' 1).