Church historians name either five or seven periods of canonization in Russia; those who state there were five periods typically merge the Nicholas II-period with the Synodal-period and the post-revolutionary with the post-Soviet era. However, the seven period-system is used here for a better understanding of the Russian canonization history. Those are the following: 1) 9th century – 1547, 2) 1547 and 1549 (Macarius Councils), 3) 1550–1721 (pre-Petrine period), 4) 1721–1894 (Synodal-period), 5) 1894–1917 (Nicholas II-period), 6) 1917–1987 (post-revolutionary period), 7) from 1988 (post-Soviet period).