Adrian caught the eye of Patriarch Joachim, when he was still an archmandrite at Chudov Monastery. In 1686, Joachim appointed him metropolitan of Kazan and Sviyazhsk. On August 24, 1690, Adrian was chosen to replace Joachim on his post. Patriarch Adrian was a staunch adherent of traditional norms and opposed Peter the Great's reforms (e.g., he criticized Peter's decree on mandatory shaving of beards). Adrian's relations with the tsar were tense; however, he had to accept some of Peter's criticism about deficiencies in management of the Russian Orthodox Church.