Sect of Skhariya the Jew - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Skariya the Jew is also the name used by Ivan III of Muscovy to refer to Zacharias de Ghisolfi.

The Sect of Skhariya the Jew, much more commonly known as the Heresy of the Judaizers or Zhidovstvuyushchiye, was a sect

Sect

A sect is a group with distinctive religious, political or philosophical beliefs. Although in past it was mostly used to refer to religious groups, it has since expanded and in modern culture can refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and...

that appeared in Novgorod the Great and Grand Duchy of Moscow

Grand Duchy of Moscow

The Grand Duchy of Moscow or Grand Principality of Moscow, also known in English simply as Muscovy , was a late medieval Rus' principality centered on Moscow, and the predecessor state of the early modern Tsardom of Russia....

in the second half of the 15th century and marked the beginning of a new era of heresy

Heresy

Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...

in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. Some scholars, however, consider it to have developed from the earlier Strigolniki

Strigolniki

The Strigolniki were followers of the first Russian heretical sect of the middle of the 14th and first half of the 15th century, established in Pskov and later in Novgorod and Tver....

heresy that also had developed in Novgorod in the 14th century. Initially popular among high-ranking statesmen and even the royal court, the sect was persecuted by hegumen

Hegumen

Hegumen, hegumenos, igumen, or ihumen is the title for the head of a monastery of the Eastern Orthodox Church or Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the one of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called hegumenia or ihumenia . The term means "the one who is in charge", "the leader" in...

Joseph Volotsky

Joseph Volotsky — also known as Joseph of Volotsk or Joseph of Volokolamsk ; secular name Ivan Sanin — was a prominent caesaropapist ideologist of the Russian Orthodox Church who led the party defending monastic landownership.He is a saint ; his memory is celebrated on 9 September and 18...

and Archbishop Gennady of Novgorod

Gennady (Archbishop of Novgorod)

Gennady was Archbishop of Novgorod the Great and Pskov from 1484 to 1504. He was most instrumental in fighting the Heresy of the Judaizers and is famous for compiling the first complete codex of the Bible in Slavic in 1499, known as the Gennady Bible. Gennady is a saint of the Russian Orthodox...

Terminology and beliefs

The term Zhidovstvuyushchiye , as it is known in the sources, is derived from the Russian word жид (zhid, an older Russian term for Jew which is now considered pejorative). Zhidovstvuyuschiye may be loosely translated as “those who follow Jewish traditions” or “those who think like Jews”. Hegumen

Hegumen

Joseph Volotsky

, the main critic and persecutor of this sect, considered the founder of this heretical movement to be a certain Skhariya (a.k.a. Zakhariya, Skara; Russian: Схария, Захария, Скара). This was Zacharia ben Ahron ha-Cohen, a scholar from Kiev brought to Novgorod by Mikhailo Olelkovich

Mikhailo Olelkovich

Mikhailo Aleksandrovich Olelkovich was a noble from the Olelkovich family of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was the brother of Prince Semen Olelkovich of Kiev and cousin of Grand Prince Ivan III of Moscow...

from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 12th /13th century until 1569 and then as a constituent part of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1791 when Constitution of May 3, 1791 abolished it in favor of unitary state. It was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic...

in 1470. Zacharia translated a number of Hebrew texts on astronomy, logic and philosophy.

Their nickname arbitrarily presupposed their adherence to "Judaism

Judaism

Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...

", even though most of Skhariya’s followers had been ordinary Russians of Russian Orthodox faith and low-ranking Orthodox clergy

Clergy

Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....

and had never confessed Judaism. Almost all we know about the heresy is found in accounts left by their accusers (a not uncommon phenomenon in medieval heresies). This makes it difficult to determine the true beliefs of the sect, since the aim of the accusers was to blacken the name of the sect and crush it. According to most accounts though, the Sect of Skhariya renounced the Holy Trinity and the divine status of Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

, monasticism

Monasticism

Monasticism is a religious way of life characterized by the practice of renouncing worldly pursuits to fully devote one's self to spiritual work...

, ecclesiastic hierarchy, ceremonies, and immortality

Immortality

Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...

of soul. Some sectarians even professed iconoclasm

Iconoclasm

Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...

. The sect also promoted the idea of "self-authority," or the self-determination of each individual in matters of faith and salvation. Priests Denis and Aleksei were considered ideologists of this heretical movement.

History

In the late 15th and early 16th century, this heretical movement spread over Moscow. In 1480, even Grand Prince Ivan III himself invited a few prominent sectarians to visit the city. The Grand Prince’s seemingly strange behavior could be explained by the fact that he had sympathized with heretics’ ideas of secularization

Secularization

Secularization is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions...

and the struggle against feudal division. Thus, the Judaizers enjoyed the support of high-ranking officials, statesmen, merchants, Yelena Stefanovna (wife of Ivan the Young

Ivan the Young

Ivan Ivanovich was the eldest son and heir of Ivan III from his first marriage to Maria of Tver.Ivan's father empowered him to deal with most administrative and military affairs of the state in order to make ordinary...

, heir to the throne) and Ivan’s favorite deacon

Deacon

Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...

and diplomat Feodor Kuritsyn

Feodor Kuritsyn

Feodor Vasiliyevich Kuritsyn was a Russian statesman, philosopher and a poet.As a government official and a diplomat, Kuritsyn exerted great influence on the Russian foreign policy in the times of Ivan III. In 1482, he was sent to the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus to conclude an anti-Polish...

. The latter even decided to establish his own club in the mid-1480s.

Despite the growing popularity of this heretical movement in Novgorod and Moscow, Ivan III was wary of the fact that it could irreversibly infiltrate broader masses of ordinary people and deprive him of ecclesiastic support in his foreign policy. Indeed, a denial of the Trinity and the divinity of Christ would destroy Christianity, while the sects opposition to the clergy and the secular authorities would have undermined the entire society. This made Ivan III renounce his ideas of secularization and ally with the clergy.

Persecution

The struggle against the heretics was led by hegumen Joseph Volotsky

Joseph Volotsky

and his followers (иосифляне, iosiflyane or Josephinians) and Archbishop Gennady of Novgorod

Gennady (Archbishop of Novgorod)

. After uncovering the heresy in Novgorod around 1487, Gennady wrote a series of letters to other churchmen over several years calling on them to convene sobors ("church councils") with the aim "not to debate them, but to burn them." Such councils were held in 1488, 1490, 1494 and 1504. The sobors outlawed heretical books and permitted their burning, sentenced a number of people to death, sent sectarians into exile, and excommunicated them. In 1491, Skhariya the Jew was executed in Novgorod by the order of Ivan III. More heretics were executed with Gennady’s approval, including archimandrite

Archimandrite

The title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...

Kassian of the Iuriev Monastery (who had allowed a number of heretics to hide there), Nekras Rukavov (they first tore out his tongue and then burnt him at the stake), a Pskov

Pskov

Pskov is an ancient city and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, Russia, located in the northwest of Russia about east from the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population: -Early history:...

ian monk Zakhar and others.

By the end of the 15th century, some of the heretics remained under the protection of Yelena Stefanovna and her son tsarevich Dmitry

Dmitry Ivanovich (grandson of Ivan III)

Dmitry Ivanovich was Grand Prince of Moscow between 1498 and 1502.Dmitry's parents were Ivan the Young, crown heir of Moscow, and Elena, daughter of Stephen III of Moldavia. After his father's death in 1490 he became heir presumptive of Moscowy...

(grandson of Ivan III). However, in 1502 Dmitry was stripped of his title (transferred to Vasili III – son of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologue

Sophia Paleologue

Zoe Palaiologina , later changed her name to Sophia Palaiologina , Grand Duchess of Moscow, was a niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI and second wife of Ivan III of Russia. She was also the grandmother of Ivan the Terrible.- Biography :...

). As soon as Ivan III died in 1505, Yelena and Dmitry were arrested and imprisoned, leaving the heretics vulnerable to attacks from the authorities. In 1504, diak (secretary) Ivan-Volk Kuritsyn, Dmitry Konoplev and Ivan Maksimov were burnt at the stake. Other sectarians were banished, imprisoned, or excommunicated. Feodor Kuritsyn’s heretical club ceased to exist.

19th-century groups

In the early 19th century, a number of communities appeared in Tula

Tula, Russia

Tula is an industrial city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast, Russia. It is located south of Moscow, on the Upa River. Population: -History:...

, Voronezh

Voronezh

Voronezh is a city in southwestern Russia, the administrative center of Voronezh Oblast. It is located on both sides of the Voronezh River, away from where it flows into the Don. It is an operating center of the Southeastern Railway , as well as the center of the Don Highway...

and Tambov

Tambov

Tambov is a city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tsna and Studenets Rivers southeast of Moscow...

, which followed Jewish traditions and halacha. They were also called zhidovstvuyuschiye and were persecuted severely in the times of Nicolas I. Since the beginning of the 20th century, they have been also called iudeystvuyuschie, from iudeystvo, a neutral term for the Jewish religion. Now they are generally considered a part of Jewish people (although with no real Israelite descent) and some of them have emigrated to Israel

Aliyah

Aliyah is the immigration of Jews to the Land of Israel . It is a basic tenet of Zionist ideology. The opposite action, emigration from Israel, is referred to as yerida . The return to the Holy Land has been a Jewish aspiration since the Babylonian exile...

. These groups, however, are not linked to the Sect of Skhariya.

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