Aleksei was a Russian
archpriest
The ecclesiastical title of archpriest or archpresbyter belongs to certain priests with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and the Eastern Catholic Churches and may be somewhat analogous ...
who became known for converting to
Judaism. He was born probably in
Novgorod
Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ol ...
around 1425 and died in
Moscow in 1488.
In the last quarter of the fifteenth century, when a schism arose in the
Russian Orthodox Church and many new sects sprang up, Aleksei became a convert to Judaism. Some of the new sects had shown a decided tendency to revert to the old
Mosaic law
The Law of Moses ( he, תֹּורַת מֹשֶׁה ), also called the Mosaic Law, primarily refers to the Torah or the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The law revealed to Moses by God.
Terminology
The Law of Moses or Torah of Moses (Hebrew ...
. This probably suggested to the influential Jew
Skhariyah (Zechariah), of
Kiev
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
, the idea of spreading Judaism among the Russians of
Pskov
Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=pskov-ru.ogg, p=pskof; see also names in other languages) is a city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov Oblast, located about east of the Estonian border, on the Velikaya River. Population ...
and Novgorod. Skhariyah belonged to the suite of the
Gediminid
The House of Gediminid or simply the Gediminids ( lt, Gediminaičiai, sgs, Gedėmėnātē, be, Гедзімінавічы, pl, Giedyminowicze, uk, Гедиміновичі;) were a dynasty of monarchs in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that reig ...
Prince
Michael Olelkovich, who came to Novgorod in 1471. The first convert in Novgorod was the priest Dionisy, who introduced to Skhariyah his colleague, the archpriest (''protopop'') Aleksei. The latter was the most zealous of the new converts, and did successful missionary work among all classes, especially among the clergy. The new community appreciated his labors so highly that the name of
Abraham was conferred upon him, while his wife's name was changed to
Sarah
Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...
.
When the
grand duke
Grand duke (feminine: grand duchess) is a European hereditary title, used either by certain monarchs or by members of certain monarchs' families. In status, a grand duke traditionally ranks in order of precedence below an emperor, as an approxi ...
of
Muscovy Muscovy is an alternative name for the Grand Duchy of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to:
*Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555
* Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and Domes ...
,
Ivan III, visited Novgorod in 1480, Aleksei found favor in his eyes. The grand duke took Aleksei with him to Moscow and put him at the head of the
Cathedral of the Dormition, while his friend Dionisy was at the same time appointed priest of the
Archangel Cathedral in the same city. Aleksei enjoyed the confidence of the grand duke in a high degree and had free access to him. The court party of
Sophia Paleologue
Zoe Palaiologina ( grc-x-byzant, Ζωή Παλαιολογίνα), whose name was later changed to Sophia Palaiologina (russian: София Фоминична Палеолог; ca. 1449 – 7 April 1503), was a Byzantine princess, member of ...
alleged that he succeeded in converting his secretary,
Fyodor Kuritsyn
Feodor Vasiliyevich Kuritsyn () (? - died no earlier than 1500) 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 ...
, the
archimandrite Zosima, the monk Zechariah,
Elena of Moldavia (wife of
Ivan the Young), and many other prominent personages. The grand duke at first, probably for political reasons, protected the heretics, but later on was constrained to persecute them. This campaign resulted in Helena's son Dmitry being disinherited in favour of Sophia's son
Vasily.
References
*
Resources
*
Rosenthal, Herman "Aleksei".''
Jewish Encyclopedia
''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...
''. Funk and Wagnalls, 1901–1906, ''citing'':
**Platon, ''Kratkaya Tserkovnaya Rossiskaya Istoriya'', Moscow, 1833;
**N. Rudnev, ''Rassuzhdenie o Yeresyakh i Raskolakh Byvshikh v Russkoi Tserkvi so Vremeni Vladimira Velikago do Ioanna Groznago'' (Treatise on the Sects and Schism in the Russian Church, from the time of Vladimir the Great to Ivan the Terrible), Moscow, 1838;
**
Karamzin Karamzin (russian: Карамзин) is a Russian masculine surname, its feminine counterpart is Karamzina. It originates from the Tatar surname Kara-Murza, meaning ''black lord'', and may refer to
*Aurora Karamzin (1808–1902), Finnish-Swede phil ...
, Istoriya Rossii, vi. 154;
**Panov, ''Zhurnal Ministerstva Narodnago Prosvyeshcheniya'', No. 159, p. 261.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aleksei
Russian Jews
Russian Eastern Orthodox priests
Converts to Judaism from Eastern Orthodoxy
Former Russian Orthodox Christians
1425 births
1488 deaths
15th-century Eastern Orthodox priests