Philotheus (or Filofei) () (1465–1542) was a hegumen of the Yelizarov Monastery, near

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 ...

, in the 16th century. He is credited with authorship of the ''

Legend of the White Cowl ''The Legend of the White Cowl'' ( chu, По́вѣсть ω бѣ́ломъ клобуцѣ́, russian: Повесть о белом клобуке) is a Russian Orthodox story first recorded by the monk Philotheus of Pskov in 1510. It tells of the ...

'' and the Moscow - Third Rome prophecy, details of which are very scarce. He is popularly known as the presumed author of the concept of Moscow as the Third Rome; Philotheus set out this thesis in his lettersФилофей
«ПОСЛАНИЕ О ЗЛЫХЪ ДНЕХЪ И ЧАСѢХЪ», «ПОСЛАНИЕ К ВЕЛИКОМУ КНЯЗЮ ВАСИЛИЮ, В НЕМЪЖЕ О ИСПРАВЛЕНИИ КРЕСТНАГО ЗНАМЕНИЯ И О СОДОМСКОМ БЛУДѢ»
// Библиотека литературы Древней Руси / РАН. ИРЛИ; Под ред. Д. С. Лихачева, Л. А. Дмитриева, А. А. Алексеева, Н. В. Понырко. — СПб.: Наука, 2000. — Т. 9: Конец XIV — первая половина XVI века. — 566 с. to the priest and to Grand Duke Vasily III. In reality, these letters are mainly devoted to other issues, mostly talking about Church issues, and only refer to Moscow or

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 ...

rather obliquely. Their main message in this regard is rather to remind the

tzar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

about his ecclesiastical position of Protector of Faith, as the two previous capitals of

Orthodoxy Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Churc ...

, Rome and Constantinople, both fell, first to the Latin heretics, and second to the Muslim heathens, with Moscow remaining its sole bastion. Philotheus prophecy could then best construed that the Muscovy (or Russia in general) will stand as far as it remains true to the Orthodox faith. His alleged authorship of the essays ''On the Grievances of the Church'' to

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan ...

, was refuted by scholars, as it contained elements of discrepancy with his first epistle. The person who wrote this essay, using the name of Philotheus, tied the theme of "Third Rome" to the protection of property rights of the church. In August 2009, it was reported that archaeologists had discovered a grave in

, allegedly belonging to Philotheus.Псковские археологи обнаружили могилу, предположительно принадлежащую старцу Филофею, автору концепции «Москва — третий Рим»
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References

Russian religious leaders 1465 births 1542 deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown History of Pskov {{orthodox-clergy-stub