Johann Georg Schwarz (Иван Григорьевич Шварц; 1751–1784) was a

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

professor at

Moscow University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

who headed the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n branch of the Rosicrucian Society. A

Transylvanian Saxon The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ...

, Schwarz settled in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

in 1776. He has been described as "the main carrier of esoterica into Russia" and an "emissary of Boehmist theosophy". He joined forces with Nikolay Novikov in founding the Society of Friendship, a bulwark of

Russian Freemasonry Freemasonry in Russia started in the 18th century and has continued to the present day. Russian Freemasonry pursue humanistic and educational purposes, but more attention is given to ethical issues. It was a spiritual community of people united ...

that held secret meetings at the

Menshikov Tower Menshikov Tower (russian: Меншикова башня), also known as the Church of Archangel Gabriel, is a Baroque Russian Orthodox Church in Basmanny District of Moscow, within the Boulevard Ring. The church was initially built in 1707 to order ...

. Schwarz and Novikov moved the Masonic centre of Russia from St. Petersburg to Moscow, helping emancipate their compatriots from the

Swedish Rite The Swedish Rite is a variation or Rite of Freemasonry that is common in Scandinavian countries and to a limited extent in Germany. It is different from other branches of Freemasonry in that, rather than having the three self-contained foundati ...

and Yelagin's antics. Schwarz travelled in Europe to catch up with recent developments in the Rosicrucian doctrine. In 1782, he was present at the Wilhelmsbad masonic congress where Russia was recognized as the 8th autonomous province of the Rite of Strict Observance.Raffaella Faggionato. ''A Rosicrucian Utopia in Eighteenth-Century Russia: The Masonic Circle of N.I. Novikov''. Springer, 2005. Page 251. Paul of Russia also went to Europe at this time, raising

Catherine II , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anha ...

's suspicions about Paul's conversion to

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. Schwarz died soon after returning to Moscow at the age of 33.

References

Transylvanian-Saxon people Moscow State University faculty Russian people of German descent Russian Freemasons Rosicrucians Christian occultists 1751 births 1784 deaths 18th-century Christian mystics Esotericists {{russia-philosopher-stub