Joseph Volotsky — also known as Joseph of Volotsk or Joseph of Volokolamsk (russian: Ио́сиф Во́лоцкий); secular name Ivan Sanin (russian: Ива́н Са́нин) (1439 or 1440 – September 9, 1515) — was a prominent Russian theologian and early proponent of tsarist autocracy, who led the party defending monastic landownership. The Russian Orthodox Church considers him a
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
(along with his most notable opponent,
Nilus of Sora
Nil Sorsky (russian: Нил Сорский, also Nilus of Sora and Nil Sorski; birth name: Nikolai Maikov (russian: Николай Майков) ( – 1508) became a leader of a tendency in the medieval Russian Orthodox Church known as the Non-p ...
); his memory is celebrated on 9 September and 18 October (dates in the Julian Calendar).
Background
Joseph Volotsky came from a family of a wealthy landowner (a '' votchinnik'') whose property consisted of the Yazvishche village in the Principaity of Volokolamsk,
Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast ( rus, Моско́вская о́бласть, r=Moskovskaya oblast', p=mɐˈskofskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ), or Podmoskovye ( rus, Подмоско́вье, p=pədmɐˈskovʲjə, literally "under Moscow"), is a federal subject of Rus ...
. He learned to read and write at the local monastery and then took the tonsure at the Borovsk Monastery in 1459. Upon the death of its abbot, St. Paphnutius of Borovsk, Joseph Volotsky took his place and attempted to introduce a strict monastic charter.David M. Goldfrank, "Old and New Perspectives on Iosif Volotsky's Monastic Rules," Slavic Review, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Jun., 1975), pp. 279-301. The monks, however, rebuffed his idea, and he had to leave the monastery for good. After having lived in a few other monasteries, Joseph became disappointed with their lax morals and founded his own cloister in 1479 near Volokolamsk, which would become known as the Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery. Joseph's charter prescribed a monk's chief virtue as absolute obedience to his abbot. All aspects of a monk's life at the monastery were regulated and controlled.
Initially, Joseph Volotsky was connected with the appanage princes of Volokolamsk (brothers of Ivan III) and defended the right of local
ecclesiastical
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Eventually, Joseph Volotsky gained the upper hand and the monasteries preserved their landholdings.
Ideas on the authority of the tsar
The triumph of the possessor party went hand in hand with Joseph's efforts to bolster the position of Russia's grand princes, who were now increasingly referred to as
tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
s, succeeding to the title of universal emperors of
Byzantium
Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...
. Joseph Volotsky restated the formula of an early Byzantine ecclesiastical writer
Agapetus Agapetus ( grc, Ἀγαπητός, link=no, ''beloved'') may refer to:
* ''Agapetus'' (caddisfly), a genus of caddisflies
** List of Agapetus species
* Agapetus (deacon) (), a deacon of the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople
* Agapetus (ph ...
that the tsar was a "man in essence, but his power is that of God" and that he was God's deputy on Earth. According to Joseph, however, since the main duty of the tsar is to care for the well-being of the
Christian Church
In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym fo ...
, he is legitimate only as long as he adheres to Church rules and moral obligations.
Struggle against heresies
Joseph Volotsky is also known to have been a staunch opponent of the heretical sect which was spreading in Russia at that time (" Judaizers"). During the Church Sobor of 1504, he demanded that all heretics be executed by the state.
In his major work, called ''The Enlightener'' (''Просветитель''), which consisted of 16 chapters, he tried to prove the wrongfulness of the "new teaching" in order to be able to prosecute the heretics and convince people not to believe in the sincerity of their
repentance
Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better.
In modern times, it is generally seen as involving a co ...
. Taking inspiration from the Roman-Byzantine treatment of heresiarchs and the Dominican-led persecutions in Spain and Portugal, he called for a civil inquisition against heretics and championed their imprisonment and execution. As with the controversy over monastic ownership of estates, Joseph Volotsky was opposed in this matter by Saint Nilus of Sora.
Joseph's sainthood was officially accepted by the Russian Orthodox Church following his local
canonization
Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of ...