Philotheus (or Filofei) () (1465–1542) was a

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...

of the

Yelizarov Monastery Yelizarov or Yeleazarov Convent (Елеазаров монастырь) is a small convent founded as a monastery in 1447 to the north of Pskov, along the road leading to Gdov, by a local peasant named Eleazar. He constructed the wooden church of T ...

, near Pskov, in the 16th century. He is credited with authorship of the '' Legend of the White Cowl'' 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,

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, both fell, first to the Latin heretics, and second to the Muslim heathens, with

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 millio ...

remaining its sole bastion. Philotheus prophecy could then best construed that the Muscovy (or

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

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, 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 The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership) is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely and is typically h ...

of the church. In August 2009, it was reported that archaeologists had discovered a grave in Pskov, 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