Zosimus the Bearded (''Зосима Брадатый'' in Russian) (died 1494) was Metropolitan of Moscow and all Rus' from 1490 to 1494. He was the fifth Metropolitan in Moscow to be appointed without the approval of the
Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople
The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...
as had been the norm. For the first time in Russian history, Zosimus was appointed metropolitan by the decision of the council of the Russian bishops by order of the
Grand Prince
Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) ( la, magnus princeps; Greek: ''megas archon''; russian: великий князь, velikiy knyaz) is a title of nobility ranked in honour below emperor, equal of king or ...
Ivan III
Ivan III Vasilyevich (russian: Иван III Васильевич; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and Grand Prince of all Rus'. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his blin ...
.
He was the author of the
Third Rome
The continuation, succession and revival of the Roman Empire is a running theme of the history of Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. It reflects the lasting memories of power and prestige associated with the Roman Empire itself.
Several politi ...
conception. He had been archimandrite of the Simonovskii Monastery in Moscow when he was picked to replace Metropolitan Gerontii some six months after Gerontii's death.
Archbishop
In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
Gennady of Novgorod
Gennadius (Gennady, russian: Геннадий; died 4 December 1505) was Archbishop of Novgorod the Great and Pskov from 1484 to 1504.
He was most instrumental in fighting the Heresy of the Judaizers and is famous for compiling the first complet ...
had uncovered the
Heresy of the Judaizers in 1487 and Zosimus's entire metropolitanate was overshadowed by this crisis. Gennady wrote a letter in 1490 to Zosimus and other bishops in the Russian church demanding a council be convened and the heresy be dealt with. The council convened less than a month after Zosimus' elevation to the metropolitan throne and condemned the heresy. Gennady demanded that the heretics be severely punished - hanged and burned - and not merely incarcerated, but Zosimus and Grand Prince Ivan III opposed these harsher methods. Zosimus was eventually accused of being a secret heretic and, on 17 May 1494, he was removed from the metropolitan throne on charges of heresy and sodomy.
[Golubinskii, vol. 2, pt. 1, p. 577.] He died before any trial was held.
Zosimus is known for having compiled a list of
banned books
This is an index of lists of banned books, which contain books that have been banned or censored by religious authority or government.
By country
* Book censorship in Canada
* Book censorship in China
* List of books banned in India
* Book ce ...
and written an
epistle
An epistle (; el, ἐπιστολή, ''epistolē,'' "letter") is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as par ...
against
heretic
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
s.
References
Metropolitans and Patriarchs of Moscow
1494 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Place of birth unknown
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