Joasaphus Skripitsyn (also spelled Ioasaph or Joasaph; ; died 1555 or 1556) was Metropolitan of Moscow and all Rus', the

primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

of the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

, from 1539 to 1542. He was the ninth metropolitan in Moscow to be appointed without the approval of the

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople () is the List of ecumenical patriarchs of Constantinople, archbishop of Constantinople and (first among equals) among the heads of the several autocephalous churches that comprise the Eastern Orthodox ...

as had been the norm. Joasaph is known to have authored a number of theological works.

Biography

Joasaphus was first a

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

and then

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of ...

at the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra (since 1529). He enjoyed the favor of Grand Prince

Vasili III Vasili III Ivanovich (; 25 March 14793 December 1533) was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1505 until his death in 1533. He was the son of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologue and was christened with the name Gavriil (). Following on th ...

. After Metropolitan Daniel had been

deposed Deposition by political means concerns the removal of a politician or monarch.
ORB: The Online Reference for Medie ...

at the church '' sobor'' (council) of 1539, Joasaph was elected Metropolitan of Moscow just three days later, on 5 February 1539. He is known to have opposed the supporters of the Josephites or

non-possessors The non-possessors () belonged to a movement in the Russian Orthodox Church in the early 16th century that opposed ecclesiastical land-ownership. It was led by Nilus of Sora (1433–1508) and later Maximus the Greek () and others. They were oppose ...

, and favored the opponents of monastic landownership. Joasaph was the one to solicit young

Ivan IV Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584. ...

's forgiveness for the disgraced Belskys and

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Vladimir of Staritsa Vladimir Andreyevich (; 9 July 1535 – 9 October 1569) was the last appanage Russian prince. His complicated relationship with his cousin, Ivan the Terrible, was dramatized in Sergei Eisenstein's 1945 film ''Ivan the Terrible (1945 film), ...

and render support for

Maximus the Greek Maximus the Greek, also known as Maximos the Greek or Maksim Grek (; ; ), was a Greek monk, publicist, writer, scholar, and translator active in Russia. He is also called Maximos the Hagiorite (), as well as Maximus the Philosopher.. His signat ...

. During the regency of Grand Duchess

Elena Glinskaya Elena Vasilyevna Glinskaya (; – 4 April 1538) was the grand princess consort of Moscow as the second wife of Vasili III of Russia, and '' de facto'' regent of Russia from 1533 until her death in 1538. She was the mother of the first crowned ...

, in the first five years of the reign of Ivan IV (1533–1538), Joasaph managed to keep his influence at the royal court, but in 1542, Joasaph fell into disgrace and was exiled to the

Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery (), known in English as White Lake St. Cyril's Monastery, is a Russian Orthodox monastery in Kirillov, Russia. It used to be the largest monastery and the strongest fortress in Northern Russia. The monastery was co ...

and then transferred to the Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra in 1547, where he would remain until his death on 27 July 1555.Golubinskii, ''Istoriia russkoi tserkvi'', vol. 2, pt. 1, p. 743.

References

Sources

* Metropolitans of Moscow and all Rus' 1550s deaths Year of birth unknown 16th-century Russian clergy Inmates of the prison of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery {{Bishop-stub