At the end of the 15th century, the Russian state and the Church became almost completely independent of the Golden Horde and the Patriarchate of Constantinople, but the Orthodox world did not feel complete relief, awaiting the end of the world in 1492, when the seventh millennium from the creation of the world ended.
At the same time, heresy appeared in Novgorod, whose followers denied the approach of the Last Judgment, referring to the Jewish chronology, which differed from the Christian one by 1748 years. Adepts of this teaching accepted some of the dogmas of Christianity, but did not recognize the divine nature of Christ, iconography and valued the Old Testament more than the New.
For the first time, heresy in Novgorod, which recently lost the status of a free city, was discovered by Archbishop Gennady, sent from Moscow in 1484. Subsequently, the sectarians showed up in the capital city. The hierarch in his messages of 1487-1489 to other clergymen complained that the Judaizers receive support from the Grand Duke himself and his entourage, and two heretic priest even serve in Kremlin cathedrals. So who or what was behind the heretics: the traditions of Novgorod freethinking, patrons from Moscow, Jews or other influential circles? Or maybe the existence of heresy was simply invented?
Novgorod liberties
Until 1471 Novgorod, until it was subdued by Moscow, was a free city. In Russia, it was the educated Novgorodians who showed the greatest susceptibility to new ideas, who, in the era of the republic's independence, had extensive ties with the outside world, since the city was the concentration of trade routes.
More than a hundred years before the heresy of the Judaizers in Novgorod, the strigolnik sect gained strength, which originally arose in Pskov. The followers of this teaching, as well as the Judaizers, opposed simony - the sale and purchase of church positions. In this connection, the adherents of the cult had a negative attitude towards the Orthodox clergy. Over time, shearing was eradicated, but the traditions of free thought remained in the city. When Archbishop Gennady arrived in Novgorod, rumors spread that he had acquired the post for an unheard-of amount of money.
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Gennady's activities
Having discovered freethinking in the city, Gennady actively joined in the fight against it. Since the opponents of the archbishop, who were for the most part clergy, had deep knowledge, the hierarch decided to actively develop translation activities. He made, in particular, a complete and systematic translation of the Holy Scriptures into the Slavic language.
It is noteworthy that Gennady actively collaborated with Catholics, with whom the Patriarchate of Constantinople concluded a union that was not recognized in Moscow. The archbishop invited a monk of the Dominican Order to work on the biblical vaults. Most researchers note the Latin orientation of the hierarch, emphasizing the "shift from the Greek channel to the Latin." Therefore, or for some other reason, opponents-free-thinkers repaid Gennady with the same coin, calling him a heretic.
Jew or Genoese?
The main source telling about the heresy of the Judaizers is the book of Hegumen Joseph Volotsky "The Enlightener", which claims that the sect arose after the Novgorodians invited the Lithuanian prince Mikhail Olelkovich to them in 1470. With him came the Jews, led by Skharia from Kiev, on business. It was he who brought heresy to the free city, finding himself disciples among the clergy.
According to one version, Skhariya was a learned Sephardic Jew. On the other - the Genoese Gizolfi Zakkaria, who owned the principality on the Taman Peninsula. The source of the latter assumption was the scribal book of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, in which Zakkaria was listed as “the Jew Zakhariya Skare”, although further in the text he was already called “Circassian”, Prince Taman and Italian. The mother of the Genoese came from a noble Circassian family, and the father was from Genoa. Some authors believe that the Gizolfi family was associated with Jews.
There is also an opinion that Skhariya is a mythological character descended from the Pskov abbot Zakhar, an opponent of Simony and Archbishop Gennady. Scholars who hold this point of view believe that his opponents gave the name Jewish features to make the new heresy more odious in the eyes of the Orthodox.
Gennady accused Zakhar and two Novgorod priests of heresy, who later fled to Moscow. Later, they made a brilliant career at the court of Ivan III: one became the archpriest of the Assumption Cathedral, and the other a minister of the Kremlin Archangel Cathedral.
High patrons
If the figure of Shariah gives rise to debates among historians, then the spread of heresy in Moscow, which was initially covered by Ivan III, is beyond doubt. The most influential judge in the capital city was the manager of the ambassadorial affairs Fyodor Kuritsyn, who criticized monasticism and developed the idea of free will. He and other heretics were openly patronized by Elena Voloshanka, the mother of Ivan III's grandson.
Orthodoxy during the heresy of the Jews was not monolithic: there was a dispute between the non-possessors and the Josephites about church riches. The ideological inspirer of the first was Nil Sorsky, who advocated the rejection of monastic land ownership and the commercial and business activities of the Church. The leader of the latter is the aforementioned Joseph Volotsky, who defended the Church's right to property for educational and charitable activities. In addition, the former were much more lenient towards heretics than the latter.
Clan clash
Ivan III, who generally advocated the supremacy of secular power over clerical, maneuvered between these forces, as well as the Judaizers. Which views would be declared heretical and which orthodox, largely depended on him. A significant role was also played by the internal political struggle between a group that sympathized with the free-thinkers led by Elena Voloshanka, whose son claimed the throne, and the supporters of Ivan III's second wife, Sophia Paleologue, who had strong ties with Catholics.
In the end, the Grand Duke decided on an alliance with the most conservative wing of Orthodoxy, after which the heresy of the Judaizers began to be severely persecuted. Elena Voloshanka was declared a heretic and, therefore, her son Dmitry, the grandson, could no longer inherit the Orthodox throne. The allies of Sophia Palaeologus won, nominating her son, Vasily III, to reign.
If the council of 1490, which was the first to consider the problem of heresy, did not pass the death sentence on the Jews, on which Archbishop Gennady insisted, then the council of 1504, presided over by Vasily III, decided to put the most odious heretics to death by burning. The Jews were defeated, although the heretics themselves did not recognize themselves as adherents of Judaism.