The Thought of Skhariya the Jew, much more commonly known in the church terminology as the Heresy of the Judaizers ( ''Zhidovstvuyushchiye''), was a religious concept that existed in

Veliky Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ...

and Grand Duchy of Moscow in the second half of the 15th century and marked the beginning of a new era of schism in Russia. Some scholars consider it to have developed from the earlier

Strigolniki The Strigolniki (singular Strigólnik– in Russian) were followers of a Russian religious sect in the middle of the 14th and first half of the 15th century, established in Pskov and later in Novgorod and Tver. The origins of the name remain uncl ...

religious concept that also had developed in Novgorod in the 14th century. Initially popular among high-ranking statesmen and even the royal court, the concept was persecuted by

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 ...

Joseph Volotsky 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 ...

and archbishop

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 ...

Terminology and beliefs

The term ''Zhidovstvuyushchiye'' (), as it is known in the sources, is derived from the Russian word жид (''zhid'', from Judea, an older Russian term for Jew which is now considered pejorative). ''Zhidovstvuyuschiye'' may be loosely translated as "those who follow Jewish traditions" or "those who think like Jews".

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 ...

, the main critic and persecutor of this thought, considered the founder of this religious movement to be a certain Skhariya (a.k.a. Zakhariya, Skara; Russian: Схария, Захария, Скара). This was Zacharia ben Aharon ha-Cohen, a scholar from Kiev brought to Novgorod by Mikhailo Olelkovich from the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state that existed from the 13th century to 1795, when the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Empire of Austria. The state was founded by Lit ...

in 1470. Zacharia translated a number of Hebrew texts on astronomy, logic and philosophy. Their nickname arbitrarily presupposed their adherence to "

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

", even though most of Skhariya's followers had been ordinary Russians of

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

faith and low-ranking Orthodox

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and had never confessed Judaism. Almost all we know about their religious beliefs is found in accounts left by their accusers. This makes it rather difficult to determine the exact beliefs of the adherents, since the aim of the accusers was to blacken the name of the "sect" and crush it. According to most accounts though, the ''Belief of Skhariya'' renounced the Holy Trinity and the divine status of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

, monasticism,

ecclesiastic {{Short pages monitor