Feodor or Fyodor Vasilyevich Kuritsyn (; died after 1500) was a Russian statesman, philosopher and poet.

Biography

As a government official and diplomat, Kuritsyn exerted great influence on the Russian foreign policy during the reign of

Ivan III of Russia Ivan III Vasilyevich (; 22 January 1440 – 27 October 1505), also known as Ivan the Great, was Grand Prince of Moscow and Sovereign of all Russia, all Russia from 1462 until his death in 1505. Ivan served as the co-ruler and regent for his bli ...

. In 1482, he was sent to the Hungarian king

Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...

to conclude an anti-Polish alliance. In 1494, Kuritsyn was sent to Lithuania for the same purpose. He took part in many negotiations with foreign statesmen in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. In 1485, Kuritsyn created a club, which later would be considered

heretical Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...

. He was against

monasteries A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which m ...

and

monasticism Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Chr ...

, expressed ideas about freedom of human will ("autocracy of the soul"), which he would interpret in a much broader sense than it was allowed by the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

. Kuritsyn's name was last mentioned in 1500, when Ivan III gradually changed his attitude towards heretics thanks to

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 ...

Joseph Volotsky Joseph Volotsky — also known as Joseph of Volotsk or Joseph of Volokolamsk (); secular name Ivan Sanin () (1439 or 1440 – September 9, 1515) — was a prominent Russian theologian and early proponent of tsarist autocracy, who led the par ...

, who had been Kuritsyn's staunch opponent. The tsar's leniency gave way to

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

, which would put an end to activities of Kuritsyn's club. Ivan III, however, spared Kuritsyn due to Volotsky's obvious exaggerations in his accusations.

Works

Kuritsyn authored numerous literary works, of which two survive to this day—a philosophical poem titled ''The Laodicean Missive'', as well as the poetic novel ''The Legend of the Voijevoda Dracula''.

References

Russian diplomats People from the Grand Principality of Moscow 15th-century Russian writers 1500s deaths Year of birth unknown {{Russia-diplomat-stub