Paul Menesius (1637–1694), also known as Pavel Gavrilovich Menezius (), was a Scottish soldier and diplomat who spent most of his life in the service of Tsar

Alexis of Russia Alexei Mikhailovich (, ; – ), also known as Alexis, was Tsar of all Russia from 1645 until his death in 1676. He was the second Russian tsar from the House of Romanov. He was the first tsar to sign laws on his own authority and his council ...

Life

Menesius came from an old wealthy Scottish family of Catholic and traditional background from

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

, who were forced by religious persecution to immigrate to France in 1639. Menesius studied at the Douai College. After

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

's death in 1658 the family returned to Scotland when Charles II returned the family's land. However, their wealth was lost and Paul, the youngest son, had to seek his own living. He joined the Polish army. In 1660, he defected to Russia. There, he received a master's rank and later married the daughter of a Dutchman by the name of Peter Marselis who was also in the service of Moscow. Menzies' friendship with Kirill Naryshkin, who since 1671 was the Tsar's father-in-law, and Patrick Gordon and others placed him close to Tsar Alexei. When in 1671 - 1672 during a return to Scotland, his fortunes took a further turn. The Russian state was looking for allies among the European states to fight

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Menesius with his linguistic skills and Catholic faith was enlisted as an ambassador and sent in 1672, to

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and

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. Although he was welcomed, he did not receive any direct response to the appeal for alliance. However, despite Austrian suspicion; in Vienna when he announced that the Turks had conquered the Kamenets and Russian arsenals, the Austrian Emperor led an army to the borders to defeat the infidel invader.

Meeting with the pope

On the embassy to Rome in 1673, the legate was warmly welcomed. Menesius delivered a letter from Tsar Alexei to

Pope Clement X Pope Clement X (; ; 13 July 1590 – 22 July 1676), born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 April 1670 to his death on 22 July 1676. Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, born in Rome in ...

requesting his help against their common enemy the Turk and asking him to intercede and write to the Kings of England and France that they might aid him against the enemies of Christians. He was also to solicit the Pope on behalf of Alexis for formal recognition of the title of Tsar. Rome recognized Alexis only as the Grand duke of Muscovy, who had conferred the title of Tsar upon himself. The Pope was not convinced that Alexis professed the faith in such a manner as to give any assurance of his Catholic intentions. However, an audience was refused when Menzies would not agree to kiss the Pope's foot. Despite an attempt to arrange a secret audience, the negotiations ended unsuccessfully.

Later life

On his return to Russia in 1674 he was promoted to the rank of major general and was made a tutor for the Tsarevich Peter (the future Peter I) in military matters; consisting mainly of rowdy outdoor games with live ammunition. Come 1682, the regent Sophia Alekseyevna sent him off to war against the Crimean Tatars. In 1684, along with

Patrick Gordon Patrick Leopold Gordon of Auchleuchries (31 March 1635 – 29 November 1699) was a general and rear admiral in Russia, of Scottish origin. He was descended from a family of Aberdeenshire, holders of the estate of Auchleuchries, near Ellon. The ...

and Alexander Livingston, fellow Scottish soldiers in the Tsar's service, Menesius signed a petition for the opening of a first

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

congregation in Russia. The permission was granted. This was the first time that a Roman Catholic church was built in Moscow. By the summer of 1689, Peter took power from his half-sister Sophia, whose position had been weakened by two unsuccessful Crimean campaigns. Menesius, till his death in 1694, enthusiastically defended the interests of Russia, but still remained a staunch Catholic and Scottish patriot.

Notes

References

Sources

* *
Scottish Influence in Russian History
A. Francis Steuart (1913), Chapter IV: General Patrick Gordon of Auchleuchries. * "''Paul Menzies and his mission from Muscovy to Rome, 1672-1674''" Paul Dukes in The Innes Review, XXXV (Autumn 1984), pp. 88–95. *Passages from the diary of General

of Auchleuchries : A.D. 1635-A.D. 1699;

: Printed for the Spalding Club, 185
archive.org: pp. 39, 40, 41, 46, 53, 84, 85, 111, 113, 163, 178, 183, 213; index: 229