Gavriil Belostoksky
Encyclopedia
Gavriil Belostoksky or Zabludowsky (alternatively Gavrila or Gabriel) (April 2 O.S. 1684-April 20? O.S. 1690) is a child saint in the Russian Orthodox Church
. The legend of his death describes a ritual murder which has been described as a blood libel. His cult, revived in Belarus
and Russia
in 1990s, raised concerns of human rights
organizations.
, 13 km from Zabłudów, Grodno Uezd (then Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
, today's Poland
) during the Jewish Passover
, while his parents, pious Orthodox Christians Peter and Anastasia Gavdel (Гавдель), were away. Shutko, a Jewish arendator of Zverki, was accused of bringing the boy to Białystok, poking him with sharp objects and draining his blood for nine days, then bringing the dead body back to Zverki and dumping it in a local field.
In 1755 his relics were transferred to Slutsky Monastery of Saint Trinity (Слуцкий Свято-Троицкий монастырь), Minsk
Guberniya
, attached was a placard blaming Jews for his death. His cult developed and spread throughout the Russian Empire
, and the boy was canonized in 1820. He is considered the patron saint
of children.
In the 1930s the relics were transferred to the Minsk museum of Atheism
. In 1944, they were moved to Grodno, where they stayed until 1992, when they were moved to Białystok (Свято-Никольский собор) where they are still the focus of pilgrimages.
On July 27, 1997, on All Saints Day, Belarusian state TV showed a film which alleged that the story is true.
According to a report by First deputy of Euro-Asiatic Jewish Congress Dr. Yakov Basin published by the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews
(UCSJ) in 1997,
The revival of the cult in Belarus
was cited as a dangerous expression of antisemitism in international reports on human rights and religious freedoms and were passed to the UNHCR.
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
. The legend of his death describes a ritual murder which has been described as a blood libel. His cult, revived in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in 1990s, raised concerns of human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
organizations.
Legend and canonization
According to the legend, the six-year-old boy was kidnapped from his home in the village of ZverkiZwierki
Zwierki is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Zabłudów, within Białystok County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately north-west of Zabłudów and south-east of the regional capital Białystok.-References:...
, 13 km from Zabłudów, Grodno Uezd (then Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
, today's Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
) during the Jewish Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
, while his parents, pious Orthodox Christians Peter and Anastasia Gavdel (Гавдель), were away. Shutko, a Jewish arendator of Zverki, was accused of bringing the boy to Białystok, poking him with sharp objects and draining his blood for nine days, then bringing the dead body back to Zverki and dumping it in a local field.
In 1755 his relics were transferred to Slutsky Monastery of Saint Trinity (Слуцкий Свято-Троицкий монастырь), Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
Guberniya
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
, attached was a placard blaming Jews for his death. His cult developed and spread throughout the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, and the boy was canonized in 1820. He is considered the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of children.
In the 1930s the relics were transferred to the Minsk museum of Atheism
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
. In 1944, they were moved to Grodno, where they stayed until 1992, when they were moved to Białystok (Свято-Никольский собор) where they are still the focus of pilgrimages.
Used to foment antisemitism
In the 1990s, a number of publications, as well as radio and TV broadcasts in Belarus revived the blood libel. Among the publications that have propagated the ritual murder charges were Soviet Byelorussia and the Orthodox Church's Tsarkounae Slova (Word of Church), which in 1992 advised its readers to "be aware of cruel cults, where human sacrifices are being practiced" and it identified Jewish Hasidism as such a cult.On July 27, 1997, on All Saints Day, Belarusian state TV showed a film which alleged that the story is true.
According to a report by First deputy of Euro-Asiatic Jewish Congress Dr. Yakov Basin published by the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews
Union of Councils for Soviet Jews
Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union is an umbrella organization of Jewish human rights groups working in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The UCSJ is based in Washington, D.C...
(UCSJ) in 1997,
Contemporary accounts, which claim that Jews murdered a boy in a ritual manner in order to use his blood, are resurrecting the medieval canard that Jews use the blood of Christian babies for their ritual purposes during pre-Passover days. On April 11, 1690, a few days before the beginning of Passover, 6 year-old Gavril Belostoksky allegedly was found murdered and drained of his blood in his village of Zverki, which was at the time a Belarusian town, but is now in Polish territory. Soon thereafter, the accusation that he had been murdered by Jews who needed his blood to bake matzoth was spread throughout Belarus. The libel was bolstered in 1844 in Vladimir DalVladimir DalVladimir Ivanovich Dal was one of the greatest Russian language lexicographers. He was a founding member of the Russian Geographical Society. He knew at least six languages including Turkic and is considered to be one of the early Turkologists...
's book, "Investigation of the Murder of Christian Babies by Jews and the Use of Their Blood." The Russian Orthodox Church canonized Gavril in the 20th century as the patron saint of sick children; he is commemorated in the beginning of each May. Needless to say, no evidence has ever been presented to support this defamation of the Jewish people.
The revival of the cult in Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
was cited as a dangerous expression of antisemitism in international reports on human rights and religious freedoms and were passed to the UNHCR.
See also
- Antisemitism in the Russian EmpireAntisemitism in the Russian EmpireAntisemitism in the Russian Empire appeared in hatred toward Jewish religion or ethnic Jews.-Involvement of the Orthodox Church:Yuri Tabak describes the history of antisemitism in Russia as having the same forms "already traditional in the West"...
- History of antisemitism
- Timeline of antisemitismTimeline of antisemitismThis timeline of antisemitism chronicles the facts of antisemitism, hostile actions or discrimination against Jews as a religious or ethnic group. It includes events in the history of antisemitic thought, actions taken to combat or relieve the effects of antisemitism, and events that affected the...