Gennady (Archbishop of Novgorod)
Encyclopedia
Gennady (died December 4, 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 complete codex of the Bible in Slavic in 1499, known as the Gennady Bible
. Gennady is a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church
. His feast day is December 4 OS
/December 17 in the Gregorian Calendar
.
Gennady was from the Gonzov boyar
clan of Moscow
and was, prior to his archiepiscopate, hegumen
of the Chudov Monastery
in the Moscow Kremlin
. His immediate predecessor in Novgorod, Sergei, served less than a year and was recalled and confined to the Chudov Monastery apparently due to mental illness.
Gennady was named Archbishop of Novgorod in Moscow and placed in office on December 12, 1484, the first Novgorodian prelate not chosen by lots since 1359. He arrived in Novgorod in January 1485 with the task (as had been Sergei's) of bringing the newly-conquered Novgorodian church (the city had been brought under direct Muscovite control only in 1478 and the last locally-elected archbishop, Feofil, had been removed only in 1480) more in line with Muscovite ecclesiastical practices. He faced opposition from the local clergy by his commemoration of several Muscovite saints, but dealt with this opposition by including several local saints in his commemoration.
Gennady's main difficulty during his archepiscopate, however, was rooting out the Judaizer heresy from Novgorod and also Moscow, where it had spread when several Novgorodian clergymen were transferred to the capital. He is said to have borrowed methods from the Spanish Inquisition
, admiring how the King of Spain had dealt with heterodoxy in his kingdom, and he burned several heretics with the support of the grand prince and metropolitan.
The Novgorodian Fourth Chronicle notes that Gennady also helped pay for one third of the reconstruction of the current Detinets or Kremlin walls between 1484 and 1490, and in 1492, he calculated Easter for the next thousand years. The Orthodox believed the year 7000 AM, but the constantinopolian reckoning, would be the end of the world (this corresponds to the year 1492 AD) and thus they did not calculate Easter after that. This would have had dire consequences, not only for the performance of religious rituals, but also in determining when to plant and harvest crops, and could potentially have led to famine. Gennady's contribution thus went beyond merely knowing when Easter was.
Gennady took part in the Moscow Council of 1503, but the following year he was accused of simony
and retired from office. After returning to Moscow, he died on December 4, 1505 in the Chudov Monastery. He was buried near Metropolitan Aleksei
in the main church of the monastery until its destruction in 1929, after which his remains were lost, as were those of more than a hundred other people buried in the Kremlin.
Archbishop of Novgorod
The Archbishop of Novgorod is the head of the eparchy of Novgorod the Great and is one of the oldest offices in the Russian Orthodox Church. The archbishops have, in fact, been among the most important figures in medieval Russian history and culture and their successors continued to play...
from 1484 to 1504. He was most instrumental in fighting the Heresy of the Judaizers
Sect of Skhariya the Jew
The Sect of Skhariya the Jew, much more commonly known as the Heresy of the Judaizers or Zhidovstvuyushchiye, was a sect that appeared in Novgorod the Great and Grand Duchy of Moscow in the second half of the 15th century and marked the beginning of a new era of heresy in Russia...
and is famous for compiling the first complete codex of the Bible in Slavic in 1499, known as the Gennady Bible
Slavic translations of the Bible
This article deals with the history of translation of the Bible into Slavic languages, beginning in the second half of the 9th century....
. Gennady is a saint of the Russian Orthodox Church
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...
. His feast day is December 4 OS
OS
OS may refer to:* O.S. Old Stonyhurst, an old boy of the ancient Jesuit public school, Stonyhurst College* O.S. Engines, a Japanese manufacturer of model aircraft engines* Ocean Science, an Oceanographic Journal published by the European Geosciences Union....
/December 17 in the Gregorian Calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
.
Gennady was from the Gonzov boyar
Boyar
A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....
clan of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and was, prior to his archiepiscopate, hegumen
Hegumen
Hegumen, hegumenos, igumen, or ihumen is the title for the head of a monastery of the Eastern Orthodox Church or Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the one of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called hegumenia or ihumenia . The term means "the one who is in charge", "the leader" in...
of the Chudov Monastery
Chudov Monastery
The Chudov Monastery was founded in the Moscow Kremlin in 1358 by Metropolitan Alexius of Moscow. The monastery was dedicated to the miracle of the Archangel Michael at Chonae...
in the Moscow Kremlin
Moscow Kremlin
The Moscow Kremlin , sometimes referred to as simply The Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River , Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square and the Alexander Garden...
. His immediate predecessor in Novgorod, Sergei, served less than a year and was recalled and confined to the Chudov Monastery apparently due to mental illness.
Gennady was named Archbishop of Novgorod in Moscow and placed in office on December 12, 1484, the first Novgorodian prelate not chosen by lots since 1359. He arrived in Novgorod in January 1485 with the task (as had been Sergei's) of bringing the newly-conquered Novgorodian church (the city had been brought under direct Muscovite control only in 1478 and the last locally-elected archbishop, Feofil, had been removed only in 1480) more in line with Muscovite ecclesiastical practices. He faced opposition from the local clergy by his commemoration of several Muscovite saints, but dealt with this opposition by including several local saints in his commemoration.
Gennady's main difficulty during his archepiscopate, however, was rooting out the Judaizer heresy from Novgorod and also Moscow, where it had spread when several Novgorodian clergymen were transferred to the capital. He is said to have borrowed methods from the Spanish Inquisition
Spanish Inquisition
The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition , commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition , was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the Medieval...
, admiring how the King of Spain had dealt with heterodoxy in his kingdom, and he burned several heretics with the support of the grand prince and metropolitan.
The Novgorodian Fourth Chronicle notes that Gennady also helped pay for one third of the reconstruction of the current Detinets or Kremlin walls between 1484 and 1490, and in 1492, he calculated Easter for the next thousand years. The Orthodox believed the year 7000 AM, but the constantinopolian reckoning, would be the end of the world (this corresponds to the year 1492 AD) and thus they did not calculate Easter after that. This would have had dire consequences, not only for the performance of religious rituals, but also in determining when to plant and harvest crops, and could potentially have led to famine. Gennady's contribution thus went beyond merely knowing when Easter was.
Gennady took part in the Moscow Council of 1503, but the following year he was accused of simony
Simony
Simony is the act of paying for sacraments and consequently for holy offices or for positions in the hierarchy of a church, named after Simon Magus , who appears in the Acts of the Apostles 8:9-24...
and retired from office. After returning to Moscow, he died on December 4, 1505 in the Chudov Monastery. He was buried near Metropolitan Aleksei
Alexius, Metropolitan of Moscow
Saint Alexius was Metropolitan of Kiev and all Russia , and presided over the Moscow government during Dmitrii Donskoi's minority....
in the main church of the monastery until its destruction in 1929, after which his remains were lost, as were those of more than a hundred other people buried in the Kremlin.