Aleksei

Who was Aleksei?

Aleksei was a Russian archpriest who became known for converting to Judaism. He was born probably in Novgorod around 1425 and died in Moscow in 1488.

In the last quarter of the fifteenth century, when a schism arose in the Russian Orthodox Church and many new sects sprang up, Aleksei became a convert to Judaism. Some of the new sects had shown a decided tendency to revert to the old Mosaic law. This probably suggested to the influential Jew Skhariyah, of Kiev, the idea of spreading Judaism among the Russians of Pskov and Novgorod. Skhariyah belonged to the suite of the Gediminid Prince Michael Olelkovich, who came to Novgorod in 1471. The first convert in Novgorod was the priest Dionisy, who introduced to Skhariyah his colleague, the archpriest Aleksei. The latter was the most zealous of the new converts, and did successful missionary work among all classes, especially among the clergy. The new community appreciated his labors so highly that the name of Abraham was conferred upon him, while his wife's name was changed to Sarah.

When the grand duke of Muscovy, Ivan III, visited Novgorod in 1480, Aleksei found favor in his eyes.