When Christians Separated Church From Synagogue

[alon]

This is an excerpt from an article, which I found very interesting on several points:

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE ONLINE
The evil lies about a Jewish 'genocide'
By Ben Barkow, January 8, 2015

Some years ago, the author Elie Wiesel wrote: "the sincere Christian knows that what died in Auschwitz was not the Jewish people but Christianity".

This striking sentence cuts to the very core of European identity: after all, we may be a largely secular society today, but European history, European art, European literature, European music, European architecture and European thought have all been shaped by and with reference to Christianity. I suspect that few Europeans could readily accept Wiesel's dictum without feeling intense discomfort.

An authentic and thoughtful response to Wiesel was made by the German Protestant theologian Rolf Rendtorff. He acknowledged openly that the Holocaust represents a vast crisis for Christianity, and argued that Christians can overcome this only by recognising that their religion took a fundamental wrong turn when it separated church from synagogue, became the ally of state power in the 4th century CE and thereafter increasingly victimised Jews.

If it is to move forward, Christianity must re-focus on its own roots within Judaism. In the words of the Swedish-American theologian Krister Stendahl, Christians must recognise themselves as "a peculiar kind of Jews" and seek acceptance from Judaism.

You can read the artical at : www.thejc.com/comment-and-debate/comment/127911/the-evil-lies-about-a-jewish-genocide

I like the sentiment, and as more focus is placed on the "Jewish Roots" of Christianity I think more people will eventually come out. However what must ultimately be realized is that Christianity is NOT Jewish, and never has been! All the early church fathers wrote virulently against Judaism, especially the Natsarim. The Natsarim, who were the only 1st cen. believers were almost all Jews themselves, and their sect survived alongside Christianity until the Christians effectively wiped them out. The Christian Church did not even come on the scene until very late in the 1st cen, or possibly in the 2nd, depending on how you wish to define their start. But historically and scripturally they were not an entity until at least Marcion, who was the 1st true church father (though he was later excommunicated in the mid 2nd cen.). From a Catholic website (http://www.gotquestions.org/early-church-fathers.html#ixzz3Sw9Hk76z), "Linus, mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:21, became the bishop of Rome, and Clement took over from Linus. Both Linus and Clement of Rome, therefore, are considered apostolic fathers. However, there appear to be no writings of Linus that have survived," So there is a clear disconnect here in their quest to say their apostolic line went from Linus to Clement. Most telling, Clement himself wrote that there was no bishopric set up in Rome in his lifetime! (http://www.badnewsaboutchristianity.com/ac0_fathers.htm)

These men were taking scripture (or what would later become canonized), rewriting it and taking their new religion away from Judaism and into the paganism prevalent in the Greco/Roman world of their time. One of the things Clement was famous for and is still associated with was his absolute belief in the Pheonix of pagan mythology.

Here are some quotes from the church fathers:

Ignatius Bishop of Antioch (98-117A.D.) For if we are still practicing Judaism, we admit that we have not received God’s favor…it is wrong to talk about Jesus Christ and live like Jews. For Christianity did not believe in Judaism, but Judaism in Christianity.

"Epistle of Barnabas" Chapter 4vs 6-7 (between 130A.D. and 138 A.D.) Take heed to yourselves and be not like some piling up you sins and saying that the covenant is theirs as well as ours. It is ours, but they lost it completely just after Moses received it.

Justin Martyr - Dialogue with Trypho (Between 138A.D. and 161 A.D.) We too, would observe your circumcision of the flesh, your Sabbath days, and in a word, all you festivals, if we were not aware of the reason why they were imposed upon you, namely, because of your sins and the hardness of heart.

The custom of circumcising the flesh, handed down from Abraham, was given to you as a distinguishing mark, to set you off from other nations and from us Christians. The purpose of this was that you and only you might suffer the afflictions that are now justly yours; that only your land be desolated, and you cities ruined by fire, that the fruits of you land be eaten by strangers before your very eyes; that not one of you be permitted to enter your city of Jerusalem. Your circumcision of the flesh is the only mark by which you can certainly be distinguished from other men…as I stated before it was by reason of your sins and the sins of your fathers that, among other precepts, God imposed upon you the observence of the sabbath as a mark.

Origen of Alexandria (185-254 A.D.) We may thus assert in utter confidence that the Jews will not return to their earlier situation, for they have committed the most abominable of crimes, in forming this conspiracy against the Savior of the human race…hence the city where Jesus suffered was necessarily destroyed, the Jewish nation was driven from its country, and another people was called by God to the blessed election.

John Chrysostom (344-407 A.D.) The synagogue is worse than a brothel…it is the den of scoundrels and the repair of wild beasts…the temple of demons devoted to idolatrous cults…the refuge of brigands and dabauchees, and the cavern of devils. It is a criminal assembly of Jews…a place of meeting for the assassins of Christ… a house worse than a drinking shop…a den of thieves, a house of ill fame, a dwelling of iniquity, the refuge of devils, a gulf and a abyss of perdition."…"I would say the same things about their souls… As for me, I hate the synagogue…I hate the Jews for the same reason.

Augustine, Confessions, 12.14 (c. 354-430 A.D.) How hateful to me are the enemies of your Scripture! How I wish that you would slay them (the Jews) with your two-edged sword, so that there should be none to oppose your word! Gladly would I have them die to themselves and live to you!

And these are just a few; and they have continued unabated through today in both the Catholic and Protestant religions. Christianity is not Jewish, and never has been. However there is still enough Jewishness in the scriptures that those not blinded by hatred can still see the truth: that Jesus was Jewish, that the God of the Old Testament is the same God of the New, and that God does not change nor does He revoke a calling. This may (hopefully) be enough to start them looking into the Jewish Roots of their religion. However, at some point there must be a break in that thinking, and they have to realize that the early believers were Jews and continued to worship as they always had. That the New Testament doesn't change anything, it is just another example of God making a way for sinful man to be reconciled to Him. But God never contradicts Himself. The true religion is still the same, still Jewish. The whole tree, not just the roots.

Dan C

[alon]

Feb 27, 2015 2:39:38 GMT -8 alon said:

THE JEWISH CHRONICLE ONLINE- Christians can overcome this only by recognising that their religion took a fundamental wrong turn when it separated church from synagogue, became the ally of state power in the 4th century CE and thereafter increasingly victimised Jews.

Messianic Judaism does precisely this, among other things. Yet like the Natsarim e model ourselves and our worship after, we are not accepted by either the Jews or by Christianity. Both see us as a threat.

Jews fear we are just Christians trying to make Yeshua palatable to them. We are playing Jew. We never converted to Judaism. And sadly there is some truth in what they say. There are those in the movement just playing Jew, as well as those trying to dress up Christianity to be more acceptable to Jews and thus to proselytize them. [Edit: I should also point out that there are many who want to pick and choose what they'll obey and still tell God how they will worship Him. I struggle with this tendency myself; it isn't easy to change.] These are obviously the ones a Jewish anti-missionary would try to focus on when attacking our faith. But faith based on a lie is foolishness, and these lies are not why I am Messianic.

While modern Messianism was started by Jewish converts, and has many Jewish converts in our ranks, the majority of us are not born Jews. We are learning all this on our own and, to be frank, we probably often look silly to one raised a Jew as we inevitably make mistakes. And there are fundamental differences in some of our beliefs aside from the obviouse (faith in Yeshua). We are not Rabbinical Jews in any sense, and so don't follow all their dictates, and many of us are quite hostile towards them. This I think is a mistake, as we won't make any friends being hostile to their beliefs; and more than that we do have much to learn from Rabbis who've been studying these things for centuries. Don't dismiss anything just because it is Rabbinic or (for crying out loud!) Jewish! That they don't accept us is no reason to dismiss everything they say.

Christians fear we will proselytize their ranks as well. More than this, they cannot stand to have their theology shown to be a lie. We are called Judaizers and worse. None of the pastors I've challenged have ever answered me. I don't challenge the average Christian like I do the pastors, because it is the pastors who are supposed to be learned. It is they who are supposed to be telling the truth. Yet none will answer my clear statements from their own scriptures! Yet they will come against Messianism any chance they get. Frankly, they fear us, and with good reason. And what we fear, we hate.

They will accept the Hebrew Roots people, because what they say is interesting; adds color to their religion. And the HR people can usually be maintained as good Christians with an interesting take on things. But HR folk will at some point come to a place where they must make a decision: continue with the church, move to strictly HR (which cannot be sustained, and they'll be faced with the same decision later), or hopefully they will move on to full Messianic Judaism.

We should not be surprised however that we are not accepted by others. Jhn 15:18 "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you." I didn't come into Messianic Judaism to gain the approval of men. I knew that wasn't going to happen before I started this. I came from a profound belief that the entire Bible is true, God told us how He wanted us to worship Him, and no man was given the authority to change any of this.

Note: I do have a good relationship with the AoG church where I go with my wife. If they ask, I'll tell them. But I don't push the issue there- except with one pastor who keeps asking me questions and challenging me, but refuses to answer. They all know I am MJ though, and that my beliefs are vastly different. I don't lie to them, neither do I browbeat them. So to say all Christian churches are overtly hostile to us would be wrong. One lifelong friend of my family there did call me a Judaizer, but OK. I'll own that as he meant it- I wish they'd all become Messianic Jews! A true Judaizer however is what was being discussed in Acts 15 where they said you had to become Jewish, a lengthy process, before you could become saved. That I will not own, as no credible MJ I know of posits that. We have cults that attach themselves to our name, but they are not true MJ's.

Dan C

[Elizabeth]

A lot of thoughts, I look forward to considering more thoroughly.

It has been my experience that religion in Europe is often more about culture and history than G-d to begin with. This may have contributed to some of what you discuss, or it may be an effect of it.

We have to remember Europe's history to understand why religion may be important to people who aren't even religious. In East Europe and the Balkans, for example, to say you are Roman Catholic, Orthodox, or Muslim means a great deal about you historically and culturally. Though it is religion, it doesn't necessarily refer to anything having to do with G-d because religion was so often used hurtfully and politically. 

(I felt awkward leaving Judaism out of my list.  It would be untruthful for me to include Judaism as I have not met Jewish people in the areas I have visited, or at least not people who felt safe to be vocal about it.  Regardless, this reality and the absence from the list speaks to the painful role religion has had in history.)

We have to be careful with the idea of religion. Secular people have a point when they tell us religion has done more damage than good.  Our greatest challenge is that in the eyes of the world, our G-d has been wrapped up in evils that had nothing to do with Him. 

Now, as far as us not knowing what we are doing, I would say that may have something to do with some of our fellow Jewish believers who want to have nothing to do with us.  If not for this forum and the synagogue who started it, I would have no where to go and learn.  Meanwhile, there is a Messianic Synagogue an hour and a half away that I am not welcome to attend.  They are more reform anyway, so I wouldn't attend,  but it is just an example of a problem.

This type of scenario leaves too much room for false teachers, cults, and confusion.  I feel that those who can teach, rebuke, and clarify have a responsibility to do so. I understand the concern many Jewish believers have and I understand their motivation in trying to preserve their Jewish identity.  I simply challenge the manner some are going about doing so.  Truthful and uncompromising teaching would go a long way to sort out the confusion and prune out the false and cultic people.  Our unimpressive numbers may diminish, but G-d works well with unimpressive numbers anyway.

[alon]

Feb 27, 2015 7:48:14 GMT -8 Elizabeth said:

A lot of thoughts, I look forward to considering more thoroughly.

You already bring up some good points, and your insights on European religious identities is invaluable.

It has been my experience that religion in Europe is often more about culture and history than G-d to begin with. This may have contributed to some of what you discuss, or it may be an effect of it. We have to remember Europe's history to understand why religion may be important to people who aren't even religious. In East Europe and the Balkans, for example, to say you are Roman Catholic, Orthodox, or Muslim means a great deal about you historically and culturally. Though it is religion, it doesn't necessarily refer to anything having to do with G-d because religion was so often used hurtfully and politically.

Excellent point. I've gotten this in talking online with people in Europe, particularly in the UK. Like being British, they just ARE Anglican (for example). I had a falling out with one Messianic who was also a minister (I forget which denomination), and he had no problem compartmentalizing the two. I did have a problem with this, and he predictably took a disliking to me very quickly. This was on a "Messianic" forum I used to go to- and they had almost every kind of Hebrew Roots to Messianic cults on there. But they went more and more dispensational, and there were almost no true Messianics left, so I quit going there. It was before I found this forum.

(I felt awkward leaving Judaism out of my list. It would be untruthful for me to include Judaism as I have not met Jewish people in the areas I have visited, or at least not people who felt safe to be vocal about it. Regardless, this reality and the absence from the list speaks to the painful role religion has had in history.)

Judaism has the same problem; there are many secular Jews. I get this from my wife and from reading Jewish sources on the net. We also get it more and more in Christianity in the US, though our history doesn't go back as far as those in Europe. But too many in all faiths everywhere don't really believe, they just "are."

We have to be careful with the idea of religion. Secular people have a point when they tell us religion has done more damage than good. Our greatest challenge is that in the eyes of the world, our G-d has been wrapped up in evils that had nothing to do with Him.

Yes, whenever the enemy coopts religion, especially when he coopted Christianity, he uses it to further evil and thus discredit God. You have to remember too though that the history we were taught has been watered down and distorted. The Crusades, for example, were a response to the threat posed at the time by the spread of Islam. That was the good they did which we were never told about. It is usually presented as they went to liberate Jerusalem, which in truth was the selling point to get men to go. The Crusaders also did some despicably evil things, much of which we were never told of either. The Jews however know details of much of this evil which was directed at them. It is one of the reasons it can be so difficult to talk to a Jew about Yeshua. To them He is the Jesus that has brutally persecuted them for millennia.

Now, as far as us not knowing what we are doing, I would say that may have something to do with some of our fellow Jewish believers who want to have nothing to do with us. If not for this forum and the synagogue who started it, I would have no where to go and learn. Meanwhile, there is a Messianic Synagogue an hour and a half away that I am not welcome to attend. They are more reform anyway, so I wouldn't attend, but it is just an example of a problem.

Agreed. Some Jewish Messianics fear that if they allow Gentile converts in we will once again overwhelm them and bring in some of the heresies inherent in our Christian upbringing. And in rural areas like where I am it is difficult to find even a Jew, let alone a Messianic Jew. This is made even more difficult by the fact that most Jews do not let it be known they are Jewish.

This type of scenario leaves too much room for false teachers, cults, and confusion. I feel that those who can teach, rebuke,and clarify have a responsibility to do so. I understand the concern many Jewish believers have and I understand their motivation in trying to preserve their Jewish identity. I simply challenge the manner some are going about doing so. Truthful and uncompromising teaching would go a long way to sort out the confusion and prune out the false and cultic people. Our unimpressive numbers may diminish, but G-d works well with unimpressive numbers anyway.

That is the truth! That is why I still come here and participate on this forum, even though I have been fortunate enough to find a good Rabbi to learn under. I remember what it was like trying to do this on my own! He has joined here now, however I doubt he'll participate much because he is already stretched too thin. He has three congregations in Eastern and Western Washington, may be starting a fourth, and has started and is still training several congregations in South America and India just that I know of. This means he is up many nights training leaders online. He is also involved with work in Israel and I believe still in Canada (though I'm not sure about that). He does a lot that we don't even know about.

It's a problem that truly knowledgeable Rabbis who will minister to Gentile converts are few and far between, and they are just stretched too thin to take on more. And yes, it does leave the door open to false teachers and cults. That is why I am so harshly opposed to Ebionites and cults who try to come here. I'm more lenient if a Jewish person wants to come here, though there are limits. I even invited one who I suspect is a bit of an anti-missionary (before I was a moderator- now I'd ask senior admin 1st), though I know him to be respectful in another forum (until it got too far into dispensationalism and he quit). We had some lively discussions by email though! However there are some questions that only a Jewish person raised in the faith and culture can answer. So while the rules prohibit teaching, answering questions is a different thing. I do have a problem with someone who tries to hide their Jewishness (or Christianity) and come here under false pretenses. We do get both- and even some who deny the diety of Yeshua but claim to be Messianic (these are Ebionites)- who are uncovered in even our simple vetting process for new members. I don't know how many because most prospective members don't even answer the simple questions we ask. Some however do admit their intent and respectfully decline to become members if they have to follow the rules.

So you have hit on some truly insightful points. I look forward to more after you've "considered it more thoroughly." (So no pressure ... )

Dan C

[Miykhael]

B”H

My question is, Why do Messianic/earlybelievers separate themselves from the traditional Shul/Synagogue? When I read the Scriptures I don’t see that separation. I understand why the church/christians does since they are another religion.



P.S. Please keep your answer short since it is easier to have a discussion when things are shorter.

[alon]

Mar 8, 2015 8:47:08 GMT -8 Miykhael said:

My question is, Why do Messianic/earlybelievers separate themselves from the traditional Shul/Synagogue? When I read the Scriptures I don’t see that separation. I understand why the church/christians does since they are another religion.

Because after Rabbi Akiva declared Simon Bar Kochba to be the messiah during the revolt against Rome, and every Hebrew fighting there had to kneel and acknowledge his messiahship, the Natsarim obviously had to leave. Those that tried to stay suffered severe persecution. After the rebels lost the war with Rome by a relatively narrow margin, the Jews blamed the Natsarim for "defecting" and would not allow them to worship in their synagogues any more.

Dan C

[rakovsky]

In your PM and on the Josephus-Jewish Revolts thread, you mentioned how it was helpful to talk with an EO like me and how it had made an impact on you when you became Messianic to reject things that you had been told about Observance, Jewish religious traditions, or Judaism. So I want to comment about the EO Church and it's relationship to Jewish religious tradition and Judaism.

It would be an oversimplification to see the EO Church as a "gentile" Church, because the EO church has openly observant Jewish clergy, and the Church has no "Ecumenical Council" clearly banning observance.


Certainly there are Church fathers who wrote against ritual observance and there were harsh polemics against Jews by those Church fathers. But one need not agree with their opinions on everything.



The EO relationship with Judaism is conflicted. Even talking with other EOs online, it turns out that there was never a clear definitive break with the Nazarenes that would throw them into the same kind of camp as the Ebionites or Muslims in the eyes of the Church. Epiphanius didn't consider them to be heretics.



If you want an example of an EO saint or period that I find to be nasty on the topic, there is St. Joseph Volotsky and his persecution of the "Judaizing" heresy in the late 15th, early 16th century. He was a fan of the Spanish Inquisition, and in his time he helped create a mini version in Russia.

The councils outlawed religious and non-religious books and initiated their burning, sentenced a number of people to death, sent adherents into exile, and excommunicated them. In 1491, Skhariya the Jew was executed in Novgorod by the order of Ivan III. More adherents were executed with Gennady's approval, including archimandrite Kassian of the Iuriev Monastery (who had allowed a number of adherents to hide there), Nekras Rukavov (they first tore out his tongue and then burnt him at the stake), a Pskovian monk Zakhar and others.[6]



By the end of the 15th century, some of the adherents remained under the protection of Yelena Stefanovna and her son tsarevich Dmitry (grandson of Ivan III). However, in 1502 Dmitry was stripped of his title (transferred to Vasili III – son of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologue). As soon as Ivan III died in 1505, Yelena and Dmitry were arrested and imprisoned, leaving the adherents vulnerable to attacks from the authorities. In 1504, diak (secretary) Ivan-Volk Kuritsyn, Dmitry Konoplev and Ivan Maksimov were burnt at the stake.

SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA'S ARTICLE ON "Sect of Skhariya_the_Jew"

Their targets I think were not in practice Judaizers as openly claimed, but rather a closer look at the substance of the accusations shows that they were a version of Protestants, as this was also the time of the start of the Protestant movement. The claim of Judaizing was practically a cover or pretext for persecuting the pseudo-Protestants. The Judaizers whom he accused were not really focused on observance, and ironically in at least two major ways, it was Joseph Volotsky the persecutor who was more of a Judaizer.

The story goes rather like this. Joseph V. claimed that the end of the world was arriving and that it would happen by the end of the 15th century, and he gave dates for it. A group of his opponents in the Church used the Jewish calendar to argue back that the time had not yet arrived. And of course it turned out that his opponents were correct. In reaction, he labeled them "Judaizers". This was the era of the Spanish Inquisition. Joseph V. pointed to deviancies by some EOs, like some clergy or seminarians defacing an ikon or leaving one on the floor or promoting some unusual Church reforms that might remind one of Protestantism. He labeled his opponents and the deviants Judaizers. It became a mini-hysteria in his time. 

Joseph V. had other opponents in the Church though besides those whom he labeled Judaizers. Some of his opponents were not accused of Judaizing. They responded that actually it was Joseph V. who was the Judaizer, because Joseph V. emphasized OT passages in order to demand the death penalty for the Judaizers. These critics argued that one should instead follow the NT and be merciful in imposing penalties. One major reason that Joseph Volotsky was eventually canonized was for having Old Testament passages translated into Slavonic, which again, shows a connection between him and Jewish religion, thus making Joseph V. in a sense a "Judaizer" as much as his targets, whose "fault" was to use the Jewish calendar, something that of course even early Christians did. Early Christians followed the Jews when it came to finding the date for Paskha (Easter).

J. Volotsky had sainted opponents in the Church who he never succeeded in defeating and the Church did not decide with finality doctrinally in his favor or in his opponents. The debate concerned whether the Church should own major assets and landed estates with farming where peasants worked. J. Volotsky took the view that they should, whereas his opponents supported more asceticism and rejected this view. In practice, J. Volotsky's position won for centuries - the Church did have major estates for centuries, but after the Russian Revolution (if not earlier), the Church lost these landed properties.

[alon]

Jan 13, 2020 16:03:19 GMT -8 rakovsky said:

In your PM and on the Josephus-Jewish Revolts thread, you mentioned how it was helpful to talk with an EO like me and how it had made an impact on you when you became Messianic to reject things that you had been told about Observance, Jewish religious traditions, or Judaism. Not just those things, everything. But yes, I like most who come to MJ went through a period where I hated the church almost to the point of rejecting everything I was told there. But there was a lot of good there, and so I gradually came back around. There is an Assemblies pastor in town here whose sermons I still like to listen to. Often they track with MJ right down the line, point by point. We talk, and sometimes I can be sort of like Paul Harvey with him: "And now, the REST of the story!"   So I want to comment about the EO Church and it's relationship to Jewish religious tradition and Judaism.

It would be an oversimplification to see the EO Church as a "gentile" Church, because the EO church has openly observant Jewish clergy, and the Church has no "Ecumenical Council" clearly banning observance. Biblically, there are 2 kinds of people: Jews and Gentiles. Actually "Gentile" is a word made up by the RC's I believe, but it accurately describes what the TNK calls "goyim," or the nations. However remember context when translating. "Goy" can refer to the Jewish nation as well. And there is nothing wrong with being genetically Gentile. For that matter there is nothing wrong with being a pig either. Just neither are kosher!  


Certainly there are Church fathers who wrote against ritual observance and there were harsh polemics against Jews by those Church fathers. But one need not agree with their opinions on everything.



The EO relationship with Judaism is conflicted. Even talking with other EOs online, it turns out that there was never a clear definitive break with the Nazarenes that would throw them into the same kind of camp as the Ebionites or Muslims in the eyes of the Church. Epiphanius didn't consider them to be heretics. The problem is that the "church" and Nazarenes never were one and the same, or even related. The church was more or less (depending on which church you went to) based on the Hebrew Bible, so there were going to be some similarities. It was those similarities the church fathers (for the most part) wanted to do away with. And eventually they did. But the EO church was a part of the RC church until the Great Schism of 1054 CE. They apparently went back to a lot of the OT values and practices. But they kept a lot that was really bad, like icons, idols, and the Eucharist (though some/most apparently do not believe in transubstantiation). But it wasn't they did not break with the Notsarim, it is they broke with the RC's and went back towards the Nazarenes. This was a good thing; now we just need to get you to come a little further back! 



If you want an example of an EO saint or period that I find to be nasty on the topic, there is St. Joseph Volotsky and his persecution of the "Judaizing" heresy in the late 15th, early 16th century. He was a fan of the Spanish Inquisition, and in his time he helped create a mini version in Russia.

The councils outlawed religious and non-religious books and initiated their burning, sentenced a number of people to death, sent adherents into exile, and excommunicated them. In 1491, Skhariya the Jew was executed in Novgorod by the order of Ivan III. More adherents were executed with Gennady's approval, including archimandrite Kassian of the Iuriev Monastery (who had allowed a number of adherents to hide there), Nekras Rukavov (they first tore out his tongue and then burnt him at the stake), a Pskovian monk Zakhar and others.[6]



By the end of the 15th century, some of the adherents remained under the protection of Yelena Stefanovna and her son tsarevich Dmitry (grandson of Ivan III). However, in 1502 Dmitry was stripped of his title (transferred to Vasili III – son of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologue). As soon as Ivan III died in 1505, Yelena and Dmitry were arrested and imprisoned, leaving the adherents vulnerable to attacks from the authorities. In 1504, diak (secretary) Ivan-Volk Kuritsyn, Dmitry Konoplev and Ivan Maksimov were burnt at the stake.

SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA'S ARTICLE ON "Sect of Skhariya_the_Jew"

Their targets I think were not in practice Judaizers as openly claimed, but rather a closer look at the substance of the accusations shows that they were a version of Protestants, as this was also the time of the start of the Protestant movement. The claim of Judaizing was practically a cover or pretext for persecuting the pseudo-Protestants. The Judaizers whom he accused were not really focused on observance, and ironically in at least two major ways, it was Joseph Volotsky the persecutor who was more of a Judaizer.

The story goes rather like this. Joseph V. claimed that the end of the world was arriving and that it would happen by the end of the 15th century, and he gave dates for it. A group of his opponents in the Church used the Jewish calendar to argue back that the time had not yet arrived. And of course it turned out that his opponents were correct. In reaction, he labeled them "Judaizers". This was the era of the Spanish Inquisition. Joseph V. pointed to deviancies by some EOs, like some clergy or seminarians defacing an ikon or leaving one on the floor or promoting some unusual Church reforms that might remind one of Protestantism. He labeled his opponents and the deviants Judaizers. It became a mini-hysteria in his time. 

Joseph V. had other opponents in the Church though besides those whom he labeled Judaizers. Some of his opponents were not accused of Judaizing. They responded that actually it was Joseph V. who was the Judaizer, because Joseph V. emphasized OT passages in order to demand the death penalty for the Judaizers. These critics argued that one should instead follow the NT and be merciful in imposing penalties. One major reason that Joseph Volotsky was eventually canonized was for having Old Testament passages translated into Slavonic, which again, shows a connection between him and Jewish religion, thus making Joseph V. in a sense a "Judaizer" as much as his targets, whose "fault" was to use the Jewish calendar, something that of course even early Christians did. Early Christians followed the Jews when it came to finding the date for Paskha (Easter).

J. Volotsky had sainted opponents in the Church who he never succeeded in defeating and the Church did not decide with finality doctrinally in his favor or in his opponents. The debate concerned whether the Church should own major assets and landed estates with farming where peasants worked. J. Volotsky took the view that they should, whereas his opponents supported more asceticism and rejected this view. In practice, J. Volotsky's position won for centuries - the Church did have major estates for centuries, but after the Russian Revolution (if not earlier), the Church lost these landed properties.

Very interesting. Yes church, politics, and money. It was always difficult to separate those in those dark times. Also interesting how God uses men's own avarices, his own schemes and plans to work the opposite. And He keeps moving believers back towards His instructions and away from those of the earlier church fathers. The EO church, like us must have seen a lot of the problems in the RC church. Saw through a lot of the lies, the prejudice against God's people. But like I said, He may be calling His people, believers everywhere to make the move a bit closer to His ideal, His plan as laid out in .

Interesting post. Thanks.

Dan C