View source for Philotheus of Pskov

{{Other people|Philotheus}}

'''Philotheus''' (or '''Filofei'''; {{Langx|ru|Филофей}}; {{circa|1465}} – 1542) was a [[hegumen]] of the [[Yelizarov Monastery]], near [[Pskov]], in the 16th century. He is credited with authorship of the ''[[Legend of the White Cowl]]'' and the [[Moscow - Third Rome]] prophecy, details of which are very scarce. He is popularly known as the presumed author of the concept of Moscow as the Third Rome; Philotheus set out this thesis in his letters<ref name="letters">Филофей. [http://www.pushkinskijdom.ru/Default.aspx?tabid=5105 «ПОСЛАНИЕ О ЗЛЫХЪ ДНЕХЪ И ЧАСѢХЪ», «ПОСЛАНИЕ К ВЕЛИКОМУ КНЯЗЮ ВАСИЛИЮ, В НЕМЪЖЕ О ИСПРАВЛЕНИИ КРЕСТНАГО ЗНАМЕНИЯ И О СОДОМСКОМ БЛУДѢ»] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130616222058/http://www.pushkinskijdom.ru/Default.aspx?tabid=5105|date=2013-06-16}} // Библиотека литературы Древней Руси / РАН. ИРЛИ; Под ред. Д. С. Лихачева, Л. А. Дмитриева, А. А. Алексеева, Н. В. Понырко. — СПб.: Наука, 2000. — Т. 9: Конец XIV — первая половина XVI века. — 566 с.</ref> to the priest {{Interlanguage link|Mikhail Grigorievich Misyur-Munekhin|lt=|ru|Мунехин, Михаил Григорьевич|WD=}} and to [[Vasili III of Russia|Grand Duke Vasily III]].

In reality, these letters are mainly devoted to other issues, mostly talking about Church issues, and only refer to Moscow or [[Grand Duchy of Moscow|Muscovy]] rather obliquely. Their main message in this regard is rather to remind the [[tzar]] about his ecclesiastical position of Protector of Faith, as the two previous capitals of [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Orthodoxy]], [[Rome]] and [[Constantinople]], both fell, first to the [[Roman Catholic Church|Latin heretics]], and second to the [[Islam|Muslim heathens]], with [[Moscow]] remaining its sole bastion. Philotheus prophecy could then best construed that the Muscovy (or [[Russia]] in general) will stand as far as it remains true to the Orthodox faith.

His alleged authorship of the essays ''On the Grievances of the Church'' to [[Ivan the Terrible]], was refuted by scholars, as it contained elements of discrepancy with his first epistle. The person who wrote this essay, using the name of Philotheus, tied the theme of "Third Rome" to the protection of [[property rights]] of the church.<ref>Тимошина Е. В. Теория «Третьего Рима» в сочинениях «Филофеева цикла» // Правоведение. — 2005. — № 4. — С. 189.</ref>

In August 2009, it was reported that archaeologists had discovered a grave in [[Pskov]], allegedly belonging to Philotheus.<ref>[http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/719899.html Псковские археологи обнаружили могилу, предположительно принадлежащую старцу Филофею, автору концепции «Москва — третий Рим»]</ref>

==References==
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[[Category:Russian religious leaders]]
[[Category:1460s births]]
[[Category:1542 deaths]]
[[Category:16th-century Russian writers]]
[[Category:15th-century Russian people]]
[[Category:People from Pskov]]


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