Dr Matthew Raphael Johnson presents a lecture on Judaism in medieval Novgorod and the development of Russian Orthodox Church doctrine on the Jews In the late 15th century, a small group of revolutionary Jews sought to take over Russia. This became known as the “Judaizer Heresy.” This movement approach Russia from the Northwest, from Novgorod, since this city was an oligarchy, seeking to move away from Moscow and part of the Hanseatic league. These Jews would use some of these as levers against Russia as a whole. The result was the rejection of the Jewish infiltrators through the swift action of Sts. Joseph, the Abbot of Volokolamsk and the Archbishop Gennadius of Novgorod. What surprised many was how easy it was to penetrate this Orthodox city so quickly. The revolutionary Jew was born at this time. The spread of Jewish influence in the world and the domination of the Jewish community is a fact repeatedly noted in history. From the Persian king Artaxerxes influenced by the Jews through Esther or later, their influence upon the Caliphate of Cordoba, Jewish power is a fact of global politics and an essential part of Russian history. The emergence of this Jewish problem in Europe was facilitated by several factors. During the Reconquista, Spaniards ousted the Arabs from the Pyrenees to end Jewish influence in Spain. Romans expelled the Jews and forced them to adopt Catholicism. The center of religious and political life of the Jews moved to the Polish-Lithuania. Poland was the center of Judaism. Casmir III conquered Galicia and part of Volyn and tried to colonize these lands, bringing them the benefits of Jewish merchants. Diluting the Russian population with alien elements, they were thus to be more strongly bound to Poland. Presented by Matt Johnson The Orthodox Nationalist: Judaism in Medieval Novgorod – TON 080917