Sylvester (priest)

Sylvester
Sylvester in the Millennium of Russia monument in Veliky Novgorod
DiedBetween 1574 and 1580
ReligionRussian Orthodox
OccupationPriest

Sylvester (Russian: Сильвестр, romanized: Silvestr; later known as Spiridon)[1] was a priest of the Cathedral of the Annunciation and a close advisor to Ivan IV. Sylvester is known for heavily influencing Ivan and the contemporary Russian government alongside Alexei Adashev and their Chosen Council from 1549 to 1560. His power was mostly unchallenged during this time, with the exception of the Viskovatyi affair, but that was quickly solved in his favor. He eventually fell out of favor with the Tsar in 1560 and withdrew to the Kirillov monastery in Beloozero before moving to the Solovetskii monastery, at some point changing his name to Spiridon and later dying before 1580.[1][2] He is later described by Ivan as a traitor and conspirator.[3]

  1. ^ a b de Madariaga, Isabel (2005). Ivan the Terrible: First Tsar of Russia. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09757-3. OCLC 57243278.
  2. ^ Halperin, Charles J. (2019). Ivan the Terrible : free to reward & free to punish. Pittsburgh. ISBN 978-0-8229-8722-2. OCLC 1119664926.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Basil, Dmytryshyn (1991). Medieval Russia : a source book, 850-1700. Harcourt Brace Janovich College Publ. pp. 276–285. ISBN 0-03-033422-5. OCLC 246536920.