Russian archpriest; convert to Judaism; born probably in
Novgorod, 1425; died in Moscow, 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 (Zechariah), of Kiev, the idea of
spreading Judaism among the Russians of Pskov and Novgorod.
Skhariyah belonged to the suite of Prince Michael Olelkovich,
who came to Novgorod in 1471 as the king's vicegerent. The first
convert in Novgorod was the priest Dionis, who introduced to
Skhariyah his colleague, the archpriest (protopapas) 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.