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Dear Friends,

As an aside, it is interesting that there are many Jewish converts to Russian Orthodoxy today, as there have been in the past (especially via such saints as Alexander Men, himself a former Jew).

(The first canonized saint of Kyivan Rus' is St Luke the Jewish, Bishop of Novhorod who attended St Volodymyr the Great during the Baptism of Rus').

These converts are raising eyebrows among the other Russians, unfortunately, just plain anti-Semitism, since to be a Jew is to be a member of a nation, not a member of a religion as we understand things.

The challenges these face is how they can be Orthodox Christians and still be faithful to their Jewish heritage at the same time.

It used to be than one was either Christian or Jewish. In the Russian Orthodox Church that is not the case any longer.

St Alexander the New Martyr was a Jewish doctor who worked in the Solovki Islands. He had a Jewish name so his patients wondered why he was constantly crossing himself and giving icons to his patients?

He told them that he was an "Orthodox Jew."

For me, the fact of Orthodox converts who are Jews is an exciting fact.

After all, they understand the Lord Jesus in a way that we Gentiles, grafted onto the Vine, never really will.

Alex

Alex,

Despite my refutative remarks, Jews should of course be treated with great hospitality or we would not see the wonderful conversions you mention. It is always such a wonderful thing to see someone converted in mind and heart and overtime witness their transformation.

One thing I would like to point out is that Jews are not a people or a nation, it is in fact a religion. This is why most Jews in Russia are converts who became Jews after serveral Russian Princes made political alliances. But they are indeed Russian.

Dear OrthodoxyorDeath,

Of course, I have no problem accepting your post!

Some have argued that the Jews of Europe come from the Khazars, the converted tribe that Svyatoslav, son of St Olha, made war on.

Certainly, Alexander Men and others brought to Orthodoxy so much of their genius and intellectual/cultural gifts that not only enriched the Orthodox Church, but also paved the way for other Russian Jews to seek out Orthodox Christianity.

Your historical point is extremely well taken and thank you for raising that.

As you know, the Orthodox Church excommunicated the "Judaizer" group that tried to mix Judaism with some aspects of Orthodox culture - a failure all around.

This is why, to this day, the word "Zhid" for someone of the Jewish faith is extremely offensive in each of the three East Slavic nations, but not so for other Slavic countries.

Many Russians still do consider the Jews a separate "nation" as well as a religion. But the number of Jewish conversions to Orthodoxy in Russia has certainly been phenomenal.

God bless, you and all Orthodox Christians!

Alex (who is getting there, slowly but surely)