The contest lasted several
centuries, and in many places it is undecided to this day.[15] The
Khazars, who had become proselytes in the eighth century, were
constantly encroaching upon Russian Christianity. Buoyant as both were
with the vigor of youth, missionary zeal was at its height among the two
contending religions. Each made war upon the other. We read that Photius
of Constantinople sent a message of thanks to Archbishop Anthony of
Kertch (858-859) for his efforts to convert the Jews; that the first
Bishop of the Established Church (1035) was "Lukas, the little Jew"
(Luka Zhidyata), who was appointed to his office by Yaroslav; and that
St. Feodosi Pechersky was fond of conversing with learned Jews on
matters of theology.[16] On the other hand, the efforts of the Jews were
not without success. The baptism of the pious Olga marks an era in
Russian Christianity, the beginning of the "Judaizing heresy," which
centuries of persecution only strengthened. In 1425, Zacharias of Kiev,
who is reputed to have "studied astrology, necromancy, and various other
magic arts," converted the priest Dionis, the Archbishop Aleksey, and,
through the latter, many more clergymen of Novgorod, Moscow, and Pskov.
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