The Thought of Skhariya the Jew, much more commonly known in the church terminology as the Heresy of the Judaizers or Zhidovstvuyushchiye, was a religious concept that existed in Novgorod the Great and Grand Duchy of Moscow in the second half of the 15th century and marked the beginning of a new era of schism in Russia. Some scholars consider it to have developed from the earlier Strigolniki religious concept that also had developed in Novgorod in the 14th century. Initially popular among high-ranking statesmen and even the royal court, the concept was persecuted by hegumen Joseph Volotsky and Archbishop Gennady of Novgorod.