The Most Famous
RELIGIOUS FIGURES from Belarus
This page contains a list of the greatest Belarusian Religious Figures. The pantheon dataset contains 3,187 Religious Figures, 6 of which were born in Belarus. This makes Belarus the birth place of the 51st most number of Religious Figures behind Montenegro, and Chile.
Top 9
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Belarusian Religious Figures of all time. This list of famous Belarusian Religious Figures is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Vilna Gaon (1720 - 1797)
With an HPI of 60.08, Vilna Gaon is the most famous Belarusian Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 37 different languages on wikipedia.
Elijah ben Solomon Zalman, (Hebrew: ר' אליהו בן שלמה זלמן Rabbi Eliyahu ben Shlomo Zalman), also known as the Vilna Gaon (Yiddish: דער װילנער גאון Der Vilner Goen; Polish: Gaon z Wilna, Gaon Wileński; or Elijah of Vilna, or by his Hebrew acronym Gra ("Gaon Rabbenu Eliyahu": "Our great teacher Elijah"; Sialiec, April 23, 1720 – Vilnius October 9, 1797), was a Lithuanian Jewish Talmudist, halakhist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of misnagdic (non-hasidic) Jewry of the past few centuries. He is commonly referred to in Hebrew as ha-Gaon mi-Vilna, "the genius from Vilnius". Through his annotations and emendations of Talmudic and other texts, he became one of the most familiar and influential figures in rabbinic study since the Middle Ages. Although he is chronologically one of the Acharonim, some have considered him one of the Rishonim. Large groups of people, including many yeshivas, uphold the set of Jewish customs and rites (minhag), the "minhag ha-Gra", named after him, and which is also considered by many to be the prevailing Ashkenazi minhag in Jerusalem. Born in Sielec in the Brest Litovsk Voivodeship (today Syalyets, Belarus), the Gaon displayed extraordinary talent while still a child. By the time he was twenty years old, rabbis were submitting their most difficult halakhic problems to him for legal rulings. He was a prolific author, writing such works as glosses on the Babylonian Talmud and Shulchan Aruch known as Bi'urei ha-Gra ("Elaborations by the Gra"), a running commentary on the Mishnah, Shenoth Eliyahu ("The Years of Elijah"), and insights on the Pentateuch entitled Adereth Eliyahu ("The Cloak of Elijah"), published by his son. Various Kabbalistic works have commentaries in his name, and he wrote commentaries on the Proverbs and other books of the Tanakh later on in his life. None of his manuscripts were published in his lifetime. When Hasidic Judaism became influential in his native town, the Vilna Gaon joined the "opposers" or Misnagdim, rabbis and heads of the Polish communities, to curb Hasidic influence. While he advocated studying branches of secular education such as mathematics in order to better understand rabbinic texts, he harshly condemned the study of philosophy and metaphysics.
2. Kirill of Turov (1130 - 1182)
With an HPI of 54.92, Kirill of Turov is the 2nd most famous Belarusian Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.
Cyril of Turov, alternately Kirill of Turov (Church Slavonic: Кѷриллъ Туровськiй, romanized: Kürīllǔ Turovsǐkij, Belarusian: Кірыла Тураўскі, romanized: Kiryła Turawski, Russian: Кири́лл Ту́ровский, romanized: Kirill Turovskiy; 1130–1182) was a bishop and saint of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was one of the first and finest theologians of Kievan Rus'; he lived in Principality of Turov, now southern Belarus. His feast day in the Eastern Orthodox Church is on 28 April.
3. Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (1789 - 1866)
With an HPI of 53.63, Menachem Mendel Schneersohn is the 3rd most famous Belarusian Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (Yiddish: מנחם מענדל שניאורסאהן; September 20, 1789 – March 17, 1866) also known as the Tzemach Tzedek (Hebrew: "Righteous Sprout" or "Righteous Scion") was an Orthodox rabbi, leading 19th-century posek, and the third rebbe (spiritual leader) of the Chabad Lubavitch Hasidic movement.
4. Chaim Kanievsky (1928 - 2022)
With an HPI of 51.82, Chaim Kanievsky is the 4th most famous Belarusian Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Shemaryahu Yosef Chaim Kanievsky (Hebrew: שמריהו יוסף חיים קַניֶבסקִי; January 8, 1928 – March 18, 2022) was an Israeli Haredi rabbi and posek. He was a leading authority in Haredi Jewish society on legal and ethical practice. Known as the Gadol HaDor ("greatest of his generation") and the "Prince of Torah", much of his prominence came through Torah education and advice about Jewish law. Though Kanievsky held no formal community-wide post, he was the de facto head of the Litvak community of Haredi Judaism, revered as a consummate scholar of Jewish law and tradition, with unimpeachable rulings.
5. Michael Rohoza (1540 - 1599)
With an HPI of 51.76, Michael Rohoza is the 5th most famous Belarusian Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Michael Rohoza (died 1599) was the Metropolitan of Kyiv, Galicia and all Rus' in the Patriarchate of Constantinople of the Eastern Orthodox Church from 1588 to 1596. In 1595, he signed the Union of Brest which moved the metropolis from the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople to the jurisdiction of the Holy See. By this act, the Ruthenian Uniate Church was formed in the territory of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. From 1596 until his death in 1599, he held the title of "Metropolitan of Kyiv, Galicia and all Ruthenia" in the Ruthenian Uniate Church.
6. Yisrael Meir Kagan (1838 - 1933)
With an HPI of 51.52, Yisrael Meir Kagan is the 6th most famous Belarusian Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Yisrael Meir ha-Kohen Kagan (February 6, 1838 – September 15, 1933) was an influential Lithuanian Jewish rabbi, Halakhist, posek, and ethicist whose works continue to be widely influential in Orthodox Jewish life. He was known popularly as the Chofetz Chaim, after his book on lashon hara, who was also well known for the Mishna Berurah, his book on ritual law.
7. Tadevuš Kandrusievič (b. 1946)
With an HPI of 49.10, Tadevuš Kandrusievič is the 7th most famous Belarusian Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz (Belarusian: Tadevuš Kandrusievič/Тадэвуш Кандрусевіч; born 3 January 1946) is a Belarusian prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Minsk–Mohilev from 2007 to 2021. He has been a bishop since 1989, and from 1991 to 2007 held posts in Russia.
8. Jakub Szynkiewicz (1884 - 1966)
With an HPI of 46.70, Jakub Szynkiewicz is the 8th most famous Belarusian Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Jakub Szynkiewicz (April 16, 1884 – November 1, 1966) was a Doctor of Philosophy as well as Oriental Studies, chosen as the first mufti of the newly independent Poland in 1925.
9. Aleksandr Kurlovich (1961 - 2018)
With an HPI of 40.86, Aleksandr Kurlovich is the 9th most famous Belarusian Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Aleksandr Nikolaevich Kurlovich (Russian: Александр Николаевич Курлович, English Alternate: Alexander Kurlovich, 28 July 1961 – 6 April 2018) was a Soviet weightlifter. He trained at Armed Forces sports society in Grodno. In 2006 he was elected member of the International Weightlifting Federation Hall of Fame. He was caught in 1984 entering Canada with $10,000 worth of anabolic steroids that he wanted to sell to fellow weightlifters.
People
Pantheon has 9 people classified as Belarusian religious figures born between 1130 and 1961. Of these 9, 1 (11.11%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Belarusian religious figures include Tadevuš Kandrusievič. The most famous deceased Belarusian religious figures include Vilna Gaon, Kirill of Turov, and Menachem Mendel Schneersohn. As of April 2024, 3 new Belarusian religious figures have been added to Pantheon including Chaim Kanievsky, Michael Rohoza, and Jakub Szynkiewicz.
Living Belarusian Religious Figures
Go to all RankingsDeceased Belarusian Religious Figures
Go to all Rankings
Vilna Gaon
1720 - 1797
HPI: 60.08
Kirill of Turov
1130 - 1182
HPI: 54.92
Menachem Mendel Schneersohn
1789 - 1866
HPI: 53.63
Chaim Kanievsky
1928 - 2022
HPI: 51.82
Michael Rohoza
1540 - 1599
HPI: 51.76
Yisrael Meir Kagan
1838 - 1933
HPI: 51.52
Jakub Szynkiewicz
1884 - 1966
HPI: 46.70
Aleksandr Kurlovich
1961 - 2018
HPI: 40.86
Newly Added Belarusian Religious Figures (2024)
Go to all RankingsChaim Kanievsky
1928 - 2022
HPI: 51.82
Michael Rohoza
1540 - 1599
HPI: 51.76
Jakub Szynkiewicz
1884 - 1966
HPI: 46.70
Overlapping Lives
Which Religious Figures were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 6 most globally memorable Religious Figures since 1700.
