The Most Famous
RELIGIOUS FIGURES from Belarus
This page contains a list of the greatest Belarusian Religious Figures. The pantheon dataset contains 2,238 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 6
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 61.14, Vilna Gaon is the most famous Belarusian Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 33 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 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 Sialiec, 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 54.18, Kirill of Turov is the 2nd most famous Belarusian Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Cyril of Turov, alternately Kirill of Turov (Church Slavonic Кѷриллъ Туровськiй, Belarusian: Кірыла Тураўскі, Russian: Кирилл Туровский; 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. Yisrael Meir Kagan (1838 - 1933)
With an HPI of 50.96, Yisrael Meir Kagan is the 3rd most famous Belarusian Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Yisrael Meir ha-Kohen Kagan (January 26, 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.
4. Menachem Mendel Schneersohn (1789 - 1866)
With an HPI of 50.38, Menachem Mendel Schneersohn is the 4th 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.
5. Tadevuš Kandrusievič (1946 - )
With an HPI of 48.06, Tadevuš Kandrusievič is the 5th most famous Belarusian Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Tadevuš Kandrusievič (Belarusian: Тадэвуш Кандрусевіч; Polish: Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz; 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.
6. Aleksandr Kurlovich (1961 - 2018)
With an HPI of 40.81, Aleksandr Kurlovich is the 6th 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.
Pantheon has 6 people classified as religious figures born between 1130 and 1961. Of these 6, 1 (16.67%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living religious figures include Tadevuš Kandrusievič. The most famous deceased religious figures include Vilna Gaon, Kirill of Turov, and Yisrael Meir Kagan. As of April 2022, 3 new religious figures have been added to Pantheon including Yisrael Meir Kagan, Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, and Tadevuš Kandrusievič.
Living Religious Figures
Go to all RankingsDeceased Religious Figures
Go to all Rankings
Vilna Gaon
1720 - 1797
HPI: 61.14
Kirill of Turov
1130 - 1182
HPI: 54.18
Yisrael Meir Kagan
1838 - 1933
HPI: 50.96
Menachem Mendel Schneersohn
1789 - 1866
HPI: 50.38
Aleksandr Kurlovich
1961 - 2018
HPI: 40.81
Newly Added Religious Figures (2022)
Go to all RankingsYisrael Meir Kagan
1838 - 1933
HPI: 50.96
Menachem Mendel Schneersohn
1789 - 1866
HPI: 50.38
Tadevuš Kandrusievič
1946 - Present
HPI: 48.06
Which Religious Figures were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 4 most globally memorable Religious Figures since 1700.
