The Byzantine prelate who escaped a massacre by faking his own death
In short: Isidore of Kiev was a man of many lives: a diplomat, a cardinal, and a survivor of the fall of Constantinople. After failing to unite the Orthodox and Catholic churches, he narrowly escaped execution during the 1453 siege by dressing a corpse in his robes and fleeing to safety.
Born around 1385, likely in the Morea, Isidore was a highly educated Byzantine prelate with deep connections to the Palaiologos dynasty. His intellectual prowess and diplomatic skills led to his appointment as the metropolitan of Kiev and all Rus' in 1437. However, his tenure in Moscow was short-lived and controversial. As a staunch supporter of the union between the Greek and Latin churches, he traveled to the Council of Florence in 1439 to sign the Decree of Union. Upon his return to Moscow in 1441, his promotion of Roman Catholicism was met with fierce hostility by Grand Prince Vasily II and the Russian clergy, who viewed his actions as a betrayal of Orthodoxy.
The reception of Isidore in Moscow is a subject of historical debate. While contemporary Russian chronicles depict him as a 'wicked and baneful wolf' who was promptly imprisoned for heresy, scholar John L. I. Fennell suggests these accounts were heavily distorted by later prejudices. Evidence indicates that Isidore was actually recognized as the lawful metropolitan for several months before his dramatic escape in September 1441. He eventually made his way to Rome, where he was elevated to the rank of cardinal and held various honorary titles, including Latin Patriarch of Constantinople, though he lacked real jurisdiction.
Isidore’s final act of survival occurred during the fall of Constantinople in 1453. As the city fell to the Turks, he subsidized the repair of fortifications and fought in the defense. To escape the carnage, he reportedly dressed a dead body in his cardinal’s vestments; while the Turks paraded the decapitated corpse through the streets, the real Isidore was captured, enslaved, and eventually found his way to Crete. He spent his final years in Rome, where he died on 27 April 1463, leaving behind a legacy as a complex figure caught between the collapsing Byzantine Empire and the rising power of the Latin Church.
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