| Sergei Trufanov | |
|---|---|
| Born | Sergei Mikhailovich Trufanov October 19, 1880 Stanitsa Mariinskaya, Russian Empire |
| Died | 1952 (aged 71–72) New York City, New York |
| Occupation | Monk, Author |
Sergei Michailovich Trufanov a.k.a. Iliodor (Russian: Серге́й Миха́йлович Труфа́нов, October 19, 1880 – 1952) was a lapsed hieromonk and author.
Graduating from St. Petersburg Theological Academy and ordained a hieromonk under the name Iliodor, he was involved in the right-wing Black Hundreds movement. He gained notoriety for his violently anti-Semitic speeches, and was prohibited to preach by the Most Holy Synod.
Once a close associate of Grigori Rasputin he broke sharply with him in 1911 for reasons that are not clear and started a slander and blackmail campaign against his former friend. He is known primarily for his work, semi-autobiographical, and biographical on Rasputin. In this work he was supported by Maxim Gorky, who hoped that Trufanoff's story on Rasputin would discredit Tsar's family and eventually contribute to the revolutionary propaganda.
In 1912 Iliodor renounced Russian Orthodox Church, published an apology to Jews and was defrocked. He emigrated from Russia to Norway in 1914. In 1918 he returned to Soviet Russia, offering his services to Lenin, and lived for several years in Tsaritsyn. In 1922 he was deported for anti-Soviet propagandizing, and spent most of the remainder of his life in New York City, where he became a Baptist.
Casimir Pilenas, in his correspondence with the American Jewish Committee, claimed to be his "agent."