Old Believers
| Detail of the painting Boyarynya Morozova by Vasily Surikov depicting a defiant Old Believer arrested by Tsarist authorities in 1671. She holds two fingers raised: a hint of the old, i.e., "proper", way of cross-signing oneself: with two fingers, rather than with three. |
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In the context of Russian Orthodox
church history, the
Old Believers () separated after 1666 - 1667 from the hierarchy of the
Russian Orthodox Church as a protest against church reforms introduced by
Patriarch Nikon. Old Believers continue liturgical practices which the Russian Orthodox Church maintained before the implementation of these reforms.
Russian-speakers refer to the schism itself as
raskol (
раскол - etymologically indicating a "cleaving-apart").
In
1652,
Nikon (1605 " 1681; Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church from 1652 to 1658) introduced a number of ritual and textual innovations with the aim of achieving uniformity between Russian and Greek Orthodox practices. Nikon, having noticed discrepancies between Russian and Greek rites and texts, ordered an adjustment of the Russian rites to the Greek ones of his time, without adequate consultation with the clergy and without gathering a council. After the implementation of these innovations, Muscovite state power
anathematized and suppressed those who acted contrary to them. These traditionalists became known as "Old Believers" or "Old Ritualists".
By the middle of the
17th century Greek and Russian Church officials, including
Patriarch Nikon had noticed discrepancies between contemporary Russian and
Greek rites. They reached the conclusion that the
Russian Orthodox Church had, as a result of errors of incompetent copyists, developed rites and missal texts of its own that had significantly deviated from the Greek originals. Thus, the Russian Orthodox Church had become dissonant from the other Orthodox churches.
Nikon, supported by Tsar
Alexis I (
1629-
1676), carried out some preliminary liturgical reforms. In
1652, he convened a
synod and exhorted the clergy on the need to compare Russian
Typikon,
Euchologion, and other
liturgical books with their Greek counterparts. Monasteries from all over Russia received requests to send examples to Moscow in order to have them subjected to a comparative analysis. Such a task would have taken many years of conscientious research and could hardly have given an unambiguous result, given the complex development of the Russian liturgical texts over the previous centuries and an almost complete lack of textual
historigraphic techniques at the time.
The
locum tenens for the Patriarch,
Pitirim of Krutitsy, convened a second synod in
1666, which brought Patriarch
Michael III of Antioch, Patriarch
Alexandria and many bishops to Moscow. (Historians allege that the visiting patriarchs each received both 20,000 roubles in gold and furs for their participation.) This council officially established the reforms and anathematized not only all those opposing the innovations, but the old Russian books and rites themselves as well. As a side-effect of condemning the past of the Russian Orthodox Church and her traditions, the messianic theory depicting Moscow as the
Third Rome appeared weaker. Instead of the guardian of Orthodox faith, Russia seemed an accumulation of serious liturgical mistakes.
Nevertheless, both Patriarch and Tsar wished to carry out their reforms, although their endeavours may have had as much or more political motivation as religious; several authors on this subject (S.A. Zenkovsky, B.P. Kutuzov) point out that Tsar Alexis, encouraged by his military success in the
war against Poland-Lithuania to liberate West Russian provinces and the Ukraine, grew ambitious of becoming the liberator of the Orthodox areas which at that time formed part of the Ottoman Empire. They also mention the role of the Near East Patriarchs, who actively supported the idea of the Russian Tsar becoming the liberator of all Orthodox Christians.
Main alterations introduced by Patriarch Nikon
The numerous changes in both texts and rites occupied approximately 400 pages. Old Believers present the following as the most crucial changes:
| Old Practice | New Practice |
|---|
| Spelling of Jesus | Исусъ | Іисусъ |
|---|
| Creed | рождена, а не сотворена (begotten but not made); И в "уха Святаго, "оспода истиннаго и Животворящаго (And in the Holy Ghost, the True Lord, the Giver of Life) | рождена, не сотворена (begotten not made); И в "уха Святаго, "оспода Животворящаго (And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord, the Giver of Life) |
|---|
| Sign of the Cross | Two fingers, straightened | Three fingers, straightened |
|---|
| Number of Hosts in the Liturgy | Seven Hosts | Five Hosts |
|---|
| Direction of Procession | Sunwise | Counter-Sunwise |
|---|
| Alleluia | Аллилуия, аллилуия, слава Тебе, Боже (Alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, o God) | Аллилуйя, аллилуйя, аллилуйя, слава Тебе, Боже (three times alleluia) |
|---|
Other differences appear noted below. Modern readers may perceive these alterations as trivial, but the faithful of that time saw rituals and dogmas as strongly interconnected: Church rituals had from the very beginning represented and symbolised doctrinal truth (see the section on
Justification of Old Belief below). Furthermore, the authorities imposed the reforms an autocratic fashion, with no consultation of the people who would become subject to them, and the reaction against the so called Nikonian reforms would have objected as much to the manner of imposition as to the actual alterations. In addition, changes often occurred arbitrarily in the texts. For example, wherever the books read 'Христосъ' [
Christ], Nikon's assistants substituted 'Сынъ' [meaning
the Son], and wherever they read 'Сынъ' they substituted 'Христосъ'.
Opponents of the ecclasiastical reforms of Nikon emerged among all strata of the people and in relatively large numbers (see
Raskol). Even after the deposition of patriarch Nikon (1658), who presented too strong a challenge to the Tsar's authority, a series of church councils officially endorsed Nikon's liturgical reforms. The Old Believers fiercely rejected all innovations, and the most radical amongst them maintained that the official Church had fallen into the hands of the
Antichrist. Under the guidance of Archpriest
Avvakum Petrov (1620 or 1621-1682), who had become the leader of the conservative camp within the Old Believers' movement, the Old Believers publicly denounced and rejected all ecclesiastical reforms. The state church anathematized both the old rites and books and those who wished to stay loyal to them at the synod of
1666. From that moment, the Old Believers officially lacked all civil rights. The state church had the most active Old Believers arrested and executed several of them (including Archpriest Avvakum) some years later in
1682, .
After the schism
After
1685 a period of persecutions began, including both torture and executions. Many Old Believers fled Russia altogether. However, Old Believers became the dominant denomination in many regions, including
Pomorye (
Arkhangelsk region),
Guslitsy,
Kursk region,
Urals,
Siberia etc. A compact 40,000 strong
Lipovan community of Old Believers still lives in neighboring
Kiliia raion (
Vilkovo) of
Ukraine and the
Tulcea County of
Romania in the
Danube Delta. By the
1910s, about 25% of the population in Russia said that they belonged to one of the Old Believer branches (census data).
Government oppression could vary from relatively moderate, as under
Peter the Great (Old Believers had to pay double taxation and a separate tax for wearing a beard), to intense, as under Tsar
Nicholas I. The Russian synodal state church and the state authorities often saw Old Believers as dangerous elements and as a threat to the Russian state.
In 1905 Tsar
Nicholas II signed an Act of religious freedom, which put the persecutions of all religious minorities in Russia to an end. The Old Believers gained the right to build churches, to ring church bells, to hold processions and to organize themselves. It was prohibited (as under
Catherine the Great) to refer to Old Believers as "raskolniki" (schismatics), a name they consider to be insulting. The period from 1905 until 1917 is often called "the Golden Age of the Old Faith". This period may be called the emancipation of the Old Believers, who had until then been in an almost illegal position in Russian society. Nevertheless some restrictions for Old Believers were maintained: e.g. they had no right to join civil service.
 |
Traditional Russian Old Believer family in Latin America |
In
1971, the
Moscow Patriarchate revoked the anathemas placed on the Old Believers in the 17th century, but most Old Believer communities have not returned to Communion with other Orthodox Christians.
Estimates place the total number of Old Believers remaining
today at from 1 to 10 millions, some living in extremely isolated communities in places to which they fled centuries ago to avoid persecution. One Old Believer parish in the
United States has entered into communion with the
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia [
1].
Old Believer churches are currently restored in Russia, although Old Believers (unlike the nearly official mainstream Orthodoxy) are facing many difficulties in claiming their
restitution rights for their churches. In
Moscow, there are churches for all the most important Old Believer branches:
Rogozhskaya Zastava (
Popovtsy of
Belokrinitskaya hierarchy official center), a cathedral for
Novozybkovskaya hierarchy in
Zamoskvorech'ye and
Preobrazhenskaya Zastava where
Pomortsy and
Fedoseevtsy coexist.
Only
Pomortsy and
Fedoseevtsy treat each other relatively well; all the other denominations do not acknowledge each other. Among the ordinary Old Believers, there are some tendencies for intra-branch
ecumenism, but these trends find sparse support among the official leaders of the congregations.
Nowadays Old Believers live all over the world, mainly due to persecutions under the Tsars and the Russian Revolution of 1917. Significant Old Believer communities exist in
Plamondon, Alberta;
Woodburn, Oregon;
Erie, Pennsylvania;
Erskine, Minnesota and various parts of
Alaska.
Despite that all Old Believers groups emerged as a result of the opposition to the Nikonian reform, they do not constitute a single monolithic body. In fact, the Old Believers are notable for the great diversity of groups that profess different interpretations of the church tradition and often are not in communion with each other. Some groups even practice rebaptism before admitting a member of another group into their midst.
The terminology used for the divisions within the Old-Believer denomination is somewhat vague. Generally, larger movement or group - especially in case of such major ones as
popovtsy and
bespopovtsy - is called
soglasie or
soglas (Eng. "agreement" or more generally, "confession"). Another term -
tolk (Eng. "teaching") is usually applied to lesser divisions within the major "confessions". In particular it is used with respect to multiple sects that appeared within the
bespopovtsy movement.
Popovtsy
Since none of the bishops joined the Old Believers, except bishop Pavel of
Kolomna, who sufferred execution, apostolically ordained priests of the old rite would have soon become extinct. Two responses appeared to this dilemma: the "priestist" Old Believers (поповцы (
Popovtsy)) and the non-priestist Old Believers (беспоповцы (
Bespopovtsy)).
The Popovtsy represented the more moderate conservative opposition, who strove to continue religious and church life as it had existed before the reforms of Nikon. They recognized ordained priests from the new-style Russian Orthodox church who joined the Old Believers and who had denounced the Nikonian reforms. In 1846 they convinced Amvrosii (Popovich,
1791 -
1863), a deposed
Greek Orthodox bishop whom Turkish pressure had had removed from his see at Sarajevo, to become an Old Believer and to consecrate three Russian Old-Believer priests as bishops. In 1859, the number of Old Believer bishops in Russia reached ten, and they established their own episcopate, the so called
Belokrinitskaya hierarchy. Not all priestist Old Believers recognized this hierarchy. Dissenters known as беглопоповцы (
beglopopovtsy) obtained their own hierarchy in the 1920s. The priestist Old Believers thus manifest as two churches which share the same beliefs, but which treat each other's hierarchy as illegitimate.
Popovtsy have priests, bishops and all
sacraments, including the
eucharist.
**
Belokrinitskaya hierarchy - The largest
Popovtsy denomination. One can refer to the Russian part of this denomination as the
Belokrinitskoe Soglasie (the "Belokrinitsky Agreement") or as the
Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church.
*** Okruzhniki (extinct)
*** Neokruzhniki (extinct)
** Novozybkovskaya hierarchy or
Russian Old-Orthodox Church**
Beglopopovtsy (extinct, now the Russian Old-Orthodox Church)
** Luzhkane, also known as
Luzhkovskoe soglasie (extinct). In some places, they had no priests and so belonged to
Bespopovtsy.
Bespopovtsy
The Bespopovtsy (the "priestless") rejected "the World" where
Antichrist reigned; they preached the imminent end of the world, asceticism, adherence to the old rituals and the old faith. The Bespopovtsy claimed that the true church of Christ had ceased to exist on Earth and therefore renounced priests and all sacraments except
baptism. The Bespopovtsy movement has many sub-groups.
Bespopovtsy have no priests and no
eucharist.
**
Pomortsy or Danilovtsy, not to be confused with
Pomors. Originated in North European Russia (
Russian Karelia,
Arkhangelsk region). Initially they rejected marriage and prayer for the Tsar.
** Novopomortsy, or "New Pomortsy" - accept marriage
** Staropomortsy, or "Old Pomortsy" - reject marriage
**
Fedoseevtsy " "Society of Christian Old Believers of the Old Pomortsy Unmarried Confession" (1690s- present); deny marriage and practice cloister-style asceticism.
**
Fillipovtsy.
**
Chasovennye (from a word
Chasovnya - a chapel) - Siberian branch. Initially had priests, but later decided to change to a priestless practice. Also known as
Semeyskie (in the lands that lay east of
Baykal Lake).
Bespopovsty: Minor Groups
Aside from these major groups, many smaller groups emerged and died out at various times since the end of 17th century:
*
Aristovtsy (beginning of 19th to the beginning of 20th centuries; extinct) - from the name of the merchant Aristov;
*
Titlovtsy (extinct in 20th cent.) - emerged from
Fedoseevtsy, supported the use of Pilate's inscription upon the cross (
titlo), which was rejected by other groups;
*
Troparion confession (troparschiki) - a group that commemorated the
tsar in the hymns (
troparia);
* Daniel's confession of the "partially married" (
danilovtsy polubrachnye);
* Adamant confession (
adamantovy) - refused to use money and passports as containing the seal of
Antichrist;
* Aaron's confession (
aaronovtsy) - second half of the 18th century, a spin-off of the Fillipovtsy.
* "Grandmother's confession" or the Self-baptized - practised self-baptism or the baptism by midwives (
babushki), since the priesthood, in their opinion had ceased to exist;
* "Hole-worshippers" (
dyrniki) - relinquished the use of
icons and prayed to the east through a hole in the wall (!);
* Melchisedecs (Moscow, Bashkortostan) - practiced a peculiar lay "quasi-eucharistic" rite;
* "Runaways" (
beguny) or "Wanderers" (
stranniki);
* "Netovtsy" or Saviour's confession - denied the possibility of celebrating sacraments and praying in churches; the name comes from the Russian
net "no", since there are "no" sacraments, "no" churches, "no" priests etc.
Edinovertsy (единоверчество) - Agreed to become a part of the official Russian Orthodox Church while saving the old rites. First appearing in 1800, the Edinovertsy come under the
omophor of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate or of the Russian Church Abroad. They retain the use of the pre-Nikonian rituals (and may be called Old Ritualists), but they are not considered to be Old Believers.
|
6th century icon, depicting Christ blessing. Two fingers are straightened, three folded. The Old Believers maintain that this is the proper way of making the sign of the Cross. |
* Old Believers use two fingers while making the
sign of the cross (two fingers straightened, three folded) while new style Orthodoxy uses three fingers for the sign of cross (three fingers straightened, two fingers folded). Old Ritualists generally say the Jesus Prayer with the Sign of the Cross, while New Ritualists use the Sign of the Cross as a Trinitarian symbol. That is a significant difference between the two branches of Orthodoxy, and one of the most noticeable (see the picture of Boyarynya Morozova above).
* Old Believers reject all changes and emendations of liturgical texts and rituals introduced by the reform of
Patriarch Nikon. Thus, they continue to use the older
Church Slavonic translation of the sacred texts, including the
Psalter, striving to preserve intact the "pre-Nikonian" practices of the Russian Church.
* Old Believers only recognize performing the
baptism through three full immersions and reject the validity of any
baptismal rite performed otherwise (e.g. through pouring or sprinkling, as has been occasionally accepted in the Russian Church since the 18th century).
* Old Believers in principle oppose
ecumenism, despite many instances of good relationships and collaboration with other
Eastern Orthodox churches.
Old Believers and new style Orthodoxy have a lot of small, but essential differences in church services. The very style and atmosphere of the services is different:
** The
Liturgy is performed with 7
Hosts, not 5, as in new-style Orthodoxy.
** The
alleluia verse after the psalmody is chanted twice, not three times.
** Old Believers do not use
polyphonic singing, but only monodic, unison singing. They also have their own way of writing down music: not with linear
notation, but with special signs Kryuki or Znamena ('hooks' or 'banners' in English translation; see
znamennoe singing). There are several types of Old Believers
znamennoe singing:
znamenny raspev,
stolpovoy raspev,
pomorsky raspev(or
khomovoe singing),
demestvenny raspev etc.
** Old Believers use only icons of old
Russian or
Byzantine iconography; they do not believe in venerating realistic images of Christ, Our Lady and the Saints as icons (which has wide acceptance in new style Orthodoxy). Old Ritualists do not accept photographic or printed reproductions of icons in their worship.
** Old Believers do not kneel while making prayers, but in comparison with new style Orthodoxy, they perform more bows and prostrations, see
zemnoy poklon). While making prostrations, Old Believers use a special little rug called a
podruchnik, placing their hands on it. It is necessary that the fingers that are used for the Sign of the Cross remain clean during the prayers.
** On average the Old Believers' services are two to three times longer than in new style Orthodoxy. In general, the Old Believers insist on following the rubrics to the letter, and refrain from shortening the
Psalter readings and hymnography. They also tend to combine several services together, sometimes redundantly. Thus, a typical Old-Rite "vigil service" (
vsenoschnoe bdenie) would include shortened ("small")
vespers, a solemn ("great") vespers,
compline, midnight office,
matins and
the First Hour.
** While saying repetitive prayers, Old Believers use a special type of
beads called
lestovka.
** Old Believers who have ordained priests use a more strict preparation before
Communion " with very strict fasting within the week before Communion. This is one of the reasons why Communion among laity is common only during the
Lent and other long fasts.
** It is common after each
Confession to have some
epitimia. Usually, it is certain number of bows, which are counted with the help of a
lestovka.
* Old Believers do not venerate saints that appeared in Orthodoxy after 1666. For example, they do not venerate
Saint Seraphim of Sarov, one of the most well-known Russian saints of the 19th century. On the other hand, many Old Believers' ecclesial bodies have
canonized a number of saints who are not being recognized by the Russian Orthodox Church, e.g.
archpriest Avvakum and others.
* Old Believers use cast (silver, bronze) and carved (wooden) icons as well as painted ones. The new-style Orthodoxy prohibited the veneration of icons in relief. In Old Believer circles the practice continued and became very popular, since Old Believers had often to hide their religious implements.
Cast icons of small size (and often also folding " see
skladen) proved very useful in that respect.Old Believers also have unique daily life practices. To shave one's beard is considered a
sin. Some modern denominations of Old Believers are rather tolerant toward shaved chins, however. Some Bespopovsty denominations prohibit drinking
coffee and
tea.
Smoking or any other use of
tobacco is considered a diresin. The most strict and
eschatological Bespopovsty have practices of refraining from the outer world. That may include prohibition of sharing meals with people of other faiths, of using their belongings and wares, etc.
Russia had been officially Christianized in
988 by
Greek and
Bulgarian missionaries and had adopted the
Greek Orthodox liturgical practices. In the end of 11th century, the so-called
Studite Typicon was introduced in Russia through the efforts of St. Theodosius of the Caves in Kiev (
Феодосий Киево-Печерский, d. 1074). This
typicon (essentially, a guide-book for liturgical and monastic life) reflected the traditions of the urban monastic community of the famous
Studion monastery in
Constantinople. The
Studite typicon predominated throughout the western part of the
Byzantine Empire and was accepted throughout the Russian lands. In the end of 14th century, through the work of St.
Cyprian, metropolitan of
Moscow and
Kiev, the Studite liturgical practices were gradually replaced in Russia with the so-called
Jerusalem Typicon or the
Typicon of St. Sabbas - originally, an adaptation of the Studite liturgy to the customs of Palestinian monasteries. The process of gradual change of
typica would continue throughout the 15th century and, because of its slow implementation, met with little resistance - unlike the Nikon's reforms, conducted with abruptness and violence. However, in the course of 15th-17th centuries, Russian scribes continued to insert some Studite material into the general shape of
Jerusalem Typicon. This explains the differences between the modern version of the
Typicon, used by the
Russian Orthodox Church, and the pre-Nikonian Russian recension of
Jerusalem Typicon, called
Oko Tserkovnoe (Rus. "eye of the church"). This pre-Nikonian version, based on the
Moscow printed editions of
1610,
1633 and
1641, continues to be used by modern Old Believers.
However, in the course of the polemics against Old Believers, the "official"
Russian Orthodox Church often claimed that discrepancies which emerged in the texts between the Russian and the Greek churches, were Russian innovations, errors, or arbitrary translations. This charge of "Russian innovation" would be redundantly repeated in the textbooks and anti-
raskol treatises and catecheses, including, e.g., those by
Dimitry of Rostov. The critical evaluation of the sources and of the essence of Nikonian reforms began only in the
1850s with the groundbreaking work of
Nikolai F. Kapterev (
1847-
1917), continued later by
Serge Zenkovsky. Kapterev demonstrated - for the first time to the wider Russian audience - that the rites, rejected and condemned by the Nikonian reforms, were genuine customs of the
Orthodox Church which suffered alterations in the
Greek usage during the 15th-16th centuries, but remained unchanged in
Russia. The pre-Nikonian liturgical practices, including some elements of the Russian typicon,
Oko Tserkovnoe, were demonstrated to have preserved many earlier Byzantine material, being actually closer to the earlier Byzantine texts than some later Greek customs (Kapterev, N.F. 1913; Zenkovsky, S.A. 2006).
Remarkably, the scholars who opened the new avenues for re-evaluation of the reform by the Russian Church " Kapterev and E.E. Golubinsky " themselves held membership of the "official" church, but took up study of the causes and background of the reforms and resulting schism. Their research showed that the official theory regarding the old Russian books and rites was unsustainable. Of Kapterev's work, it was stated that he
(...) was the first historian who questioned the theory about the "pervertedness" or incorrectness of the Old Russian ritual and pointed out, that the Russian ritual was not at all perverted, but had on the contrary preserved a number of early Old Byzantine rituals, among which the sign of the cross with two fingers, which had been changed later on by the Greeks themselves, in the 12th and 13th century, which caused the discrepancy between the Old Russian and the New Greek church rituals. — Zenkovsky, S.A., Russkoe staroobrjadčestvo, 1970,1990, p. 19-20.
The Old Believer schism did not occur simply as a result of a few individuals with power and influence. The schism had complex causes, revealing historical processes and circumstances in 17th-century Russian society. Those who broke loose from the hierarchy of the official State Church had quite divergent views on church, faith, society, state power and social issues. Thus, "Old believers" is merely a collective noun for various movements in Russian society which actually had existed long before 1666-67. The things they had in common were a distrust towards state power and the episcopate, insisting upon the right of the people to arrange its own spiritual life, and the ambition to aim for such control.
Both the popovtsy and bespopovtsy, although theologically and psychologically two different teachings, were manifestations of a spiritual, eschatological and mystical tendencies throughout Russian religious thought and church life. The schism should also be seen within the political and cultural backgrounds of that time: increasing
Western influence,
secularization, and attempts to subordinate the Church to the state. Nevertheless, it was above all the purity of the Orthodox faith, embodied in the old rituals, which the Old believers sought to defend and preserve and which inspired many to strive against patriarch Nikon's church reforms until death.
Outsiders have often depicted the Old Believers movement as an obscure, fanatic faith in rituals that has led to the deaths of tens of thousands of ignorant people. All people of that time, however, felt that ritual expressed the very essence of their faith. Old believers hold that for the preservation of a certain ‘microclimate' that enables the salvation of one's soul it is not only necessary to live by the commandments of
Christ, but also to carefully preserve Church tradition, which contains the spiritual power and knowledge of past centuries, embodied in external forms.
The circumstance that the church reforms of Nikon considered mainly liturgical texts and rituals, sometimes leads to a view of the Old believers faith as being extremely conservative, not able to develop, and preferring form to content. From an Old believers' point of view, the idea of contents
a priori prevailing over form is simplistic. Their response could be illustrated by considering poetry.
If one converts a poem into prose, the "contents" of the poem may remain intact, but the poem will lose its charm, emotional impact, and much of its ability to influence an audience's reaction, moreover, the poem will essentially no longer exist. In the case of religious rituals, form and contents are not just two separable, autonomous entities, but are connected to each other by complex relations, including theological, psychological, phenomenal, esthetic and historic dimensions.
These aspects, in their turn, play a role in the perception of these rituals by the faithful and in their spiritual lives. Considering the fact that Church rituals from the very beginning have been connected with doctrinal truth, changing these rituals can have a tremendous effect on religious conscience and a severe impact on the faithful.
Nevertheless, centuries of persecution and the nature of their origin have made some of them very culturally conservative and mistrustful of anything they see as insufficiently Russian. Some Old Believers go so far as to consider any pre-Nikonian Orthodox Russian practice or artifact to be exclusively theirs, denying that the Russian Orthodox Church has any claims upon a history before Patriarch Nikon.
However, late 19th-century/early 20th-century history reveals the Old-Believer merchant families as more flexible and more open to innovations while creating factories and starting the first Russian industries. This observation is an apparent contradiction with the official doctrine of the Old Believers' faith, but centuries of struggle developed in them a habit of working and living without great concern for the state and mainstream cultural influences. Old Believers also lent money to each other with a much lower interest rate than any financial institutions and individuals, which helped them to arrange a cross-financing network and to accumulate capital.
Although the Old-Believers movement arose as a reaction to a reform, not as a 'reform' itself, the views and the philosophy of the movement in some aspects strongly resemble
Protestant philosophy (particularly
Amish,
Hutterites,
Mennonites and other very socially-conservative denominations). This encourages some people argue that Old Believers' appearance can be treated as a part of the pan-European
Reformation processes. Commentators have pointed out similarities between Old Believers and Protestants as:
* Both Old Believers and early Protestants positioned themselves as an alternative (correct alternative) to the official church.
* Since Old Believers treated Orthodoxy as a heretical church, they rather quickly developed a feeling of themselves as the only confession that can provide
salvation to its members. This feeling later was transformed to a practical philosophy and theology very similar to that of the Calvinist theory of
predestination. However, the Old Believers never proclaimed predestination officially.
* About half of the Old Believers currently have no priests; in that sense, a community can choose any educated person as a religious reader or presider.
* Those branches of Old Believers movement that rejected priests appeared in the northern parts of Russia (mainly near
Novgorod and
Pskov) where even pre-reform Orthodoxy developed into a rather 'democratic' form, as opposed to the highly centralized and ceremonial Orthodoxy of the southern regions.
Note, however, that the very philosophical basis of the Old Believers stood diametrically opposite that of
Protestants. Old Believers attempted to save the old heritage, not to make a reform, or even to return to something 'more old'. They functioned as conservators, not as reformers. And only a need for struggle for freedom of faith later made them apparently similar to
Protestants.
Note too that conservative Old Believers regard the word "protestant" as a theological obscenity, so a statement of similarity between these religious groups' philosophies may provide great offense.
In English:Cherniavsky, M., "The Reception of the Council of Florence in Moscow" and Shevchenko I., "Ideological Repercussions of the Council of Florence",
Church History XXIV (1955), 147-157 and 291-323 (articles)
Crummey, Robert O.
The Old Believers & The World Of Antichrist; The Vyg Community & The Russian State, Wisconsin U.P., 1970
Gill, T.
The Council of Florence, Cambridge, 1959
Zenkovsky, Serge A. "The ideology of the Denisov brothers",
Harvard Slavic Studies, 1957. III, 49-66
Zenkovsky, S.: "The Old Believer Avvakum",
Indiana Slavic Studies, 1956, I, 1-51
Zenkovsky, Serge A.:
Pan-Turkism and Islam in Russia, Harvard U.P., 1960 and 1967
Zenkovsky, S.: "The Russian Schism",
Russian Review, 1957, XVI, 37-58
In Russian:Зеньковский С.А.
Русское старообрядчество, том I и II, Москва 2006 / Zenkovskij S.A. "Russia's Old Believers", volumes I and II, Moscow 2006
"олубинский Е.Е.
История русской церкви, Москва 1900 / Golubinskij E.E. "History of the Russian Church", Moscow 1900
"олубинский Е.Е.
К нашей полимике со старообрядцами, ЧОИ"Р, 1905 / "Contribution to our polemic with the Old believers", ČOIDR, 1905
Каптерев Н.Ф.
Патриарх Никон и его противники в деле исправления церковныx обрядов, Москва 1913 / Kapterv N.F. "Patriarch Nikon and his opponents in the correction of church rituals", Moscow 1913
Каптерев Н.Ф.
Характер отношений России к православному востоку в XVI и XVII вв., Москва 1914/Kapterev N.F. "Character of the relationships between Russia and the orthodox East in the XVI and XVII centuries", Moscow 1914
Карташов А.'.
Очерки по иситории русской церкви, Париж 1959 / Kartašov A.V. "Outlines of the history of the Russian chruch", Paris 1959
Ключевский И.П.
Сочинения, I " VIII, Москва 1956-1959 / Ključevskij I.P. "Works", I " VIII, Moscow 1956-1959
Кутузов Б.П.
Церковная «реформа» XVII века, Москва 2003 / Kutuzov B.P. "The church "reform" of the XVII century", Moscow 2003
Мельников Ф.И.,
Краткая история древлеправославной (старообрядческой) церкви. Барнаул, 1999 (Russian) / Melnikov F.I., 1999 "Short history of the Old orthodox (Old ritualist) Church" Barnaul 1999
NB All these works come from scholars and scientists, none of them Old Believers, except for Melnikov (an Old-Believer apologist).
*
Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church (
Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy)
*
Lipovan Orthodox Old-Rite Church (
Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy)
*
Russian Old-Orthodox Church (
Novozybkovskaya Hierarchy)
*
Pomorian Old-Orthodox Church (
Pomortsy)
*
Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church (official site of the Moscow Metropoly)*
Old Believers in Karelia in the 17th century*
Old Believers in Estonia*
Russian Orthodox Old Rite Believers*
Orthodox Kellion of the Holy Trinity and Saint Sergius*
Russian Old Ritualist Village Nikolaevsk Alaska*
Old-Rite Yahoo! Group " Russia's Ancient Spiritual Heritage*
Old Rite ROCOR Church of the Nativity*
Old Ritualist Monks of the Old Rite in North Dakota*
Page Down to "Elena's Place" for an Interview with a Minnesota Old Believer *
A brief biography of Father Potapy Emelyanov, an Old Believer who converted to Catholicism.*
Collection of Old Believer History and Tradition; Compiled by Paul J. Wigowsky.*
Old Believers in Modern Russia*
Old Belief in Omutninsk, Russia
