The Old Believers were supporters of the old faith. Old Believers and Old Believers: what is the difference? Man as a theory of split

In fact, their customs and traditions are far from the false ideas that “Old Believers are those who still make sacrifices to Zeus and Perun.” The reason for the split at one time was the reform that Tsar Alexei Romanov and Patriarch Nikon (Minin) decided to carry out. The Old Believers and their difference from the Orthodox began with the difference in making the sign of the cross. The reform proposed changing two fingers to three fingers, abolishing prostrations; later the reform affected all forms of the Church’s charter and order of worship. Until the reign of Peter I, changes took place in church life, which the Old Believers, who valued old customs and traditions, perceived as an encroachment on the traditional and correct, from their point of view, religious way of life.

Archpriest Avvakum called for preserving the old faith, including the Old Believer cross, and to suffer for the “old faith,” if necessary. The reform of Patriarch Nikon was not accepted in the Solovetsky Monastery either; the inhabitants of the monastery turned to Tsar Alexei Romanov with a petition in defense of the old faith. Old Believers in Russia today are followers of those who did not accept the reform in the 17th century.

Who are the Old Believers and what is their difference from the Orthodox, what is the difference between the two traditions?

The Old Believers retained the position of the ancient Church regarding the confession of the Holy Trinity, the incarnation of God the Word, as well as the two hypostases of Jesus Christ. The Old Believer cross is an eight-pointed cross inside a four-pointed one. Such crosses are also found in the Russian Orthodox Church, along with the Serbian Church, so it is still impossible to consider the Old Believer cross exclusively Old Believer. At the same time, there is no image of the Crucifixion on the Old Believer cross.

The Old Believers, their customs and traditions largely overlap with the traditions of those who reacted favorably to the reform and accepted it. Old Believers are those who recognize baptism by immersion, canonical iconography... At the same time, only church books published before 1652, under Patriarch Joseph or earlier, are used for Divine services. The name of Christ in these books is written as Jesus, not Jesus.

Lifestyle

It is believed that in everyday life the Old Believers are very modest and even ascetic, and their culture is full of archaism. Many Old Believers wear beards, do not drink alcohol, learn the Old Church Slavonic language, and some wear traditional clothes in everyday life.

“Popovtsy” and “Bezpopovtsy”

To learn more about the Old Believers and understand who they are, you also need to know that the Old Believers themselves divide themselves into “priests” and “non-priests.” And, if the “priests” recognize the three-rank Old Believer hierarchy and the sacraments of the ancient Church, then the “bezpopovtsy” are sure that after the reform the pious church hierarchy was lost, and therefore many sacraments were abolished. The Old Believers “bezpopovtsy” recognize only two sacraments and their main difference from the Orthodox is that the only sacraments for them are Baptism and Confession, and the difference between the Old Believers “bezpopovtsy” and the Old Believers of chapel consent is that the latter also recognize the latter as sacraments Eucharist and Great Blessing of Water.

At the end of the 20th century, neo-pagans began to call themselves “Old Believers,” so Old Believers in Russia today are not only opponents of reform, but also supporters of various religious associations and sects. However, it is wrong to believe that the real Old Believers, their customs and traditions are somehow connected with paganism.

Old Believers, also known as Old Believers, are adherents of the Orthodox movement in Russia. The movement of the Old Believers was forced, since Patriarch Nikon in the second half of the 17th century ordered church reform of the Russian Orthodox Church. The purpose of the reform: to bring all rituals, services and church books into conformity with Byzantine (Greek) ones. In the mid-50s of the 17th century, Patriarch Tikhon had the powerful support of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who implemented the concept: Moscow - Third Rome. Therefore, Nikon’s church reforms should have fit perfectly into this idea. But, de facto, a split occurred in the Russian Orthodox Church.

This was a true tragedy, since some believers did not want to accept the church reform, which changed their way of life and idea of ​​faith. This is how the Old Believers movement was born. People who disagreed with Nikon fled to remote corners of the country: mountains, forests, taiga wilderness - just to live according to their canons. There were often cases of self-immolation of believers of the old rite. Sometimes this happened to entire villages when official and church authorities tried to implement Nikon’s new ideas. According to the records of some chroniclers, the pictures appeared terrible: a large barn engulfed in flames, psalms rushing out of it, sung by dozens of people in the fire. Such was the willpower and fortitude of the Old Believers, who did not want changes, considering them to be from the evil one. Old Believers: difference from the Orthodox is a very serious topic that has been studied by some historians in the USSR.

One of these researchers in the 80s of the last century was Professor Boris Sitnikov, who taught at the Novosibirsk Pedagogical Institute. Every summer he and his students traveled to Old Believer villages in Siberia and collected interesting material.

Old Believers of Russia: difference from the Orthodox (main points)

Experts in church history count dozens of differences between the Old Believers and the Orthodox in matters of reading and interpreting the Bible, conducting church services, other rituals, everyday life and appearance. We also note that the Old Believers are heterogeneous. Among them, various movements stand out, which still add differences, but between the admirers of the old faith themselves. Pomeranians, Fedoseevites, Beglopopovtsy, Bespopovtsy, Popovtsy, Spasovsky sense, Netovshchina and many others. We will not tell everything in detail, as there is not enough space in one article. Let's take a brief look at the main differences and discrepancies between the Old Believers and the Orthodox.

1. How to be baptized correctly.

Nikon, during his reform of the church, forbade baptism according to the old custom with two fingers. Everyone was ordered to make the sign of the cross with three fingers. That is, to cross yourself in a new way: with three fingers folded into a pinch. The Old Believers did not accept this postulate, saw it as a fig (fig) and completely refused to cross themselves with three fingers. Old Believers still make the sign of the cross with two fingers.

2. Cross shape.

The Old Believers still accept the pre-reform form of the Orthodox cross. It has eight ends. To our usual cross, two small crossbars have been added at the top (straight) and at the bottom (oblique). True, according to some researchers, some Old Believers believers also recognize other forms of crosses.

3. Prostrations to the ground.

The Old Believers, unlike the Orthodox, recognize only bows to the ground, while the latter - bows from the waist.

4. Pectoral cross.

For the Old Believers, it is always an eight-pointed cross (as described above) inside a four-pointed one. The main difference is that there is never an image of the crucified Jesus Christ on this cross.

5. During worship, Old Believers keep their arms crossed on their chests, while Orthodox Christians lower their arms at their sides.

6. The name of Jesus Christ is spelled differently. There are discrepancies in some prayers. One scholar-historian counted at least 62 discrepancies in prayers.

7. Almost complete cessation of alcohol and smoking. In some Old Believer traditions, it was allowed to take three glasses of alcohol on major holidays, but no more.

8. Appearance.

In the Old Believer church, as in our Orthodox churches, you will not find girls and women with scarves on their heads, in hats or scarves tied in a knot at the back. The woman is strictly wearing a headscarf, pinned under her chin. No bright or colored clothing is allowed. Men wear untucked old Russian shirts with a belt dividing the two parts of the body into the lower (dirty) and upper (spiritual). In everyday life, an Old Believer man is forbidden to shave his beard and wear a tie (the noose of Judas).

By the way, of all the Russian tsars, the Old Believers especially hated Peter the Great because he forced them to shave off their beards, took the Old Believers into the army, taught the people to smoke (the Old Believers had a saying: “The tobacconist is a clerk in hell”) and other things, according to the Old Believers, overseas devilish things. And Peter the Great really valued the soldiers who entered the army from the Old Believers. One interesting case is known. A new frigate was to be launched at the shipyard. Something wasn’t going well technically: either the log got stuck, or something else. The king, possessing powerful health and strong body, jumped up himself, grabbed a log, and helped solve the problem. Then he drew attention to a strong worker who worked for three and, without fear of the king, helped lift the log.

The king suggested comparing the silo. He says: “Here I will hit you in the chest, if you can stand on your feet, then I will allow you to hit me and you will have a royal gift.” Peter swung and hit the kid in the chest. Someone else would have probably flown about five meters head over heels. And he just swayed like an oak tree. The autocrat was surprised! Demanded a retaliatory strike. And the Old Believer struck! Everyone froze! And the guy was from the Old Believers of the Chud region. The king could barely stand it, swayed, and took a step away. The Emperor awarded such a hero a silver ruble and the position of corporal. Everything was explained simply: the Old Believers did not drink vodka, did not smoke tobacco, ate, as it is now fashionable to say, organic products and were distinguished by enviable health. Therefore, Peter I ordered young people from monasteries to be recruited into the army.

These were, are and remain the Old Believers, preserving their customs and traditions. Old Believers: difference from the Orthodox is indeed a very interesting topic, you can write a lot more about it. For example, we have not yet told you that in the houses of the Old Believers two sets of dishes were kept: for themselves and for strangers (guests). It was forbidden to eat from the same dishes with non-believers. Archpriest Avvakum was a very charismatic leader among the Old Believers. We recommend that everyone interested in this topic watch the Russian series “Raskol,” which tells in great detail about Nikon’s church reform and its consequences.

In conclusion, we will only add that the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) only in 1971 completely lifted the anathema from the Old Believers, and the confessions began to take steps towards each other.

Book by Dmitry Alexandrovich Urushev
Russian Old Believers: traditions, history, culture

This book is dedicated to the most striking episodes and main milestones in the history of the Old Believers. The story about this primordially Russian spiritual movement begins from the time of the appearance of Christianity in Rus' and reaches the present day. The reader gets acquainted with living portraits of outstanding historical figures (Archpriest Avvakum, noblewoman Morozova, etc.), with vivid stories about memorable events. The book is written easily, but not lightly. Behind the simple narrative lies the great work of the historian in archives and libraries. Such a book will be of interest to the widest readership, primarily children, young people and people who have heard about the Old Believers for the first time. The book can be used as a teaching aid when teaching the subject “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture.”

Material created: 04/16/2016

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History of Russian disobedience

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From the author

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin stated: “The greatest spiritual and political revolution on our planet is Christianity. Modern history is the history of Christianity.” It can also be argued that Russian history is the history of Orthodoxy. But this history is incomprehensible and incomplete without the history of the Old Believers. The misfortunes of the Russian people today are inexplicable without studying the church schism in the 17th century. The split is the most important...

Chapter 1. Apostle Andrew

The centuries-old history of Russia is inextricably linked with Christianity. The Gospel was proclaimed on our lands long before the emergence of the Russian state. Ancient chronicles call the first preacher of Christianity in Russia Apostle Andrew. He was a native of the Jewish city of Bethsaida, the elder brother of the Apostle Peter. The brothers were simple fishermen and fished in the Sea of ​​Galilee. When John...

Chapter 2. The Baptism of Rus'

The ancient Slavs, our ancestors, were pagans. They did not know the true God, did not believe in Him, but worshiped the sun and the month, heaven and earth, fire and water. The Slavs called mountains, trees, stones and all natural phenomena: lightning, thunder, wind and rain gods and spirits. The pagan faith was not good, there was no...

Chapter 3. Holy Rus'

Like a sponge absorbs water, so the newly converted Rus' greedily absorbed the Christian faith received from the Greeks. Our ancestors were smart students and soon became equal to their teachers in everything. The Russian land was established with many churches and monasteries, adorned with wondrous icons, and filled with wise books. Our cities shone with church splendor - Vladimir, Kyiv, Novgorod the Great, Polotsk, ...

Chapter 4. The Great Schism

For two thousand years, the Church has experienced more than one schism. Over the centuries, heretics have repeatedly separated from it, carrying with them entire countries and peoples in Asia and Africa. Even in ancient times, Armenians, Egyptians, Syrians and Ethiopians fell away from the Church, carried away by false teachings. But the biggest division was the great schism...

Chapter 5. The Fall of Constantinople

The Greeks called the capital of their country, the glorious Constantinople, “New Rome” or “Second Rome,” reminding all peoples that their power was the successor to the all-powerful Roman state, which in ancient times owned half the world. But centuries passed, the Greek power weakened and lost its former power. It was attacked by Mohammedan Turks from the east. Their countless hordes captured and...

Chapter 6. Third Rome

Since the time of Prince Vladimir, our Church has been subordinate to the Greek patriarch who lived in Constantinople. He appointed a metropolitan - the head of the Russian Church. Initially, the seat of Russian metropolitans was Kyiv. But in 1240 it was destroyed by the Mongols and Tatars - nomads who came to Rus' from the eastern steppes. After their raid, devastated Kyiv became deserted, so in 1299...

Chapter 7. Tsar and Patriarch

Just as unexpected clouds darken the sunlight, so the evil deeds of rulers darken and confuse great powers. An unimaginable disaster came to our land in the middle of the 17th century. It came not from foreigners, not from infidels, not from rebels. Trouble came from an unexpected source, from the Orthodox Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich himself and from his...

Chapter 8. The beginning of the schism

At that time, the Greek Church was in a disastrous state. She was oppressed by the Turks, she vegetated in ignorance. The rules of piety have been forgotten. The education for which the Greeks were once famous has dried up. They did not have their own book printing, so they had to be content with books printed in Western countries, from the Latins. Those books contained many errors, inaccuracies and frankly...

Chapter 9. Arseny Sukhanov

Anton Sukhanov, the son of the impoverished nobleman Putila Sukhanov, was smart and knowledgeable in science, and loved books. He achieved everything in life with his mind. His mind led him to Moscow. His intelligence secured him a prominent position in the Church. Even in his youth, Sukhanov accepted monasticism and was named Arseny. Once in the capital, he held important positions...

Chapter 10. Bishop Paul

The first Russian saint to endure torment and death for loyalty to ancient Orthodox piety and the old church rite was the martyr and confessor Pavel, Bishop of Kolomna and Kashir. Unfortunately, little is known about him. We don't know what his parents' names were. It is only known that his father was a priest. It is not known when Pavel was born, but it is possible...

Chapter 11. Archpriest Avvakum

The greatest defender of the old faith was the martyr and confessor Archpriest Avvakum. He was born in 1620 in the village of Grigorovo in the family of the priest Peter. His fellow countrymen were Patriarch Nikon and Bishop Pavel. Avvakum's father died early. The mother, a humble faster and prayer worker, took up raising the children. When Habakkuk turned seventeen, she decided to...

Chapter 12. Archpriest Daniel

We call Ancient Rus' Holy. But, of course, this does not mean that everything on her was holy, sinless and shameless. People live on earth, not angels. And people are characterized by shortcomings, misdeeds and mistakes. One of the main shortcomings of ancient Russian life, which has survived to this day, was drunkenness. Since the time of Ivan the Terrible in cities...

Chapter 13. Monk Epiphanius

In Pustozersk, together with Archpriest Avvakum, they languished in prison, and then three more martyrs for the faith were burned in a log house: Lazar, a priest from the city of Romanov, Theodore, a deacon of the Kremlin Annunciation Cathedral, and Epiphanius, a tonsure monk at the Solovetsky Monastery. Sitting in a terrible earthen prison, they did not lose heart and did not give in...

Chapter 14. Archimandrite Spiridon

Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Patriarch Nikon entrusted the “right” of our liturgical books to foreigners who found themselves in Moscow in search of honor, titles and wealth. At different times, various rogues were involved in our church affairs: visiting Greeks and numerous Little Russians and Belarusians - natives of Western Russian Orthodox lands captured by Poland. The Latin Poles oppressed the Russians, did not allow them to have...

Chapter 15. Boyarina Morozova

In 1632, in Moscow, a daughter, Theodosius, was born into the family of the courtier Prokopiy Fedorovich Sokovnin. Together with her, two older brothers and a younger sister, Evdokia, grew up in their father’s house. At the age of seventeen, the modest and pious beauty Theodosia was married to the first boyar Gleb Ivanovich Morozov. A stern widower, he was much older than his wife...

Chapter 16. Job Lgovsky

Among the holy ascetics revered by the Russian Church, a special place belongs to the Monk Job of Lgov. He testified his loyalty to Orthodoxy not by confessional feat and martyrdom, but by monastic humility and desert life. The future ascetic was born in 1594 into a boyar family and was named Ivan at baptism. His father, Timofey Ivanovich Likhachev, successfully served...

Chapter 17. Solovetsky ruin

The Solovetsky Monastery is one of the most famous Russian monasteries, founded in the 15th century by the Reverend Fathers Zosima and Savvaty on Solovetsky Island in the White Sea. The remote and well-fortified monastery was sometimes used by the authorities as a prison. Since 1649, the Greek monk Arseny languished here. Having received his education in Italy, he traveled around the world, lived in...

Chapter 18. Streltsy uprising

Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was married twice. His first wife was Maria Ilyinichna from the old Miloslavsky family. She died in 1669. Two years later, the sovereign married again. The second wife of the autocrat was Natalya Kirillovna from the noble Naryshkin family. From his first wife, the king had sons Theodore and John and daughter Sophia. From...

Chapter 19. Nun Devora

Among the holy men and women of the Old Testament, the prophetess Deborah stands out especially. This glorious woman, who lived more than three thousand years ago, during a difficult time for ancient Israel, inspired her people to war against the wicked pagan king. The Jews, encouraged by the happy predictions of Deborah and her personal presence on the battlefield, went out to battle and defeated...

Chapter 20. Time of suffering

From the very beginning of the church schism, the authorities persecuted pious Old Believers Christians. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Patriarch Nikon punished everyone who opposed the introduction of new liturgical rituals. In Rus', the new faith was asserted with fire and sword, gallows and rack, whip and batogs. The best Russian people, who remained faithful to church antiquity and paternal traditions, were declared church members and...

Chapter 21. Hegumen Dosifei

One of the tireless defenders of the Old Believers was the Monk Dosifei. Preaching fidelity to ancient piety, he walked all over Rus' from the White Sea to the Black Sea, visited many monasteries, cities and villages, instructing people in the old faith. Archpriest Avvakum and noblewoman Morozova knew and loved Dosifei. He was also revered by ordinary people - townspeople, peasants and...

Chapter 22. Kirill Sunaretsky

A friend and like-minded person of Abbot Dosifei was the monk Kirill, a famous ascetic, zealot of piety, founder of the Sunaretsky Trinity Hermitage. In the world, Kirill was called Karp Vasiliev. He was born in 1608 in the village of Andreev Navolok on the Suna River, not far from the famous village of Kondopoga. His parents were peasants. From an early age Karp avoided games...

Chapter 23. Kornily Vygovsky

The memorable monk Cornelius was not only one of the most zealous defenders of the right faith, but also the oldest. He was adorned not only with piety and wisdom, but also with venerable hundred-year-old gray hair. Born under Tsar Ivan the Terrible, he died under Tsars Ivan and Peter, the sons of Alexei Mikhailovich. The future ascetic was born in 1570...

Chapter 24. Vitaly Vygovsky

Just as the night sky is decorated with bright stars, so our earth is decorated with glorious ascetics. There were always especially many of them in the Russian North. Neither the proximity of the chilly White Sea, nor severe winters, nor barren lands, nor impenetrable forests, nor marshy swamps, nor wild animals frightened the monks who were looking for a solitary life here. One of these pious...

Chapter 25. Tsar Peter

Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich loved everything foreign. Following the example of European rulers, he started his own entertainment - the court theater. The autocrat spared no expense on it. The sovereign loved the fun so much that he sat in the theater for ten hours at a time. Tsar Feodor Alekseevich also revered everything foreign, although he abolished his father’s theater. He's perfect...

Chapter 26. Bulavin and Nekrasov

It is the duty of every person to protect his land and his family from invaders, robbers and oppressors. The sacred duty of every Christian is to defend his faith and his Church from heretics and atheists. Love for Christ and His Church is higher than love for homeland and relatives. After all, a foreign land can become a new homeland, and...

Chapter 27. New Schism

Christians go to the temple of God to pray. However, in church, believers do not only pray. In Orthodox churches, special sacred rites are performed, called sacraments. According to the teachings of the Church, a sacrament is a sacred action established by Christ and His apostles, through which the invisible grace of God is visibly transmitted to believers. The sacraments are the foundation of Christian life. Without them...

Chapter 28. Znamenny singing

Liturgical singing is one of the main riches of the Orthodox Church. Since ancient times, Christians have paid great attention to the beauty and harmony of the performance of prayer chants. It was the singing that amazed the ambassadors of Prince Vladimir, who visited Constantinople, in the Church of St. Sophia. It was so amazing that they did not understand whether they were on earth or in heaven. Aren't they the faces of archangels, angels,...

Chapter 29. Branch and Starodubye

The pious priest Kozma lived in Moscow. He served in the Church of All Saints on Kulishki in the White City and was one of the few metropolitan priests who dared to serve in the old way. Kozma was well acquainted with Archpriest Avvakum and noblewoman Morozova. The archpriest, when he returned to Moscow from Siberian exile, gave communion to his spiritual children in the church...

Chapter 30. The Fleeing Priesthood

In the 18th–19th centuries, priests who converted to the Old Believers from the Synodal Church were called “fugitive priesthood” or “fugitive priests.” After all, they fled to the Old Believers from the New Believers and fled from representatives of the tsarist authorities. The first Old Believer priest to receive ordination from a Nikonian bishop was the priest Joasaph, the beloved disciple of Job of Lgov. While still a child, Joasaph followed the ascetic and took part in...

Chapter 31. Tara Uprising

Like his father, Tsar Peter Alekseevich was married twice. His first wife was Evdokia Fedorovna from the old Lopukhin family. In 1690, the royal couple had a son, Alexei, heir to the throne. But soon the sovereign lost interest in his wife. Ardent Peter did not like the quiet Evdokia. She bored her husband. And in 1698 the king...

Chapter 32. Varlaam Levin

A daring rumor that Peter I was not a true Tsar, but an insidious Antichrist, spread throughout Russia. According to the laws of that time, such an opinion was equated to insult to the imperial majesty and was punishable by death. Among those who lost their heads because of talk about the Antichrist was the monk Varlaam. In the world his name was Vasily Andreevich...

Chapter 33. Vygovskaya hermitage

The monastery, founded in 1694 on the Vyg River with the blessing of Elder Cornelius, has a special place in the history of the Old Believers. The first inhabitants of the Vygovskaya hermitage were actively engaged in preaching priestlessness and, going around Pomerania, they taught: “The present time is the time of the Antichrist!” The Antichrist sits magnificently on the throne in the Church. Thanks to this, rumors about the new settlement spread around the shores of the White Sea. On the...

Chapter 34. Feodosius Vasiliev

At the turn of the 17th–18th centuries, throughout Rus' in different places, different preachers independently taught about the advent of the last times, the reign of the Antichrist and the cessation of all church sacraments. In the vicinity of Veliky Novgorod and Pskov, this doctrine was preached by Theodosius Vasiliev (1661–1711), the founder of one of the trends in non-priesthood - the Fedoseyevsky consent. Theodosius came from...

Chapter 35. Filippov agreement

Close to the Fedoseevsky Concord in doctrine is the Filippov Concord, which separated from the Pomeranians. The founder of this agreement was the monk Philip (1674–1742), after whom it received its name. At the beginning of the 18th century, the archer Photius Vasiliev left the royal service and went to Vyg. Here he accepted monasticism and a new name - Philip. The first abbot of the Vygovskaya Hermitage...

Chapter 36. Theodosius Vetkovsky

After the death of St. Paul of Kolomna, the Church temporarily lost its episcopal administration. The highest spiritual power passed to pious priests, educated monks and virtuous laymen. One of the prudent helmsmen who wisely steered the church ship during that turbulent time was the holy monk Theodosius. He was ordained by Patriarch Joseph, Nikon's predecessor, to the Church of St. Basil the Great in the St. Nicholas Monastery...

Chapter 37. Lavrenty Vetkovsky

At the beginning of the 16th century, in the city of Kaluga, Saint Lawrence performed the feat of foolishness. According to legend, he came from a noble noble family of Khitrovo. A difficult man, he lived mainly in the house of the local prince Semyon Ioannovich. And for spiritual exploits he retired to a secluded place on the top of the mountain, where there was a church and a hut. In summer and...

Chapter 38. Vikenty Krupetsky

The ancient hermits tortured their flesh. They were silent for decades, lay in coffins, lived in stinking caves, chained to the darkest corner. They fought temptations, showing the laity an example of a sinless life. One of the types of monastic feat is living in caves, in “pechers” in the ancient way. The first Russian cave monastery is the Pechersky Monastery in Kyiv. It was founded by Reverend...

Chapter 39. Pugachev uprising

The order of succession to the throne established by Peter I was imperfect. Because of this, in the 18th century, many people, mostly women, changed on the Russian throne. Often the appearance of a new face was accompanied by a military coup. In 1741, with the support of the army, Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter, ascended the throne. She had no children. Therefore, she announced her nephew Karl Peter Ulrich as her successor...

Chapter 40. Search for the bishop

We know God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. With God everyone is alive. Therefore, the Holy Church is formed not only by living Christians, but also by deceased righteous people. In the 18th century, this allowed the Old Believers to console themselves with the thought that, although they do not have a living bishop, all the deceased are invisibly with them...

Chapter 41. Rogozhskoe cemetery

In 1762, Empress Catherine II ascended the Russian throne. The wise and prudent queen understood how rich Old Believers—industrialists and traders—could bring benefits to the country. In the same year, she issued a decree inviting fugitive Old Believers, primarily residents of Vetka, to return to Russia. They were promised benefits: permission not to shave their beards...

Chapter 42. Tsar Nicholas

The path of many clergy who converted to the Old Believers from the state Church began in Moscow at the Rogozhskoye cemetery. They were brought here secretly so that the police would not find out. Here they were anointed with myrrh and left at the chapels to learn the correct service from old books. Mysterious letters were sent from Moscow throughout Rus': “We found salt, but raw salt, and dried it on a matting...

Chapter 43. White Krinitsa

The Bukovina region, lying at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains, has always attracted conquerors. In the 16th century, these fertile lands were captured by Türkiye. But in 1775 it was forced to yield to the stronger Austria. In the 20th century, Bukovina belonged to Romania and the Soviet Union. Nowadays this region is divided between Ukraine and Romania. During the times we are talking about...

Chapter 44. Metropolitan Ambrose

In 1791, in the Greek village of Maistra captured by the Turks, a son, Andrei, was born to the priest George. George was the twenty-second priest in his family. And no one doubted that his son would inherit his ministry. Therefore, from childhood, Andrei’s father prepared him for the priesthood. The young man entered the theological school. In 1811 he married and...

Chapter 45. Belokrinitsky hierarchy

The church structure, which includes three degrees of priesthood (bishops, priests and deacons), is called hierarchy. This word is Greek and translated into Russian means “sacred power”, “hierarchy”. The first bishop ordained by Metropolitan Ambrose was Bishop Kirill. Then Ambrose and Kirill ordained Bishop Arkady (Dorofeev). Thus the fullness of the Orthodox hierarchy was restored. It began to be called “Belokrinitskaya”...

Chapter 46. Suzdal sufferers

In the second half of the 19th century, science, art and literature flourished in Russia. At this time, gifted scientists, composers, artists, writers and poets gained worldwide fame for our country with their works. Many literary works were written then, now known to every schoolchild. In 1859, Ostrovsky's play was staged in the theater for the first time...

Chapter 47. Preobrazhenskoye Cemetery

In the middle of the 18th century, in the villages of Cherkizovo and Preobrazhenskoye near Moscow, there were no more than twenty Bespopovsky families of the Fedoseevsky consent. Their prayer house was located in Preobrazhenskoye. The large brick factories of the wealthy merchant Ilya Alekseevich Kovylin (Kavylin, 1731–1809) were also located here. Having met the village residents, Kovylin decided to convert to the Old Believers. The Bespopovites considered the Synodal Church an antichrist gathering and...

Chapter 48. Archbishop Anthony

The fate of the Suzdal sufferers could, at any day and hour, be shared by the supreme saint of the Russian Old Believers, Archbishop Anthony. Only the mercy of God saved him from prison. Protected by providence, Anthony led the Church for many years. Andrei Illarionovich Shutov, the future archbishop, was born in the village of Nastasino near Moscow into a poor peasant family that belonged to the Synodal...

Chapter 49

At the beginning of the 18th century, under Peter I, when life was especially hard for the Old Believers, priestless preachers taught that the Antichrist had taken possession of the Russian kingdom and the whole world. In the Volga region, such a sermon was launched by Kozma Andreev and Kozma Panfilov, peasants from Kerzhenets. Their teaching was simple. They argued: “The grace of God is not in churches, nor in reading, nor...

Chapter 50. Shamar miracle workers

Since the time of the schism, the Urals became a refuge for thousands of Christians who did not want to accept the innovations of Alexei Mikhailovich and Nikon. Numerous refugees settled this vast area from the Pechora River in the north to the Yaik River in the south. Local Old Believers were engaged in arable farming, trade and various crafts, mined ore and worked in iron factories...

Chapter 51. Bishop Constantine

Lying is one of the most heinous sins. But at the same time – one of the most common. Unfortunately, people lie often and a lot. They lie big and small. Everyone lies, but Christians cannot lie. After all, the Gospel says that the father of lies is the devil. He who lies fulfills the lusts of the devil...

Mother Volga, our great river, connects many cities famous not only in the history of the Russian state, but also in the history of the Russian Church. Along the entire length of the river there are still Old Believer parishes - in Rzhev and Yaroslavl, in Kostroma and Kazan, in Samara and Saratov, in Volgograd and Astrakhan. Nizhny Novgorod is also located on the Volga...

Chapter 53. Bishop Arseny

From time immemorial, many secret Bespopovites lived on Vladimir land. Most of them were considered members of the Synodal Church. They visited her churches, got married there and baptized their children, but at home they prayed according to the books of Donikon. In 1840, a son, Anisim, was born to a secret Old Believer, peasant Vasily Shvetsov, who lived in the village of Ilyina Gora. First...

Chapter 54. Defenders of the Faith

To a modern person, the word “reader” may seem lifeless and inert. This is how the explanatory dictionary explains it: “A bookkeeper is a person who has read a lot, but is familiar with everything superficially.” Meanwhile, just a hundred years ago the word “reader” sounded proud, and many Christians considered it an honor to be called that way. We are talking about Old Believer readers who were highly respected...

Chapter 55. Russian Old Believers merchants

In the Russian Empire, the merchant class consisted not only of people engaged in buying and selling, but also industrialists and bankers. The prosperity and well-being of the country depended on them. The largest entrepreneurs were Old Believers. The main wealth of Russia was concentrated in their hands. At the beginning of the twentieth century, their names were widely known: the owners of porcelain production Kuznetsovs, textile manufacturers Morozovs, industrialists...

Chapter 56. Vasily Surikov

An enlightened Russian person of the 19th century could judge the old faith primarily from the writings of the writers of the Synodal Church. In them, the Old Believers were declared a “superstition” stemming from the age-old illiteracy of our people. Back then it was customary to speak pejoratively about the Old Believers: “schismatics,” “hypocrites,” “superstitions.” Of course, such ignorance was not worth the attention of high society. But during the reign of Nicholas I, public opinion...

Chapter 57. The Golden Age of the Old Believers

At least 15 million Old Believers lived in the Russian Empire. According to some data, up to a third of all Great Russians professed the old faith. In the 19th century, the need to grant freedom of religion to the Old Believers became obvious. In that century, darkened by wars, conspiracies and assassinations, Christians had the opportunity more than once to testify to their sincere loyalty to the Russian autocrats. No wonder at the beginning of the twentieth century...

Chapter 58. Temples of Moscow

The Old Believer community in Moscow has always been the largest and richest. The wealthiest merchants lived in the ancient capital. Many of them collected ancient icons and books. For example, in the vast collection of millionaire Stepan Pavlovich Ryabushinsky (1874–1942) there were many icons remarkable not only for their beauty, but also for their antiquity. After the granting of freedom of religion, Moscow Old Believers began to build churches...

Chapter 59. Bishop Michael

Since 1805, since the time of Tsar Alexander I, even children served in the Russian army. The little soldiers were called cantonists. As a rule, these were the legitimate and illegitimate sons of military personnel or the poor, orphans and foundlings. At first, boys were trained in special schools, and from the age of 18 they were sent to military service, which then lasted 25...

At the beginning of the 19th century, in addition to almshouses, at the Rogozhskoe cemetery there was an orphanage where foundlings and children of poor parents were raised. To educate boys, a school was created in which reading, writing, counting and church singing were taught. Not only orphans studied here, but also children sent to the Rogozhskoe cemetery in adolescence. From school...

In July 1914, World War I began. Our country entered into confrontation with Austria, Germany and Turkey. Russia's allies were England and France. Gradually, many countries in Europe, Asia and America were drawn into the war, so that it became truly global. During the war, new weapons were used, hitherto unprecedented: planes and tanks, mortars...

Chapter 62. Archbishop Meletios

After the death of Archbishop Anthony, Savvaty (1824–1898), Bishop of Tobolsk and all Siberia, was elected to the Moscow episcopal throne. In October 1882, a council of bishops elevated him to a higher dignity - archbishop. In August 1897, Savvaty was forced to give the police a signature that he would no longer be called the Moscow Archbishop. This...

Chapter 63. Metropolitan Innocent

Literacy, erudition and love of books have always distinguished an Old Believer from a representative of the state Church. At the time when the Synod issued decrees prohibiting the wedding of young men and women who did not know the Lord’s Prayer, the Old Believers knew the entire church liturgical circle. A psalter and a book of hours were in every Christian home, but reading was not limited to prayer books. ...

Chapter 64. John Kudrin

In the family of Old Believers of the Chapel Harmony, who lived in the Perm village of Nozhovka, Ivan Gavrilovich Kudrin, the future famous priest, was born on December 10, 1879. His father, Gavriil Nikolaevich Kudrin, worked at a local factory that produced cast iron and iron. In 1886, the residents of Nozhovka accepted the priesthood of the Belokrinitsky hierarchy. A priest came to the village and for the first time...

Chapter 65. General Lesson

The Gospel contains not only a story about the life and teachings of Jesus Christ - the true God and Son of God. Also on the pages of this holy book are written the names of those who betrayed the Lord, condemned Him to death on the cross and executed Him - the Apostle Judas, the high priests Annas and Caiaphas, the Roman governor Pontius Pilate. Judas betrayed his teacher...

Chapter 66. Bishop Raphael

In the middle of the 19th century, writings preaching a new unusual teaching began to spread among Old Believers. These scriptures stated that wine and potatoes were created by the devil, so Christians should not eat them. The day of the end of the world and the second coming of Christ was predicted. But most importantly, it was announced that the Nikonians believe and worship a different god. Not to the true God...

Chapter 67. Bishop Vincent

No invaders, no foreigners or infidels, no pagans or infidels could come up with torments similar to those that the communists came up with for Russia. Our country has turned into one big prison. The royal hard labor was replaced by camps. They were called correctional labor camps because, according to the Bolsheviks, prisoners had to be reformed through labor. Image of the murdered Nicholas II,...

Chapter 68. Bishop Gerontius

The life of Bishop Gerontius, like a mirror, reflected the history of the Church in the 19th and 20th centuries. Having overcome many difficulties, he managed to maintain his sincere faith and dignity of the rank. Grigory Lakomkin, the future saint, was born on August 1, 1872 in the Kostroma village of Zolotilovo in the family of the priest John Lakomkin. The parish was poor, so the priest's family had to deal...

Chapter 69. Church and war

During 30 years of terror, the Soviet government succeeded in doing what the tsarist government could not do during 250 years of persecution of the Old Believers. The church was almost completely destroyed. The communists imposed huge taxes on the priests. Some, unable to pay them, renounced their rank. Others asked parishioners for help. If the help was insufficient, the priest was forced to sell...

Chapter 70. Andrey Popov

The city of Rzhev has been famous since ancient times for its large Old Believer community. At the beginning of the twentieth century, many residents of Rzhev were adherents of ancient piety. There were two Old Believer churches in the city. To this day, only the bell tower has survived from one, Trinity. But the second, Pokrovsky, has been completely preserved. A wooden church in the name of the Holy Trinity with a stone bell tower and a chapel in the name of the Archangel...

Chapter 71. Semyon Kuznetsov

In 1894, in the Nizhny Novgorod village of Chernukha, Semyon Illarionovich Kuznetsov was born, an Old Believer charter member who lived a surprisingly complex and rich life. Initially, the inhabitants of Chernukha were Nikonians, but were baptized with two fingers. Hilarion, Semyon's father, was still a child when the village heard about the priesthood of the Belokrinitsky hierarchy and accepted it. The local synodal clergy tried to exterminate...

Chapter 72. Ilya Blizhnikov

In 1888, in the village of Krasny Yar near Elisavetgrad, a son, Ilya, was born into the family of Old Believers peasants Ignatius and Paraskovia Blizhnikov. Like his parents, Ilya worked on the land. He mastered the stove business and could build any stove. At the same time, he diligently attended Old Believer churches - there were two of them in the village. Elders served at the temples...

Chapter 73. The Lykov family

In June 1978, geological researchers were looking for iron ore deposits in the upper reaches of the Abakan River. While flying around the deserted taiga in a helicopter, they saw a vegetable garden and a hut on the mountainside. Having chosen a fine day, the researchers went to visit the mysterious forest inhabitants. They came to a hut, blackened by time and rain. The low door creaked. And to the uninvited...

Chapter 74. Metropolitan Alimpiy

In a sad time, when it seemed that God had turned away from Christians, on August 14, 1929, in Nizhny Novgorod, a son, Alexander, the future Metropolitan Alimpiy, was born into the family of Old Believers Kapiton Ivanovich and Alexandra Ivanovna Gusev. His parents were from Lyskovo. My father worked as a blacksmith. When the parents got married, the shipyard began to be rebuilt in...

Chapter 75. Our days

In December 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist, breaking up into 15 independent states. Nowadays more than a million believers belonging to the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church live in them. It is one of the largest religious communities in modern Russia. The Church is headed by the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus'. His location is...

Chapter 76. Metropolitan Leonty

The First World War ended in 1918 with changes in state borders in Europe. Not only Russia, but also Austria lost its ancestral lands: Bukovina, which belonged to it, became part of the Romanian kingdom. In September 1935, Romanian army exercises took place in Bukovina. They were led by King Carol II himself. Together with his retinue...

Chapter 77. Old Believers in Crimea

The Crimean Peninsula is an extraordinary crossroads where different peoples met at different times. Who has this land not seen? Scythians, Greeks, Goths, Huns, Alans, Khazars, Karaites, Jews, Pechenegs, Cumans, Mongols, Tatars. The history of Ancient Rus' is inextricably linked with the peninsula. After all, it was here, in the city of Korsun, that Prince Vladimir, our holy baptist, converted to Christianity...

Chapter 78. Old Believers in Africa

From the Gospel we know that an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, the husband of the Virgin Mary, and ordered him to take the newborn baby Christ and His Mother and flee to Egypt. The Savior was miraculously saved from the cruel massacre of infants committed by King Herod. This is how God the Word revealed himself to the inhabitants of Africa. According to legend, the apostle and evangelist Mark preached the true...

Old Believer Dictionary

Hallelujah is a cry of praise addressed to God in Christian worship. The altar is the main, eastern part of the church, where the altar is located, separated from the rest of the temple by the iconostasis. Anathema is a church curse, excommunication from the Church. Antimins (antimis) - a quadrangular plate with sewn-in particles of relics, necessary for serving the liturgy. Antichrist is the enemy of Christ and the persecutor of Christians, who will reign...

Discuss

Many people ask the question: “Old Believers and Old Believers - what is the difference in terminology and does it exist at all?” The history of the emergence of these unusual groups of people is directly related to one famous person. His name is Nikon, and it was this man who was predicted by fate to lead the Russian Orthodox Church and become the lever that led to the formation of a strange, original culture of Old Believers.

Man as a theory of split

The future patriarch was born into a poor peasant family in May 1605 in the village of Veldemanovo near Nizhny Novgorod. The boy's mother died immediately after his birth, and his father married a second time. The stepmother did not like the child. She starved him and abused him in every possible way.

There is evidence that the woman repeatedly tried to take the life of the named son. But every time Nikita (Nikon received this name at birth) was saved by a happy accident. Later, memories of amazing, fantastic situations where he overcame death gave him confidence in his divine mission.

It was great ambitions that led to the formation of such a movement as the Old Believers. Who they are and what role the patriarch plays in their formation will be discussed further in the material.

The grandmother often stood up for her grandson. Since childhood, the boy was favorable to religious literature. A priest who taught literacy was an ideal for a child. Sometimes Nikita could not sleep. He was constantly plagued by nightmares that he might forget church texts. A devout boy ran away to a monastery without his parents' permission.

In 1624, under the pretext of the fatal condition of his beloved grandmother, the young man was returned home. There he was married to a stranger. Nevertheless, the man did not leave religion. The young husband got a job as a priest in a local church. Then he did not even realize that the ancient Russian Church of the Old Believers, in which Nikon began to rule, would subsequently hate him.

His erudition, deep faith and extreme zeal gave him a good reputation. The merchants who came to the city noticed the talents of the young priest and invited him to move to work in Moscow.

The first steps towards tragedy

The death of all his children was a heavy blow. Nevertheless, in this event he saw a divine symbol. Nikon sent his wife to a monastery and dedicated his life to serving the Almighty.

He achieved success very quickly and soon entered the highest circles of the clergy. Then the idea arose to refresh the church and improve the morality of the people. The ideas that arose during this period later led to a movement that was dubbed the “Old Believers.” They didn’t know who they were until the 17th century. This word appeared after Nikon ascended the patriarchal throne in 1652.

As soon as he mastered the new title, reforms did not slow down. Throughout the Christian history of the Russian lands, the clergy kept their focus on the Byzantine Church. In the mid-1600s, the canons of Russian Orthodoxy were very different from the Greek ones. This led to different methods of performing ceremonies and customs in rituals. Nikon tried in every possible way to correct the differences.

At first, the traditions of Russian and Byzantine churches were identical, but after a certain period of time, the rituals of the latter changed. Most of the features were acquired after the fall of Constantinople.

The conditions for changing customs on Russian lands were strict. Books with ingrained rituals were publicly burned, and those who adhered to the old laws were called heretics.

Consequences of life's mission

Now historians firmly state that if the patriarch had introduced changes gradually, then there would be no such thing as Old Believers. Who they are and what their principles are would not be known to humanity today.

The patriarch's church reform of 1650-1660 was aimed at introducing new and destroying old canons. This became the reason for the emergence of Nikon supporters. On the other side there were adherents of his enemy - Habakkuk. The latter believed that the entries in Russian books better reflected Orthodoxy, and that the Greek works had been incorrectly changed by time.

Regarding the further fate of the man who split the Russian Church, it was disappointing. For a long time, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich respected the patriarch. But due to the aggressive sentiments of a large group of clergy towards Nikon, their relationship cooled.

In 1666, he was demoted from his position and sent to prison in a monastery. This was partly on the initiative of the sovereign. It is worth noting here that although this person lost his respect, the church did not support the Old Believers, and the laws that the priest so ardently defended were adopted at the official level.

The former patriarch spent 15 years in exile. Before his death, Alexey Mikhailovich asked the priest for forgiveness. The Tsar's son, Fyodor, also felt affection for the priest. He allowed him to return from exile. But on the way the old man died. Despite significant protests from the new head of the church, Nikon the reformer was buried as a patriarch. He was buried in the Cathedral of the Resurrection New Jerusalem Monastery. Fyodor Alekseevich himself read the Apostle over him with tears in his eyes.

A 700-year-long road

The Old Believers trace their history back to the times of Kievan Rus. "Who are they?" - a question that requires in-depth analysis.

The theory of their religion arose immediately after the adoption of Christianity by Prince Vladimir. Then the ruler took Greek Orthodoxy as a basis. Since 988, the inhabitants of the great power began to live according to new laws, which in many ways contradicted paganism.

In the course of historical events, since 1439, the Russian Church fell out of the control of Constantinople and began to develop independently. This happened until Nikon came to the patriarchal throne, who in 1653 again set a course for the Greek canons. Of course, decisive changes in the rules caused significant resistance from the masses, who considered the innovations unacceptable and unlawful. There was a public condemnation of all those who ignored Greek laws and continued to adhere to the rites of their ancestors, which had been known since the time of Prince Vladimir. The manner of prayer, the exclamation of “Hallelujah”, the number of prosphoras and the cross of the Old Believers were changed.

The biggest blow for them was the official adoption of innovations. For some time the country was on the verge of a religious war. Repression and persecution began for all those who were against the new products of the church. From now on, those who disagreed were not only called heretics, excommunicated from the Holy Trinity and bombarded with curses, but also physically exterminated. Moreover, all this was done at the national level and with the assistance of the tsarist government.

Religious community as a political threat

During the reign of Peter the Great, a double tax was imposed on the Old Believers. In 1722, a decree was issued on the death penalty for those who would contribute to a split in the church, that is, continue to pray according to old traditions.

By that time, some of the representatives had already begun to go into hiding. Many families left the places where their ancestors lived and worked for centuries. They went to distant, wild lands deep into Russia. Thousands of people left the empire and sought happiness abroad.

During the reign of Catherine II, a policy of religious tolerance was promoted. It was then that the terminology “Old Believers” and “Old Believers” arose. What is the difference between these two concepts?

In no way, they are absolutely identical. The first meaning arose as a word that characterized people who remained true to their religious preferences. All who did not submit to the innovations bore the offensive name of schismatics, heretics and Old Believers. The synonym “Old Believers” was introduced by Catherine II. The queen introduced fresh reforms into the religious sphere of her country. Thus, the persecution of these groups ceased for some time.

Entire families were returning from abroad. But such changes did not last long. Despite the fact that representatives of this movement were socially active and, thanks to their hard work, brought profit to the state, they also posed a great threat to the tsarist regime.

In the rhythm of time

The Orthodox Old Believers were perceived by the authorities as a political movement that played the role of opposition for the imperial court. And indeed, as soon as Catherine II gave them official permission to build churches, this movement founded and organized its own city in a short period of time. Today it is located on the territory of Belarus. In the 18th century there were about 5,000 Old Believers there.

Some of these people were killed by order of the queen. All who remained alive were forcibly resettled to eastern Russia. Their descendants still live there. Today they are known under the name Semeyskie.

It should be noted that other religious minorities, from Protestants to Buddhists, received government support.

According to official sources, in the 19th century, a third of the population of the Russian Empire still lived according to the rules of their ancestors, who were baptized in Kievan Rus.

Later, the authorities began to be more loyal to this movement. More and more often the question arose: “Old Believers - who are they?” Their customs and canons were not considered as those that could damage the integrity of the state. But they were prohibited from building temples, printing books, disseminating teachings, and even holding high positions. Even marriage was illegal for couples.

At the beginning of the 1900s, the rights of this denomination were equal to those of other religious minorities.

Canons are the foundation for disagreement

Before the arrival of Nikon, the Russian people for almost 700 years lived according to the rules that were formed during the baptism of Rus'. The Patriarch introduced a reform, the consequence of which was the split of religion into two strong directions. The first movement were supporters of innovation. Other dissenters found themselves left out of society because they did not accept the proposed theories. So who are the Old Believers, what is the difference between this part of the people and the other?

The first and main difference is the translation and editing of scriptures. The process went down in history under the name “book business.” The Creed, which contains the fundamental tenets of the religion, was also subject to changes. Several important words have been removed or replaced from the text. For example, the Holy Spirit was now used without the characteristic “true”, and in lines that spoke about the future, the phrase “there will be no end” was replaced with “there will be no end.”

In addition, liturgical literature took on a different form. Nikon wrote the Russian word “Isus” in the new style “Iesus”.

The cross of the Old Believers is also a thing of the past. The prayer gesture was previously performed using two fingers (a special arrangement of the fingers of the right hand), but after the reform the church switched to three fingers. Fans of ancient Orthodoxy argued that two fingers are a cross, which symbolizes the divine and human principles. And three folded fingers (three fingers) are a sign of the Trinity, which has nothing to do with the crucifixion.

They bowed differently. Walking around the church was now done against the sun. Hallelujah was sung three times instead of twice. The number of prosphoras has changed.

Ancient culture in the present

The Old Believers preserved the traditions of their ancestors. They can still be seen to this day. In addition to the above canons, they are guided by other laws. The baptism process occurs only through complete immersion three times a day. These people do not recognize four-pointed crucifixes, but such a cross (without Jesus) is present in their homes.

The icons of the Old Believers are still designed in the style that was adopted and approved by the clergy 1000 years ago. The service is based on books that were printed in the period before Nikon’s reforms.

These communities lead a modest lifestyle. They have little fun and are very pious. But their religious holidays are no less fun and colorful than in other religions. The family charter is patriarchal. A woman obeys the orders of her husband and his relatives (even those younger than herself). Since often a small village consists of one family, the guys had to look for girls far away. They travel thousands of kilometers to another community to make matches and get married.

Morality in the theory of life

The Old Believers and Old Believers constantly carried all this knowledge with them. Who they are, the features of their faith, the essence of their principles were understood by Catherine II. It was on the initiative of the queen that these people left the cultivated lands and traveled with their families to an unknown destination to the edge of Russia. There they began a new life, albeit difficult, but free and safe.

Their characteristic feature is boundless love for work and God. These are the rules they follow in life. According to their theory, the Almighty created man similar to himself, therefore it is considered a great sin to change something in one’s appearance. Haircuts and shaving are not practiced.

The prayers of Old Believers occupy a special place in life. It is imperative to talk to the Lord in the morning and evening. If it is difficult to find time at the beginning of the day, then you can say the holy words in a minute free from work during the daylight hours.

The clothing of this community is also unique. They dress festively for church. Men wear caftans, young ladies wear sundresses and scarves. Head coverings for married women are mandatory, since open hair and a naked body are considered great obscenity.

Girls learned the art of tailoring from childhood. Usually, before marriage, they did not do heavy housework, but only observed. From childhood, boys were taught to work in the fields and to farm.

Through the centuries

Today, science is especially interested in a phenomenon called “Old Believers.” Who are they? The photo in the material shows communities from different parts of the world, but they are all united by deep family values.

These people lead a closed lifestyle, rarely give interviews and believe that being on camera is unkind. They believe that photographs take away the divine energy that is stored in the human body. But without alien, unusual equipment, they are good-natured, friendly and pleasant.

Many families still live without electricity or the Internet; they are not interested in the crisis and defaults. Previously, Old Believers did not use money, did not buy clothes, food, medicine, and did not even eat overseas potatoes. They do not visit hospitals and very rarely enjoy the benefits of civilization.

The community lives by its own rules. The father of the family sits down at the table first. Everyone is praying. They all leave the kitchen together. A man should not see how food is prepared, so the door to the room where it is prepared is covered with cloth.

Unneeded by either the church or the state, they managed to preserve the identity and spirituality that the first Christians of Kievan Rus inherited to them. These are people who did not know such vices as alcohol, tobacco and entertainment. But they preserved the science of antiquity. The secret of the past lurks in their souls.

More than three centuries have passed since the church schism of the 17th century, and most people still do not know how the Old Believers differ from Orthodox Christians. Let's figure it out.

Terminology

The distinction between the concepts of “Old Believers” and “Orthodox Church” is quite arbitrary. The Old Believers themselves admit that their faith is Orthodox, and the Russian Orthodox Church is called New Believers or Nikoninans.

In the Old Believer literature of the 17th - first half of the 19th centuries, the term “Old Believer” was not used.

Old Believers called themselves differently. Old Believers, Old Orthodox Christians...The terms “orthodoxy” and “true Orthodoxy” were also used.

In the writings of Old Believer teachers of the 19th century, the term “true Orthodox Church” was often used.

The term “Old Believers” became widespread only towards the end of the 19th century. At the same time, Old Believers of different consents mutually denied each other’s Orthodoxy and, strictly speaking, for them the term “Old Believers” united, on a secondary ritual basis, religious communities deprived of church-religious unity.

Fingers

It is well known that during the schism the two-finger sign of the cross was changed to three-finger. Two fingers are a symbol of the two Hypostases of the Savior (true God and true man), three fingers are a symbol of the Holy Trinity.

The three-finger sign was adopted by the Ecumenical Orthodox Church, which by that time consisted of a dozen independent Autocephalous Churches, after the preserved bodies of the martyrs-confessors of Christianity of the first centuries with folded fingers of the three-finger Sign of the Cross were found in the Roman catacombs. There are similar examples of the discovery of the relics of saints of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.

Vasily Surikov, “Boyaryna Morozova” 1887

It’s not for nothing that I attached to the article this particular work by the artist Surikov, where the character, Boyarina Morozova, demonstrates “two fingers.” A little about the picture itself:

"Boyaryna Morozova"- a gigantic (304 by 586 cm) painting by Vasily Surikov, depicting a scene from the history of the church schism in the 17th century. After its debut at the 15th traveling exhibition in 1887, it was purchased for 25 thousand rubles for the Tretyakov Gallery, where it remains one of the main exhibits.

Surikov’s interest in the topic of Old Believers is associated with his Siberian childhood. In Siberia, where there were many Old Believers, handwritten “lives” of the martyrs of the Old Believer movement, including “The Tale of Boyarina Morozova,” became widespread.

The image of the noblewoman was copied from an Old Believers whom the artist met at the Rogozhskoe cemetery. And the prototype was the artist’s aunt, Avdotya Vasilievna Torgoshina.

The portrait sketch was painted in just two hours. Before this, the artist for a long time could not find a suitable face - bloodless, fanatical, corresponding to the famous description of Habakkuk: “The fingers of your hands are subtle, your eyes are lightning fast, and you rush at your enemies like a lion.”

The figure of the noblewoman on the sliding sledge is a single compositional center around which representatives of the street crowd are grouped, reacting differently to her fanatical readiness to follow her convictions to the end. For some, a woman’s fanaticism evokes hatred, mockery or irony, but the majority look at her with sympathy. A hand raised high in a symbolic gesture is like a farewell to old Russia, to which these people belong.

Agreements and rumors

The Old Believers are far from homogeneous. There are several dozen agreements and even more Old Believer rumors. There is even a saying: “No matter what a man is, no matter what a woman is, there is agreement.” There are three main “wings” of the Old Believers: priests, non-priests and co-religionists.

Name of Jesus

During the Nikon reform, the tradition of writing the name “Jesus” was changed. The double sound “and” began to convey the duration, the “drawn-out” sound of the first sound, which in the Greek language is indicated by a special sign, which has no analogue in the Slavic language, therefore the pronunciation of “Jesus” is more consistent with the Universal practice of sounding the Savior. However, the Old Believer version is closer to the Greek source.

Differences in the Creed

During the “book reform” of the Nikon reform, changes were made to the Creed: the conjunction-opposition “a” was removed in the words about the Son of God “born, not made.”

From the semantic opposition of properties, a simple enumeration was thus obtained: “begotten, not created.”

The Old Believers sharply opposed the arbitrariness in the presentation of dogmas and were ready to suffer and die “for a single az” (that is, for one letter “a”).

In total, about 10 changes were made to the Creed, which was the main dogmatic difference between the Old Believers and the Nikonians.

Towards the sun

By the middle of the 17th century, a universal custom had been established in the Russian Church to perform a procession of the cross. The church reform of Patriarch Nikon unified all rituals according to Greek models, but the innovations were not accepted by the Old Believers. As a result, New Believers perform the anti-salting movement during religious processions, and Old Believers perform religious processions during salting.

∗ Salting is a movement across the sun that helps increase vitality and accelerate spiritual evolution.

Ties and sleeves

In some Old Believer churches, in memory of the executions during the Schism, it is forbidden to come to services with rolled up sleeves and ties. Rolled up sleeves are associated there with executioners, and ties with gallows.

Question of the cross

Old Believers recognize only the eight-pointed cross, while after Nikon’s reform in Orthodoxy four and six-pointed crosses were recognized as equally honorable. On the crucifixion tablet of the Old Believers it is usually written not I.N.C.I., but “King of Glory.” Old Believers do not have an image of Christ on their body crosses, since it is believed that this is a person’s personal cross.

A deep and blatant Hallelujah

During Nikon's reforms, the pronounced (that is, double) pronunciation of “halleluia” was replaced by a triple (that is, triple). Instead of “Alleluia, alleluia, glory to you, God,” they began to say “Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to you, God.”

According to New Believers, the triple utterance of alleluia symbolizes the dogma of the Holy Trinity.

However, Old Believers argue that the strict pronunciation together with “glory to Thee, O God” is already a glorification of the Trinity, since the words “glory to Thee, O God” are one of the translations into the Slavic language of the Hebrew word Alleluia (“praise God”).

Bows at the service

At services in Old Believer churches, a strict system of bows has been developed; replacing prostrations with bows from the waist is prohibited. There are four types of bows: “regular” - bow to the chest or to the navel; “medium” - in the waist; small bow to the ground - “throwing” (not from the verb “to throw”, but from the Greek “metanoia” = repentance); great prostration (proskynesis).

Throwing was banned by Nikon in 1653. He sent out a “memory” to all Moscow churches, which said: “It is not appropriate to do throwing on your knees in church, but you should bow to your waist.”

Hands cross

During services in the Old Believer church, it is customary to fold your arms with a cross on your chest.

Beads

Orthodox and Old Believer rosaries are different. Orthodox rosaries can have a different number of beads, but most often rosaries with 33 beads are used, according to the number of earthly years of Christ’s life, or a multiple of 10 or 12.

In the Old Believers of almost all agreements, the lestovka* is actively used - a rosary in the form of a ribbon with 109 “beans” (“steps”), divided into unequal groups. Let us turn once again to Surikov’s painting:

∗ Lestovka — in the noblewoman's hand. Leather Old Believer rosary in the form of steps of a ladder - a symbol of spiritual ascent, hence the name. At the same time, the ladder is closed in a ring, which means unceasing prayer. Every Christian Old Believer should have his own ladder for prayer.

Full immersion baptism

Old Believers accept baptism only by complete threefold immersion, while in Orthodox churches baptism by pouring and partial immersion is allowed.

Monodic singing

After the split of the Orthodox Church, the Old Believers did not accept either the new polyphonic style of singing or the new system of musical notation. Kryuk singing (znamenny and demestvennoe), preserved by the Old Believers, got its name from the method of recording a melody with special signs - “banners” or “hooks”.