Who are the Old Believers? Church schism of the 17th century in Russia and the Old Believers

Qualifying the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate as non-Orthodox. Priests consider the New Believers to be heretics of the "second rank" (for admission into prayerful communion, from whom chrismation is enough, and such a reception is carried out, as a rule, with the preservation of the spiritual dignity of a person passing into the Old Believers) ^ ^; most of the Bespriests (except for the chapels and some netovites) consider the New Believers to be heretics of the "first rank", for the reception of which in prayer communion, those who convert to the Old Believers must be baptized.

Based on their views on church history, the Bespriests distinguish between the concepts of “Old Orthodox Christianity” in general (the right faith, in their opinion, coming from Christ and the apostles) and the Old Believers in particular (opposition to Nikon’s reforms that arose in the middle of the 17th century).

The largest Old Believer organization in modern Russia --- The Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church --- refers to the priests.

Overview of the history of the Old Believers

Followers of the Old Believers count their history from the Baptism of Russia by Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, who adopted Orthodoxy from the Greeks. Union of Florence (1439) with the Latins served main reason for the separation of the Russian Local Church from the Uniate Patriarch of Constantinople and the creation of an autonomous Russian Local Church in 1448, when the Council of Russian Bishops appointed itself a metropolitan without the participation of the Greeks. The Local Stoglavy Cathedral of 1551 in Moscow enjoys great prestige among the Old Believers. Since 1589, the Russian church began to be headed by a patriarch.

Nikon's reforms, begun in 1653, to unify Russian rites and worship according to modern Greek models for that time, met with strong resistance from supporters of the old rites. In 1656, at the local council of the Russian Church, all those who were baptized with two fingers were declared heretics, excommunicated from the Trinity and cursed. In 1667 the Great Moscow Cathedral took place. The Council approved the books of the new press, approved the new rites and rites, and imposed oaths and anathemas on the old books and rites. The adherents of the old rites were again declared heretics. The country was on the brink of a religious war. The first to revolt was the Solovetsky Monastery, which was ravaged by archers in 1676. In 1681, a local council of the Russian Church was held; the cathedral persistently asked the tsar for executions, for decisive physical reprisal against the Old Believer books, churches, sketes, monasteries and over the people of the Old Believers themselves. Immediately after the cathedral, the massacres began. In 1682, a mass execution of the Old Believers took place --- four prisoners were burned in a log house. The ruler Sophia, at the request of the clergy, the council of 1681---1682, issued in 1685 the famous "12 articles" --- state universal laws, on the basis of which they were subsequently subjected to various executions: exiles, prisons, torture, burning alive in log cabins thousands of old believers. Throughout the entire post-reform period, the New Believer cathedrals and synods used a variety of means against the old rite: slander, lies, forgeries. Particularly famous are such forgeries as the Council Act on the heretic Armenin, on the mniha Martin and Theognostov Trebnik. To combat the old rite, Anna Kashinsky was also decanonized in 1677.

However, the repressions of the tsarist government against the Old Believers did not destroy this trend in Russian Christianity. In the 19th century, according to some opinions, up to a third of the Russian population were Old Believers^ ^. The Old Believer merchants grew rich and even partly became the main pillar of entrepreneurship in the 19th century. Socio-economic flourishing was the result of a change in state policy towards the Old Believers. The authorities compromised by introducing common faith. In 1846, thanks to the efforts of the Greek Metropolitan Ambrose, expelled from the Bosno-Sarajevo see by the Turks, the Old Believers-beglopopovtsy managed to restore church hierarchy on the territory of Austria-Hungary among the refugees. Belokrinitsky consent appeared. However, not all Old Believers accepted the new metropolitan, partly because of doubts about the truth of his baptism (Greek Orthodoxy practiced "pouring", not full baptism). Ambrose elevated 10 people to various degrees of priesthood. Initially, Belokrinitsky consent was valid among emigrants. They managed to draw the Nekrasov Don Cossacks into their ranks. In 1849, the Belokrinitsky consent extended to Russia, when the first bishop of the Belokrinitsky hierarchy in Russia, Sophrony, was elevated to the dignity. In 1859 he was consecrated Archbishop of Moscow and All Russia Anthony, who in 1863 became a metropolitan. At the same time, the reconstruction of the hierarchy was complicated by internal conflicts between Bishop Sophrony and Archbishop Anthony. In 1862, the Okrug Epistle, which took a step towards New Rite Orthodoxy, produced great discussions among the Old Believers. The oppositionists of this document made up the sense of the neo-okruzhnikov.

Article 60 of the Charter on the prevention and suppression of crimes stated: “Schismatics are not persecuted for their opinions about faith; but it is forbidden for them to seduce and incline anyone into their schism under any guise. They were forbidden to build churches, start sketes, and even repair existing ones, as well as publish any books according to which their rites were performed. The Old Believers were limited in holding public positions. The religious marriage of the Old Believers, unlike the religious marriages of other faiths, was not recognized by the state. Until 1874, all children of the Old Believers were considered illegitimate. Since 1874, a civil marriage was introduced for the Old Believers: “Marriages of schismatics acquire civilly, by recording in the special parish registers established for this, the strength and consequences of a legal marriage” ^ ^.

Some restrictions for the Old Believers (in particular, the ban on holding public office) were abolished in 1883 ^ ^.

The Soviet authorities in the RSFSR and later the USSR treated the Old Believers relatively favorably until the end of the 1920s in line with their policy of supporting currents opposed to Patriarch Tikhon. The Great Patriotic War was greeted ambiguously: most of the Old Believers called for defending the Motherland, but there were exceptions, for example, the Republic of Zueva or the Old Believers of the village of Lampovo, whose Fedoseyevites became malicious collaborators ^ ^.

There is no consensus among researchers regarding the number of Old Believers. This is due both to the desire of the official authorities of the Russian Empire to underestimate the number of Old Believers in their reports, and the lack of full-fledged scientific research dedicated to this topic. The cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church, John Sevastyanov, considers “a quite adequate figure for the beginning of the 20th century.<...>4-5 million people out of 125 million population of the Russian Empire»^ ^.

In the post-war period, according to the memoirs of Bishop Evmeny (Mikheev), “in places where the Old Believers traditionally lived, being a communist in public and attending church secretly was never something out of the ordinary. They were not militant atheists. After all, many believers were forced to join the CPSU in order to have a decent job or to occupy some kind of leadership position. Therefore, there were quite a lot of such people.

Reforms of Patriarch Nikon

In the course of the reform undertaken by Patriarch Nikon in 1653, the liturgical tradition of the Russian Church, which had developed in the XIV---XVI centuries, was changed in the following points:

1. The so-called " book on the right", expressed in editing the texts of Holy Scripture and liturgical books, which led to changes, in particular, in the text of the translation of the Creed adopted in the Russian Church: the union-opposition "a" in the words about faith in the Son of God was removed " born, and not created”, the Kingdom of God began to be spoken of in the future (“there will be no end”), and not in the present tense (“there is no end”), the word “True” was excluded from the definition of the properties of the Holy Spirit. Many other corrections were also made to historical liturgical texts, for example, another letter was added to the word “Jesus” (under the title “Ic”) and it began to be written “Jesus” (under the title “Іс”).
2. Replacement of the two-fingered sign of the cross with a three-fingered sign and the abolition of the so-called. throwing, or small bows to the earth --- in 1653, Nikon sent a “memory” to all Moscow churches, which said: “it is not appropriate in the church to do throwing on your knee, but to bow to your belt; even with three fingers they would be baptized.”
3. Nikon ordered the religious processions to be carried out in the opposite direction (against the sun, and not salting).
4. The exclamation " hallelujah"During singing in honor of the Holy Trinity, they began to pronounce not twice (a special hallelujah), but three times (trigus).
5. The number of prosphora on proskomedia and the inscription of the seal on prosphora have been changed.

Modernity

Currently, the Old Believer communities, in addition to Russia, are in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Poland, Belarus, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, USA, Canada and a number of Latin American countries ^ ^, as well as in Australia.

The largest modern Orthodox Old Believer religious organization in Russia and beyond its borders is the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church (Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy, founded in 1846), with about a million parishioners; has two centers --- in Moscow and Braila, Romania. In 2007, an independent Old Orthodox Church of Christ of the Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy was formed by a number of clerics and laity of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Total population Old Believers in Russia, according to a rough estimate, over 2 million people. Russians predominate among them, but there are also Ukrainians, Belarusians, Karelians, Finns, Komi, Udmurts, Chuvashs and others.

On March 3, 2016, a round table on the topic “Actual problems of the Old Believers” was held at the Moscow House of Nationalities, which was attended by representatives of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church, the Russian Old Orthodox Church and the Old Orthodox Pomeranian Church^ ^. The representation was the highest --- the Moscow Metropolitan Kornily (Titov), ​​the Old Orthodox Patriarch Alexander (Kalinin) and the Pomeranian spiritual mentor Oleg Rozanov. A meeting at such a high level between different branches of Orthodoxy was held for the first time ^ ^.

October 1 and 2, 2018 at the House of Russian Abroad named after A. I. Solzhenitsyn, the World Old Believer Forum was held, which brought together representatives of all major concords to solve common problems, preserve those spiritual and cultural values ​​that unite modern Old Believers, despite doctrinal differences ^ ^.

The main currents of the Old Believers

clergy

One of the broadest currents of the Old Believers. It arose as a result of a split and was consolidated in the last decade of the 17th century.

It is noteworthy that Archpriest Avvakum himself spoke out in favor of accepting the priesthood from the New Believer church: “And even in Orthodox churches, where singing is unadulterated inside the altar and on wings, and the priest is newly installed, judge about this --- if he curses the priest Nikonians and their service and with all his strength loves the old days: according to the needs of the present for the sake of time, let there be a priest. How can the world be without priests? Come to those churches”^ ^.

At first, the priests were forced to accept priests who defected from the Russian Orthodox Church for various reasons. For this, the priests received the name "beglopopovtsy". Due to the fact that many archbishops and bishops either joined the new church or were otherwise repressed, the Old Believers could not ordain deacons, priests or bishops themselves. In the 18th century, several self-proclaimed bishops were known (Afinogen, Anfim), who were exposed by the Old Believers.

When receiving fugitive New Believer priests, the priests, referring to the decisions of various Ecumenical and local councils, proceeded from the reality of ordination in the Russian Orthodox Church and the possibility of receiving three-immersion baptized New Believers, including the priesthood in the second rank (through chrismation and renunciation of heresies), in view of the fact that Apostolic succession in this church was preserved, despite the reforms.

In 1846, after the conversion of the Bosnian Metropolitan Ambrose to the Old Believers, the Belokrinitskaya hierarchy arose, which is currently one of the largest Old Believer directions that accept the priesthood. Most of the Old Believers accepted the Old Believer hierarchy, but the third part went into priestlessness.

In dogma, the priests differ little from the New Believers, but at the same time they adhere to the old --- pre-Conian --- rites, liturgical books and church traditions.

The number of priests at the end of the 20th century is about 1.5 million people, most of which are concentrated in Russia (the largest groups are in the Moscow and Rostov regions).

Currently, the priests are divided into two main groups: the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church and the Russian Old Orthodox Church.

unanimity

In 1800, for the Old Believers, who came under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church, but retained all the pre-reform rituals, Metropolitan Platon (Levshin) established "points of common faith." The Old Believers themselves, who transferred to the Synodal Church with the preservation of the old rites, books and traditions, began to be called fellow believers.

Edinoverie has a legitimate priesthood, chirotonic succession, and Eucharistic communion with the community of local Orthodox Churches.

Today, in the bosom of the Russian Orthodox Church, there is a unity of faith (Orthodox Old Believers) --- parishes in which all pre-reform rites are preserved, but at the same time they recognize the hierarchical jurisdiction of the ROC and ROCOR (see for example: Bishop John (Berzin), Bishop of Caracas and South American, administrator of ROCOR parishes of the same faith).

Bezpopovstvo

It arose in the 17th century after the death of priests of the old ordination. After the split, there was not a single bishop in the ranks of the Old Believers, with the exception of Pavel Kolomensky, who died back in 1654 and left no successor. According to canonical rules, the church hierarchy cannot exist without a bishop, since only a bishop has the right to consecrate a priest and a deacon. The Old Believer priests of the pre-Nikonian order soon died. A part of the Old Believers, who did not recognize the canonicity of the priests appointed to their positions according to new, reformed books, was forced to deny the possibility of preserving the “true” clergy in the world, and formed a priestless sense. Old Believers (officially referred to as Old Orthodox Christians who do not accept the priesthood), who rejected the priests of the new setting, left completely without priests, began to be called in everyday life bespopovtsy, they began to worship, if possible, to conduct the so-called. lay rank, in which there are no elements carried out by the priest.

Bespopovtsy originally settled in wild uninhabited places on the coast of the White Sea and therefore began to be called Pomors. Other major centers of the Bespopovtsy were the Olonets Territory (modern Karelia) and the Kerzhenets River in the Nizhny Novgorod lands. Subsequently, new divisions arose in the non-priest movement and new accords were formed: Danilov (Pomor), Fedoseev, Filipov, chapel, Spasovo, Aristovo and others, smaller and more exotic, such as srednikov, dyrnikov and runners.

In the 19th century, the Fedoseevsky community of the Preobrazhensky cemetery in Moscow, in which the Old Believer merchants and owners of manufactories played a leading role, became the largest center of priestlessness. At present, the largest associations of priestlessness are the Old Orthodox Pomor Church and the Old Orthodox Old Pomor Church of the Fedoseev Accord.

According to Dmitry Urushev: “But not all Old Believer communities have stood the test of time. To this day, many agreements, which were once very numerous, have not reached. The communities of the Fedoseyevites and the Spasovites thinned out. One can count on one's fingers the runners, the Melchizedeks, the Ryabinovites, the self-crosses, the Titlovites, and the Filippovites.

In a number of cases, some pseudo-Christian sects have been and are still being referred to as non-priestly consents on the grounds that the followers of these sects also reject being served by the official priesthood.

Distinctive features

Liturgical and ritual features

Differences between the "Old Orthodox" service and the "general Orthodox":

• Two-fingered sign of the cross.
• Baptism is only by thrice total immersion.
• Exclusive use of the eight-pointed Crucifix; the four-pointed Crucifix is ​​not used, as it is considered Latin. A simple four-pointed cross (without the Crucifixion) is venerated.
• Name spelling Jesus with one letter "i", without the modern Greek addition of the second letter I and sus, which corresponded to the rules of the Slavic spelling of the name of Christ: cf. Ukrainian Jesus Christ, Belarusian Jesus Christos, Serb. Jesus, Rusyn. Jesus Christ, Macedon. Jesus Christ, Bosn. Jesus, Croatian Jesus
• secular types of singing are not allowed: opera, partes, chromatic, etc. Church singing remains strictly monodic, unison.
• the service is held according to the Jerusalem Rule in the version of the ancient Russian typikon "Church Eye".
• there are no abbreviations and replacements characteristic of the New Believers. Kathismas, stichera and songs of the canons are performed in full.
• akathists are not used (with the exception of the “Akathist about the Most Holy Theotokos”) and other later prayer compositions.
• the Lenten service of Passion, which is of Catholic origin, is not served.
• the initial and initial bows are preserved.
• the synchronicity of ritual actions is maintained (the ritual of conciliar prayer): the sign of the cross, bows, etc. are performed by the worshipers at the same time.
• Great Agiasma is the water consecrated on the eve of the Epiphany.
• The procession takes place according to the sun (clockwise).
• in most movements, the presence of Christians in ancient Russian prayer clothes is approved: caftans, kosovorotkas, sundresses, etc.
• more widely used gossips in church reading.
• the use of some pre-schism terms and the Old Slavonic spelling of some words are preserved (Psalt s ri, yer about salim, dove s d , Prev about flow, Sa in aty, E centuries a, a priestly monk (not a hieromonk), etc.) --- see the list of differences.

Symbol of faith

In the course of the “book right”, a change was made to the Creed: the union was removed - the opposition “a” in the words about the Son of God “born, not created”. From the semantic opposition of properties, a simple enumeration was thus obtained: "born, not created." The Old Believers sharply opposed arbitrariness in the presentation of dogmas and were ready "for a single az" (that is, for one letter "") to go to suffering and death.

The Old Believers believe that the Greek words in the text --- τò Κύριον --- mean Dominant and True(i.e Lord True), and that, by the very meaning of the Creed, it is required to confess the Holy Spirit as true, as they confess in the same Creed God the Father and God the Son True (in the 2nd part: “Light from Light, God is True from God is true”)^ ^^ :26^.

Augmented alleluia

In the course of Nikon's reforms, the purely (that is, double) pronunciation of "alleluia", which means "praise God" in Hebrew, was replaced by a three-lip (that is, triple). Instead of "Alleluia, alleluia, glory to you God" they began to say "Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to You, God." According to the Greek-Russians (New Believers), the triple pronunciation of alleluia symbolizes the dogma of the Holy Trinity. However, the Old Believers argue that the pure pronunciation together with “glory to Thee, God” is already a glorification of the Trinity, since the words “glory to Thee, God” are one of the translations into the Slavic language of the Hebrew word Alleluia ^ ^.

According to the Old Believers, the ancient church said “alleluia” twice, and therefore the Russian pre-schism church knew only a double alleluia. Studies have shown that in the Greek Church the triple alleluia was rarely practiced initially, and began to prevail there only in the 17th century ^ ^. The double alleluia was not an innovation that appeared in Russia only in the 15th century, as supporters of the reforms claim, and even less an error or a misprint in the old liturgical books. The Old Believers point out that the triple alleluia was condemned by the ancient Russian Church and the Greeks themselves, for example, by St. Maxim the Greek and at the Stoglavy Cathedral^ ^^:24^.

bows

It is not allowed to replace earth bows with waist bows.

Bows are of four types:

1. "usual" --- a bow to the chest or to the navel;
2. "medium" --- in the belt;
3. a small prostration --- “throwing” (not from the verb “to throw”, but from the Greek “metanoia” = repentance);
4. great bow to the earth (proskineza).

Among the New Believers, both for the clergy, and for the monastics, and for the laity, it is prescribed to bow only two types: waist and earthly (throwing).

The "usual" bow accompanies censing, lighting candles and lamps; others are performed during conciliar and cell prayer according to strictly established rules.

With a great bow to the earth, the knees and head must be bowed to the ground (floor). Upon completion of the sign of the cross, the outstretched palms of both hands are placed on the armrest, both side by side, and then the head is tilted to the ground so much that the head touches the hands on the armrest: they also kneel to the ground together, without spreading them.

Throws are performed quickly, one after the other, which removes the requirement to bow the head to the handler.

Liturgical singing

Tuva

Apocrypha

Apocrypha were widespread in Russia among Christians even before the schism, and some of the Old Believers had an interest in apocrypha, most often eschatological. Some of them are named and condemned in the “District message” of 1862: “Vision of ap. Paul", "Walking of the Virgin through the torments", "Dream of the Virgin", "Walking of the elder Agapius to Paradise", as well as "The Tale of the Twelve Fridays", "The Epistle of the Week", "The Conversation of the Three Hierarchs", "Jerusalem List", etc. .In the XVIII---XIX centuries. A number of original apocryphal works appear mainly among the non-priests: the Apocalypse of the Seventh, “The Book of Eustathius the Theologian on the Antichrist”, “Amphilochian’s Interpretation of the Second Song of Moses”, “A Word from the Elderhood, in which the monk Zechariah talked to his disciple Stephen about the Antichrist”, a false interpretation of Dan 2 41-42, 7. 7, “The Tale of the Hawk Moth, from the Gospel Talks”, the notebook “On the Creation of Wine” (supposedly from the documents of the Stoglav Cathedral), “On the Bulba” from the book of Pandok, “On the Spiritual Antichrist”, and also “ notebook”, in which the date of the end of the world is named (District message, pp. 16-23). There were Old Believer apocryphal writings directed against the use of potatoes (“King named Mamer”, with reference to the book Pandok); essays containing a ban on the use of tea (“In which house a samovar and dishes, do not enter that house until five years old”, with reference to the 68th law of the Carth. Cathedral, “Whoever drinks tea, he despairs of the future century”), coffee ("Whoever drinks coffee, an evil kov starts in him") and tobacco, attributed to Theodore IV Balsamon and John Zonara; essays against wearing ties (“The legend of the boards, the nets wear, written out from Kronikos, that is, the Latin Chronicler”). The ban on reading the writings named in the "District Message" was valid only among the Old Believers

To many, the Old Believers seem to be a kind of monolithic formation. Meanwhile, it is rather complexly structured both in church and social terms - from taiga sketes to completely secular urban strata. Moreover, the Old Believers are fragmented, consisting of small and large groups of believers who communicate little with each other. With some Old Believer agreements and groups of believers, a dialogue, and a productive dialogue, is possible, with others it is simply unthinkable. Some Old Believer communities consist, by definition of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church 1971, from "Orthodox believing Christians", others, depending on the degree of self-isolation, gradually take the path of acquiring signs of sectarian formations. It is clear that, therefore, a constructive dialogue is not possible in principle with all Old Believers.

Let us make some preliminary remarks. With all the clarity of the concept of dialogue, as a conversation or negotiations between two parties, church life has developed its own stereotype of understanding this term. Here, dialogue is usually understood as an organized bilateral negotiation process pursuing some positive goal - the unification of the Churches, the creation of a common doctrinal formula, etc. In relation to the Old Believers, for the time being, in reality, we can only talk about trying to find mutual language for a potential dialogue. Therefore, it would be more correct to call this phase of relations, for example, interviews, meaning by them such a form of dialogue, when the goal is not to create some kind of joint product, but simply to try to understand each other. To begin further movement forward, it is necessary to come to an understanding, preferably mutual, of what specifically separates us. And for this we need meetings, interviews, maybe even discussions, although they are not formally binding, but allow us to better understand each other.

Today it is important that the results of such interviews become available to the entire Russian Orthodox community, that is, both for the children of the Russian Orthodox Church and for the Old Believers, since they can bring undoubted benefits to both. In our opinion, it is the possibility of self-deepening into Russian national history that is valuable in such interviews, since it can contribute to the search constructive solutions for the future.

If we talk about the problems that arise in today's attempts to establish communication with the Old Believers, then one such problem has already been named - so far not only has there been no joint attempt to objectively comprehend the phenomena of the past from the standpoint of modernity, but there is no common terminological base for this. Let us give a simple example: the absolute majority of representatives of one of the two largest concords of Old Believers-priests, who have had their own small theological seminary for several years, rightly assert that the members of this concord have ritual and canonical disagreements with the Russian Orthodox Church, but no dogmatic, dogmatic ones; many representatives of the other consensus constantly emphasize the presence of dogmatic differences, invariably citing ritual ones as an example.

This is another problem in establishing communication. On the one hand, in pre-schism books, say, the sign of the cross, in accordance with the worldview of that time, was called a "dogma", which causes difficulties in attempts at mutual understanding, but difficulties can be overcome if the value of mastering the historical and theological sciences is not fundamentally denied. But, on the other hand, over the past 10-15 years, large Old Believer agreements have absorbed enough a large number of people not brought up in the Old Believer tradition, but militantly opposed to the Russian Orthodox Church. These people are characterized by aggression and intransigence, which is surprising for church-going Christians. With activity characteristic of neophytes, they tirelessly seek out more and more "heresies" in the Russian Orthodox Church, introducing all sorts of discord and nervousness into the ranks of their community. I don't want to be wrong, but it seems healthy in spirit and adherents of church antiquity, primordially belonging to the Old Believers, nevertheless intuitively began to recognize clearly alien voices in their midst, quite frankly conducted by the same wand that controls the so-called "alternative Orthodoxy."

Unfortunately, some mass media create a certain problem in the development of communication, especially secular media, which are used to looking for sensationalism and are not burdened with a sense of responsibility for the content of their publications. Of course, a developed church consciousness cannot recognize the state of church schism as a natural and normal phenomenon. But the feeling of grief should not obscure the sense of reality - there is no talk of any unification with the Old Believers at the present time. No matter how loudly the Christian conscience calls us to put an end to, and quickly, with the sin of schism, we must proceed from objective reality. Healing the centuries-old schism that gave rise to violence, and resentment, and distrust, and mutual alienation, if possible in principle, requires a subtle, delicate approach that does not tolerate fuss and haste. There are now quite a few people in the Old Believers who are not ready not only for dialogue, but even for communication with the Orthodox. It should be welcomed in every possible way that the majority of contemporary leaders of the Old Believers are ready to communicate and cooperate with the Russian Orthodox Church. And more than once one has heard fair complaints from these people about mass media reports about supposedly ongoing negotiations on unification. Such messages today can be assessed as provocative, perhaps only aiming to complicate communication, since they are not true and because the reaction to such messages different groups believers can vary greatly. It should be remembered that Christian virtue is quiet and not loud by its nature, and its opponents, no matter how modest their number, are capable of destroying much and confusing many hearts.

In general, we can say that relations with the Old Believers are now developing dynamically, although not without certain difficulties. And the main goal of these relations at the present time could be called the achievement of a conscious understanding not only by many Old Believer leaders, but also by the majority of believers, that maintaining communion with the Russian Orthodox Church today is not only useful for them, but also necessary for us. And today we are not talking about prayerful communion, which many Old Believers are afraid of, concerned about preserving their identity. When preserving national identity is on the agenda, it makes sense to look at least a little above your fence. And what if behind this fence is not an enemy, but a neighbor who is threatened by the same dangers, hardly surmountable alone?

Old Believers. Strokes to a historical portrait

The history of dialogue with the Old Believers has existed for as long as the Old Believers themselves have existed. For almost 350 years, a vast experience of controversy with "zealots of ancient piety" has been accumulated. A dialogue with them is still ongoing, but few of his contemporaries are familiar with him.

The state authorities and the official Church initially treated the Old Believers as heretics and persecuted them. The scale of the persecution was by no means invented by the Old Believers themselves, for it was precisely these persecutions that gave rise to a schism in the Russian Church. The former Greek hierarchs at the Council of 1666-1667 advised the tsar to use executions against "schismatics". Fearing executions, crowds of thousands of adherents of the old faith went into the dense forests or went abroad. Those whom the persecutors managed to find preferred self-immolation to torture. According to the historian of the Church A.V. Kartashev, by 1690 more than 20 thousand people had died in self-immolations.

Secular power and the Old Believers

It should be especially noted that it was the state power that initiated both the liturgical reform and the persecution of the Old Believers.

The Old Believers suffered especially severe persecution under Princess Sophia. For adherence to the old faith then they could even be executed. During the time of Peter I, there were no open persecutions of the Old Believers, but at the same time, the Old Believer population was subject to a double tax. During the reign of Catherine II, the Old Believers did not experience any special harassment from the state. The benevolent policy was continued by the emperors Paul I and Alexander I. Under Nicholas I, new persecutions began: Old Believer churches and monasteries were closed and turned into Orthodox or co-religious ones. Little is known about the fact that the writer P.I. Melnikov-Pechersky, who wrote the novels "In the Forests" and "On the Mountains", was an official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and during the "anti-schismatic" campaign he was personally involved in the liquidation of the Old Believers' sketes, having won a special dislike of the Old Believers.

During the reign of Emperors Alexander II and Alexander III, the oppression of the Old Believers began to subside. And under Nicholas II, after the publication in 1905 of the "Manifesto on the Principles of Tolerance", the Old Believers received freedom. The period between the two revolutions in the history of the Old Believers is called by many researchers the "Golden Age". During this time, the Old Believers built more than a thousand churches; Congresses and Councils were held almost annually, several unions and brotherhoods were created. In 1912, the Old Believer Pedagogical Institute was opened at the Rogozhsky cemetery with a 6-year training program, led by the father of the future academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences B.A. Rybakov. The institute did not wait for its first graduation: in 1916, all senior students were sent to the army. Everything that had been achieved was finally destroyed after 1917. The Old Believers, like all Christians, began to be persecuted by the new government, new martyrs for the old faith appeared.

Evgeny Yuferev

Church and Old Believers

The Old Believers were relatively unified only during the lifetime of such "zealots of ancient piety" as Archpriest Avvakum, Deacon Theodore, and others. After their death, various trends began to emerge among the Old Believers. Some of the Old Believers refused to accept priests from the Russian Church and, consequently, were left without a priesthood at all. The name "bespopovtsy" stuck behind them. Another, less radical part of the Old Believers did not abandon the "fugitive" priesthood - these are the so-called "priests". Both the "priests" and the "non-priests" were divided, in turn, into various "talks" and "consent".

The official Church continued to treat the Old Believers as heretics. Metropolitan Dimitry of Rostov in his "Search on the schismatic Bryn faith" wrote that the Old Believers believe in "another Jesus", in "an equal-eared one". The fact is that, in accordance with the ancient tradition, the Old Believers write the name "Isus" with one letter "i". Metropolitan Demetrius noted that such a spelling is similar to the Greek word, which translates as "equal-eared." Such a low level of argumentation did not contribute to the dialogue, but, unfortunately, it was precisely this that was entrenched and used by the Synodal missionaries in polemics with the Old Believers. The tradition of such criticism was supported by such hierarchs of the Orthodox Church as Archbishop Pitirim of Nizhny Novgorod, Bishop Ignatius of Tobolsk, and Metropolitan Arseny of Rostov.

This level of controversy revolted not only the Old Believers, but also fellow believers. Co-religionists are Orthodox Christian Old Believers who have joined the Orthodox Church on the terms of the full preservation of the pre-Nikonian rite. In the 18th century, several cases of joining the Old Believers to the Orthodox Church on these conditions were noted. For example, the founder of the Sarov Hermitage, Hieromonk Isaac († 1737), persuaded a Fedoseevite named John to join the Orthodox Church. And in 1799, a whole group of Rogozhsky Old Believers turned to Metropolitan Platon with a request to join them to the Orthodox Church. In response to this petition, Metropolitan Platon wrote the Rules or Points of Common Faith. According to them, the oaths of the Council of 1666-1667 for the old rites were removed only from those Old Believers who joined the Orthodox Church. Fellow believers were allowed to take communion in New Believer churches, but at the same time, New Believers were forbidden to take communion in a fellow faith church. Only in case of emergency, in the absence of a New Believer priest in the district, the New Believer could accept the parting word of a fellow-faith priest. These restrictions were abolished at the Local Council of 1917-1918.

Due to the preservation of oaths to the old rites, the Old Believers were in no hurry to join the Orthodox Church. Only in 1971 were the old and new rites recognized as equally salvific. The resolutions of the Council of 1971 created new conditions for relations with the Old Believers. After that, the walls of the theological schools of the Russian Orthodox Church were opened for the Old Believers, which made it possible to receive higher theological education for such representatives of the modern Old Believers as Ivan Mirolyubov, Bishop Anthony (Baskakov, Old Orthodox Church of Russia) and Archbishop Alexander (Kalinin) (Russian Old Orthodox Church).

In the 19th century, state power, in fact, used the common faith to abolish the Old Believers. In the Russian Empire, Old Believer monasteries and sketes were closed by violent means. They were either completely destroyed or handed over to fellow believers. In particular, in the 1840s-1850s, the well-known Old Believer center in Moscow - the Rogozhskoye cemetery - was transferred to fellow believers, as part of its parishioners joined the common faith. One of the Rogozhsky churches - Nikolsky - became one of the same faith, and at the request of Metropolitan Filaret (Drozdov) the altars were sealed in the Pokrovsky Cathedral. Again they were opened only in 1905 by decree of Tsar Nicholas II.

In 1862, the so-called District Message appeared among the Belokrinitsky Old Believers. Its purpose was to get rid of some "priestless" ideas from among the Old Believers - "priests", which they mistakenly accepted as true. The Epistle asserted that the Russian Orthodox Church is the True Church, and the name Jesus in the new spelling is not the name of the Antichrist. The message caused a split, which the Belokrinitsky Old Believers failed to heal. Subsequently, the "optokruzhniki" lost their hierarchy, but their small communities existed in Guslitsy near Moscow until recently.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the attitude of the Church and the state towards the Old Believers gradually changed. After the publication on April 17, 1905 of the "Manifesto on the Strengthening of the Principles of Religious Tolerance," religious communities became free from state pressure. Changes also occurred in missionary work with the Old Believers. Now the missionaries could no longer count on the help of the state authorities in the fight against the schism. At the meetings of the Pre-Council Presence (1905-1906), devoted to the problems of mission, the need was stipulated for "fundamentally changing the methods of missionary work among schismatics." In 1908, the Synod issued "Rules for the organization of an internal mission", according to which the state power could not be involved in it. However, the reorganization of the missionary work proceeded very slowly.

At the Local Council of 1917-1918, the work of the Department for Common Faith and Old Believers was headed by Metropolitan Anthony (Khrapovitsky). Two reports were submitted to the plenary session, containing directly opposite points of view: Archpriest Simeon Shleev proposed a project for the establishment of co-religion bishops subordinate to diocesan bishops, and Bishop Seraphim (Aleksandrov) of Chelyabinsk feared that the establishment of a co-religion episcopate would lead to separation of co-religionists from the Church. After 1905, attitudes towards co-religionists also changed, therefore, by decision of the Council, 5 episcopal sees of the same faith were created. One of them - Okhtenskaya (in Petrograd) was occupied by the ordained bishop Simeon (Shleev). Having received bishops of the same faith, the fellow believers by no means left the Orthodox Church. Bishop Simeon proved his loyalty to the Orthodox Church by the fact that, without going into any schisms, he accepted a martyr's death. At the Bishops' Council of 2000, he was canonized as a saint in the host of the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia. During the time of the persecution of the Church, it was not possible to preserve the cathedras of the same faith in Russia.

At the Bishops' Council in 2004, a decision was made to establish a Commission for Old Believer parishes and interaction with Old Believers, which opens a new page in relation to Old Believers.

The Old Believers, they are also 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 a church reform of the Russian Orthodox Church. The purpose of the reform: to bring into line with the Byzantine (Greek) all rituals, services and church books. In the mid 50s of the XVII century, Patriarch Tikhon had the powerful support of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, who put into practice the concept: Moscow - the Third Rome. So church reforms Nikon should fit perfectly into this idea. But, de facto, a split occurred in the Russian Orthodox Church.

It was a true tragedy, since some of the believers did not want to accept the church reform, which changed their way of life and idea of ​​faith. Thus the movement of the Old Believers 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. Often there were cases of self-immolation of believers of the old rite. Sometimes this happened to entire villages when the official and church authorities tried to put Nikon's new ideas into practice. According to the records of some chroniclers, the pictures appeared terrible: a large barn, engulfed in flames, psalms rush out of it, which dozens of people sing in the fire. Such was the willpower and fortitude of the spirit of the Old Believers, who did not want changes, considering them from the evil one. Old Believers: difference from the Orthodox is a very serious topic, which was investigated by some historians in the USSR.

One such researcher in the 1980s was Professor Boris Sitnikov, who taught at the Novosibirsk Pedagogical Institute. Every summer he and his students traveled to the Old Believer settlements in Siberia and collected the most interesting material.

Old Believers of Russia: difference from the Orthodox (highlights)

Specialists 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. And also note that the Old Believers are heterogeneous. Among them, various currents stand out, which still add differences, but already between the adherents of the old faith themselves. Pomortsy, Fedoseyevtsy, Beglopopovtsy, Bespopovtsy, Priests, Spasovian sense, Netovshchina and many others. We will not go into 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 being baptized according to the old custom with two fingers. Everyone was ordered to make the sign of the cross with three fingers. That is, to be baptized in a new way: with three fingers folded into a pinch. The Old Believers did not accept this postulate, they saw in it a fig (fig) and completely refused to be baptized with three fingers. The Old Believers still make the sign of the cross with two fingers.

2. The shape of the cross.

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

3. Earthly bows.

The Old Believers, unlike the Orthodox, recognize only earthly bows, and the latter - waist ones.

4. Pectoral cross.

For the Old Believers, this 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 the service, the Old Believers keep their arms crossed on their chests, while the Orthodox lower them at the seams.

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 rejection of alcohol and smoking. In some Old Believer rumors, it was allowed to take three glasses of alcohol on major holidays, but no more.

8. Appearance.

In the Old Believer Church you will not meet, as in our Orthodox, girls and women with scarves on their heads, in hats or scarves tied in a knot at the back. The woman is strictly in a scarf, stabbed with a pin under her chin. No bright or colored clothing is allowed. Men - in old Russian shirts outside, always 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 off his beard and wear a tie (Judas noose).

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 people to smoke (there was a saying among the Old Believers: "Tabachnik is a clerk in hell") and other things, according to the Old Believers, overseas diabolical things. And Peter the Great really appreciated the soldiers who fell into the army from the Old Believers. One interesting case is known. A new frigate was to be launched at the shipyard. Something went wrong on the technical side: either the log got stuck, or something else. The king, who has powerful health and body strength, jumped up himself, grabbed a log, and helped solve the problem. Then he drew attention to a strong worker who worked for three and, not being afraid of the king, helped to lift the log.

The king offered to compare the silushka. He says: "Here I will hit you in the chest, if you stand on your feet, then I will allow you to hit me and you will have a royal gift." Piotr swung and hit the kid in the chest. Someone else would fly off, probably five meters head over heels. And he just swayed like an oak tree. The autocrat was surprised! He demanded a retaliatory strike. And the old believer hit! Everyone froze! And the guy was from the Old Believers of Peipsi. The king could hardly stand it, swayed, stepped back. The sovereign awarded such a hero with a silver ruble and the post 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 the youth from the sketes to be taken into the army.

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

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

What do the Old Believers believe in and where did they come from? History reference

AT last years An increasing number of our fellow citizens are interested in healthy lifestyles, environmentally friendly ways of managing, survival in extreme conditions, the ability to live in harmony with nature, and spiritual improvement. In this regard, many are turning to the millennial experience of our ancestors, who managed to master the vast territories of present-day Russia and created agricultural, commercial and military outposts in all remote corners of our Motherland.

Last but not least, in this case, we are talking about Old Believers- people who once settled not only the territories of the Russian Empire, but also brought the Russian language, Russian culture and Russian faith to the banks of the Nile, to the jungles of Bolivia, the wastelands of Australia and to the snowy hills of Alaska. The experience of the Old Believers is truly unique: they were able to preserve their religious and cultural identity in the most difficult natural and political conditions, not to lose their language and customs. It is no coincidence that the famous hermit from the Lykov family of Old Believers is so well known all over the world.

However, about themselves Old Believers not much is known. Someone believes that the Old Believers are people with a primitive education, adhering to outdated ways of farming. Others think that the Old Believers are people who profess paganism and worship ancient Russian gods- Perun, Veles, Dazhdbog and others. Still others ask: if there are Old Believers, then there must be some old faith? Read the answer to these and other questions regarding the Old Believers in our article.

Old and new faith

One of the most tragic events in the history of Russia in the 17th century was schism of the Russian Church. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov and his closest spiritual companion Patriarch Nikon(Minin) decided to carry out a global church reform. Starting with seemingly insignificant changes - a change in the addition of fingers during the sign of the cross from two-fingered to three-fingered and the abolition of prostrations, the reform soon affected all aspects of Divine services and the Charter. Continuing and developing in one way or another until the reign of the emperor Peter I, this reform changed many canonical rules, spiritual institutions, customs of church administration, written and unwritten traditions. Almost all aspects of the religious, and then the cultural and everyday life of the Russian people underwent changes.

However, with the beginning of the reforms, it turned out that a significant number of Russian Christians saw in them an attempt to betray the very doctrine of the faith, the destruction of the religious and cultural order that had been taking shape in Russia for centuries after its Baptism. Many priests, monks and laity spoke out against the designs of the tsar and the patriarch. They wrote petitions, letters and appeals, denouncing innovations and defending the faith that had been preserved for hundreds of years. In their writings, the apologists pointed out that the reforms not only forcibly, under fear of executions and persecution, reshape traditions and traditions, but also affect the most important thing - they destroy and change the very Christian faith. The fact that Nikon's reform is apostate and changes the very faith was written by almost all the defenders of the ancient church tradition. Thus, the holy martyr pointed out:

They lost their way and apostatized from the true faith with Nikon the apostate, the insidious malefactor heretic. With fire, yes with a whip, yes with a gallows they want to approve the faith!

He also urged not to be afraid of tormentors and to suffer for " old christian faith". The well-known writer of that time, the defender of Orthodoxy, expressed himself in the same spirit. Spiridon Potemkin:

Exercising the true faith will harm with heretical prepositions (additions), so that faithful Christians do not understand, but be deceived by deceit.

Potemkin condemned Divine services and rituals performed according to new books and new orders, which he called "evil faith":

Heretics are those who baptize in their evil faith, they baptize blaspheming God into the One Holy Trinity.

Confessor and Hieromartyr Deacon Theodore wrote about the need to defend patristic tradition and the old Russian faith, citing numerous examples from the history of the Church:

The heretic, pious people suffering from him for the old faith, starved in exile ... And if God corrects the old faith with a single priest before the whole kingdom, all the authorities will be shamed and reviled from the whole world.

The monks-confessors of the Solovetsky Monastery, who refused to accept the reform of Patriarch Nikon, wrote to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in their fourth petition:

Order us, sovereign, to be in our same Old Faith, in which your father of sovereigns and all the noble tsars and great princes and our fathers died, and the venerable fathers Zosima and Savatiy, and Herman, and Philip the Metropolitan and all the holy fathers pleased God.

So gradually it began to be said that before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, before the church schism, there was one faith, and after the schism, another faith. The pre-schism confession began to be called old faith, and the post-schismatic reformed confession - new faith.

This opinion was not denied by the supporters of the reforms of Patriarch Nikon themselves. So, Patriarch Joachim, at a well-known dispute in the Faceted Chamber, said:

Before me a new faith was wound up; with the advice and blessing of the most holy ecumenical patriarchs.

While still an archimandrite, he stated:

I do not know either the old faith or the new faith, but what the authorities order is what I do.

Thus, gradually, the concept old faith", and people who professed it began to be called" Old Believers», « Old Believers". Thus, Old Believers began to call people who refused to accept the church reforms of Patriarch Nikon and adhere to the church institutions of ancient Russia, that is old faith. Those who accepted the reform began to be called "new believers" or " newcomers". However, the term new believers" did not take root for a long time, and the term "Old Believers" exists to this day.

Old Believers or Old Believers?

For a long time, in government and church documents, Orthodox Christians who preserved the ancient liturgical rites, early printed books and customs were called " schismatics". They were accused of loyalty to church tradition, which allegedly led to church schism. Long years schismatics were subjected to repression, persecution, infringement of civil rights.

However, during the reign of Catherine the Great, the attitude towards the Old Believers began to change. The Empress considered that the Old Believers could be very useful for settling the uninhabited regions of the expanding Russian Empire.

At the suggestion of Prince Potemkin, Catherine signed a number of documents granting them the rights and benefits to live in special regions of the country. In these documents, the Old Believers were not named as " schismatics”, but as“ ”, which, if not a sign of goodwill, then undoubtedly indicated a weakening of the negative attitude of the state towards the Old Believers. ancient orthodox christians, Old Believers, however, did not suddenly agree to the use of this name. In the apologetic literature, the resolutions of some Councils indicated that the term "Old Believers" is not entirely acceptable.

It was written that the name "Old Believers" implies that the reasons for the church division of the 17th century lie in the same church rites, and the faith itself remained completely intact. So the Irgiz Old Believers Cathedral of 1805 called fellow believers "Old Believers", that is, Christians who use the old rites and old printed books, but obey the Synodal Church. The resolution of the Irgiz Cathedral read:

Others retreated from us to the renegades, called the Old Believers, who, as if we also keep old printed books, and send services according to them, but with everyone they communicate in everything without shame, both in prayer and in eating and drinking.

In the historical and apologetic writings of the Old Orthodox Christians of the 18th - first half of the 19th centuries, the terms "Old Believers" and "Old Believers" continued to be used. They are used, for example, in History of the Vygovskaya desert» Ivan Filippov, apologetic essay « Deacon's Answers"and others. This term was also used by numerous New Believer authors, such as N. I. Kostomarov, S. Knyazkov. P. Znamensky, for example, in “ Guide to Russian history The 1870 edition says:

Peter became much stricter towards the Old Believers.

However, over the years, part of the Old Believers still began to use the term " Old Believers". Moreover, as the well-known Old Believer writer points out Pavel Curious(1772-1848) in his historical dictionary, Name Old Believers more inherent in non-priestly consents, and " Old Believers» - to persons belonging to the concords, accepting the fleeing priesthood.

Indeed, by the beginning of the 20th century, instead of the term " Old Believers, « Old Believers"began to use more and more" Old Believers". Soon the name of the Old Believers was enshrined at the legislative level by the famous decree of Emperor Nicholas II " On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance". The seventh paragraph of this document reads:

Assign a name Old Believers, instead of the currently used name of schismatics, to all followers of interpretations and agreements who accept the basic dogmas of the Orthodox Church, but do not recognize some of the rites adopted by it and send their worship according to old printed books.

However, even after that, many Old Believers continued to be called Old Believers. The non-priestly consents preserved this name especially carefully. D. Mikhailov, author of the magazine " Native antiquity”, published by the Old Believer circle of zealots of Russian antiquity in Riga (1927), wrote:

Archpriest Avvakum speaks of the "old Christian faith", and not of "rites". That is why nowhere in all the historical decrees and messages of the first zealots of ancient Orthodoxy - nowhere is the name " old believer.

What do the Old Believers believe in?

Old Believers, as the heirs of pre-schismatic, pre-reform Russia, they try to preserve all the dogmas, canonical provisions, ranks and followings of the Old Russian Church.

First of all, of course, this concerns the main church dogmas: the confession of St. Trinity, the incarnation of God the Word, the two hypostases of Jesus Christ, his atoning Sacrifice on the Cross and the Resurrection. The main difference between confession Old Believers from other Christian confessions is the use of forms of worship and church piety, characteristic of the ancient Church.

Among them - immersion baptism, unison singing, canonical iconography, special prayer clothing. For worship Old Believers they use old-printed liturgical books published before 1652 (mainly published under the last pious patriarch Joseph. Old Believers, however, do not represent a single community or church - for hundreds of years they have been divided into two main areas: priests and non-priests.

Old Believers-priests

Old Believers-priests, in addition to other church institutions, they recognize the three-fold Old Believer hierarchy (priesthood) and all the church sacraments of the ancient Church, among which the most famous are: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Priesthood, Marriage, Confession (Repentance), Unction. In addition to these seven sacraments, old beliefs there are other, somewhat less well-known sacraments and sacred rites, namely: monastic tonsure (equivalent to the sacrament of Marriage), the large and small Blessing of water, the blessing of oil at Polyeleos, and the priestly blessing.

Old Believers-bezpopovtsy

Old Believers-bezpopovtsy believe that after the church schism perpetrated by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the pious church hierarchy (bishops, priests, deacons) disappeared. Therefore, part of the sacraments of the Church in the form in which they existed before the schism of the Church was abolished. Today, all Old Believers-bezpriests definitely recognize only two sacraments: Baptism and Confession (repentance). Some bezpopovtsy (Old Orthodox Pomeranian Church) also recognize the sacrament of Marriage. The Old Believers of the chapel consent also allow the Eucharist (Communion) with the help of St. gifts consecrated in antiquity and preserved to this day. The chapels also recognize the Great Consecration of water, which on the day of the Epiphany is obtained by pouring into new water water, consecrated in the old days, when, in their opinion, there were still pious priests.

Old Believers or Old Believers?

Periodically among Old Believers of all agreement, a discussion arises: “ Can they be called Old Believers?? Some argue that it is necessary to be called exclusively Christians because there is no old faith and old rites, just as there is no new faith and new rites. According to them, there is only one true, one right faith and only true Orthodox rites, and everything else is heretical, non-Orthodox, false confession and wisdom.

Others, as already mentioned above, consider it mandatory to be named Old Believers professing the old faith, because they believe that the difference between ancient Orthodox Christians and the followers of Patriarch Nikon is not only in rituals, but also in faith itself.

Still others believe that the word Old Believers should be replaced with " Old Believers". In their opinion, there is no difference in faith between the Old Believers and the followers of Patriarch Nikon (Nikonians). The only difference is in the rites, which are correct among the Old Believers, and damaged or completely incorrect among the Nikonians.

There is a fourth opinion regarding the concept of Old Believers and the Old Faith. It is shared mainly by the children of the synodal church. In their opinion, between the Old Believers (Old Believers) and the New Believers (New Believers) there is not only a difference in faith, but also in rituals. They call both old and new rites equally honorable and equally salvific. The use of one or another is only a matter of taste and historical and cultural tradition. This is stated in the resolution of the Local Council of the Moscow Patriarchate of 1971.

Old Believers and Pagans

At the end of the 20th century, religious and quasi-religious cultural associations began to appear in Russia, professing religious beliefs that had nothing to do with Christianity and, in general, with Abrahamic, biblical religions. Supporters of some such associations and sects proclaim the revival of the religious traditions of pre-Christian, pagan Russia. In order to stand out, to separate their views from the Christianity received in Russia during the time of Prince Vladimir, some neo-pagans began to call themselves " Old Believers».

And although the use of this term in this context is incorrect and erroneous, views began to spread in society that Old Believers- these are really pagans who revive old faith in ancient Slavic gods- Perun, Svarog, Dazhbog, Veles and others. It is no coincidence that, for example, the religious association “Old Russian Inglistic Church of Orthodox Christians” appeared. Yngling Old Believers". Its head, Pater Diy (A. Yu. Khinevich), who was called "Patriarch of the Old Russian Orthodox Church Old Believers", even stated:

The Old Believers are supporters of the old Christian rite, and the Old Believers are the old pre-Christian faith.

There are other neo-pagan communities and native faith cults that may be mistakenly perceived by society as Old Believers and Orthodox. Among them are the Veles Circle, the Union of Slavic Communities of the Slavic Native Faith, the Russian Orthodox Circle and others. Most of these associations arose on the basis of pseudo-historical reconstruction and falsification of historical sources. In fact, apart from folklore popular beliefs, no reliable information about the pagans of pre-Christian Russia has been preserved.

At some point, in the early 2000s, the term " Old Believers” has become very widely perceived as a synonym for pagans. However, thanks to extensive explanatory work, as well as a number of serious lawsuits against the “Old Believers-Ynglings” and other extremist neo-pagan groups, the popularity of this linguistic phenomenon has now declined. In recent years, the vast majority of neo-pagans still prefer to be called " Rodnovery».

G. S. Chistyakov

During wars and revolutions, the religious factor plays an exceptional role, because religious motivation penetrates the very depths of the human soul. And the more biased her followers are in their beliefs, the bloodier the consequences. The revolutions in Russia in 1905 and 1917 were no exception. What do Orthodox Old Believers have to do with revolutions and the murder of Russia? Isn't it loud?

My first acquaintances with the Old Believers and their shrines made positive, indelible impressions on me: piety, strictness, asceticism, many hours of worship, humble obeisances, attractive antiquity, diligence, scrupulousness, accuracy, a certain mysticism. I hope that all this applies to the majority of modern Old Believers. But what was the position of the Old Believers in the period 1905-1917? and how was their participation in the revolution expressed?

Modern Old Believer Bishops

It turns out that participation was the most direct. About the Old Believers, about fellow believers - those who joined the Russian Orthodox Church - the article will not go. You will have to take a fresh look at our history, so I will sign reproductions and paintings on behalf of the Old Believers.

What was the Old Believer society in the Russian Empire like?

We can definitely say about them that it was the religion of the merchant class.

In pre-revolutionary Russia, the richest and most enterprising people were the Old Believers. Being oppressed and persecuted by the authorities for several centuries, having a strong communal way of life, high morality and asceticism, they created their own, internal financial religious-collective empire. The famous Russian community has become the best tool that allows them to maximize the concentration of both economic and spiritual resources; community-collectivist (rather than private-property) relations served as the foundation on which the social life of the Old Believers was built.

At the turn of the 20th century, there were only three financially wealthy groups of people in Russia: Old Believers (merchants and industrialists), foreign businessmen, and noble landowners. Think about it, the share of the Old Believers accounted for more than 60% of all private capital of the Empire! And this means that financially they influenced the entire economy and the political palette of the country. At the same time, according to various estimates, the number of Old Believers themselves of all the existing sects at that time was no more than 2% of the total population and 10-15% of the number of Russians in the Empire.

The Old Believers were not a monolithic religious entity, they were divided into two groups: “priests” and “non-priests”. Already these names themselves speak of the existence or absence of clergy in these groups. In addition, divisions also occurred within the groups and various rumors were created, which were intertwined with different sects. Over the past centuries, no less than seventy such rumors, with terrible perversions of the Gospel truths, have arisen.

Beliefs and attitudes towards rituals within groups were often even mutually exclusive. But all the Old Believers were united, at the level of dogma and cult, by a fierce hatred of the Russian Orthodox Church and the authorities, in particular, the house of the Romanovs, as the rulers of the Antichrist. There were objective historical reasons for this hatred - persecution for the faith, social oppression, a ban on preaching and spreading one's religion. Under far-fetched pretexts, the Old Believers were punished and their property was taken away from them, they were sent into exile, their churches were closed and destroyed. They were allowed to register marriages (get married) only in the churches of the Russian Orthodox Church, which meant a forced inclination to the "faith of the Antichrist."

The economic and managerial model formed by the split was challenged in the 1950s. The main blow was directed at the merchant class. From now on, only those who belonged to the Synodal Church (ROC) or Edinoverie could get into the merchant guilds; all Russian merchants were obliged to provide evidence of this from Orthodox clergy. In case of refusal, entrepreneurs were transferred to temporary guild law for a period of one year. As a result, all the Old Believer merchants faced a tough choice: to lose everything or change their faith. There was an alternative - to join the co-religion, while maintaining the old rites; the majority leaned towards the latter option.

At that time, Old Believer riots took place in Russia, which later, during the Soviet era, were presented as a manifestation of the class struggle, silent about their religious motivation.

The Old Believers hated P.A. with fierce hatred. Stolypin for his reform activities, so they rejoiced at his murder. Despite the success of his reforms, new civilizational challenges of urbanization, such as, for example, the resettlement of peasants in Siberia, destroyed the established communal way of life of the Old Believers. In addition, the peasant migrants competed with the enterprises and banks of the Old Believers in that they were paid loans and allowances from the state treasury, allocated free land and they successfully developed their economy.

P.A. Stolypin kept under personal control the issue of transferring the Old Believers - schismatics to the co-religion and achieved success in this: the vast majority of the Cossacks - the Old Believers switched to the Russian Orthodox Church or the co-religion.

Murder of P.A. Stolypin

But then the long-awaited freedom came - effective measures were taken “to eliminate constraints in the field of religion”: by his Decree of April 17, 1905 “On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance”, Emperor Nicholas II equalized the rights of the Old Believers and Orthodox Christians. Since then, they have ceased to be called schismatics. It was a flash of prosperity and development of the Old Believers until the end of the 20s.

Organization of the Revolution of 1905 by the Old Believers

In August 1905 in Nizhny Novgorod a closed "private meeting of the Old Believers" was held, which decided that the freedoms granted to the Old Believers could be taken away from them. It was decided to continue the fight until the appearance in State Duma fractions of Old Believers with a decisive vote. The millionaire Ryabushinsky suggested creating a system of "traveling propagandists" for this.

Old Believer millionaire Vladimir Pavlovich Ryabushinsky trained revolutionary agitators

More than 120 people, funded by the Old Believers, dispersed to all corners of the Russian Empire with calls for revolution and social justice. Their main slogan was: “Freedom has come! You can take the land from the landowners by force.” At the same time, of course, there were no calls for the expropriation of factories and plants, 60% owned by the Old Believers. This was explained by the fact that they were not driven at all by the desire to fight for social justice, but by the fact that the landowners were competitors for them. Religious motivation also mattered: after all, the landowners and government officials were Orthodox, that is, in the eyes of the Old Believers, heretics - Nikonians, New Believers - "servants of the Antichrist."

The ground for the revolution of 1905 had been prepared by the Old Believers for a long time. So, in 1897, in Zamoskvorechye, they founded the "Prechistensky Courses", at which lectures were given to everyone on socialism and Marxism. By 1905, 1,500 people were enrolled in the courses. Naturally, these professional revolutionary agitators were schismatics by religion - Old Believers of various persuasions, dissatisfied with the "power of the Antichrist." More people could have studied at the courses, but the size of the premises did not allow. However, it turned out to be fixable. The famous clan of Old Believers Morozov contributed 85 thousand rubles for the construction of a three-story Marxist school, the land for which was allocated by the City Duma in the person of its leader, Old Believer Guchkov. With the money of the same Old Believer Savva Morozov, the revolutionaries bought weapons in 1905.

Old Believer merchant Savva Morozov, whose money was used to purchase weapons for fratricide

It would seem that there is a contradiction: how could deeply religious people help the opponents of any religion? But in fact there was no contradiction! The Old Believers fought not against private property, but only against the Antichrist, from their point of view, power, using the Marxists for their own purposes, thereby nurturing the beast that devoured them.

Revolution is profitable!

A series of strikes and riots swept across the country. As classic example you can bring the legendary Lena execution. Before the riots, the Lenzoloto company was owned by the British, Old Believer merchants and Baron Gunzburg. The company's shares were traded on the London, Paris and Moscow stock exchanges. The protests, which began after the sale of rotten meat in a factory store, ended, as usual, with a popular riot. This was followed by the execution of workers by soldiers, a massive campaign in the press, as well as a number of angry reports in the Duma, initiated by all the same Old Believers. The British were forced to leave, while the millionaire Old Believer Zakhary Zhdanov, one of the former owners of Lenzoloto, who successfully sold his stake shortly before the riots, bought the shares for a penny. On the deal, he won 1.5 million gold rubles. Similar, one might say raider, seizures carried out with a good purpose - to deprive foreigners of the right to own assets in the Russian Empire - took place everywhere.

The February Revolution completed the work begun in 1905: the Old Believers received full power. More than half of the 25 most influential merchant families in Moscow were Old Believers: Avksentievs, Buryshkins, Guchkovs, Konovalovs, Morozovs, Prokhorovs, Ryabushinskys, Soldatenkovs, Tretyakovs, Khludovs. The power in the city belonged to the Old Believers. They were members of the Moscow City Duma, members of public committees, dominated the Moscow Stock Exchange. The leadership of the largest opposition bourgeois parties - the Cadets, Octobrists and Progressives - was still carried out by the same people. N.D. Avksentiev, A.I. Guchkov, A.I. Konovalov, S.N. Tretyakov was also in charge in the Provisional Government.

Old Believer socialism

Already by the beginning of the 20th century, the Old Believers introduced high social standards at their enterprises: a 9-hour working day, free dormitories for workers, medical rooms, a nursery garden for children, and libraries. Interest-free loans were issued to build their own stone houses. Own free hospital was equipped with an operating room, an outpatient clinic, a pharmacy and maternity hospital. There was a sanatorium and an almshouse for the elderly. There were vocational schools for young people. A pension was also assigned in the amount of 25-50% of the average wage. So the high social standards in the USSR were not an invention of the Communists, but of the Old Believers.

It is not surprising that the workers of the enterprises owned by the Old Believers supported their masters in everything. During the barricades, strikes, strikes, the workers were still paid a working day. Barricades during the revolution of 1905 in Moscow were located according to belonging to the enterprises of the Old Believers. The barricades of the Sokolniki and Rogozhsko-Simonovsky districts were in the zone of influence of the Preobrazhenskaya and Rogozhskaya Old Believer communities. Large forces were sent to the revolutionary struggle by the factory of the Old Believer Mamontov and the furniture factory of the Old Believer Shmit. Representatives of the Rakhmanov Old Believer community stood on Butyrsky Val.

The Old Believers organized strikes to fight the "anti-Christ" authorities

The merchant elite resolutely said goodbye to the Slavophile ideas about the possibility of development on a monarchical basis. The merchants turned to the radical elements, which were concentrated in circles of social democrats and social revolutionaries. It was from such a circle that Dmitry Bogrov, the murderer of Stolypin, came. It was a betrayal of Holy Russia!

Beginning in 1905, a wave of assassinations of officials, governors, and heads of cities swept across the country. The revolutionaries did their job - they shook the country.

Professional revolutionaries and terrorists were hired by Old Believer industrialists. They were rarely seen in the shops, but they received their salaries regularly. The salary of revolutionary locksmiths ranged from 80 to 150 rubles (quite large money for those times). Those workers who were indignant were declared police agents, henchmen of tsarism and fired, because the enterprises were private.

Old Believer aiding terrorists

So, historical facts confirm that in 1905 the Old Believers and their capital took the most active part in the revolution.

Joy of the Old Believers: The Provisional Government and the Bolsheviks of 1917

The arrival of the Provisional Government and the abdication of the Tsar were greeted with furious enthusiasm by all the Old Believers of various kinds, especially the "Old Orthodox priests."

The Old Believers of Yegoryevsk, at their meeting on April 17, 1917, adopted a resolution where they noted that “they rejoice sincerely at the overthrow of the painful oppression of the despotic power of the irresponsible government, alien to the Russian spirit — the oppression that fettered the development of the spiritual and material forces of the country; they also rejoice in all the proclaimed freedoms: speech, press, personality.

In April 1917, an extraordinary congress of the Old Believers of the Belokrinitsky hierarchy was held. Its resolution stated: "The complete separation of the Church from the state and the freedom of religious groups located in Russia will serve only for the good, greatness and prosperity of free Russia."

The interim government announced its intention to remove all restrictions on the activities of religious associations. On July 14, 1917, a corresponding decree “On freedom of conscience” appeared. It caused great joy in all the Old Believers' concords; meetings of communities and dioceses expressed their support to the Provisional Government.

In the fall of 1917, the Provisional Government fell, the Bolsheviks came to power, dispersed the Constituent Assembly and established the dictatorship of the proletariat.

The Old Believers liked the word "Bolshevik" very much. In the communal way of life of the Old Believers, there was a position-position "bolshak", which meant the elder in the family, in the house, in the rural and church communities. Bolshaks solved important community issues. Bolshaks were especially revered by the bespopovtsy, for whom they played the role of religious leaders, instead of priests. It is hard to imagine that such consonance could be just a coincidence; most likely, it was a well-thought-out religious manipulation of behind-the-scenes revolutionaries.

Bolshevik Bolshak-Old Believer, artist B. Kustodiev

Now the Old Believers do not want to admit their mistake - conscious participation in the bloody revolution, but it was on the arrival of the Bolsheviks that they placed their hope for a new era of Christ after the reign of the “power of the Antichrist”.

If you look at the statistical data on where in central Russia the Bolsheviks were most supported, then these are Vladimir (which included the city of Ivanovo), Kostroma and Nizhny Novgorod provinces - regions in which both priests and non-priests of various persuasions settled very densely.

The portraits of the German leaders of the Bolsheviks aroused confidence among the Old Believers - after all, they had big beards! For the Old Believers, this was important. The red color of the banner was associated with Red Easter, and they quite seriously wrote on revolutionary posters: "Communist Easter."

The participants in the revolution were religiously motivated. Easter card of the revolutionary period.

The Old Believers took an active part in the revolution of 1917 and supported the Bolsheviks and Lenin personally. Both sides were united by their hatred of the Romanovs. It is enough to look at paintings and posters of a revolutionary theme, where the characters are bearded Old Believer men: Vladimir Serov's "Walkers at Lenin's", Boris Kustodiev's "Bolshevik", his poster "Freedom Loan", etc.

Walkers-Old Believers near Lenin, artist V. Serov

Most of the Old Believers in Russia were non-priest talk. The Bespopovites enjoyed moral authority among the people. proletarian ranks to late XIX centuries, approximately 80% were Bespopovtsy Old Believers: the emerging factories and factories absorbed streams of Old Believers from the Center, from the Volga and Ural regions, from the northern regions. The channels of the Old Believers' concords (fellowships) acted as a kind of "personnel services". After the revolution of 1917, it was from among these “conscious workers” that the recruitment of new people’s party cadres took place, the “Leninist call”, “the second conquest of the soul of the working class”, etc. It was the bespopovtsy who formed the basis of the first Soviet generation of managers, party workers and commissars.

Lenin and the Freemasons behind him were well aware of the religious ins and outs of Russia and manipulated public consciousness pitting and killing people. Lenin needed those who hated tsarism and Orthodoxy, and these were sectarians, Old Believers.

The Soviet government invited everyone who fled from the previous regime to return to the country: “The workers' and peasants' revolution has done its job. All those who struggled with the old world, who suffered from its hardships, sectarians and Old Believers among them, must all be participants in the creation of new forms of life. And we say to sectarians and Old Believers, wherever they live on the whole earth: welcome!”

Bolshevik-Bolshevik Bonch-Bruevich, he is also an Old Believer Semyon Gvozd, a personal friend of Lenin

In 1921, the Old Believers signed the Act of Loyalty with the Soviet authorities. A characteristic example interaction between the Old Believers and the revolutionaries can serve as the fate of the famous Bolshevik Bonch-Bruevich, a personal friend of Lenin. In the late 1890s, Pryanishnikov, a millionaire Old Believer, helped Bonch-Bruevich move to the West under the pseudonym Uncle Tom. One of the tasks of the revolutionary agent was the transfer of Doukhobors and Molokans from Russia to England and the USA. In 1904, the indefatigable Uncle Tom began to publish a number of magazines abroad and the periodical Dawn, in which he spoke under the pseudonym Old Believer Semyon Gvozd. The most interesting thing is that immediately after the 1917 revolution, Bonch-Bruevich actively helped many sectarians to return to their homeland, whom he had previously helped to leave Russia, because Orthodox Russia had to be destroyed.

Cossack-Old Believer who accepted Bolshevik ideas

Old Believer Red Terror

But how could it happen that deeply religious people, ascetics, zealots of antiquity, who wanted justice and truth, arose such hatred, expressed in homicide, destruction and explosions of Orthodox (not Old Believer) churches, burning icons, shooting clergy, denunciations?

Old Believers and sectarians formed the backbone of Soviet power. Therefore, they borrowed the whole complex of anti-religious measures from the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, which was engaged in the fight against schismatics, which was expressed in the destruction of their churches, the deprivation of legal rights and the right to register marriages, denunciations and executions, exiles, including hard labor, and etc. But, in addition to a sense of revenge, they were also driven by religious motives.

All priests and bespopovtsy considered the official state Church deprived of grace and a servant of the Antichrist, just like the ruling Tsarist dynasty. Therefore, hatred towards them was at the level of doctrinal truths. I will briefly touch on some of them.

The abuse of the "servants" of the Antichrist

Bespopovtsy are Old Believers who rejected the new priests after the reforms of Patriarch Nikon. They decided that it was impossible to accept not only the priesthood, but also baptism from the followers of Nikon, so everyone who came to them from the New Rite church was baptized anew. The sacraments of baptism and repentance began to be performed by ordinary laity; they conducted all church services, except for the liturgy. Over time, the Bespriests formed a special rank of mentors - lay people elected by society to perform spiritual services and deeds.

Ancient Orthodox Pomeranian Church- this is the course of bespopovtsy. In it, the sacraments of baptism and confession are also performed by lay people - spiritual mentors.

Aaronites they did not recognize the wedding performed in the Orthodox Church, demanding in this case a divorce or a new marriage. Like many other schismatics, they shied away from passports, considering them "seals of the Antichrist."

Fedoseevtsy were convinced of the historical corruption of the Russian state. They believed that the kingdom of the Antichrist had come, they denied praying for the Tsar in the name. Subsequently, the teachings of the Fedoseyevites were adopted by the Pomortsy. During the Great Patriotic War the Fedoseyevites proved themselves to be malicious collaborators who collaborated with Nazi Germany.

defaulters they rejected divine services, the sacraments and the veneration of saints. They did not make the sign of the cross, did not wear a cross, did not recognize fasting. Prayers were replaced by religious home conversations and readings.

"Runners" called those who rejected the new baptism, believed that it was necessary to break all ties with society, to evade all civil duties.

self-baptists- Old Believers baptized themselves, without priests.

middlemen, unlike other self-baptists, did not recognize the days of the week. In their opinion, when during the time of Peter I the celebration of the New Year was moved from September 1 to January 1, the courtiers made a mistake by 8 years and moved the days of the week. Thus, for them, Wednesday is the former Sunday.

Ryabinovtsy they refused to pray on icons where anyone else was present, except for the depicted image. They began to carve eight-pointed crosses made of rowan wood for prayers without images and inscriptions. In addition, the Ryabinovites did not recognize church sacraments.

Dyrniki they did not revere icons, praying for holes.

Shepherd's consent: His followers condemned the use of passports and money with the image of the imperial coat of arms, which they considered the seal of the Antichrist. New supporters of their doctrine were re-baptized.

The fight against the antichrist "seal"

Netov's consent (Spasovites): the main idea of ​​this doctrine is that the Antichrist has reigned in the world, grace has been taken to heaven, the Church is no more, the sacraments have been destroyed. The Spasovites descended from the Strigolniks, who rejected the church hierarchy. The followers of this agreement are divided into Starospasovtsy and Novospassovtsy, who, in turn, are divided into small and large.

Aristov's sense: created by the St. Petersburg merchant Aristov, who believed that any relationship with the secular authorities, as, in his opinion, heretical and serving the Antichrist, is illegal. As a consequence, a true Christian must avoid the orders of authority and not relate to it in any way.

Unbaptized Old Believers are the most radical branch of the Old Believers, created in the Vasilsursky and Makaryevsky districts of the Nizhny Novgorod province. His followers went so far as to deny the possibility of performing the sacrament of baptism even by a layman (that is, a priestless rank), therefore, representatives of this consent remained without baptism at all, replacing it by putting on a newborn cross when reading the 50th psalm.

Neokruzhniki (protivokruzhniki, discordants) are part of the adherents of Belokrinitsky consent (priests), who did not accept the “District Message of the Russian Archpastors of the Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy” of 1862. The most indignant among the radical members of the Belokrinitsky consent were the assertions of the “District Message” that “the Church now ruling in Russia, likewise the Greek Church, believes not in another God, but in one with us”, that under the name “Jesus” the Russian Church confesses the same "Jesus" and therefore calls "Jesus" another God, Antichrist, etc. there is a blasphemer. Opponents, on the contrary, argued that the Antichrist reigns in the Russian and Greek churches. They insisted on the eight-pointed shape of the cross and the spelling of the name "Jesus" on the grounds that Jesus Christ was born eight years later than Jesus. At its core, this was an extreme manifestation of the bespopov’s teaching that penetrated the environment of the Old Believers-priests, against whom the “District Message” was directed.

The destruction of the temples of the "antichrist"

So, summing up the doctrinal truths of the Old Believers of various persuasions, we can come to the conclusion that they were convinced: for the sake of the reign of the era of freedom - the era of Christ, to report on priests - Nikonian heretics, shoot them, blow up Orthodox churches and burn icons - a holy and charitable deed, and not a sin. And the more the servants of the Antichrist will be destroyed, the more the “seal of the Antichrist” (royal symbols) will be destroyed and overthrown, the better!

I want to make a reservation that, of course, not all Old Believers accepted Bolshevik power, but there were a minority of them, they were mainly Cossacks-Old Believers of Siberia, the Urals, the Far East, the Don, the Terek. For them, it was precisely the power of the Bolsheviks that was the power of the Antichrist.

Benefits from Soviet power and the further fate of the Old Believers

For active participation in the cause of the revolution, the Old Believers had some temporary benefits. If the Red Terror immediately touched the Russian Orthodox Church, executions and destruction of its churches began, then the Old Believers, even before the end of the 1920s, could freely open and build their churches, have their own printed publications. But the "honeymoon" did not last long, they were also destroyed, like the Russian Orthodox Church, although some managed to leave. Millionaire Old Believers, who were savvy, were allowed by the Soviet authorities to withdraw their capital abroad.

In the top leadership of the USSR there were many Old Believers (in their origin). There is convincing evidence that they included Kalinin, Voroshilov, Nogin, Shvernik ( real name- Shvernikov), Moskvin, Yezhov, Kosarev, Postyshev, Evdokimov, Zverev, Malenkov, Bulganin, Ustinov, Suslov, Pervukhin, Gromyko, Patolichev and many others. Many heroes of the Great Patriotic War were also from the Old Believers.

After passing through fratricide, the nature of man becomes different; so many Old Believers have nothing left of faith in God, only one ideology. Former Old Believers began to build a Soviet person, a Soviet society, a Soviet country. But at the same time, the famous Soviet scientist and science fiction writer, an Old Believer by origin, Ivan Efremov described in "The Nebula of Andromeda", "The Hour of the Bull" the ideal of a highly moral Soviet person. These ideal ideas, of course, were drawn from Christianity.

Interesting Facts. It turns out that Rome was well aware of the religious situation in Russia, they had attempts on the basis of a common hatred for the Russian Orthodox Church and the House of Romanov to conclude friendship-uniy with the Old Believers. But, for the Old Believers, dealing with shaven-bearded heretics is nonsense. But, nevertheless, the popes of Rome expressed their unspeakable joy in connection with the fratricidal revolution, they said: "the iron broom of God with the hands of the atheists swept Orthodoxy from Russia for the Catholic mission in the future."

Another interesting topic has been revealed; intra-party cleansings in the leadership of the USSR, when active revolutionaries were shot, also had a religious ideological connotation. It was a struggle between the two parties of Leninists-Masons and post-Orthodox. The former seminarian, comrade I.V. Stalin, put an end to this discord by saying: “As Moses led the Jews out of the desert, so I will take them out of the Communist Party apparatus.”

Moral-theological conclusion

The Fall is the first schism, it is the tragedy of all mankind, and later in history schisms, deviations from the truths of God, take on various perverted forms.

The Old Believers strove to preserve the ancient truthful faith, ancient piety (the Pharisees had similar postulates, and there is nothing wrong with this desire), but turned into the same hypocrisy and legalism that crucified Christ. History repeated itself: "they sifted a mosquito", "they saw a twig in someone else's eye", and they crucified Russia.

Christ among the Old Believers was replaced by the rite of Christ. Therefore, under pious motivation, countless rumors appeared, claiming to be the ultimate truth. The Old Believers hate each other with a fierce hatred (I mean supporters of different persuasions), because it turns out that the relatives have distorted the faith. Even in ancient times, the Lord warned about such a model of attitude towards faith in God: "beware of the Pharisees' leaven."

In fact, the Old Believers, willingly or unwillingly, became accomplices in the murder of Russia, became its executioners. Religious manipulations were just used in the civil fratricidal war, and they themselves became hostages and victims of these manipulations.

Today, Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church again, under various pretexts, begin to rock, of course, with the most pious intentions. This is the same struggle against antichrist seals and codes, against antichrist power, but at the same time the most important thing is forgotten - the value of the unity of the Church of Christ. The technologies and models of religious manipulations of a century-long range were again successfully applied during the modern color, Maidan revolutions to pit people against each other. Isn't it time to draw conclusions?

Now we still need to muster courage, moral strength, spiritual courage to admit our mistakes and ask forgiveness from God and Russia for our crimes. The only way for the Old Believers to overcome the schism is repentance, a return to the bosom of the Church of Christ. This form, in the form of co-religionism, has existed very successfully since 1800.

The local council of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate in 1971 recognized the old rites as equally graceful and withdrew the oaths that had been imposed on them. But this was done de jure, and de facto from the very beginning of our dominant Church, she recognized the sanctity of the ancient rites. In 2000, the RZPTs Synod offered repentance to the Old Believers for the persecution they had suffered.

Archpriest Oleg Trofimov, Doctor of Theology,
Master of Religious and Philosophical Sciences