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Russian-speakers refer to the schism itself as ''raskol'' ('''раскол''' - etymologically indicating a "cleaving-apart").
 
== Introductory summary of origins==
In 1652, [[Patriarch]] [[Nikon of Moscow|Nikon]] (r. 1605–1681; Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church from 1652-to 1658) introduced a number of ritual and textual reforms revisions with the aim of achieving uniformity between Russian and Greek Orthodox practices. Nikon, having noticed discrepancies between Russian and Greek rites and texts, ordered an adjustment of the Russian rites to align with the Greek ones of his time. He According to the Old Believers, Nikon acted without adequate consultation with the clergy and without gathering a council. After the implementation of these innovationsrevisions, Muscovite state power the Church [[anathema]]tized and suppressed with the support of Muscovite state power the prior liturgical rite itself as well as those who acted contrary were reluctant to pass to the revised rite. Those who maintained fidelity to themthe existing rite endured severe persecutions from the end of the 17th century until the beginning of the 20th century as ''schismatics''. These traditionalists They became known as "Old BelieversRitualists" or , a name introduced during the reign of Empress Catherine the Great. At the same time they continued to call themselves simply Orthodox Christians. == Baptism of Kievan Rus' == Although a portion of the population of Kievan Rus' (Ruthenia) was Christian by 944, Knyaz [[Vladimir of Kiev]], impressed by the Easter rituals of the Byzantine Church, embraced Christianity in 987. In doing so he not only formed a politically expedient alliance but invited the adoption of Greek learning and book culture. Along with the baptism, Ruthenia took all Gospel, apostolic and patristic traditions sacred to the storied Eastern Church. Close connections were established between the young Russian church and the Constantinople Patriarchate. The first Russian metropolitans were Greeks. As the representatives of the Patriarch of Constantinople, they oversaw the piety of the newly installed customs and practices, and this patronage ensured that the church regulations, divine services, sacraments and rites were borrowed from the Orthodox Church of the East.  == Revision of the Church Books == In 1551, the [[Stoglavy Sobor|Moscow Stoglav Church Council]] declared in favour of revision. The council's purpose was to regulate the church's relationship to the state, reform its internal life, strengthen the authority of the bishops, and eradicate non-Christian folk customs from among the populace. It would not introduce anything new but would purify the Russian church of irregularities. The council called for many irregularities in church life to be corrected. Among other things, drunkenness among the clergy was to be eradicated, parish priests were to be better educated, and priests and laity alike were to be protected against rapacious episcopal tax collectors. "Old RitualistsPagan"and foreign practices popular among the laity were prohibited, such as minstrels playing at weddings and the shaving of beards. [[Philaret (Romanov) of Moscow|Patriarch Philaret (Romanov) of Moscow]], during the reign of his son Tsar Michael, took part in abortive attempts to reform the church books; and under Tsar Alexis, the second of the Romanovs, in 1654, a council of thirty-six bishops assembled at Moscow, over which the Pat. Nikon presided, and earnestly recommended the long-contemplated project to the attention of the Tsar. Macarius, the Patriarch of Antioch, with his archdeacon, [[Paul of Aleppo]], and the head of the Serbian church, were present upon this occasion. At length, under the auspices of the [[Moscow Sobor of 1666–1667|Moscow Sobor]] of 1667, attended by the Patriarch of Alexandria and the Patriarch of Antioch, with delegates from both the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the Patriarch of Constantinople, the revision of the liturgical books of the Slavonic church was effected; and the revised texts were formally declared to be the only true, lawful, and authorised copies. Alexis in person presided over this conclave. By its voice the ambitious and turbulent Patriarch Nikon was deposed from the Russian patriarchate and the canon against shaving was repealed. The effect of the above salutary measure in the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], and that of the nearly contemporaneous [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Act_of_Uniformity_1558 Act of Uniformity in the Anglican Church], was in some degree similar. Dissent arose on an extensive scale, and persecution was vigorously applied to reclaim or crush the nonconformists.
== Baptism Internal dissensions troubled the Russo-Greek communion at an early period, leading to separation Russian Orthodoxy from the Greek. The earliest controversies referred to trifling or ridiculous points of Russia ==difference, yet were none the less furious on account of the causes being trivial. There was warm contention whether the hallelujah should be repeated two or three times at the end of the psalms, and whether the [[sign of the cross]] should be made with three fingers, symbolising the Trinity, according to the [[Byzantine Rite]], or with two fingers, in allusion to the two natures in the person of [[Jesus Christ|Christ]], as prescribed by the [[Armenian Rite]]. But in 1375, Karp Strigolnik, a citizen of [[Novgorod]], touched upon topics of greater moment. Accusing the [[clergy]] of simony and abuse of the rite of confession, he raised a violent outcry against them, and proclaimed doctrines in which the fanatical blended with the sober.
The Towards the end of the 19th century, the Russian Orthodox Church realized that the forced introduction of the so-called "new rite" was carried out in a violent and uncanonical way, and that the old rite kept in Russia is actually a historic rite of the ancient Antiochian Patriarchate. At least three Fathers of that Patriarchate (namely, [[Baptism Meletius of Rus'|Baptism Antioch]], [[Theodoret of RussiaCyrus]] during holy equal-to-the-apostles great prince and [[Vladimir Peter of Kiev|VladimirDamascus]]'s lifetime in 988 was ) had given homilies on the outstanding event sign of our history. Along the cross being made with the baptismtwo fingers, Russia took all Gospel, apostolic and patristic traditions sacred to in the storied Eastern Church. The closest manner of connections were established between the young Russian church and the Constantinople Patriarchate. The first Russian metropolitans were GreeksOld Believers. They as Perhaps the representatives fact that [[Michael I of Kiev]], the Patriarch first Metropolitan of Constantinople watched the piety Kiev, was possibly of Syrian origin, can explain how this tradition arrived in Russia. What cannot be understood is how the newly installed customs and practicestradition was lost in Antioch itself. The very fact of However, [[Nicodemus the patronage above Hagiorite|St. Nicodemus]], in the Russian Metropolitan shows Rudder also mentions that Christians made the church regulationssign of the cross with two fingers, divine servicesin honor of the two natures of Christ, sacraments and rites were borrowed from that the Orthodox Church of current custom is now to use three fingers, for the East[[Holy Trinity]].
== Church Regulations ==
In the early days, services in temples and monasteries of the Russian church were conducted according to the Studite liturgical [[typikon]]. This statute received wide acceptance because of the high importance of the [[Studion Monastery]] founded in the year 463 in Constantinople at the Church of [[John the Forerunner]]. This [[monastery ]] in the course of short time became one of the main spiritual and liturgical centers of orthodoxy. This monastery acquired singular value during the epoch of the [[Iconoclasm]], when the monks of monastery were the most zealous defenders of icon veneration. Studite regulations prepared by Constantinople Patriarch Alexius were brought to Russia in 1065. He also glorified the renowned Old-Russian St. Theodosius Pecherskiy as a saint. From Kiev, the Studite regulations were extended along other cities and abodes of our country.
In the 14th century during the service of the metropolitans of Fotiya and [[Cyprian of Moscow]], the Russian divine services began to gravitate towards another eastern regulation - Jerusalem. It, first of all, reflects the liturgical practice of the ancient monastery of the Holy Land. The authors of the Jerusalem typikon are considered to be Saints Savva Osvyashchenny and Efim Velikiy. In the 15th century, the Jerusalem typikon obtained a certain advantage in the Russian church. One of the first translations of the Jerusalem regulations into the Slav language was completed at the end of the 14th century by the student of Saint St. [[Sergius of Radonezh]] - Saint St. Afanasy Vysotsky, the founder of the Vysotsky monastery in Serpukhov. This regulation obtained the designation “eye of the church” [“oko tserkovnoe”].
The co-existence in Russia of two regulations not only did not interfere with the order of divine service, but even enriched the liturgical life of our church. Especially important is the fact that the all ancient typikons, in contrast to contemporary ones, completely preserved the early-Christian dogmatic, symbolic and ontological sense of divine service. Well-known scholar academician E. Golubinskiy believes that the Jerusalem and Studite regulations are only variations of general ancient-orthodox regulations, and “are characterized by not so much chinoposledovaniyami [??] themselves, as by the time and manner of their accomplishments”.
== Church Singing ==
Along with the transfer of liturgical regulations into the Russian church from Byzantium passes the ancient tradition of liturgical singing. In the 10th century a Greek Osmoglasie style developed in the form of monotone or unison singing which defined the entire style of Christian hymns. In Russia, the Christian monotone Osmoglasie is called “cherubic”, according to the legends of the saints hearing the holy angels singing. In the course of a short time Christian church singing penetrated all corners of our country. Already in the 11th century in Russia appear raspevy songs dedicated to the native saints. Unknown Russian authors by the 15th- 17th centuries create the huge amount of forms of pesnopeniy [??]: travelling, stolpovoy [??], large and small sign demestvenny [??], Novgorod, [[Pskov ]] and many others. Possessing significant variety, Russian sacred music nevertheless remained for hundreds of years in the present Christian church, distant from the influence of fashionable secular trends.
== The Publishing Business ==
In the life of the Old-Russian church the book occupied an especially significant place. Before the invention of printing, the liturgical books, the works of holy fathers, lives of the saints, theological and other spiritual literature were valued by their weight in gold. The contribution of the book to the monastery or the temple frequently was equal to the cost of land it was put on. The high craftsmanship of the ancient manuscript and the uncommonly deferential attitude to the book by the people, made its production an extremely honorable occupation. Books were even written about princes. So for example, it is established that liturgical books were copied that dealt with Prince Vladimir Galitsky, and several liturgical texts rewrote the life of Tsar [[Ivan IV of Russia|Ivan IV]] (the Terrible). Each page, each paragraph, each proposal, each letter of the book was thoroughly compared during a census. In the Old-Russian manuscript books there were many less errors than in the contemporary book of misprints. To spoil the book for the Old-Russian rukopistsa [copyist?] would tarnish all their activities. In the 18th-19th centuries, church and secular historians formed a theory about the allegedly blatant illiteracy which prevalied in Russia in the 10th-16th centuries. The overwhelming majority of the population of Kiev, and then Moscow Russia was illiterate according to the opinion of such “scholars”. A small quantity of semi-literate people were occupied by written office management, and simultaneously copied spiritual literature. In this case into the liturgical books fell many errors, errors and even fabrications of these ignoramuses.
Today this pseudo-scientific opinion is completely disproved. In the course of impartial historical research in the 20th century, it was established that the very substantial part of the population of ancient Russia was literate. Archaeologists could find on the site of ancient cities and populated areas, thousands of birch bark certificates with records belonging to commoners. After the philological analysis of Old-Russian liturgical texts, the scientists drew the conclusion that their translators and compilers know the wide layers of the literature of the Christian east. The academician of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Academy_of_Sciences RAN] (Russian Academy of Sciences), V. Kirillin, conducted a tedious study of some canons of lenten and colored Triodions of the first half of the 15th century. It turned out that many texts of that time were philological more competent than contemporary ones, are more transparent for the perception and are theologically reconciled. A scientist characterizes the Old-Russian compiler of Lenten Triodion thusly: “There is an obvious and striking theological and philological culture, and a deep (Christian) understanding of unknown editor”. Sometimes the literary achievements of the ancient Russian church proved to be unprecedented throughout entire orthodox east. So in 1490, Novgorod archbishop Gennadiy's efforts for the first time in the history of eastern Christianity created a manuscript bible.
The history of the long and pious life of Russian church gave to the entire Christian world an example of many ascetics of God. The need for their canonization, the establishment of special holidays and days of remembrance led to the convocation of a special sobor. Under the chairmanship of St. Macarius at the sobor were glorified numerous Russian obsequious men, saints and miracle workers. Among them were canonized John archbishop of Novgorod, St. Prince Alexander Nevsky, Nikon abbot of Radonezhsky, St. Jonah Metropolitan of Moscow, Zosim Solovetsky, Makarius Kalyazinsky, St. Arseny bishop of Tver, St. Prince Peter and Princess Fevroniya Muromskaya. Following the sobor, by Metropolitan Macarius were comprised “the great Cheti-Minei” [?].
===The [[Stoglavy Sobor ]] of 1551===The Stoglavy sobor (also known as the Council of the Hundred Chapters) became perhaps the brightest phenomenon of the history of the ancient Russian Orthodox church. At this sobor were present [[Macarius of Moscow|Macarius]], Metropolitan of Moscow, [[PhilipII of Moscow|Philip]], the future prelate of Moscow, Maxim the Greek, [[Gury of Kazan|Gury]] and Barsonofius of Kazan, Akaki the bishop of Tver and others. Many of these persons have been proclaimed saints lateronlater on. Tsar [[Ivan IV of Russia|Ivan IV ]] actively contributed to the convocation of the sobor. More than 70 questions regarding all aspects of church life were examined by the sobor: divine service, piety, spiritual instruction, church control and law court, the rules of Christian behavior and the relations between the spiritual and secular authorities. At the sobor were confirmed many orthodox traditions including the sign of the cross with two fingers and especially the haleluias. In the course of the sobor a committee drew up a collection of acts with 100 chapters. Specifically, on the basis of this collections, the sobor of 1551 obtained the name “Stoglavy” or “Stoglav”.
Issues developed at this sobor became a set of laws for the entire church life in the course of the subsequent 100 years. And today, after 450 years of its solution they have great authority among the Russian Christian Old Believers.
By the middle of the 17th century Greek and Russian church officials, including Patriarch Nikon, had noticed discrepancies between contemporary Russian and Greek usages. They reached the conclusion that the Russian Orthodox Church had, as a result of errors of incompetent copyists, developed rites and missal texts of its own that had significantly deviated from the Greek originals. Thus, the Russian Orthodox Church had become dissonant from the other Orthodox churches. Later research was to vindicate the Muscovite service-books as belonging to a different recension from that which was used by the Greeks at the time of Nikon, and the unrevised Muscovite books were actually older and more venerable than the Greek books, which had undergone several revisions over the centuries and ironically, were newer and contained innovations (Kapterev N.F., 1913, 1914; Zenkovskij S.A., 1995, 2006).
Nikon, supported by Tsar [[Alexis I of Russia|Alexis I]] (r. 1645-1676), carried out some preliminary liturgical reforms. In 1652, he convened a [[synod]] and exhorted the clergy on the need to compare Russian ''[[Typikon]]'', ''[[Euchologion]]'', and other [[liturgical books]] with their Greek counterparts. Monasteries from all over Russia received requests to send examples to Moscow in order to have them subjected to a comparative analysis. Such a task would have taken many years of conscientious research and could hardly have given an unambiguous result, given the complex development of the Russian liturgical texts over the previous centuries and an almost complete lack of textual historigraphic techniques at the time.
The ''[[locum tenens]]'' for the Patriarch, [[Pitirim of Krutitsy]], convened a second synod in 1666, which brought Patriarch [[Michael III of Antioch]], Patriarch [[Paisius of Alexandria]] and many [[bishop]]s to Moscow. Some scholars allege that the visiting patriarchs each received both 20,000 roubles in gold and furs for their participation (Zenkovskij S.A., 1995, 2006). This council officially established the reforms and anathematized not only all those opposing the innovations, but the old Russian books and rites themselves as well. As a side-effect of condemning the past of the Russian Orthodox Church and her traditions, the messianic theory depicting Moscow as the [[Third Rome]] appeared weaker. Instead of the guardian of Orthodox faith, Russia seemed an accumulation of serious liturgical mistakes.
Nevertheless, both Patriarch and Tsar wished to carry out their reforms, although their endeavours may have had as much or more political motivation as religious; several authors on this subject point out that Tsar Alexis, encouraged by his military success in the war against Poland-Lithuania to liberate West Russian provinces and the Ukraine, grew ambitious of becoming the liberator of the Orthodox areas which at that time formed part of the [[Ottoman Empire]]Empir. They also mention the role of the Near-East patriarchs, who actively supported the idea of the Russian Tsar becoming the liberator of all Orthodox Christians (Kapterev N.F. 1913, 1914; Zenkovsky S.A., 1995, 2006).
| Ісусъ || Іисусъ
|-
! [[Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed|Creed]]
| рождена, '''а''' не сотворена ''(begotten '''but''' not made)''; И в Духа Святаго, Господа''' истиннаго''' и Животворящаго ''(And in the Holy Ghost, the '''True''' Lord, the Giver of Life)'' || рождена, не сотворена ''(begotten not made)''; И в Духа Святаго, Господа Животворящаго ''(And in the Holy Ghost, the Lord, the Giver of Life)''
|-я
After 1685 a period of persecutions began, including both torture and executions. Many Old Believers fled Russia altogether. However, Old Believers became the dominant denomination in many regions, including Pomorye (Arkhangelsk region), Guslitsy, Kursk region, the Urals, Siberia, etc. A compact 40,000-strong Lipovan community of Old Believers still lives in neighboring Kiliia raion (Vilkov) of Ukraine and Tulcea County of Romania in the Danube Delta. By the 1910s, about 25% of the population in Russia said that they belonged to one of the Old Believer branches.
Government oppression could vary from relatively moderate, as under [[Peter the Great]] (r. 1682-1725) (Old Believers had to pay double taxation and a separate tax for wearing a beard), to intense, as under Tsar [[Nicholas I of Russia|Nicholas I]] (r. 1825-1855). The Russian synodal state church and the state authorities often saw Old Believers as dangerous elements and as a threat to the Russian state.
In 1905 Tsar [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]] signed an Act of religious freedom, which ended the persecution of all religious minorities in Russia. The Old Believers gained the right to build churches, to ring church bells, to hold processions and to organize themselves. It became prohibited (as under [[Catherine the Great]] (reigned 1762 - 1796)) to refer to Old Believers as ''raskolniki'' (schismatics), a name they consider insulting. People often refer to the period from 1905 until 1917 as "the Golden Age of the Old Faith". One can regard the Act of 1905 as emancipating the Old Believers, who had until then occupied an almost illegal position in Russian society. Nevertheless some restrictions for Old Believers continued: for example, they had no right to join the civil service.
== Modern situation ==
[[Image:Evstafiev-old-believers-oregon-usa.jpg|thumb|250px|Russian Old Believers in Woodburn, Oregon. Photo by Mikhail Evstafiev.]]
Within the Old-Believer world, only [[Pomortsy]] and [[Fedoseevtsy]] treat each other relatively well; none of the other denominations acknowledge each other. Ordinary Old Believers display some tendencies of intra-branch [[ecumenism]], but these trends find sparse support among the official leaders of the congregations.
Nowadays, Old Believers live all over the world. They scattered mainly due to persecutions under the Tsars and due to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Significant Old-Believer communities exist in Plamondon, Alberta; Woodburn, Oregon; Erie, Pennsylvania; Erskine, Minnesota and in various parts of Alaska including near Homer (Voznesenka, Razdolna, and Kachemak Selo), Anchor Point (Nikolaevsk), Willow, the Palmer/Wasilla Area, Anchorage, Delta Junction, The Anton Larson Bay Area, and on Raspberry Island; Both near Kodiak. A flourishing community also exists in Sydney, Australia.
== Old Believer groups ==
=== Popovtsy ===
Since none of the bishops joined the Old Believers (except Bishop Pavel of Kolomna, who suffered execution), apostolically ordained priests of the old rite would have soon become extinct. Two responses appeared to this dilemma: the “priestist” Old Believers (поповцы (''[[Popovtsy]]'')) and the non-priestist Old Believers (беспоповцы ([[Bespopovtsy]] — literally "priestless ones")).
The Popovtsy represented the more moderate conservative opposition, those who strove to continue religious and church life as it had existed before the reforms of Nikon. They recognized ordained priests from the new-style Russian Orthodox church who joined the Old Believers and who had denounced the Nikonian reforms. In 1846 they convinced Amvrosii Popovich (1791-1863), a deposed [[Greek Orthodox]] bishop whom Turkish pressure had had removed from his see at Sarajevo, to become an Old Believer and to consecrate three Russian Old-Believer priests as bishops. In 1859, the number of Old-Believer bishops in Russia reached ten, and they established their own [[episcopate]], the [[Belokrinitskaya hierarchy]]. Not all priestist Old Believers recognized this hierarchy. Dissenters known as беглопоповцы (''beglopopovtsy'') obtained their own hierarchy in the 1920s. The priestist Old Believers thus manifest as two churches which share the same beliefs, but which treat each other's hierarchy as illegitimate. [[Popovtsy]] have priests, bishops and all [[sacrament]]s, including the [[eucharist]].
* [[Belokrinitskaya hierarchy]] - The largest [[Popovtsy]] denomination. One can refer to the Russian part of this denomination as the [[Belokrinitskoe Soglasie]] (the "Belokrinitsky Agreement") or as the [[Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church]].
* Okruzhniki (extinct)
* Neokruzhniki (extinct)
* [[Beglopopovtsy]] (extinct, now the Russian Old-Orthodox Church)
* Luzhkane, also known as ''Luzhkovskoe soglasie'' (extinct). In some places, they had no priests and so belonged to [[Bespopovtsy]].
=== Bespopovtsy ===
The Bespopovtsy (the "priestless") rejected "the World" where [[Antichrist]] reigned; they preached the imminent end of the world, [[asceticism]], adherence to the old rituals and the old faith. The Bespopovtsy claimed that the true church of Christ had ceased to exist on Earth, and they therefore renounced priests and all sacraments except [[baptism]]. The Bespopovtsy movement has many sub-groups. [[Bespopovtsy]] have no priests and no [[eucharist]].
* [[Pomortsy]] or Danilovtsy (not to be confused with Pomors) originated in North European Russia (Russian Karelia, Arkhangelsk region). Initially they rejected marriage and prayer for the Tsar.
* Novopomortsy, or "New Pomortsy" - accept marriage
* Staropomortsy, or "Old Pomortsy" - reject marriage
* [[Fedoseevtsy]Fedoseevts] – “Society of Christian Old Believers of the Old Pomortsy Unmarried Confession” (1690s- present); deny marriage and practise cloister-style asceticism.* [[Fillipovtsy]].* [[Chasovennye]] (from a word ''chasovnya'' - a [[chapel]]) - Siberian branch. The Chasovennye initially had priests, but later decided to change to a priestless practice. Also known as [[Semeyskie]] (in the lands east of Baykal Lake).
====Bespopovsty: Minor groups====
Aside from these major groups, many smaller groups have emerged and died out at various times since the end of 17th century:
* ''Aristovtsy'' (beginning of 19th to the beginning of 20th centuries; extinct) - from the name of the merchant Aristov;
* ''Titlovtsy'' (extinct in 20th cent.) - emerged from [[Fedoseevtsy]], supported the use of [[Pontius Pilate|Pilate]]'s inscription upon the cross (''titlo''), which other groups rejected;* ''Troparion'' confession (troparschiki) - a group that commemorated the tsar in the hymns ([[troparia]]);
* Daniel’s confession of the “partially married” (''danilovtsy polubrachnye'');
* Adamant confession (''adamantovy'') - refused to use money and passports (as containing the seal of [[Antichrist]]);
* Aaron's confession (''aaronovtsy'') - second half of the 18th century, a spin-off of the Fillipovtsy.
* “Grandmother’s confession” or the Self-baptized - practiced self-baptism or the baptism by midwives (''babushki''), since the priesthood — in their opinion — had ceased to exist;
== Validity of the Reformist Theory: sources of Russian traditions ==
Vladimir officially converted the Eastern Slavs to Christianity in 988, and the people had adopted Greek Orthodox liturgical practices. At the end of 11th century, the efforts of St. Theodosius of the Caves in Kiev (''Феодосий Киево-Печерский'', d. 1074) introduced the Studite Typikon to Russia. This [[typikon]] reflected the traditions of the urban monastic community of the famous [[Studion Monastery]] in Constantinople. The Studite Typikon predominated throughout the western part of the [[Byzantine Empire]] and was accepted throughout the Russian lands. In the end of 14th century, through the work of St. [[Cyprian of Moscow|Cyprian]], metropolitan of Moscow and Kiev, the Studite liturgical practices were gradually replaced in Russia with the ''Jerusalem Typicon'' or the ''Typicon of St. Sabbas'' - originally, an adaptation of the Studite liturgy to the customs of Palestinian monasteries. The process of gradual change of ''typica'' would continue throughout the 15th century and, because of its slow implementation, met with little resistance - unlike Nikon's reforms, conducted with abruptness and violence. However, in the course of 15th-17th centuries, Russian scribes continued to insert some Studite material into the general shape of ''Jerusalem Typicon''. This explains the differences between the modern version of the ''Typicon'', used by the Russian Orthodox Church, and the pre-Nikonian Russian recension of ''Jerusalem Typicon'', called ''Oko Tserkovnoe'' (Rus. "eye of the church"). This pre-Nikonian version, based on the Moscow printed editions of 1610, 1633 and 1641, continues to be used by modern Old Believers.
However, in the course of the polemics against Old Believers, the official [[Church of Russia|Russian Orthodox Church]] often claimed the discrepancies (which emerged in the texts between the Russian and the Greek churches) as Russian innovations, errors, or arbitrary translations.
This charge of "Russian innovation" re-appeared repeatedly in the textbooks and anti-''raskol'' treatises and catecheses, including, for example, those by [[Dimitri of Rostov]]. The critical evaluation of the sources and of the essence of Nikonian reforms began only in the 1850s with the groundbreaking work of Nikolai F. Kapterev (1847-1917), continued later by Serge Zenkovsky. Kapterev demonstrated—for the first time to the wider Russian audience—that the rites, rejected and condemned by the Nikonian reforms, were genuine customs of the Orthodox Church which suffered alterations in the Greek usage during the 15th-16th centuries, but remained unchanged in Russia. The pre-Nikonian liturgical practices, including some elements of the Russian typicon, ''Oko Tserkovnoe'', were demonstrated to have preserved many earlier Byzantine material, being actually closer to the earlier Byzantine texts than some later Greek customs (Kapterev, N.F. 1913; Zenkovsky, S.A. 2006).
Both the popovtsy and bespopovtsy, although theologically and psychologically two different teachings, manifested spiritual, eschatological and mystical tendencies throughout Russian religious thought and church life. One can also emphasize the schism's position in the political and cultural backgrounds of its time: increasing Western influence, secularization, and attempts to subordinate the Church to the state. Nevertheless, the Old Believers sought above all to defend and preserve the purity of the Orthodox faith, embodied in the old rituals, which inspired many to strive against Patriarch Nikon’s church reforms even unto death.
In the past the Old Believers' movement was often perceived as an obscure faith in rituals that led to the deaths of tens of thousands of ignorant people. Old Beliers were accused of not being able to distinguish the important from the unimportant. To many people of that time, however, rituals expressed the very essence of their faith. Old Believers hold that the preservation of a certain "microclimate" that enables the salvation of one's soul requires not only living by the commandments of [[Christ]], but also carefully preserving Church tradition, which contains the spiritual power and knowledge of past centuries, embodied in external forms.
The Old Believers reject the idea of contents ''a priori'' prevailing over form. To illustrate this issue, the renowned Russian historian Vasily Klyuchevsky (1841–1911) referred to poetry. He argued, that if one converts a poem into prose, the contents of the poem may remain intact, but the poem will lose its charm and emotional impact; moreover, the poem will essentially no longer exist. In the case of religious rituals, form and contents do not just form two separable, autonomous entities, but connect with each other through complex relationships, including theological, psychological, phenomenal, esthetic and historic dimensions.
''(These are not true with all Christian Churches)''
Although [[Oriental Orthodoxy|Oriental Orthodox Churches]] and the rest of Christendom ([[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox Churches]] and the [[Roman Catholic Church]]) separated in 451 AD following the [[Fourth Ecumenical Council|Council of Chalcedon]], striking similarities can be found today between the Old Believers Russian Orthodox Christians and the Oriental Orthodox Christians, such as the [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Copts]], the [[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenians]], the [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriacs]], the [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopians]], and the [[Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Eritreans]].
This similarity can be attributed to the fact that both groups are much stricter than any other Christian denomination in resisting even the slightest changes to their liturgy, practices or Orthodox faith as it has been handed down to them by the fathers of the early Church in the first 4 centuries of Christianity.
Some of the most notable similarities between the Old Believers and the Oriental Orthodox Christians include the following:
* Both adhere strictly to the practice of [[baptism]] by three full immersions, and reject the validity of [[baptism]] by sprinkling or pouring of water.
* Both reject any changes or emendations of liturgical or religious texts.
* Both employ monodic singing, as opposed to the polyphonic singing of most other Christian denominations.
* Both reject the use of modern realistic iconography, and adhere to the veneration of traditional icons.
* Both groups practice bows and prostrations during liturgical services, and do not kneel during prayer.
* The liturgical services of both the Old Believers and the [[Oriental Orthodoxy|Oriental Orthodox]] are considerably longer than those of other Christian denominations. These services can last for as long as eight hours on feast days.
* Preparation for communion is very strict for both groups and lasts for days prior to receiving the sacrament.
==Source==
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wwiki/index.php?title=Old_Believers&oldid=144360416 Wikipedia:Old Believers] (accessed July 13, 2007)
==External links==
*[http://www.synaxis.info/ SYNAXIS.INFO - Library of Eastren Orthodox Resources]
*[http://oldbelievers.wetpaint.com/ Old-Rite Russian Orthodox Christian Wiki]
*[http://www.geocities.com/fatman2021/index.html How Old Believers make the sign of the cross]
*[http://www.rpsc.ru Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church (official site of the Moscow Metropoly)]
*[http://alkonost.onego.ru/history/OldBelievers.html Old Believers in Karelia in the 17th century]
*[http://www.starover.ee Old Believers in Estonia]
*[http://www.oldbelievers.org/ Russian Orthodox Old Rite Believers]
*[http://members.tripod.com/old_rite_orthodox/index.html Orthodox Kellion of the Holy Trinity and Saint Sergius]
*[http://www.russiangiftsnina.com/ Russian Old Ritualist Village Nikolaevsk Alaska]
*[http://groups.yahoo.com/group/old-rite/ Old-Rite Yahoo! Group — Russia's Ancient Spiritual Heritage]
*[http://www.churchofthenativity.net/ Old Rite ROCOR Church of the Nativity]
*[http://oldbeliever.blogspot.com/ Old Ritualist Monks of the Old Rite in North Dakota]*[http://www.countryscribe.com/weblog/2003_10_19_archive.html Page Down to "Elena's Place" for an Interview with a Minnesota Old Believer] *[http://catholicmartyrslibweb.uoregon.ruedu/enec/personsoldbelievers/emelyanovindex.html A brief biography of Father Potapy Emelyanov, an Old Believer who converted to CatholicismBelievers in North America - a bibliography]*[http://kirovold.ru/ Old Belief in Omutninsk, Russia]*[http://www.geocitieseveryculture.com/AthensRussia-Eurasia-China/AgoraOld-Believers.html World Culture Encyclopedia on Old Believers]*[http:/2827/collectionmymartyrdom.html Collection of com/old.htm The Beloved Russian Old Believer History and Tradition; Compiled by Paul JRitualist Believers]*[http://digilander.libero. Wigowskyit/ortodossia/Ambrogio.htm Breve Vita Del Padre Nostro Tra I Santi Ambrogio Metropolita Di Belo-Krinitsa E Di Tutti Gli Antichi Ortodossi, Il Confessore]*[http://engwww.sedmitzabelaya-krinica.ru?indexkiev.html?did=1293 ua/ Russian Orthodox Old Believers in Modern Russia-Rite Church]*[http://www.kirovgrokiskis.rult/lt/temos/dienos-tema/~umcnd2010/eng05/churches07/omutnin.htm Old Belief in Omutninsk, Russiasentikiai-musu-krastui-ypatingas-jubiliejus]*[http://homernewswigowsky.com/visitorsproducts.html Freedom For an Old Believer, by Paul John Wigowsky]*[http:/stories/111306www.oldorthodox.ge/220_mile_20061113025.shtml Slavo-Georgian (Iberian) Old Believers in Alaska-Orthodox Church]
[[Category:Jurisdictions]]
[[Category: Schisms]]
[[Category:Old Believer Jurisdictions|*]]
[[fr:Orthodoxes vieux-croyants]]
[[ro:Rascolnici]]
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