Initially, all those convicted by the council were sent into severe exile. But some - Ivan Neronov, Feoktist, Bishop Alexander of Vyatka - nevertheless repented and were forgiven. The anathematized and defrocked archpriest Avvakum was sent to the Pustozersky prison in the lower reaches of the Pechora River. Deacon Theodore was also exiled there, who at first repented, but then returned to the Old Belief, for which he had his tongue cut out and also ended up in prison. Priest Lazar was given several months to think, but he did not repent and joined his like-minded people. Pustozersky fort became the center of Old Believer thought. Despite the difficult living conditions, intense polemics with the official church were carried out from here, and the dogmas of the separated community were developed. The messages of Avvakum served as support for the sufferers for the old faith - the boyar Feodosia Morozova and Princess Evdokia Urusova. Addressing them, the archpriest touchingly called them “the city of Eden and Noah’s glorious ark, which saved the world from drowning,” “animate cherubs.”
The head of the champions of ancient piety, convinced of his rightness, Avvakum justified his views in the following way: “The Church is Orthodox, and the dogmas of the church from Nikon the heretic, the former patriarch, are distorted by newly published books, which are the first books that existed under the five first patriarchs.” Archahs, they are contrary in everything: in Vespers, and in Matins, and in the Liturgy, and in the entire divine service they do not agree. And our sovereign is the king and Grand Duke Alexey Mikhailovich is Orthodox, but only with his simple soul did he accept books from Nikon, the imaginary shepherd, the inner wolf, thinking that they were Orthodox; did not consider the chaff (harmful, destructive. - Note edit.) heretics in books, busy with external wars and affairs, believed so.” And even from the Pustozersky underground, where he served 15 years, Avvakum wrote to the king: “The more you torment us, the more we love you.”
But in the Solovetsky Monastery they were already thinking about the question: is it worth praying for such a king? Murmurs began to rise among the people, anti-government rumors began... Neither the tsar nor the church could ignore them. The authorities responded to the dissatisfied with decrees on the search for the Old Believers and on the burning of the unrepentant in log houses, if, after repeating the question three times at the place of execution, they did not renounce their views. An open revolt of Old Believers began on Solovki. Government troops The monastery was besieged for several years, and only a defector opened the way to the impregnable stronghold. The uprising was suppressed.
The more merciless and severe the executions that began, the greater the persistence they caused. They began to look at death for the old faith as a martyrdom. And they even looked for him. “Nutko,orthodoxy,” Archpriest Avvakum proclaimed in one of his messages, “name the name of Christ, stand in the middle of Moscow, cross yourself with the sign of our savior Christ with two fingers, as we received from the holy fathers, here is the kingdom of heaven for you: born at home.” God bless: suffer for the folding of your fingers, don’t talk too much... It’s up to us: lie there like that forever and ever.” Raising their hands high with the double-fingered sign of the cross, the condemned earnestly said to the people surrounding the place of massacre: “For this piety I suffer, for the ancient Orthodoxy of the Church I die, and you, pious ones, I pray to you to stand firmly in ancient piety.” And they themselves stood strong... It was “for the great blasphemies against the royal house” that he was burned in wooden log house with his fellow prisoners and Archpriest Avvakum.
The cruelest 12 articles of the state decree of 1685, which ordered the burning of Old Believers in log houses, the execution of those who rebaptized into the old faith, the whipping and exile of secret supporters of ancient rituals, as well as their concealers, finally showed the attitude of the state towards the Old Believers. They could not obey, there was only one way out - to leave.
The main refuge of the zealots of ancient piety became the northern regions of Russia, then still completely deserted. Here, in the wilds of the Olonets forests, in the Arkhangelsk icy deserts, the first schismatic monasteries appeared, established by immigrants from Moscow and Solovetsky fugitives who escaped after the capture of the monastery by the tsarist troops. In 1694, a Pomeranian community settled on the Vyg River, where the Denisov brothers, Andrei and Semyon, known throughout the Old Believer world, played a prominent role. Later, a convent for women appeared in these places, on the Leksna River. It happened that way famous center ancient piety - Vygoleksinsky hostel.
Another place of refuge for the Old Believers was the Novgorod-Severskaya land. Back in the 70s.XVIIcenturies, priest Kuzma and his 20 followers fled to these places from Moscow, saving their old faith. Here, near Starodub, they founded a small monastery. But less than two decades had passed before 17 settlements grew out of this monastery. When the waves of state persecution reached the Starodub fugitives, many of them went beyond the Polish border and settled on the island of Vet-ka, formed by a branch of the Sozha River. The settlement began to quickly rise and grow: more than 14 populous settlements also appeared around it.
Famous place of the end of the Old BelieversXVIIcentury, there was undoubtedly Kerzhenets, named after the river of the same name. Many hermitages were built in the Chernoramen forests. There was a lively debate on dogmatic issues here, to which the entire Old Believer world listened. From here, escaping from reprisals, the Old Believers went further - to the Urals and Siberia, where new influential centers of the Old Believers arose.
The Don and Ural Cossacks also turned out to be consistent supporters of ancient piety. Since 1692, the influence of the old faith began to manifest itself more and more in the villages of the Ciscaucasia - along the rivers Kuma, Sulak, Kuban. And by 1698, the Old Believers had already penetrated beyond the Terek, into the gorges of Greater Kabarda. Old Believer settlements also appeared in the Lower Volga, especially around Astrakhan.
By the end XVII V. The main directions in the Old Believers have emerged. Subsequently, each of them will have its own traditions and rich history.
The measures taken did not lead to the complete extermination of the Old Believers. Someone went over to the Synodal Church, someone was executed or died in prison, a significant part scattered around the outskirts of Russia and left its borders. In 1702, Peter I, upon returning from Arkhangelsk, decided to visit Vyg (a large Old Believer settlement on the outskirts of the empire).
The Old Believers prepared to flee and die by fire, but the tsar did not touch them, but promised the Vygovites confessional autonomy. Academician Panchenko expresses the opinion that these ideas were caused by the fact that Peter visited Western Europe, and in his circle there were many Protestants, on whose ideas he relied and who suffered similar persecution from the Catholic Inquisition in Europe.
Peter I decided to allow the Old Believers to exist in the state, but impose additional taxes on them and begin the fight against the Old Believers with the help of falsifications. To this end, on February 8 (19), 1716, Peter issued a “decree, personal, announced from the Senate - on going to confession every day, on a fine for failure to comply with this rule, and on the provision of double salary [tax] for schismatics.”
In addition, the Old Believers, due to their religious beliefs, were forced to pay a beard tax, which was levied on January 16 (27), 1705. On February 18 (29), 1716, the tsar issued a new decree, according to which from the Old Believers: widows and unmarried women(girls) began to take the usual tax.
According to Peter's decree of April 6 (17), 1722, Old Believers had to pay 50 rubles a year for a beard, and they had no right to wear any other clothing except: zipun with a standing glued trump card (collar), ferezi and one-row with a lying one necklace. The collar must be red - made of red cloth, and the dress itself cannot be worn in red.
If one of the Old Believers appeared in different clothes, then he was fined 50 rubles. In 1724, on November 13, Peter issued a decree, at the request of Archbishop Pitirim of Nizhny Novgorod, to issue copper badges to the Old Believers, which the Old Believers were obliged to sew on their clothes and wear them (as Jews in Nazi Germany wore a yellow star). Women Old Believers, according to this decree, were required to wear opashni dresses and hats with horns.
It should be noted that all other residents of the cities, according to the decrees of December 17 (28), 1713 and December 29, 1714 (January 9, 1715), were prohibited from wearing beards, wearing Russian clothes and trading in national Russian clothing and boots (trading it was possible only with clothes German sample). Those who disobeyed were whipped and sent to hard labor.
At the beginning of the 18th century, to combat the old rite, forged “ancient” manuscripts were created in the Holy Synod: the Council Act on Martin the Armenian and the so-called Theognostov Trebnik, which in an active way will be used by Synodal missionaries for more than 200 years, from the 18th century until 1917.
The persecution against the Old Believers did not stop even after the abolition. Tsar Peter conducted several population censuses to collect taxes. Those Old Believers who were willing to pay double salary (tax) and passed the census began to be called “recorded Old Believers” (officially: “recorded schismatics”). Those who evaded the census began to be called “non-registered Old Believers” (officially: “non-registered schismatics”) and found themselves in an illegal position.
On May 15 (26), 1722, the Law “On orders for the conversion of schismatics to the Orthodox Church” was issued on behalf of the Synod. According to this law, when converting to the New Believers, Old Believers who were baptized by Old Believers must be baptized again. To tonsure the monks again. Children of registered schismatics (Old Believers) must be forcibly baptized in New Believers churches. Those Old Believers who obey the church in everything, but cross themselves with two fingers, are considered outside the church - schismatics.
Those "who although holy church and they obey and accept all the church sacraments, and depict the cross on themselves with two fingers, and not with a three-fingered addition, which with the opposite wisdom, and who do it out of ignorance but out of stubbornness, write both of them into schism, no matter what.”
The testimony of schismatics (Old Believers) is equated with the testimony of heretics and is not accepted in courts, both ecclesiastical and civil. Parents of Old Believers are forbidden to teach their children double-fingering under pain of severe punishment (to which teachers of schismatics were subjected).
The latter meant that if Old Believers parents taught their own children to be baptized with two fingers, then they were equated with schismatic teachers and were sent under guard (guard) to be tried by the Holy Synod in accordance with paragraph 10 of the law in question.
All this lawlessness, the extermination of everything Russian, was happening in our country. This historical information is available in open sources, but it is not customary to talk about it. The Russian Orthodox Church, represented by Patriarch Kirill, tells us loudly that before baptism, Russian people were barbarians and practically wild people.
We must comprehend all this, accept it and draw conclusions on how we should live further. It must be said openly that the Patriarch is lying! In Rus' there was widespread Orthodoxy.
Literature:
L.N. Gumilev “From Rus' to Russia” http://www.bibliotekar.ru/gumilev-lev/65.htm
S. A. Zenkovsky " Russian Old Believers. The Church and Moscow during the Interregnum"
http://www.sedmitza.ru/lib/text/439568/
F. E. Melnikov. " Short story Ancient Orthodox (Old Believer) Church" http://www.krotov.info/history/17/staroobr/melnikov.html
A.I. Solzhenitsyn (from the message to the Third Council of the Russian Church Abroad) http://rus-vera.ru/arts/arts25.html
Based on the article https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C2%AB%D0%94%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%B4%D1%86%D0% B0%D1%82%D1%8C_%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B9%C2%BB_%D1%86%D0%B0%D1%80% D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BD%D1%8B_%D0%A1%D0%BE%D1%84%D1%8C%D0%B8
(OLD BELIEVERS)- the general name of followers of religious movements in Russia that emerged as a result of church reforms carried out by Patriarch Nikon (1605-1681). S. did not accept Nikon’s “innovations” (correction of liturgical books, changes in rituals), interpreting them as Antichrist. S. themselves preferred to call themselves “Old Believers,” emphasizing the antiquity of their faith and its difference from the new faith, which they considered heretical.
S. was headed by Archpriest Avvakum (1620 or 1621 - 1682). After condemnation at the church council of 1666-1667. Avvakum was exiled to Pustozersk, where 15 years later he was burned by royal decree. S. began to be subjected to severe persecution by ecclesiastical and secular authorities. Self-immolations of Old Believers began, which often became widespread.
At the end of the 17th century. S. divided into priests And Bespopovtsy. The next step was the division into numerous agreements and rumors. In the 18th century many S. were forced to flee outside Russia to escape persecution. This situation was changed by a decree issued in 1762, which allowed the Old Believers to return to their homeland. From the end of the 18th century. two main centers of Old Believer communities emerged - Moscow, wherebespopovtsylived on the territory adjacent to the Preobrazhenskoe cemetery, andpriests- to the Rogozhskoe cemetery, and St. Petersburg. IN late XIX V. The main Old Believer centers in Russia were Moscow, p. Guslitsy (Moscow region) and Volga region.
In the first half of the 19th century. pressure on the Old Believers increased. In 1862Belokrinitsky hierarchycondemned the ideas of the reign of the Antichrist in her “District Message”.
In the years Soviet power S. continued to be persecuted. Only in 1971 by the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church The anathema from the Old Believers was lifted. Currently, there are S. communities in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the Baltic countries, South America, Canada, etc.
Literature:
Molzinsky V.V. Old Believer movement second half XVII V. in Russian scientific-historical literature. St. Petersburg, 1997; Ershova O. P. Old Believers and power. M, 1999; Melnikov F. E. 1) Modern requests for the Old Believers. M., 1999; 2) A brief history of the Old Orthodox (Old Believer) church. Barnaul, 1999.
IN last years is growing in our country interest in the Old Believers. Many both secular and ecclesiastical authors publish materials devoted to spiritual and cultural heritage, history and modern day Old Believers. However, he himself Old Believers phenomenon, his philosophy, worldview and terminology features are still poorly researched. About the semantic meaning of the term “ Old Believers"read the article" What is Old Believers?».
This was done because the ancient Russian Old Believer church traditions, which existed in Rus' for almost 700 years, were recognized as non-Orthodox, schismatic and heretical at the New Believer councils of 1656, 1666-1667. The term itself Old Believers" arose out of necessity. The fact is that the Synodal Church, its missionaries and theologians called the supporters of pre-schism, pre-Nikon Orthodoxy nothing more than schismatics and heretics.
In fact, such the greatest Russian ascetic, Sergius of Radonezh, was recognized as non-Orthodox, which caused an obvious deep protest among believers.
The Synodal Church took this position as the main one and used it, explaining that supporters of all Old Believer agreements without exception fell away from the “true” Church because of their firm reluctance to accept the church reform that they began to put into practice Patriarch Nikon and continued to one degree or another by his followers, including the emperor Peter I.
On this basis, everyone who does not accept the reforms was called schismatics, shifting onto them responsibility for the split of the Russian Church, for the alleged separation from Orthodoxy. Until the beginning of the 20th century, in all polemical literature published by the dominant church, Christians professing pre-schism church traditions were called “schismatics,” and the very spiritual movement of the Russian people in defense of paternal church customs was called “schism.”
This and other even more offensive terms were used not only to expose or humiliate the Old Believers, but also to justify persecution, mass repression against supporters of ancient Russian church piety. In the book “The Spiritual Sling,” published with the blessing of the New Believer Synod, it was said:
“The schismatics are not the sons of the church, but sheer heedless ones. They are worthy of being handed over to the punishment of the city court... worthy of all punishment and wounds.
And if there is no healing, there will be death.".
And most of the Russian people, without wanting it themselves, began to be called offensive, turning things upside down. the essence of the Old Believers, term. At the same time, internally disagreeing with this, the believers - supporters of pre-schism Orthodoxy - sincerely sought to achieve an official name that was different.
For self-identification they took the term “ Old Orthodox Christians"—hence the name of each Old Believer consensus of its Church: Ancient Orthodox. The terms “orthodoxy” and “true Orthodoxy” were also used. In the writings of Old Believer readers of the 19th century, the term “ true orthodox church».
It is important that among believers “in the old way” the term “Old Believers” was not used for a long time because the believers themselves did not call themselves that. In church documents, correspondence, and everyday communication, they preferred to call themselves “Christians,” sometimes “Old Believers.” The term " Old Believers”, legalized by secular authors of the liberal and Slavophile movement in the second half of the 19th century, was considered not entirely correct. The meaning of the term “Old Believers” as such indicated the strict primacy of rituals, while in reality the Old Believers believed that the Old Faith was not only old rituals, but also a set of church dogmas, worldview truths, special traditions of spirituality, culture and life.
However, by the end of the 19th century the situation in society and Russian Empire begins to change. The government began to pay great attention to the needs and demands of the Old Orthodox Christians; a certain generalizing term was needed for civilized dialogue, regulations and legislation.
For this reason, the terms " Old Believers", "Old Believers" is becoming increasingly widespread. At the same time, Old Believers of different consents mutually denied each other’s Orthodoxy and, strictly speaking, for them the term “Old Believers” united, on a secondary ritual basis, religious communities deprived of church-religious unity. For the Old Believers, the internal inconsistency of this term consisted in the fact that, using it, they united in one concept the truly Orthodox Church (i.e., their own Old Believer consent) with heretics (i.e., Old Believers of other consents).
Nevertheless, the Old Believers at the beginning of the 20th century positively perceived that in the official press the terms “schismatics” and “schismatic” began to be gradually replaced by “Old Believers” and “Old Believer.” The new terminology did not have a negative connotation, and therefore Old Believers' consent began to actively use it in the social and public sphere.
The word “Old Believers” is accepted not only by believers. Secular and Old Believer publicists and writers, public and statesmen It is increasingly used in literature and official documents. At the same time, conservative representatives of the Synodal Church in pre-revolutionary times continue to insist that the term “Old Believers” is incorrect.
"Recognizing existence" Old Believers", they said, "we will have to admit the presence of " New Believers“, that is, to admit that the official church uses not ancient, but newly invented rites and rituals.”
According to the New Believer missionaries, such self-exposure could not be allowed.
And yet, over time, the words “Old Believers” and “Old Believers” became more and more firmly rooted in literature and in everyday speech, displacing the term “schismatics” from the colloquial use of the overwhelming majority of supporters of “official” Orthodoxy.
Reflecting on the concept of “Old Believers,” writers, theologians and publicists gave different assessments. Until now, the authors cannot come to a common opinion.
It is no coincidence that even in the popular book, the dictionary “Old Believers. Persons, objects, events and symbols" (M., 1996), published by the publishing house of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church, there is no separate article "Old Believers" that would explain the essence of this phenomenon in national history. The only thing here is that it is only noted that this is “a complex phenomenon that unites under one name both the true Church of Christ and the darkness of error.”
The perception of the term “Old Believers” is noticeably complicated by the presence among Old Believers of divisions into “agreements” ( Old Believer churches), who are divided into supporters of a hierarchical structure with Old Believer priests and bishops (hence the name: priests - Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church, Russian Ancient Orthodox Church) and on those who do not accept priests and bishops - non-priests ( Old Orthodox Pomeranian Church,Hourly Concord, runners (wanderer consent), Fedoseevskoe consent).
Some Old Believer authors They believe that it is not only the difference in rituals that separates the Old Believers from the New Believers and other faiths. There are, for example, some dogmatic differences in relation to church sacraments, deep cultural differences in relation to church singing, icon painting, church-canonical differences in church administration, holding councils, and in relation to church rules. Such authors argue that the Old Believers contain not only old rituals, but also Old Faith.
Consequently, such authors argue, it is more convenient and correct from the point of view common sense, use the term "Old Belief", unspokenly implying everything that is the only true thing for those who accepted pre-schism Orthodoxy. It is noteworthy that initially the term “Old Belief” was actively used by supporters of priestless Old Believer agreements. Over time, it took root in other agreements.
Today, representatives of New Believers churches very rarely call Old Believers schismatics; the term “Old Believers” has taken root both in official documents and church journalism. However, New Believer authors insist that the meaning of the Old Believers lies in the exclusive adherence to the old rituals. Unlike pre-revolutionary synodal authors, current theologians of the Russian Orthodox Church and other New Believer churches do not see any danger in using the terms “Old Believers” and “New Believers.” In their opinion, the age or truth of the origin of a particular ritual does not matter.
The Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1971 recognized old and new rituals absolutely equal, equally honest and equally saving. Thus, in the Russian Orthodox Church the form of ritual is now given secondary importance. At the same time, New Believer authors continue to instruct that Old Believers, Old Believers are part of the believers, seceded from the Russian Orthodox Church, and therefore from all Orthodoxy, after the reforms of Patriarch Nikon.
So what is the interpretation of the term “ Old Believers» is most acceptable today both for the Old Believers themselves and for secular society, including scientists studying the history and culture of the Old Believers and the life of modern Old Believers churches?
So, firstly, since at the moment church schism In the 17th century, the Old Believers did not introduce any innovations, but remained faithful to the ancient Orthodox church tradition; therefore, they cannot be called “separated” from Orthodoxy. They never left. On the contrary, they defended Orthodox traditions in their unchanged form and abandoned reforms and innovations.
Secondly, the Old Believers were a significant group of believers of the Old Russian Church, consisting of both laity and clergy.
And thirdly, despite the divisions within the Old Believers, which occurred due to severe persecution and the inability to organize a full-fledged church life over the centuries, the Old Believers retained common tribal church and social characteristics.
With this in mind, we can propose the following definition:
OLD BELIEF (or OLD BELIEF)- this is the general name of the Russian Orthodox clergy and laity seeking to preserve the church institutions and traditions of ancient Russian Orthodox Church andthose who refusedaccept the reform undertaken inXVIIcentury by Patriarch Nikon and continued by his followers, right up to PeterIinclusive.
Material taken here: http://ruvera.ru/staroobryadchestvo
Russian Old Believers [Traditions, history, culture] Urushev Dmitry Alexandrovich
Chapter 25. Tsar Peter
Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich loved everything foreign. Following the example of European rulers, he started his own entertainment - the court theater. The autocrat spared no expense on it. The sovereign loved the fun so much that he sat in the theater for ten hours at a time.
Tsar Feodor Alekseevich also revered everything foreign, although he abolished his father's theater. He was fluent in Polish and Latin and composed verses in them. And he loved everything Polish so much that he even wore Polish clothes, which the courtiers imitated.
Tsar Peter Alekseevich (1672–1725) adored everything European and disliked everything domestic. Having become an autocratic ruler, he began to build new Russia, destroying the former Holy Rus'. Therefore, Peter I should be called not only a great transformer, but also a great destroyer.
In March 1697, Peter, together with the Russian embassy, went on a trip to Europe. Having visited many countries, including Austria, England and Holland, the embassy returned to Moscow in August 1698.
At this time, Princess Sophia, whom Peter removed from governing the state, again, as in 1682, began to trouble the Streltsy army. She claimed that during the trip the Europeans replaced the king with a young German. The soldiers, dissatisfied with Peter, believed this. A new Streltsy uprising broke out, but it was suppressed by the Tsar’s supporters.
When the sovereign returned to Rus', he brutally punished the rebels: many were exiled, many were tortured. About two thousand archers were executed. The king personally cut off the heads of some. And he ordered Sophia to be tonsured a monk and imprisoned in a monastery.
Peter disbanded the rebel army and created a new army based on Western models. Instead of archers and centurions, soldiers, officers, generals and marshals appeared. They were dressed in European military uniforms and equipped with modern European weapons.
The wars that Peter waged required many guns. But there was not enough copper to cast them. Then the king ordered the bells to be removed from the churches and sent for melting down.
The priests and parishioners parted with the bells in tears, scolded the soldiers who removed them and whispered: maybe, really, Peter is not the son of Alexei Mikhailovich, not the Russian Tsar, but a German deceiver, a servant of the devil, the Antichrist?
Everything that Peter did seemed reprehensible and wrong to the people, because the sovereign did not take into account the holy antiquity, the covenants of his grandfathers and fathers.
For example, under Tsars Mikhail Fedorovich and Alexei Mikhailovich in Rus', it was strictly forbidden to trade and smoke tobacco. IN " Cathedral Code" of 1649, the main collection of laws of the Russian kingdom, it was said: “And whoever, Russian people and foreigners, learns to keep tobacco or learns to trade tobacco, and for that those people are given a great punishment without mercy under the death penalty."
Peter in 1697 allowed the sale and smoking of tobacco.
In Rus' it was customary to celebrate the New Year ( New Year) September 1. This holiday came to us from the Greeks along with Christianity. The church charter prescribes on this day to perform a solemn service with a prayer service, blessing of water and procession of the cross. Also, chronology was borrowed from the Greeks, which was carried out “from the creation of the world.”
And Peter in 1699 issued a decree: the day of January 1, 7208 “from the creation of the world” should be considered the day of January 1, 1700 “from the Nativity of Christ,” and from this day a new calendar would be carried out, as is customary in European countries. The decree commanded the people to celebrate the holiday cheerfully, congratulate each other on the New Year, and decorate the streets and houses with green spruce branches.
Since the time of Ivan the Terrible, Russian autocrats have been called tsars and grand dukes. Peter, imitating European rulers, declared himself emperor in 1721.
However, he not only gave himself an unusual name, but also arrogated to himself power that had never before belonged to kings. In England, Peter became acquainted with the church structure there. In this country, the head of the Church was not the supreme bishop, but the king, to whom all clergy were subordinate. The Russian Tsar liked this device, and he decided to use it in Rus'.
And so, when the Moscow Patriarch Adrian died in 1700, Peter assumed power over the Church. In 1721, he created the Synod - a special institution that replaced the patriarch and church councils. Therefore, the state Church in Tsarist Russia is usually called the Synodal Church.
Many of Peter's orders were aimed at destroying paternal antiquity. Blindly worshiping Europe, the sovereign took up arms against Russian customs - long beards and folk clothing.
In 1698, the tsar introduced a beard tax, later divided into four categories: annually for the right to wear a beard, courtiers paid 600 rubles, rich merchants - 100, other merchants - 60, townspeople, coachmen and cab drivers - 30.
Those who paid the fee were given signs with the inscription “Beard duty taken.” Peasants were not subject to taxes, but upon entering the city, each bearded man was charged a penny.
The Old Believers received a special salary. From 1716 they were obliged to pay a double poll tax. That's a lot of money along with the beard tax! Of course, not all Old Believers could pay them, and many did not want to. Hard labor was prepared for the poor and rebellious.
In 1700, Peter issued a decree aimed at combating Russian clothing. At the city gates, samples of “correct” clothing were hung - German camisoles and hats. Soldiers stood nearby to ensure that the decree was carried out. If a man in a long caftan passed through the gate, the soldiers made him kneel and cut the caftan flush with the ground.
From now on, tailors were forbidden to sew Russian clothes, and merchants were forbidden to trade them. Old Believers, on the contrary, were ordered to wear folk clothes.
In 1722, the Tsar ordered the Old Believers to wear special outfits of an ancient cut with standing red collars - zipun, feryaz and one-row. Two years later, an additional decree was issued: the wives of Old Believers and bearded men should wear arbors and hats with horns.
Thus, under Peter I, the old Rus' was transformed into a new Russia. And only the Old Believers, persecuted by the authorities, remained devoted to the old Russian faith and the old Russian way of life. For this devotion they had to pay dearly, not only in special taxes and duties, but also in thousands of lives.
Martyrs for the Old Faith
(from “Russian Grapes” by Semyon Denisov)
About the girl Evdokia
Not only men, but also the most glorious part of wives and virgins bravely braved the most severe torments for their fatherly piety. A certain virgin, named Evdokia, was brought to the Novgorod court for maintaining ancient piety. And first of all, they exhorted her for a long time with admonishments and caresses. She didn’t listen, she didn’t weaken at all, but she stood up courageously for piety. For which he is given over to torture.
Immediately the rack is prepared and the rope is threaded. And the maiden is stripped naked and sternly raised on the rack. The girl’s arms broke, the joints cracked, the veins were torn, the wounds on the girl’s flesh also multiplied, blood was shed, streams of blood flowed, dripping onto the ground. Then they seared her wounds with a hot iron and scorched the girl’s body with fire.
Oh, the brutal disgraces of the judges' hearts! More than once this most cruel torment was mercilessly inflicted on the wondrous passion-bearer. But three times with these painful tortures the good sufferer was painfully tormented like a villain, but she never thought of villainy... Finally, she was burned by fire in the log house.
About the girls Akilina and Ksenia
Two more girls, Akilina and Ksenia, suffered gratefully.
Akilina was a Novgorod merchant with a cool life, but the piety of the ancient Orthodox. And when she was taken and tortured along with other sufferers, she endured for a long time. When they led her to death, to be burned in a log house, with the others, she began to be horrified and afraid. However, supported by her fellow prisoners and fellow sufferers, she became bolder.
When they came to the log house itself and entered the log house, she tried to get out of there three times. But, exhorted by the brave souls, she returned. Finally, through God’s grace and the prayers of the sufferers, she was strengthened and diligently entered the log house. And with other sufferers for piety, she was burned in the log house. Joyfully entered into heavenly life.
Ksenia was of peasant stock, but she was zealous in piety and filled with grace-filled zeal. She was taken and presented to the city judges. She accepted shackles and bonds, endured prison and pain, also cruel beatings, painful blows and unbearable wounds. She became exhausted from them and betrayed her spirit in prison.
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The religious and political movement of the 17th century, which resulted in the separation from the Russian Orthodox Church of some believers who did not accept the reforms of Patriarch Nikon, was called a schism.
Also at the service, instead of singing “Hallelujah” twice, it was ordered to sing three times. Instead of circling the temple during baptism and weddings in the direction of the sun, circling against the sun was introduced. Instead of seven prosphoras, the liturgy began to be served with five. Instead of the eight-pointed cross, they began to use four-pointed and six-pointed ones. By analogy with the Greek texts, instead of the name of Christ Jesus in newly printed books, the patriarch ordered to write Jesus. In the eighth clause of the Creed (“In the Holy Spirit of the true Lord”), the word “true” was removed.
The innovations were approved by church councils of 1654-1655. During 1653-1656, corrected or newly translated liturgical books were published at the Printing Yard.
The discontent of the population was caused by the violent measures with which Patriarch Nikon introduced new books and rituals into use. Some members of the Circle of Zealots of Piety were the first to speak out for the “old faith” and against the reforms and actions of the patriarch. Archpriests Avvakum and Daniel submitted a note to the king in defense of double-fingering and about bowing during services and prayers. Then they began to argue that introducing corrections according to Greek models desecrates the true faith, since the Greek Church apostatized from the “ancient piety”, and its books are printed in Catholic printing houses. Ivan Neronov opposed the strengthening of the power of the patriarch and for the democratization of church government. The clash between Nikon and the defenders of the “old faith” took on drastic forms. Avvakum, Ivan Neronov and other opponents of reforms were subjected to severe persecution. The speeches of the defenders of the “old faith” received support in various layers of Russian society, ranging from individual representatives the highest secular nobility and ending with the peasants. The sermons of the dissenters about the advent of the “end times”, about the accession of the Antichrist, to whom the tsar, the patriarch and all the authorities supposedly had already bowed down and were carrying out his will, found a lively response among the masses.
The Great Moscow Council of 1667 anathematized (excommunicated) those who, after repeated admonitions, refused to accept new rituals and newly printed books, and also continued to scold the church, accusing it of heresy. The council also stripped Nikon of his patriarchal rank. The deposed patriarch was sent to prison - first to Ferapontov, and then to the Kirillo Belozersky monastery.
Carried away by the preaching of the dissenters, many townspeople, especially peasants, fled to the dense forests of the Volga region and the North, to the southern outskirts of the Russian state and abroad, and founded their own communities there.
From 1667 to 1676, the country was engulfed in riots in the capital and on the outskirts. Then, in 1682, they began Streltsy riots, in which schismatics played an important role. The schismatics attacked monasteries, robbed monks, and seized churches.
A terrible consequence of the split was burning - mass self-immolations. The earliest report of them dates back to 1672, when 2,700 people self-immolated in the Paleostrovsky monastery. From 1676 to 1685, according to documented information, about 20,000 people died. Self-immolations continued into the 18th century, and isolated cases at the end of the 19th century.
The main result of the schism was church division with the formation of a special branch of Orthodoxy - the Old Believers. By the end of the XVII - early XVIII centuries, there were various currents of the Old Believers, which were called “talks” and “concords”. The Old Believers were divided into priestly and priestless. The priests recognized the need for the clergy and all church sacraments; they were settled in the Kerzhensky forests (now the territory Nizhny Novgorod region), areas of Starodubye (now Chernihiv region, Ukraine), Kuban ( Krasnodar region), the Don River.
Bespopovtsy lived in the north of the state. After the death of the priests of the pre-schism ordination, they rejected the priests of the new ordination, and therefore began to be called non-priests. The sacraments of baptism and repentance and everything church services In addition to the liturgy, selected laymen performed the liturgy.
Patriarch Nikon no longer had anything to do with the persecution of Old Believers - from 1658 until his death in 1681, he was first in voluntary and then in forced exile.
At the end of the 18th century, the schismatics themselves began to make attempts to get closer to the church. On October 27, 1800, in Russia, by decree of Emperor Paul, Edinoverie was established as a form of reunification of the Old Believers with the Orthodox Church.
Old Believers were allowed to serve according to old books and observe old rituals, including highest value was given to double-fingered, but the services and services were performed by Orthodox clergy.
In July 1856, by order of Emperor Alexander II, the police sealed the altars of the Intercession and Nativity Cathedrals of the Old Believer Rogozhskoe cemetery in Moscow. The reason was denunciations that liturgies were solemnly celebrated in churches, “seducing” the believers of the Synodal Church. Divine services were held in private prayer houses, in the houses of the capital's merchants and manufacturers.
On April 16, 1905, on the eve of Easter, a telegram from Nicholas II arrived in Moscow, allowing “to unseal the altars of the Old Believer chapels of the Rogozhsky cemetery.” The next day, April 17, the imperial “Decree on Tolerance” was promulgated, guaranteeing freedom of religion to the Old Believers.
In 1929 the Patriarchal Holy Synod formulated three resolutions:
— “On the recognition of old Russian rituals as salutary, like new rituals, and equal to them”;
— “On the rejection and imputation, as if not former, of derogatory expressions relating to old rituals, and especially to double-fingeredness”;
— “On the abolition of the oaths of the Moscow Council of 1656 and the Great Moscow Council of 1667, imposed by them on the old Russian rites and on the Orthodox Christians who adhere to them, and to consider these oaths as if they had not been.”
The Local Council of 1971 approved three resolutions of the Synod of 1929.
On January 12, 2013, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, the first liturgy after the schism according to the ancient rite was celebrated.
The material was prepared based on information from open sources V
