Home Fruit trees Abstract "the place of the Orthodox religion in the life of the Cossacks". Orthodox Cossacks

Fruit trees

Abstract "the place of the Orthodox religion in the life of the Cossacks". Orthodox Cossacks

Modern Christian propaganda has declared the Cossacks "a stronghold christian faith". "Warriors of Christ" - the Cossacks, perhaps, many do not know, as well as the bulk of the deceived Russian people, about the true attitude of the Cossacks to the Church for many centuries. Let's try on the basis of historical truth analyze how it all happened.

Don't go to church
and weddings around the birch drive,
according to the ancient customs...
from the instructions of S. Razin

The roots of the Cossack Family are very long and number more than one thousand years. The falsifiers of Russian history deliberately accustom us to celebrating the "millennium of Russia", although the history of our Fatherland goes back thousands and thousands of years, and the beautiful, rich cities of the Russians were known to the entire near and far abroad long before the baptism of Russia, with which they link the emergence of statehood, writing, culture, and even Russia itself, these cynical provocateurs or ignoramuses from history. The history of the Cossacks is also skillfully distorted, many facts are hushed up.
The non-Russians, who have slandered and will slander our history to this day, are vigorously introducing the idea that the Cossacks are runaway serfs (!), Who converged on the outskirts of Russia in gangs and were engaged in robbery and robbery. We will prove otherwise. Kuban, Don, Penza, Terek Cossacks, living on a vast territory from the Don and Taman to the foothills of the Caucasus - not alien, but indigenous people this land. The Scythian (Proto-Slavic) tribes initially took part in the ethnogenesis of the Russian Cossacks, and related Aryan peoples, in particular, the Alans and even the Turkic white peoples - Polovtsy, Volga Bulgarians, Berendeys, Torks, black hoods, Russified for many years, also took part in the formation of this subethnos. centuries of cohabitation with the Slavs.

The ancestors of modern Cossacks, whom ancient authors indicate under the names: "Cossacks", "Cherkasy", "helmets", "Gets", lived their free way, according to their own laws for thousands of years. The Cossack freemen, the Cossack Spirit, the Cossack brotherhood were also attractive to the surrounding peoples, who willingly became related to the Cossacks and went under the auspices of the ancient Cossack republics. Especially in ancient times, when neither Christianity nor Islam divided kindred peoples into "God's chosen", "orthodox", "orthodox". In the Cossack environment, religious tolerance was normal, especially since all peoples professed their Native Father's Natural cults (later Christians would label the Ancient Aryan cults as "filthy paganism"). The Cossacks were no exception. Together with the soldiers of the Great Svyatoslav, the Cossacks participated in the defeat Khazar Khaganate and the destruction of Christian churches and Jewish synagogues. Arab and Persian chroniclers often write about the Cossacks and Rus, who raided the Persian possessions and describing the customs and customs of the Cossack clan-tribe, they write about them as sun-worshippers.

After the baptism of Russia, in all its outskirts, adherence to the Ancient Ancestral Faith remained for centuries - so until the accession of Alexei Romanov, father of Peter the Great, the inhabitants of the Vyatka region and the Russian North adhered to the Slavic Faith. The lands of the modern Don and Kuban Cossacks from ancient times were part of the Tmutarakan principality, while the Christian princes did not encroach on the customs and beliefs of the consanguineous Russian Cossack population, cut off from the main Russian lands by the Wild Field, inhabited by nomadic Turkic tribes, by the way, pagan Tengrians (sky worshipers). The outskirts of Russia were defended by heroes, who were called Cossacks in the Russian folk epic: "... Glorious is the young Cossack Ilya Muromets ..." It was later that he was elevated to the "Christian saints", but Ilya Muromets was not a Christian and in Kyiv even church domes knocked down with a mace. And what about the famous Slavic bogatyrs-border guards Usynya, Dobrynya and Gorynya, who lived long before the very "baptism" of Russia and whom folk tradition considers the first of the famous founders of the Russian Cossacks? ..

It was among the Cossacks that a kind of "heresy" took root, as the priests wrote about it: not only the Old Believers and supporters of the Ancient Orthodox Church found shelter among the Cossacks. On the Cossack land, the protest against the official church intensified in the form of such currents as “priestlessness” (!), where all the sacraments were performed by the laity themselves, communicating with God without “intermediaries”-priests, “Netov’s consent”, which does not recognize the construction of churches and is rooted in native Slavic-Russian paganism. But most of all, attention should be paid to the faith of the "dyrniki" - the Cossacks who lived on the Yaik and in the Altai steppes. The Cossacks-Tengrians (sky-worshippers) were so called "dyrniki" because they cut holes in the roofs of houses so that even in inclement weather one could pray at home, but looking at the sky. The deacon Fyodor Ivanov, who lived in the second half of the seventeenth century, left us the most valuable testimony: "... many villagers, living in their villages, worship the Sun God, where the cross will not happen to them ..." Another testimony is from 1860 , the case of Vasily Zheltovsky, who was tried for not going to an Orthodox church, but was baptized, looking at the sky and saying: "Our God is in heaven, but there is no God on earth." It should be added that the cross was revered in Russia long before the "baptism" (we recognize the cross, but do not recognize Christ!) And it was an equilateral cross, a runic cross or, as the priests said: "pogan kryzh" (pagan cross), and the symbol of Christians - not a cross, but a crucifix, an instrument of execution! And the Khazars crucified the captive Slavs on crosses, for which the crucifixion among the ancient Russians was always a symbol of death, execution and misanthropy.

The state and the Church fiercely pursued any freethinking and encroachment on the foundations of the Orthodox faith - the main instrument for enslaving the people. "Heresies" (namely, in this form the rejection of cynicism and lies of Christianity could be manifested) were brutally suppressed, people fled to the most remote parts of the country, but even here they were pursued by punishers and supporters of the "folk faith" were burned, as was customary everywhere and in all century by Christian inquisitors. Even children were not spared. With fire and blood, Christianity was introduced in Russia, with fire and blood it passed through the cities and towns of Russia and in times that I would like to pay more attention to ...

A little more than half a century has passed since the uprising of Ivan Bolotnikov, whom the Church cursed and anathematized for leading the uprising of the people and destroying hated palaces and temples. (By the way, the people's leader was treacherously captured and executed by the tsar's serfs after severe torture. The last thing the executioners told him was the following: "You will fall into hell, apostate."). The Christian Orthodox Church split into Old Believers and New Believers, bonfires blazed with heretics burned "in the name of the Lord". The people looked with hatred at the masters and waited for the people's intercessor. And he came. And he came from where the freedom-loving Slavic Spirit lived for centuries and will live forever!

Stepan Razin was born in the village of Zimoveyskaya on the Don. His father, Timothy Razya, from childhood instructed his son: "Take care of the honor of the Cossacks from a young age. Don't rot your hat in front of the strong, but don't leave a friend in trouble." The young Cossack saw who and how they live in Russia, and the millennia-old Slavic folk foundations were close to him, and it was not in vain that he loved to say: "I am for such Russia: there are neither poor nor rich. One is equal to one!".

One of the researchers of the life of ataman Razin noted: "As you know, the Cossacks were not distinguished by piety ..." These words accompanied the description of one of the first appearances of the young Cossack leader on historical arena: Cossack freemen Razin took without a fight Yaitsky town. Unable to take the town with a small detachment, Razin and his comrades undressed two dozen pilgrim monks, despite all their pleas, and in monastic cassocks entered the city ... In 1670, Stepan Razin raised an uprising. Not only Cossacks go to his army, but also runaway serfs, peasants, miners, Bashkirs, Tatars, Mordovians, and other destitute people. And boyar estates and churches blazed in a significant part of the Russian state. Razin sends out his "charming letters" to all the surrounding territories, where he grants the people "former liberties" and promises equality and justice.

From the very first months of the uprising, the Church takes the side ruling class and calls for reprisal against the "blasphemer and thief" Stenka Razin.

Storm of Astrakhan. From the city walls, Metropolitan Joseph daily curses the rebels as "thieves and ungodly deeds." After the Razintsy broke into the fortress, the metropolitan takes the remaining soldiers to one of the temples turned into a fortress, and says to the governor Prozorovsky: "In Holy place they will not turn up." Razintsy broke in and destroyed the temple, and threw the governor from the bell tower. Having established his own order in the city, Razin ordered the sexton from the Order Chamber to bring all the scrolls and burn it, and it was announced to the people: "Freedom to all of you, people of Astrakhan. Stand up for the will, for our great cause!" Metropolitan Joseph becomes the stronghold of resistance to Razin in Astrakhan, secretly sending out letters with information about the rebels, and in the city he sowed confusion and sent blasphemy against Razin and all (!) The people of Astrakhan, who supported the ataman and him In the annals of P. Zolotarev, a contemporary of those events, "The Tale of the City of Astrakhan and the Suffering of Metropolitan Joseph of Astrakhan," it was said that "Joseph, Metropolitan of Astrakhan, threatened with punishment from heaven, the wrath of the Lord, the curse of the archangels ..."

The opposition of Joseph and his intrigues against the rebels continued during the subsequent occupation of the city by Razin's associate Vasily Us. Us was the first of Razin's associates to introduce civil marriage in the city he occupied (!). Although the churches were not closed, he sealed marriages on paper with a city seal, the symbols of which were a sword and a crown. The dissatisfaction of the clergy intensified, and the metropolitan again began to conduct active subversive activities. The Cossacks saw this and demanded from Ataman Us to execute the vile metropolitan. The cup of patience was filled with the news that the metropolitan was compiling lists of Cossacks and townspeople who had taken the side of Razin for the subsequent transfer of the lists to government troops. Joseph made a speech to the Cossacks, where he called them "heretics and apostates" and threatened them with death if they did not surrender to the mercy of the king's troops. The Cossacks gathered a circle and made a decision: "All the turmoil and misfortune are repaired from the metropolitan." The metropolitan was charged with lying and treason, after which he was executed. On the same day, pogroms of the houses of the rich and the clergy took place throughout the city.

An interesting piece of evidence has been preserved about Razin's visit to Tsaritsyn, which he conquered. A young guy Agey Eroshka approached Razin and asked for help: the priests refused to marry him, for the bishop ordered that those who met and helped Razin refuse to marry. All the local priests harbored a grudge. Razin ordered: "Popov - on the rack! I'll pull up my beards. Harmful seed." But then he calmed down and said to the guy: "To hell with the long-maned ones! Let's play a wedding in a Cossack way: a wedding in the wild. Under the sky, under the Sun." At the wedding, bowls of wine and beer were salted - in a circle, as has been done for thousands of years! So the Cossacks remembered the ancient customs of their ancestors! At a celebration in honor of the young, Razin threw up a drunken cup to the sky: "Let free will. Let happiness be to anyone. For our boundless free Russia!" And he ordered from now on not to listen to the priests, but to marry the young with his ataman's name: "Weddings are not God's, but the people's business. Let not priests, but people repair court here."

Other authentic words of the ataman have been preserved in historical chronicles: "... Don't go to church, but have weddings around a birch, as ancient customs dictate..."

One of Razin's associates had a daughter. The Cossack turned to his ataman what to take for the name of his daughter. Razin said: "Will, Volushka." The Cossacks doubted that there was no such name in the holy calendar, to which the chieftain fervently replied: "So what. We will write this name!" The attitude of the Cossacks to the "long-maned" hypocrites and to the genuine Ancient Faith (which in their worldview was an interweaving of the Slavic Faith with Orthodox Christianity) can also be traced in other moments: when Razin ordered two young Cossacks to learn to read and write from a priest-defiant, they grumbled: "Why torture in vain? What are we of a priestly clan-tribe?"

Under Razin’s army, there was a fortune teller who, with one word, could inspire a cowardly fighter or a cowardly person to a feat of arms. During the assault on Simbirsk, the young warrior sat all day in the bushes, saying: "Mother of God, Queen of Heaven ..." The Mother of God did not help, so he missed the whole battle. But as soon as the grandmother-sorceress said the cherished word, and then the guy walked in the heroes: he climbed the fortress walls first. Perhaps this is a legend, a folk fiction that always surrounds figures of such magnitude as Razin. But it is worth recalling that Razin's associates themselves considered him a sorcerer. In Cossack legends, sorcery (witchcraft, sorcery) is an integral gift that distinguishes Razin from other folk heroes: "Pugachev and Yermak were great warriors, and Stenka Razin was a great warrior, and a wizard, so, perhaps, more than a warrior ... "People's rumor, long after Razin's death, talked about his miraculous rescue, about his service to the people already in the band of Yermak. Yes, Razin really remained alive - in the heart of the people ...

One of his bravest associates was also considered a sorceress - the old woman Alena, the governor of the Arzamas peasants, the Russian Joan of Arc. This courageous Russian woman, a simple peasant woman, led the struggle of the common people for freedom and justice. who tried to seize the communal land. She knew firsthand about the hypocrisy and abomination of monastic customs. Alena was a herbalist, that is, an herbalist: she healed with herbs and conspiracies, and the priests usually declared such people "witches" (although "witch" used to mean "knowledgeable", "knowledgeable" woman).In her "charming letters" Alena urged not to believe the priests who broadcast serfdom"approved by Holy Scripture and pleasing to God." When the boyar troops captured Alena, they declared her a sorceress and, after severe torment, executed her with the execution so beloved by the Christian Inquisition: they burned her alive at the stake (remember Joan of Arc!).

Folk tales about Razin and his associates, songs, were and fables were imbued with primordial Slavic spirit. In contrast to them, state and church records were of a character hostile to the insurgent people, were filled with a religious and mystical spirit, ideologically tried to justify the victory over the Cossack army and the people themselves. There are two characteristic historical documents of that era, describing the events taking place with the eyes of the clergy - the most reactionary part Russian society. In "The Tale of the Invasion of the Monastery reverend father of our Macarius, who was from thieves and traitors of thieves' Cossacks "and in" Tales of the Miracles of the Icon of Our Lady of Tikhvin in Tsivilsk "the Cossacks were declared the bearer of" theft and blasphemy. Cossacks - auth.) to the Spasov Monastery and all sorts of fortresses and letters of commendation, but tore up debt records in order to establish their peasant truth ... "So, then, what's the matter! The monasteries and the Church were large owners: they owned huge land, forests, water areas, millions of serfs. In his letters, Razin favored the peasants with his will and promised them land, his slogan (and later Pugachev would have a similar one) was: "Land. Will. Truth."

In unison with church appeals, the royal charters also everywhere emphasized not only the “robbery” beginning of the rebels, but also “apostasy”: “Last year, traitors, thieves, the Don Cossacks Stenka and Frolko Razina, with their comrades, having forgotten the Christian faith, betrayed the great sovereign ..." From the very first days of the uprising, royal letters declared him an apostate, and among one of the arguments it appeared that he introduced civil marriages instead of a church ceremony, he led the newlyweds "around the tree" - willow or birch. IN official documents, written in a heavy, bureaucratic language, often incomprehensible to those to whom it was addressed (in contrast to the "charming letters" of the rebels, written in a simple, bright, understandable language), Razin was declared as a "pleaser of the devils" and "breeder of all evil." And after, when Razin was treacherously captured, cruelly tortured, he was sentenced to the most cruel execution: "Execute an evil death: quarter." Even during his lifetime, Razin was anathematized and excommunicated from the church. He was ordered to be buried in the Muslim (Tatar) cemetery.

Since 1761, the Patriarch of All Russia Iosaf ordered to curse the "thief Stenka" from the ambos of churches, but this caused a backlash among the people. Among the people, Stenka was more loved and revered than Patriarch Josaf.

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was keenly interested in the details of the Razin rebellion, calling the chieftain "... the only poetic face of Russian history."

His poetic cycle "Psni about Stenka Razin" was personally reviewed by Nicholas I. Through Benkendorf, he conveyed to Pushkin: "For all their poetic dignity, they are indecent for printing in their content. Moreover, the church curses Razin, as well as Pugachev." Later, Pushkin gave both leaders an assessment that the highest indicator of historical truth folk love to Razin and Pugachev, who became the main characters of the national epic.

Pushkin writes a story about the Cossack Razina, and according to his own testimony, this whole story is permeated with motifs of folk poetry, dating back to the distant times of the ancient Slavic epic and paganism.

The great Cossack ataman attracted the attention of many Russian poets, artists and writers. The wonderful work "Stenka Razin" was left by the poet Koltsov. Ogarev's revolutionary poem "Goy, guys, Russian people" contained the following lines:

"... And we will cleanse the Russian land
From all enemies, yes loafers,
That they eat our bread and do evil to us:
From priests, merchants, and officials ... "

Navrotsky's song "Cliff" became famous. The Soviet classic Shukshin wrote in his work "I came to give you freedom": "... the memory of the people is legible and unmistakable. How Razin hates fear and slavery - just as initially they are cursed by the people. You can not argue with the Lord of the People ..." Having ascended on the scaffold, Razin did not ask for mercy, and under the sonorous howls of a deacon reading the sentence "to a thief and blasphemer", he thought about the people's will. For the people, Razin became immortal! For a long time the boyars and priests imagined the fires of the Razin uprising ...

Curious is the fact that during the Pugachev rebellion, the Cossacks pursued the same policy towards the Church and the priests. In the memoirs of eyewitnesses, it was said that "Pugachev himself did not go to church, but walked with songwriters through the streets, especially loving the invigorating refrain:

"Walk straight, look bravo,
Say that we are free ... "
(Yu. Salnikov, "... And I welcome you with liberty!")

Eyewitnesses of the storming of Kazan by Pugachev recalled how the Cossacks destroyed and set fire to merchant shops, monasteries and churches. The frightened clergy greeted "Peter III", for whom Pugachev pretended to be, with bread and salt and "kissed the cross of allegiance to Tsar Peter."

Also, during his lifetime, Pugachev and his associates were anathematized by the Church and excommunicated from her bosom. Pugachev, on the other hand, explained his attitude towards the Church simply: "... he destroyed the temples of God, the holy altars, he desecrated the altars not for the sake of robbery, but because he dreamed of creating a free life for all the downtrodden people!"

And likewise, after brutal execution, Pugachev remained to live in the hearts of the Russian people, in folklore ...

From all the facts listed above, the true attitude of the Cossacks to the priests and the Church is clearly visible, while to the True Faith, to the Truth (and the Cossacks understood "Orthodoxy" as "praise the Rule, the Truth", and it was not a pity to lay down your stomach for the Truth!) there was a special relationship.

And it’s not for nothing that the Cossacks wanderers, led by ataman Ploskinya, went over to the side of the Horde, accusing the Russian princes of betraying their father’s Slavic Faith, while the Horde adhered to Ancient cults - understandable and native to the Cossacks.

Now, those Cossacks, in whom the Sacred Voice of the Ancestors woke up, as in the old days, glorify the Native Gods and the Bright Sun with a wave of their hand. A young talented Slavic artist from the Family Cossacks, Vladimir Gribov, said figuratively and accurately: " Slavic Gods born in Heaven, not in a stable."

And it is worth, perhaps, for people who have declared their involvement with this Great Glorious Cossack Family to listen to the voice of their own blood and understand that the age-old commandments of their ancestors, the Cossack freedom-loving Spirit, Cossack military prowess cannot be brought into the thousand-year-old web of Christianity. The Cossacks have never been slaves, nor should they be "God's servants"!

Cossack Family - no translation!
Glory to Rod!
Glory to the Sun!
Glory to the Ancestors!

Orthodoxy and traditions of the Cossacks

Orthodoxy determined life path Cossack from the first day of earthly life, from baptism to the funeral service at his departure to another world, formed the worldview and the entire annual cycle of rituals.

The Cossacks attached great importance to the sacrament of baptism, arguing that before baptism, babies have no soul, and children who died not baptized would not appear at the Last Judgment. Hence the great respect for the godparents (godmother and godfather).

Before carrying a child to church (for baptism), they put him in a red corner (to the icons) and prayed: “God give him, Lord, talent and happiness, a good mind and many years.” A priest was called to the christening, who was richer, when the baby's teeth erupted, the parents, putting him on a horse, took him to church to serve a prayer service to John the Warrior that he be a brave Cossack.

Children, according to the concepts of the Cossacks, are a sign of well-being, a sign of the "Blessing of the Lord over the family."

The lack of children was considered God's punishment, not to mention the wedding. Folk wedding rituals were recognized by Orthodoxy. After the consent of the bride and groom to the marriage, they were placed side by side and, having prayed to God, blessed, saying: “God grant us what we heard to see, what we desire to receive.”

Matchmakers, approaching the house, said three times: "Lord, Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on us." From the house they answered: "Amen" and opened the doors. All the main actions of wedding ceremonies were also accompanied by prayers. On the day of the wedding, with the good news for mass, the father and mother blessed the bride with a holy icon, who, having put three Earth bow, kissed the holy face, bowed at the feet of her parents. The groom, having received the blessing of his parents, went to the bride. A priest with a cross walked in front, then the boys carried blessed images with shrouds. The wedding was the only proof of the legality of the marriage.

At Christmas they went to glorify Christ, starting from the chieftain's house. In the houses they sang "Christ is born", etc. On the Trinity they led round dances. The youth had parties. The patronal feasts of the villages were especially revered. On patronal holidays, Christmas, Easter, on the day of the sovereign's name day, public treats were arranged. At the farewell of the Cossacks to the service, the clergy necessarily served a prayer service. For the Departed Warriors, solemn requiems were served annually by the entire village.

The Orthodox faith was reflected in many little things of everyday life, not a single important thing was started without prayer. The sworn brothers exchanged their crosses, entered into friendship "to the grave", "for the cross is a great thing."

Often they went to the priest for advice. They made various vows. The concept of sin was firm: “It is a sin for relatives to marry brides among themselves - up to the 4th native side” (it was already allowed to marry on the 4th native side), “It is a grave sin to quarrel with parents”, it’s bad - you didn’t honor your father, which means Didn't respect God. Failure to fulfill the dying will of the parents was considered a grave sin, which means not giving parents peace in the coffin and disturbing their bones.

A person does not dare to take away life - the life that God gave, therefore, poisoning the fetus was considered a grave sin. To be angry (offended) is also a sin: “We, the Cossacks, are an unforgiving people, anger has passed and we willingly go to the world, and this is good, because we forgive on Earth and we ourselves will be forgiven in heaven. So according to the law of God.

The most real and God-pleasing almsgiving is secret, so that no one knows, except God, the good that you do.

They say that before the revolution, the wealthiest Cossacks harnessed a horse to a wagon, poured grain into it, and tied a cow at the back of the wagon, wound fabric (according to the Cossack - linen) around its horns, drove out of the village or farm away and left this harness, like alms on the road . People knew about the form of this alms, and those who did not feel the need considered it a sin to use this alms.

It was also practiced to leave this harness unnoticed at home. poor family by tying the horse to a fence or gate.

Often, the Cossacks sold part of the property, and after death they determined to give the money to the church for the remembrance of the soul.

A son who does not respect his parents will certainly be in hell, and in this world they were punished by deprivation of their parental blessing, which was considered a great deed. What is a man in the world without him? - he will disappear for nothing, his whole life will go wrong and he will be neither warm nor cold. Therefore, even those who left their father, having come to their senses, come, repent and ask, “Give me, Dad, my blessing, otherwise my conscience torments,” so another ran for many years.

In extreme cases, very rare, parents cursed naughty children - "here the man is gone." But the mother's curse is not so terrible: "The mother will say a word in her hearts, and then she herself begins to pray." And if the father cursed - then the end, and he would be glad, but you won’t turn back.

It was believed that God would protect from the “evil spirits” - it is enough to overshadow yourself with the banner of the cross, say the Holy Prayer - “Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, have mercy on us” and no evil spirits of sorcerers will do anything.

The judges sat down at the table, after making the Sign of the Cross and saying "Bless, Lord." Removing an icon from the wall and kissing it was considered a means of proving one's innocence; in many cases, the thief did not dare to take such an oath - "remove the icon from the wall" and confessed to the crime. If the guilty did not confess, they served a prayer service to John the Warrior and put a candle (upside down) so that his conscience would torment him. They tried not to scold the thief, but to wish him well, they served a prayer service for his health, so that his conscience would torment him. Often this led to repentance. The stanitsa court could also sentence to church repentance.

The church among the Cossacks is the most important asset of the village, the Cossacks usually built the church with the whole society. Not without reason, the Cossacks, coming to new lands, began with the construction of a church or a chapel. So did the Cossacks Abroad, who were forced to find themselves in a foreign land.

The repair and decoration of churches was done at the expense of the stanitsa. They collected offerings from everyone - bread, linen, etc. The collected goods were sold at the auction.

Before the beginning of the liturgy, the parishioners poured wheat in front of the western doors of the church. After the liturgy, the clergy served a thanksgiving service over bread. Money from the sale of bread went to decorate the temple.

In some villages, the church had a pole to which they tied an anonymous ram, goose, cow, etc. donated to the church. Sometimes fees for the church were determined by the stanitsa gathering. They could rent out part of the public land in order to build a temple with the proceeds. Cossack women washed and cleaned the temples at will.

The Cossacks tried to take care of their clergy. Ordinary Cossack and special shares, rewards for trebes, public prayers were allocated to their share. Often they brought voluntary donations from themselves. Many researchers of the XIX-XX centuries distinguish the special piety of the Cossacks, wealth and order in the temples. “The order and silence in churches during worship is wonderful. To greet in temples and to talk not in customs, ”wrote the ethnographer Kharuzin. It was in the past.

What now?

Nowadays, among the Cossacks - residents of cities, villages and farms - there are many believers; temples, chapels are built, or houses are adapted for churches. At the same time, there are very few sincerely religious people among the so-called activists of Cossack organizations.

Orthodoxy is often perceived only as a "necessary attribute of ideology", a means of "raising children", "a means of raising national self-awareness", etc.

Without understanding that without the churching of the Cossacks, a true revival of the Cossacks as a people is unthinkable, it should be realized by all the Cossacks and, first of all, the old men and chieftains from the farm to the Army.

There were no atheists among the Cossacks of the pre-Soviet period. The path to knowing God began in the family. It was in the home that the child was introduced to religion. It is through the family, first of all, that religious beliefs, the consciousness of their priority, the most important social values, traditions, and ethical norms are transmitted from generation to generation.

From an early age, the child learned religious rites in the family, participating in worship. This participation gives a constant feeling of the presence of God everywhere and everywhere. The well-being of any society depends on the well-being and strength of the family. And the strength of family foundations is directly dependent and connected with people's commitment to religious attitudes and principles.

If the family is based on religious faith, then family ties are recognized as sacred, relations between spouses and children acquire an exalted character. In a family faithful to religious traditions, observing the prescriptions of religion, God-fearing, practically healthy children grow up, confidently and calmly feeling themselves in life. Today's concept of Cossacks about Orthodoxy and about their duties as a Christian before God is somewhat unusual for a Cossack, compared with their ancestors. To be honest, the Cossacks do not see an example in visiting the Temple of the Lord either from the old men or from the atamans, both on Sunday holidays and on weekdays. Most do not attend sermons where they remind and tell parishioners about the Glory of God, about Orthodox moral principles, about God's commandments, and about spiritual life. Many have lost the need to confess their sins and to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. Most do not observe fasts on Wednesday and Friday and multi-day fasts: Christmas, Veliky, Petrovsky, Assumption.

On the days of holidays and during the period of fasting, various kinds of events are held instead of prayers in the temple.

Visiting the temple, as a rule, only by order, on the days of the Great holidays, "under the concept", ensuring the protection of public order. When visiting a church, most people limit themselves to making the sign of the cross and setting candles, and, without waiting for the end of the liturgy, they leave the church and often spend time talking, forgetting that it is a sin to do so.

And how much “noise” there was about the introduction of a paragraph on the Orthodoxy of the Cossack, on the salvation of Russia, into the charter of the KKV, and, apart from loud words, we did not come, as the clergy point out to us, to true repentance, and, in essence, are indifferent to spiritual life, to Orthodox Church (come to the Military Church, and on any holiday and on weekdays, and make sure of this).

All our thoughts and thoughts are in the satisfaction of material needs - is this not the reason that the Cossacks of the Kuban, on their land, are turning into a diaspora of a national minority.

Kuban is not just a territory, but, above all, the Orthodox spirit, spiritual life and faith. Of course, according to the concept we have learned, faith and attending church is a voluntary matter - this is a concept in general for the Orthodox (if he is Orthodox not in name, but in faith), - mandatory, this is a Christian's duty to God.

You can even say this: if you don’t go to church, it means that the question of salvation does not bother you, it means that you honor the church purely abstractly, and here it is appropriate to ask each of us if our faith has not stopped on the patriotic road?

Patriotism without rules of faith, without obedience to the church, without repentance. Without Orthodoxy, with "modern" freedoms, one cannot survive.

The return to the church, the fulfillment of its statutes will lead to truth, faith, hope, and this is the essential thing that will make us worthy of the restoration of Russia and its inalienable part of the Kuban.

Now, apart from Orthodoxy and the Church, there is no other unifying force of the Cossack movement in one direction. There is no idea under the influence of which it could unite.

Modern Christian propaganda has declared the Cossacks "a stronghold of the Christian faith." "Warriors of Christ" - the Cossacks, perhaps, many do not know, as well as the bulk of the deceived Russian people, about the true attitude of the Cossacks to the Church for many centuries. Let's try to analyze on the basis of historical truth how it all happened.

We will prove otherwise. Kuban, Don, Penza, Terek Cossacks, living on a vast territory from the Don and Taman to the foothills of the Caucasus, are not aliens, but the indigenous population of this land. Scythian (Proto-Slavic) tribes initially took part in the ethnogenesis of the Russian Cossacks, partly related Aryan peoples also took part in the formation of this sub-ethnos, in particular, the Alans and even the Turkic white peoples - Polovtsy, Volga Bulgarians, Berendeys, Torks, black hoods, Russified for many centuries of cohabitation with the Slavs.

Especially in ancient times, when neither Christianity nor Islam divided kindred peoples into "God's chosen", "orthodox", "orthodox". In the Cossack environment, religious tolerance was normal, especially since all peoples professed their Native Father's Natural cults (later Christians would label the Ancient Aryan cults as "filthy paganism"). The Cossacks were no exception. Together with the soldiers of the Great Svyatoslav, the Cossacks participated in the defeat of the Khazar Khaganate and the destruction of Christian churches and Jewish synagogues. Arab and Persian chroniclers often write about the Cossacks and Rus, who raided the Persian possessions and, describing the customs and mores of the Cossack clan-tribe, write about them as sun-worshippers.

After the baptism of Russia, in all its outskirts, adherence to the Ancient Ancestral Faith remained for centuries - so until the accession of Alexei Romanov, father of Peter the Great, the inhabitants of the Vyatka region and the Russian North adhered to the Slavic Faith. The lands of the modern Don and Kuban Cossacks from ancient times were part of the Tmutarakan principality, while the Christian princes did not encroach on the customs and beliefs of the consanguineous Russian Cossack population, cut off from the main Russian lands by the Wild Field, inhabited by nomadic Turkic tribes, by the way, pagan Tengrians (sky worshipers) . The outskirts of Russia were defended by heroes, who were called Cossacks in the Russian folk epic: "... Glorious is the young Cossack Ilya Muromets ..." It was later that he was elevated to the "Christian saints", but Ilya Muromets was not a Christian and in Kyiv even church domes knocked down with a mace. And what about the famous Slavic bogatyrs-border guards Usynya, Dobrynya and Gorynya, who lived long before the very "baptism" of Russia and whom folk tradition considers the first of the famous founders of the Russian Cossacks? ..

It was among the Cossacks that a kind of "heresy" took root, as the priests wrote about it: not only the Old Believers and supporters of the Old Orthodox Church found shelter among the Cossacks. On the Cossack land, the protest against the official church intensified in the form of such currents as “priestlessness” (!), where all the sacraments were performed by the laity themselves, communicating with God without “intermediaries”-priests, “Netov’s consent”, which does not recognize the construction of churches and is rooted in native Slavic-Russian paganism.

But most of all, attention should be paid to the faith of the "dyrniki" - the Cossacks who lived on the Yaik and in the Altai steppes. The Cossacks-Tengrians (sky-worshippers) were so called "dyrniki" because they cut holes in the roofs of houses so that even in inclement weather one could pray at home, but looking at the sky. The deacon Fyodor Ivanov, who lived in the second half of the seventeenth century, left us the most valuable testimony: "... many villagers, living in their villages, worship the Sun God, where the cross will not happen to them ..." Another testimony is from 1860 , the case of Vasily Zheltovsky, who was tried for not going to an Orthodox church, but was baptized, looking at the sky and saying: "Our God is in heaven, but there is no God on earth."

It should be added that the cross was revered in Russia long before the "baptism" (we recognize the cross, but do not recognize Christ!) And it was an equilateral cross, a runic cross or, as the priests said: "pogan kryzh" (pagan cross), and the symbol of Christians - not a cross, but a crucifix, an instrument of execution! And the Khazars crucified the captive Slavs on crosses, for which the crucifixion among the ancient Russians was always a symbol of death, execution and misanthropy.

Stepan Razin was born in the village of Zimoveyskaya, on the Don. His father, Timothy Razya, from childhood instructed his son: "Take care of the honor of the Cossacks from a young age. Don't rot your hat in front of the strong, but don't leave a friend in trouble." The young Cossack saw who and how they live in Russia, and the millennia-old Slavic folk foundations were close to him, and it was not in vain that he loved to say: "I am for such Russia: there are neither poor nor rich. One is equal to one!".

One of the researchers of the life of ataman Razin noted: "As you know, the Cossacks were not distinguished by piety ..." These words accompanied the description of one of the first appearances of the young Cossack leader in the historical arena: Razin's Cossack freemen took the Yaitsky town without a fight. Unable to take the town with a small detachment, Razin and his comrades undressed two dozen pilgrim monks, despite all their pleas, and in monastic cassocks entered the city ... In 1670, Stepan Razin raised an uprising. Not only Cossacks go to his army, but also runaway serfs, peasants, miners, Bashkirs, Tatars, Mordovians, and other destitute people. And boyar estates and churches blazed in a significant part of the Russian state. Razin sends out his "charming letters" to all the surrounding territories, where he grants the people "former liberties" and promises equality and justice.

From the very first months of the uprising, the Church takes the side of the ruling class and calls for reprisals against the "blasphemer and thief" Stenka Razin.

Stepan Razin
(318 x 600). 1906 Vasily Surikov
(partially rewritten
in 1910)

Storm of Astrakhan. From the city walls, Metropolitan Joseph daily curses the rebels as "thieves and ungodly deeds." After the Razintsy broke into the fortress, the metropolitan takes the remaining soldiers to one of the temples turned into a fortress, and says to the governor Prozorovsky: "They will not go into a holy place." Razintsy broke in and destroyed the temple, and threw the governor from the bell tower. Having established his own order in the city, Razin ordered the deacon from the Order Chamber to bring all the scrolls and burn them, and the people were announced: "Freedom to all of you, people of Astrakhan. Stand up for the will, for our great cause!" Metropolitan Joseph became the stronghold of resistance to Razin in Astrakhan, secretly sending out letters with information about the rebels, and in the city he sowed confusion and sent blasphemy against Razin and the entire (!) people of Astrakhan, who supported the ataman and his comrades. In the annals of P. Zolotarev, a contemporary of those events, "The Tale of the City of Astrakhan and the Suffering of Metropolitan Joseph of Astrakhan," it was said that "Joseph, Metropolitan of Astrakhan, threatened with punishment from heaven, the wrath of the Lord, the curse of the archangels ...".

Interesting evidence has been preserved about Razin's stay in Tsaritsyn, which he conquered. A young guy Agey Eroshka approached Razin and asked for help: the priests refused to marry him, because the bishop ordered that those who met and helped Razin refuse to marry. All the local priests harbored a grudge. Razin ordered: "Popov - on the rack! I'll pull up my beards. Harmful seed." But then he calmed down and said to the guy: "To hell with long-maned ones! Let's play a wedding in a Cossack way: a wedding in the wild. Under the sky, under the Sun." At the wedding, bowls of wine and beer were salted - in a circle, as has been done for thousands of years! So, the Cossacks remembered the ancient customs of their ancestors! At a celebration in honor of the young, Razin threw up a drunken cup to the sky: "Let free will. Let happiness be to anyone. For our boundless free Russia!" And he ordered from now on not to listen to the priests, but to marry the young with his ataman's name: "Weddings are not God's, but the people's business. Let not priests, but people repair court here."

Other authentic words of the ataman have been preserved in the historical chronicles: "... Don't go to church, but have weddings around the birch, as ancient customs dictate...".

One of Razin's associates had a daughter. The Cossack turned to his ataman what to take for the name of his daughter. Razin said: "Will, Volushka." The Cossacks doubted that there was no such name in the holy calendar, to which the chieftain fervently replied: "So what? We will write this name!". The attitude of the Cossacks to the "long-maned" hypocrites and to the genuine Ancient Faith (which in their worldview was an interweaving of the Slavic Faith with Orthodox Christianity) can also be traced in other moments: when Razin ordered two young Cossacks to learn to read and write from a priest-defiant, they murmured: "Why torment in vain? What are we of the priestly clan-tribe?".

Under Razin’s army, there was a fortune teller who, with one word, could inspire a cowardly fighter or a cowardly person to a feat of arms. During the assault on Simbirsk, the young warrior sat all day in the bushes, saying: "Mother of God, Queen of Heaven ...". The mother of God did not help, so he missed the whole fight. But as soon as the grandmother-sorceress said the cherished word, and then the guy walked in the heroes: he climbed the fortress walls first. Perhaps this is a legend, a folk fiction that always surrounds figures of such magnitude as Razin. But it is worth recalling that Razin's associates themselves considered him a sorcerer. In Cossack legends, sorcery (witchcraft, sorcery) is an integral gift that distinguishes Razin from other folk heroes: "Pugachev and Yermak were great warriors, and Stenka Razin was a great warrior, and a magician, so, perhaps, more than a warrior ... ". Long after the death of Razin, popular rumor talked about his miraculous salvation, about his service to the people already in Yermak's gang. Yes, Razin really always remained alive - in the heart of the people ...

One of his bravest associates, the old woman Alena, the governor of the Arzamas peasants, the Russian Joan of Arc, was also considered a sorceress. This courageous Russian woman, a simple peasant woman, led the struggle of the common people for freedom and justice. trying to seize the communal land. She knew firsthand about the hypocrisy and abomination of monastic customs. Alena was a herbalist, that is, an herbalist: she healed with herbs and conspiracies, and priests usually declared such people "witches" (although "witch" used to mean - "knowledgeable", "knowledgeable" woman). In her "charming letters" Alena urged not to believe the priests, who broadcast that serfdom was "approved by the Holy Scripture and pleasing to God." When the boyar troops captured Alena, they declared her a sorceress and after fierce torment they executed the execution so beloved by the Christian Inquisition: they burned them alive at the stake (remember Joan of Arc!).

There were folk tales about Razin and his associates, songs, and fables were imbued with the original Slavic spirit. In contrast to them, state and church records were of a character hostile to the insurgent people, were filled with a religious and mystical spirit, ideologically tried to justify the victory over the Cossack army and the people themselves. Two characteristic historical documents of that era have been preserved, describing the events taking place from the point of view of the clergy - the most reactionary part of Russian society. In "The Tale of the Invasion of the Monastery by Our Reverend Father Macarius, Who Was From Thieves and Traitors of the Thieves' Cossacks" and in "Tales of the Miracles of the Icon of Our Lady of Tikhvin in Tsivilsk", the Cossacks were declared to be the bearer of "theft and blasphemy". The archimandrite of the Spasov Monastery testified in the monastery chronicle: "... they (i.e., Cossacks - author) came to the Spasov Monastery and all sorts of fortresses and letters of commendation, and tore up debt records in order to establish their peasant truth ...". So, that's what it's all about! The monasteries and the Church were large proprietors: they owned vast lands, forests, water areas, millions of serfs. In his letters, Razin favored the peasants with his will and promised them land, his slogan (and later Pugachev would have a similar one) was: "Land. Will. Truth."

In unison with church appeals, in royal letters, not only the "robbery" beginning of the rebellious people, but also "apostasy" was also emphasized everywhere: changed the sovereign ... ". From the very first days of the uprising, royal letters declared him an apostate, and among one of the arguments was that he introduced civil marriages instead of a church rite and led the newlyweds "around the tree" - willow or birch. In official documents, written in a heavy, bureaucratic language, often incomprehensible to those to whom it was addressed (in contrast to the "charming letters" of the rebels, written in a simple, bright, understandable language), Razin was declared as a "pleaser of the devils" and "breeder of any evil". And after, when Razin was treacherously captured, cruelly tortured, he was sentenced to the most cruel execution: "Execute an evil death: quarter." Even during his lifetime, Razin was anathematized and excommunicated from the church. He was ordered to be buried in the Muslim (Tatar) cemetery.

Ataman Stenka Razin before execution

Since 1761, the Patriarch of All Russia Joseph ordered to curse the "thief Stenka" from the ambos of churches, but this caused a backlash among the people. Among the people, Stenka was more loved and revered than Patriarch Joseph.

Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was keenly interested in the details of the Razin rebellion, calling the ataman "... the only poetic face of Russian history."

Listen to the song

His poetic cycle "Songs about Stenka Razin" was personally reviewed by Nicholas I. Through Benkendorf, he conveyed to Pushkin: "For all their poetic dignity, they are indecent for printing in their content. Moreover, the church curses Razin, as well as Pugachev." Later, Pushkin gave both leaders an assessment that the highest indicator of historical truth is the people's love for Razin and Pugachev, who became the main characters of the national epic.

"... And we will cleanse the Russian land
From all enemies, yes loafers,
That they eat our bread and do evil to us:
From priests, merchants, and officials ... ".

Navrotsky's song "Cliff" became famous. The Soviet classic Shukshin wrote in his work “I came to give you freedom”: “... the memory of the people is legible and unmistakable. How Razin hates fear and slavery, they are just as initially cursed by the people. You can’t argue with the Lord of the People ... ". Having ascended the scaffold, Razin did not ask for mercy, and under the sonorous howls of the deacon reading the sentence "to the thief and blasphemer", he thought about the people's will. For the people, Razin became immortal! For a long time the boyars and priests imagined the fires of the Razin uprising ...

"Walk straight, look bravo,
Say that we are free ... "
(Yu. Salnikov, "... And I welcome you with liberty!")

Eyewitnesses to the assault by Pugachev of Kazan recalled how the Cossacks destroyed and set fire to merchant shops, monasteries and churches. The frightened clergy greeted "Peter III", for whom Pugachev pretended to be, with bread and salt and "kissed the cross of allegiance to Tsar Peter."

And just like that, after the cruel execution, Pugachev remained to live in the hearts of the Russian people, in folklore ...

And it’s not for nothing that the Cossacks wanderers, led by Ataman Ploskinya, went over to the side of the Horde, accusing the Russian princes of betraying their father’s Slavic Faith, while the Horde adhered to Ancient cults - understandable and native to the Cossacks.

Now, those Cossacks, in whom the Sacred Voice of the Ancestors woke up, as of old, glorify the Native Gods and the Bright Sun with a wave of their hand. A young talented Slavic artist from the Ancestral Cossacks, Vladimir Gribov, said figuratively and accurately: "The Slavic Gods were born in Heaven, and not in a barn."

Cossack Family - no translation!

Orthodoxy from time immemorial served as the spiritual core of the Cossacks, and the Cossacks were faithful defenders of the Orthodox Church.
Returning from campaigns, they carried all the most valuable of military booty to the temple as a thankful sacrifice to the Lord for their salvation. Cossack banners, relics, Kleinods were kept in God's temples. Military priests with a cross in their hands, along with the Cossacks, went on the attack, raising them to a feat by the word of God. It is a known fact that in 1790, during the assault on Izmail, a military priest and a Cossack were the first to climb the wall. In the villages and farmsteads, the Church of God was the spiritual center, thanks to which education, morality, culture developed, almost every village church had a parochial school. The main decoration of the Cossack capitals - Novocherkassk, Orenburg, Omsk and others - were undoubtedly majestic military cathedrals. In addition, there were Cossack monasteries, for example, the famous Ekaterino-Lebyazhy in the Kuban. The Cossacks themselves were deeply religious people. It could not have been otherwise: by spending most life in battles and campaigns, on the edge of life and death, the Cossacks more acutely felt the temporality of being and understood that only with God is eternity, and asked him for protection and victory over the adversary.
Many outstanding ascetics of Orthodoxy, canonized as saints, left the ranks of the Cossacks. This is the hero of Russian epics, the “old Cossack” Ilya Muromets, who at the end of his life became a humble monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, and the famous saint Metropolitan Dmitry of Rostov (in the world - the Cossack Daniel Tuptalo), who compiled the famous Menaion, and Saint Joseph of Belgorod. The Mother of God enjoyed special reverence among the Cossacks. Her holy icons - Don, Kazan, Tabyn - were considered the patrons of the Cossack troops. The Day of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos was a common Cossack holiday, the day of all Cossack troops. It was on this day that young Cossacks took the oath of allegiance to the Fatherland. Of the saints, the Cossacks venerated the Archangel the most. God's Archangel Michael - the leader of the heavenly host, Nicholas the Wonderworker, John the Baptist, George the Victorious, John the Warrior, Alexy - God's Man and Holy Right-Believing Prince Alexander Nevsky. In addition to them, in each Cossack army were "their own", locally revered saints. At the same time, the Cossacks were quite religiously tolerant and treated representatives of other religions with respect. In the ranks of the Cossacks were Muslim Cossacks (Tatars and Bashkirs) and Buddhist Cossacks (Kalmyks and Buryats). But over 97 percent of the Cossacks have always been Orthodox.
Addressing the resurgent Cossacks, Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia said: “Dear Cossacks and Cossacks, dear brothers and sisters! The Russian Orthodox Church, like the whole of Russia, is now looking with hope at the revival of the Cossacks, believing that not only the form, but also the spiritual basis of "Orthodox chivalry" is being revived. Voluntary service to the Church and Fatherland, readiness to defend the Orthodox faith and native land before self-sacrifice - these feelings were characteristic of the Cossacks. The Cossacks in Russia have always been guided by the Gospel words of Christ the Savior: “There is no greater love than if someone lays down his life for his friends” (John 15, TK). And throughout the centuries, the Cossacks confirmed their loyalty to this truth with their lives and deeds. Today, the Russian Cossacks again have the opportunity to serve the faith and the Fatherland. The time of trials and oblivion of the devoted service of the Cossacks to the Russian state is over. We look forward to your participation in the revival not only of our historical lands, but of Russia as a whole. May the Cossack be glorious not only in earthly service, but also in tireless service to the Lord God and the holy Orthodox Church, for without this the true revival of the Cossack warrior, tiller and pioneer will be impossible. I express the hope that the life, service and work of the Russian Cossacks for the benefit of the Fatherland and in the bosom of the Church will contribute to the preservation of peace and harmony among the peoples of the entire Fatherland. Keep our Russia - the House of the Blessed Virgin Mary! May the Lord bless you all for faithful service to the Russian state and our people!”

50. COSSACKS AND ORTHODOXY

Strengthening the position of the state on the outskirts of the Cossacks in many ways contributed to the strengthening of the Church. If in the 17th century temples were available only in the centers of the Cossack regions (in Siberia - in cities and large villages), then under Peter I the construction of stanitsa temples began with might and main. By the way, only then, along with the construction of churches, Peter forbade the Cossacks to marry without priests, on the Maidan. New monasteries sprang up. For example, on the Don, men's - Cherniev, Kremenskoy, women's - Starocherkassky, Efremovsky. Bekrenevsky and Ust-Medveditsky were at first male, then they were transformed into female ones. But Cossack Orthodoxy still retained some specifics, combining Christianity and military traditions. The basis for this combination was the words of the Lord: “There is no greater love than if a man lays down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Therefore, icons and weapons hung on one wall in the hut. Cossack monasteries, as before, served as a haven for crippled warriors. And widows, whose husbands did not return from campaigns, went to women's monasteries. By the way, a very eloquent detail - unlike Central Russia, the Cossack monasteries never used the labor of serfs.

The position of the priests was also special. They were important figures of the Cossack community, they were always present at the village circles, they could even interrupt them, although they themselves did not have the right to vote. They monitored the morality of parishioners, kept records of those who were born, married, and died. They also performed the functions of physicians and sanitary control. But with priests sent from outside and not knowing the Cossack environment, difficulties arose. And they tried to cook from their own. Candidates were trained at monasteries and sent for ordination to the diocese. And in 1757, Ataman Efremov achieved the establishment of a seminary in Cherkassk. However, even a person who was ordained a priest could not immediately receive a parish. He was evaluated by the authorities and was elected on the village circle. An “instruction note” was drawn up about the election, with which the candidate went to the bishop in order to get the appropriate place.

Only in the second half of the XVIII century. such a situation was considered abnormal, in 1762 Voronezh Bishop complained that the Don foremen, considering themselves “excellent in everything from others”, “not only certify the church, but, according to their consideration and the clerk, they themselves determine and directly enter into church affairs and give letters of clerk from themselves behind their seals.” But, despite the intervention of the Synod, the influence of the Cossack authorities on the local church remained very strong. But how else, if the temples were built and maintained at the expense of the Cossacks? Later, an independent Don diocese was singled out, and the contradictions were smoothed out: the bishop was in contact with the military chieftain, and thus both could influence each other's subordinates.

But a significant part of the Cossacks remained Old Believers - all the Urals, Grebensky, many of them were among the Orenburg, Siberians, on the Upper Don. However, it is perhaps incorrect to divide into Old Believers and "Orthodox", as is done in some sources. Aren't the Old Believers Orthodox? It would be more correct to speak of supporters of the Old Russian and Greek Russian rites. In addition, the Old Believers themselves were divided into a number of areas - Beglopopovtsy (who accepted fugitive Greek Russian priests for service), Bespopovtsy (who did without priests), etc. The Cossacks had their own specifics here too. IN this case typical example with combs.

Under Anna Ioannovna, when the Old Believers were again taken up in Russia, the Bishop of Astrakhan sent his "zakaschik" Fyodor Ivanov to Kizlyar, who zealously began to "eradicate the schism." In 1738, the combers, led by the ataman Danil Auka appealed to Bishop Hilarion, referring to the permission of Peter I to be baptized with two fingers. And he seemed to agree. Since the Cossacks had churches only in Kizlyar and Kurdyukovskaya, and in the rest of the villages there were prayer houses (without altars), Hilarion ordered the construction of altars and the celebration of liturgies. The Cossacks replied that they would do everything, except for the triplets. But new denunciations followed that "they are in a considerable split." The synod ordered to put things in order. And Illarion pointed out that if the Cossacks "in their two-fingered stubbornness are, then they will be punished not only by spiritual, but also by civil punishment." The answer was: “In our Grebensky Army, there is no split, because as our fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers from ancient times were in the Orthodox Christian faith and were baptized with a two-fingered cross, so we ... do not decrease or add.” They pointed out that all the former kings were sworn with two fingers, that many people from the mountaineers were baptized by them, and if the rite was changed, it would have a bad effect on them. Therefore, the Cossacks gave a signature of loyalty to the Church, but with the preservation of two-fingeredness - even if they had to "suffer and die" or leave the Terek.

And Illarion agreed, "because they have no other split except for the cross." But the Synod insisted on its own, the persecution began. They compiled lists of those who were not at confession, collected fines, took away the icons of the old letter, removed and brought under investigation the priests who performed the service according to the old rite. This caused conflicts, escapes of the Cossacks. Here the secular authorities raised their voice, being more compliant than the spiritual ones. The Kizlyar commandant declared that it was impossible to eradicate the schism by force, it would be better to send learned preachers. And if there are none, then there is no need to send threatening consistorial decrees, "so as not to lead the Cossacks into corruption the most." The Senate, given the importance of guarding the borders, ordered that the combers not be forced in matters of faith.

In 1763 Peter III allowed the Old Believers, and Catherine confirmed his decision. However, the relief came too late. The Grebenians recoiled from the official Church. Another factor came into play. Church personnel on the outskirts of the local area was extremely lacking, and Orthodox Georgians emigrated from Transcaucasia. And it was decided to involve the Georgian clergy. It served in the churches of Kizlyar, founded the Exaltation of the Cross Monastery, and was sent to the villages. Some priests served in Georgian, accompanied the holidays with Georgian chants. For the multinational Terek-Kizlyar Army and the settlers from the Terek-Family, such a church was suitable, but there was no other. But for the old-timers, the combers looked "foreign", not Russian.

When the formation of the Azov-Mozdok line began, the Old Believers were also resettled from the Don and the Volga to the Caucasus. The sectarians from the Irgiz, from abroad, also came here. But they were of various interpretations and currents, there was confusion. Contemporaries wrote that the Terek Cossacks "are all of different splits." However, among the Cossacks, schismatics also transformed. The anti-state component has disappeared. And they remained faithful servants of God, the tsar and the Fatherland. Only they served God in their own way - as they were used to. Therefore, the secular authorities did not give offense to them. The all-powerful Potemkin obtained permission from the Synod for the Cossacks-Old Believers to build churches. There were sketes - near Kalinovskaya, Chervlennaya, Novogladkovskaya and others. However, the local sketes did not become places where the fugitives took refuge and conducted schismatic propaganda. They turned into a kind of traditional Cossack monasteries. The disabled, the poor, widows settled in them. They earned extra money by sewing, cultivating their gardens and vineyards, the villagers also helped - children brought food and called the name of the one for whom they needed to pray. AND local authorities these sketes were "not noticed".

In 1800, on the initiative of Paul I, a provision was adopted on a church of the same faith - subordinate to the Synod, but carrying out worship according to old printed books and old rites. In principle, this was exactly what the combers had achieved before. And co-religionism spread widely in the Ural Army, more than half of the Cossacks switched to it. But on the Don, a common faith church arose only in one village, Verkhne-Kargalskaya. And the Terek was affected by the conflict with official Church and its "Georgian" character, and the innovation was not established. Only under the influence of the missionary activity of Fr. Nazaria (Puzin), the so-called "Nazar Church" arose, although its parishioners considered themselves not fellow believers, but the same Old Believers, only "with a real priest, and not with a self-appointed one."

In 1846, the Belokrinitskaya Old Believer Church was established on the territory of Austria-Hungary. The unity of the structure, the possibility of appointing priests allowed her to attract many supporters in Russia. But among the Cossacks there were few Belokrinitsky Old Believers (they were called "Austrians"). Basically, the religious life of the communities took place under the leadership of their elected guides. And for the sacraments of baptism, weddings, the full rite of the funeral, they used the services of either runaway priests, or once or twice a year, representatives of the community went to Russia and brought a priest from there for a fee. There were also rumors among the Cossacks, unknown among other Old Believers - nowhere, non-okruzhniki, holers. In general, we can agree with the conclusion of the historian N.I. Velikaya that “Cossack Old Believers cannot be attributed to the main currents (priests, bespopovtsy) or sects (pomortsy, netovtsy, Fedoseevtsy)”. Because it "had a pre-schismatic character." “In the absence of priests, special forms of religious activity developed, carried out under the guidance of the most moral and respected Cossacks.”

Penetrated into the environment of the Cossacks and heresies, sects. In 1818 on the Don in the Upper Kurmoyar Yesaul Evlampy Katelnikov created a sect of "spirit-bearers", his followers arranged exhausting fasts and vigils, reaching the ecstasy of "God-obsession". The sect was banned, Katelnikov was exiled to Solovki. The Baptists (“Shtunda”), Molokans, Khlysty, eunuchs, Adventists, representatives of “Old Israel” and “New Israel” also spread their teachings. But the very direction of these sects did not correspond to the spirit of the Cossacks, and they found very few adherents.

In the Caucasus, the share of the Old Believers gradually decreased. Greek Orthodoxy dominated the Black Sea Host. And when the mass replenishment of the Cossacks with retired soldiers, Russian and Ukrainian peasants began, they were also “new believers”. By the way, after the annexation of Georgia, the Georgian clergy also fled there, and Russian priests began to be sent to the line. In 1829 North Caucasus was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Don diocese, and in 1843 the Caucasian one was formed, and the Cossack villages were subordinated to the chief priest of the Caucasian Corps, Lavrenty Mikhailovsky.

Features here were observed the same as on the Don. The Black Sea residents had their own monasteries, the Mariinsky female hermitage, the male Ekaterino-Lebyazhenskaya hermitage - which also became a school for those wishing to enter the clergy. Cossack authorities constantly interfered in church affairs. So, in 1849, the ataman of the Black Sea Army, Zavodovsky, ordered all the priests to read the order of the governor in churches for three Sundays in a row (about the prohibition of the Cossacks from addressing the authorities over the heads of their immediate superiors). All were fulfilled unconditionally, only Fr. Gerasim (Speransky). Zavodovsky sent a report to him to the chief priest, but unexpectedly received a sharp blow. L. Mikhailovsky pointed out that "an announcement in the Orthodox Church is appropriate only in the affairs of the Church or its dogmas, or ... in incidents relating to the affairs of state or the August Imperial House." In other matters, "the clergy should not be involved at all." Only after that, military and civil instructions began to be read out at gatherings or near churches.

And relations between representatives of the Greek-Russian and Old Russian rites in the Cossacks were much more tolerant than in the non-Cossack environment. Cossacks of one confession tried to live and stick together, but they did not have antagonism with other currents. For example, in 1801, when the news of the death of Paul and the cancellation of the campaign to India caught up with the Don peoples on the Irgiz, the entire Army celebrated Easter in the local Old Believer sketes. Together - chieftain, officers, Cossacks. And it didn't bother anyone. What to do if there are no other temples and priests nearby?

Nicholas I launched a new persecution of the Old Believers, but he made an exception for the Cossacks, by decree of 1836 they were allowed to conduct worship according to their rites. And the clergy wrote that on the Terek “schismatics openly built prayer houses, openly kept fugitive priests, started sects, and obvious schismatics were appointed heads of the villages, even between the commanders of Grebensky and other regiments there were schismatics.” True, it was not without conflicts. In 1844, the Cossack of the Don regiment, passing through Chervlennaya, recognized the fugitive in the village guard. Bishop Jeremiah insisted on arrest. The villagers, bound by military discipline, could not resist. But the Cossacks stood up for the usher. Armed with men's rifles, sticks. In order to frighten them, they fired blanks from the cannons. But the women were not afraid and rushed at the soldiers. With difficulty, the "woman's rebellion" was still pacified. However, the secular authorities again took the side of the Cossacks. Viceroy Vorontsov reported to St. Petersburg that friction over matters of faith prevented them from serving. And in 1850, the tsar ordered that only "harmful sects" - Dukhoborists, iconoclasts, Judaizers, etc., be called schismatics, and the rest be called Old Believers and not be persecuted.

Religious alienation in the Cossack environment sometimes manifested itself, but more often in cases where it related to newcomers. And it was explained by differences not so much in confessions as in customs, behavior, and thinking. But no alienation was observed, for example, between the famous regiment commander "Nover" N.P. Sleptsov and his subordinates, Old Believer combs, who became related to him in battles. And when in the 1840s. to reinforce the Grebensky regiment, migrants from the Kharkov province were sent to 5 villages, only Chervlennaya refused to accept them, and the Ukrainians, whom they wanted to settle in it, founded a new village, Nikolaevskaya. The rest lived together. At different ends of the villages, in different settlements, they prayed separately. But they served and fought together. And gradually got used to it. Sometimes they changed their confession. Sometimes girls from Old Believer families tried to marry the Cossacks of the Greek-Russian rite, since their relations in their families were freer. And it happened that members of the same family belonged to different confessions. But they had nothing to share. They were Cossacks, which means highest values they were the same.

And what can we say about relations between different branches of Orthodoxy, if the Cossacks have always been able to get along even with non-Christians and foreigners? In the Caucasus, in the midst of the war, they were quarreling with the highlanders. Often they accepted foreigners into their midst. In the Urals in the XVIII century. if prisoners wanted to become Cossacks, they were obliged to be baptized, but if the Tatars, Bashkirs, Kalmyks voluntarily passed to the Cossacks, they could remain in their faith. The Transbaikal Army, as already noted, included whole regiments of pagan Evenki and Buddhist Buryats. There were even lamas-Cossacks - the order was established that at the time of the gathering they were released from the datsans, and then they returned to monastic life. On the Terek in Borozdinskaya Kazan Tatars and Tavlintsy were settled, who retained the Muslim faith. Bashkir Muslims entered the Orenburg and Ural Troops, Kalmyk Buddhists - into Astrakhan, Donskoy, Ural.

And the Christian Cossacks perceived them as their brothers. Which, by the way, also manifested the psychology of the “warriors of Christ”. It is not the business of a warrior to discuss what has been decided from Above. If the Lord, in his inscrutable ways, admits that someone believes otherwise, is it necessary and possible to argue with such a situation? However, nothing resembling ecumenism arose. The Cossacks never had discussions about the "points of contact" of religions, about the possibilities of their "rapprochement". They respected other people's traditions, but also their own. They have their own, we have our own, but the state is common, therefore, the difference in beliefs does not interfere with the common service.

Orthodoxy was not just a faith, but the foundation of all Cossack life. Like everyone in Russia, the Cossack was associated with the Church and birth, and baptism, and wedding, and burial. And the entire economic year was connected with the church year - after the Trinity, mow hay, after the Nativity of the Virgin, harvest grapes, etc. But there were also their own, Cossack traditions, their revered miraculous icons- The Aksai Mother of God, who saved the Don from cholera, the Uryupinskaya Mother of God, the Akhtyrskaya Mother of God, the Tabynskaya Mother of God, and others. There were their own specific customs. For example, a church ceremony of seeing off to a service. And a thanksgiving service upon returning from the service. The custom of military circles was also preserved. Atamans were no longer elected on them, no decisions were made, and the circles became just common holidays for the entire Army. All the regalia, banners were carried out, the ataman and members of the board marched to the military cathedral, where a solemn service was served. There was a parade, a treat ...

There were holidays that were considered their own, Cossack ones. The Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos (in memory of the capture of Kazan), the day of the Kazan Mother of God - the defender of Russia (in memory of the liberation of Moscow from the Poles), was also celebrated the Day of the Cossack or Mother's Day (it fell on the Introduction of the Virgin into the temple). Were special days commemoration of ancestors. For example, on the Don there is a military memorial service, which was served on the Saturday preceding the day of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, and was accompanied by performances of singing choirs, military competitions, and a meal. And the patronal feast of the stanitsa church was also the feast of the village. Tables were laid on the Maidan, and they celebrated in houses. This was also accompanied by songs, dances, horse riding. And they walked for three days!

True, the Church tried to fight some customs (just like the military authorities) - say, with fisticuffs, and in the Kuban and Terek - with shooting in the air at weddings and holidays, “as a result of which a year does not pass so that they do not injure or didn't even kill a man." But such a struggle did not bring any special results, the Cossacks kept their traditions strictly. The same fisticuffs were preserved everywhere, on Maslenitsa - the capture of snow fortresses, it was played out especially magnificently in the Orenburg region, with masquerade mummers, special "voivods". And the Grebensky Old Believers also preserved archaic rituals in general. Let's say, on the Trinity - "launching ships." Such "ships" were made together, decorated with flowers, ribbons, stylized dolls of "Cossack" and "Cossacks" were planted on them, solemnly, they were carried by the whole village to the Terek and put on the water. After that, the “ship” had to be sunk with shots, and a general festivity began with dancing and songs. Among the combers, a special form of the Cossack "communion" has been preserved from the unknown depths of time - to bite the tip of one's own beard. And contemporaries-officers noted with surprise that at any moment, having taken a beard in their mouth and considering themselves to have taken communion, the Grebensky Cossacks "go to obvious death without thinking."

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