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

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

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

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

Specialists in church history count dozens of differences between the Old Believers and the Orthodox in matters of reading and interpreting the Bible, conducting church services, other rituals, everyday life and appearance. And also note that the Old Believers are heterogeneous. Among them, various currents stand out, which still add differences, but already between the adherents of the old faith themselves. Pomortsy, Fedoseyevtsy, Beglopopovtsy, Bespopovtsy, Priests, Spasovian sense, Netovshchina and many others. We will not go into detail, as there is not enough space in one article. Let's take a brief look at the main differences and discrepancies between the Old Believers and the Orthodox.

1. How to be baptized correctly.

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

2. The shape of the cross.

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

3. Earthly bows.

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

4. Pectoral cross.

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

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

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

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

8. Appearance.

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

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

The king offered to compare the silushka. He says: "Here I will hit you in the chest, if you stand on your feet, then I will allow you to hit me and you will have a royal gift." Piotr swung and hit the kid in the chest. Someone else would fly off, probably five meters head over heels. And he just swayed like an oak tree. The autocrat was surprised! He demanded a retaliatory strike. And the old believer hit! Everyone froze! And the guy was from the Old Believers of Peipsi. The king could hardly stand it, swayed, stepped back. The sovereign awarded such a hero with a silver ruble and the post of corporal. Everything was explained simply: the Old Believers did not drink vodka, did not smoke tobacco, ate, as it is now fashionable to say, organic products and were distinguished by enviable health. Therefore, Peter I ordered the youth from the sketes to be taken into the army.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Old and new faith

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

While still an archimandrite, he stated:

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

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

Old Believers or Old Believers?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Peter became much stricter towards the Old Believers.

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

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

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

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

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

What do the Old Believers believe in?

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

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

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

Old Believers—priests

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

Old Believers-bezpopovtsy

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

Old Believers or Old Believers?

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

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

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

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

Old Believers and Pagans

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

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

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

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

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

G. S. Chistyakov

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Patriarch Nikon in the 17th century carried out a series of reforms, caused by the need to bring the Church to a single image of liturgical practice. Some of the clergy and worldly people did not accept these changes, declaring that they were departing from the old customs, and nicknamed Nikon's innovations "corruption of belief." They announced that they wished to preserve the past traditions and statutes in worship. It should be noted that it will be quite difficult for an uninitiated person to distinguish an Old Believer from an Orthodox believer, because the differences between the new and the old faith are not so great. In this article, you can learn about what the Old Believers are, how the Old Believers differ from the Orthodox and find out the answers to the most interesting questions of Orthodox people.

Orthodox believers are those Christians who accept the teachings put forward by the Christian Church.

The Old Believers, on the other hand, are believers who wished to move away from the Christian church because of their disagreement with the reforms that Patriarch Nikon carried out.

Experts in church history have established about a dozen distinctive features of the Old Believers from ordinary believing Christians in matters of conducting worship and other ritual ceremonies, reading and interpreting Holy Scripture, everyday issues, and also appearance.

It should be noted that the Old Believers are heterogeneous, that is, there are various currents among them, which also introduce some differences, but already among the adherents of the old belief themselves.

Let's take a closer look at how the Old Believers differ from Orthodox Christians:

• It has, but to this day it is pleasant for Old Believers to use the form of a Christian symbol. It, as a rule, has eight ends, and two more small crossbars are added to our usual cross, oblique from below and straight from above. However, according to research, some Old Believers also recognize some other forms of the Lord's cross.
• Bows. Unlike ordinary Christians, the Old Believers recognize only earthly bows, while the latter use waist bows.
• How to be baptized. Nikon, during the period of his church reform, put forward a ban according to which one cannot be baptized with two fingers according to the old custom. A decree was given to everyone to perform the sign of the three fingers. That is, to be baptized in a new way - with three fingers laid in a pinch. The Old Believers, in turn, did not accept this provision, seeing this as a fig (i.e., a fig) and completely refused to follow the newly introduced decree. The Old Believers to this day perform the sign of the cross with two fingers. The wearable symbol. As described earlier, the Old Believers always have an eight-pointed cross, which is located inside the four-pointed one. The main difference is that the image of the crucified Savior is never applied on such a cross.
• Differences in the spelling of the name of the Almighty. There are discrepancies in some prayer books, which, according to estimates, there are about 62 of one historian.
• The Old Believers during the period of worship keep their arms crossed on their chests, and Christians keep their hands at their sides.
• Almost complete rejection of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. The Old Russian Church of Orthodox Old Believers only in some Old Believer senses allows the adoption of three glasses of alcohol on great holidays, but no more than that.
• Appearance. In the Old Believer churches of God, in comparison with Christian ones, there are no women and girls in hats, scarves or kerchiefs that are tied at the back with a knot. Old Believer women must be strictly in a headscarf, stabbed under the chin with a pin. Nothing colorful or bright is allowed in clothes. Men, on the other hand, should wear old Russian shirts loose and be sure to complement it with a belt that will separate several parts of the body into the upper, that is, spiritual and lower, dirty. In everyday life, an Old Believer man is forbidden to wear ties, considering them a Judas noose, and also to shave off his beard.

FAQ

Some Christians, and also Old Believers, may be interested in a lot of questions that are quite common in everyday life. Let's consider some of them.

Is it possible for the Old Believers to go to the Orthodox Church and is it possible to be baptized with two fingers

The Old Believers are allowed to visit God's temple, but if adherents of the old faith express a desire to be Orthodox, then first they need to accept Chrismation, that is, the Sacrament that will connect a person with the new Christian faith.

To be baptized with two or three fingers today does not have any special meaning, since these two rites were recognized as equal. But still, it is worth noting that if you visit God's temple and be baptized there with two fingers, when everyone else is baptized only with the crown of your fingers, it will look ridiculous and even ugly;

Can an Old Believer be the godfather of an Orthodox

It is not necessary to completely reject the possibility of being a non-Orthodox Christian as a godfather during the performance of the Orthodox rite of Baptism, but this is only possible if the Old Believer is only one of the godparents, and the second godparent will necessarily be a Christian of the new faith.

There is also another condition under which the Old Believer is allowed to take part in the ceremony if he does not make any attempts to raise a child in non-Orthodox traditions.

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22 thoughts on What is the difference between the Old Believers and the Orthodox”

13. 

Recently, being carried away by the study of Russian culture, various ways of spiritual and physical development, many people have become interested in the Old Believers. Indeed, the Old Believers - who are they? There are many opinions and views on this matter. Some believe that these are Orthodox Christians who profess the faith that existed before the church schism during Nikon's reform. Others think that these are people who have chosen for themselves a faith that Orthodox priests call pagan. The old faith, which was spread before the Baptism of Russia by order of Prince Vladimir.

Old Believers - who are they

The first associations that come to mind are people living in the taiga, who have rejected all the benefits of civilization, follow the old way of life, do everything themselves, without using any equipment. Medicine is also not common, all diseases are cured by the prayers of the Old Believers and fasting.

How true is this? It is difficult to say, because the Old Believers do not talk about their life, do not sit in social networks, do not write about it in blogs. The life of the Old Believers is secretive, takes place in closed communities, they try not to contact people once again. One gets the feeling that they can only be seen by accidentally getting lost in the taiga, wandering for more than one day.

Where do the Old Believers live?

For example, the Old Believers live in Siberia. In a harsh and cold climate, it was thanks to them that new unexplored and hard-to-reach corners of the country were mastered. There are villages of Old Believers in Altai, there are several of them - Upper Uimon, Maralnik, Multa, Zamulta. It was in such places that they hid from persecution by the state and the official church.

In the village of Upper Uimon, you can visit the Museum of the Old Believers and learn in detail about their way of life and faith. Despite the fact that the attitude towards them has changed for the better with the course of history, the Old Believers prefer to choose remote corners of the country for life.

To clarify the questions that involuntarily arise when studying them, it is worth first understanding where they came from and what is the difference between them. Old Believers and Old Believers - who are they?

Where did they come from

To find out the answer to the question of who they are, the Old Believers, you first have to plunge into history.

One of the significant and tragic events in Russia was the schism of the Russian Church. He divided believers into two camps: followers of the "old faith" who did not want to accept any innovations, and those who humbly accepted the innovations that arose due to Nikon's reforms. appointed by Tsar Alexei, who wished to change the Russian Church. By the way, the concept of "Orthodoxy" appeared along with Nikon's reform. Therefore, the phrase "Orthodox Old Believers" is somewhat incorrect. But in modern times, this term is quite relevant. Because at the moment the Russian Orthodox Church officially exists, in other words, the Church of the Old Believers.

So, changes in religion took place and led to many events. It can be said that at that time in the 17th century the first Old Believers appeared in Russia, whose followers exist to this day. They protested against the Nikon reforms, which, in their opinion, changed not only the features of some rites, but also the faith itself. These innovations were carried out with the aim of making Orthodox rites in Russia as similar as possible to Greek and global ones. They were justified by the fact that church books, which were copied by hand, since the time of Baptism in Russia had some distortions and typos, according to supporters of innovations.

Why people opposed Nikon's reforms

Why did people protest against the new reforms? Perhaps the personality of Patriarch Nikon himself played a role here. Tsar Alexei appointed him to the important post of patriarch, gave him the opportunity to radically change the rules and rituals of the Russian church. But this choice was a little strange and not very justified. Patriarch Nikon did not have sufficient experience in creating and implementing reforms. He grew up in a simple peasant family, eventually became a priest in his village. Soon he moved to the Moscow Novospassky Monastery, where he met the Russian Tsar.

Their views on religion largely coincided, and soon Nikon became patriarch. The latter not only did not have sufficient experience for this role, but, according to many historians, he was imperious and cruel. He wanted power that had no boundaries, and envied Patriarch Filaret in this regard. Trying in every possible way to show his significance, he was active everywhere and not only as a religious figure. For example, he personally participated in the suppression of the uprising in 1650, it was he who wanted a brutal reprisal against the rebels.

What changed

Nikon's reform brought significant changes to the Russian Christian faith. That is why opponents of these innovations and followers of the old faith appeared, who later began to be called Old Believers. They were persecuted for many years, were cursed by the church, and only under Catherine II did the attitude towards them change for the better.

In the same period, two concepts appeared: "Old Believer" and "Old Believer". What is the difference and who they stand for, today, many no longer know. In fact, both of these concepts are essentially the same.

Despite the fact that Nikon's reforms brought only splits and uprisings to the country, for some reason there are opinions that they have changed almost nothing. Most often, only two or three changes are indicated in history books, in fact there are more. So, what has changed and what innovations have occurred? You need to know this in order to understand how the Old Believers differ from the Orthodox believers belonging to the official church.

sign of the cross

After the innovation, Christians crossed themselves by folding three fingers (or fingers) - thumb, index and middle. Three fingers or "pinch" means the holy Trinity - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Although earlier, before the reform, only two fingers were used for this. That is, two fingers - the index and middle fingers were left straight or slightly curved, and the rest were folded together.

It should depict the main two creeds - the Crucifixion and the Resurrection of Christ. It was the two-fingered that was depicted on many icons and came from Greek sources. Old Believers or Old Believers still use two-fingered, overshadowing themselves with the sign of the cross.

Bows during services

Before the reforms, several types of bows were performed in the service, there were four in total. The first - to the fingers or to the navel, was called ordinary. The second - in the belt, was considered average. The third was called "throwing" and was made almost to the ground (small prostration). Well, the fourth - to the very earth (great prostration or proskineza). This whole system of bows is still in effect during Old Believer services.

After the Nikon reform, it was allowed to bow only to the waist.

Changes in books and icons

In the new faith and the old one they wrote the name of Christ in different ways. They used to write Jesus, as in Greek sources. After the reforms, it was necessary to stretch out his name - Jesus. In fact, it’s hard to say which spelling is closer to the original, since in Greek there is a special symbol for stretching the letter “and”, in Russian it is not.

Therefore, in order for the spelling to match the sound, the letter “and” was added to the name of God. The old spelling of the name of Christ has been preserved in the prayers of the Old Believers, and not only among them, but also in Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian, Croatian, Belarusian and Ukrainian.

Cross

The cross of the Old Believers and followers of innovations is significantly different. The followers of ancient Orthodoxy recognized only the eight-pointed version. The Old Believer symbol of the crucifixion is represented by an eight-pointed cross located inside a larger four-pointed one. On the most ancient crosses there are also no images of the crucified Jesus. For its creators, the form itself was more important than the image. The pectoral cross of the Old Believer also has the same appearance without the image of the crucifix.

Among Nikon's innovations concerning the cross, Pilatov's inscription can also be distinguished. These are the letters that are visible on the uppermost small crossbar of an ordinary cross, which is now sold in church shops - I N Ts I. This is an inscription left by Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator who ordered the execution of Jesus. It means "Jesus of Nazareth, King of Judah." She appeared on new Nikon icons and crosses, the old versions were destroyed.

At the very beginning of the split, fierce disputes began about whether it is permissible to depict this inscription. Archdeacon Ignatius from the Solovetsky Monastery wrote a petition to Tsar Alexei on this occasion, rejecting the new inscription in it and demanding the return of the old I X C C denoting "Jesus Christ the King of Glory." In his opinion, the old inscription speaks of Christ as God and Creator, who took his place in heaven after the Ascension. And the new one speaks of him as of an ordinary person who is on earth. But Theodosius Vasiliev, deacon of the Church of the Red Pit, and his followers for a long time, on the contrary, defended the "Pilate inscription." They were called Fedoseevtsy - a special offshoot of the Old Believers. All other Old Believers still use an older inscription in the manufacture of their crosses.

Baptism and procession

Among the Old Believers, only complete immersion in water is possible, carried out three times. But after Nikon's reforms, either partial immersion during baptism, or even just pouring, became possible.

The procession used to take place according to the sun, clockwise or salting. After the reform, during the rites, it is performed counterclockwise. This caused strong discontent at one time, people began to consider a new darkness.

Criticism of the Old Believers

Old Believers are often criticized for their indispensable observance of all dogmas and rituals. When the symbolism and some features of the old rituals were changed, this caused strong discontent, riots and uprisings. The followers of the old faith might even have preferred martyrdom rather than accept the new rules. Who are the Old Believers? Fanatics or selfless people who defend their faith? This is difficult for a modern person to understand.

How can one doom oneself to death because of one letter that has been changed or thrown out or, on the contrary, added? Many authors of articles write that the symbolism and all these minor, in their opinion, changes after the Nikon reform are only external. But is it right to think so? Of course, the main thing is faith, and not just blind observance of all the rules and customs. But where is the limit of these acceptable changes?

If you follow this logic, why do you need these symbols at all, why call yourself Orthodox, why do you need baptism and other rituals, if they can be easily changed just by gaining power, while killing hundreds of people who disagree. Why is such an Orthodox faith needed if it does not differ at all from Protestant or Catholic? After all, all these customs and rituals exist for a reason, for the sake of their blind execution. It was not in vain that people kept the knowledge of these rituals for so many years, passed from mouth to mouth, rewrote books by hand, because this is a huge work. Perhaps they saw something more behind these rituals, something that modern man is not able to understand and sees in this unnecessary external paraphernalia.

Who are the Old Believers, and what do they believe in? Sometimes you can hear this word in conversations and read in literary sources. It turns out that these are also Orthodox, only they believe in God according to the old model. In this article we will look at the differences between the Old Believers and ordinary Christians. What happened in the 17th century AD, and why did the Orthodox Church split?

So, in the 17th century, Patriarch Nikon decided to introduce a single model of liturgical practice throughout Russia. However, good intentions were not accepted unanimously by everyone, part of the population, together with the clergy, regarded these measures as a corruption of belief. They considered that it was like to deviate from the ancient customs of death, so they decided to keep the rituals unchanged.

What was the new pattern of worship? Patriarch Nikon insisted on the Byzantine style of services, so that there would be no contradictions between the Greek and Russian Orthodox Churches. It was because of this that a split occurred in the Russian Orthodox community. Archpriest Avvakum spoke out against Patriarch Nikon, for which he was sentenced to eviction. He spent 15 years in an earthen prison, never wavering in his firm decision to preserve the old ritualism. In 1681, Archpriest Avvakum was burnt by order of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich.

However, Patriarch Nikon's fate was also not favorable. He was removed from the patriarchate in 1667 for trying to place the power of the patriarch above that of the king. Nikon also died in 1681.

The Old Believers perceived Nikon's reforms as the temptation of the evil one, therefore they staunchly resisted any changes.

The schism in the Orthodox Church was experienced by many believers as a personal tragedy, because the reform abruptly changed the whole way of life and undermined the foundation of faith. Dissatisfied with the reform, they formed a movement of Old Believers, hiding from everyone in deep forests and inaccessible places. The tragedy was expressed in the fact that the Old Believers went to self-immolation, if only not to change anything in their way of life. Sometimes entire villages were burned down if the tsarist authorities made an attempt to put the reforms into action.

Only in 1971 was the anathema to the Old Believers lifted by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Dozens of people voluntarily burned in the fire, singing psalms at the top of their voices. It was a terrible sight, incomprehensible to the mind. This question was deeply studied by historians of the former USSR, trying to find a reasonable explanation for what happened. Sitnikov in the 80s specially visited the remote villages of Siberia, where the descendants of the Old Believers lived. The professor, together with the students, collected a lot of unique and interesting first-hand material.

Main differences

How is the Old Believer Church different from the Orthodox? It turns out there are quite a few differences. They concern:

• interpretations of holy texts;
• forms of church service;
• behavior at home;
• appearance features.

Historians have counted dozens of differences, which were quite significant. The fragmentation of the Old Believers and the lack of communications led to additional differences between them.

Church distinctions are as follows:

• the sign of the cross with three fingers instead of two;
• singing "Hallelujah" three times instead of twice;
• carry out the procession against the course of the sun;
• waist bows instead of earthly ones;
• write and say Christ instead of Jesus Christ;
• instead of a maiden, say a maiden.

The worst thing for the Old Believers was the destruction of the holy books, written not according to the Greek model. It was a great tragedy of the once united Russian people.

Why did the Old Believers not accept the sign of the cross with three fingers? They saw in him a "fig" and attributed to the tricks of Satan. People in all seriousness gave their lives, just not to be baptized with the fig.

External differences of the Old Believers:

• The pectoral cross of the Old Believers also differs from the Orthodox - it does not depict the crucified Savior.
• During the service, the Old Believers cross their arms, while the Orthodox hold them along the body.
• Old Believers do not smoke cigarettes and categorically refuse alcohol.

The clothes of the Old Believers also differ from the Orthodox. Women's headscarves are pinned under the chin. Men wear loose-fitting shirts with belts. Also, men do not shave their beards and do not wear ties.

In the economy of the Old Believers there were always two dining sets - for their own and for guests. Guests were called people of a different faith, including Orthodox Christians of the new model of faith.

Differences in temple architecture

How to distinguish a New Believer church from an old-style church? Outwardly, the temples cannot be distinguished, since they are all built according to a single model. Differences can be inside the temples without priests - there is no altar. Similar churches can be found in Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania. Russian bespopovtsy build churches with altars, adhering to an old tradition.

Crosses on the domes of Old Believer churches are made without any decorations. These are just crossbars. There will be no crescent and openwork patterns, as in New Believer churches.

During services in Old Believer churches, electric lighting is not turned on, with the exception of the kliros. Chandeliers in old-style churches are designed only for wax candles, while chandeliers in new-style churches are made with candle-shaped lamps. Also, you will never see painted candles - only natural wax ones.

Icons are of particular importance. If in modern churches you can find icons in the style of the Renaissance or Italian style, then in old-style churches - only handwritten or copper-cast. In the Old Believer churches you will never see the icons of Seraphim of Sarov and Matronushka.

Handmaids are another difference between the Old Believer churches. These are rugs for prostrations, which lie in a pile on the benches.

In the priestless churches of the Old Believers in Lithuania, you can even see the benches on which the faithful sit during the service.

And the last moment is singing. In Old Believer churches, strictly monophonic singing, since any polyphony and chord accompaniment are prohibited.

modern days

Today, the Old Believers are not persecuted, as in former times, and can live peacefully among people. The Orthodox Church does not attach much importance to how a person makes the sign of the cross - with two or three fingers. Both options are considered equal.

Today you can even choose a godparent from the Old Believers, but only one. The second godparent must be Orthodox. Also, a vow is taken from the godfather-Old Believer that he will not persuade the godson to the Old Believers.