Russian Old belief is one of the most important layers of the Russian world, although for a variety of reasons, it is one that seldom draws people’s attention. The phenomenon, its history and the processes that took place in the Old Believer environment, in a sense, is widely representative of Russian culture, society and the Russian state.
The liturgical and ritual reforms undertaken in the middle of the 17th century by Patriarch Nikon caused a deep rift not only in the Russian church, but also in the Russian people. Tens of thousands of Russians of all classes “from the boyars to the poor blind man” did not accept the three-finger sign of the cross, the hallelujah sung three times and other Nikonian innovations. They were prepared to die rather than turn their backs on the customs of their fathers and grandfathers.
Old Believers found broad support among the Russian clergy. As a result of the schism, dozens of priests and archpriests left the church, as did hundreds of monks and sometimes even entire monasteries. One example of the latter is the case of the famous Solovetsky Monastery whose monks staged an armed revolt against the “new faith.” Virtually all of the holy fools of the time – people who traditionally enjoyed enormous prestige in Russian Orthodoxy – supported Old Belief. Unfortunately for the Old Believers, however, they were not joined by any of the Russian bishops at the time.
Of course, there were opponents of Nikon’s reforms among the higher Russian clerics in the 17th century. The most consistent and intransigent among them was Bishop Pavel of Kolomensk, who publicly declared that “if someone rejects the customs of the Holy Church, or makes of them a debauchery in any way, let him be anathema.” After the convocation in 1654, however, he was sent into exile, where he died in mysterious circumstances. Archpriest Avvakum and the other Old Believers insisted that he was assassinated by agents of Nikon. Other bishops who maintained the Old Belief, such as Bishop Alexander of Vyatka, acted much more timidly and obediently.
This fact had a devastating impact on the followers of Old Belief. According to the canons, only bishops are given certain authorities, which included the ordination of priests, who are required in order for a full liturgy to be possible.
Many members of the lower clergy joined the schism, although once they died, there was no legitimate source for new priests. As a result, by the end of the 17th century, Old Believers faced the real risk of going without priests.
In trying to find a way out of this situation, Old Belief split into two currents – those who did not feel the need for priests and those who did. The first believed that by the grace of God, the church had finally ceased to exist and, consequently, no priesthood or sacrament of Communion could exist in this sinful world. They therefore decided to go without priests and sacraments in the future and as a result, they turned into radical religious reformers under the banner of Old Belief.
Unlike their opponents, Old Believers who believed in the priesthood and the sacraments held the opinion of Archpriest Avvakum, who maintained that “the devil himself could not abolish the priesthood.” As for the problems with instituting new priests, a solution was found in the 1680s when Dionysius accepted into Old Belief new priests who had been consecrated after Nikon’s reforms. In the future, this practice became widespread among the pro-priesthood segment of Old Believers.
This solution was naturally quite vulnerable to criticism. On the one hand, radical anti-priest Old Believers were sincerely puzzled that Nikon’s church could be bad but its priests good. On the other hand, this position made extremely problematic uniformity – religious thought in the early 19th century whose adherents followed the old rituals but recognized the primacy of the Synod. They justifiably noted that if it is possible to lure priests consecrated by Nikon’s bishops, then why could they not be received officially?
Moreover, the moral portrait of Nikon’s priests as “defectors” was often left wanting. As Andrei Sinyavsky has rightly observed, “there were occasionally priests who discredited themselves through all sorts of misconduct, immoral behavior and even criminal offenses and were forced to seek refuge in Old Belief. There were cases of priests and even bishops in this environment who were simply imposters, whom Old Believers themselves did not know how to rid themselves of and were happy when the government caught them and exiled them to hard labor or locked them away in monasteries.”
For this reason, it is not surprising that from almost the very beginning the pro-priesthood division made attempts to find a bishop and restore the Old Orthodox hierarchy. Not a single attempt ever proved successful, though. Until the middle of the 19th century, pro-priesthood Old Believers were forced to make use of the services of fugitive Nikonian priests.
As these priests could be obtained so easily, the Old Believers may have eventually become resigned to the situation. Under Nicholas I, however, authorities began a powerful assault on the Old Believers, especially on their clergy. On May 10, 1827, a law was enacted that firmly prohibited Old Believer priests from moving from one district to another in response to spiritual demands. In the case of such movements, they were to be dealt with “as vagrants.” On November 8 of the same year, a new supreme ruling followed: the Rogozhskoye Cemetery (the largest center of Old Belief in Moscow) could not accept new priests. The order was then applied to all Old Believer communities throughout Russia. The persecution was extended to Old Believer monasticism as well. Most Old Believer monasteries were closed or transferred to the uniform believers. In March 1837, the famous Irgiz Monastery, which had served as the largest center for “retraining” fugitive priests, suffered the same fate.
Fedor Melnikov, an expert on Old Belief, described how the monastery was liquidated. “Around the temple lay several rows people who were firmly attached to one other. It was impossible to separate them. The governor leading the military detachment gave the command, and the soldiers started firing blank shells. At the same time, they began to pump water on the Old Believers. Cossacks cracked their whips, and the infantrymen began clubbing the motionless defenders of the monastery. The roar of shots, shrieks and moans of those under attack mixed in a single chaos that was able to instill fear in the bravest of men. The soldiers threw themselves on the confused Old Believers and began to pull them from the monastery.”
The repression under Nicholas I led to the widespread “depletion” of the Old Believer clergy. Of the twelve priests that had served at Moscow’s Rogozhskoye Cemetery, only three remained. Things were even worse in other places. In this situation, the question of restoring their own hierarchy in many ways was a matter of life and death for the pro-priesthood Old Believers. It is therefore not surprising that the Old Believer convocation, held at the Rogozhskoye Cemetery, decided to make every effort to acquire a bishop. Due to the political situation, the decision was made to establish a cathedra not in Russia but abroad – in Turkey or Austria – where numerous Old Believer communities had existed since the 18th century.
The fulfillment of this mission was entrusted to two men: Peter Vasilyevich Velikodvorsky, who subsequently took the veil under the name Pavel, and the monk Geronty (Gerasim Isaevich Kolpakov). To avoid accusations of pursuing self interests, each of them vowed not to seek a bishopric.
In 1839, Pavel and Geronty began to search for a bishop abroad. Initially, they went to the Middle East, as many Russian Old Believers believed that pious bishops faithful to Old Orthodoxy might be hiding there. It soon became clear that those hopes were in vain.
The ambassadors then began to pursue another plan – to find an Eastern bishop who would agree to unite with Old Orthodoxy and restore the Old Believer hierarchy. This time they succeeded. Former Metropolitan Ambrose of Bosnia and Sarajevo, who had been removed from his cathedra for supporting the Bosnian Serb rebellion, expressed his readiness to accept the offer.
Ambrose’s candidacy was not accepted immediately. His faith was given thorough inspection, and he was checked in order to determine whether he had been baptized “by immersion three times,” as demanded by Old Believers, or “by water poured over him.” Eventually all of the formalities were settled, however, and on April 16, 1846, Metropolitan Ambrose signed a document in which he asserted that “with a clean conscience he would enter the Old Belief with the rank of metropolitan.”
In May 1846, Ambrose arrived in Austria, where he would remain at the Old Believer Belokrinitsky Monastery. October 28, he consecrated two bishops, Cyril Maynossky and Arkady Slavsky. The Old Believer hierarchy had been restored.
This news put Nicholas in a frenzy, and he repeatedly stated his intention to destroy the schism. Just shy of threatening war, he demanded that Austria take action against Ambrose, who as a result was sent into exile in the town of Celje, where he remained for 15 years until his death.
The Old Believers had an even more difficult time when a new wave of persecution ensued. Particular attention was paid to newly installed bishops, who were hunted down with a vengeance. For example, when the Russo-Turkish War began, Russian troops occupied Dobrudzha, where the Bishops Arkady and Alimpy were arrested. The two were sent to Russia and locked up in the Suzdal Fortress.
Harassment did not abate after the death of Nicholas. On July 7, 1856, the altars of the Rogozhskoye Cemetery were sealed. The hunt for bishops continued. In 1858, Bishop Konon of Novozybkov was caught, and in 1899, Bishop Gennady of Perm was arrested as a dangerous state criminal. Bishop Gennady was held in solitary confinement for 18 years, and Bishop Konon for 22 years. Archbishop Arkady was kept for 27 years. The Old Believers could not be broken, however. Despite all the authorities’ repressive action, the Belokrinitsky hierarchy was not destroyed.
It is not difficult to guess that by sowing the wind, the Imperial government created a whirlwind. After years of harassment, the Old Believers found it difficult to wait for a change of heart. It is therefore not surprising that as one of the most conservative elements of Russian society, the Old Believers eventually played a prominent role in the Russian Liberation Movement.
To be continued…
