Old Believers arose in the 17th century as a result of a split in the Russian Orthodox Church. The main difference between this religion is in some rites, as well as church organization.
How did the Old Believers
Old Believers - one of the varieties of Orthodoxy. This trend appeared as a result of the reform, which was carried out by Patriarch Nikon in 1653-1660. The reform resulted in a split in the Russian Orthodox Church.
The decision to draw closer to the Church of Constantinople required some ceremonies to be changed: they began to be baptized not with two fingers, as before, but with three; began to pray according to new books, and the second “and” appeared in the name of Jesus.
Dissatisfaction with such a reform was aggravated by the situation in the country: the peasantry was very impoverished, and some boyars and merchants opposed the law on the abolition of their feudal privileges, announced by Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.
All this led to the fact that some part of society broke away from the church. Being persecuted by the tsarist government and the clergy, the Old Believers were forced to hide. Despite the brutal persecution, their creed spread throughout Russia. Their center remained Moscow. In the middle of the 17th century, the Russian Orthodox Church imposed a curse on the breakaway church, it was removed only in 1971.
What is the difference between the faith of the Old Believers
The name "Old Believers" itself appeared only in 1905. The Old Believers were not originally distinguished by unity, it was very fragmented, individual groups were very different in relation to the church and the clergy. At the end of the 17th century, representatives of this religion formed two main branches: priests and bespopovtsy. The former recognize the priesthood, the performance of the requirements and sacraments, the presence of the church Orthodox hierarchy. The second, on the contrary, reject the church hierarchy, worship.
The Old Believers focused their efforts on the struggle against the Russian Orthodox Church. However, his followers did not have enough time to comprehend and put in order their, sometimes conflicting, views. Thanks to this, many directions and rumors have disappeared.
Old Believers are ardent adherents of ancient folk traditions. They did not even change the chronology, therefore, representatives of this religion keep track of the years from the creation of the world. They refuse to take into account any changed conditions, the main thing for them is to live the way their grandfathers, great-grandfathers and great-great-grandfathers lived. Therefore, studying literacy, going to the cinema, listening to the radio is not welcome.
In addition, modern clothing is not recognized by the Old Believers and it is forbidden to shave a beard. Household reigns in the family, women follow the commandment: "Let the wife be afraid of her husband." And children are subject to corporal punishment.
Communities lead a very closed lifestyle, replenished only at the expense of their children. Advocacy to attract new community members is not ongoing. All this leads to the fact that the number of Old Believers is constantly decreasing.
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