The Old Believers
The largest, most accurate source for Old Believer history, worship, and theology resources.
“A ritual, at the time of its creation, was born of a great thought, immense spiritual energy, and a profound spiritual fervor. And yet all energy is always preserved according to the law, so to speak, of ‘the conservation of spiritual energy.’ Just as heat is retained, the spiritual power of a ritual is preserved within it in a hidden state.”
—Bishop Mikhail (Semyonov)
Latest Articles
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Captured Glory
-Dimitry Urushev In rare books on 18th-century Russian literature, one seldom encounters the name of Simeon Denisov. Among the “enlightened men” like the poets Kantemir, Sumarokov, or Kheraskov, who sang in a European style of “the heart’s bitter sorrows,” there is little room for a northern hermit who, in an ancient style, recounted not “the…
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Elder Nikita Semenovich
-K. Kozhurin As it has always been within the Orthodox Church, there have been sacred persons, permitted by the authorities at certain times and under specific circumstances, including from among ordinary, unordained individuals, particularly in monastic settings, even when sacred persons faced ultimate destruction. For when sacred persons are present, they strictly prohibit ordinary people…
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The Wandering Church
-K. Kozhurin But even if I am greatly sinful before God, I only recall the words of the saints: “Hold fast,” they said, “to the traditions of the elders, as they learned from their fathers.” However, heresies and schisms in the Church, according to the holy scriptures, are judged to be nothing other than a…
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Sobornost in the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church: Reality and Perspectives
–Gleb Chistyakov At the outset of my presentation, I would like to turn to the relatively recent past—the late 1980s and early 1990s. This was, without exaggeration, a romantic time when many believed that a truly free and genuinely equal society was just around the corner. Terms such as people’s power, pluralism, multiparty system, freedom…
Our Mission
Bridging five centuries of tradition with today’s reader, The Old Believers offers carefully-crafted English translations of Old-Rite sermons, articles, and liturgical materials—texts seldom found outside Russian or Church Slavonic, so that scholars, clergy, and the simply curious may hear the original voice of the Old Believer Church without linguistic barriers. We publish freely, without ads, trusting that beauty and accuracy speak for themselves. Explore the Library, browse our self-published books, and join us as we safeguard a heritage too precious to fade.
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Who are the Old Believers?
Old Believers are Orthodox Christians who did not accept the reforms of the Russian Church implemented in the mid-17th century by Patriarch Nikon and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov. Although the term “Old Ritualist” (старообрядцы) is part of the official name of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church, it was adopted out of historical necessity and does not fully convey the richness of Orthodox doctrine upheld by the Old Believers.
The term “rite” (обряд) appeared only after the church schism, during the early 18th century under Peter the Great. Christians who did not accept the reform were labeled schismatics by the dominant Church, shifting the blame for the tragic events onto those who sought to preserve the ancient traditions. It wasn’t until the reign of Empress Catherine the Great that a less offensive term—“Old Believers”—was allowed. The guardians of pre-reform church traditions referred to themselves as Ancient Orthodox Christians but accepted the term “Old Believers” to emphasize their external differences from the dominant Church. If the adherents of the ancient faith are called Old Believers, it follows that supporters of the reform could be referred to as New Ritualists.
Today, New Ritualists often claim there is essentially no difference between the old and new rites and that the perceived ignorance of the Old Believers is the only obstacle to the reunification of these two streams of Russian Orthodoxy. However, during the mid-17th century reforms, the exact opposite was asserted: the old rites were declared un-Orthodox and accused of distorting Orthodox doctrine. Those who resisted were forced to accept the changes under threat of excommunication and civil punishment.
By the second half of the 19th century, the work of church historians confirmed that the old rites and practices had been used in the Orthodox Church since ancient times and served as external expressions of Orthodox dogma. In contrast, the new rites and practices introduced by the reform were borrowed from religious movements that had distorted Orthodoxy and failed to fully reflect the depth of Orthodox teaching. For this reason, Orthodox tradition strictly forbids altering certain external practices to avoid harming their internal significance, such as the sign of the cross, the Creed, or the use of leavened bread in the Eucharist.
— Priest Evgeny Gureev
