The Covenants of Antiquity
We all slumber, brethren, not only the young but also the old. God reminds us of the approaching Dreadful Hour with earthquakes, hurricanes, and various calamities, yet we remain in a state of slumber. Will the universal Judgment Day find us asleep as well? Involuntarily, the words of Holy Scripture come to mind: “Behold, the Bridegroom comes at midnight, and blessed is the servant whom He finds watching, but unworthy is he whom He finds idle.”
It is impossible to awaken everyone, but to awaken at least some, and most importantly, ourselves, is essential.
With the awakening of interest in forgotten antiquity, it is necessary to revive interest in the foundations of ancient Russian piety. For now, all the requirements of piety have been forgotten. “They loved the world and the things in it: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (Epistle of John Chrysostom).
We call ourselves Old Believers, but our outward appearance testifies to the contrary. Often, people respond, “One must keep the covenants of piety in the soul.” But this is merely an excuse. Is your impious appearance forced upon you by someone else, or is it your own desire? Clearly, it is not forced but stems from your own will, from your attachment to everything new and corrupt. Your appearance clearly reveals the emptiness of your inner content. You wear not the uniform of Christ’s army but that of the Antichrist. Meeting such an “Old Believer” causes the heart to ache with bitterness—“What is old about you? Why do you call yourself an Old Believer?”
The same can be said of Old Believer women. They have not only lost the covenants of Old Belief but also all sense of shame. They are indistinguishable from those who trade their bodies. “Your brazen attire and shameless adornments expose you, and you can no longer be counted among the maidens” (Holy Martyr Cyprian, Part II, p. 134).
“The refinement of clothing and adornments, seductive embellishments of the face, are characteristic only of shameless, immoral women, and almost no one has more expensive adornments than those whose shame is cheap.”
“How can someone be with Christ if they are ashamed or afraid to belong to Christ?” (ibid.).
If you are ashamed to show yourself as a Christian on the street before a corrupt world, then why do you come to the prayer house and Christian gatherings and assemblies in an Antichrist-like appearance? What sound advice can come from such counselors?
To you who have forgotten the old paternal customs and embraced fashionable shamelessness, I offer the words of non-Old Believers: “By observing the statutes of the church and the customs inherited from ancestors, a Russian person must maintain their outward appearance, which distinguishes them from other nations. The main feature that sets one nation apart from another is clothing and language. A nation is steadfast when it unwaveringly preserves its good customs, language, and clothing. Changing clothing and chasing fashion depersonalizes a nation. Changing the style of clothing has divided the Russian people into parts: it has separated the rich from the poor, the city dweller from the villager. The urban classes, having abandoned old Russian clothing, began to abandon old virtuous customs and holy statutes as well. Dressed in foreign attire, it seemed improper to stand where those in Russian clothing stand: they are ashamed to make the sign of the cross properly, as the Russian people do in soul and attire. They stopped attending church, leaving the observance of this statute to the common folk; they do not keep fasts because this custom does not exist abroad… Preserve the covenants of antiquity and do not forget the wise saying that a land will not stand where they begin to break its statutes” (Church magazine).
N.I. Uspensky says the same: “Look at the youth who, neglecting their fathers’ way of life, spend their time in idleness. They use all their efforts and means to stand out with good manners, dress skillfully, shine with compliments, never doing anything substantial, and adeptly engaging in trifles. Lacking inner dignity, they are outwardly adorned fools… You will meet such people everywhere, on the street and at every public gathering.”
The Venerable Theodore writes: “Each person reveals themselves by their own appearance.” And Basil the Great said that “on a Christian, even in their clothing, there is some distinctive mark.”
People often say, “In the old days, they lived their own way, but now we live differently, according to the law of fashion.” That’s precisely the point—people have completely forgotten the Christian’s duty to live not by the spirit of the times but according to Scripture.
This is why, in conclusion, I find it necessary to quote Basil the Great: “One should not pay attention to people but align with the evangelical commandments, which do not change with time or human circumstances but remain eternal, as they were spoken by truthful and blessed lips, and so they will remain forever, while people are like clouds, carried here and there by the winds.”
Gavriil Eufimovich Frolov
Village of Rayushi, Estonia