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Elder Nikita Semenovich
Read more: 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
Read more: 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
Read more: 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…
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Gospel and Homily for the 11th Sunday After Pentecost
Read more: Gospel and Homily for the 11th Sunday After PentecostThe Holy Gospel. From Matthew. Reading 77. The Lord spake this parable. For this cause was likened the heavenly kingdom unto a man, a king, who desired to reckon concerning matters with his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, they brought unto him one debtor of ten thousand talents. But he, not having…
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Homily for the 11th Sunday After Pentecost
Read more: Homily for the 11th Sunday After PentecostA Homily by Metropolitan Andrian (Chetvergov) The fundamental law of our life, the Holy Gospel, in a concise and vivid form—through striking imagery, instructive stories from the life of the Savior, and profound allegorical parables—gently and unobtrusively provides us with a Christian understanding of life and answers to all of life’s questions. Unfortunately, we ourselves…
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The Filippovtsy
Read more: The FilippovtsyMuch less is known about the Filippovtsy sect compared to the Pomortsy and Fedoseevtsy sects. This is partly due to the greater secrecy of the Filippovtsy, which stems from their teachings. Currently, very few Filippovtsy remain—on Russian territory, the sect is represented by only a few communities, with an estimated total of no more than…
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Fool for the Old Faith
Read more: Fool for the Old Faith-Dimitry Urushev Bishop Paul of Kolomna is one of the most significant figures in Russian spiritual history of the 17th century. Unfortunately, he has not been fortunate in attracting scholarly attention. His name has been overshadowed by more famous contemporaries—Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Patriarch Nikon, and Protopriest Avvakum. Paul and Nikon The memory of Bishop Paul…
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Bloody Dispute. The State Church Persecuted Old Believers More Zealously Than the State Itself
Read more: Bloody Dispute. The State Church Persecuted Old Believers More Zealously Than the State ItselfIn the Tretyakov Gallery, one cannot miss the enormous painting by Vasily Perov, Nikita Pustosvyat. Dispute on Faith. At the center of the composition is a figure that evokes little sympathy: an elder with a frenzied, crazed expression—Nikita Dobrynin, an Old Believer priest. This is a caricatured, biased portrayal. The term “Pustosvyat” (meaning “false saint”)…
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The Concept of Church Singing in Old Believer Tradition
Read more: The Concept of Church Singing in Old Believer Tradition–Starikova I.V. The role of singing in Old Believer worship is one of the most significant. Like iconography, the text of prayers, and the overall structure of the service, singing is intended to reveal the spiritual beauty of ancient Orthodoxy. “Church singing was revered in Rus’ as a bearer of wisdom, divine word, and reason,…