The Church: The Meaning of Her Being and the Necessity of Life within Her. By Bishop Mikhail (Semyonov)

It is impossible to be saved outside the Church (naturally, we mean the Orthodox and true Church). This truth is so firmly rooted in the Old Believer consciousness that we need not prove its validity. The “patristic” testimonies concerning the essential truth of the Church for salvation are known to all of us. Therefore, in…

The Church of Christ Temporarily Without a Bishop. By Innokenty (Usov)

Preface A profoundly sorrowful event transpired within the Church of Christ from 1653 to 1667. During this period, a great schism occurred in the Russian Orthodox Church, which split into two opposing and hostile factions. Until this time, almost the entire Russian nation upheld the same Orthodox faith, the same church traditions, the same rites,…

Can salvation only be attained in the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church (РПСЦ)?

The Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church is the modern name for the Church founded by Christ Himself. In the Creed, we profess: “I believe… in one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.” By this, we affirm that we preserve the same true faith that once existed throughout the entire universe. We do not require any correction…

Could Metropolitan Ambrose have been received into the Church not as a bishop but as a priest, since the Bible states that “the lesser is blessed by the greater”?

We believe and confess that an Orthodox priest, in relation to a heretical bishop, is by no means “lesser,” but—by virtue of his belonging to the True Church of Christ and his authority to bind and loose sins—he is “greater” than a heretical bishop who has not joined the Church of Christ. While there is…

Why is the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church (RPSC) the true Church of Christ, and not the New Rite Church? After all, many call Old Believers schismatics.

The Holy Fathers call schismatics (heretics of the second rank) those who introduce novelties into Church tradition, thereby separating themselves from the unity of faith. The Orthodox Old Believers not only introduced no novelties but actively resisted the innovations attempted by Patriarch Nikon and his like-minded followers. The holy martyr Protopriest Avvakum wrote in his Fifth…

A Brief History of the Old Orthodox (Old Believer) Church. -F.E. Melnikov

–UNDER CONSTRUCTION– Introduction Three hundred years ago, Russia professed a single Christian, Orthodox faith and formed a single true Orthodox Church. At that time, there were no heresies, no schisms, no divisions within the Russian Church. For more than six centuries, beginning from the Baptism of Rus’ in 988, the Russian Church enjoyed inner peace…

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Russian Old Belief: Traditions, History, and Culture. -Dimitry Urushev

From the Baptism of Rus Old Belief is, by definition, inseparably linked to history. Old Believers have always been distinguished by a profound historical memory. For them, not only recently glorified Russian saints but also the biblical patriarchs and prophets were real, living people, forming an integral part of the Orthodox world. In recounting the…

Justification of the Old Believer Church. -St. Arseny Uralsky

Introduction The Holy Church of Christ has many commandments for raising us from death to life, and all of them are obligatory for our fulfillment. Each one is but a step in that ascent which leads mortals to eternal life. And this life-giving ladder presents itself to every believer in as many steps as there…

In Defense of the Old Believer Hierarchy.

By Viktor Buzhinsky The title is deliberately borrowed from Fyodor Yefimovich Melnikov [1], as this topic remains relevant to this day, and the Old Believer hierarchy indeed needs to be defended. But, as strange as it may sound, it must primarily be defended from… the Old Believers themselves. This has been the case throughout the…