January 31, 7534
K. Kozhurin. (On the 350th anniversary of its beginning) In 1668, the siege of the principal holy shrine of the Russian North—the Solovetsky Monastery—began by tsarist troops. From the very start of Patriarch Nikon’s reforms, the monastery had become one of the chief strongholds of the old faith. “The Solovetsky Monastery was the fourth most…
from the Periodical “Church” The Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1971 solemnly resolved to lift the curses (anathema) imposed in the 17th century on the old rites and on those who adhered to them. The old Russian rites were declared “salvific and equal in honour” to the new ones. In the report…
The heresy of Nikonianism lies in its departure from the historical Orthodox faith that had been continuously upheld in Russia. Everything else stemmed from this event. Following the infamous “Great Moscow Council of 1666,” which anathematized historical Russian Orthodoxy, a separate existence began for the schismatic hierarchy of the Russian Church and part of its…
As is known, Old Believers refer to the “nominal” finger arrangement used by Nikonite priests during blessings as “Malaksa.” This practice is named after Nikola Malaksa, a native of the city of Nafplion on the Peloponnese peninsula. Nikola was born after 1573 and received his education in Constantinople. Following the Turkish conquest of the region…
“May the Lord bring together those who are divided, so that in love for one another we may confess and glorify with one mouth and one heart the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, the Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity.” (From the Acts of the New Ritualist Council of 1971) A few years ago, I…
The question of faith—whom to believe in, how to pray correctly, and how to glorify God—was one of the central issues following the schism in the Russian Church in the 17th century. While the ritual differences between Old Believers and New Ritualists have been thoroughly studied in both polemical and scholarly literature, questions of dogmatic…
(On the Contemporary Disputes over the Names of God)[Moscow, 1913] Introduction A wondrous fate befell the creation of the former Patriarch of Russia, Nikon. The reforms he instituted resemble, in many respects, that house of which Christ speaks in the Gospel—“and great was the fall of it.” “Everyone who heareth these sayings of Mine,” the…
To answer this question, we must first examine the meaning of the word “heresy.” Often, words lose their original meanings over time, and people use them in new contexts, leading to confusion. This has also happened with the word “heresy.” Today, it is often used to mean “nonsense” or “absurdity.” For example, one might hear,…
Salvation can only be attained by uniting with Christ. And one can unite with Christ only by becoming part of His mystical Body—the Church. The Heavenly Church and the earthly Church together form one single Body. Such a Body can only be one. “He is the head of the body, the Church.”(Colossians 1:18) Just as…
The first thing every believer must understand is that Christ is our Savior. We call Christ the Savior because no one but Him can save us. The Church is the Body of Christ. Our task is to find the Church that is inseparably connected to the ancient Church of Christ, which is the true Body…