“In caves, and in mountains, and in dens, and in the abysses of the earth…” -Kozhurin

Depart, my lights, into the mountains, into the dens, into the earthly abysses.
Bury yourselves, my lights, with ashes and sands, and even with fine gravel.
Stand firm, my lights, for the cross and for prayer, and for the Christian faith.

– Old Believer verse about the Antichrist

In the same years when the “statists” (статейников) agreement formed, disputes about marriage also arose among the Wanderers (странников). Since wandering represents the extreme degree of rejection of the world and everything worldly, it implies the strictest asceticism, including celibacy. In essence, every wanderer is a monk, for whom family life is fundamentally impossible. The strict Wanderer rules prescribed especially severe punishments for violating the seventh commandment. However, over time, part of the Wanderers accepted the Pomorian teaching on marriage and began to perform priestless marriages among themselves in the Pomorian manner—under the condition of a mutual vow of fidelity and while singing a prayer service. Thus arose the agreement of married Wanderers, who acknowledged the possibility of living a married life even while in wandering.

The first preachers of married life among the Wanderers were Miron Vasilyev from Poshekhonye District and Nikolai Kasatkin from Cherepovets District. In their defense, they referred to the early Christians who, while hiding from persecutors in the desert, continued to lead married lives there as well. In the 1870s, a zealous apologist for the married teaching among the Wanderers was the peasant Mikhail Kondratyev from Novgorod Governorate.

At the same time, from the mid-19th century onward, most Wanderer communities gradually transitioned from the teaching of a sensual Antichrist to the teaching of a spiritual Antichrist. There was also a rejection of the idea of fleeing into a “sensual desert.” A new form of concealment emerged: three or four Wanderers would acquire a common house, where two would become “visible” (видовыми), and two—true wandering Christians.

As we see, the same story repeated itself with the Wanderers as had earlier occurred with the Filippovtsy. Leniencies began, compromises, and following them—a gradual secularization of the church, a departure from the original principles. However, there were also “firm believers” here. The most consistent Wanderers proved to be the so-called desert-dwellers, or cave-dwellers (пустынники, or пещерники). They differed from the Wanderers by a more consistent application of the teaching about the Antichrist in their lives. Instead of wandering and vagrancy, they preferred to withdraw for the salvation of their souls into the depths of forests or deserts, citing the words of Scripture that under the Antichrist the Church “will flee into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared” (Rev. 12:6).

As stated in one Old Believer book: “It is impossible for a delicate little flower to remain whole in the midst of sharp thorns. So too it is impossible for the faithful to preserve righteousness and piety undefiled in the midst of the unfaithful” (Tsarstvennaya Book, chapter 22). The desert-dwellers understood this very well, founding their lives on the strictest ascetic principles. Once having fled the world, they did not wander in it but lived in caves, dugouts, and cells, spending almost the entire day in prayers. They consumed no meat at all and, like the ancient anchorites, sought to endure as many hardships as possible.

The influence of the monastic hesychast tradition, which was quite noticeable throughout Old Belief, manifested most clearly in the agreement of the Wanderer-desert-dwellers. Moreover, hesychasm developed predominantly not in its mystical-contemplative version (St. Gregory of Sinai, St. Gregory Palamas, St. Symeon the New Theologian), but in its rigorous ascetic form. This was the tradition of the Venerable Anthony the Great, Macarius of Egypt, Ephrem the Syrian, Isaac the Syrian, Maximus the Confessor, John Climacus, and Dionysius the Areopagite.

The liturgical practice of the desert-dwellers was as close as possible to that of the ancient hermits. Unlike the statists, who performed services in a priestless manner according to the Pomorian rule, the desert-dwellers had no special services or rites and, citing patristic testimonies (Venerable Ephrem the Syrian, St. Hippolytus of Rome, and others), said that under the Antichrist “the service will be extinguished, the reading of the Scriptures will not be heard, that then there will be neither offering nor incense performed, and the churches will be like vegetable storehouses.”

The worship of the desert-dwellers was extremely simple. Instead of performing ordinary church services, they recited the Jesus Prayer (in its ancient, pre-reform version) and performed a certain number of bows according to the lestovka, as prescribed by the rule for each service. For example, for Vespers—300 bows, for the Little Compline—200 bows, for Midnight Office—300 bows, for Matins—700, for the Hours—500.

It should be noted that the practice of the Jesus Prayer in general eventually gained enormous spread among Old Believers of all agreements. This was partly because many Old Believers, deprived of the opportunity to participate in communal services, prayed at home using the Psalter, or more often—the Jesus Prayer. On the other hand, Old Believers were well aware of the mystical power and special grace of the Jesus Prayer. This is attested by numerous Sborniki (collections) and Tsvetniki (anthologies) compiled by Old Believers based on patristic works and ancient Patericons. Here is what one such 18th-century Old Believer Sbornik says about the Jesus Prayer:

“If you wish to see God, then, O man, speak this most holy prayer with mind and understanding, pray with spirit, pray also with mind, and God will grant you the gift of compunction to your heart, enlighten your soul, cleanse your body, and wash away your sins. Speak this prayer unceasingly, for there is none greater than it either in heaven above or on earth below—that is, to say: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. O most glorious prayer! You glorify God, converse with Jesus, invoke the Holy Ghost. O most holy prayer! With the archangels you glorify glory, and with the angels you sing praises to the Son of God, and with all the heavenly powers you unceasingly glorify the one God in Trinity, uniting the earthly with the heavenly. O prayer spoken by the tongue! By this word you enlighten mind and body, curse the devil, scorch the unclean spirit, drive away gloom and darkness. O prayer, heavenly ladder! To true repentance of sinners and the righteous it is revealed; the fornicator is enlightened with virginity, and the robber becomes a lover of God. O prayer of the Lord, in you the love of God abides, and the Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, reposes and makes His abode with the Father and the Holy Ghost, and places you at His right hand, and grants the eternal kingdom! O prayer, heavenly glory! Whoever clings to you will be fully enlightened, and all senses will be enlightened, and he will be crowned by God and deemed worthy of the heavenly kingdom…”

The Jesus Prayer was held in very high esteem—on a par with “church singing,” i.e., liturgical service according to the books, and sometimes even higher. In the same Sbornik it is said:

“Some inexperienced and senseless people say that the Jesus Prayer is nothing compared to singing: but I say that the Jesus Prayer, spoken aloud and mental, is a strong wall and fortress for man, while singing is an invincible weapon. Some holy fathers abandon singing, arranging everything well. But the more a person clings to prayer through singing, the more his soul desires it and wishes to abide in it always. And the longer a person remains in singing, the more his weary lips desire rest; yet one must force oneself diligently with sorrow to prayer, and when it is restored, then immediately it begins, like a swift-flying bird, to circle and turn unceasingly in a person’s mind. Just as the eye’s sight is the most honorable of all members in human nature, so too in spiritual virtues the most beautiful of all virtues is the memory and mental attention to the Jesus Prayer.”

Among Old Believers, the teaching of the continuous performance of the Jesus Prayer (“noetic activity”) was also widespread. “If anyone speaks this Jesus Prayer, requiring it as breath continuously issues from the nostrils, so let him speak this prayer unceasingly; and thus after the first year the Holy Ghost will dwell in him; after the second year Christ, the Son of God, will enter him; after the third year the Father will come to him; and having entered him, the Holy Trinity will make an abode in him; and to Him be glory, with the Father and the Most Holy Ghost, as it was before, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages, amen.”

“The understanding of the world as the kingdom of the Antichrist, flight from it, a harsh ascetic way of life, and in culmination of all this—prayer practices in dugouts, and in some brotherhoods even a shift in the regime of wakefulness—nighttime labors, generate… the most powerful emotional-intellectual tension, which may be accompanied by unusual sensations. The extreme way of life of the Runners cannot but produce ‘special states of consciousness’: emotional elevations associated with the ‘sensation of God'” (recalling Elder Nikita Semyonovich).

The tradition of building caves and cave-dwelling is quite ancient. It existed in various historical epochs, faded away and revived again for the most diverse reasons, but it received its greatest development in centuries of persecution: during the persecutions of the first Christians, during the Nikon-Alexis persecutions of the Old Believers, during the Nicholas persecutions, during the Soviet persecutions… On the other hand, when persecutions against the Church subsided and a lull set in (alas! an inevitable harbinger of the coming secularization), the reverse process began—the departure of the most zealous part of the believers, who understood the full harm of secularization and went to seek personal salvation in deserts and caves.

The cradle of Russian monasticism was the Kiev Caves Lavra, and its caves became the model for all subsequent cave-diggers, who began to settle in large numbers in the Lower Volga and Lower Don regions. After the beginning of the Nikon reform, a mass resettlement of Old Believers to the lower reaches of the Volga and the Don Cossack Host area began, where the control of the new-rite Church and the state was weakened. “The creation of secluded Old Believer sketes, including cave ones, becomes an expression of disagreement with the policy pursued by the state; at the same time, a very archaic idea of the cave as a refuge—both sacred and from persecution by secular persecutors—is renewed.”

Although cave-diggers, like wanderers, could be found among representatives of various Old Believer agreements, this form of asceticism acquired special significance among the Wanderer-cave-dwellers. Speaking of how “the earth is defiled by the impiety of men to a depth of thirty sazhens,” the cave-dwellers preached withdrawal into the earthly abysses, into dens, into caves. “And in the time of the Antichrist,” they taught, “those being saved will be only in mountains, dens, and earthly abysses; therefore, whoever desires to be saved must depart from the world into mountains and abysses.” The cave-dwellers severed ties with the “world of the Antichrist” and went to save themselves in caves. The government tried to suppress their activity, and therefore cave-digging was always under its vigilant control—even cave-digging among new-rite monks.

In 1720, a royal decree was issued prohibiting seclusion, stylitism, and other particularly severe individual forms of asceticism, which could strengthen the authority of the ascetic’s personality to the detriment of the ever-declining authority of the dominant Church. However, those who chose the “narrow path” of salvation continued to enjoy special veneration among the people. This fully applies to the cave-dwellers as well.

In this connection, one case from the 19th century is characteristic—the affair of the Belogorye Caves founded by Maria Sherstyukova. “The history of Sherstyukova’s relations with the authorities demonstrates what criteria guided the spiritual and secular authorities in recognizing or prohibiting certain cult caves. The motivation for cave-digging was one of the essential criteria in the Synod’s recognition of this or that cave complex. The interrogation materials of Maria are of particular interest. Upon receiving information about the digging of caves by the Cossack woman Sherstyukova, the Right Reverend inquired as to the rank and education of the cave-digger. Fearing that Maria, due to her ‘lack of education,’ might sow distorted notions of the Christian faith among the people gathering to her, he advised Maria to cease digging caves, to pray at home, and not to lead the people into temptation. Thereby the bishop repeated the recommendations of the благочинный, Fr. Protopriest Matvey Yakovlev.

Since Maria did not heed the warning, a trial took place, which was to decide whether the labor of the cave-digger bore a fraudulent or heretical character. The main accusations leveled against Sherstyukova were the following: with what purpose did she begin to dig caves; why does she scatter the seeds of superstition among the people; why does she extort various offerings from the people; and why does she send people from herself to villages to collect alms; why is incense and wax candles sold in the caves. The court paid attention to the fact that Maria ‘taught’ the people ‘how to pray and be saved.’ Maria’s answers denied any involvement in fraud or sectarianism: she began digging caves for her own salvation; she scatters no superstition; the offerings brought she accepts for her own sustenance, for the adornment of her caves; she herself never asks and sends no one to ask on her behalf; she cannot refuse what the people bring, as the people would be offended; she sells incense and candles only at the insistent request of those who come to inspect the dark passages of the caves, and what she earns she distributes to the poor. As a result, the court acquitted Maria, but forbade her to dig caves. The reasons were the same: Maria’s lack of education, the strong popularity of the caves among the people.”

If even ascetics who did not deny their belonging to the dominant Church were subjected to persecution, what could be expected in relation to dissenters? During the reign of Nicholas I, they were generally equated with state criminals. However, the stronger the persecutions, the greater the popularity of the ascetics among the common people grew, since persecutions were always understood as confirmation of righteousness and holiness—not in power is God, but in truth! And therefore the number of catacombs, caves, and dugouts grew, as did the number of venerators of cave ascetics.

Thus, in the late 1860s in Astrakhan Governorate there appeared a certain “Wanderer spiritual brotherhood,” founded by the peasant Andrey Lukyanov from the village of Verkhne-Akhtubinskoye, who withdrew half a verst from his village and settled in a wretched dugout. Many began to come to Lukyanov and listen to his conversations and instructions. Some remained to live with him. Having dug a pit in the underground and made a secret door, Lukyanov began to withdraw into this “hiding place,” expanded it, and in the end arranged a cave for himself. Inside the cave he arranged a prayer room, which he furnished with expensive icons, hung lamps before them, and placed an analogion. Before the analogion a reader constantly stood and read the Psalter or canons. This secret prayer room was accessible to all who sought solitude. Soon a second, semi-open building appeared next to the first, with many secret doors and hidden exits. Here Lukyanov and his like-minded companions, following the example of the ancient hermits, spent their time in ascetic labors. After ten years, enormous caves had formed, similar in plan to the Kiev ones. With the arrival in the caves of another wanderer, Login Maykov, another 20 virgin-black nuns arrived in the caves, who formed a sisterly “spiritual brotherhood.” A truly underground monastery was formed, becoming a major spiritual center of the Wanderer-cave-dwellers. There were also many other similar cave monasteries along the Volga and Don. They received names such as “Sions,” “New Athoses,” and other places sacred to the Orthodox person. Many of them existed right up to the new, Khrushchev-era persecutions of the 1960s.

Now few Wanderers remain. Their exact number is difficult to determine due to the very nature of the agreement. However, individual communities exist in Astrakhan, Perm, and Kirov oblasts, in the North of Russia, in the Komi Republic, in the Urals, in Siberia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Until the early 1980s, Wanderer cells existed even in Moscow, and not long ago I even had occasion to meet one wanderer in Petersburg.

“Each new generation of Wanderers analyzes the situation in Russia from the second half of the 17th century to the events contemporary to them and comes to the conclusion that the time being experienced at the moment is the last, signifying the end of the world, human history, and preceding the Last Judgment. Today’s Wanderers, just like their predecessors, are convinced that ‘now the eighth thousand years, soon the coming of the Lord, and Christ will come.’ Affirming that the date of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is unknown to anyone, the Runners have remarkably accurately preserved the medieval mood of constant expectation of the end of the world and the conviction that salvation can be obtained not only through religious exploits but also through Divine grace communicated by faith and Church sacraments. This prompts them once again to prove the harmfulness and irreversibility of changes in the faith ‘even of a single letter.'”