Old Believers of the Strictest Rules
Knorre B., Iserov A.
I. The Last of the Mohicans
It is hard to imagine, but some of the strictest branches of Old Believerism still survive today. Among them are the Filippovtsy, an Old Believer sect that emerged among the priestless Old Believers in the early 18th century. The sect was founded by a musketeer named Fotiy Vasilyev (in monastic life, Filipp, spiritual mentor of the “Vygovskaya Pustyn,” 1674–1742). The Filippovtsy split from the Pomortsy, whom they accused of compromising with the authorities. The Filippovtsy categorically rejected praying for the Tsar. In 1742, due to repression by the official authorities, the Filippovtsy committed a mass self-immolation involving about 70 adherents. Later, they also refused to recognize the Pomortsy’s practice of marriage, which had introduced a simplified marriage rite (known as the “Skachkovsky” rite).
A few decades ago, Filippovtsy could be found in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the Arkhangelsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Tver, and Yaroslavl regions. Today, this sect survives only in Altai, northern Udmurtia, and Vyatka. The largest center of Filippovtsy is the communities in the Urzhum district of the Kirov region. The main Filippovtsy centers today are the village of Shurma and the settlement of Pilyandysh. However, Filippovtsy also live in Urzhum itself and its surroundings, such as Maksineri and Donaurovo.
Filippovtsy who strictly adhere to “all the rules” form a special community called the “bratiya” (a term applied to both men and women), as joining it is akin to taking monastic vows. According to the beliefs of the bratiya, “every Christian must pray for at least two hours a day” (Anna Mikhailovna Chekalkina, a resident of Pilyandysh).
Members of the bratiya “keep their cup,” meaning they eat and drink only from dishes used exclusively by their fellow believers who are also part of the bratiya and follow all the rules. For co-religionists who violate the rules, there is special dishware that is not allowed to be used by members of other Old Believer sects or non-Orthodox individuals. The Filippovtsy have a prohibition on smoking and consuming alcoholic beverages, or more precisely, a ban on “sikera” (strong drink), though most interpret this as applying to all alcoholic beverages. Those who allow the consumption of wine are rare exceptions. Drunkenness is almost nonexistent among the Filippovtsy.
Violating these and other rules requires a Filippovets to undertake a six-week fast, which often poses significant challenges. For example, if a Filippovets is hospitalized, they must use “worldly” medical dishware, and after treatment—or worse, surgery—they take on the burdensome task of fasting, which can be too demanding for a weakened body. As a result, many refuse hospitalization altogether. During Soviet times, forced hospitalization was practiced.
The Filippovtsy (in this case, those in Urzhum) still observe two sacraments: baptism and confession, the latter conducted by a mentor—a spiritual leader of the Filippovtsy bratiya (such mentors exist in Shurma and Pilyandysh). Confession is required only four times a year. Baptism cannot be performed publicly or in the presence of unintended participants, as those involved in the sacrament of baptism (“second birth”) are considered spiritual relatives, with whom marriage or any indirect kinship is forbidden. In this regard, some Filippovtsy believe that the universal sin of the Nikonite Church lies in allowing anyone to participate in baptisms, resulting in “spiritual incest.” After baptism, one must refrain from washing, including hands and face, for two weeks.
II. Local Urzhum Filippovtsy Sects
The Filippovtsy living around Shurma are divided into two factions: the Shikhalevtsy (or Ionovtsy, named after the mentor Mikhail Ionovich) and the Maksinersty (or Vasintsy, named after the mentor Alexey Vasilyevich).
The Shikhalevtsy uphold a rare custom of placing an icon during burial “naturally,” facing the worshippers, while the Maksinersty follow the common practice of placing the icon facing the deceased. This division, which remains unresolved, arose at a council in Shurma in 1873, attended by Filippovtsy from Glazov, Vyatka, Medyan, and Uren (see Filippovtsy Genealogy, pp. 19–20). During the prayer of the seventh ladder to the Virgin Mary, the Shikhalevtsy stand, while the Maksinersty perform prostrations, similar to the Fedoseevtsy. The Shikhalevtsy prohibit women from singing during services, calling female singing “serpentine hissing” and stating that women cannot pray alongside men, whereas the Maksinersty allow women to participate.
The Filippovtsy do not dare to read the Gospel at home, only during communal prayers. “It’s not our place to read the Gospel,” explains Anna Mikhailovna Chekalkina, a resident of Pilyandysh.
In Shurma and Pilyandysh, prayers are held, mostly commemorative (almost weekly). Commemoration holds a special significance. As the number of their co-religionists dwindles, members of the Filippovtsy sect fear that when they die, there will be no one left to pray for them.
During prayers, the Shikhalevtsy stand barefoot, while the Maksinersty attend services in felt boots, even in summer. Prayer houses exist in Shurma and Pilyandysh. Requiem services last 2–2.5 hours, followed by a prayer service of about the same duration. Afterward, participants sit down to a meal in the same room where the service was held. The meal includes simple dishes without culinary sophistication—porridge, fish pie, milk, and honey—resembling a modest evangelical meal. Interestingly, fish bones are deliberately thrown onto the floor under the table, where the Shikhalevtsy and their guests sit in socks (as shoes are not worn in the prayer house). Maksinersty mentors, who require praying in felt boots, consider this custom barbaric.
The Filippovtsy may allow non-bratiya members and even guests from outside their sect to attend prayers and meals (the author of this article was such a guest). Honored guests are seated farther from the “red corner,” which, among the Shurma Filippovtsy, contains no icons but only carved and cast crosses (the Filippovtsy of Shurma, Maksineri, and Pilyandysh vaguely explain this as a prohibition on praying to “painted icons,” while they lack carved icons and have only carved and cast crosses in frames; there are no craftsmen among the Urzhum Filippovtsy capable of making carved icons, and icons from other sects are not accepted). In Urzhum, a Filippovets named Ustin Varlaamovich was recently blessed to make tin pectoral crosses.
Compared to Filippovtsy in other regions, the Vyatka Filippovtsy are somewhat “liberal.” They allow marriage in a softer form. Due to the absence of priesthood, the Filippovtsy have no sacrament of marriage. Traditionally, they rejected both “newlyweds” (those who married after joining the sect) and “old-weds” (those married before joining the “true faith”). However, among the Vyatka Filippovtsy, there is a secular rite at the everyday level where “parents lead the bride and groom three times around the table” (according to Ivan Vasilyevich Chernyshev, a bratiya mentor in Pilyandysh). Such married couples are barred from joining the bratiya for their entire married life and cannot be full members of Filippovtsy communities. They occupy a “middle” position as co-religionists not living according to the faith (such individuals use special “second-class” dishware, which the bratiya cannot use but which also must not be “defiled” by worldly use). In other words, the Vyatka Filippovtsy permit marriage in this “soft” form, though they lack a formal marriage rite.
Upon reaching old age, having raised children (typically 5–6), and ceasing intimate relations, such Filippovtsy continue to live with their spouse under the same roof—something traditionally not permitted—and return to the bratiya. However, they must undertake a six-week fast, after which they are obliged to follow “all the rules” and live according to a monastic rule. This involves several hours of daily prayer, including the recitation of three kathismas. Many who have moved to various cities return specifically to their native villages (or nearby settlements) for this purpose.
III. Political Apocrypha
The Filippovtsy of the Shurma region are not characterized by masonophobic or Judeophobic eschatology, unlike “folk Orthodoxy” or some representatives of alternative Orthodoxy. However, they do hold certain apocalyptic beliefs. The Filippovtsy often cite an apocryphal “prophecy” that before the end of the world, “the sky will be entangled with wires,” and iron birds will fly through it (likely a reflection of early 20th-century rural perceptions of technological infrastructure). There are also more extravagant beliefs. For instance, Filipp Alexeyevich Krupin, a relatively well-read resident of Maksiner, attributes apocalyptic significance to the modern “G8,” considering it the embodiment of the seven apocalyptic kings mentioned in the Book of Revelation (Rev. 17:10). Krupin still refers to it as the “G7,” aligning with the apocalyptic imagery of seven kings. He refuses to acknowledge Russia’s entry into the G8, arguing that there are only seven “apocalyptic kings,” meaning Russia’s membership is merely nominal, not genuine. “If we talk about our participation in this alliance, we’re just the ‘errand boy’ there,” the Filippovets notes.
Anna Mikhailovna Chekalkina, a resident of Pilyandysh, believes in an apocryphal tale about a final trial of Christ by the Jews: “At the Last Judgment, the Jews will try to seize Christ and judge Him for calling Himself God, but they will finally be utterly disgraced.”
The Filippovtsy’s attitude toward modern authorities is expressed, like most Old Believers, through Romans 13:1–5: “There is no authority except from God…” Some, such as Ivan Vasilyevich Chernyshev, argue that the main problem in Russian politics today is that “there is no connection between the people and the authorities—the rulers don’t know what needs to be done or how to do it properly.” According to Chernyshev, there is no clear prospect of Russia emerging from its crisis, “and people like Roman Abramovich are the ones propping up Russian corruption.” At the same time, attitudes toward Mikhail Khodorkovsky are more favorable, with the notion that “he did something for the people, though who knows…” Meanwhile, F.A. Krupin from Maksiner believes that “a qualitative change in Russian politics will occur in 2020 (7528 from the Creation of the World),” as that year coincides with Kyriopascha (a rare alignment of Easter and the Annunciation).
Among the original Maksiner historical writings are A Brief Description of the History of the Christian Church (compiled between 1917–1927), How and Whence the Blessing for Spiritual Work in the Shurma Region Was Received (post-1975, authored by Maksiner spiritual mentor M.A. Basalaev), and Description of the Division of Faith. These texts from the Maksiner milieu have been studied by researchers from Ural University.
In the Urzhum area, there are not only Filippovtsy but also Fedoseevtsy, particularly in the well-known Fedoseevtsy center of Starya Tushka, which housed an Old Believer printing press before the revolution. Fedoseevtsy also reside in the villages of Russky Turek, Shurma, Bolshoy Roy, and Lopyal.
Interestingly, in Urzhum itself, the prayer house is shared by Fedoseevtsy and Pomortsy. The leader of the Pomortsy community in Urzhum (Drelevskogo St., 20), Maria Filippovna Ivantsova, allows Fedoseevtsy, including one of their leaders from Shurma, Georgy Lubyagin, to hold services there. Services can last from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. In Russky Turek, there are two prayer houses: a larger one for those who chose to live according to the faith after marriage, and a smaller one for the celibate. Lubyagin emphasizes that “marriage is only permitted with those belonging to the Fedoseevtsy sect.”
Georgy Lubyagin, a relatively wealthy local and supplier, has received approval to build a church (the Shurma Fedoseevtsy maintain ties with those in Moscow). According to Lubyagin, a local entrepreneur intends to finance the construction of the church.
Lubyagin represents a new type of priestless Old Believer, advocating for the unification of various priestless Old Believer sects. “Today, we need to unite all Old Believers, because in five years, the old folks will be gone,” Lubyagin says, referring only to priestless Old Believers. Moreover, he ponders, “Could we restore the priesthood?”
According to Lubyagin, about 200 Old Believers live in Shurma, out of a total population of 3,000. He notes that the same sects present in Shurma are also found in Bolshoy Roy.
The Fedoseevtsy are characterized by apolitical attitudes. They emphasize that “a priest should not be involved in politics today,” and criticize Nikonite Orthodoxy for its politicization. Persecutions of Christians are still expected, as “there are still many traitors among them.”
Boris Knorre, Andrey Iserov