Old Believers

E93662

Old Believers are traditionalist Eastern Orthodox Christians who rejected the 17th-century liturgical reforms in Russia and preserved older rites, practices, and church traditions.

All labels observed (3)

Label Occurrences
Old Believers canonical 8
Russian Old Believers 3
Old Believers churches 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (78)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Christian denomination
Eastern Orthodox Christian group
religious movement
countryOfOrigin Russia
ethnicContext Russian
faced forced conversions and repression under Tsarist rule
legal disabilities in Imperial Russia
persecution by Russian Orthodox Church hierarchy
persecution by Russian state authorities in the 17th century
followsCalendar Julian calendar
hasApproximatePopulation hundreds of thousands worldwide
hasBelief emphasis on continuity with ancient Church tradition
importance of old liturgical chant traditions
preservation of traditional Eastern Orthodox practices
rejection of certain Western influences in Russian Orthodoxy
rejection of revised liturgical books
rejection of three-finger sign of the cross
strict adherence to traditional fasting rules
use of two-finger sign of the cross
veneration of pre-reform icons
view of Nikonian reforms as heretical
hasCause rejection of Patriarch Nikon's liturgical reforms
hasDoctrineStatus considered schismatic by official Russian Orthodox Church
hasKeyFigure Boyarina Feodosia Morozova
surface form: Boyarynya Feodosia Morozova

Patriarch Nikon (as opponent)
Protopope Avvakum
hasLegalStatus granted religious toleration in Russian Empire in late 19th century
legally recognized in modern Russian Federation
hasPart Belokrinitskaya hierarchy
Lipovan Russians
surface form: Bespopovtsy

Fedoseevtsy
Filippians
Pomortsy
Popovtsy
Various priestless communities
Various priestly communities
hasPopulation Argentina
Australia
Baltic states
Belarus
Brazil
Canada
Central Asia
Kazakhstan
Moldova
Romania
Russia
Far Eastern Federal District
surface form: Russian Far East

Siberia
Ukraine
United States of America
surface form: United States
hasPractice beard-wearing for men in many communities
communal village life in some regions
conservative dress codes in many communities
endogamous marriage patterns in some groups
icon veneration according to pre-reform standards
maintenance of separate parishes from official Russian Orthodox Church
preservation of archaic Russian language features in liturgy
rejection of tobacco and alcohol in some communities
strict observance of feasts and fasts
use of old-style Russian chant (znamenny chant)
use of old-style baptismal and sacramental formulas
use of pre-reform service books
use of traditional Russian church architecture forms
historicalEvent Schism of the Russian Orthodox Church
surface form: Raskol (schism) in the Russian Orthodox Church
influenced Russian folk culture and art
Russian liturgical music history
Russian religious dissent traditions
preservation of medieval Russian iconography
opposedTo Patriarch Nikon's reforms
Russian Orthodox Church reforms of the 1650s–1660s
recognizedAs traditionalist branch of Russian Orthodoxy
religion Eastern Orthodox Christianity
surface form: Eastern Orthodoxy
separatedFrom Russian Orthodox Church
startTime 17th century
timeOfSchism 1650s–1660s
usesLanguage Church Slavonic
usesRite pre-Nikonian Russian Orthodox rite

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (12)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Church Slavonic usedBy Old Believers
Daugavpils hasReligiousSite Old Believers
this entity surface form: Old Believers churches
Lipovans religiousTradition Old Believers
Lipovan Russians religiousTradition Old Believers
Lipovan Russians relatedEthnicGroup Old Believers
this entity surface form: Russian Old Believers
Woodburn, Oregon hasSignificantCommunity Old Believers
this entity surface form: Russian Old Believers
Patriarch Nikon of Moscow opposedBy Old Believers
Mustvee hasCommunity Old Believers
this entity surface form: Russian Old Believers
Mustvee hasReligiousCommunity Old Believers
Kallaste hasReligiousCommunity Old Believers