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.


Statements (78)
Predicate Object
instanceOf Christian denomination
Eastern Orthodox Christian group
religious movement
countryOfOrigin Russia NERFINISHED
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 Boyarynya Feodosia Morozova NERFINISHED
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
Bespopovtsy
Fedoseevtsy NERFINISHED
Filippians
Pomortsy
Popovtsy
Various priestless communities
Various priestly communities
hasPopulation Argentina NERFINISHED
Australia
Baltic states
Belarus
Brazil
Canada
Central Asia
Kazakhstan NERFINISHED
Moldova NERFINISHED
Romania
Russia NERFINISHED
Russian Far East
Siberia NERFINISHED
Ukraine
United States NERFINISHED
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 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 Orthodoxy
separatedFrom Russian Orthodox Church NERFINISHED
startTime 17th century
timeOfSchism 1650s–1660s
usesLanguage Church Slavonic
usesRite pre-Nikonian Russian Orthodox rite


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