The liturgical reform of Patriarch Nikon in the 1650s-1660s unified all rituals according to Greek models. It caused a schism in the Russian Orthodox Church (a union of believers belonging to the eastern branch of Christianity, accepting the dogmas and following the traditions of the Orthodox Church), as a result of which clergy and laity who disagreed with the new rules of liturgical life separated from the bulk of believers.
The Old Believers began to be considered schismatics and were persecuted, often brutally, but in the 19th century, according to some opinions, up to a third of the Russian population were Old Believers. In the twentieth century, the position of the Russian Orthodox Church in relation to the Old Believers softened, but this did not lead to the prayerful unity of believers. The Old Believers continue to consider their doctrine of faith to be true, classifying the Russian Orthodox Church as heterodox.
The distinction between the concepts of “Old Believers” and “Orthodox Church” is quite arbitrary. In the Old Believer Church, two-fingered sign of the cross. Two fingers are a symbol of the two Hypostases of the Savior (true God and true man), three fingers are a symbol of the Holy Trinity. 
The perfect and only recognized form of the cross is eight-pointed. Orthodoxy also recognizes four-pointed and six-pointed crosses. Also, the Orthodox say “Hallelujah” not twice, like the Old Believers, but three times.
In the Old Believer church, some ancient spellings of words and old names are preserved. For example, a monk instead of a hieromonk, Jerusalem instead of Jerusalem.
Old Believers write the name of Christ as Jesus, and Orthodox Christians write Jesus. The topmost marks on the cross are also different. For the Old Believers, this is TsR SLVY (King of Glory) and IS XC (Jesus Christ). On the Orthodox eight-pointed cross it is written INCI (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews and IIS XC (Jesus Christ).
In the Creed of Orthodox Church The opposition between the concepts “born and uncreated”, common among the Old Believers, has been removed. In the ancient presentation, which is professed by the Old Believers, it sounds like “born, but uncreated.” Also, the Old Believers disagree with the fact that the Holy Spirit should also be confessed as true. In the Orthodox symbol we only read: “True God from true God” regarding the Father and the Son.
In the Orthodox Church, services are performed according to the Slavic Typikon, which was formed on the basis of the Jerusalem Charter. Old Believer services are held according to the Jerusalem Ancient Charter.
The procession around the temple in the Old Believer church is usually performed clockwise, that is, in the direction of the sun (soling). In the Orthodox Church, the procession goes counterclockwise.
Water blessed on the eve of Epiphany is considered the Great Agiasma. In the Orthodox Church this is the name for water blessed on the day of the holiday itself.
Four times a year, on the second, third, fourth and fifth Sunday of Lent, the Orthodox Church celebrates Passion - a special service dedicated to the reading of Gospel texts telling about the passion of Christ. Passion is not celebrated in the Old Believer Church.
There are other nuances that are little discernible to a person with little church knowledge.
The religious marriage of the Old Believers, unlike religious marriages of other faiths, was not recognized by the state. Until 1874, all children of Old Believers were considered illegitimate. And since 1874, civil marriage was introduced for Old Believers: “Marriages of schismatics acquire in a civil sense, through recording in the special metric books established for this, the power and consequences of a legal marriage.”
In relation to schismatics, the maintenance of all metric books was transferred from the ecclesiastical department to the civil department. This law applied: 1) to persons who were born in a schism that existed and was recognized in the state before the publication of new rules; 2) the conditions for concluding a marriage between schismatics are determined by the principles of civil marriage, borrowed from the canonical rules. Such marriages of schismatics, which are prohibited by civil laws, were prohibited and were not subject to entry into the registry registers. All these articles had general civil significance (for example, they prohibit marriage with crazy people, with a living wife, etc.).
Children of schismatics were subject to entry into the registry register only if the marriage of their parents was recorded in such a register. But those of them who were born from schismatic marriages before the publication of this law, also during the first two years after its publication could be recorded in the metric register in the case when they were born before the record of the marriage of their parents, if their origin was from a marriage union, subsequently recorded, as well as the time of their birth, will be certified by at least two witnesses.
Parish registers were kept in cities and districts by local police departments, and in capitals by district and private bailiffs, according to forms approved by the Minister of Internal Affairs. And these books were kept in the archival sections of documents of administrative and police institutions. But not all parents wanted to enroll their children in these books, so most baptismal records are impossible to find in our time, however, some confessional books and other lists of village residents have been preserved in the archives.
One of the largest centers of the Old Believers is the Vygoretskaya monastery (Vygoretskaya hermitage, Vygoleksinsky hostel, Vygovskaya kinovia) - a large Old Believer non-priest center of the Pomeranian consent, created in 1694 in the Russian North on the territory of Obonezhskaya Pyatina (Olonets district). Later - the Vygoleksinsky Old Believer Monastery in the Olonets province. The territory of the Vygoretsk monastery is a place of pilgrimage for Old Believers from different countries. Karelia is the historical homeland of the Old Believer Pomeranian Church: 300 years ago, the Danilovsky Monastery was organized on the Vyg River, which became the spiritual center of the Pomeranian Old Belief. 486326, Karelia, Povenets, Petrozavodskaya st., 28, “Vygoretskaya Abode”.
Gradovsky A.D. The beginnings of Russian state law. Volumes I-III. - St. Petersburg, printing house of M. Stasyulevich, 1875 (volume I), 1876 (volume II), 1883 (volume III)
Brief history of the ancient Orthodox (Old Believer) church Melnikov Fedor Evfimievich
Foreword from the publisher. The history of the book and the biography of the author.
Foreword from the publisher.
The fate of the book you hold in your hands, like the fate of its author, is unusual. It is unusual primarily because, despite the wide popularity in the Old Believers, both in the past and in the present, the name of the author Fyodor Evfimyevich Melnikov, it is seeing the light of day for the first time - for the first time after the manuscript of the “History” in its typewritten version was transferred to the Moscow Metropolitanate from Romanian, where this thorough work was kept after the death of the author. In 1996, with the blessing of Fr. Leonid (Gusev), rector of the Intercession Cathedral in the Rogozhsky Cemetery in Moscow, a copy of this manuscript was brought to Barnaul, where work began on preparing it for printing. .
Fedor Evfimyevich Melnikov was born in 1874 in the city of Novozybkov (currently a city in the Bryansk region), which in the past was one of the settlements of the famous Starodubye, the largest Old Believer center. His father, priest Fr. Evfimy, was known in Starodubye as one of the most well-read and active pastors, through whose labors and efforts many Beglopopov communities were annexed to the Old Believer Church. Thanks to his father, whose friends and like-minded people were wonderful personalities, authoritative not only in the Old Believers environment, such as Xenos, the author of polemical, dogmatic and historical works on the Old Believers, Fyodor and his older brother Vasily, in their youth, received “preliminary knowledge” from the patristic and theological literature on many issues of faith. The serious knowledge gained from childhood, as well as communication with the monk and future bishop, Arseny (O. V. Shvetsov), allowed Fyodor from a young age to take the path of teaching and in disputes with missionaries of the Nikonian Church to defend what was right old faith. For many years, his brother Vasily was his comrade-in-arms in this holy cause. “Battles” with the missionaries took place first in their native Novozybkov, and then in other parishes of Starodubye, where another student of Bishop Arseny, Ivan Usov, later Bishop Innocent, stood next to the Melnikov brothers. As Fyodor Evfimevich would later write, “all efforts to seduce the Old Believers were nullified by this Starodub trio.” Soon their chastising activities spread far beyond the borders of Starodubye: educated young men began to be invited to talk with missionaries in the Caucasus, Bessarabia, and Moscow.
The main and, perhaps, the most striking period of Fyodor Melnikov’s activity and creativity is associated with Moscow, as the leading center of Russian Old Believers. It was in Moscow, in this ancient Russian capital, that his organizational abilities, writing talent and charge of spiritual energy manifested themselves in full force, allowing him to take on a lot and accomplish a lot. He was in tune with the era about which he himself wrote: “It was... a creative, uniquely stylish, triumphant era.” During this period, cultural life was in full swing in the capital, where, to paraphrase I. S. Aksakov, one might say, thought and word freely communicated - and aside from the bright events of the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries. there could not be Old Believers who embodied the “spirit of the Russian people” (as another Slavophile, A.S. Khomyakov once noted), who, thanks to the peculiarity of their worldview, equally holistically felt not only ancient legends, but also “living reality,” in the words of V.V. Rozanov, a contemporary of F.E. Melnikova. In Moscow, Fyodor Melnikov, without abandoning his teaching, became involved in active social activities. It was especially multifaceted in the period from the Decree on the Principles of Tolerance, promulgated in April 1905, to the autumn of 1917 - during the “golden period of the Old Believers,” as Fyodor Evfimevich himself defined it. Constant collaboration in numerous Old Believer periodicals; membership in the Union of Old Believer Readers; positions of chairman of the supervisory commission at the Moscow Brotherhood of Chestnago and Life-giving Cross, Secretary of the Rogozhsky Cemetery Community Council; work on the creation of a number of essays and books - this is far from the full range of F.E.’s activities. Melnikova. It is no coincidence that during his lifetime he was known as the “apostle of the Belokrinitsky hierarchy” - such words from the mouth of an “enemy”, a missionary of the Nikonian Church, are praise, and serious praise.
In the last decade before the coup of 1917, F. Melnikov also had to travel a lot around the country. The road led him to Siberia, long ago known by people strong and freedom-loving character, “strict temperament”, among whom a considerable proportion were Old Believers. Melnikov also worked in Altai. So, in May 1903, together with another defender of ancient Orthodoxy, V.T. Zelenkov, he held a number of conversations with missionaries. It is remarkable that after them some “followers of Nikonianism” expressed open sympathy for the Old Believers. This could be considered another defeat for the Nikonians in a long-standing dispute. Conversations that were no less “devastating” for them were conducted by F.E. Melnikov in Altai and in 1906
Constantly returning to Moscow from his trips, Melnikov did not give up his educational activities there either. However, removed from the post of director of the Old Believer Teachers' Institute for his speeches directed against vulgar materialism, Melnikov in the fall of 1918 was forced to leave Moscow forever and come to Barnaul again. Here, at the next congress of Old Believers of the Tomsk-Altai diocese, he took the initiative to publish the magazine "Siberian Old Believer", the purpose of which would be "strengthening Christianity and the revival of a great, united and independent Russia." In the program article “Tasks of the Journal” it was prophetically written: “Russia can and must be reborn only on religious foundations and national principles. Without religion, without national feelings, not a single people in the world can exist." In fact, the magazine for a year, until its forced closure, was a kind of mediator that contributed to the unification of everyone who cared about the fate of Russia, including Old Believers of all consents.
Rightly fearing persecution from the Bolsheviks who had returned to power, Fyodor Evfimievich was forced to leave Barnaul to hide in taiga hermitages and remote villages. But even there he did not give up his writing and publishing activities. Sentenced in absentia to execution by the Tomsk provincial "people's court", after some time Melnikov travels to the Caucasus, and then emigrates to Romania, where he lived for a long time in the Old Believer Manuilov Monastery, continuing to work a lot there, and he rested in 1960.
As F.E. wrote Melnikov, “every era has put forward its own figures who were born or created for that time.” These words, referring to one of the most tragic and difficult periods in the history of the Old Believers - the reign of Nicholas I, can easily be attributed to Melnikov himself. He repeatedly pointed out in his published work that this is only " Short story“and everything in it is “said briefly,” however, there is not a single issue concerning both the Old Believers themselves and their existence in multi-confessional conditions, in the context of a dialogue of cultures, that Melnikov would ignore.
Throughout his difficult life, he was not just a witness, but also an indispensable participant in many events that he captured on the pages of his “History.” Perhaps this is one of the most recent completed works of Fyodor Evfimievich. The manuscript is not dated by the author, but individual statements in footnotes and chapters suggest that the book was written between the late 1930s and the late 1940s. Thus, in the chapter “Belokrinitsky Metropolis” the author names a number of cathedrals of the Belokrinitsky Metropolis of the second half of the 30s, of which he was a participant, and its seizure by the Bolsheviks on June 30, 1940. He mentions the “currently living” 5th Slavic Bishop Savvaty, as it is known that he died no earlier than 1942. Indicates the Paris Congress of Russian Working Christians as “held last year,” i.e. in 1939. One of the top dates can be considered May 13, 1947, when a Statute was published in the printed organ of the Romanian government, which outlined the history of the Old Believers and its doctrinal features. The document was drawn up by F.E. himself. Melnikov. The years of struggle and hardship that affected his health could not prevent him from taking up his pen again and again, and his experiences of the violence committed by the godless regime against his Motherland and the Church returned him to what he had written earlier. Writer F.E. Melnikov sought first of all to show that work and faith in the triumph of the Church of Christ are capable of working miracles, that no forces can resist them, no matter how apparent indestructibility they may possess. This faith F.E. Melnikov carried it throughout his life, confirming it with his activities and creativity.
Our time is a time of impoverishment of faith and love, the shrinking of ideals, the shrinking of personality. A person, in order to reveal himself in all his fullness and strength, must be connected with the Church. It was this trait that was fully inherent in F.E. Melnikov. He was not a member of the church, he lived by it, and lived for it. Like any Old Believer who is aware of the responsibility of a Christian, Melnikov felt himself to be part of a living, integral church organism. The unconditional pathos of the book is the call for unity of both representatives of the dominant church and various currents of the Old Belief. According to F. Melnikov, unification is not only a declarative call, but a deeply conscious, sincere desire to preserve Ancient Orthodoxy in all the purity of the canonical and conciliar principles of the Church.
The structure of the “History” is traditional for the apologetic works of the Old Believers, in which the authors strive to show that the fullness of the truth of Christ was received with the baptism of Rus'. It could have been completely destroyed by the “intricacies” of P. Nikon, and then by the illegal decisions of the councils of 1666-1667, but the protest of the “pillar Russian people”, the collectors of the Russian state, the pioneers of the Russian outskirts - the Old Believers - prevented this from happening. It was these bearers of the “charming image of Holy Rus'” who managed to endure the most severe persecution, at the cost of their own suffering and lives, to defend what constitutes the spiritual treasury of Orthodoxy, with which it will remain until the end of time. Literally every page of the book, written in bright, emotional, figurative language, is imbued with ardent faith and endless hope for this.
When preparing the text for publication, the publishers sought, as far as possible, to preserve the features of the author's style. In addition to the difficulties in deciphering many of the “blind” pages of the manuscript, where the text was difficult to read and one had to literally reconstruct the meaning of what was printed from the context, the difficulty was posed by the issue of “deciphering” and transcribing proper names, geographical names and terms, the modern spelling of which probably differs from used P.E. Melnikov. In some places the text was lost, because The frayed pages of the original were torn or entire pieces were torn from them. In these, as well as in places where it was not possible to painlessly reconstruct the author's text, ellipses are made in square brackets. Words selected according to context are also placed in square brackets. Editorial additions have been made in some places, although they do not replace a detailed commentary, which is a work in progress and requires a lot of time. Now I want to bring this book to the reader as soon as possible.
L.S. Dementieva, N.A. Starukhin
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Released A new book one of the leading modern authors specializing in Old Believer themes “Holy Rus'. The true history of the Old Believers” (M.: EKSMO, 2017. – 544 p., ill. – Circulation 3000 copies). It is curious that the book was published precisely on April 7, in Great Holiday Annunciation Holy Mother of God- this, of course, is God’s Providence; there is no other way to explain it.
Currently, the book is available for sale in all Old Believer shops in Moscow (list below), as well as in the main bookstores of the country.
URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT:
We hasten to please all connoisseurs of non-fictional history:
On Sunday, April 30 during the holiday Dmitry Urushev will hold a presentation of the new publication. Everyone will be able to get the author's autograph.
The annotation for the new product says:
A new book by historian and religious scholar Dmitry Urushev has been published. Book “Holy Rus'”. It is dedicated to the history of the Old Believers - from the tragic split of the mid-17th century to the present day. The chronicle of this primordially Russian spiritual movement appears in portraits of its prominent figures (Archpriest Avvakum, noblewoman Morozova and others), in stories about memorable events, traditions and cultural characteristics. The book also includes some articles and interviews published by the author in various magazines and newspapers.
The name of Dmitry Urushev is well known to Russian readers interested in spiritual history. The book “Holy Rus'. The True History of the Old Believers” is distinguished by its content and richness of material, understandable, accessible language. The history of the Old Believers is presented using rich factual material, which does not deprive it of ease of style and simplicity of presentation.
Dmitry Urushev signs one of his previous creations as a souvenir in the bookstore at the temple of the Tve Old Believer community in Moscow
This book will be of interest to the widest readership, not only trained specialists, but also people who have heard about the old faith for the first time. It will be read with pleasure by Old Believers, and those who are interested in religions in general, and teachers of universities and schools, and students.
The book can be purchased on the website of the April 7 bookstore:
On the back of the publication there is a review of the book by Sergei Vladimirovich Marcus - cultural critic, poet, member of the Union of Journalists of Russia, in 1991-2005. creator and director of religious programs of the state Radio of Russia:
They say that the “shadows of dead ancestors” have gone into the past. But no, under the pen of Dmitry Urushev we again plunge into the bright and sonorous harmony of multi-colored churches and crumbly bell ringing. It is a culture of joy and light, thanksgiving to God and brotherhood. Well, how can we talk about some kind of “old ritual” and “old faith”. These are external and formal terms. But with Urushev, everyone is alive and everything is alive!
Publications in the Traditions section
Sacred history and schism in Old Believer narratives (based on field research among Old Believers of the Ural-Volga region)
Oral traditions of the Old Believers of the Ural-Volga region, reasoning on historical topics, unique retellings of popular stories from the Holy Scriptures.
Field ethnographic materials collected by us in 1996–2006. among the Old Believers of the Ural-Volga region (Russians, Komi-Permyaks and Mordovians) on the territory of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Orenburg, Chelyabinsk, Perm and Kirov regions of the Russian Federation, include various oral works. These are recordings of informants' discussions on historical topics, retellings of popular stories from the Holy Scriptures. Most of them have written analogues of both canonical and apocryphal nature, but at the same time they are examples of a fairly free interpretation of well-known texts, built according to the laws of the development of traditional or mythologized consciousness.
The Old Believers as a socio-religious movement arose at the end of the 17th century. as a result church reform, initiated by Patriarch Nikon (1652–1658) and aimed at unifying rituals according to the modern Greek model. During the reform, changes were made to old printed books, and the charter of church services was changed. Nikon's reform activities aroused sharp resistance among some of the clergy and laity. Against the backdrop of the current public consciousness At that time, the concept of the special mission of Rus' as the only custodian of Orthodoxy (the “Moscow – Third Rome” theory) innovations were perceived as a refusal to maintain purity Orthodox faith. In 1666, by the decision of the Council, all Nikon’s innovations were legalized, and supporters of ancient worship (Old Believers) were anathematized.
Already at the end of the 17th century. The Old Believers were faced with the need to solve a number of ideological and organizational problems. With the decrease in the number of confessors of the pre-Nikon order, the question of the attitude towards the institution of the priesthood itself became acute, dividing the Old Believers into two directions - priestly and non-priestly. The priests considered it possible to accept “runaway priests” from the dominant church, while the non-priests, who considered the post-reform church devoid of grace, preferred to completely abandon the sacraments, for the execution of which a priest was required. As a result of further dogmatic disputes, these movements, in turn, fell apart into many interpretations and agreements.
Since its inception, the Old Believers have been formed as a unique ethnocultural phenomenon, at one pole of which there is bookish church culture, at the other - folk everyday culture. According to N.I. Tolstoy, the interaction of these two principles - bookish and folk - gives rise to semantically and formally complex structures.
The question of using even the most “historical” folklore genres (epics, historical songs, etc.) to reconstruct real events of the distant past has always been debatable, since creativity is based on special artistic patterns, primarily the repeatability of archaic models. In this regard, we would like to consider the “historical” texts of the Old Believers, including plots from sacred history and the history of the schism itself, exclusively as sources for studying the features of their worldview.
St. Nicholas Church of the Old Believers-Priests in the village. Vankovo.
Old Believers, like other religious groups, see the world through the prism of Holy Scripture, which is addressed in various situations, to explain certain phenomena, make important decisions, confirm one’s own judgments, etc. In this case, secondary texts (metatexts) are formed, which, through the individual characteristics of the narrator (informant), through the rhetorical techniques he uses, the choice of plots, keywords, and emphasis on certain events, reflect the mental characteristics of the entire community.
There are two types of sources on the basis of which modern historical legends are created. These are traditional stable subjects that were recorded by collectors of the 19th – early 20th centuries, drawn from sacred texts (the Bible, Lives of the Saints, Menaion, etc.), various apocrypha, handwritten stories, spiritual poems, popular prints. Another type of sources is already modern and characterized by enormous diversity. The impetus for living folk art can be television and radio programs “about the divine,” sermons by priests, newspaper and magazine articles, illustrations in textbooks, etc. In addition, stories from secular literature and ordinary everyday situations heard from fellow villagers, acquaintances or neighbors can be interpreted in a “divine” key.
The relationship between written and spoken text may be different. Typically, it depends on the personality of the narrator. The greatest degree of closeness to the original text is typical for narratives recorded from mentors, priests or ordinary members of communities who are well acquainted with Holy Scripture. The stability and similarity of images is nourished by book tradition, but the methods of their intergenerational transmission, as observations show, are largely based on developed oral culture. Often narrators make only indirect references to written sources. Their acquaintance with texts did not occur through independent study (reading), but through the process of listening and consolidation in memory. Information could have been received many years ago, in childhood, from older relatives:
“My grandfather read a book like this to us, they write a lot of interesting things, but now we don’t have those books”; “The old people told us that they had these special books.”
Actually, for folk tradition does not make any significant difference in which book the story being retold was recorded. A reference is made to a book in general, a book containing sacred information about everything, any knowledge in the field of Christianity. The epithet “antique” is usually added to the description of such a “Book” - “it is written in ancient books.” In the Old Believer culture, the old, as opposed to the new, is equivalent to the unconditionally correct, authoritative, time-tested. To confirm the truth of the story, a double appeal to the “old” is often used:
“It’s all taken from old books. Old people told stories. They were closer to the divine, not like us now.”
As our field materials show, evangelical subjects predominate in the Old Believer “people's Bible”. Old Testament legends are represented by stories about the creation of the world, man, the origin of good and evil, motifs about the flood and the construction of the Tower of Babel are common. It can be quite difficult to identify and somehow classify individual motifs, since the texts express a tendency to combine plots of different content and origin into a single narrative.
Here is one of the typical stories about the creation of the world, recorded by the Komi-Zyuzda people, which quite succinctly combines motifs about the creation of the world, the creation of the first people and the Fall:
“There was nothing at first. The Holy Spirit created everything. He created heaven and earth, distinguished water, divided it. And then people, Adam and Eve. He created Adam from the earth and breathed a soul into him. And then he fell asleep, and he took out a rib from him and created Eve. And so they began to live. He created a garden, paradise, and there was some kind of fruit there. Apple. And he forbade them: “Don’t eat this, it’s evil.” And the demon pretended to be a snake or something, I forget. Or a person. The snake was there. "Eat an apple." She refused at first. And then she ate it. She ate this fruit, and her eyes opened and began to see herself naked, and began to close. She ate it herself and fed Adam. And then God cursed them and sent them to earth: “You will earn money by your labor, you will give birth to children in illness.” Let’s compare with the text recorded by Russian Old Believers in the same region (Afanasyevsky district, Kirov region): “This is how he created our whole land. Out of nothing... But God himself, he’s so omnipotent. Our sun did not appear on its own, no, not on its own. Our Lord God created him, and even before he created man...”
The above texts, like many others, are almost identical to the written original (the Bible, the Book of Genesis), but their continuation is quite far from the canon and contains elements of archaic dualistic beliefs. According to this version, God had a brother, with whom his relationship was not entirely smooth. In the first example, the brother demanded a part of the world, “his share,” and the result of the quarrel was the appearance of hell: “The Lord created heaven. And this brother flew even higher and created the sky. The Lord flew even higher and created the sky. Then he moved this brother, and he went deep into the ground. And he goes away, goes away, goes away, and remembers and says a prayer. Isusov. And he stopped. And God told him: “The living people will be mine, and the dead will be yours.” Whether sinners or not sinners, everyone was with the demon.” Here are the ancients mythological ideas(the creation of the world by the demiurge brothers) are closely intertwined with the Christian tradition: the creation of the Jesus Prayer as a means of salvation in difficult situation. (Cf.: “Jesus’ prayer will reach you from the bottom of the sea.”) Further, according to legend, Jesus descends into hell and leads people out of there, promising the owner of hell to fill his domain with drunkards and harlots. Similar motives exist among the Old Believers of the Komi-Zyryans in the Upper Vychegda and Pechora, only hell is filled with people who use tobacco. This justifies the ban on smoking known among the Old Believers. The second (Russian) text also contains a description of the confrontation between two brothers (God and Satanail), the emergence of evil on earth (from a hole made by a bad brother), and their rivalry over influence on man.
Head of the Old Believer Church, Metropolitan Korniliy
Quite common among various groups of Old Believers are oral variations on the theme of the flood and Noah's Ark, with a characteristic motif about the penetration of the ark by evil or a demon due to a quarrel between Noah and his wife. The motif, apparently, dates back to Tolkovaya Paleya (15th century). The narrative contains several etiological legends that explain why different animals that were on the ark should be treated well or, conversely, poorly. For example: “If a mouse gets into the dishes, you need to throw the dishes away. She's not a good animal. The floor in the ark began to gnaw. The tiger sneezed, a cat jumped out of his nostrils and ran after the mouse. And the frog sat on the hole and covered it with itself, so the ark did not sink. They saved people. They must be respected."
The narrative motivation of some religious and everyday prohibitions and regulations, their moralizing aspect, are also found in the gospel stories. For example, a ban on doing laundry and generally working in church holidays: “Mary Magdalene, the harlot, gathered in church on a hill. A woman was splashing around there, and she condemned the sinner, well, mentally condemned her. She went into the desert. And the one who condemned rinsed on a big holiday. She condemned herself, and she herself also did not follow the rules. I went to hell."
A characteristic feature of oral retellings of sacred texts is the simplification of complex theological concepts, bringing them closer to the realities of peasant life, and using clear, simple categories. So the thesis is about immaculate conception and the virginity of the Mother of God is transformed as follows: “She (the Mother of God), when she gave birth to Jesus Christ, was a virgin. She was a virgin both by birth and death. She didn’t get it from the same place that everyone else came from, but from here... (points to her armpit). And after death the virgin.” The holy virgin puts into her mouth common expressions common in the village environment, with which she explains her surprise at the mission that befell her: “The Mother of God said two years earlier: “If I knew that there was such a maiden who would give birth to God, I would I washed my feet and drank water." Among Nikon’s innovations was a change in the spelling of the name of God; they began to write it with two “ands”; the Old Believers retained the pre-reform form (Isus).
For Old Believers, the events of sacred history turn out to be directly related to the history of the schism of the Orthodox Church. The split seems to be the starting point of world history, by which the vector of further development of mankind is determined. The beginning of Christianity and the emergence of the old faith coincide. It is the antiquity of the Old Believer dogma that irrefutably testifies to its truth:
“By the faith by which Jesus Christ was born, by such faith we live”; “The worldly faith dates back to 1666, but our Pomeranian faith is already two thousand years old. Recently celebrated”; “Our Fedoseyev faith existed even before the crucifixion of the Lord God. And then there was a fight with Satanail. We fought for three days. Were angels, became demons.”
A fairy-tale motif is again woven into the fabric of the narrative - the struggle between good and evil, the demiurge brothers, numerical symbolism (“they fought for three days”).
Head of the Old Believer Church, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus' Cornelius
The above stories also speak of a developed sub-confessional identity. Informants can thus present not only the history of the Old Believers as a whole, but also the history of their consent, Pomeranian, in one statement, and Fedoseevsky in another. The essence of dogmatic disagreements, which at one time led to the formation of agreements and interpretations, is known for the most part to clergy and literate Old Believers, “scribes”; therefore, among the laity there may be different interpretations. Some can only identify two main directions - priests and non-priests. A “geographical” etymology is possible: “When persecution of faith began, some went to Pomerania, they began to be called Pomeranians. The Kerzhaks went into the Kerzhen forests, that’s why they are called that.” The rejection of the derogatory name “schismatics” is manifested in the following plot: “There was faith - “schismatics.” Then under Nikon. They were inclined towards the Old Believers, but so that they would not be killed, but, for the sake of blezir, a little there.” Apparently, we are talking about co-religionists who administratively belonged to the official church, but retained the Old Believer charter.
The main reason for the split is called correction church books, which is perceived as an encroachment on a shrine, which has irreversible consequences for real Christians: “They changed all the books. They printed with errors. You can’t change a word, the Apostle Paul also said, you can’t add or subtract, you can’t rearrange. If you change it, it will be anathema. If you change, you are no longer a Christian, but a heretic.”
“Relief” of the faith, its simplification, distortion, as well as greed characterize in the view of the Old Believers the perpetrators of the reform - Nikon and Peter I: “Before, some Patriarch Nikon softened the faith, it seemed hard to him. Those who also wanted something easier followed him, but the Old Believers did not. The Nikonians say there is no need to observe fasts”; “Peter I did it all. I wanted a lot of income, but here everything is free, we don’t have it.” The actions of the reformers, described in modern language, are completely blasphemous, the main thing in them is the profanation of holiness, disregard for the most important, inviolable things:
“Nikon began to change ancient laws. He put people who were illiterate, drunk, illiterate, to write, they missed punctuation marks, they mixed up prayers. Places were missed. Someone may have written in good faith that a person would drink like this. How could they be entrusted with a sacred task? Is it really possible to do that?”
Let's consider one example of Old Believer historical prose, recorded in the city of Miass, Chelyabinsk region, from the mentor of the chapel consent. It is the clergy - priests, mentors or active laymen - who display special awareness of the history of the Old Believers, knowledge of the factual base, exact dates and names of persons who played an important role in it. The range of their reading is quite diverse and, as a rule, is not limited to liturgical literature.
The story begins with a description of the “terrible times” that Christians experienced with the advent of Patriarch Nikon. They were the result of the correction of books, because the holy fathers said: “Not a single letter can be changed.” Nikon had an assistant - “Arsen the Greek”, who tempted the patriarch to increase distortions, saying: “Correct as much as possible.” And he adds: “Like Lenin.” To the question “Why like Lenin?” an explanation follows: “He also said so: “The more priests we destroy, the better.” The comparison is based on the similarity of goals (to destroy faith) and even the sound of statements (“I said so too”). Thus, the desire characteristic of traditional consciousness to search for analogies for single and extraordinary events or to typify phenomena and their endless repetition is manifested here.
The following outlines the rationale for the popular idea among Old Believers about the chosenness of Russia (“Moscow is the Third Rome”). The narrative is structured according to a well-known principle: first Rome fell away from Orthodoxy, then after the Union of Florence - Constantinople, and only “Moscow, the Russian state, retained the faith until Nikon. Avvakum was burned because he did not agree with the new introductions.” The storyteller refers to the facts that actually took place, exact dates. The system of argumentation for one’s vision is based on appeals to categories, primarily of a moral order, and, characteristically, is confirmed by references to Holy Scripture. Thus, in his opinion, Rome’s retreat from the true faith was due to the fact that “it is a rich country,” and wealth is devoid of holiness. Here, for persuasiveness, the Gospel insert is given: “It is sooner for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to heaven.”
The content of other recorded stories is not so historically accurate, the sequence of events in them is periodically disrupted, and the participants may be people who lived in different eras. Thus, Nikon and Peter I are sometimes called the main culprits for the division of churches; they appear to be accomplices acting at the same time. Folklore motifs are often heard: “People from all over Russia gathered to decide which faith is correct. We thought and wondered for a long time about how to write, faith hung by a thread. And then, at the instigation of the Antichrist, they decided to write as Nikon said.”
An interesting narrative was recorded among the Komi-Yazva people, in it local history is closely intertwined and mythologized (the origin of the local religious community) and the history of the split in general. In addition, the text can serve as a source for analyzing the specifics of the ethnic and religious identity of the Yazvinians: “In fact, we are Old Believers refugees. There was a large church there somewhere on the Don. She was very big. There was an exclamation from the sky: “Tomorrow a man will come to you with books and icons. You will cut off his head." They began to pray. A man is coming. They should have cut off his head and burned his books. If they had done this, their (Orthodox) Nikonians would not have existed. They started arguing. They (Nikonians) stayed there. And those who wanted to cut off the head ran away, and here we are. The Komi-Permyaks are different, they didn’t flee, they have the Nikonian patriarchal faith.”
The story of the Solovetsky rebellion, which was reflected in a number of documentary and artistic monuments, also received a unique interpretation: “An angel came to the king and told him: “If you destroy the monastery, you will burst.” The king did not listen, sent troops, the monastery was destroyed, and King Herod burst into flames.” Interestingly, the main character here is King Herod, a biblical character.
As one of the patterns of the functioning of traditional consciousness, researchers highlight a special attitude to the category of time, when only the time of the narrator’s own life is linear. The events of this segment are logically lined up one after another, some milestones are indicated - internal boundaries (marriage, birth of children or another plan - war, for example, etc.). And everything that happened before is located in a certain “space-time field”, easily changes places and is mythologized. Hence the seemingly unexpected proximity of Nikon and Peter I and the reincarnation of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich into Tsar Herod. The latter also manifests the principle of identification, when only one concept is assigned to one word. In this case, the key concept is “king,” that is, a persecutor of faith. Nikon can also be referred to as “tsar” - “Tsar Nikon”. The incorrect external embodiment of a word also entails an absolute change in its meaning, as, for example, in the writing of the name of God: “Jesus is the Christ, but Jesus is something else, this is the Antichrist.” The same thing happens in the above story about “schismatics,” by which we mean people of a different, “intermediate” faith.
A special place in the repertoire of Old Believer historical legends about the schism is occupied by stories about its “culprits”, which are clearly attributed negative characteristics- ambition, cruelty, pride. However, their biographies can be interpreted within the framework of the hagiographic genre, which often contains the motive of sincere repentance for the atrocities committed. Thus, in one of the oral stories, the main tormentor and persecutor Nikon appears repentant and alone:
“Tsar Nikon announced to Tsar Alexei and everyone: “I will be the most important.” Tsar Alexei did not like this, did not accept it at the feast, and pushed him away 100%. Nikon went to the monastery. I was there for seven years. He expected Tsar Alexei to forgive and bow to him. He died there. But before his death, he arranged lynching for himself: “I was wrong, I betrayed the holy faith, I destroyed many people.” It was as if he was apologizing to himself.”
The text of the legend is replete with specific details designed to give the story historical authenticity, and the modern language of the story ( “pushed away 100%”, “brought lynching” ) removes the distance between the events of previous centuries and today's narrator. In another text, recorded at the end of the 19th century, Nikon’s wife took upon herself the cross of repentance. Having learned about her husband's unrighteous deeds, she took monastic vows and devoted the rest of her life to prayers for the persecuted and unjustly offended.
In general, the path of the old faith seems martyrdom. In the eyes of its modern adherents, the numerous sufferings to which their predecessors were subjected serve as confirmation of the special mission of the “old faith.” Belonging to it requires courage and constant readiness for trials: “Nikon introduced bodily bitterness, killed and burned”; “True Christians will always be persecuted.” The motif of “escape” is found in almost every narrative about the history of the schism: “They fled from persecution into the forests, to the outskirts”; “There were persecutions. Everyone wandered off to random places. Especially the priests, they got more”; “The 12 tribes from Jacob are scattered throughout the entire universe. Each tribe is its own generation from the creation of the world. When there were persecutions, the Old Believers fled to 14 countries and lived in communities in the forests.” The source of the last statement is a TV show.
An echo of messianism can also be heard in the idea of the Old Believers as having existed since the beginning of the world, lying at the basis of all religions that arose subsequently: “Our elders say that before there was one faith. Our old one. And then everything changed. Now they are looking for where it is easier to pray. Where you don’t have to pray a lot, that’s where they go.” In the following plot, the messianic idea is consonant with eschatological motives. In addition, despite its brevity, the text is very rich; it also contains a transformation of the Old Testament legend about Tower of Babel and the origin of languages, and Soviet rhetoric, and the main characters in it are the New Testament apostles: “There are Old Believers in all republics. The apostles demolished it. The holy spirit found them, they began to know languages, and dispersed to all countries. And the apostles passed on the Old Believers to everyone. That is why there are Old Believers in all countries. And the Antichrist will also send his demons throughout all countries.”
The Old Believers’ awareness of their own mission is present in most historical narratives: “Our true faith was preserved only in Russia”; “There are only 77 faiths, and the correct one is ours.” Accordingly, belonging to it places great personal responsibility on each of them: “There are few of us faithful left. There will be no Judgment until at least one faithful remains.” The Old Believers thus consider delaying the last day to be a personal responsibility, and see the way to save the world in zealous religious service: “You need to pray, keep the Lord’s commandments, then the Lord will wait.” This seems to be one of the reasons for the sustainability of the tradition. The eschatology of the Old Believer worldview is also directly related to the messianic idea, which contributed to the formation of ideas about the greatest personal responsibility of each Old Believer as the last guardian of true Orthodoxy.
Procession of the cross in Gary to the Michael-Arkhangelsk monastery. Old Believers
Since the emergence of the Old Believers and throughout its history, there have been marked dates on which ideas about the approaching end of the world were updated. Their identification was based on the “number of the Antichrist” (666), the starting point could be the time of the creation of the world or some special events. Documents from the beginning of the 20th century record the presence of unique interpretations of theological literature among the South Ural Old Believers. Thus, the report of the Ufa Diocesan Brotherhood of the Resurrection of Christ said:
“In the Peschano-Lobovsky repair there is a strong mentor, Nestor, who, in his own way interpreting the Revelation of John the Theologian, preaches about the end of the world and set its day in the fall of 1898.”
Modern Old Believers also rely on the same source: “John the Theologian named the number 666, and Nikon’s reform took place that year, in 1666.”
Similar expectations were associated with 1900 (change of centuries), with 1992: “The prophecies were fulfilled five years ago, now wait any minute”; “The eighth thousand have already gone, as it is written in the Books.” Until recently, the most common final date was 2000, the turn of the millennium. As is known, an increase in the intensity of eschatological expectations, their more pronounced expression and severity are observed during periods of historical and social upheavals (war, reforms), the emergence of unusual natural phenomena and climate change (severe drought, comets, meteorites), as well as in connection with rare calendar dates (turn of the century, change of millennium), etc.
Despite the existence of designated turning points, the majority of respondents are inclined to think that “You can’t experience the end of the world – it’s a sin.” “Jesus said: “My father did not give me reason to know when the death will happen, only he knows.” The Holy Fathers wrote that in the eighth thousand... We can only wait and prepare for this.”
The descriptions of the last day, recorded by us during field research, among the priests and bespopovtsy are generally identical. The main characteristic is suddenness, unexpectedness; events begin to unfold with unusual speed, rapidly. Natural elements become more active - strong wind, terrible thunder. The direction from which shocks should be expected is clearly defined: “On east side a fiery cross will appear in the sky." The source of destruction is fire, which destroys everything in its path: “A river of fire will open from east to west.” At the same time, the fire serves as a symbolic border; sinners find themselves on one side of the river of fire, and righteous people on the other. Their number is insignificant: “Out of a thousand men, one will be saved, and one woman will be saved from darkness.” Basics actor drama, the Lord (Judge) is on the seventh of the heavenly spheres, gradually unfolding one after another. Thus, folk performances about the Last Judgment as a whole repeat both the particulars and the general pattern of biblical prophecies. There are also more free retellings: “The demons will fly like angels, wreaths will burn on them, the Lord will bring down Elijah the prophet.”
The eschatological expectations of the Old Believers, correlated with the modern world, find figurative embodiment in a fantastically comprehended surrounding reality. IN sacred texts, containing descriptions of the second coming, as indispensable attributes of the day of judgment there are cosmic unrest and natural disasters. Therefore, sudden weather changes, unusual atmospheric phenomena and environmental changes that have occurred in recent years are also perceived by Old Believers as confirming signs. Statements like this are often heard:
“The water in the rivers has become poisoned, and before the very end there will be no water at all. There will be gold lying around, no one will need it, and there will be no water. The roads turned purple. The tractor turns them purple (spoils them, makes them bad. – E.D.)”, “Summer is now cold, and winter is warm. Everything is the other way around, which means we are close to the end now,” etc.
The description of the Old Believers of recent times, given by researchers of the beginning of the 20th century, for example, is as follows: “It is said: there will be a great famine on the earth, the sky will be copper, the earth will be iron, there will be great sorrow,” coincides with the modern one: “The sky will be copper, and the earth will be iron.” . Nothing will grow. Everyone will die, there will be stench and grief.”
Among both priests and non-priests, one of the signs of the approach of the last times is the appearance of false prophets. As is known, the dispute about the time of the coming of the Antichrist and his appearance served as one of the main reasons for the division of the once united Old Believers into two directions. The priests, taking biblical texts literally, expect the coming of the sensual, that is, physically real Antichrist immediately on the eve of the destruction of the world. Bespopovtsy tend to understand it allegorically, in a “spiritual”, “influx” sense, that is, as any deviation from the faith, canon, commandments. This implies that the coming has already happened and the world surrounding the Old Believers represents the kingdom of the Antichrist.
Differences in interpretation eschatological ideas and symbols can also be traced in modern field material. So, among the priests, the Antichrist is “a living person, an unbeliever, a false prophet.” Among the Bespopovites, he appears in many guises and is embodied in various phenomena real life: “everyone who doesn’t believe in God is the Antichrist,” “doing evil to people, swearing, being baptized incorrectly—that’s all the Antichrist,” “everyone is the Antichrist, this is the time now.” There are also statements like this: “The Antichrist came out of the sea. The sea is people, human vices.” As you can see, Bespopovites use more extensive, non-specific explanations.
In the marginal, essentially chapel consensus, there were supporters of both priestly and non-priestly views on this issue. Understanding the nature of the Antichrist as dualistic is also typical for modern chapels: “The last times, as the holy fathers say, have already arrived with the advent of Nikon. Not Nikon the Antichrist, but those who spread his teachings. We are waiting for him both sensually and spiritually. Sensually he is a person, but spiritually he already reigns - all laws are distorted.”
In accordance with book texts, fans of the Antichrist were marked with a special sign - a seal on their hand or on their forehead. Passports, money, and the state emblem were interpreted in radical agreement as symbolic embodiments of such a seal. Many attributes of modern reality are also perceived by Old Believers as sinful and forbidden. Until now, some informants refuse to be photographed themselves and do not allow photographs of objects belonging to them to be taken, considering the photo to be the “seal of the Antichrist.” Food coupons that were introduced during the perestroika period, social numbers, etc. were called Satanic signs.
It is a well-known fact that the most radical consensus has long rejected electricity, radio, television, and railways. Until now, especially religious Old Believers consider it a sin to watch TV, calling it a “demonic box,” and avoid listening to the radio: “Someone is talking, but whoever is not visible is a demonic temptation.” A direct parallel is drawn with apocalyptic predictions and electrical wires: “a network entangling the sky, an iron web.” The planes are called “iron birds”: “It was said that iron birds will fly everywhere in the last times.”
Traditionalism and commitment to antiquity as a distinctive feature of the Old Believers were noted by all its researchers. Such an idealization of the past is naturally accompanied by a critical look at the present. Modern reality is assessed as a turbulent, alarming time, confirming the prophecies: “Before the end of the world, life will be bad, there will be wars. Because of the wars, there will be few people left: from seven cities they will be gathered into one city. So it is, there is war all around.”
The actions of the authorities also evoke negative emotions: “In Lately The heads of the leaders will become like a child’s, nothing will work out, the state will collapse. That’s how it works.” Analyzing the relationships between people, the Old Believers come to the conclusion that they are changing in a negative direction: “People hate each other, quarrel among themselves”; “There is hatred all around, brother against brother, son against father.” The general decline in the level of morality, ignoring the rules of morality, and the lack of fear of punishment for sins are emphasized: “They are not afraid of sin, they do what they want,” “Women have no shame, they have abortions, wear everything men’s”; “There is discord and abuse all around, there is no agreement between people.”
So, the specifics of Old Believer culture, like any other, are largely determined by the worldview of its bearers. It is oriented towards traditionalism as main principle and is built on the interweaving of oral and written traditions. The Old Believers comprehend book texts and transform any information from the outside world in the categories of traditional consciousness. All this is embodied in the existence of utopian legends and apocrypha, and can be traced in oral historical stories.
Messianism and eschatology occupy a large place in the religious and philosophical system of the Old Believers, developed by its ideologists. This found expression at the everyday level and can be recorded using the methods of ethnographic science using regional material.
In the Chernihiv region, Russian Old Believer settlements Dobryanka and Radul have existed for more than 300 years. They arose on the border of Little Russia and White Rus' in connection with church schism, when in the mid-17th century Moscow Patriarch Nikon decided to unify the church service, making it similar to Greek Orthodoxy. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich supported him. Not all Orthodox Christians accepted Nikon’s reform; many went into “schism” and were persecuted. Archpriest Avvakum (1620-1682), after much persecution and persuasion to renounce the old faith, was burned in a log house along with his supporters in Pustozersk (on Pechora, beyond the Arctic Circle). The schismatics (Old Believers, Old Believers) left the royal and church disgrace to the outskirts of the state - to the Russian north (White Sea region) and to the Urals.
And someone fled to Poland. The Vetka settlement, famous among the Old Believers (now a city in the Gomel region of Belarus), arose on the lands of Pan Khaletsky and received its name from the river flowing into the Sozh. The first settlement of Old Believers, who came from the central regions of Russia, arose on the island at the confluence of these rivers. Under Princess Sofya Alekseevna, the sister of Peter the Great, the Old Believers were persecuted especially harshly; many, having fled to Vetka, settled near the island. This is how a large Old Believers center arose, which for a long time had a significant influence on the lives of all Old Believers in Russia. The authorities dispersed Vetka, but the schismatics again came to the old place and settled down again.
The settlement of Dobryanka arose in 1706 not far from Vetka on the territory of Little Russia. Old Believer from Tula province Anisim Sofronov received permission from the Chernigov Archbishop Lazar Baranovich to settle on the lands of the Chernigov Trinity-Ilyinsky Monastery: “... if you go freely, without any obligation to live for your belongings, just as you plunder the fields for plowing, so you borrow the same and hay harvest, we do not forbid.” Officially, the archbishop was opposed to the Old Believers, but he realized that the monastery would only benefit from them, so he allowed them to develop the inaccessible forest and swampy region where the Nemilnya and Dobryanka rivers, tributaries of the Sozh, flowed.
The coat of arms of Dobryanka became an anchor cross on a blue background with white waves. The first Christians painted such a cross on the walls of the catacombs; for them it was a symbol of hope in God, that God’s truth is true, and therefore saving from all troubles and adversity. The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Hebrews, said that this hope “is an anchor, safe and strong: when the sea is stormy, only a strong anchor can hold us in place.”
And the Dobryans tenaciously clung to their newfound homeland. When the troops of the Swedish king Charles XII invaded the Chernigov region, the Old Believers showed themselves to be true patriots. With a small militia, they defeated a detachment of Swedes, and took the prisoners to the camp of Peter the Great. The tsar appreciated the valor of the schismatics, became emotional and allowed them to wear beards. The Dobryans accepted this decision of the tsar with enthusiasm. Now one can only grin, but then a beard for an Old Believer was a sign of true faith.
Under Catherine II, when the eastern lands of White Rus' were annexed to Russian Empire, on the initiative of the first governor of Belarus, Field Marshal Zakhar Chernyshev, a wide road was built with post stations, mileposts and birch trees along the sides. This Catherine's tract originally started from Pskov, went through the lands of Belarus and Little Russia, and led through Dobryanka and Chernigov all the way to Kyiv. Later it became part of the big road from St. Petersburg to Kyiv. When the St. Petersburg-Kyiv highway was built in the mid-19th century, the Ekaterininsky tract remained aside, its importance fell, it was gradually overgrown with grass and trees, but even today its contours can be traced in some places.
Many famous people in Russia have visited Dobryanka. The fugitive Emelyan Pugachev lived for some time among the Dobryansk Old Believers and received a passport here. Having thus been legalized, he went to the Urals and there raised an uprising. Nikolai Gogol was traveling along the Ekaterininsky Highway through Dobryanka to St. Petersburg. Alexander Pushkin visited here when he was heading into exile and returning from it. Taras Shevchenko stayed in Dobryanka; on September 15, 1845, he wrote a letter to Princess Varvara Nikolaevna Repnina-Volkonskaya and thanked her for “compassion for my deserted life in Dobryanka.”
Emperor Nicholas I visited Dobryanka twice. This happened in 1845. It cannot be said that among the Dobryans there is a good memory of him. The tsar showed dissatisfaction that the Old Believers did not have a real Orthodox church and forced them to build one. The wooden church was erected in 18 days. When it was consecrated, the emperor came again and prayed at new church, was pleased and noticed that the Old Believers had finally joined the true faith. They accepted the sovereign’s words with restraint, since they understood that there was no point in quarreling with him, thank God that everything turned out to be a little nerve-wracking.
And a few words about Vasily Mirovich (1740-1764), a descendant of Little Russian nobles. His grandfather was a supporter of Ivan Mazepa and fled to Poland, and his father was deprived of all his fortunes for secret sympathy for the Poles and exiled to Siberia, where Mirovich was born. At one time, Lieutenant Mirovich served in the Smolensk regiment stationed in Dobryanka, on the border with Poland, then transferred to Shlisselburg. Having learned that Ivan Antonovich, the son of Empress Anna Leopoldovna (1718-1746), was languishing in the Shlisselburg fortress, the ambitious young man decided to elevate him to the Russian throne. The plot failed, the attempt to free the prisoner ended sadly, he was killed by the guard. Mirovich ended his life on the chopping block, his head was cut off.
Russian writer Grigory Danilevsky wrote a novel “Mirovich” about the life of an unsuccessful conspirator. Soviet writer Valentin Pikul remembers Mirovich in the first volume of his novel “The Favorite.” And these are not the only mentions of Mirovich and his conspiracy in Russian literature, and the artist Ivan Tvorozhnikov created the painting “Lieutenant Vasily Mirovich at the corpse of Ivan Antonovich on July 5, 1764 in the Shlisselburg fortress.”
Nowadays, the Old Believer village of Dobryanka is located in the Repkinsky district of the Chernigov region of Ukraine, no more than 3 thousand people live here. The Old Believer church of the village is the only one in the Chernigov region. Dark icons on the log walls, ancient singing, parishioners crossing themselves with two fingers. All this is unusual for an Orthodox Christian, accustomed to the “correct” church life.
This fall, attackers entered the church at night (there is no alarm system) and stole 18 old icons, including one bronze one. This is not the first attempt to rob an Old Believer church, but this one is the most daring. Unfortunately, the blasphemers have not yet been found, and will they be? These people knew too well what they were doing and competently covered their tracks.
In the center of Dobryanka there is a large park, where Dobryanka partisans and Red Army soldiers who died crossing the Dnieper in 1943 are buried in two mass graves. Among them are two Heroes of the Soviet Union. Two natives of Dobryanka were also awarded such a high title. For crossing the Dnieper, infantry lieutenant L.M. became Heroes of the Soviet Union. Grigoriev (1913-1943, posthumously) and junior artillery sergeant B.K. Khromov (1918-1966).
And today the people of Dobryania do not forget their roots, they remember that their ancestors came from Russia. And all thanks to such an extraordinary person as the chairman of the village council A.N. Alginin. In 2006, he wrote a book about Dobryanka, it’s called “Roots”.
In Soviet times, the local House of Pioneers had a museum on the history of the village, but with the beginning of the perestroika years, the House of Pioneers was transferred into private hands, the new owner no longer needed the museum, and some of the materials disappeared. What survived was transported to the high school, but there they were also indifferent to their history and stole what was left.
And Alexander Nikolaevich had to make a lot of efforts to again collect all the information about Dobryanka and bring it together into one solid publication. “So that our descendants are not Ivans who do not remember their kinship... Each person has his own tree of life, rooted in the past and feeding a new ovary with these roots. Remembering these roots means having a connection with them.” This is what Alginin wrote in the preface to his book.
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The heroic history of the Old Believer Dobryanka during the Great Patriotic War Patriotic War. Surrounded by swampy, swampy forests, the village became a reliable shelter for partisans. By decision of the Dobryansk district committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine, a partisan detachment named after Voroshilov was created to fight the occupiers. In a hard-to-reach forest, they built a base with dugouts, weapons and food warehouses. The Dobryansky partisan detachment became the first effective combat rite of the partisans in 1941 in the Chernihiv region. And perhaps throughout the entire territory of the USSR occupied by the Nazi invaders.
There are several reasons for this. The partisan movement in 1941 was just gaining strength, there was no experience in fighting the invaders, the detachments acted separately, many partisan bases were discovered by traitors. In addition, there was no regular communication with Moscow. At the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief at that time there was no time for partisans.
The Dobryanka partisan detachment, led by the communist Tikhon Yevtushenko, who fought during the civil war, as soon as the Germans occupied Dobryanka, began active fighting. In the first battle, the partisans destroyed a company of German cyclists, but themselves lost 38 people.
The Dobryanites were the first among the Soviet partisans to derail German trains. The large-scale partisan “Rail War” in the German-occupied territories of the USSR began only in 1943. On the Chernigov-Gomel railway they derailed a German railcar, killing a general, eight officers and two soldiers. The trophies were documents, weapons and, importantly, a radio station. The demolitions were led by G.S. Artozeyev, in 1944 he was awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
The partisan detachment was replenished by the local population and retreating Red Army soldiers. In September 1941, there were already more than 600 people of different nationalities: Ukrainians, Belarusians, Russians, Jews. The international partisan detachment performed a striking military feat on November 7, 1941, when the 24th anniversary of the October Revolution was celebrated. On this holiday, the partisans defeated the German garrison of Dobryanka in a fierce battle (40 Nazis died, 160 policemen were captured) and hung a red flag over the village council. The Germans sent to the village great forces, the partisans had to leave. However, this victory made the population believe that the invaders on their land would not last long, they would definitely be defeated.
The Germans sent significant forces to destroy the Dobryansk detachment. Fierce battles between the partisans and the Nazis continued throughout November 1941. It was not possible to break through the encirclement; the detachment commander, Yevtushenko, decided to split into groups, hoping that it would be easier to break through. Artozeyev and his group managed to get into the Koryukovsky forests and joined the partisan detachment of Alexei Fedorov (later he became twice Hero of the Soviet Union). And many died in battles with the Germans, Yevtushenko died on the territory of Belarus, he and his comrades were betrayed by the owners of the house where they were staying to rest.
“No one is forgotten and nothing is forgotten.” “Heroes of the Dobryansky Forests” is the name of the book about the partisan detachment named after Voroshilov. It was written by her husband and wife Grigoriev. Larisa Ivanovna was born into an Old Believer family in Dobryanka. Her parents lived here; her father was the director of a high school. Viktor Andreevich is a military pilot, retired colonel, graduated from the Chernigov Aviation Pilot School. Not indifferent to the history of Dobryanka, he and his friends tidied up the grave of two Dobryanka underground women T.I. Abakumova and K.S. Yukova, shot by the Germans in 1941. Trying to restore little-known pages of the history of the Dobryansk partisan detachment, the couple traveled to the places where the Dobryansk partisans fought, met with relatives of the partisans and people who still remember those years. They talked about this and much more in their book. For such unostentatious love for the native land, for the memory of its defenders, I bow to them.
Finishing my story about Dobryanka and its people, how could one not remember Yuri Kozhevnikov, our famous Chernigov poet. He is Larisa Ivanovna Grigorieva’s brother. However, this is not his main advantage; it lies in his wonderful poems, which appear in print from time to time. In the poem “Strawberry Fields Forever,” he recalls with slight sadness his childhood years, impressions inspired by his native Dobryansky land, dense forests and copses with the languid smell of strawberries at the beginning of summer.
Strawberry fields forever
Here is the forest and the river, and I am again in an embrace with July
trampled a path among the strawberry fields,
drank some spring water, walked around the echoing beehive
and I remembered a lot, and my heart became warmer...
Floated like dreams - a wondrous image long forgotten,
the chamomile scent of your palms and hair,
and the evening is transparent, washed with rainwater,
and we are in it like children... and that, alas, did not come true.
And in the twilight, faces, meetings, and dates disappeared,
fogs covered the tired flesh of the shores.
I return alone to the dull rumbles of thunder,
an untrodden path of poems that have not yet sprouted.
Cancer
