On June 23 and 24, 2016, an international Old Believer conference was held in Moscow on the topic “ Old Believers, the state and society in modern world ". The Old Believers of all accords in Russia and Abroad touched upon a number of problems of the Old Believers and the present and shared their experience.
A platform for an inter-Old Believer event, the format of which is close to those held at the beginning of the 20th century. Old Believers congresses, spoke Moscow House of Nationalities on the basis of the "Cultural and pilgrimage center. Archpriest Avvakum” and supported by a state grant from the National Charitable Foundation.
Recall that the previous landmark event in the inter-Old Believer dialogue was the round table "Actual problems of the Old Believers" in March of this year, which was also attended by delegates from the traditional Old Believer agreements of Russia and neighboring countries.
The two-day conference was attended by representatives of the main Old Believer concords from Russia, as well as guests from near and far abroad. Official delegations of Old Believers' concords took part in the events of the conference. Participants of the event came from Pskov, Rzhev, Ulan-Ude, Samara, Ulyanovsk, Komi Republic, St. Petersburg, Moscow. There were also representatives from the following countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Moldova, Belarus, Australia, Bolivia and Ukraine.
Conference participants
The opening was attended by the primates of: Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia Kornily (Titov) and the Russian Old Orthodox Church Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexander (Kalinin). Ancient Orthodox Pomeranian Church represented Chairman of the Central Council of the DPC of Latvia, Fr. Alexey (Zhilko).
Conference Presidium
Metropolitan Cornelius, in his welcoming speech to the participants of the conference, noted the common for the Old Believers of various agreements:
“...Despite the existing differences of opinion and territorial disunity, there remains a lot in common between us - this is commitment to the historical roots of ancient Orthodoxy and a careful attitude to the history of two-faced Holy Russia, the preservation of the customs of ancient Russian culture and everyday traditions of the people and love for our Fatherland.”
His Grace Cornelius, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia
The Primate of the ROCC mentioned the above-mentioned round table, which became a precursor in preparation for the conference, listing the possible facets of interaction:
“Representatives of the three largest Old Orthodox concords got together and agreed to leave disputes about faith, polemics about dogmas out of the discussion and discuss the basics of mutual cooperation and coordination of actions in dialogue with the state on the revival of spiritual and moral values, as well as state assistance in the return and restoration of monuments architecture and cultural heritage, in the sphere social activities and in preparation for the four hundredth anniversary of the birth of Archpriest Avvakum.
Vladyka also noted the possibility of joint problem solving:
“With common cooperation, we could solve such important tasks as the preservation of Russian national culture, Russian and Old Slavonic languages, customs and foundations, which are an invaluable wealth of the peoples of Russia.”
The conference was also attended by four other Old Believer bishops, in addition to the primates of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church: Bishop Siluyan (Kilin), Novosibirsk and All Siberia, Bishop Zosima (Eremeev), Donskoy and Caucasian, Bishop Evmeny (Mikheev), Chisinau and All Moldova, and Bishop Vikenty (Novozhilov), Yaroslavsky and Kostroma.
Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church. Photo protode. Alexandra Govorova
On the first day of the conference, Archpriest Andrei Marchenko(RDC) with a report on the topic "Inter-Old Believer cooperation: past, present, prospects." Chairman of the Central Council of the DPC of Latvia about. Alexey Nikolaevich Zhilko and Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Lithuanian DOC about. Grigory Boyarov talked about the Old Believers-bespopovtsy in the Baltic countries and their experience of interaction with the state authorities. Representatives of the Pomeranian Church Walter Walterovich Fot and Maxim Borisovich Pashinin told about work public organization « Cultural and pilgrimage center. Archpriest Avvakum over the past five years of its activity. Professor Mikhail Olegovich Shakhov spoke about the problems and prospects for the development of state-confessional relations. The Old Believer of the chapel consent, who moved from Bolivia to Primorye, Elisey Murachev spoke about the difficulties that compatriot migrants have to face in Russia.
Then the representative of the delegation from Romania, Professor Feodor Ivanovich Kirile shared 26 years of experience in the work of the Lipovan Russian community in Romania and spoke about relations with society and the state and practical steps to maintain a spiritual connection with the traditions of Holy Russia.
He spoke about his experience of working with youth, the upbringing of Christian patriotism and cultural and moral education Archpriest Evgeny Chunin(ROC), and the priest Alexander Pankratov(ROCC) prepared a report on the prospects for creating an Old Believer pilgrimage center in Veliky Novgorod.
Priest Alexander (Pankratov) speaks
Archpriest Evgeny Chunin from Rzhev emphasized the importance of working with youth and children, one of the forms of which is pilgrimages:
“The most important and most difficult thing is to pass on the memory of our ancestors to our children. In this regard, Christian pilgrimages to holy places, springs, graves, places of former temples and monasteries are the best remedy persuasion even for unbelieving youth"
On Friday, June 24, the conference continued its work. Among the reports there was a speech Alexey Bezgodov(Deputy Chairman of the RS DPTs) on the topic “Old Believer Accords in modern Russia». Alexey Muravyov(Professor high school Economics, ROCC) shared his vision of the principles and approaches to the study of the Old Believers on present stage. Representative of the Rzhev Pokrovskaya community Vasily Gladyshev(ROCC) spoke about his experience in the analysis and analysis of anti-Old Believer programs and publications in the media and online publications.
Most recently, the head of Mordovia spoke in the sense that the 400th anniversary of the birth of Patriarch Nikon would be "a major event in 2005." "Mordvin, who became the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has made a significant contribution to the unification of the peoples of Russia, strengthening the spiritual foundations of society,” he said. There are already quite a few publications in the media and in church scientific publications that testify to the preparation by certain forces in the Moscow Patriarchate of the canonization, that is, the canonization of Patriarch Nikon, very famous in our history. I want to note that upon careful study, the scientific and historical, in particular, the factual base of the theoretical constructions of the current apologists for the mentioned hierarch causes a number of bewilderment. In this communication, an attempt is made to show this, mainly on the example of the article by V. Schmidt "Biography of Patriarch Nikon", placed in the "Journal of the Moscow Patriarchy", No. 11, 2002.
The narrative about Nikon's activities at the Novgorod cathedra says: "he zealously takes care of the magnificence of temples." Probably, by such care, the author means, in particular, known from the recently fully published "Investigation Case on the Novgorod uprising of 1650" Nikon's desire to make serious changes inside the St. Sophia Cathedral. But the opinion of the Novgorodians about this "jealousy for splendor" was sharply negative, which V. Schmidt, however, is silent about.
Let me quote a brief excerpt from the source mentioned above: “Yes, he’s Nikon the Metropolitan, according to your sovereign decree, how he came to Veliky Novgorod as a metropolitan, and he took Fedka the masons and his comrades and wanted to destroy the cathedral church of Sophia the Wisdom of God and break the pillars. ", sovereign, the cathedral church was built according to the angelic gospel. And we, people of all ranks, beat him, the metropolitan, with our brows and did not allow the cathedral church to be destroyed and the pillars to be broken. Before him, the metropolitan, there were many authorities and the old days did not spoil anything." It should be especially noted that this was practically the only one of the accusations against Nikon by the rebels, which was also supported by the government. April 21, 1650 from Embassy order A letter was sent to the Metropolitan of Novgorod, where, on behalf of the tsar, it was directly stated: "And you, our pilgrimage, would not destroy the cathedral churches and break the pillars."
The Novgorod period of the activity of the future patriarch also includes the beginning of the reform of church singing, the introduction of the so-called "Kyiv chant" into liturgical use. Giving a quite positive assessment of this change, V. Schmidt, however, hushed up the existence of, for example, such an opinion on this matter: "At the center of the transition to the gradual secularization of this art (church singing, - A.P.) stands Patriarch Nikon with his reforms I would like to compare him with a railroad switchman who switched the arrow of the path of liturgical singing art to another path, constantly moving away from the first, main path.
Starting from this period, liturgical singing ceases to be understood as one of the forms of worship itself and begins to be regarded as music brought into the temple. "To this it should be added that a charter of 1668 was published quite a long time ago, given by the Eastern Patriarchs Macarius of Antioch, who were then in Moscow and Paisios of Alexandria, where he admits that the singing is "partesnoe ... not from the sowing of the Eastern Church. "It has, let us recall a well-known fact, undoubtedly a Western, Catholic origin. However, V. Schmidt does not say this either.
The strongest Western influence marked other significant historical realities associated with the name of Nikon: the so-called "book correction" and the creation of a theory about the primacy of the priesthood over the kingdom. There are many studies and publications on this topic, the most significant of which are, however, ignored by W. Schmidt. Thus, there are no references to the fundamental monograph by N.F. Kapterev, the two-volume "Patriarch Nikon and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich", published back in 1909-1912. and recently reprinted. The capital work of S. A. Zenkovsky "Russian Old Believers.
Spiritual movements of the seventeenth century ". In connection with the last of the circumstances noted, I think it is appropriate to cite S. A. Zenkovsky's characteristic of Nikon's aspirations, which V. Schmidt calls "the churching of the state": "In his interpretation of church authority and its superiority over authority Tsar Nikon completely departed from the Byzantine and Russian tradition of the symphony of authorities and completely adopted the point of view of the Catholic Church, as the popes expounded it in the 11th-13th centuries, during the struggle with the emperors for investiture ". Against the background of this statement, V. Schmidt's opinion about that Nikon "was a vivid exponent of the traditional Russian religious and philosophical worldview" seems, at least, insufficiently substantiated.
The events of the Russian-Swedish war of 1656-1658, which was largely fought on the lands of the historical Novgorod region, are connected with the times, so to speak, of the zenith of Nikon's sovereignty. V. Schmidt gives a very high assessment of the geopolitical talents of the patriarch, saying that "it was he who pointed out the historical tasks of Russia in annexing Little Russia and Belarus, in accessing the Baltic Sea, in protecting Orthodoxy in Ingria and Karelia" .
However, the circumstance is hushed up that the war with Poland really started and was waged by Tsar Alexei, for this purpose he left Moscow on May 18, 1654, leaving the patriarch "in his place". War with Sweden was also declared by the king. The patriarch, on the other hand, showed his "geopolitical consciousness" in a rather peculiar way. Blessing the troops on the campaign, he urged them to go by sea (!) To Stockholm and capture it.
In the absence of a European-level military fleet in Russia at that time, it was, of course, impossible to fulfill this blessing. Here we can conclude how practical politics was in Nikon's "state" consciousness: he called for the achievement of obviously unrealistic goals (W. Schmidt does not say anything about the aforementioned call for a sea voyage). The real history delivered its harsh verdict: the war was lost by Russia, and from Ingria and part of Karelia left behind Sweden, a stream of Orthodox refugees poured in to us. Such a defense of Orthodoxy by Nikon in the Baltics turned out to be in practice. And about this, however, V. Schmidt is silent.
Nothing is said about another curious moment. As is known, fighting between Russia and Sweden were terminated on July 21, 1658. Nikon arbitrarily left the department quite shortly before that, on July 10. Perhaps he foresaw the outcome of the war and the associated collapse of his own in the role of not only the church, but also the secular supreme leader. Of course, this is just an assumption, perhaps quite bold and certainly in need of an evidence base. However, an indisputable historical fact is that the period of the final quarrel between the tsar and the patriarch was precisely July 1658, the time of defeat in the war with the Swedes. Probably, Alexei Mikhailovich, as an unconditionally practical politician, simply stopped cherishing Nikon after that. In other words, the priesthood, which used to be the “greater of the kingdom” in the patriarchal theory, could not withstand the clash with cruel military practice, the idea was blessed (and perhaps even initiated), I repeat, obviously unsuccessful.
In 1666, Nikon was sent into exile, where, according to V. Schmidt, he was "under the strictest supervision, in a cramped and musty cell, in the absence of communication with the world" . However, published at the end of the nineteenth century. documents paint a slightly different picture of the stay of the defrocked patriarch in the Ferapontov Monastery. In the royal "Instruction" of the monastery brethren, it was prescribed "to give food and rest to Nikon according to his needs."
By a special decree of January 5, 1666, the resources of the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery, one of the richest in the country, were attracted to support the exile. After July 1667, according to a new royal decree, new “cells” were built for Nikon, replaced by a real palace by the end of 1675, which cost the state and monastery treasury a huge sum of 672 rubles at that time. There were only 25 living rooms here. The "painting" of the annual supplies of the former patriarch is also impressive, for example, dated November 1673. Here are 15 buckets of church wine, 10 buckets of Romanea, 10 buckets of Rhensky, 30 poods of caviar, 10,000 (!) eggs, 1 pood of salmon, 150 pike perch and ide, 20 poods of "hops". Nikon had 10 monks and about 25 serf servants directly subordinate to him.
By order of the exile, the serfs of the Ferapontov Monastery poured a whole island on Borodava Lake, where Nikon sometimes retired for prayers. The conditions of the former patriarch's stay in the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery were not too ascetic, where, as you know, Nikon was moved in 1676, after the death of Tsar Alexei. Here Nikon lived in a separate building, with seven servants, and the table for the "sufferer" was prepared "better than for the brethren, not only on permitted days, but also on fast days (!)", there was also "beer and honey good for him (Nikon, - A.P.) required.
The above (partially, these are only the most striking) evidence of the "hardships of exile" V. Schmidt ignores. On the other hand, he writes a lot and pompously about Nikon's monastery construction. However, even the citations given by the named author on this topic from the writings of the patriarch himself, with an objective analysis, turn out to be not so exalted. In this regard, I will dwell on the history of the Valdai Iversky Monastery of the Novgorod diocese, especially since Nikon himself dedicated a work called "Mental Paradise" to it. We read here (cited also by V. Schmidt) the "prediction" of the patriarch about the future monastery: "And with little care, everything will be plentiful on this land." A little lower it is deciphered what, in fact, this "care" consisted of: "The Sovereign (says Nikon, - A.P.) with joy promised me that place (Valdai, - A.P.) to give with those around that place sat down and weigh" .
I think it is appropriate to cite here the data that only in the Starorussky district the Iversky Monastery received 430 villages with peasants, as well as "forest lands, fish and animal catches, beaver ruts." With such possessions, the monastery, of course, was quickly rebuilt, and precious objects appeared in its temples. Nikon wrote that he placed in the monastery the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God "I have fourty-four thousand rubles of jewelery, except for the grace that overshadows from her, she has no comparison anywhere." This phrase quite clearly characterizes the inner world of the patriarch. The monetary value of the icon is here in the first, that is, the main place, and the purely theological concept of "overshadowing grace", in the second, or rather, secondary position. W. Schmidt calls this a rationalized system of socio-political views.
Quite within the framework of this system are Nikon's occupations with "healing", about which V. Schmidt writes almost as a gift of healing, similar to what, according to Church Tradition, was inherent in ancient saints. However, the fund of the Preobrazhensky Prikaz in Moscow preserved (more precisely, it was preserved at the end of the 19th century, when it was published, which V. Schmidt, however, is silent about) the investigation file of 1694 on charges of "sorcery". His main person involved was a certain elder Savin. He testified during interrogation that he was in Nikon's retinue during his exile in Ferapontovo, where "he, the most holy patriarch, treated many people with all sorts of diseases according to the herbalist and according to the medical manual, and he, the most holy patriarch, taught him that treatment, Savina.
And to him, the most holy patriarch, that healer and herbalist in the Roman language was taken out of Persia and translated into Greek, and from Greek into Russian, the Greek, the elder Meletius. by burying the roots of a young birch tree (!) in the ground, "so that that disease does not burp in the future"... Thus, the rationalism characteristic of Nikon and his entourage turns out to be not free from the occult component.
Not quite Orthodox, to put it mildly, the foundations are also revealed when analyzing the design of, perhaps, the most famous Nikon monastery, New Jerusalem near Moscow. The modern researcher V. I. Martynov in the book "Culture, Iconosphere and Liturgical Singing of Muscovite Russia", published in 2000, quotes from the work of the founder of the Jesuit Order, Ignatius Loyola, which clearly indicates that for spiritual exercises in the Jesuit style it is very a literal reproduction of the Palestinian topography is desirable, however, on a mental level.
Nikon, in fact, went even further, trying, as you know, to create the "Holy Land" in the patrimony near Moscow absolutely tangibly, perhaps to alleviate the contemplative load on his own consciousness, burdened state affairs. These circumstances are ignored both by V. Schmidt and A. A. Yeshchenko, the author of the article "Russian Palestine of Patriarch Nikon", in the 3rd issue of 2003 of the journal of the Novgorod diocese "Sofia".
The passage from an article by V. Schmidt is also connected with the historical territory of our diocese, causing the greatest number of bewilderment per unit of printed space. We are talking about the foundation by Nikon of the Holy Monastery on Kiy-island in the Onega Bay of the White Sea. The author of the "Journal of the Moscow Patriarchy", talking about this, contradicts himself. First, V. Schmidt recounts the well-known legend about the founding of the monastery "by promise" on the island, where, being still an unknown monk, Nikon was thrown out by a wave during a shipwreck and escaped death. Below, however, it is said that "The Holy Monastery - the guardian and symbol of Holy Russia in the North - was created to resist schismatic and Protestant tendencies, to strengthen the foundations of Orthodox statehood ... as a military fortress to protect approaches to the mainland. Choosing a place near the Solovetsky Monastery, apparently, it was also caused by the fact that Solovki, this powerful and rich citadel on the border of the Russian state, gravitated and finally joined the Old Believers, became a stronghold of anti-state forces throughout the 17th century.
First, as already noted, the contradiction in the presentation of the reason for the construction of the monastery is surprising: it is not clear whether it was purely religious gratitude to God for the miraculous salvation, or still a political calculation. There is no specific conclusion.
Secondly, in the Novgorod diocese in the 17th century there were hundreds of monasteries, many of which were much more ancient and famous than the newly created Cross. Therefore, calling only the latter "the guardian and symbol of Holy Russia in the North" is bewildering.
Thirdly, in historiography, according to my information, there is no information about the existence of a prison for "church disobedient" in the Cross Monastery, as well as about the conduct of a special "anti-schismatic", especially "anti-Protestant" missionary work by the island brethren. There was also no center for the correspondence of books, not to mention a printing house.
Fourthly, it is rather strange to call the low wooden fence of the monastery with decorative turrets, which, by the way, is depicted in one of the illustrations in the article by V. Schmidt, a "military fortress".
All of the above suggests that, paradoxically, the author of the "Journal of the Moscow Patriarchy" allowed excessive politicization of the spiritual deeds of Nikon, deeply revered by him.
What W. Schmidt said about the Solovetsky Monastery deserves special consideration. It is not clear, in particular, how "before" and during the church reform of the seventeenth century. was it possible to "gravitate towards the Old Believers"? After all, before the transformation of this spiritual movement did not exist, and in the process of reforms they could either be accepted or not (as the Solovetsky brethren did in 1658). The rejection of innovations initially limited the actions on Solovki of those forces that V. Schmidt calls "anti-state." It is well known that the monastic "opponents of power" wrote to the tsar for a long time full of self-abasement petitions, and only after receiving no answer to them they decided on an armed confrontation with the reformers, in order to preserve the antiquity that the saint was revered. And even in 1674, at the height of the famous siege, one of the prominent leaders of the rebellious monastery, the elder Gerontius, persuaded the monks "so that they do not shoot at the sovereign's people."
On February 3, another academic event took place within the framework of the Historical and Liturgical Seminar at the Patriarchal Center of the Old Russian Liturgical Tradition in Rubtsovo (ROC MP). With a lecture on Pre-Schismatic Features of Church Life in Veliky Novgorod» a priest of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church, rector on Vitka in Veliky Novgorod spoke Priest Alexander Pankratov.
In his speech, Fr. Alexander presented an overview of the main stages of the church and political history of one of the oldest Russian cities. The role and place of Veliky Novgorod is much larger than it is usually imagined, since it was there that the features of spiritual practice and liturgical tradition were formed - that unique Novgorod culture, which, along with Moscow, was most clearly manifested in the pre-Nikon church and cultural life of Russia, in particular, in early printed books, icon painting and statutory nuances of worship, and after the Schism it was organically preserved and developed in the Old Believers.
Only with the approval of St. Petersburg as a new administrative center of Russia, Novgorod lost its former cultural influence in the North-West, including due to the demographic impoverishment of the Novgorod region in the St. Petersburg period. In addition, as a result of the government's policy towards the Old Russian church heritage, Novgorod suffered serious cultural losses - ancient temples and monasteries were destroyed and dismantled for building materials. According to Fr. Alexander, damage caused in the XVIII-XIX centuries. historical heritage Novgorod, is comparable to the communist destruction and almost surpasses them.
Illuminating the main stages of the pre-Nikonian history of Novgorod, including the first decades after the Baptism of Russia, the pre-Mongolian period, the era of the Golden Horde dominion over the rest of Russia, and, finally, the political rise of Moscow after the annexation of Novgorod and the liquidation of the Republic there in the second half. 15th century, ca. Alexander noted that up to late XVII centuries, the Novgorod diocese retained its vast borders and a certain degree of freedom in inner life, in particular, in terms of the election of the priesthood.
According to Fr. Alexander, one of the striking features of the psychology of the local population, starting from the earliest annalistic references, was the desire for independence, special orders, as well as the attitude to the outside world on the principle of “accept or not”. Subsequently, this mentality was also characteristic of the Old Believers, for example, when clergy were appointed to church communities.
Separately about. Alexander spoke about how Novgorod perceived the reforms of Patriarch Nikon: it was the northwestern bishops (Makariy of Novgorod, Markell of Vologda and Alexander Vyatsky), who formally submitted to the tsar and the patriarch, actually sabotaged the implementation of church reforms, thanks to which Novgorod became one of the centers of the Old Believer opposition. The Solovetsky Monastery, which did not accept the “corrected” books and other Nikon novelties, also belonged to the Novgorod diocese.
Subsequently, due to the resettlement of the Old Believers in Pomorie and the Baltic states, the Novgorod tradition became one of the defining ones for the Old Believers: from historical limits Novgorod land came out largest number known by name of those who died for their adherence to the old rank of sufferers listed in the Russian Grapes. And it was at the Novgorod cathedrals of the 1690s. the basic principles of bezpopovstvo were formulated, in particular, Fedoseev's consent. According to Fr. Alexander, in the decisions of those councils, a certain skepticism was manifested in relation to everything that comes from Moscow, which is characteristic of the mentality of the Novgorod population.
At the end of his speech, Fr. Alexander expressed the wish that the sense of responsibility for the preservation of the native church antiquity, characteristic of the ancient Novgorodians and making the Old Believers related to the adherents of the Old Russian tradition in the bosom of the Russian Orthodox Church, would contribute to the study and revival of this heritage in their spiritual practice - "each in his own hope." Known to many through online publications and discussions, the priest answered questions from the audience, thanked the organizers and guests of the seminar for their keen interest and communication, and offered his assistance in organizing pilgrimage trips to Veliky Novgorod.
Also about. Alexander spoke about Slavna, recently handed over to the Old Believer community of Veliky Novgorod, and asked the participants of the meeting at the Patriarchal Center to provide financial assistance in the restoration of this monument of ancient Russian architecture.
Based on the materials of the site www.oldrpc.ru and messages from the participants of the event.
On Friday, November 27 in 19:00 as part of a series of open evening lectures of the Moscow Old Believer Theological School in Rogozhsky Settlement, a lecture will be held by the rector of the church in the name of St. John the Theologian of Veliky Novgorod Father Alexander Pankratov "Dialogue of the ROCC with other hopes"
Priest Alexander Pankratov in the photo of Father Alexei Lopatin
Priest Alexander Pankratov– historian, member of the commission under the Metropolia of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church for dialogue with other hopes – will skillfully talk about the current state of affairs in this difficult area.
Directions:
By car to the intersection of Nizhegorodskaya street or Highway of Enthusiasts with the Third transport ring.
1. The fastest in the evening:
From Art. underground Ilyich Square (Rimskaya) minibus number 340M
2. With guaranteed traffic jams on weekday evenings:
From Art. underground Marksistskaya, Ryazansky Prospekt by any transport to the stop "Old Believer Street".
3. Exotic option(the bus runs infrequently on schedule)
From Art. underground Aviamotornaya bus number 759 to the stop "Rogozhsky village street".
4. The railway option is also an option, and without traffic jams :)
Travel by train from the stations "Kuntsevo", "Working settlement", "Fili", Belorussky railway station, Savelovsky railway station, metro station "Rizhskaya", st. Kalanchevskaya, Kursky railway station, st. "Tekstilshchiki", "Lublino", "Kolomenskoye", "Tsaritsyno" - to the station "Kalitniki".
Classes are held with information and technical support of the project "Old Believer Thought"
About upcoming lectures - follow the announcements on the site for thinking and seeking
We invite everyone!
Related material:
Video report on the Inter-Old Believer round table
on issues of cooperation with society and the state
March 3, 2016 happened historical event in the life of the Old Believers - representatives of the three largest Old Believer Churches met as part of a round table to discuss common Old Believer cooperation with Russian society and the state. The meeting, which took place within the walls of the Moscow House of Nationalities, was attended by the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church, Metropolitan Kornily, the Primate of the Russian Old Orthodox Church, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexander, Chairman Russian Council Old Orthodox Pomeranian Church Fr. Oleg Ivanovich Rozanov, as well as official church delegations and representatives of the Old Believer community.
From the very beginning of the meeting, the participants of the round table clearly indicated that the cooperation of the Old Believers' concords should have nothing to do with ecumenism, should not touch upon doctrinal and canonical issues. At the same time, as noted, it is necessary to remember that there is much in common between the agreements, which can become a solid basis for fruitful cooperation with each other in the spirit of peace and love.
“We serve according to the same books, we pray the same prayers, we honor holy antiquity. However, despite the unity in the main thing, we cannot overcome distrust, we cannot restore communion in the spirit of love and see brothers in each other, although once separated from spiritual unity, we have not lost our historical kinship. Now, we hope, the time has come auspiciously to develop a good-neighborly dialogue between the Old Believer areas.
Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexander (RDC):
“At the same time, we also need to find forms of cooperation with each other so that, on the one hand, the really existing religious boundaries between our churches do not blur, and on the other hand, the differences between us do not negatively affect the effectiveness and usefulness of the inter-Old Believer cooperation itself” .
Chairman of the Russian Council of the Old Orthodox Pomeranian Church Fr. Oleg Ivanovich Rozanov also noted the importance of the benevolent attitude of the representatives of the Old Believers to each other, according to the word of the Apostle Paul : “As much as possible, a hedgehog from you, with everyone people, have peace” (Rom., section 110).
Chairman of the Russian Council of the Old Orthodox Pomeranian Church Fr. Oleg Ivanovich Rozanov:
“After atheistic dominance, the time came for glasnost, multi-party system, then freedom and tolerance, tolerance, just like 100 years ago, we recall attempts to create all-Russian Old Believer societies. The next step is cooperation and interaction, so that the mind at the present time, the mind of good, defeats the power of evil, and violence is defeated by our goodwill towards each other. According to the Apostle Paul, to have peace with one another, if possible.”
The Old Believers have always respected the state power, but due to persecution on its part, they were forced to limit their contacts with it. Now the attitude of the state towards the Old Believers is completely different - respectful and supportive. Representatives of the authorities see in the Old Believers not only the remarkable past of Russia, but also its future.
The Chief Adviser to the Presidential Administration delivered a welcoming speech and an expression of support for the good undertaking of the Old Believers within the framework of the round table. Russian Federation on domestic politics Alexander Alexandrovich Terentiev, and then other representatives of the highest state power.
“The Presidential Administration treats all the activities carried out by your religious organizations very attentively and with deep respect. […] We have great respect for the activities carried out by Metropolitan Kornily as part of the Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations under the President of the Russian Federation. Thanks to his tireless efforts, the voice of the Old Believers is heard. He constantly speaks, speaks out on all the main issues of both the life of the state and religious life. Temples are being restored, religious organizations are being strengthened in the regions, but there is still a huge potential for development.”
The favorable attitude of the state towards the Old Believers, according to the participants of the round table, should be used to educate the society, the spiritual and moral state of which is far from perfect. In modern Russian society, unfortunately, the commission of many mortal sins is considered the norm. The consequences of this are devastating for the state and the nation - early mortality of the population, a huge number of divorces, low living standards and many other problems. Old Believers as bearers of Christian spiritual values can be very useful to Russian society.
Chief Adviser to the Administration of the President of the Russian Federation on Domestic Policy Alexander Aleksandrovich Terentyev:
“The society really needs your work, because society can learn a lot from the Old Believers: this is fidelity to historical traditions, and family values, and your experience in the entrepreneurial field, in agriculture. Therefore, the first step that you are taking today within the framework of this round table can serve to create such a center and core of attraction for all the Old Believers of the world. Good luck in your work."
But not only the state can benefit from such cooperation, but also the Old Believers themselves.
Priest John Kurbatsky (ROC):
“We are sometimes invited to various venues, invited by the media. Christ save Vladyka Metropolitan Cornelius, that he never refuses these opportunities, speaks, his voice is heard, he is seen by people. By the way, returning to the beginning of my speech, the next time, when I returned to the colony a few weeks later, I come back to the chief to sign the pass, he says: “Oh! I saw your metropolitan with the president, that’s it, no questions.” Because, indeed, he, as the head of the colony, is concerned that some extremist elements or some incomprehensible ones do not get inside, so that everything is as it should be according to the law.”
Yes, interaction with the state can be very useful for the Old Believers, for example, in the revival and restoration of churches.
Priest Alexander Pankratov (ROC):
“I propose to the current high assembly to include in the final resolution a wish to adopt a special nationwide program for the preservation and restoration of all types of cultural heritage objects that are in use by the Old Believers, which would also contribute to the return to the Old Believers of religious property forcibly alienated in the past.”
This is a large-scale and long-term project. During its discussion with the authorities, the Old Believers can defend their interests within the framework of the current legislation. So, at the moment it is possible and very relevant to protect the interests of the Old Believers in the framework of the implementation federal law"On the transfer to religious organizations of property for religious purposes, which is in state or municipal ownership."
“Because in this law, unfortunately, at the time when it was adopted, a rather loose wording was adopted that the transfer of property is carried out taking into account confessional affiliation, and not in strict accordance with this confessional affiliation, which leaves a certain margin of discretion when adopting solutions for specific objects.
According to Mikhail Olegovich, it is also necessary to develop cooperation between the Old Believers and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. In particular, the state has been implementing huge programs for state financing of the repair, restoration and maintenance of cultural heritage sites for many years.
The earlier interaction between our Church and the state in this area has yielded excellent results, one of which was the magnificent transformation of the Rogozhsky architectural ensemble.
Coordinator of the Inter-Old Believer working group, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor Mikhail Olegovich Shakhov (parishioner of the Moscow Transfiguration Old Believer Community of Christians of the Old Pomor Fedoseev Accord):
It will also be useful to jointly interact with the Old Believers' agreements with the structures of the Ministry of Justice, which deal with the issues of registration and control over the activities of religious organizations.
Another common priority area is the development of cooperation with the Ministry of Education.
Coordinator of the Inter-Old Believer working group, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor Mikhail Olegovich Shakhov (parishioner of the Moscow Transfiguration Old Believer Community of Christians of the Old Pomor Fedoseev Accord):
“First of all, we are talking, of course, about the problems of teaching the discipline “Fundamentals of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics”, “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture” in state school programs, because only we ourselves can make sure that the teaching of knowledge about the Old Believers within the framework of the story about the foundations of Orthodox culture is adequate, fair, corresponding to historical reality, and again only through solidarity efforts.
Representatives of the Russian Old Orthodox Church also spoke about the possible most fruitful areas of inter-Old Believer cooperation.
Priest Alexander Filippskikh (RDC):
“In our opinion, joint work will be most effective in those issues in which we have common needs and views that are inherent, perhaps, exclusively in Old Believer agreements, namely cultural, ritual and everyday, joint projects in publishing, the creation of icon-painting workshops, workshops for the production of church utensils. Such activity, in our opinion, would be mutually beneficial”.
Dialogue with the authorities will be conducted by the Inter-Old Believer working group- a consultative structure designed to defend the interests of the Old Believer Churches in the highest bodies of state power and administration. Old Believers represent a significant part Russian society, there are about 1000 communities of three different consents, with each of which it is quite difficult for the state to communicate separately, as with a representative of the Old Believers, moreover, the Old Believers do not represent any of the consents. It is from this impasse that the Inter-Old Believer working group wants to find a way out.
Such cooperation was highly valued by our ancestors - representatives of various Old Believer communities, actively interacting with each other on social, educational and economic issues.
“Many socially and socially significant projects were carried out by the Old Believers at the interfaith level. Such cooperation was especially characteristic of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants. So, for example, in 1880 the Blinovs and Bugrovs, the Beglopopov merchants, together with the Belokrinitsky manufacturer Ustin Savvich Kurbatov, fully financed the construction of a city water supply system in Nizhny Novgorod. In 1880-1882. on the donations of merchants-Old Believers from different consents, a free Mariinsky obstetric institution was built - the first maternity hospital in Nizhny Novgorod, which is still working.
The scale of pre-revolutionary inter-Old Believer cooperation in the field of education is striking.
Archpriest Andrey Marchenko (RDC):
“A decisive breakthrough in the field of public education among the Old Believers was the opening in 1889 under the care of the fugitive merchant Nikolai Alexandrovich Bugrov of the Old Believer one-class school of the Ministry of Public Education in the village of Popovo, Semenovsky district Nizhny Novgorod province for teaching children of boys exclusively of the Old Believer confession. It was the first legal educational institution in the history of the Old Believers. Permission for its activities, as an exception, was issued by the Chief Procurator of the Synod of Pobedonostsev himself. About three hundred children from different Old Believer communities and a number of regions of Russia studied at the Bugrov school, for whom a special hostel was built at the school. In addition to purely ecclesiastical sciences, a number of secular disciplines were also taught at the school. […] In 1912, through the efforts of the Belokrinitsky Old Believers, the Old Believer Theological and Teachers' Institute was opened in Moscow, which trained teachers for Old Believer schools. The institute mainly trained specialists for schools at the communities of the Belokrinitsky Old Believers, but representatives of other Old Believer communities also freely studied there.
Old Believer industrialists opened not only educational establishments, but also hospitals, almshouses, shelters for the poor, provided targeted assistance to widows, fire victims, migrants, refugees and other categories of those in need, and not only to Old Believers.
Deputy Head of the Department of National Policy, Interregional Relations and Tourism of the City of Moscow, Head of the Department for Relations with Religious Organizations Konstantin Leonidovich Blazhenov:
“Today we are witnessing an event that without false modesty can be called historical. For the first time in 150 years, representatives of various Old Believer denominations gathered at one table. […] And it is very important that Moscow Old Believers, Russian Old Believers, having retained their connection with the historical past, are an example for our society of how traditional, cultural, national, interpersonal relations are preserved. And this example should be used in the development of our society.”
The participants of the round table also raised the acute problem of the attitude of the outside world towards the Old Believers. Modern society connects the Old Believers with closeness and schism, perceives Old Believer Christians as museum exhibits. Sometimes these ideas are very far from the truth, in particular, the ideas about the participation of the Old Believers in the preparation of the 1917 revolution.
Bishop of Yaroslavl and Kostroma Vikenty (Novozhilov) (ROC):
“The Old Believers are those who made the revolution. You understand, this is how people are distorted after such hearings and understanding about the Old Believers. And our task, first of all, is to convey to the people of the world around us the truth about the old faith. Because it is very important, because the enlightenment of people is practically zero.”
It was noted that society perceives the Old Believers as a whole, therefore, it is necessary to work with public opinion together, especially since there are many negative myths about us.
The participants of the round table agreed to hold in June this year international conference“Old Believers, Power and Society in the Modern World”, as well as, at the suggestion of Metropolitan Korniliy, on preparations for the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the birth of the ardent fighter for the preservation of the Orthodox faith, the Holy Hieromartyr and Confessor Archpriest Avvakum. Moreover, Metropolitan Kornily proposed to the participants of the round table a draft of specific measures, with which the Old Believers' consent could now turn to the Government of the Russian Federation and the Russian public.
Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia Kornily (ROC):
“The main message to society in connection with the 400th anniversary of the birth of Archpriest Avvakum can be a call to embody the spiritual and civic ideals of Holy Russia, a vivid exponent of which was Archpriest Avvakum. This outstanding fighter and writer of the 17th century - he was not the instigator of disputes, and enmity, and schism, but first of all, an example of selfless service to faith and homeland. His followers, the so-called "Old Believers" or who were called "schismatics", despite persecution, did not develop any protest ideologies or justify resistance to violence by any means. Persecuted for centuries, they gave an example of fidelity to the traditions of their ancestors in everything - from everyday life, clothing to the deep foundations of the worldview. With the approval of religious tolerance in Russia, according to the Decree of 1905, they gave acceleration to industry, science and the arts, which made Russia at the beginning of the 20th century a dynamically developing world leader.
That is why the anniversary is intended to become an incentive both for the activation of historical memory and self-determination of the Russian people, and for the establishment of the highest religious values of Orthodoxy, which unite all citizens of the country.
Any divisions make people weaker. The division of the one pre-schism Russian Orthodox Church into many Old Believer agreements and rumors caused enormous damage to the authority of the Christian Church in the eyes of society. Therefore, the more we cooperate with each other in those areas in which such cooperation is possible, the more people will learn the truth about ancient Orthodoxy and come to the Truth.
Speaker: Daniil Ermokhin
Journalist: Olga Samsonova
