Old Believers

Synopsis

Detail of the painting Boyarynya Morozova by Vasily Surikov depicting a defiant Old Believer arrested by Tsarist authorities in 1671. She holds two fingers raised: a hint of the "old" way of cross-signing oneself: with two fingers, rather than with three.

The "Old Believers" are a Christian group that separated from the [Russian Orthodox Church]] after 1667 as a protest against church reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon of Moscow. Old Believers continue liturgical practices which the Russian Orthodox Church maintained before the implementation of these reforms. Russian-speakers refer to the schism itself as raskol (раскол - etymologically indicating a "cleaving-apart").

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• Sign of the Cross

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Old Believers (discussion) (For short comments and opinions)

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Main article

In the context of Russian Orthodox church history, the "Old Believers" (Russian: старове́ры or старообря́дцы) separated after 1666-1667 from the hierarchy of the Church of Russia as a protest against church reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon of Moscow.

Old Believers continue liturgical practices which the Russian Orthodox Church maintained before the implementation of these reforms. Because of the use of these older liturgical practices, they are also known as 'Old Ritualists, especially by those who recognize the faith of the Old Believers as being identical with mainstream Orthodoxy.

Russian-speakers refer to the schism itself as raskol (раскол - etymologically indicating a "cleaving-apart").

Links

Wikipedia - Old Believers

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