Schism in the Russian Orthodox Church. Church split. presentation for a history lesson (Grade 7) on the topic of the Church Schism of the Nikon Reform presentation
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Church schism Compiled by the teacher of history and social studies of the Oktyabrskaya secondary school Sergeeva L.N.
Why did the schism become a tragic phenomenon in Russian history? 02.05.17 http://aida.ucoz.ru
Lesson Plan The Church after the Time of Troubles Reform of Patriarch Nikon Disagreements between secular and ecclesiastical authorities Church Council 1666-1667 Archpriest Avvakum
The Church after the Time of Troubles The Church, like the rest of the population, was divided into two parts: Patriarch Hilarion and part of the clergy supported the False Dmitriev. Most of the clergy and Patriarch Filaret continued to serve the Fatherland and helped in the liberation of Moscow and the country. In 1619, Filaret returned to Moscow from Polish captivity and the Church Council elected him the new Patriarch of All Russia. N. Tyutryumov. Portrait of Patriarch Filaret.
Reasons for reform. Centuries-old existence of the Russian Orthodox Church 02.05.17 http://aida.ucoz.ru Distortion of church rites Necessity to restore order in church books Reform of Patriarch Nikon Distortion of texts of church books
Patriarch Nikon Protopop Avvakum The end of the 1640s - 1652 - "A circle of zealots of ancient piety" (Nikon has been a patriarch since 1652), S. Vonifatiev (the king's confessor), Archpriest Avvakum.
The reform was carried out from 1653-1655. Read the paragraph on page 58, write in your notebook the answers to the questions: List the innovations in the church. What were the consequences of the reform? What changes were made at the Church Council? 02.05.17 http://aida.ucoz.ru
Tablet of Nikon of 1656 “The tradition of faith, first of all, from the holy apostles, and the holy fathers, and the seven holy cathedrals, create the sign of an honest cross with the first three fingers of the right hand, and who from Orthodox Christians does not create a taco cross, according to the legend of the Eastern Church, hedgehog holding first faith even to this day, there is a heretic and imitator of the Armenians, and for this reason his imam is excommunicated from the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and cursed. 02.05.17 http://aida.ucoz.ru
Reforms (1653 - 1655) 1654 - their adoption by the Church Council Content of the reforms Nikon's position (implemented) Avvakum's position Correction of liturgical books New Greek liturgical books Old Russian (Byzantine) books Correction of rituals, icons, architecture icons, prohibition of hipped churches Maximum preservation of antiquity
"Main differences in rituals and rules before and after the church reform of the 17th century." Before the reform After the reform Baptism with two fingers Prostration One-time singing "hallelujah" The movement of believers in the church around the altar in the sun Writing the name of Christ: Jesus Baptism with three fingers Bowing from the waist Three-time singing "hallelujah" The movement of believers in the church around the altar .... The spelling of Christ's name is...
S.V. Ivanov "In the time of the split"
Consequences of reforms Centralization of the church Establishment of the unity of the ROC with the rest of the Orthodox world Establishment of control over priests and strengthening of discipline Control over believers Development of church education Strengthening of Nikon's personal power Church schism 02.05.17 http://aida.ucoz.ru
Disagreements between secular and ecclesiastical authorities Causes: The idea of the primacy of ecclesiastical authority over secular. The tsar and the patriarch quarreled, after which Nikon resigned and retired to the New Jerusalem Monastery, at which time the tsar was preparing a church trial against the former patriarch. We read the document on page 60, answer the questions.
Church Council of 1666-1667 In 1666, the tsar invited 4 eastern patriarchs to Moscow and arranged a trial for Nikon. He was convicted, defrocked, and sent to prison in a monastery. The council condemned the opponents of the reform and handed over their leaders to the secular authorities. This led to the Schism of the Russian Orthodox Church. Deprivation of Nikon at the Council of the Patriarchal rank. Unknown artist. (19th century).
Archpriest Avvakum Read the paragraph on page 59, answer the questions: What circle did Archpriest Avvakum belong to? What are the ideas of this circle? How did Avvakum's life turn out in connection with his views? Burning of Archpriest Avvakum. Miniature of the 17th century
Burning of the Old Believers in Pustozersk
IN AND. Surikov. "Boyarina Morozova"
today I learned… it was interesting… it was difficult… I completed the tasks… I realized that… now I can… I felt that… I acquired… I learned… I succeeded… I could… I will try… I was surprised… the lesson gave me for life ... I wanted ...
Patriarch Nikon and Tsar Alexei. Fragment of an icon of the 17th century The initiators of the reforms that led to the split of the Russian Church were Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich () and his "friend" Patriarch Nikon ().
Nikita was tonsured by Eleazar and took the name Nikon as a monk. In 1639, for unknown reasons, Nikon quarreled with his mentor and left the monastery, setting off by sea towards the mouth of the Onega. The second and last time in his life Nikon visited Solovki in 1652, when he went there for miraculous relics Moscow Metropolitan Philip. Upon his return to Moscow, Nikon was appointed patriarch. Solovetsky Monastery
Patriarch Nikon was the only one of the Russian hierarchs who had his own coat of arms. A poetic inscription on top of the coat of arms: "When we look at the seal of this faithfulness, we liken the Great Shepherd to everyone." Below is an interpretation of the coat of arms: "The right hand, the lamp, the key, the Gospel, the Image of the Spos, the cross, the rod, the beginning." On the sides of the coat of arms are the capital letters of Nikon's title: Nikon By the Grace of God Great Sovereign His Holiness Archbishop of Moscow and All Great and Small and White Russia Patriarch.
One of the signatures of Patriarch Nikon: “Nikon, by the grace of God, Archbishop of the reigning city of Moscow and all Great and Small and White Russia, Patriarch.” During the period of his highest power, Nikon signed as follows: “Nikon, by the grace of God, the great lord and sovereign, archbishop of the reigning great city of Moscow and all Great and Small and White Russia and all the Northern countries and Pomoria and many states, patriarch.”
Miter. The gift of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and Tsarina Maria Ilyinichna to Patriarch Nikon in the years. Being a passionate admirer of everything Greek, Nikon wished to bring Russian liturgical practice as close as possible to the new rites of the Christian East.
Patriarch Nikon. Grosse O. To destroy the historically established ritual differences, a reform was launched, which led to a split. The patriarch dreamed that after its completion, the Russian Church would be similar to the Greek Church in everything, and he, Nikon, would become the ecumenical patriarch, the Orthodox pope.
During the Great Lent of 1653, the All-Russian Patriarch Nikon sent his decree ("memory") to the Moscow churches on the introduction of the sign of the cross with three fingers and on the abolition of prostration during worship, a four-pointed cross instead of an eight-pointed one was declared a symbol of the cult, etc. A significant part of the lower Russian clergy, seeing in the innovations a betrayal of patristic antiquity, opposed the reforms of the patriarch. church schism
Edition of the Acts of the Moscow Council of 1654. In order to give his undertakings greater authority, Nikon in 1654 convened a church council in Moscow, which agreed to the introduction of new rites and the right of Russian liturgical books in modern Greek.
The only representative of the higher clergy who openly dared to oppose the reforms of the patriarch was Bishop Pavel of Kolomna and Kashira. But he paid dearly for his disagreement with the first hierarch: Nikon personally beat the recalcitrant bishop, threw him into prison, and then exiled him to Lake Onega to the poor Paleostrovsky monastery, from where the bishop was transferred under stricter supervision to the Nizhny Novgorod Khutynsky monastery, where he was killed in 1656 at the behest of the patriarch.
Among the opponents of Nikon's innovations were the brethren of the famous Solovetsky Lavra. In 1657, when new liturgical books were brought to Solovki, the monks gathered at the cathedral and refused to serve in the new way. Solovetsky Monastery. Transfiguration Cathedral
Solovetsky Monastery. Korozhnaya tower From that moment on, the opposition of the monastery to the supreme secular and church authorities began. The tsar's envoys constantly came to the monastery, urging the brethren to submit and accept the reform. However, the monks steadfastly adhered to the traditions of their fathers and preferred death to betrayal of antiquity.
Solovetsky Monastery. Embankment of the Holy Lake In 1668, at the approach of the tsar's army, sent to destroy the monastery, the monks shut themselves up in the monastery: this is how the famous "Solovki sitting" began. Streltsy repeatedly tried to storm the monastery, but all attempts remained in vain, until in January 1676 the traitor monk Feoktist showed the besiegers the secret passage
As a result of the Schism, the Russian people were divided into two confessional groups: Old Believers and New Believers. Both groups produced an extensive and idiosyncratic apologetic literature. Old Believer writers in numerous works proved the antiquity of the church rite, abolished by Patriarch Nikon, and found theological justifications for their resistance to innovations. Their opponents, the New Believers, on the contrary, justified Nikon's reforms and tried to convince the Old Believers of the heresy and inaccuracy of their views.
The book of "Works" of Patriarch Nikon: "objection, or ruin against questions and answers ...", "Spiritual instructions to a Christian", "Spiritual testament", correspondence; descriptions of his beneficial works in the church, social and other spheres of life, deeds-miracles of medical, religious and philosophical views and systems of theology, architectural and artistic heritage of the Iversky Valdai, New Jerusalem and Resurrection monasteries, court cases, etc. Proceedings of Nikon, Patriarch M .: Izd-vo Mosk. university, 2004.
One of the first images of the eastern part of the Patriarch's Chambers with a house church built by Nikon. Miniature of 1673. Nikon's obstinacy led to strange antics in his behavior: he refused the patriarchate, and then announced his return: "I left the throne without being persecuted by anyone, now I have come to the throne without being called by anyone."
The former bishop was exiled to the Ferapontov Monastery. Despite his status as a prisoner, Nikon enjoyed relative freedom in the monastery. After the death of Alexei Mikhailovich in 1676, Nikon was transferred under stricter supervision to the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. Ferapontov Monastery
Nikon stayed in the Cyril Monastery for several years, until Tsar Fedor Alekseevich allowed him to return from exile .. However, Nikon died on the way to Moscow. Death overtook him in Yaroslavl on August 17, 1681 at four in the afternoon. Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery
Avvakum was born in 1620 in the Nizhny Novgorod region, in the family of a village priest, and at the age of 24 he was ordained a priest. The young priest, who was distinguished by strict piety and a stern character, was sincerely loved by some, while others fiercely hated. Seeing in Nikon's reforms a betrayal of ancient Orthodoxy, Avvakum opposed the innovations and began to urge the people not to submit to the novelties.
For this sermon, he was repeatedly imprisoned, exiled to Siberia, where Avvakum and his family endured inhuman hardships and torments. But nothing could break the "archpriest-hero". In 1666, Avvakum, together with some of his closest associates, was exiled to the polar town of Pustozersk, where, sitting in an earthen prison (15 years), he wrote his famous "Life" - an outstanding monument of Russian literature.
The architectural ensemble of the Resurrection New Jerusalem Monastery was founded in 1656 by Patriarch Nikon. The monastery was supposed to become the center of Holy places, created near Moscow "in the image and likeness" of the Holy places of Palestine, associated with the events of the earthly life of Jesus Christ. In accordance with the plan, some monastic villages, surrounding hills and valleys received the appropriate names. In particular, the Istra River became known as the Jordan. Almost on its shore was built for the Patriarch Skit () with the Church of the Epiphany. New Jerusalem
Resurrection Cathedral. The central structure of the entire complex of "Moscow Palestine" is the Resurrection Cathedral, conceived and built as a topographic copy of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. In the grandiose cathedral, the main Christian shrines are reproduced: the place of execution of Christ, the place of his burial and Resurrection, the place where the Cross of the Lord was found.
Resurrection Cathedral. Rotunda. The Resurrection Cathedral was built in two stages. From 1658 to 1666 the construction work was supervised by the founder of the monastery himself. In 1666, construction work was stopped due to the disgrace that befell Patriarch Nikon. The temple was completed from 1679 to 1685. In 1681, Patriarch Nikon was buried in the chapel of the Beheading of John the Baptist near Golgotha. fifty
Alb/image.asp? /.../ razdely/image351.htm gosudarstvo.voskres.ru/ moskva/images.htm gallery-landscape-03.htm Authors: Links: Krause Anna Nikolaevna Putilova Maria Evgenievna Teacher: Kazaretina Oksana Vasilievna
Ministry of Education and Science Russian Federation
Federal Agency for Education
State educational institution
Supreme vocational education
"Komsomolsk-on-Amur State Technical University"
Faculty of Cadastre and Construction
Department of "History and archival science"
abstract
in the discipline "History of the Fatherland"
church schism
Student gr.1GS4ka-1 Zhmurko T.Yu.
Teacher: Kiba D.V.
Introduction
1. Nikon's personality
2. Nikon reform
3. Old Believers
3.1 Solovetsky seat
3.2 Streltsy rebellion
3.3 Archpriest Avvakum
3.4 Boyarynya Morozova
Conclusion
Introduction
Church schism is a topic that is quite relevant for the Russian state. The history of Russia is inextricably linked with the history of the Russian Church. Any social and political events in one way or another were reflected in the events that took place in the Church.
It is customary to call a schism the separation that occurred in the second half of the 17th century from the dominant Orthodox Church of a part of the believers, who received the name of the Old Believers, or schismatics.
Any time of crisis in one way or another affected the position of the Church. One of the most difficult times in the history of Russia - the Time of Troubles - also could not but affect its position. Unrest in society led to its split, followed by a split in the Church.
The events connected with Nikon's church reform are of great importance in historiography. N.M. Nikolsky characterized Patriarch Nikon, his reform activities and attitude towards the opponents of church reforms in strict accordance with historical truth. And with this characteristic, other Soviet scientists who study the Old Believers and Russian sectarianism fully agreed. As noted by N.F. Kapterev, Nikon's actions to change church rites caused confusion in Russian society. This point of view, formulated at the end of the XIX century. accepted by almost all historians. A.V. Kartashev, for example, wrote about the "broad and public opposition of the protopopes" to the patriarch. S. Zenkovsky believed that the changes in rituals shocked his contemporaries. It "was something unheard of in the annals of not only Russian, but in general Christian church".
More recently, a different interpretation of the initial period of the split has been proposed. The American historian Georg Michels, having analyzed the early sources of the Old Believers, came to the conclusion that the church reform at first did not cause widespread protest among the people and that Russian society for the most part remained indifferent to changes in the liturgical order and to the editing of liturgical books. Only a small group of people opposed Nikon, who did not have a noticeable influence on his contemporaries.
The purpose of this work: to reveal the essence of the church schism.
Objectives: to determine the prerequisites, causes and consequences of the split of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Schism movement acquired a mass character after the church council of 1666-1667, which anathematized the Old Believers as heretics and decided to punish them. This stage coincided with the rise of the anti-feudal struggle in the country; the Schism movement reached its climax, spreading in breadth, attracting new sections of the peasantry, especially the serfs, who fled to the outskirts. The ideologists of the schism were representatives of the lower clergy, who broke with the ruling church, while the ecclesiastical and secular feudal lords moved away from the schism. Even at that time, the main aspect of the ideology of the Schism was the preaching of leaving (in the name of preserving the "old faith" and saving the soul) from the evil generated by the "Antichrist".
1. Nikon's personality
The fate of Nikon is unusual and cannot be compared with anything. He quickly ascended from the very bottom of the social ladder to its top. Nikita Minov (that was the name of the future patriarch in the world) was born in 1605 in the village of Veldemanovo near Nizhny Novgorod "from simple but pious parents, a father named Mina and mother Mariama." His father was a peasant, according to some sources - a Mordvin by nationality.
Nikita's childhood was not easy, his own mother died, and his stepmother was evil and cruel. The boy was distinguished by his abilities, quickly learned to read and write, and this opened the way for him to the clergy. He was ordained a priest, married, had children. It would seem that the life of the poor rural butt was forever predetermined and destined. But suddenly three of his children die of illness, and this tragedy caused such a spiritual shock to the spouses that they decided to leave and take the veil in the monastery.
Nikita's wife went to the Alekseevsky convent, and he himself went to the Solovetsky Islands to the Anzersky Skete and was tonsured a monk under the name Nikon. He became a monk in his prime. In his appearance, a strong peasant hardening was guessed. He was tall, powerfully built, and possessed incredible stamina. His character was quick-tempered, he did not tolerate objections. There was not a drop of monastic humility in him. Three years later, having quarreled with the founder of the monastery and all the brethren, Nikon fled from the island in a storm in a fishing boat. By the way, many years later, it was the Solovetsky Monastery that became a stronghold of resistance to Nikonian innovations. Nikon went to the Novgorod diocese, he was accepted into the Kozheozersk hermitage, taking instead of a contribution the books he had copied. Nikon spent some time in a secluded cell, but after a few years the brethren chose him as their abbot. In 1646 he went to Moscow on business of the monastery. There, the abbot of a seedy monastery attracted the attention of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. By his nature, Alexei Mikhailovich was generally subject to outside influence, and at the age of seventeen, having reigned for less than a year, he needed spiritual guidance. Nikon made such a strong impression on the young tsar that he made him archimandrite of the Novospassky Monastery, the ancestral tomb of the Romanovs. Here, every Friday, matins were served in the presence of Alexei Mikhailovich, and after matins, the archimandrite had long moralizing conversations with the sovereign. Nikon witnessed the "salt riot" in Moscow and participated in the Zemsky Sobor, which adopted the Cathedral Code. His signature was under this set of laws, but later Nikon called the Code "a cursed book", expressing dissatisfaction with the restrictions on the privileges of monasteries.
In March 1649, Nikon became Metropolitan of Novgorod and Velikolutsk. This happened at the insistence of the tsar, and Nikon was ordained a metropolitan while Metropolitan Avfoniy of Novgorod was still alive. Nikon showed himself to be an energetic lord. By royal order, he ruled the court on criminal cases in the Sofia courtyard. In 1650 Novgorod was seized by popular unrest, the power in the city passed from the governor to the elected government, which met in the Zemstvo hut. Nikon cursed the new rulers by name, but the Novgorodians did not want to listen to him. He himself wrote about this: "I went out and began to persuade them, but they seized me with all sorts of outrage, they hit me with a dagger in the chest and bruised my chest, they beat me on the sides with fists and stones, holding them in their hands.". When the unrest was suppressed, Nikon took an active part in the search for the rebellious Novgorodians.
Nikon proposed to transfer to the Assumption Cathedral of the Kremlin the coffin of Patriarch Hermogenes from the Chudov Monastery, the coffin of Patriarch Job from Staritsa and the relics of Metropolitan Philip from Solovki. Nikon went personally for the relics of Philip. S.M. Solovyov emphasized that this was a far-reaching political action: “This celebration had more than one religious meaning: Philip died as a result of a clash between secular and church authorities; he was overthrown by Tsar John for bold exhortations, he was put to death by guardsman Malyuta Skuratov. God glorified the martyr with holiness, but secular the authorities have not yet brought solemn repentance for their sin, and by this repentance they have not given up the opportunity to ever repeat such an act regarding church authority. Nikon, taking advantage of the religiosity and gentleness of the young tsar, forced the secular authorities to bring this solemn repentance. "
While Nikon was in Solovki, Patriarch Joseph, who was famous for his exorbitant covetousness, died in Moscow. The tsar wrote in a letter to the metropolitan that he had to come to rewrite the silver treasury of the deceased - “and if he didn’t go himself, I think that there would be nothing to find even half,” however, the tsar himself admitted: “A little and I did not encroach on others vessels, but by the grace of God I refrained from your prayers of the saints; she, she, the lord of the saint, did not touch anything. Alexei Mikhailovich urged the metropolitan to return as soon as possible for the election of the patriarch: "and without you we will by no means undertake anything."
The Metropolitan of Novgorod was the main contender for the patriarchal throne, but he had serious opponents. The boyars were frightened by the imperious manners of the peasant son, who humbled the noblest princes. There were whispers in the palace: "There has never been such dishonor, the tsar betrayed us to the metropolitans." Nikon's relationship with his former friends in the circle of zealots of piety was not easy. They filed a petition to the tsar and tsarina, offering the tsar's confessor Stefan Vonifatyev as patriarch. Explaining their act, the church historian Metropolitan Macarius (M.P. Bulgakov) noted: “These people, especially Vonifatiev and Neronov, who were accustomed under the weak Patriarch Joseph to run affairs in church administration and court, wished now to retain all power over the Church and not without reason they feared Nikon, having sufficiently familiarized themselves with his character. Nevertheless, the tsar's good will decided the matter. On July 22, 1652, the church council informed the tsar, who was waiting in the Golden Chamber, that one "reverent and reverend man" with the name Nikon had been chosen from twelve candidates.
It was not enough for the imperious Nikon to be elected to the patriarchal throne. He refused this honor for a long time, and only after Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich prostrated before him in the Assumption Cathedral, he relented and put forward the following condition: "If you promise to obey me as your chief archpastor and father in everything that I will proclaim to you about dogmas God and about the rules, in which case, at your request and request, I will no longer renounce the great bishopric. Then the tsar, the boyars and the whole consecrated Cathedral made a vow before the Gospel to fulfill everything that Nikon offered. Thus, at the age of forty-seven, Nikon became the seventh Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
2. Nikon reform
The turmoil shook the authority of the church, and disputes about faith and rituals became a prologue to a church schism. On the one hand, Moscow’s high opinion of its own purity of Orthodoxy, on the other hand, the Greeks, as representatives of ancient Orthodoxy, did not understand the rites of the Russian Church and followed Moscow handwritten books, which could not be the primary source of Orthodoxy (Orthodoxy came to Russia from Byzantium, and not vice versa).
Nikon (who became the sixth Russian patriarch in 1652), a man with a firm and stubborn character, who did not have a broad outlook, decided to take the direct path - the violent one. Initially, he ordered to be baptized with three fingers ("with these three fingers it is fitting for every Orthodox Christian to depict the sign of the cross on his face; and whoever is baptized with two fingers is cursed!"), repeat the exclamation "Hallelujah" three times, serve the liturgy on five prosphora, write the name Jesus, not Jesus, etc.
The Council of 1654 (after the adoption of Ukraine under the rule of Alexei Mikhailovich) turned out to be a "radical revolution" in Russian Orthodox life - it approved innovations and made changes to worship. The Patriarch of Constantinople and other Eastern Orthodox patriarchs (Jerusalem, Alexandria, Antioch) blessed Nikon's undertakings.
Having the support of the tsar, who granted him the title of "great sovereign", Nikon conducted the business hastily, autocratically and abruptly, demanding an immediate rejection of the old rites and the exact execution of new ones. Old Russian rituals were ridiculed with inappropriate vehemence and harshness; Nikon's Greekophilia knew no bounds. But it was based not on admiration for the Hellenistic culture and the Byzantine heritage, but on the provincialism of the patriarch, who emerged from the common people and claimed to be the head of the universal Greek church.
Moreover, Nikon rejected scientific knowledge, hated "Hellenic wisdom". Thus, the patriarch writes to the tsar: “Christ did not teach us dialectics or eloquence, because a rhetorician and philosopher cannot be a Christian. to all wicked dogma."
The broad masses of the people did not accept such a sharp transition to new customs. The books that their fathers and grandfathers lived by were always considered sacred, and now they are cursed?! The consciousness of the Russian people was not prepared for such changes, and did not understand the essence and root causes of the ongoing church reform, and, of course, no one bothered to explain anything to them. And was there any possible explanation when the priests in the villages did not have great literacy, being flesh and blood from the blood of the same peasants (recall the words of the Novgorod Metropolitan Gennady, said by him back in the 15th century), and the purposeful propaganda of new no ideas?
Therefore, the lower classes met the innovations with hostility. Often they did not give away old books, they hid them, or the peasants fled with their families, hiding in the forests from Nikon's "novelties". Sometimes local parishioners would not give away old books, so in some places they used force, there were fights that ended not only in injuries or bruises, but also in murders.
The aggravation of the situation was facilitated by the learned "spravshchiki", who sometimes knew the Greek language perfectly, but did not speak Russian well enough. Instead of grammatically correcting the old text, they gave new translations from the Greek language, slightly different from the old ones, increasing the already strong irritation among the peasant masses.
For example, instead of "children" now printed "young"; the word "temple" was replaced by the word "church", and vice versa; instead of "walking" - "walking". Previously they said: "It is forbidden to you, devil, our Lord Jesus Christ, who came into the world and dwelled in men"; in a new version: "The Lord forbids you, the devil, who has come into the world and dwelled in men."
Opposition to Nikon was also formed at the court, among the "fierce people" (but very insignificant, since more than the overwhelming majority of the Old Believers were "staffed" from the common people). So, to some extent, the noblewoman F.P. became the personification of the Old Believers. Morozova (largely thanks to the famous painting by V.I. Surikov), one of the richest and noblest women in the Russian nobility, and her sister, Princess E.P. Urusova. It was said about Tsaritsa Maria Miloslavskaya that she saved Archpriest Avvakum (according to the apt expression of the Russian historian S.M. Solovyov, "hero-archpriest") - one of the most "ideological oppositionists" to Nikona. Even when almost everyone came "with confession" to Nikon, Avvakum remained true to himself and resolutely defended the old days, for which he paid with his life - in 1682 he was burned alive in a log house (June 5, 1991 in the native village of the archpriest, in Grigorovo, A monument to Habakkuk was unveiled).
Patriarch Paisios of Constantinople addressed Nikon with a special message, where, approving the reform carried out in Russia, he urged the Moscow Patriarch to soften measures in relation to people who do not want to accept "novina" now. Paisius agreed to the existence of local peculiarities in some areas and regions: “But if it happens that some church differs from another in orders that are unimportant and insignificant for faith; or those that do not concern the main members of the faith, but only minor details, for example , the time of the celebration of the liturgy, or: with what fingers the priest should bless, etc. This should not produce any division, if only one and the same faith is preserved unchanged.
However, in Constantinople they did not understand one of the characteristic features Russian people: if you forbid (or allow) - necessarily everything and everything; The rulers of destinies in the history of our country found the principle of the "golden mean" very, very rarely ...
The organizer of the reform, Nikon, did not stay long on the patriarchal throne - in December 1666 he was deprived of the highest spiritual dignity (instead of him they put the "quiet and insignificant" Joasaph II, who was under the control of the king, i.e. secular power). The reason for this was Nikon’s extreme ambition: “You see, sir,” those dissatisfied with the autocracy of the patriarch turned to Alexei Mikhailovich, “he loved to stand high and ride widely. This patriarch rules instead of the Gospel with reeds, instead of the cross - hatchets.” The secular power won over the spiritual.
The Old Believers thought that their time was returning, but they were deeply mistaken - since the reform was fully in the interests of the state, it began to be carried out further, under the leadership of the king.
Cathedral 1666-1667 completed the triumph of Nikonians and Grecophiles. The council canceled the decisions of the Stoglavy Council *, recognizing that Macarius, along with other Moscow hierarchs, "was wise with his ignorance recklessly." It was the cathedral of 1666-1667. marked the beginning of the Russian split. From now on, all those who disagreed with the introduction of new details of the performance of rituals were subject to excommunication from the church. The anathematized zealots of the old Moscow piety were called schismatics, or Old Believers, and were subjected to severe repression by the authorities.
church schism nikon avvakum
3. Old Believers
3.1 Solovetsky seat
The schism troubled the state life of Russia for a long time.
For eight years, from 1668 to 1676, the siege of the Solovetsky Monastery dragged on, which became a stronghold of the Old Believers. The siege itself, which began on June 22, 1668, went down in history under the name "Solovki seat". Then on the Solovetsky Islands, to curb the fighters with the official Church, a streltsy detachment of 100 people arrived under the command of the attorney I.A. Volkhov.
In the old days, monasteries were built as reliable fortresses, where people could hide in case of danger. The Solovetsky Monastery turned out to be well prepared for the siege. The monks locked the fortress gates and met the sovereign's people with cannon shots. The defenders of the fortress, with a total of 500 people, were led by Archimandrite Nicanor and Treasurer Gerontius.
I.A. Volkhov did not dare to attack such a powerful fortress and began a siege. The besieged did not experience much difficulty. There was no strict blockade of the monastery, and they freely received food and other supplies from local residents. After the defeat of the uprising of S. Razin in 1671, individual participants in the Razin movement appeared on the island.
This event had tragic consequences for the monk. With the arrival of the rebels, the "Solovki seat" from a religious confrontation began to turn into an anti-government uprising, which decided the fate of the defenders of the monastery. The state could no longer tolerate the rebels.
Having dealt with Razin, the authorities were able to allocate additional forces to take over the Solovetsky Monastery. In 1674, governor I.A. arrived on the island. Meshcherinov with a detachment of 700 archers and guns. A tighter siege began. After the arrival of new reinforcements in 1675, the number of Meshcherinov's detachment increased to 1 thousand people. On the afternoon of December 23, he stormed the monastery, but was repulsed.
Betrayal contributed to the fall of the monastery. The monk Theoktist, a defector, pointed out to the besiegers a hole in the wall, blocked by stones. On the night of January 22, 1676, in a heavy snowstorm, he led a detachment of archers to this place. They dismantled the stones and penetrated inside the monastery, boiled the gates and let the rest of the archers in. The defenders of the monastery, taken by surprise, fought courageously, but were unable to put up organized resistance. Most of them died in an unequal battle. "Solovki Sitting" became the largest armed uprising of schismatics.
After the capture of the fortress, the perpetrators of the rebellion were severely punished. Those who remained alive and did not agree to renounce the old faith laid their heads on the chopping block.
3.2 Streltsy rebellion
Six years after the capture of the Solovetsky Monastery, a schismatic revolt arose in Moscow itself.
This time, archers under the leadership of Khovansky crossed over to the side of the Old Believers. The Streltsy army represented an influential force in the capital. The rebels quickly took power into their own hands. They were supported by many boyars. The debate about faith, at the request of the archers, was held right in the Kremlin in the presence of the ruler Sophia Alekseevna and the patriarch. However, the archers stood on the side of the schismatics for only one day. The very next morning they turned themselves in to Princess Sophia and handed over all the defenders of the rebellion. Nikita Pustosvyat, the leader of the Old Believers, who was defrocked, and Prince Khovansky were executed after severe torture.
3.3 Archpriest Avvakum
One of the ideologists and symbols of the schismatic movement was a man of tragic fate and unbending will, Archpriest Avvakum. His name and all his deeds are directly connected with the history of the split in Russia. He outlined his difficult life path in his autobiography "The Life of Archpriest Avvakum".
Avvakum Petrovich, archpriest of Yuryevets of the Volga, was born in 1620 or 1621 in the village of Grigorov (modern Nizhny Novgorod region). His father was a priest, and early orphaned "priest" Avvakum also becomes a priest. At the age of 21 he was ordained a deacon, after 2 years he was appointed a priest, and at the age of 31 he was elevated to the rank of archpriest. Ironically, his countryman was the future patriarch-reformer Nikon, who at first was his good friend, and then became a fierce enemy.
In the 40-50s of the 17th century, a circle of "zealots of piety" arose among the Moscow clergy, most of which were countrymen and friends of Avvakum. The circle was led by the tsar's confessor Stefan Vonifatiev. "Zealots of piety", or "God-lovers", as they were also called, seeing in Russia the last stronghold of Orthodoxy, were concerned about the fall in the authority of the Russian Church and its ministers, sought to elevate the spirit of the clergy of Russia, restore the former ceremonial and solemnity to the service, and give the image of a person more piety. Although Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich did not patronize the activities of the circle, he treated the “God-lovers” sympathetically.
Avvakum, who shared the ideas of the God-loving people, zealously carried out a program of moral correction in his parish.
Avvakum was disliked for his irreconcilable views and heightened sense of justice. The parishioners did not like him, because he openly denounced their vices, they did not like the authorities because the archpriest did not recognize any authority other than God's. Even to the schismatics themselves, his views seemed too harsh. Faithful companion and comrade-in-arms of Avvakum, who did not leave him until last days and who took upon himself all the hardships was his wife, fellow villager Nastasya Markovna.
Appointed in 1652 as an archpriest in Yuryevets, Avvakum stayed in this city for only 8 weeks. His sermons and persistent unanimity raised the locals against him, and he had to flee to Moscow. In Moscow, Archpriest Avvakum received the right to serve in one of the limits of the Kazan Cathedral on Red Square.
Just around this time, in 1652, Nikon became patriarch. He was elevated to the patriarchate largely thanks to the connections and support of the "zealots of piety", in the circle of which he also belonged. The letter to the tsar to introduce Nikon was also signed by Avvakum. But soon Nikon disagrees with his former friends from Vonifatiev's circle. Immediately after his election, Nikon begins a church reform, of which Archpriest Avvakum becomes a fierce opponent.
In 1653, a new, newly corrected book was published, and orders were issued against double-fingering and on reducing the number of prostrations during the Lenten prayer of Ephraim the Syrian.
Avvakum and Archpriest Daniil of Kostroma protested against these innovations: they filed a petition to the tsar, and Avvakum began an open struggle with Nikon. A few months later, Avvakum was sent to prison at the Androniev Monastery, and then exiled to Tobolsk. Two years later, a decree came to send him to a settlement on the Lena, and in 1656 he was assigned to the expedition of Afanasy Pashkov to Dauria. It meant certain death. Rarely did anyone return from such campaigns. Hardships on the campaign, hunger, cold, beatings by military leaders - all this later the archpriest touchingly describes in his autobiography.
As part of the detachment of the voivode Afanasy Pashkov, Avvakum went the hardest way from Yeniseisk to Nerchinsk through Siberia that had not yet been conquered. Together with him, the wife of the priest and his children endured the torments and sufferings of the Siberian exile. Two sons died of starvation.
The Siberian suffering of Avvakum lasted more than 10 years. In 1662, the tsar summoned the disgraced archpriest from exile to Moscow. By this time, Patriarch Nikon had already been removed from the management of affairs, but the reform continued. The king wanted to persuade Avvakum, whose authority by that time had greatly increased thanks to his wanderings, to his side. Avvakum was met with honors, settled in the best Kremlin chambers, surrounded by attention and care.
But the archpriest was adamant. He could not remain silent against the ongoing reforms and spoke again. For Habakkuk, compromise was impossible. Encouraged by his fanatical wife, he zealously denounced the "heretical whore".
All this time, Avvakum took an active part in the life of the schismatic community. His authority was very high. Using great freedom, he acted both in word and in deed: he entered into disputes with the "Nikonians", wrote accusatory messages against them, and submitted petitions to the tsar for the abolition of "heretical" innovations. It eventually became dangerous. The highest spiritual authorities did not like the success of Avvakum's propaganda, and they decided to take measures against him - they asked the sovereign to send the restless archpriest into exile.
In August 1664, Avvakum was again exiled, this time to the North, to Mezen.
In 1666 he was brought to Moscow for trial. ecumenical patriarchs. They kept Avvakum in prison for almost 1.5 years, trying to force him to renounce his beliefs, but neither persuasion, nor chains, nor monastic prisons broke Avvakum's will. Dismissed and anathematized, along with his adherents: the Romanov priest Lazarus, the deacon Fyodor and the monk Epiphanius, the following year he was sent to Pustozersk, where soon after his arrival he was imprisoned in an "earth prison".
Living conditions beyond the Arctic Circle were terrible, but there Avvakum continued his struggle for the old faith: from this remote corner, his passionate voice was heard all over Russia.
The first years the prisoners lived quite freely, they could communicate with each other, conduct "spiritual conversations". But in 1670, three companions of Avvakum were subjected to a second execution - the cutting of tongues and the cutting off of the palms of their right hands - and after that they were put in log cabins buried in the ground. Now four prisoners could meet each other only at night, climbing out through the window and risking being caught and severely punished.
The authorities did their best to silence Avvakum. But even exiled beyond the Arctic Circle, buried in the frozen ground, Avvakum did not reconcile himself. Unable to preach, he took up his pen. The writings of a priest locked in a "living hell" were spread throughout Russia. Avvakum transmitted letters through some of the archers who sympathized with him and guarded the "earthen coffins."
Sympathy for the martyrs for the faith grew among the people. This continued until April 14, 1681, when Avvakum, for "great blasphemy against the royal house," was burned along with his comrades Lazar, Fedor and Epiphanius.
3.4 Boyarynya Morozova
Boyarina Fedosya Prokopievna Morozova, along with Archpriest Avvakum, became a symbol of the schism of the Russian Orthodox Church. But if the latter was the leader of the movement, she is his particular and, at the same time, exceptional case. It was she who renounced all her class privileges, from the luxury in which she lived, the wealth that she had, sacrificed her son and voluntarily equaled herself with the "simple" ones, that is, with ordinary people. The people recognized it as their own and kept it in their memory. Her image comes to life in songs, in legends, on the canvases of paintings. Morozova did not seek fame, but acted in accordance with her convictions and principles. She died of starvation in captivity in one of the fortresses of Russia.
Conclusion
So, what led to such serious changes in the Russian Church? The immediate cause for the Raskol was the book reform, but the real, serious reasons lay much deeper, rooted in the foundations of Russian religious self-consciousness.
The religious life of Russia has never stagnated. The abundance of living church experience made it possible to safely resolve the most complex issues in the spiritual field. The most important of them, society unconditionally recognized the observance of the historical continuity of the people's life and the spiritual individuality of Russia, on the one hand, and on the other, the preservation of the purity of the dogma, regardless of any peculiarities of the time and local customs. Liturgical and doctrinal literature played an indispensable role in this. Church books from century to century were that unshakable material bond that made it possible to ensure the continuity of the spiritual tradition. Therefore, it is not surprising that as the formation of a single centralized Russian state, the issue of the state of book publishing and the use of spiritual literature turned into the most important issue of church and state policy.
It is not surprising that, striving for the unification of the Russian liturgical sphere, and complete equality with the Eastern Church, Patriarch Nikon resolutely set about correcting liturgical books according to Greek models. This is what caused the most outrage. Russian people did not want to recognize the "innovations" that came from the Greeks. The changes and additions made by the scribes to the liturgical books, and the rites that they inherited from their ancestors, were so rooted in the minds of people that they were already taken for the true and sacred truth.
It was not easy to carry out reform in the face of resistance from a large part of the population. But the matter was complicated, mainly by the fact that Nikon used the church reform, first of all, to strengthen his own power. This was also the reason for the emergence of his ardent opponents and the split of society into two warring camps.
To eliminate the unrest that had risen in the country, a Council was convened (1666-1667). This council condemned Nikon, but recognized his reforms. This means that the patriarch was not such a sinner and traitor as the Old Believers tried to make him out to be.
The same Council of 1666-1667. summoned to his meetings the main propagators of the Schism, subjected their "philosophies" to a test and cursed them as alien to the spiritual mind and common sense. Some schismatics obeyed the motherly exhortations of the Church and repented of their errors. Others remained uncompromising.
Thus, the religious Schism in Russian society has become a fact. The schism troubled the state life of Russia for a long time.
Schismatic troubles flare up here and there for a long time - over all the vast expanses of the Russian land. The split ceases to be a factor political life country, but as a spiritual wound that does not heal, it leaves its mark on the entire future course of Russian life.
List of sources used
1.scepsis/ru/lihrary/id_1717/html/Nikolsky and his "History of the Russian Church"/Nikolsky N.M. // Access mode:
Historicus.ru/100/. /Church schism, its essence and socio-cultural consequences. // Access mode:
Buryakovsky, A.L. Lectures on the history of religion / A.L. Buryakovsky. - S. P.: Lan, 1997.448c.
Kovalenko, I.V. The best essays on religious studies / I.V. Kovalenko. - Rostov - on - Don.: Phoenix, 2001.317p.
Orthodoxy. Complete Encyclopedia - S. P.: Ves, 2007. - 437s.
Tags: church schism Abstract History
It took three centuries of persecution to recognize the old rites as saving and pious.
Holy and unexpectedly cursed Russia
More than three hundred years ago, Russia professed one Christian, Orthodox faith and constituted a single Orthodox Church. There were no schisms or strife in the Russian Church then. For more than six centuries, since the baptism of Russia in 988, the Russian Church has enjoyed inner peace and tranquility. She shone with a numerous host of Orthodox saints, miracle workers, saints of God, was famous for the splendor of churches and many holy monasteries. With their faith, piety and piety, the Russian people surprised foreigners who came to Russia. His feats of prayer led them to delight and surprise. Russia was truly Holy Russia and rightfully bore this sacred title: holiness was the ideal of the pious Russian people.
But it was precisely at this time, when the Russian Church reached its greatest greatness, that a schism took place in it, dividing all Russian people into two halves - into two Churches. This sad event took place in the second half of the 17th century during the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov and the patriarchate of Nikon. Supporters of the reforms and their followers began to introduce new rites, new liturgical books and rites into the Russian Church, to establish new relations with the Church, as well as with Russia itself, with the Russian people; to root other concepts about piety, about the sacraments of the church, about hierarchy; to impose on the Russian people a completely different worldview, a different worldview.
All this caused a schism in the church. Opponents of Nikon and his innovations began to be called an insulting nickname - "schismatics", and all the blame for the church schism was blamed on them. In fact, the opponents of Nikon's innovations did not split: they remained with the old, old faith, with ancient church traditions and rituals, did not change their native Russian Church in anything. Therefore, they rightly call themselves Old Believers, or Old Orthodox Christians. After that, they were given and generally accepted a secular (not church) name - the Old Believers, which speaks only of some appearance of the Old Believers and does not at all determine its inner essence.
How they began to walk against the sun, or "against Christ"
Changes in the ranks and rites of the Church Nikon began with the abolition of the two-finger and its replacement with the three-finger, which had been around since the 15th century in Greece. Whereas even the Moscow Stoglavy Cathedral (1551) determined: "If anyone is not marked with two fingers ... let him be damned." Over time, pouring baptism became firmly established in practice, despite the fact that the 50th Apostolic Canon commands baptism only through complete immersion. Instead of the purely (double) use of the word "hallelujah", its tregube (triple) use was introduced. The procession, which used to be performed after salting ("in the sun", as if after Christ, Who personified the sun), now began to be performed the other way around (against the sun). If earlier the Divine Liturgy was served on seven prosphora, then later they began to serve on five. But the most terrible phenomenon of the reform was the imposition of curses and anathemas on the old rites and rites and on the people who adhered to them (sobors of 1665-1666). Orthodox people did not expect that all Russian saints: Sergius of Radonezh, Zosima and Savvaty of Solovetsky, Anthony and Theodosius Pechersky, Alexander Nevsky and other God's saints who lived before the 17th century will also indirectly fall under these oaths. After all, they were baptized with two fingers, and prayed in the old way.
With the help of Greek clerics of very dubious competence in the knowledge of the Slavic language, the so-called book on the right was held. All liturgical books were subjected to this right (the Old Believers would later call this right damage). Even the name of our Savior began to be written and pronounced in a new way. Instead of the Slavic spelling of Jesus with one letter "and", the Greek form of this name was introduced with two - Jesus. From the Creed, in the place where it is said about the Holy Spirit, the word "true" was excluded (the old version: "And in the Holy Spirit, the true and life-giving Lord ...")
Seventeenth century - chain and noose
Already after his departure from the patriarchal throne, being in monastic imprisonment, Nikon himself recognizes the inexpediency of the book right. But the ruthless flywheel of the split that he had launched was already irreversible. The official ecclesiastical and civil authorities did not leave the people the right to choose. Everyone who did not accept the church reform was actually declared outside the law. Disobedience to the royal and patriarchal authorities was punishable by exile, torture and executions. History has conveyed to us the names of many who suffered for the old faith. But the most famous of them are the noblewoman Theodosius Morozova (the venerable martyr Theodora) and the holy martyr Archpriest Avvakum. Over time, resistance to the reforms became widespread. The monks of the Solovetsky Monastery stubbornly refused to accept new orders and rituals and pray according to new books. They openly expressed their protest. Troops were sent to put down the rebellion. The monastery held back the siege for eight (!) years, and only due to the betrayal of one of the monks, the archers, breaking into the walls of the monastery, perpetrated a bloody massacre on the recalcitrant brethren.
As the modern Old Believer poet Vitaly Grikhanov accurately says:
"The seventeenth century - trapping nets,
Seventeenth century - chain and noose"
This period can be characterized as the flight of the Church into the deserts and forests. Leaving for remote places and setting up their settlements there, the Old Believers tried to preserve not only their own lives, but also the purity of their faith. Gradually, these settlements were transformed into Old Believer centers: among them Starodubye (Belarus), Vetka (Poland), Vyg, Irgiz, Kerzhenets (by the way, this is another name for the Old Believers - Kerzhaks). Many perceived these times as apocalyptic. There was an assertion that church piety finally fell, the Antichrist reigned in the world, and there was no true priesthood left. From here began to develop a trend called priestlessness.
The bespriests did not have priests and the main liturgical rites (baptism, burial, conciliar prayer, confession) were performed by lay people. The other part of the Old Believers, without recognizing and not justifying this extreme, according to the existing canonical rules, secretly accepted the sympathetic priesthood from the patriarchal New Believer Church, thereby preserving all church sacraments, except for ordination. Consecration, i.e., ordination to the priesthood, could only be performed by a bishop, but by that time there were no Old Orthodox bishops left. Some accepted the patriarchal novelties, others perished in exile and prisons.
Hierarchy restoration
Being nourished by fugitive priests, the Old Believers still wanted to find a bishop for themselves and thereby restore a full-fledged trichine hierarchy. Not trusting the Russian bishops of the Patriarchal Church, the Old Believers began to look for a candidate for hierarchal service in the East. Literate, well-read monks Pavel (Velikodvorsky) and Alimpiy (Zverev) were chosen for this mission. After many years of trips and deputations, the choice fell on the Bosno-Sarajevo Metropolitan Ambrose. Pavel and Alimpiy very scrupulously studied the question of the baptism of Metropolitan Ambrose, his ministry, and whether he was under ban. At that time, in the forties of the XIX century, he was in Constantinople, was out of state and served under the Patriarch of Constantinople. After many conversations with Russian Old Believers, Ambrose, not finding any heretical errors in the old Russian religion, without violating the canonical rules of the Church, decides to become an Old Orthodox bishop.
Since in Russia the Old Believers were forbidden to have their own bishop, it was decided to approve the department on the territory of Austria-Hungary in the village of Belaya Krinitsa (now Ukraine). Thus, in October 1846, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Belokrinitsky Monastery, the rite of the accession of Metropolitan Ambrose to the Old Believer Church was performed. Hence the name of the hierarchy - Belokrinitskaya. He joined in the existing rank of metropolitan with the second rank through chrismation (in the Belokrinitsky monastery, a little peace of the pre-Nikonian consecration is still preserved).
From the "golden age" to the present
The famous Supreme Decree In Russia, for a long time, significant restrictions and prohibitions were in effect against the Old Believers. They were not allowed to openly confess their faith, have their own educational institutions, they could not hold leadership positions in what was then imperial Russia. Catholics, Protestants, Muslims and Jews were in incomparably better conditions. They had all the rights of citizens of Russia, and the Old Believers, primordially Russian people, keepers of ancient piety, were outcasts in their land. But on the eve of Easter 1905, the Supreme Decree "On strengthening the principles of religious tolerance" was issued, in which, among other things, Emperor Nicholas II emphasized that the Old Believers "are known from time immemorial for their unwavering devotion to the throne."
Since that time, the so-called "golden" period of the Old Believers begins. Parish and social activities are being activated, new hierarchical departments are being established, and educational institutions are being opened. In just twelve years (until 1917), more than a thousand Old Believer churches were being built in Russia. All this happens thanks to the colossal potential, unspent over the years of centuries of persecution, thanks to natural diligence, ingenuity and the acquired experience of surviving in the most difficult conditions.
Despite the favor of the tsarist authorities, the Synodal Church did not seek to recognize the Old Believers. Only in 1929 did the Synod decide to abolish all oaths to the old rites "as if they had not been," and the rites themselves were recognized as saving and pious. In 1971, at the local council of the Russian Orthodox Church, this decision was confirmed.