Popovtsy

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Popovtsy (Russian: поповцы, IPA:

Bezpopovtsy
("priestless ones").

Historical background

After the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow in the 1650s, many members of the Russian Orthodox Church refused to acknowledge the changes which he had made to bring the church in line with the Greek Orthodox Church.[1]

As none of the bishops joined the Old Believers (except Bishop Paul of Kolomna, who was executed), ordained priests of the Old Rite would have soon become extinct. Two responses appeared to this dilemma: the priested Old Believers (поповцы, Popovtsy).

Belokrinitskaya hierarchy, the so-called Beglopopovtsy who rejected this hierarchy, the Belovodskaya hierarchy
, etc.).

The Popovtsy represented the more moderate conservative opposition, who strove to continue religious and church life as it had existed before the reforms of

Patriarch Nikon
. They recognised ordained priests from the new style Russian Orthodox church who joined the Old Believers and who had denounced the Nikonian reforms. Popovtsy have priests, bishops and all sacraments, including the Eucharist.

Spiritual centres of the Popovtsy

In the 18th - 19th centuries, the Popovtsy lived in communities on the

Rogozhskoye cemetery
.

Edinovertsy

Main article: Edinoverie

Around 1800, a group of Popovtsy, mainly merchants from Moscow seeking the abrogation of discriminating legislation which obstructed their commercial activities, offered to acknowledge the leadership of the

Edinovertsy
and are generally not regarded as Old Believers, but rather Old-Ritualists.

Belokrinitskaya hierarchy

Main article: Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy

In 1846, the Popovtsy convinced

Bosnia (who had been removed under Turkish pressure) to become an Old Believer[4] and to consecrate three Russian Old Believers priests as bishops. In 1859, the number of Old Believer bishops in Russia had reached ten, and they established their own episcopate, the so-called Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy
.

Beglopopovsty; Novozybkovskaya hierarchy

Not all priested Old Believers recognised this hierarchy.[4] These dissenters were called беглопоповцы (beglopopovtsy) and obtained their own hierarchy in the 1920s. The priested Old Believers are thus represented by two churches that have the same beliefs, but treat each other's hierarchies as illegitimate. It is now known as the Russian Old-Orthodox Church.

Modern situation

The Popovtsy were hostile towards the October Revolution of 1917. For some time (in the early 1920s), the Soviet regime was rather tolerant towards the Old Believers as a whole, but in the 1930s, Old Believers too were subjected to severe repressions. Most of their churches were confiscated or demolished. During the Soviet period, the social strata which had been traditionally the backbone of the Old Believer population - peasants, cossacks, craftsmen, artisans, merchants and entrepreneurs, were practically extinguished. Nowadays Old Believers' churches are restored and recognized by the State.

Popovtsy Churches

The two churches of the Popovtsy are:

The US

In the 21st century, over 7,000 Old Believers live in the US, including members of the Popovtsy,[5] with settlements in Oregon and Alaska.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ Catholic Near East Welfare Association website, The Old Believers, article dated September 4, 2021
  2. ^ Library of Congress website, Religious Flight and Migration: Old Believers (2000)
  3. ^ Oxford Reference website, Overview: Old Believers
  4. ^ a b c Church of the Nativity website, Background to the Old Rite
  5. ^ University of Kansas website, Journals, Traditional Customs of Russian Old Believers in Woodburn, Oregon, article by Elena Razumovskaya (2008)
  6. ^ University of California, National Heritage Language Resource Center section, Russian Old Believers in the USA: Language and Belief, by Tamara Morris, published August 19, 2016
  7. ^ Alaska Watchman website, The Arrival of Russian Old Believers in Alaska, Part 2, article by Alexander Dolitskey, published January 5, 2022

Further reading

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