Spiritual Christianity

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Spiritual Christianity (

Raskolniks. Those influences have mixed with folk traditions resulted in communities that are collectively called sektanty (sectarians). Such communities were typically documented by Russian Orthodox clergy with a label that described their heresy such as not fasting, meeting on Saturday (sabbatarians), rejecting the spirit (spirit wrestlers), body mutilation (castigators), self-flagellation, or suicide.[1]

The

Former Soviet Union, and "Molokans" in the United States, often confused with "Doukhobors" in Canada. Molokane
proper constituted the largest and most organized of many Spiritual Christian groups in the Russian Empire.

Spiritual Christians have been compared to the European Radical Reformation.[3] Still existing Spiritual Christian sects include: Dukhobors, Molokans, New Israel, Sukhie Baptisty, Sons of Freedom and the Dukh-i-zhizniki.[4]

History

The historian

German Reformation of the 1500s.[5] Many Spiritual Christians embraced egalitarian and pacifist beliefs, which were considered politically radical views by the Russian government. It deported some groups to internal exile in Central Asia. About one percent escaped suppression by emigrating (1898–1930s) to North America forming a diaspora that divided into many sub-groups.[6]

Sects

Among the sects considered to practice Spiritual Christianity are the

Tolstoy. Nikolai Leskov was also drawn to Spiritual Christianity after visiting Protestant Europe in 1875.[7]

Separate from Spiritual Christianity were other strands of Russian sektanstvo ("sectarianism" in the sense "splitting into sects" rather than "

Evangelical Christianity".[8]

Molokans

Molokan men

The

inner light, therefore do not need someone to "jump in the spirit" for them.[14] In Russia, they advocated for pacifism, held home meetings, did not drink or smoke, opposed contraception and some modern technology.[15][3] Many Molokans follow the Old Testament food laws, refusing to eat pork, shellfish or unclean foods. They were named for consuming dairy products (molochnaya) during most Orthodox fasting days.[16] About 40,000 continue the faith in Russia,[12] and one meeting hall continues to meet on Potrero Hill, San Francisco, since 1928.[4]

Mokrye Molokane

Mokrye Molokane are a Molokan subsect that split off the Molokans in 2000ad that is nearly identical to the Molokans but practice water baptism.[4]

Sukhie Baptisty

Sukhie Baptisty was a 19th-century Spiritual Christian movement,[17] which was born from Molokans who merged with the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians. They were called "dry baptists", because they refused to baptize believers in physical water, but instead believing in a "baptism of the spirit", insisting that baptism was a purely spiritual experience instead of a physical one.[18] Very few dry Baptists still exist in Georgia.[19]

Molokan-Adventisty

Molokan-Adventisty are a hybrid sect of Molokans and Seventh Day Adventists, the sect was born because of German Adventist missionaries in the 20th century.[4]

Pryguny

The

Khlysty. They have some similarities to western Pentecostalism.[4][20] One outspoken Prygun leader in Erivan Governorate, Maksim G. Rudomyotkin
(1818-1877), formed his own Maksimist faith, which merged with the new Dukh-i-zhiznik movement formed in Los Angeles, California in the 1930s by adherents who migrated there from 1905 through 1912.

Doukhobors

Dukhobortsy were an 18th-century Spiritual Christian movement that evolved from ikonobortsy, opposed all external authorities and the literal Bible, instead being in favour of direct individual revelation. They abolished priests and sacraments, were pacifists and opposed the authority of church and state.[21] One-third mass migrated to Canada (1899-19830), and about 15-20k Dukhobortsy still exist in Russia.[12]

Sons of Freedom

Sons of Freedom were an extremist group born from the Canadian Doukhobors beginning in 1902 for a century. They performed extreme protests, long treks to return to Russia, some in the nude, burned their own buildings, and bombed schools and government property to protest materialism.[21] In the 1950s about 200 of their children were "Snatched" and painfully punished and forced to be English schooled in a Japanese internment camp in New Denver, British Columbia.

Khlysts

The Khlysts (whips, flagellants) were are 17th century sect that left the Russian Orthodox church, they held extremely ascetic views, the Khlyst sect became extinct during the Soviet Union.[22] The Khlysty imposed self denial and focused on the reception of the Holy Spirit through constant prayer, they were denounced as "Quaker heretics" and practices such as ecstatic forms of worship, rhythmic dancing, chants and celibacy resembled the practice of the Shakers.[23] The Khlyst practices also resembled Pentecostal sects.[24] C. L. Sulzberger, in 1977, claimed that Rasputin "adopted the philosophy (if not proven membership)" of the Khlysts.[25]

Postniki

Postniki were a sect that was born out of the Khlysts.[26] They emphasized ascetism.[27] They branched into Staroizrail and New Israel.[26]

Skoptsy

Skoptsy, now extinct, originally split off from the Khlysts and had a high following in the 19th century. The sect believed that forgiveness of sin came through self mutilation, like castration. The sect was ultimately destroyed by Stalin. Some reported that the Skoptsy sect still exists in small numbers, but there is no serious proof. A few individuals still have similar beliefs in Russia.[28]

Skoptsy;; believed that when enough people joined them, Jesus would return.[29]

New Israel

New Israel came to resemble Protestantism and the Dukhobors much more than Staroizrail, the New Israel movement rejects the Orthodox religious practices and aims to "worship God in spirit and truth".[30] Because many adherents of the movement moved to Uruguay, the movement still exists in Uruguay.[31]

Shalaputs

Shalaputy were a radical reform movement in Imperial Russia during 1830-1890 AD. They demanded that sinful people should not be allowed to attend Church meetings (Novatianism), and opposed the formalism of Orthodoxy. They also emphasized the Jewish roots of Christianity. The Shalaputs became an evangelical movement made up of peasants who wanted to create their own version of Christianity that opposed Russian Orthodoxy.[32]

Dukh-i-zhizniki

Dukh-i-zhizniki (Spirit and Lifers) are the newest Spiritual Christian movement born from a mixture of

Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles from the South Caucasus from 1904 through 1912. Some classify Dukh-i-zhizniki as a cult due to the prominence of one spiritual leader, Maksim G. Rudomyotkin (1818-1877). Along with related tribes in Arizona and Southern California, the organizers negotiated from 1915 to 1932 to combine their spiritual writings and a history into a contested book, which was titled: Kniga solntse, dukh i zhizn (Book of the Sun, Spirit and Life, 1928). This book was placed on the altar tables of all member congregations as a third testament to their Russian Bibles, and defines their family of faiths. In the 1930s the book was sent to Prygun and Maksimist congregations in Kars province, Turkey, and Soviet Armenia where it was accepted by many who interpreted it differently, divided and continue to divide.[14]

Similar or related movement

  • Biblists
  • Eastern Protestant
    , encompasses a range of heterogeneous Protestant Christian denominations that developed outside of the Occident from the latter half of the nineteenth century and keeps some or most of all elements of Eastern Christianity
  • Kartanoism
  • Quakers, adopting a similar doctrine of divine revelation via inward light
  • Radical Pietism
  • Shtundists
  • Tolstoyan movement

See also

References

  1. ISBN 0080267947
    .
  2. ^ a b c Camfield (1990) p.694 fn.4
  3. ^ a b c Georgieff, by Dimana Trankova; photography by Anthony (2015-09-24). "WHO ARE THE MOLOKANS?". VAGABOND. Retrieved 2022-08-12.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b c d e f Andrei, Conovaloff. "Taxonomy of 3 Spiritual Christian groups: Molokane, Pryguny and Dukh-i-zhizniki". www.molokane.org. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  5. JSTOR 23255160
    .
  6. JSTOR 29789944
    .
  7. JSTOR 306256
    .
  8. ^ Berdyaev (1916)
  9. ^ "Molokans in Armenia: 20 years ago and now". English Jamnews. 2021-09-03. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  10. ISBN 978-90-474-0272-5
    .
  11. ISBN 978-3-643-80201-9
    .
  12. ^ a b c "Protestants in Russia: An active minority". New Eastern Europe - A bimonthly news magazine dedicated to Central and Eastern European affairs. 2017-10-12. Retrieved 2022-08-08.
  13. ISBN 978-1-62032-962-7
    .
  14. ^ a b Andrei, Conovaloff. "Taxonomy of 3 Spiritual Christian groups: Molokane, Pryguny and Dukh-i-zhizniki". www.molokane.org. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  15. ^ "Ethnic Russian Sect Struggling to Survive in Azerbaijan | Eurasianet". eurasianet.org. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  16. ^ "Among Armenia's Molokans". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 2022-08-12.
  17. ISBN 978-5-85234-043-6
    .
  18. ISBN 978-1-7252-8608-5
    .
  19. ^ Conovaloff, Andrei. "Taxonomy of 3 Spiritual Christian groups: Molokane, Pryguny and Dukh-i-zhizniki". www.molokane.org. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
  20. ^ "Russian Molokans: Their Roots and Current Status - East-West Church & Ministry Report". www.eastwestreport.org. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  21. ^ a b "Dukhobor | Russian religious sect | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  22. ISBN 978-88-8492-464-3
    .
  23. ISBN 978-0-8014-5945-0
    .
  24. ISBN 978-1-136-23822-2
    .
  25. ^ Sulzberger 1977, p. 214
  26. ^
    ISBN 978-0-87395-327-6
    .
  27. ISBN 978-90-474-0272-5
    .
  28. ^ RBTH; Skripnik, Oleg (2016-08-25). "The Skoptsy: The story of the Russian sect that maimed for its beliefs". Russia Beyond. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  29. ^ Interesting, All That's (2020-01-09). "Meet The Russian Religious Zealots Who Castrated Themselves To Be Closer To God". All That's Interesting. Retrieved 2022-08-20.
  30. ^ "New Israel: Transformation of a Branch of Russian Religious Dissent". Doukhobor Heritage. 2020-05-16. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  31. ISBN 978-0-87586-426-6
    .
  32. ^ "Russia's Lost Reformation". www.molokane.org. Retrieved 2022-08-15.

Sources

  • Camfield, Graham P. (October 1990). "The Pavlovtsy of Khar'kov Province, 1886-1905: Harmless Sectarians or Dangerous Rebels?". The Slavonic and East European Review. 68 (4). Modern Humanities Research Association and University College London, School of Slavonic and East European Studies: 692–717.
    JSTOR 4210447
    .
  • Berdyaev, Nikolai (1999) [1916]. "Духовное христианство и сектантство в России" [Spiritual Christianity and Sectarianism in Russia]. Russkaya Mysl (Русская мысль, "Russian Thought"). translated by S. Janos – via berdyaev.com.

External links

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