Old Believers: who are they?
Nowadays, the majority of people on the question,who are the Old Believers, are unlikely to give a coherent answer, because today the term "Old Believers" is associated with something dense, very ancient, left somewhere far in the past. Of course, today the streets of the city no longer meet men with a special haircut "pot" and a beard, and women in long skirts with a handkerchief tied under the chin can not be found. But the adherents of the Old Believers have their number in different cities of Russia.
Features of the Old Believers
Consider such people as the Old Believers, who they are andthan are engaged. These are communities of people who support the traditions of the Orthodox Church since the time of the baptism of Rus, and remain true, to this day ancient church rites.
In fact, there is no special difference between the new and old faith, but the Old Believers are much more strict than the Orthodox. And besides this there are a few more differences, namely:
- The Old Believers are baptized with a two-pointed.
- The name of Christ on the icons of the Old Believers is written "Jesus", with one "I".
- To the priest's prayer, the Old Believers respond not with a triple but with a double "Hallelujah."
- The perfect form of the cross among the Old Believers is considered eight-pointed.
So the Old Believers and the Orthodox have purely external differences and ceremonial.
How did the Old Believers
We looked at who the Old Believers are, let uswe learn about where they came from. The Old Believers appeared at a time when Patriarch Nikon decided to carry out a reform aimed at the correction of church liturgical books, in which, as it was believed, because of the illiteracy of copyists, there were many mistakes and ridiculous phrases that distort the meaning of the text. In addition to this, the reforms also touched upon the conduct of church rites and services. The Patriarch did everything to put an end to religious ignorance, which arose because of the decay of Russian culture after the reign of the Tatar-Mongol yoke. However, part of the society could not accept the reforms and innovations due to the conviction that there is no need to change the teaching and all the rites connected with it. So a separate part of Russia remained faithful to the Old Believers, which is preserved even today.
How Olders Live Today
Today, the backbone of the Old Believer community inmostly women, but there are men and whole young families with children. Often the Old Believers settle separately in villages and towns, organize their collective farms there, from which they basically feed the whole community. The discipline in these settlements, as a rule, is very strict, however, like the whole faith and way of life of the Old Believers.
In the communities of the Old Believers there is unanimity,women in sarafans or long skirts, and men in simple shirts and with beards. Any business in the community ends and begins with a common prayer. On weekdays the Old Believers work with zeal, and on church holidays working life ceases, and solemn divine services are held.
A distinctive feature of the Old Believer communitiesis a complete mutual aid. For example, the family keeps a cow, and small children and strong hands are not enough, then all residents of the settlement will help this family to prepare hay for the winter. And so in everything, and in sorrow and in joy everyone in the community will be supported.
Now you know who the Old Believers are. This will allow you to better understand their culture and life features. We wish you good luck!