Video reportage about inter-Old Rite round table
on cooperation with society and the state

March 3, 2016 happened historical event in the life of the Old Believers - representatives of the three largest Old Believer Churches met at a round table to discuss common faith cooperation with Russian society and the state. The meeting, which took place within the walls of the Moscow House of Nationalities, was attended by the primate of the Russian Orthodox Old Believers Church, Metropolitan Korniliy, the primate of the Russian Ancient Orthodox Church, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexander, chairman of the Russian Council of the Ancient Orthodox Pomor Church, Fr. Oleg Ivanovich Rozanov, as well as official church delegations and representatives of the Old Believer community.

The participants of the round table from the very beginning of the meeting clearly indicated that the cooperation of Old Believer agreements should not have anything to do with ecumenism, should not touch upon doctrinal and canonical issues. At the same time, as noted, it is necessary to remember that there is much in common between the agreements, which can become a solid basis for fruitful cooperation with each other in the spirit of peace and love.

“We serve according to the same books, we pray with the same prayers, we venerate holy antiquity. However, despite the unity in the main thing, we cannot overcome distrust, we cannot restore communication in the spirit of love and see brothers in each other, although they were once separated from the spiritual unity, but who have not lost their historical kinship. Now, we hope, the time has come favorably to develop a good-neighborly dialogue between the Old Believers' directions. "

Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexander (RDC):

"At the same time, we also need to find forms of cooperation with each other, so that, on the one hand, the really existing religious boundaries between our churches do not blur, and on the other hand, the differences between us do not negatively reflect on the effectiveness and usefulness of inter-Old Rite cooperation itself." ...

Chairman of the Russian Council of the Ancient Orthodox Pomeranian Church, Fr. Oleg Ivanovich Rozanov also noted the importance of the benevolent attitude of the representatives of the Old Believers' agreements to each other according to the word of the Apostle Paul : "If it is possible, a hedgehog from you, with all men have peace ”(Rom., cred. 110).

Chairman of the Russian Council of the Ancient Orthodox Pomeranian Church, Fr. Oleg Ivanovich Rozanov:

“After the atheistic dominance came the time of glasnost, a multi-party system, then freedom and tolerance, tolerance, just like 100 years ago, we recall the attempts to create All-Russian Old Believer societies. The next step is cooperation and interaction, so that the mind at the present time, the mind of good, conquers the power of evil, and violence is conquered by our goodwill towards each other. According to the Apostle Paul, to have peace with one another, if possible. "

The Old Believers have always respected the government, but due to persecution on its part, they were forced to limit their contacts with it. Now the attitude of the state towards the Old Believers is completely different - respectful and supportive. Representatives of the authorities see in the Old Believers not only Russia's remarkable past, but also its future.

The Chief Adviser to the Presidential Administration made a welcoming speech and expression of support for the good initiative of the Old Believers at the round table Russian Federation on domestic policy Alexander Alexandrovich Terentyev, and then other representatives of the highest state power.

“The Presidential Administration is very attentive and with deep respect to all activities carried out by your religious organizations. […] We have great respect for the activities carried out by Metropolitan Korniliy as part of the Council for Interaction with Religious Associations under the President of the Russian Federation. Thanks to his tireless efforts, the voice of the Old Believers is heard. He speaks constantly, speaks out on all major issues of both the life of the state and religious life. Churches are being restored, religious organizations are being strengthened in the regions, but there is still a huge potential for development. "

The favorable attitude of the state towards the Old Believers, in the opinion of the participants of the round table, should be used to enlighten the society, the spiritual and moral state of which is far from perfect. In modern Russian society, unfortunately, the commission of many deadly sins is considered the norm of life. The consequences of this are devastating for the state and the nation - early mortality of the population, great amount divorce, low living standards and many other problems. Old Believers as bearers of Christian spiritual values ​​can be very useful to Russian society.

Chief Adviser to the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation for Domestic Policy Alexander Alexandrovich Terentyev:

“Society really needs your activity, because there is a lot that society can learn from Old Believers: loyalty to historical traditions, family values, and your experience in the entrepreneurial sphere, in agriculture... Therefore, the first step that you are taking today within the framework of this round table can serve to create such a center and nucleus of attraction for all Old Believers in the world. I wish you success in your work. "

But not only the state can benefit from such cooperation, but also the Old Believers themselves.

Priest John Kurbatsky (RPSTs):

“We are sometimes invited to various venues, the media are invited. Save Christ Metropolitan Vladyka Cornelius that he never gives up these opportunities, speaks, his voice is heard, he is seen by people. By the way, going back to the beginning of my speech, the next time, when I returned to the colony a few weeks later, I come back to the chief to sign the pass, he says: “Oh! I saw your metropolitan with the president, that's it, there are no questions. " Because, indeed, he, as the head of the colony, is concerned that some extremist elements or some incomprehensible ones do not get inside, so that everything is as it should be according to the law. "

Yes, interaction with the state can be very useful for the Old Believers, for example, in the restoration and restoration of churches.

Priest Alexander Pankratov (RPSTs):

“I propose to the current high meeting to include in the final resolution the wish to adopt a special nationwide program for the preservation and restoration of all types of objects cultural heritage, which are in use by the Old Believers' consent, which would also contribute to the return of the religious property that was forcibly alienated in the past by the Old Believers ”.

This is a large-scale and long-term project. During its discussion with the authorities, the Old Believers can defend their interests within the framework of the current legislation. So, at the moment, it is possible and very relevant to protect the interests of Old Believers within the framework of the implementation Federal law"On the transfer of state or municipal property to religious organizations for religious purposes."

“Because in this law, unfortunately, at one time, when it was adopted, a rather extensible formulation was adopted that the transfer of property is carried out taking into account confessional affiliation, and not in strict accordance with this confessional affiliation, which leaves a certain margin of appreciation when adopting solutions for specific objects ".

According to Mikhail Olegovich, it is also necessary to develop general ritual interaction with the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. In particular, the state has been implementing huge programs for public funding repair, restoration and maintenance of cultural heritage objects.

The earlier cooperation between our Church and the state in this area has yielded excellent results, one of which was the magnificent transformation of the Rogozhsky architectural ensemble.

Coordinator of the inter-Old Believer working group, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor Mikhail Olegovich Shakhov (parishioner of the Moscow Preobrazhenskaya Old Believer Community of Christians of the Old Pomorian Fedoseevsky Consent):

It will also be useful to jointly interact with the Old Believers' agreements with the structures of the Ministry of Justice, which deal with issues of registration and control over the activities of religious organizations.

Another common priority area is the development of cooperation with the Ministry of Education.

Coordinator of the inter-Old Believer working group, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor Mikhail Olegovich Shakhov (parishioner of the Moscow Preobrazhenskaya Old Believer Community of Christians of the Old Pomorian Fedoseevsky Consent):

“First of all, we are talking, of course, about the problems of teaching the discipline“ Fundamentals of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics ”,“ Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture ”in state school curricula, because only we ourselves can take care that the teaching of knowledge about the Old Believers within the framework of the story about the foundations of Orthodox culture is adequate, fair, and consistent with historical reality, and again only through solidarity. "

Representatives of the Russian Ancient Orthodox Church also spoke about the possible most fruitful areas of inter-Old Rite cooperation.

Priest Alexander Filippskikh (RDC):

“In our opinion, the most effective will be joint work in those issues in which we have common needs and views, inherent, perhaps, exclusively to Old Believer accords, namely cultural, ceremonial and everyday, joint projects in publishing, the creation of icon-painting workshops, workshops for the production of church utensils. Such activity, in our opinion, would be mutually beneficial. "

The dialogue with the authorities will be conducted by an inter-Old Believer working group - an advisory structure designed to defend the interests of the Old Believer Churches in the highest bodies of state power and administration. Old Believers represent a significant part of Russian society, there are about 1000 communities of three different consents, with each of which it is rather difficult for the state to communicate separately, as a representative of the Old Believers, besides, none of the consents of the Old Believers represents. It is from this impasse that the inter-Old Believer working group wants to find a way out.

Such cooperation was highly appreciated by our ancestors - representatives of various Old Believer accords, actively interacting with each other on social, educational and economic issues.

“Many socially and socially significant projects were carried out by Old Believers at the interfaith level. Such cooperation was especially characteristic of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants. So, for example, in 1880 the Beglopop merchants Blinovs and Bugrovs, together with Ustin Savvich Kurbatov, a factory owner from Belokrinitsa, fully financed the construction of a city water supply system in Nizhny Novgorod. In 1880-1882. On donations from Old Believers merchants from different consents, a free Mariinsky obstetric institution was built - the first maternity hospital in Nizhny Novgorod, which is still in operation ”.

The scale of the pre-revolutionary inter-Old Believer cooperation in the field of education is striking.

Archpriest Andrei Marchenko (RDC):

“A decisive breakthrough in the field of public education among the Old Believers was the opening in 1889 by the care of the runaway merchant Nikolai Aleksandrovich Bugrov of the Old Believer one-class school of the Ministry of Public Education in the village of Popovo, Semyonovsky Uyezd, Nizhny Novgorod province for teaching boys' children exclusively of Old Believer confession. It was the first legally operating educational institution in the history of the Old Believers. The authorization for its activity was issued by the Chief Prosecutor of the Synod Pobedonostsev himself. About three hundred children from different Old Believer accords and a number of regions of Russia studied at the Bugrovsk school, for whom a special dormitory was built at the school. In addition to purely church sciences, a number of secular disciplines were taught at the school. […] In 1912, the Old Believers' Theological Teachers Institute was opened in Moscow by the efforts of the Belokrinitsa Old Believers, which trained teaching staff for Old Believer schools. The institute mainly trained specialists for schools in the communities of Belokrinitsa Old Believers, however, representatives of other Old Believer congregations were also free to study there ”.

Old Believer industrialists discovered not only educational establishments, but also hospitals, almshouses, shelters for the poor, provided targeted assistance to widows, fire victims, displaced persons, refugees and other categories of needy, and not only Old Believers.

Deputy Head of the Department of National Policy, Interregional Relations and Tourism of the City of Moscow, Head of the Department for Relations with Religious Organizations Konstantin Leonidovich Blazhenov:

“Today we are witnessing an event that can be called historic without false modesty. For the first time in 150 years, representatives of various Old Believers' movements gathered at one table. […] And it is very important that the Moscow Old Believers, the Russian Old Believers, while maintaining their connection with the historical past, are an example for our society of how traditional, cultural, national, and inter-human relations are preserved. And this example must be used in the development of our society ”.

The roundtable participants also raised the acute problem of the attitude of the outside world to the Old Believers. Modern society associates the Old Believers with closeness and schism, and perceives Old Believers' Christians as museum exhibits. Sometimes these ideas are very far from the truth, in particular, the ideas about the participation of Old Believers in the preparation of the 1917 revolution.

Bishop of Yaroslavl and Kostroma Vikenty (Novozhilov) (RPSTs):

“Old Believers are those who made the revolution. You understand, here is such a bias in people after such hearings and understanding about the Old Believers. And our task, first of all, is to convey to the people of the surrounding world the truth about the old faith. Because it is very important, because the enlightenment of people is practically zero. "

It was noted that society perceives the Old Believers as a whole, therefore, it is necessary to work with public opinion together, especially since there are many negative myths about us.

Roundtable participants agreed to hold this June international conference"Old Belief, power and society in modern world”, As well as, at the suggestion of Metropolitan Cornelius, on preparations for the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the birth of the ardent fighter for the preservation of the Orthodox faith, Holy Martyr and Confessor Archpriest Avvakum. Moreover, Metropolitan Korniliy proposed to the participants of the round table a draft of concrete measures, with which the Old Believers' consent could now address the Government of the Russian Federation and the Russian public.

Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia Cornelius (RPSTs):

“The main message to society in connection with the 400th anniversary of the birth of Archpriest Avvakum can be a call for the embodiment of the spiritual and civic ideals of Holy Russia, which was vividly expressed by Archpriest Avvakum. This outstanding fighter and writer of the 17th century - he was not a stirrer of controversy, and enmity, and schism, but above all an example of selfless service to the faith and the homeland. His followers, the so-called "Old Believers" or who were called "schismatics", despite the persecution, did not develop either protest ideologies or justifications for resisting violence by any means. Persecuted for centuries, they gave an example of loyalty to the traditions of their ancestors in everything - from everyday life, clothing to the deep foundations of the worldview. With the establishment of religious tolerance in Russia, according to the Decree of 1905, they gave acceleration to industry, science and the arts, which made Russia at the beginning of the 20th century a dynamically developing world leader.

That is why the anniversary is intended to become an incentive both to activate the historical memory and self-determination of the Russian people, and to assert the highest religious values ​​of Orthodoxy, which unite all citizens of the country. "

Any divisions make people weaker. The division of the single pre-schismatic Russian Orthodox Church into many Old Believer accords and rumors caused enormous damage to the authority of the Christian Church in the eyes of society. Therefore, the more we cooperate with each other in those areas in which such cooperation is possible, the more people will learn the truth about ancient Orthodoxy and come to the Truth.

Speaker: Daniel Ermokhin

Journalist: Olga Samsonova

On Friday, November 27 v 19:00 as part of the cycle of open evening lectures of the Moscow Old Believer Theological School in the Rogozhsky Settlement, a lecture by the rector of the church in the name of St. John the Theologian of Veliky Novgorod, Father Alexander Pankratov "Dialogue of the RPSTs with other hopes"

Priest Alexander Pankratov pictured by Father Alexei Lopatin

Priest Alexander Pankratov- a historian, a member of the commission at the Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Old Rite Church for dialogue with other hopes - will competently tell about the current state of affairs in this difficult area.

Directions:

By road to the intersection of Nizhegorodskaya Street or Entuziastov Highway with the Third Transport Ring.

1. Fastest in the evening:

From st. underground Ilyich Square (Roman) minibus No. 340M

2.With guaranteed traffic jams on weekdays evenings:

From st. underground Marxist, Ryazan Prospect by any transport to the stop "Starobyadcheskaya street".

3. Exotic option(the bus runs rarely on schedule)

From st. underground Aviamotornaya by bus no. 759 to the stop "Rogozhsky village" street.

4. The railway option is also an option, and without traffic jams :)

Travel by train from the stations "Kuntsevo", "Rabochy settlement", "Fili", Belorussky railway station, Savelovsky railway station, metro station "Rizhskaya", st. "Kalanchevskaya", Kursk railway station, st. "Tekstilshchiki", "Lyublino", "Kolomenskoye", "Tsaritsyno" - to the station "Kalitniki".

Classes are held with information and technical support of the project "Old Believer Thought"

About upcoming lectures - follow the announcements on the site for thinking and seeking

We invite everyone!

Material on the topic:

On February 3, another academic event took place within the framework of the Historical and Liturgical Seminar at the Patriarchal Center of the Old Russian Liturgical Tradition in Rubtsov (ROC MP). With a lecture on the topic “ Pre-schismatic features of the church life of Veliky Novgorod"Spoke the priest of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church, rector at Vitka in Veliky Novgorod Priest Alexander Pankratov.

In his speech, Fr. Alexander presented an overview of the main stages of the church and political history of one of the most ancient Russian cities. The role and place of Veliky Novgorod is much larger than it usually seems, since it was there that the peculiarities of spiritual practice and liturgical tradition were formed - that unique Novgorod culture, which, along with Moscow, was most clearly manifested in the pre-Nikon church and cultural life of Russia, in particular, in the old printed book, icon painting and statutory nuances of worship, and after the Schism it was organically preserved and developed in the Old Believers.

Only with the establishment of St. Petersburg as a new administrative center of Russia, Novgorod lost its former cultural influence in the North-West, including due to the demographic impoverishment of the Novgorod region in the St. Petersburg period. In addition, as a result of the government's policy regarding the ancient Russian church heritage, Novgorod suffered serious cultural losses - ancient temples and monasteries were destroyed and dismantled for building materials. According to Fr. Alexandra, damage done in the 18th-19th centuries historical heritage Novgorod, is comparable to the communist destruction and almost surpasses them.

Highlighting the main stages of the pre-Nikon history of Novgorod, including the first decades after the Baptism of Rus, the pre-Mongol period, the era of the domination of the Golden Horde over the rest of Russia and, finally, the political rise of Moscow after the annexation of Novgorod and the liquidation of the Republic there in the second half. XV century, about. Alexander noted that up to late XVII century, the Novgorod diocese retained its vast borders and a certain degree of liberty during inner life in particular in terms of priesthood election.

According to Fr. Alexander, one of the striking properties of the psychology of the local population, starting from the earliest chronicle mentions, was the desire for independence, special orders, as well as an attitude towards the outside world according to the principle of "accept or not." Subsequently, this mentality was characteristic of the Old Believers, for example, when appointing clergy to church communities.

Separately about. Alexander spoke about how Novgorod perceived the reforms of Patriarch Nikon: it was the northwestern bishops (Makariy Novgorodsky, Markell of Vologda and Alexander Vyatsky), who formally submitted to the tsar and the patriarch, actually sabotaged the introduction of church reforms, thanks to which Novgorod became one of the centers of the Old Believer opposition. The Solovetsky Monastery, which did not accept the "corrected" books and other Nikon novines, also belonged to the Novgorod diocese.

Subsequently, due to the resettlement of Old Believers in Pomorie and the Baltic States, the Novgorod tradition became one of the defining ones for the Old Believers: from historical limits Novgorod land there was the largest number of known victims for adherence to the old rank of the sufferers listed in the "Russian Grain". And it was at the Novgorod cathedrals of the 1690s. were formulated the basic principles of bezopopovstvo, in particular, Fedoseevsky consent. According to Fr. Alexander, in the decisions of those councils, a certain skepticism was manifested in relation to everything that comes from Moscow, inherent in the mentality of the Novgorod population.

At the end of his speech, Fr. Alexander expressed the wish that the sense of responsibility for the preservation of native church antiquity, characteristic of the ancient Novgorodians and making the Old Believers akin to the zealots of the Old Russian tradition in the bosom of the ROC, would contribute to the study and revival of this heritage in their spiritual practice - "each in his own hope." Known to many for his online publications and discussions, the priest answered the questions of the audience, thanked the organizers and guests of the seminar for their keen interest and communication, and offered his assistance in organizing pilgrimage trips to Veliky Novgorod.

Also about. Alexander spoke about on Slavna, recently transferred to the Old Believer community of Veliky Novgorod, and asked the participants of the meeting at the Patriarchal Center to provide financial assistance in the restoration of this monument of ancient Russian architecture.

Based on materials from the site www.oldrpc.ru and messages from the event participants.

Quite recently, the head of Mordovia said that the 400th anniversary of the birth of Patriarch Nikon will be "a major event in 2005". “Mordvin, who became the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, made a significant contribution to the unification of the peoples of Russia, strengthening the spiritual foundations of society,” he said. There are already many publications in the media and in church scientific publications that testify to the preparation of canonization by certain forces in the Moscow Patriarchate. that is, the canonization of Patriarch Nikon, very famous in our history. I want to note that upon careful study, the scientific-historical, in particular, the factual basis of the theoretical constructions of the current apologists of the mentioned hierarch causes a number of bewilders. mainly on the example of the article by V. Schmidt "Life of Patriarch Nikon", published in the "Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate", No. 11 for 2002.

The narrative about Nikon's activities at the Novgorod cathedra says: "he zealously cares about the beauty of the temples." Probably, by such concern the author means, in particular, the well-known from the recently fully published "Investigative case of the Novgorod uprising of 1650" Nikon's desire to make serious restructuring inside the St. Sophia Cathedral. Here are just the opinion of Novgorodians about this "jealousy of splendor" was sharply negative, which V. Schmidt, however, is silent about.

Let me cite a short excerpt from the above-mentioned source: "Yes, he is Metropolitan Nikon, according to your sovereign's decree, he arrived in Veliky Novgorod as a metropolitan, and he took the masons Fedka with goods and wanted the cathedral church Sofia the Wisdom of God to tear down and break the pillars. Sovereign, the cathedral church was built according to angelic evangelism. And we, people of all ranks, beat him, the metropolitan, with our foreheads and did not let the cathedral church break down and did not let the pillars break. It should be especially noted that this was practically the only accusation against Nikon on the part of the rebels, which was also supported by the government. April 21, 1650 from Ambassadorial order A letter was sent to the Novgorod metropolitan, where on behalf of the tsar it was directly said: "and you, our pilgrim, to destroy cathedral churches and did not order to break the pillars."

The beginning of the reform of church singing, the introduction into liturgical use of the so-called "Kiev chant" also belongs to the Novgorod period of the future patriarch's activity. Giving quite positive assessment This change, V. Schmidt, however, is silent about the existence, for example, of such an opinion on this matter: “Patriarch Nikon with his reforms is at the center of the transition to the gradual secularization of this art (church singing, - AP). compare with a railway switchman who switched the arrow of the path of liturgical singing art to another path, continuously moving away from the first, main path.

Starting from this period, liturgical singing ceases to be understood as one of the forms of worship itself and begins to be considered as music brought into the temple. ”To this it should be added that a letter of 1668 was published quite a long time ago, given by the Eastern Patriarchs Macarius of Antioch who were then in Moscow and Paisius of Alexandria, where he admits that singing is “partisan ... not from the sowing of the Eastern Church.” Let us recall a well-known fact, undoubtedly Western, Catholic in origin.

The strongest Western influence also noted other significant historical realities associated with the name of Nikon: the so-called "book correction" and the creation of a theory about the primacy of the priesthood over the kingdom. There are many studies and publications on this topic, the most significant of which are, however, ignored by V. Schmidt. Thus, there are no references to the fundamental monograph by N. F. Kapterev, the two-volume edition "Patriarch Nikon and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich", published back in 1909-1912. and recently reprinted. The major work of S. A. Zenkovsky "Russian Old Believers" is not mentioned either.

Spiritual movements of the seventeenth century. "In connection with the last of the circumstances noted, I think it is appropriate to cite, belonging to S. A. Zenkovsky, a characteristic of those aspirations of Nikon, which V. Schmidt calls" the churching of the state ":" In his interpretation of church power and its superiority over power Tsar Nikon completely departed from the Byzantine and Russian tradition of the symphony of authorities and completely took the point of view of the Catholic Church, as the popes expressed it in the 11th-13th centuries, during the struggle with emperors for investiture. " that Nikon "was a vivid exponent of the traditional Russian religious and philosophical worldview" seems to be at least insufficiently substantiated.

As you know, events are associated with the times, so to speak, the zenith of Nikon's sovereignty. Russian-Swedish war 1656-1658, which was largely conducted on the lands of the historical Novgorod region. V. Schmidt gives a very high assessment to the geopolitical talents of the patriarch, saying that "it was he who pointed out the historical tasks of Russia to annex Little Russia and Belarus, to access the Baltic Sea, to protect Orthodoxy in Ingria and Karelia."

The fact that the war with Poland was actually started and waged by Tsar Alexei, for this purpose, and left Moscow on May 18, 1654, leaving "in his place" the patriarch, is kept silent, however. War with Sweden was also declared by the king. The Patriarch, on the other hand, displayed his "geopolitical consciousness" in a rather peculiar way. Blessing the troops on the campaign, he urged them to go by sea (!) To Stockholm and capture it.

In the absence of a European-level military fleet in Russia at that time, it was, of course, impossible to fulfill this blessing. Here we can conclude how in Nikon's "statist" consciousness the situation was with practical politics: he called for the achievement of obviously unrealistic goals (V. Schmidt says nothing about the aforementioned call for a sea voyage). The real story, however, passed its harsh verdict: the war was lost by Russia, and a stream of Orthodox refugees rushed to us from Ingria and part of Karelia that remained behind Sweden. Nikon's defense of Orthodoxy in the Baltics turned out to be in practice. And about this, however, V. Schmidt is silent.

Nothing is said about another curious moment. As is known, fighting between Russia and Sweden were terminated on July 21, 1658. Nikon voluntarily left the department quite shortly before that, on July 10. Perhaps he foresaw the outcome of the war and his own collapse associated with it in the role of not only the ecclesiastical, but also the secular supreme leader. Of course, this is just an assumption, perhaps quite bold and certainly in need of an evidence base. However, the indisputable historical fact is that the period of the final disagreement between the tsar and the patriarch was precisely July 1658, the time of defeat in the war with the Swedes. Probably, Alexei Mikhailovich, as an unconditionally practical politician, simply ceased to value Nikon after that. In other words, the priesthood, which was the "problem of the kingdom" in the patriarchal theory, could not withstand the collision with the brutal military practice; an undertaking was blessed (and perhaps even initiated), I repeat, obviously unsuccessful.

In 1666 Nikon was sent into exile, where, according to V. Schmidt, he was "under the strictest supervision, in a cramped and musty cell, in the absence of communication with the world." However, published at the end of the nineteenth century. documents paint a slightly different picture of the stay of the defrocked patriarch in the Ferapontov monastery. In the tsarist "Instruction" the monastic brethren were prescribed "food and rest to give him to Nikon according to his needs."

By a special decree dated January 5, 1666, the resources of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery, one of the richest in the country, were attracted to keep the exiled. After July 1667, according to a new tsarist decree, new "cells" were built for Nikon, replaced by the end of 1675 with a real palace, which cost the state and monastic treasury a huge amount of 672 rubles at that time. There were only 25 living rooms here. The "painting" of the annual supplies of the former patriarch, for example, dated November 1673, is also impressive. There are 15 buckets of church wine, 10 buckets of "Romaneya", 10 buckets of "Rena", 30 poods of caviar, 10,000 (!) Eggs, 1 pood of salmon, 150 pike perch and ide, 20 poods of "hops". In the direct subordination of Nikon, there were 10 monks and about 25 serfs.

By order of the exiled, the serfs of the Ferapontov Monastery poured a whole island on Lake Borodavskoye, where Nikon sometimes retired to pray. The conditions of the former patriarch's stay in the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery, where, as we know, Nikon was transferred in 1676, after the death of Tsar Alexei, were not too ascetic. Here Nikon lived in a separate building, with seven servants, and the table for the "sufferer" was prepared "better than for the brethren, not only on permitted days, but also on fast days (!)" (Nikon, - A. P.) will be required ".

The above (and in part, these are only the most striking) evidence of the "hardships of exile" V. Schmidt ignores. But he writes a lot and pompously about Nikon's monastery building. However, even the quotes given by the named author on this topic from the works of the patriarch himself, when objectively analyzed, turn out to be not so sublime. In this connection, I will dwell on the history of the Valdai Iversky Monastery of the Novgorod Diocese, especially since Nikon himself dedicated a work to it called "Mental Paradise". We read here (quoted by V. Schmidt) "prediction" of the patriarch about the future monastery: "And with a little care, everything on this earth will be abundant." Somewhat below it is deciphered what, in fact, this "care" consisted of: weigh ".

I think it is appropriate to cite here the data that in the Starorussky district alone the Iversky monastery received 430 villages with peasants, as well as "forest lands, fish and animal catches, beaver rutting." Under such possessions, the monastery, of course, was quickly rebuilt, and precious objects appeared in its churches. Nikon wrote that he put the Iberian Icon of the Mother of God in the monastery "I have fourty-four thousand rubles of drag, except for the grace that overshadows from her, she has no comparison anywhere else." This phrase quite clearly characterizes the inner world of the patriarch. The monetary value of the icon is here in the first, that is, the main place, and the purely theological concept of "overshadowing grace", in the second, or rather, secondary position. V. Schmidt calls it a rationalized system of socio-political views.

Within the framework of this system are also Nikon's studies of "healing", about which V. Schmidt writes almost as a gift of healing, similar to what, according to Church Tradition, was inherent in the ancient saints. However, in the fund of the Preobrazhensky Prikaz in Moscow (more precisely, it was preserved at the end of the 19th century, when it was published, which V. Schmidt, however, is silent about), the investigation case of 1694 on charges of "sorcery". Someone Elder Savin was his main defendant. During interrogation, he testified that he was in Nikon's retinue during his exile in Ferapontov, where “he, the holy patriarch, treated many people with all kinds of diseases according to the herbalist and the doctor, and he, the holy patriarch, taught him, Savina, how to treat him.

And for him, His Holiness Patriarch, that physician and herbalist in Roman language took him out of Persia and translated into Greek, and from Greek into Russian, Grechenin, Elder Meletius. " by burying the roots of a young birch tree (!) into the ground, “so that the disease does not regurgitate in the future.” Thus, the rationalism inherent in Nikon and his entourage turns out to be not free from the occult component.

Not entirely Orthodox, to put it mildly, foundations are also revealed when analyzing the design of perhaps the most famous Nikon monastery, New Jerusalem near Moscow. The modern researcher V. I. Martynov in the book "Culture, Iconosphere and Liturgical Singing of Moscow Rus", published in 2000, quotes from the work of the founder of the Jesuit order Ignatius Loyola, which clearly indicates that spiritual exercises in the Jesuit style a literal reproduction of the Palestinian topography is desirable, albeit on a mental level.

Nikon, in fact, went even further, trying, as you know, to create the "Holy Land" in the patrimony near Moscow, absolutely tangible, perhaps to ease the contemplative load on his own consciousness, burdened state affairs... These circumstances are ignored by both V. Schmidt and A. A. Yeshchenko, the author of the article "Russian Palestine by Patriarch Nikon", in the 3rd 2003 issue of the Novgorod diocese magazine "Sofia".

A passage from the article by V. Schmidt is also connected with the historical territory of our diocese, causing the greatest amount of bewilderment per unit of printed area. It is about Nikon's founding of the Monastery of the Cross on the Kiy-island in the Onega Bay of the White Sea. The author of the "Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate", talking about this, contradicts himself. First, V. Schmidt expounds the well-known legend about the founding of the monastery "by promise" on the island, where, being still an unknown monk, Nikon was thrown by a wave during a shipwreck and escaped death. Below, however, it is said that "The Cross Monastery - the guardian and symbol of Holy Russia in the North - was created to resist schismatic and Protestant tendencies, to strengthen the foundations of Orthodox statehood ... as a military fortress to protect the approaches to the mainland. Choosing a site near the Solovetsky Monastery, apparently, it was also caused by the fact that Solovki, this powerful and rich citadel on the border of the Russian state, gravitated and finally joined the Old Believers, became a stronghold of anti-state forces throughout the 17th century. "

First, as already noted, the contradiction in the statement of the reason for the construction of the monastery is surprising: it is unclear whether this was purely religious gratitude to God for a miraculous salvation or still a political calculation. There is no specific, generalizing conclusion.

Secondly, in the Novgorod diocese in the 17th century there were hundreds of monasteries, many of which were much more ancient and glorified than the newly created Krestny. Therefore, naming only the latter "the guardian and symbol of Holy Russia in the North" is puzzling.

Thirdly, in historiography, according to my information, there is no information about the existence of a prison for "church disobedient persons" in the Krestny Monastery, as well as about the conduct of a special "anti-schismatic", especially "anti-Protestant" missionary work by the insular brethren. There was no center for the correspondence of books, let alone a printing house.

Fourthly, it is rather strange to call the low wooden fence of the monastery with decorative turrets, which, by the way, is depicted in one of the illustrations in the article by V. Schmidt, "a military fortress."

All of the above suggests that, paradoxically, the author of the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate allowed an excessive politicization of the spiritual deed of Nikon, deeply revered by him.

What has been said by V. Schmidt about the Solovetsky Monastery deserves a separate consideration. It is not clear, in particular, how "before" and during church reform XVII century it was possible to "gravitate towards the Old Believers"? After all, before the transformations of this spiritual movement did not exist, and in the process of reforms they could either be accepted or not (as the Solovetsky brethren did in 1658). Initially, the rejection of innovations was limited to the actions on Solovki of those forces that V. Schmidt calls "anti-state". It is well known that the monastic "anti-protesters" wrote petitions to the tsar for a long time, full of self-abasement, and only without receiving an answer to them, they decided on armed confrontation with the reformers, in order to preserve the antiquity that was revered as a saint. And even in 1674, at the height of the famous siege, one of the prominent leaders of the rebellious monastery, Elder Gerontius, persuaded the monks "not to shoot at the sovereign's people."

On June 23 and 24, 2016, an international Old Believers conference was held in Moscow on the topic “ Old Belief, State and Society in the Modern World". Old Believers of all accords between Russia and the Diaspora touched upon a number of problems of the Old Believers and the present and shared their experience.

A platform for an inter-Old Rite event that took place, the format of which is close to those held at the beginning of the 20th century. Old Believers congresses, spoke Moscow House of Nationalities on the basis of the "Cultural and Pilgrimage Center. Archpriest Avvakum "and with the support of a state grant from the National Charitable Foundation.

Recall that the previous landmark event in the inter-Old Believer dialogue was the round table "Actual problems of the Old Believers" in March of this year, which was also attended by delegates from the traditional Old Believer accords of Russia and neighboring countries.

The two-day conference was attended by representatives of the main Old Believer consensus from Russia, as well as guests from near and far abroad. The conference was attended by official delegations of Old Believer consents. The participants of the event came from Pskov, Rzhev, Ulan-Ude, Samara, Ulyanovsk, the Republic of Komi, St. Petersburg, Moscow. There were also representatives from countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Moldova, Belarus, Australia, Bolivia and Ukraine.

Conference participants

The opening was attended by the primates: of the Russian Orthodox Old Rite Church Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia Korniliy (Titov) and the Russian Ancient Orthodox Church Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexander (Kalinin)... The Old Orthodox Pomeranian Church was represented by Chairman of the Central Council of the DOC of Latvia Fr. Alexey (Zhilko).

Conference Bureau

Metropolitan Cornelius, in his welcoming speech to the conference participants, noted the common for the Old Believers of various accords:

“... Despite the existing differences of opinion and territorial disunity, we still have a lot in common - this is adherence to the historical roots of ancient Orthodoxy and respect to the history of two-fingered Holy Russia, the preservation of the customs of ancient Russian culture and everyday traditions of the people and love for their Fatherland. "

His Grace Cornelius, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia

The head of the RPSTs mentioned the aforementioned round table, which became a predecessor in preparation for the conference, listing the possible facets of interaction:

“Representatives of the three largest ancient Orthodox accords got together and agreed to leave behind the discussion disputes about faith, polemics about dogmas and discuss the foundations of mutual cooperation and coordination of actions in dialogue with the state on the revival of spiritual and moral values, as well as state assistance in the return and restoration of monuments architecture and cultural heritage, in the field of social activities and in preparation for the 400th anniversary of the birth of Archpriest Avvakum. "

Vladyka also noted the possibility of jointly solving problems:

“With common cooperation, we would be able to solve such important tasks as preserving the Russian national culture, Russian and Old Slavonic languages, customs and foundations, which are the invaluable wealth of the peoples of Russia ”.

The conference was also attended by four more Old Believer bishops, in addition to the primates of the ROC and RDC: Bishop Siluyan (Kilin), Novosibirsk and all Siberia, Bishop Zosima (Eremeev), Don and Caucasian, Bishop Evmeniy (Mikheev), Kishinev and all Moldova, and Bishop (Novozhilov), Yaroslavsky and Kostroma.

Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Old Believers Church. Photo protode. Alexandra Govorova

On the first day of the conference, Archpriest Andrei Marchenko(RDC) with a report on the topic "Inter-Old Believer Cooperation: Past, Present, Prospects." Chairman of the Central Council of the DOC of Latvia O. Alexey Nikolaevich Zhilko and Chairman of the Supreme Council of the DOC of Lithuania O. Grigory Boyarov told about the Old Believers-bespopovtsy in the Baltic States and their experience of interaction with the government. Representatives of the Pomeranian Church Walter Walterovich Phot and Maxim Borisovich Pashinin told about work public organization « Cultural and pilgrimage center. Archpriest Avvakum»Over the past five years of its activity. Professor Mikhail Olegovich Shakhov told about the problems and prospects for the development of state-confessional relations. Old Believer of Chapel Consent, who moved from Bolivia to Primorye, Elisey Murachev spoke about the difficulties that migrant compatriots in Russia have to face.

Then the representative of the delegation from Romania, Professor Feodor Ivanovich Kirile shared 26 years of experience of the Russian-Lipovan community in Romania and talked about relations with society and the state and practical steps to maintain a spiritual connection with the traditions of Holy Russia.

He spoke about his experience of working with youth, education of Christian patriotism and cultural and moral education Archpriest Evgeny Chunin(RPSTs), and the priest Alexander Pankratov(RPSTs) prepared a report on the prospects for the creation of an Old Believer pilgrimage center in Veliky Novgorod.

Priest Alexander (Pankratov) speaking

Archpriest Evgeny Chunin from Rzhev emphasized the importance of working with youth and children, one of the forms of which is pilgrimage:

“The most important and most difficult thing is to pass on the memory of your ancestors to your children. In this regard, Christian pilgrimages to holy places, sources, graves, places of former temples and monasteries are the best remedy persuasion even for unbelieving youth "

On Friday, June 24, the conference continued its work. Among the reports there was a speech Alexey Bezgodov(Deputy Chairman of the RS DOC) on the topic "Old Believer Consent in modern Russia». Alexey Muravyov(Professor High school Economics, RPSTs) shared his vision of the principles and approaches to the study of Old Believers at the present stage. Representative of the Rzhevskaya Pokrovsk community Vasily Gladyshev(RPSTs) spoke about his experience in analyzing and analyzing anti-Old Rite programs and publications in the media and online publications.