Formation of Old Believers parishes in the Tambov diocese in the late 1870s of the 19th century

Abstract

In the mid-17th century, one of the most tragic events in the history of the Russian Church occurred, when as a result of the Old Believer schism, a significant part of the Christians of Russia was torn away from Orthodoxy. The efforts of church leaders aimed at returning adherents of the old pre-Nikon rites to Orthodoxy led to the emergence of the Edinoverie movement at the end of the 18th century. The author of the term "Edinoverie" is considered to be Metropolitan Platon (Levshin) of Moscow. Edinoverie means the unification of the Old Believers with the Orthodox Church on the basis of common doctrine, sacred hierarchy and Sacraments, with the preservation of the old church rites and liturgical books among the Old Believers. Unfortunately, the Tambov region has long been a place where schism and sectarianism have become quite widespread. The schismatics, whose number, according to official statistics alone, which did not reflect the real religious situation in the Tambov province, in the second half of the 19th century was about 5,854 people, lived in 12 districts. The author comes to the conclusion that Undoubtedly, the formation of Old Believers parishes was an obvious major success of the church mission in the Tambov diocese. Objectively, such success was due to the fact that many Tambov Old Believers were ready to accept Orthodoxy on condition that they retain their previous rites within the framework of Old Believers. However, undoubtedly, first of all, this became possible thanks to specific people - priests Vasily Remorov and Isaiah Filippovich Agafonov, as well as the psalm-reader Vasily Kazarin.