The Old Believers in Imperial Russia : Oppression, Opportunism and Religious Identity in Tsarist Moscow

'Two Romes have fallen. The third stands. And there will be no fourth.' So spoke Russian monk Hegumen Filofei of Pskov in 1510, proclaiming Muscovite Russia as heirs to the legacy of the Roman Empire following the collapse of the Byzantine Empire. The so-called 'Third Rome Doctrine' spurred the creation of the Russian Orthodox Church, although just a century later a further schism occurred, with the Old Believers (or 'Old Ritualists') challenging Patriarch Nikon's liturgical and ritualistic reforms and laying their own claim to the mantle of Roman legacy. While scholars have commonly painted the subsequent history of the Old Believers as one of survival in the face of persistent persecution at the hands of both tsarist and church authorities, Peter De Simone here offers a more nuanced picture. Based on research into extensive, yet mostly unknown, archival materials in Moscow, he shows the Old Believers as versatile and opportunistic, and demonstrates that they actively engaged with, and even challenged, the very notion of the spiritual and ideological place of Moscow in Imperial Russia.Ranging in scope from Peter the Great to Lenin, this book will be of use to all scholars of Russian and Orthodox Church history. Cover Author Biography Library of Modern Russia Title page Copyright Dedication Contents List of Illustrations Transliteration and Dates List of Abbreviations Acknowledgements Introduction Overview Russia’s Spiritual Development before the Raskol The Old Believers’ Defense of their Faith The Rogozhskoe Old Believers and their Community A Note on Sources 1. Old Believers and the Opportunities of Imperial Russia Introduction Opportunity Arises The Conflict over Old Believer Identity Rogozhskoe Cemetery’s Founding and First Decades The Rogozhskoe Old Believers and the Reimagining of Moscow, 1812–25 Rogozhskoe as a Center of the Old Rite Conclusion 2. Faith and Identity Under Siege, 1822–56 Targeting the Old Rite The Rogozhskoe Old Believers and the Founding of the Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy Divide and Conquer Conclusion 3. Rogozhskoe in the Reform Era, 1856–1905 Redefining the Old Rite in Rogozhskoe Cemetery Community and Order in Rogozhskoe’s Holy Moscow, 1856–1905 The Rogozhskoe Old Believers and the Era of Reform A Community of Loyal Old Believers Conclusion 4. A New Beginning, 1905–17 “Now we have a Church!” Rogozhskoe after Religious Toleration Governing the Community Rogozhskoe as a Spiritual Center after Toleration Rogozhskoe’s New Generation Rogozhskoe and the Efforts to Define the Old Rite after 1905 Conclusion Epilogue and Conclusion Tragedy and New Challenges Conclusions Notes Bibliography Index "Two Romes have fallen. The third stands. And there will be no fourth." So spoke Russian monk Hegumen Filofei of Pskov in 1510, proclaiming Muscovite Russia as heirs to the legacy of the Roman Empire following the collapse of the Byzantine Empire. The so-called "Third Rome Doctrine" spurred the creation of the Russian Orthodox Church, although just a century later a further schism occurred, with the Old Believers (or "Old Ritualists") challenging Patriarch Nikon's liturgical and ritualistic reforms and laying their own claim to the mantle of Roman legacy. While scholars have commonly painted the subsequent history of the Old Believers as one of survival in the face of persistent persecution at the hands of both tsarist and church authorities, Peter De Simone here offers a more nuanced picture. Based on research into extensive, yet mostly unknown, archival materials in Moscow, he shows the Old Believers as versatile and opportunistic, and demonstrates that they actively engaged with, and even challenged, the very notion of the spiritual and ideological place of Moscow in Imperial Russia. Ranging in scope from Peter the Great to Lenin, this book is essential for all scholars of Russian and Orthodox Church history"--Publisher's description Back cover: "Two Romes have fallen. The third stands. And there will be no fourth." So spoke Russian monk Hegumen Filofei of Pskov in 1510, proclaiming Muscovite Russia as heirs to the legacy of the Roman Empire following the collapse of the Byzantine Empire. The so-called "Third Rome Doctrine" spurred the creation of the Russian Orthodox Church, although just a century later a further schism occurred, with the Old Believers (or "Old Ritualists") challenging Patriarch Nikon's liturgical and ritualistic reforms and laying their own claim to the mantle of Roman legacy. While scholars have commonly painted the subsequent history of the Old Believers as one of survival in the face of persistent persecution at the hands of both tsarist and church authorities, Peter De Simone here offers a more nuanced picture. Based on research into extensive, yet mostly unknown, archival materials in Moscow, he shows the Old Believers as versatile and opportunistic, and demonstrates that they actively engaged with, and even challenged, the very notion of the spiritual and ideological place of Moscow in Imperial Russia. Ranging in scope from Peter the Great to Lenin, this book is essential for all scholars of Russian and Orthodox Church history