Edinoverie
Encyclopedia
Edinoverie is an arrangement between certain Russian Old Believer communities and the official Russian Orthodox State Church
, whereby the communities are treated as a part of the normative Orthodox Church system, while maintaining their own traditional rites. Thus, they are often described as Old-Ritualists , rather than Old Believers.
of Edinovertsy (единоверцы; sometimes also transcribed Yedinovertsy), i.e 'coreligionists' (literally, 'one's of the same faith'; the word is also used to refer to members of Edinoverie community). It may be interpreted as 'Unity in Faith', although perhaps a more precise meaning would be 'Accepting [the Old-Rite Christians] as people of the same faith [by the Established Church]'. More open-minded hierarchs
of the State Church saw in Edinoverie a mutual acceptance. In the words of Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow
, addressed to the Edinovertsy at the consecration of St Nicholas Church for them at Rogozhskoye Cemetery
(1854), «Вы единоверцы нам, а мы единоверцы вам» ("You are people of our faith, and we are people of your faith").
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Edinoverie arrangements began to appear in the last quarter of the 18th century, after more than a century of struggle between Russia's established Orthodox Church and various Old Believer groups, who did not recognise the changes to the church rituals and the official translations of the Scripture made under the leadership of Patriarch Nikon
in the 1660s.
On the side of the established church, the initiators of Edinoverie are said to be Metropolitan Platon
of Moscow (the senior hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church) and Archbishop Nikifor
,who was Archbishop first of Sloviansk
and Kherson
, and later of Astrakhan
and Stavropol
in South Russia.
Nikifor, when he began reaching out to Old Believers in 1780, was based in Poltava
, the headquarters of what was then the Diocese
of Sloviansk and Kherson, covering much of eastern Ukraine
, and later to become the Diocese of Ekaterinoslav). When he visited a chapel of Popovtsy
( Old Believers who already had priests of their own, not recognised by the official church) Old Believers in Elisavetgrad in July of that year, he offered the local Old Believers the possibility of legalising their chapel as an official church, integrated into the established Church, with a priest selected by the Old Believers themselves, utilising the pre-Nikonian
service books and rites. The offer was rejected by the Old Believers of Elisavetgrad, but later that month, many Old Believers of the village of Bolshaya Znamenka (in Melitopol
uyezd
) accepted a similar arrangement. In February 1781, an archbishop issued a letter, authorising them to set up a church legally and carry out their services in accordance with their traditional rites. That was done by consecrating as a church the wooden chapel that the Old Believers of Znamenka had built in 1776.
Nikifor's scheme of legalisation turned out to be so popular that soon enough not only did the Popovtsy
begin to request legalisation, but also the Bespopovtsy
(the priestless faction) began asking Nikifor to provide them with priests. One such Bezpopovtsy community was the village of Zlynka in 1782.
Outside of Ukraine, in the same year, the Old Believer merchants of Moscow
and the Volga arranged similar legalisation of the Upper-Isaac Skete
(compound) in the Irgiz
Rivers area of Saratov Governorate.
On the side of the Old Believers, the driving force of the Edinoverie compromise were Hieromonk
Michael Kalmykov and the Monk Nikodim.
Having learned of Nikifor's experiments in the South and the legalisation of the Irgiz community, Nikodim, with an agreement of many Popovtsy
of the Starodub
area, began to contact civil and ecclesiastical authorities with regards to the possibility of "legalising" the priests of the Popovtsy. After a number of rejections, he gained the support of Count Peter Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky
in 1783. In the same year, his petition to Empress Catherine II of Russia
was forwarded to the Holy Synod
. In April 1784, by which time Kalmykov had died, the Empress issued a rescript, granting priests to Old Believers and allowing them to officiate according to the "Old Rites", but not providing for any bishops. Disappointed, Nikodim fell sick and died at the age of 39.
In August 1785, a government decree was promulgated, providing for the organization of "Old Believer"' churches with the established Orthodox Church, although they still were not to have their own bishops or any sort of organizational centre. Nevertheless, this point is usually considered the start of the Edinoverie scheme.
Catherine's successor, Paul I
, was perhaps more interested than Catherine was, in the matter of integrating the Old Believers into the established church on acceptable terms. Legal priests were granted to the Old Believers of Kazan
in 1796 and to those of Nizhny Novgorod
in 1797. On March 12, 1798, the Emperor issued a decree, requiring all bishops to ordain priests for the Old Believers (using the "old" rite of ordination
, acceptable to the flock), and permitting construction of Old Ritualist churches.
The chief bishop of the established church, Metropolitan Platon of Moscow, wrote the "Eleven Articles of Edinoverie" , the document regulating the "union" between the official church and the Old Believers. Although the Metropolian's rules satisfied some of the wishes of the Old Believers, the Edinoverie parishioners nevertheless remained second-class citizens within the Church: for example, the Old-Rite priests were still normally not permitted to administer sacraments to the mainstream Orthodox believers.
Throughout the 19th century, the attitude of the established church toward the Edinoverie may be described as that of tolerating a "necessary evil": a tool to bring the "dissenters" into the fold of the Mother Church. On occasions, the church authorities were quite forceful in converting Old Believer communities into the Edinoverie scheme, and the government would usually treat those within the arrangement preferentially compared to those who did not join the compromise. For example, in 1818 the government prohibited the printing of Old Ritualist religious books, other than by the Edinoverie printing houses. At the same time,
parishioners of "regular" Orthodox churches were discouraged by the authorities from joining Old-Rite parishes.
Before the Revolution of 1917, there were around 300 Edinoverie parishes in Russia.
In the capital of the Empire, Saint Petersburg
, the first Edinoverie church was set up in 1799. In 1917, the Edinovertsy of Saint Petersburg received their first bishop (Bishop Simon of Okhta
), but in 1932 their churches were closed by the Communist authorities, not to be revived until 1990. The Moscow
community of Edinovertsy, based in Lefortovo District
, were allowed to erect their churches after the Fire of 1812
; two extant churches, completed in 1819 and 1825, which were shut down in 1931, and are now operated by the State Russian Orthodox Church
.
as Eastern Catholics maintaining their distinctive rites, becoming, in effect Greek-Catholic
equivalents of the Edinovertsy. The most famous such convert, Potapy Emelianov
was a former Edinoverie priest in Luhansk Oblast
, Ukraine
. In 1918, he was received into the Russian Catholic Church
with his entire parish. He later survived a ten year sentence at Solovki prison camp and died in 1936. He is now under investigation for possible Canonisation.http://google.com/search?q=cache:fEjwyx7TIH8J:en.catholicmartyrs.org/index.php%3Fmod%3Dpages%26page%3Demelyanov+%22potapy+emelianov%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&lr=lang_en
According to a 2005 interview, Russian Catholic
priest Sergei Golovanov
stated that there was then one Old-Ritualist Catholic priest active on Russian soil.http://stmichaelruscath.org/news/news-20050131.php
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
, whereby the communities are treated as a part of the normative Orthodox Church system, while maintaining their own traditional rites. Thus, they are often described as Old-Ritualists , rather than Old Believers.
Meaning of the term
The Russian word Edinoverie may be a back-formationBack-formation
In etymology, back-formation is the process of creating a new lexeme, usually by removing actual or supposed affixes. The resulting neologism is called a back-formation, a term coined by James Murray in 1889...
of Edinovertsy (единоверцы; sometimes also transcribed Yedinovertsy), i.e 'coreligionists' (literally, 'one's of the same faith'; the word is also used to refer to members of Edinoverie community). It may be interpreted as 'Unity in Faith', although perhaps a more precise meaning would be 'Accepting [the Old-Rite Christians] as people of the same faith [by the Established Church]'. More open-minded hierarchs
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the State Church saw in Edinoverie a mutual acceptance. In the words of Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow
Filaret, Metropolitan of Moscow
Filaret , Metropolitan of Moscow was the most influential figure in the Russian Orthodox Church for more than 40 years, from 1821 to 1867. He was canonized on 13 October 1994 and his feast day is celebrated on November 19.-Life:He was born in Kolomna as Vasily Drozdov...
, addressed to the Edinovertsy at the consecration of St Nicholas Church for them at Rogozhskoye Cemetery
Rogozhskoye Cemetery
Rogozhskoe cemetery in Moscow, Russia, is the spiritual and administrative center of the largest Old Believers denomination, called the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church. Historically, the name cemetery was applied to the whole Old Believer community, with living quarters, cathedral, almshouses,...
(1854), «Вы единоверцы нам, а мы единоверцы вам» ("You are people of our faith, and we are people of your faith").
History
Patriarch Nikon
Nikon , born Nikita Minin , was the seventh patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church...
in the 1660s.
On the side of the established church, the initiators of Edinoverie are said to be Metropolitan Platon
Platon Levshin
Plato II or Platon II was the Metropolitan of Moscow from 1775 to 1812. He personifies the Age of Enlightenment in the Russian Orthodox Church....
of Moscow (the senior hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church) and Archbishop Nikifor
Nikephoros Theotokis
Nikephoros Theotokis or Nikiforos Theotokis was a Greek scholar and theologian, who became an archbishop in the southern provinces of the Russian Empire...
,who was Archbishop first of Sloviansk
Sloviansk
Sloviansk is a city in eastern Ukraine, an administrative center of the Slovianskyi Raion within the Donetsk Oblast. It was founded in 1676, and has a population of 129,600.-History:...
and Kherson
Kherson
Kherson is a city in southern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Kherson Oblast , and is designated as its own separate raion within the oblast. Kherson is an important port on the Black Sea and Dnieper River, and the home of a major ship-building industry...
, and later of Astrakhan
Astrakhan
Astrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of below the sea level. Population:...
and Stavropol
Stavropol
-International relations:-Twin towns/sister cities:Stavropol is twinned with: Des Moines, United States Béziers, France Pazardzhik, Bulgaria-External links:* **...
in South Russia.
Nikifor, when he began reaching out to Old Believers in 1780, was based in Poltava
Poltava
Poltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....
, the headquarters of what was then the Diocese
Eparchy
Eparchy is an anglicized Greek word , authentically Latinized as eparchia and loosely translating as 'rule over something,' like province, prefecture, or territory, to have the jurisdiction over, it has specific meanings both in politics, history and in the hierarchy of the Eastern Christian...
of Sloviansk and Kherson, covering much of eastern Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, and later to become the Diocese of Ekaterinoslav). When he visited a chapel of Popovtsy
Popovtsy
The Popovtsy, or Popovschina , were one of the two principal movements of the Old Believers, which was formed by the end of the 17th century in Russia.-Historical backgrounds:As none of the bishops joined the Old Believers The Popovtsy, or Popovschina (Поповцы, Поповщина in Russian; this name...
( Old Believers who already had priests of their own, not recognised by the official church) Old Believers in Elisavetgrad in July of that year, he offered the local Old Believers the possibility of legalising their chapel as an official church, integrated into the established Church, with a priest selected by the Old Believers themselves, utilising the pre-Nikonian
Patriarch Nikon
Nikon , born Nikita Minin , was the seventh patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church...
service books and rites. The offer was rejected by the Old Believers of Elisavetgrad, but later that month, many Old Believers of the village of Bolshaya Znamenka (in Melitopol
Melitopol
Melitopol is a city in the Zaporizhia Oblast of the southeastern Ukraine. It is situated on the Molochna River that flows through the eastern edge of the city and into the Molochnyi Liman, which eventually joins the Sea of Azov....
uyezd
Uyezd
Uyezd or uezd was an administrative subdivision of Rus', Muscovy, Russian Empire, and the early Russian SFSR which was in use from the 13th century. Uyezds for most of the history in Russia were a secondary-level of administrative division...
) accepted a similar arrangement. In February 1781, an archbishop issued a letter, authorising them to set up a church legally and carry out their services in accordance with their traditional rites. That was done by consecrating as a church the wooden chapel that the Old Believers of Znamenka had built in 1776.
Nikifor's scheme of legalisation turned out to be so popular that soon enough not only did the Popovtsy
Popovtsy
The Popovtsy, or Popovschina , were one of the two principal movements of the Old Believers, which was formed by the end of the 17th century in Russia.-Historical backgrounds:As none of the bishops joined the Old Believers The Popovtsy, or Popovschina (Поповцы, Поповщина in Russian; this name...
begin to request legalisation, but also the Bespopovtsy
Bespopovtsy
Bespopovtsy is one of the two major strains of Old Believers, the one that rejects priests and a number of church rites, such as the Eucharist...
(the priestless faction) began asking Nikifor to provide them with priests. One such Bezpopovtsy community was the village of Zlynka in 1782.
Outside of Ukraine, in the same year, the Old Believer merchants of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
and the Volga arranged similar legalisation of the Upper-Isaac Skete
Skete
A Skete is a monastic style community that allows relative isolation for monks, but alsoallows for communal services and the safety of shared resources and protection...
(compound) in the Irgiz
Irgiz
Irgiz may refer to:* Bolshoy Irgiz River, a river in Russia* Maly Irgiz River, a river in Russia* Irgiz River , a river in Kazakhstan* Irgiz, Kazakhstan, a town in Kazakhstan...
Rivers area of Saratov Governorate.
On the side of the Old Believers, the driving force of the Edinoverie compromise were Hieromonk
Hieromonk
Hieromonk , also called a Priestmonk, is a monk who is also a priest in the Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholicism....
Michael Kalmykov and the Monk Nikodim.
Having learned of Nikifor's experiments in the South and the legalisation of the Irgiz community, Nikodim, with an agreement of many Popovtsy
Popovtsy
The Popovtsy, or Popovschina , were one of the two principal movements of the Old Believers, which was formed by the end of the 17th century in Russia.-Historical backgrounds:As none of the bishops joined the Old Believers The Popovtsy, or Popovschina (Поповцы, Поповщина in Russian; this name...
of the Starodub
Starodub
Starodub is a town and the administrative center of Starodubsky District of Bryansk Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Babinets River , southwest of Bryansk. Population: 16,000 .-History:...
area, began to contact civil and ecclesiastical authorities with regards to the possibility of "legalising" the priests of the Popovtsy. After a number of rejections, he gained the support of Count Peter Rumyantsev-Zadunaisky
Rumyantsev
The Rumyantsev family were Russian counts prominent in Russian imperial politics in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The family claimed descent from the boyar Rumyanets who broke his oath of allegiance and surrendered Nizhny Novgorod to Vasily I of Moscow in 1391.The first Rumyantsev to gain...
in 1783. In the same year, his petition to Empress Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II of Russia
Catherine II, also known as Catherine the Great , Empress of Russia, was born in Stettin, Pomerania, Prussia on as Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg...
was forwarded to the Holy Synod
Holy Synod
In several of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, the patriarch or head bishop is elected by a group of bishops called the Holy Synod...
. In April 1784, by which time Kalmykov had died, the Empress issued a rescript, granting priests to Old Believers and allowing them to officiate according to the "Old Rites", but not providing for any bishops. Disappointed, Nikodim fell sick and died at the age of 39.
In August 1785, a government decree was promulgated, providing for the organization of "Old Believer"' churches with the established Orthodox Church, although they still were not to have their own bishops or any sort of organizational centre. Nevertheless, this point is usually considered the start of the Edinoverie scheme.
Catherine's successor, Paul I
Paul I of Russia
Paul I was the Emperor of Russia between 1796 and 1801. He also was the 72nd Prince and Grand Master of the Order of Malta .-Childhood:...
, was perhaps more interested than Catherine was, in the matter of integrating the Old Believers into the established church on acceptable terms. Legal priests were granted to the Old Believers of Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
in 1796 and to those of Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
in 1797. On March 12, 1798, the Emperor issued a decree, requiring all bishops to ordain priests for the Old Believers (using the "old" rite of ordination
Ordination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
, acceptable to the flock), and permitting construction of Old Ritualist churches.
The chief bishop of the established church, Metropolitan Platon of Moscow, wrote the "Eleven Articles of Edinoverie" , the document regulating the "union" between the official church and the Old Believers. Although the Metropolian's rules satisfied some of the wishes of the Old Believers, the Edinoverie parishioners nevertheless remained second-class citizens within the Church: for example, the Old-Rite priests were still normally not permitted to administer sacraments to the mainstream Orthodox believers.
parishioners of "regular" Orthodox churches were discouraged by the authorities from joining Old-Rite parishes.
Before the Revolution of 1917, there were around 300 Edinoverie parishes in Russia.
In the capital of the Empire, Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, the first Edinoverie church was set up in 1799. In 1917, the Edinovertsy of Saint Petersburg received their first bishop (Bishop Simon of Okhta
Okhta
-Geography:*Okhta River , a river in Russia*Bolshaya Okhta and Malaya Okhta, municipal okrugs of Saint Petersburg, Russia-Buildings:*Okhta Center, a future business center in Saint Petersburg, Russia...
), but in 1932 their churches were closed by the Communist authorities, not to be revived until 1990. The Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
community of Edinovertsy, based in Lefortovo District
Lefortovo District
Lefortovo District is a district of South-Eastern Administrative Okrug of Moscow, Russia. Population: It is named after a close associate of Tsar Peter the Great Franz Lefort, whose troops were stationed nearby at the German Quarter. The district is considered to be founded in 1699. In the 18th...
, were allowed to erect their churches after the Fire of 1812
Fire of Moscow (1812)
The 1812 Fire of Moscow broke out on September 14, 1812 in Moscow on the day when Russian troops and most residents abandoned the city and Napoleon's vanguard troops entered the city following the Battle of Borodino...
; two extant churches, completed in 1819 and 1825, which were shut down in 1931, and are now operated by the State Russian Orthodox Church
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
.
Old Ritualists in Communion with the See of Rome
Some Old Believers have been received into communion with the Catholic ChurchRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
as Eastern Catholics maintaining their distinctive rites, becoming, in effect Greek-Catholic
Greek Catholic Church
The Greek Catholic Church consists of the Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine liturgical tradition and are thus in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, the Pope.-List of Greek Catholic Churches:...
equivalents of the Edinovertsy. The most famous such convert, Potapy Emelianov
Potapy Emelianov
Potapy Emelianov was a Russian Catholic priest and confessor.-Early life:...
was a former Edinoverie priest in Luhansk Oblast
Luhansk Oblast
Luhansk Oblast ) is the easternmost oblast of Ukraine. Its administrative center is Luhansk. The oblast was established in 1938 and bore the name Voroshilovgrad Oblast in honor of Kliment Voroshilov....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. In 1918, he was received into the Russian Catholic Church
Russian Catholic Church
The Russian Catholic Church is a Byzantine Rite church sui juris in full union with the Catholic Church. Historically it represents a schism from the Russian Orthodox Church. It is now in full communion with and subject to the authority of the Pope as defined by Eastern canon law...
with his entire parish. He later survived a ten year sentence at Solovki prison camp and died in 1936. He is now under investigation for possible Canonisation.http://google.com/search?q=cache:fEjwyx7TIH8J:en.catholicmartyrs.org/index.php%3Fmod%3Dpages%26page%3Demelyanov+%22potapy+emelianov%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us&lr=lang_en
According to a 2005 interview, Russian Catholic
Russian Catholic Church
The Russian Catholic Church is a Byzantine Rite church sui juris in full union with the Catholic Church. Historically it represents a schism from the Russian Orthodox Church. It is now in full communion with and subject to the authority of the Pope as defined by Eastern canon law...
priest Sergei Golovanov
Sergei Golovanov
Sergey Golovanov is a Russian Catholic priest of the Byzantine Rite.- Biography :...
stated that there was then one Old-Ritualist Catholic priest active on Russian soil.http://stmichaelruscath.org/news/news-20050131.php