22.02.2018

Patriarch Nikon in the 17th century carried out a number of reforms caused by the need to bring the Church to a unified image of liturgical practice. Some of the clergy and lay people did not accept these changes, proclaiming that they were deviating from old customs, and nicknamed Nikon’s innovations “corruption of faith.” They announced that they wished to preserve the old traditions and regulations in worship. It should be noted that it will be quite difficult for an uninitiated person to distinguish an Old Believer from an Orthodox believer, because the differences between the new and old faiths are not that great. In this article you can find out what the Old Believers are, how the Old Believers differ from the Orthodox, and find out the answers to the most interesting questions of Orthodox people.

The difference between Old Believers and Orthodox

Orthodox believers are those Christians who accept the teachings put forward by the Christian Church.

Old Believers are believers who wished to move away from christian church due to his disagreement with the reforms carried out by Patriarch Nikon.

Church history experts have identified about a dozen distinctive features Old Believers from ordinary Christian believers in matters of conducting worship and other ritual ceremonies, reading and interpretation Holy Scripture, everyday issues, as well as appearance.

It should be noted that the Old Believers are heterogeneous, that is, among them there are various movements that also introduce some differences, but among the adherents of the old belief themselves.

Let's take a closer look at how Old Believers differ from Orthodox Christians:

• It has Old Believer cross, difference from the Orthodox one, but the Old Believers still enjoy using the form Christian symbol. As a rule, it has eight ends, and two more small crossbars are added to our usual cross: oblique at the bottom and straight at the top. However, according to research, some accounts of the Old Believers also recognize some other forms of the Cross of the Lord.
• Bows. Unlike ordinary Christians, Old Believers only accept bows to the ground, while the latter use bows from the waist.

• How to be baptized. Nikon, during the period of his church reform, put forward a ban according to which one cannot be baptized with two fingers according to the old custom. An order was given to everyone to comply Orthodoxy sign of the cross three-fingered sign. That is, cross yourself in a new way - with three fingers placed in a pinch. The Old Believers, in turn, did not accept this provision, seeing it as a fig (i.e., a fig) and completely refused to follow the newly introduced decree. To this day, Old Believers make the sign of the cross with two fingers. A pectoral symbol. As described earlier, the Old Believers constantly have eight-pointed cross ik, which is located inside the four-pointed one. The main difference is that such a cross never bears the image of the crucified Savior.
• Differences in the spelling of the name of the Almighty. There are discrepancies in some prayer books, which, according to calculations by one historian, are about 62.
• During the service, Old Believers keep their arms crossed on their chests, and Christians keep their hands at their sides.
• Almost complete cessation of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. Old Russian Church Orthodox Old Believers Only in some Old Believer traditions does it allow three glasses of alcohol on great holidays, but no more than that.
• Appearance. In Old Believer churches of God, compared to Christian ones, there are no women and girls wearing hats, scarves or scarves that are tied at the back with a knot. Old Believer women must wear a headscarf, pinned under the chin with a pin. Nothing colored or bright is allowed in clothing. Men should wear old Russian shirts untucked and be sure to complement it with a belt, which will separate several parts of the body into the upper, that is, spiritual, and lower, dirty. To a male Old Believer in Everyday life It is forbidden to wear ties, considering them a Judas stranglehold, and to shave off the beard.

FAQ

Some Christians, and also Old Believers, may be interested in a lot of questions that come up quite often in everyday life. Let's look at some of them.

Is it possible for Old Believers to go to the Orthodox Church and is it possible to be baptized with two fingers?

Visit God's temple Old Believers are allowed, but if adherents of the old faith express a desire to be Orthodox, then first they need to accept Confirmation, that is, a Sacrament that will unite a person with the Christian new faith.

To be baptized with two or three fingers today does not have any special meaning, since these two rites were recognized as equally honorable. But it is still worth noting that if you visit God’s temple and are baptized there with two fingers, when everyone else is baptized only with the crown of their fingers, it will look ridiculous and even ugly;

Can an Old Believer be godfather to an Orthodox Christian?

You should not completely reject the possibility of a non-Orthodox Christian being present as a godfather during the execution of Orthodox rite Baptism, however, this is only possible if the Old Believer is only one of the godparents, and the second godparent will definitely be a Christian of the new faith.

There is also one more condition under which the Old Believer is allowed to take part in the ceremony if he does not make any attempts to raise the child in non-Orthodox traditions.

The Lord is always with you!

Old Believers and Old Believers - how often these concepts are confused. They were confused before during conversations, and they are still confused today, even in the media. Every educated person who respects the culture of his people is simply obliged to understand the difference between these two different categories of people.

Old Believers are people who adhere to old Christian rituals. During the reign of A.M. Romanov, under the leadership of Patriarch Nikon, carried out religious reform. Those who refused to obey the new rules united and immediately began to be called schismatics, since they seemed to split the Christian faith into old and new. In 1905 they began to be called Old Believers. Old Believers became widespread in Siberia.


The main differences between the new and old rituals include:

• The Old Believers write the name of Jesus, as before, with a small letter and one “and” (Jesus).
• The three-fingered sign introduced by Nikon is not recognized by them and therefore they continue to cross themselves with two fingers.
• Baptism takes place according to the tradition of the old Church - immersion, because this is exactly how they were baptized in Rus'.
• When reading prayers according to old rituals, clothes specially designed for this purpose are used.

Old Believers are not people Christian faith, they are the ones who adhere to what was in Rus' before it. They are the real guardians of the faith of their ancestors.


Their worldview is Rodnoverie. The Slavic Native Faith has existed since the first Slavic tribes began to appear. This is what the Old Believers keep. Old Believers believe that no one has a monopoly on truth, and it is precisely this that all religions claim. Each nation has its own faith and everyone is free to communicate with God as they see fit and in the language they deem correct.

By Native Vera a person, through his perception of the world, creates his own understanding of the world. A person is not obliged to accept as faith someone else's idea of ​​the world. For example, tell someone: we are all sinners, this is the name of God and you need to address him like this.

Differences

Indeed, they often try to attribute the same worldview to Old Believers and Old Believers, despite the fact that there are huge differences between them. These confusions are created by people who do not know Russian terminology and interpret the definitions in their own way.

Old Believers traditionally believe in their own gender, and at the same time do not belong to any religion. Old Believers adhere to the Christian religion, but the one that existed before the reform. From some point of view, they can even be called a type of Christians.

It's easy to tell them apart:

1. Old Believers have no prayers. They believe that prayer humiliates both the one to whom it is addressed and the one who performs it. There are their own rituals among the clan, but they are known only to a specific clan. Old Believers pray, their prayers are similar to those that can be heard in Orthodox churches, but they are performed in a special robe and end with the fact that they cross themselves according to the old rites with two fingers.
2. The rituals of the Old Believers and their ideas about good, evil, and way of life are not written down anywhere. They are passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth. They may be written down, but each clan keeps these records secret. Old Believer religious writings constitute the first Christian books. 10 commandments, bible, old testament. They are in the public domain and knowledge is passed on freely, not based on family ties.
3. Old Believers do not have icons. Instead, their house is full of photographs of their ancestors, their letters, and awards. They honor their family, remember it and are proud of it. The Old Believers also do not have icons. Although they adhere to the Christian faith, their churches are not filled with impressive iconostasis; there are no icons even in the traditional “red corner”. Instead, they make holes in churches in the form of holes, because they believe that God is not in the icons, but in the sky.
4. The Old Believers do not have idolatry. Traditionally, in religion there is a main living element who is worshiped and called God, his son or prophet. For example, Jesus Christ, Prophet Muhammad. Rodnoverie only praises surrounding nature, but not considering her a deity, but considering himself a part of her. Old Believers praise Jesus, the biblical hero.
5. There are no Old Believers in the Native Faith certain rules, which must be adhered to. Every person is free to live in harmony with his own conscience. It is not necessary to participate in any rituals, wear robes and follow one common opinion. Things are different for the Old Believers, because they have a clearly defined hierarchy, a set of rules and clothing.

Is there anything in common?

Old Believers and Old Believers, despite their different Faiths, have something in common. Firstly, they were connected by history itself. When the Old Believers, or as the schismatics of the Russian Orthodox Church were then called, began to be persecuted, and this was precisely in the time of Nikon, they headed to Siberian Belovodye and Pomorie. Old Believers lived there and gave them shelter. Of course, they had different faiths, but nevertheless, by blood they were all Russians and tried not to let this be taken away from them.

In the 17th century, Patriarch Nikon carried out reforms that were caused by the need to bring the liturgical practice of the Russian Church to a single model. Some of the clergy, along with the laity, rejected these changes, saying that they would not deviate from the old rituals. They called Nikon’s reform “a corruption of the faith” and declared that they would preserve the previous charters and traditions in worship. It is difficult for an uninitiated person to distinguish an Orthodox from an Old Believer, since the difference between representatives of the “old” and “new” faith is not so great.

Who are Old Believers and Orthodox Christians?

Old Believers – Christians who left the Orthodox Church due to their disagreement with the reforms carried out by Patriarch Nikon.
Orthodox Christians - believers who recognize the dogmas of the Orthodox Church.

Comparison of Old Believers and Orthodox Christians

What is the difference between Old Believers and Orthodox Christians?
Old Believers are more detached from the world than Orthodox Christians. In their everyday life, they preserved ancient traditions, which, in essence, became a certain ritual. The life of Orthodox Christians is devoid of many religious rituals that burden it. The main thing that should never be forgotten is prayer before every task, as well as keeping the Commandments.
In the Orthodox Church, the three-fingered sign of the cross is accepted. It means the unity of the Holy Trinity. At the same time, the little finger and ring finger are pressed together into the palm and symbolize faith in the divine-human nature of Christ. Old Believers put their middle and index fingers together, professing the dual nature of the Savior. The thumb, ring finger and little finger are pressed against the palm as a symbol of the Holy Trinity.
It is customary for Old Believers to proclaim “Alleluia” twice and add “Glory to Thee, O God.” So, they claim, proclaimed ancient church. Orthodox Christians say “Alleluia” three times. This word itself means “praise God.” Pronunciation three times, from the point of view of the Orthodox, glorifies the Holy Trinity.
In many Old Believer movements, it is customary to wear clothes in the Old Russian style to participate in worship. This is a shirt or blouse for men, a sundress and large scarf for women. Men tend to grow a beard. Among Orthodox Christians, a special style of clothing is reserved only for the priesthood. Lay people come to the temple in modest, not provocative, but ordinary secular clothing, women with their heads covered. By the way, in modern Old Believer parishes there are no strict requirements for the clothing of worshipers.
During worship, Old Believers do not keep their arms at their sides, like the Orthodox, but crossed over their chests. For both some and others, this is a sign of special humility before God. All actions during the service are performed synchronously by the Old Believers. If you need to bow, then everyone present in the temple does it at the same time.
Old Believers recognize only the eight-pointed cross. This is the form they consider perfect. Orthodox, in addition to this, also four-pointed and six-pointed.
During worship, Old Believers bow to the ground. Orthodox Christians wear belts during services. Earthly ones are performed only in special cases. Moreover, on Sundays and holidays, as well as Holy Pentecost, bowing to the ground is strictly prohibited.
Old Believers write the name of Christ as Jesus, and Orthodox Christians write it as I And sus. The topmost marks on the cross are also different. For the Old Believers, this is TsR SLVY (King of Glory) and IS XC (Jesus Christ). On the Orthodox eight-pointed cross it is written INCI (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews) and IIS XC (I And sus Christ). There is no image of the crucifixion on the eight-pointed cross of the Old Believers.
As a rule, eight-pointed crosses with a gable roof, the so-called cabbage rolls, are placed on the graves of Old Believers - a symbol of Russian antiquity. Orthodox Christians do not accept crosses covered with a roof.

TheDifference.ru determined that the difference between Old Believers and Orthodox Christians is as follows:

Adherents of the old faith are more detached from the world in everyday life than Orthodox Christians.
Old Believers make the sign of the cross with two fingers, Orthodox Christians make the sign of the cross with three fingers.
During prayer, the Old Believers usually shout “Hallelujah” twice, while the Orthodox say it three times.
During worship, Old Believers keep their arms crossed on their chests, while Orthodox Christians keep their arms down at their sides.
During the service, the Old Believers perform all actions synchronously.
As a rule, to participate in worship, Old Believers wear clothes in the Old Russian style. The Orthodox have a special type of clothing only for the priesthood.
During worship, Old Believers bow to the ground, while Orthodox worshipers bow to the ground.
Old Believers recognize only the eight-pointed cross, the Orthodox - eight-, six- and four-pointed.
Orthodox and Old Believers have different spellings of the name of Christ, as well as the letters above the eight-pointed cross.
On body crosses Old Believers (eight-pointed inside a four-pointed one) do not have an image of the crucifixion.

More than three centuries have passed since the church schism of the 17th century, and most still do not know how the Old Believers differ from Orthodox Christians.

Terminology

Distinguishing the concepts of “Old Believers” and “ Orthodox Church" is quite conditional. The Old Believers themselves admit that their faith is Orthodox, and the Russian Orthodox Church is called New Believers or Nikonians.

In the Old Believer literature of the 17th - first half of the 19th century centuries, the term “Old Believer” was not used.

Old Believers called themselves differently. Old Believers, Old Orthodox Christians...The terms “orthodoxy” and “true Orthodoxy” were also used.

In the writings of Old Believer teachers of the 19th century, the term “true Orthodox Church” was often used. The term “Old Believers” became widespread only end of the 19th century century. At the same time, Old Believers of different agreements mutually denied each other’s Orthodoxy and, strictly speaking, for them the term “Old Believers” united, on a secondary ritual basis, religious communities deprived of church-religious unity

Fingers

It is well known that during the schism the two-finger sign of the cross was changed to three-finger. Two fingers are a symbol of the two Hypostases of the Savior ( true God and true man), three fingers - a symbol of the Holy Trinity.

The three-finger sign was adopted by the Ecumenical Orthodox Church, which by that time consisted of a dozen independent Autocephalous Churches, after the preserved bodies of the martyrs-confessors of Christianity of the first centuries with the folded fingers of the three-finger were found in the Roman catacombs Sign of the Cross. There are similar examples of the discovery of the relics of saints of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.

Agreements and rumors

The Old Believers are far from homogeneous. There are several dozen agreements and even more Old Believer rumors. There is even a saying: “No matter what a man is, no matter what a woman is, there is agreement.” There are three main “wings” of the Old Believers: priests, non-priests and co-religionists.

Jesus

During the Nikon reform, the tradition of writing the name “Jesus” was changed. The double sound “and” began to convey the duration, the “drawn-out” sound of the first sound, which in the Greek language is indicated by a special sign, which has no analogy in the Slavic language, therefore the pronunciation of “Jesus” is more consistent with the Universal practice of sounding the Savior. However, the Old Believer version is closer to the Greek source.

Differences in the Creed

During the “book reform” of the Nikon reform, changes were made to the Creed: the conjunction-opposition “a” was removed in the words about the Son of God “born, not made.”

From the semantic opposition of properties, a simple enumeration was thus obtained: “begotten, not created.”

The Old Believers sharply opposed the arbitrariness in the presentation of dogmas and were ready to suffer and die “for a single az” (that is, for one letter “a”).

In total, about 10 changes were made to the Creed, which was the main dogmatic difference between the Old Believers and the Nikonians.

Towards the sun

By the middle of the 17th century, a universal custom had been established in the Russian Church to perform a procession of the cross. The church reform of Patriarch Nikon unified all rituals according to Greek models, but the innovations were not accepted by the Old Believers. As a result, New Believers perform anti-salt movements during religious processions, and Old Believers perform religious processions salt.

Ties and sleeves

In some Old Believer churches, in memory of the executions during the Schism, it is forbidden to come to services with rolled up sleeves and ties. Popular rumor associates rolled up sleeves with executioners, and ties with gallows. Although, this is only one explanation. In general, it is customary for Old Believers to wear special prayer clothes (with long sleeves) to services, and you can’t tie a tie on a blouse.

Question of the cross

Old Believers recognize only the eight-pointed cross, while after Nikon’s reform in Orthodoxy four and six-pointed crosses were recognized as equally honorable. On the crucifixion tablet of the Old Believers it is usually written not I.N.C.I., but “King of Glory.” Old Believers do not have an image of Christ on their body crosses, since it is believed that this is a person’s personal cross.

A deep and powerful Hallelujah

During Nikon's reforms, the pronounced (that is, double) pronunciation of “halleluia” was replaced by a triple (that is, triple). Instead of “Alleluia, alleluia, glory to you, God,” they began to say “Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to you, God.”

According to New Believers, the triple utterance of alleluia symbolizes the dogma of the Holy Trinity.

However, Old Believers argue that the strict utterance together with “glory to Thee, O God” is already a glorification of the Trinity, since the words “glory to Thee, O God” are one of the translations into Slavic language the Hebrew word Alleluia (“praise God”).

Bows at the service

At services in Old Believer churches, a strict system of bows has been developed; substitution is prohibited. prostrations to the waist ones. There are four types of bows: “regular” - bow to the chest or to the navel; “medium” - in the waist; small bow to the ground - “throwing” (not from the verb “to throw”, but from the Greek “metanoia” = repentance); great prostration (proskynesis).

More than three centuries have passed since the church schism of the 17th century, and most people still do not know how the Old Believers differ from Orthodox Christians. Let's figure it out.

Terminology

The distinction between the concepts of “Old Believers” and “Orthodox Church” is quite arbitrary. The Old Believers themselves admit that their faith is Orthodox, and the Russian Orthodox Church is called New Believers or Nikoninans.

In the Old Believer literature of the 17th - first half of the 19th centuries, the term “Old Believer” was not used.

Old Believers called themselves differently. Old Believers, Old Orthodox Christians...The terms “orthodoxy” and “true Orthodoxy” were also used.

In the writings of Old Believer teachers of the 19th century, the term “true Orthodox Church” was often used.

The term “Old Believers” became widespread only towards the end of the 19th century. At the same time, Old Believers of different consents mutually denied each other’s Orthodoxy and, strictly speaking, for them the term “Old Believers” united, on a secondary ritual basis, religious communities deprived of church-religious unity.

Fingers

It is well known that during the schism the two-finger sign of the cross was changed to three-finger. Two fingers are a symbol of the two Hypostases of the Savior (true God and true man), three fingers are a symbol of the Holy Trinity.

The three-finger sign was adopted by the Ecumenical Orthodox Church, which by that time consisted of a dozen independent Autocephalous Churches, after the preserved bodies of the martyrs-confessors of Christianity of the first centuries with folded fingers of the three-finger Sign of the Cross were found in the Roman catacombs. There are similar examples of the discovery of the relics of saints of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra.

It’s not for nothing that I attached to the article this particular work by the artist Surikov, where the character, Boyarina Morozova, demonstrates “two fingers.” A little about the picture itself:

"Boyaryna Morozova"- a gigantic (304 by 586 cm) painting by Vasily Surikov, depicting a scene from the history of the church schism in the 17th century. After its debut at the 15th traveling exhibition in 1887, it was purchased for 25 thousand rubles for Tretyakov Gallery, where it remains one of the main exhibits.

Surikov’s interest in the topic of Old Believers is associated with his Siberian childhood. In Siberia, where there were many Old Believers, handwritten “lives” of the martyrs of the Old Believer movement, including “The Tale of Boyarina Morozova,” became widespread.

The image of the noblewoman was copied from an Old Believers whom the artist met at the Rogozhskoe cemetery. And the prototype was the artist’s aunt, Avdotya Vasilievna Torgoshina.

The portrait sketch was painted in just two hours. Before this, the artist for a long time could not find a suitable face - bloodless, fanatical, corresponding to the famous description of Habakkuk: “The fingers of your hands are subtle, your eyes are lightning fast, and you rush at your enemies like a lion.”

The figure of the noblewoman on the sliding sledge is a single compositional center around which representatives of the street crowd are grouped, reacting differently to her fanatical readiness to follow her convictions to the end. For some, a woman’s fanaticism evokes hatred, mockery or irony, but the majority look at her with sympathy. A hand raised high in a symbolic gesture is like a farewell to old Russia, to which these people belong.

Agreements and rumors

The Old Believers are far from homogeneous. There are several dozen agreements and even more Old Believer rumors. There is even a saying: “No matter what a man is, no matter what a woman is, there is agreement.” There are three main “wings” of the Old Believers: priests, non-priests and co-religionists.

Name of Jesus

During the Nikon reform, the tradition of writing the name “Jesus” was changed. The double sound “and” began to convey the duration, the “drawn-out” sound of the first sound, which in the Greek language is indicated by a special sign, which has no analogy in the Slavic language, therefore the pronunciation of “Jesus” is more consistent with the Universal practice of sounding the Savior. However, the Old Believer version is closer to the Greek source.

Differences in the Creed

During the “book reform” of the Nikon reform, changes were made to the Creed: the conjunction-opposition “a” was removed in the words about the Son of God “born, not made.”

From the semantic opposition of properties, a simple enumeration was thus obtained: “begotten, not created.”

The Old Believers sharply opposed the arbitrariness in the presentation of dogmas and were ready to suffer and die “for a single az” (that is, for one letter “a”).

In total, about 10 changes were made to the Creed, which was the main dogmatic difference between the Old Believers and the Nikonians.

Towards the sun

By the middle of the 17th century, a universal custom had been established in the Russian Church to perform a procession of the cross. The church reform of Patriarch Nikon unified all rituals according to Greek models, but the innovations were not accepted by the Old Believers. As a result, New Believers perform the anti-salting movement during religious processions, and Old Believers perform religious processions during salting.

∗ Salting - movement along the sun, promoting an increase in vitality and acceleration of spiritual evolution.

Ties and sleeves

In some Old Believer churches, in memory of the executions during the Schism, it is forbidden to come to services with rolled up sleeves and ties. Rolled up sleeves are associated there with executioners, and ties with gallows.

Question of the cross

Old Believers recognize only the eight-pointed cross, while after Nikon’s reform in Orthodoxy four and six-pointed crosses were recognized as equally honorable. On the crucifixion tablet of the Old Believers it is usually written not I.N.C.I., but “King of Glory.” Old Believers do not have an image of Christ on their body crosses, since it is believed that this is a person’s personal cross.

A deep and blatant Hallelujah

During Nikon's reforms, the pronounced (that is, double) pronunciation of “halleluia” was replaced by a triple (that is, triple). Instead of “Alleluia, alleluia, glory to you, God,” they began to say “Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to you, God.”

According to New Believers, the triple utterance of alleluia symbolizes the dogma of the Holy Trinity.

However, Old Believers argue that the strict pronunciation together with “glory to Thee, O God” is already a glorification of the Trinity, since the words “glory to Thee, O God” are one of the translations into the Slavic language of the Hebrew word Alleluia (“praise God”).

Bows at the service

At services in Old Believer churches, a strict system of bows has been developed; replacing prostrations with bows from the waist is prohibited. There are four types of bows: “regular” - bow to the chest or to the navel; “medium” - in the waist; small bow to the ground - “throwing” (not from the verb “to throw”, but from the Greek “metanoia” = repentance); great prostration (proskynesis).

Throwing was banned by Nikon in 1653. He sent out a “memory” to all Moscow churches, which said: “It is not appropriate to do throwing on your knees in church, but you should bow to your waist.”

Hands cross

During services in the Old Believer church, it is customary to fold your arms with a cross on your chest.

Beads

Orthodox and Old Believer rosaries are different. In Orthodox rosaries there may be different quantities beads, but most often rosaries with 33 beads are used, according to the number of earthly years of Christ’s life, or a multiple of 10 or 12.

In the Old Believers of almost all agreements, the lestovka* is actively used - a rosary in the form of a ribbon with 109 “beans” (“steps”), divided into unequal groups. Let's contact Once again to Surikov’s painting:

∗ Lestovka — in the noblewoman's hand. Leather Old Believer rosary in the form of steps of a ladder - a symbol of spiritual ascent, hence the name. In this case, the ladder is closed in a ring, which means unceasing prayer. Every Christian Old Believer should have his own ladder for prayer.

Full immersion baptism

Old Believers accept baptism only by complete threefold immersion, while in Orthodox churches baptism by pouring and partial immersion is allowed.

Monodic singing

After the split of the Orthodox Church, the Old Believers did not accept either the new polyphonic singing style or new system musical notation. Kryuk singing (znamenny and demestvennoe), preserved by the Old Believers, got its name from the method of recording a melody with special signs - “banners” or “hooks”.

Found a mistake? Select it and press left Ctrl+Enter.