Edinoverie in Nizhny Novgorod Governorate — the history and institutional development of the Edinoverie movement in the governorate from 1798 to 1917. Edinoverie was a body of parishes admitted into communion with the Russian Orthodox Church while retaining the pre-reform (Old Believer) rite — the two-fingered sign of the cross, old-printed books, and other pre-Nikonian services.[1] The Nizhny Novgorod land, which from the mid-17th century had been one of the main centers of the Old Believers with an extensive network of Kerzhenets sketes, also became a significant region for the spread of Edinoverie.[1]
Foundation and Legal Basis
The formal starting point of Edinoverie as a church institution is considered to be the year 1800, when Metropolitan Platon (Levshin) of Moscow drew up the "Points" — rules under which Old Believers could reunite with the Orthodox Church while keeping the old rite. These rules of Metropolitan Platon of 1800 formed the basis of the Edinoverie parishes of Nizhny Novgorod Governorate.[1] Chronologically, the activity of Edinoverie in the governorate spans the period from 1798 to 1917.[1]
Monasteries and Parishes
Edinoverie monasteries operated within the borders of Nizhny Novgorod Governorate. The parish network of Edinoverie grew steadily throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries: from 19 churches in 1888 to 35 in 1917.[1] Administratively, Edinoverie parishes were part of the Nizhny Novgorod and Arzamas Diocese.[2]
Place in the Old Believer Landscape of the Region
Edinoverie was regarded as one of the paths out of the schism, alongside full union with the Orthodox Church with renunciation of the old rite. In the Nizhny Novgorod context, it existed alongside nine Old Believer "concords" — the Belokrinitsa, the Beglopopovtsy (Fugitive Priest), the Pomortsy, the Fedoseyevtsy, the Filippovtsy, the Spasovtsy, the Arseniyevtsy, the Samokreshchentsy (Self-Baptizers), and the Stranniki (Wanderers) — each of which rejected union with the dominant church.[1] After 1917, the institution of Edinoverie in the governorate ceased to exist along with the liquidation of the pre-revolutionary church structure.
Sources
- pravenc.ru — EDINOVERIE (archive)
- pravenc.ru — NIZHNY NOVGOROD AND ARZAMAS DIOCESE (archive)