Gordeevsky Skit — an Old Believer fugitive-priest (beglopopovsky) skit, which existed from the 18th century until 1853 on the territory of what is now Nizhny Novgorod Region's Koverninsky District. It emerged during the period of mass settlement of the Kerzhenets forests by Old Believers and was among the 54 Old Believer skits of Semyonovsky Uyezd recorded in the early 19th century.[1]
History
The skit belonged to the fugitive-priest (beglopopovsky) agreement and took shape in the 18th century alongside the other Kerzhenets skits, which arose during the Catherinian era of relative religious tolerance. In 1826 it contained three monastic communities.[1]
In 1853 the skit was closed by order of Nicholas I as part of the first batch of liquidated skits — simultaneously with the Koshelevsky, Krutovrazhsky, Prudovsky, Fedoseyevsky, and Malinovsky skits. The skit's inhabitants were subject to resettlement and exile.[1][3] The state archive preserves a case file concerning the return of schismatic icons confiscated, among other places, at the Gordeevsky Skit from residents who were to be exiled.[1]
Location and Surviving Traces
The site of the skit lies in the forest approximately 3 km southeast of the village of Gordeevo and the road leading to the uninhabited village of Nikodim. According to accounts from residents of surrounding villages, the skit's "cathedral" was dismantled and transported to the selo of Slyshkovo, where it was converted into a dye-house. Where the former buildings once stood, pits of artificial origin remain — traces of the skit's cellars; the largest of them, according to local tradition, marks the site of the "cathedral."[1]
The most significant surviving feature is the extensive skit cemetery, which at the time of its survey in 1995 was being maintained by local residents and continued to be visited. In the surrounding villages, the site of the former skit is referred to as "the cells."[1]
Sources and Bibliography
Information about the skit is contained in P. I. Melnikov's report on the state of schism in Nizhny Novgorod Governorate (published in the Proceedings of the NGUAK, 1909, vol. 9), as well as in archival materials from GANO (f. 570, op. 558, 1853, d. 116). Field testimony was gathered from long-time residents of the selo of Semino and the village of Gordeevo in Koverninsky District.[1]
Sources
- irisk.me — Gordeevsky Skit
- Historical Encyclopedia of Nizhny Novgorod — Category: Old Believers of the Nizhny Novgorod Region (archive)
- web.archive.org (archive)
- ruvera.ru — Zavolzhye Skits: Odintsovsky, Fundrikovsky, Ulangersky, Osinkovsky — Russkaya Vera (archive)