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Writer's pictureAndy McIlvain

Who are the "Old Believers" and What Do they Believe?


Who are the "Old Believers" and What Do they Believe?

There are many faith traditions in our fallen world.

There are also many false pagan religions and as the adopted children of the One True God Christ Jesus, we must be discerning.

Can we learn and find wisdom in more devout faith practices?

As our culture has become more secular so has the "Church". The Church is you and I.

Many Christians today in America give little thought to the providential reality of God in their lives and the world.


There are groups whose daily lives revolve around being accountable to God, thanking Him, and worshipping Him.

One of those groups with a long history is known as "Old Believers".

They see themselves as the only righteous believers currently on the earth.

Just as the Amish have yielded to society, so too have the Old Believers.


"Old Believer, member of a group of Russian religious dissenters who refused to accept the liturgical reforms imposed upon the Russian Orthodox Church by the patriarch of Moscow Nikon (1652–58). Numbering millions of faithful in the 17th century, the Old Believers split into a number of different sects, of which several survived into modern times..." from the article: Old Believer Russian religious group


The Old Believers Documentary


Video from technetium


'May 22, 2023

This extraordinary film introduces us to the Reutov family, part of an isolated northern Alberta community called the Old Believers. Adhering to the original Orthodox Christian dogma and rituals introduced to ancient Rus (present-day Ukraine, Byelorussia and Russia) by the Greeks of Byzantium, the Old Believers see themselves as the last Christians left on the face of the Earth. Here in North America, for the first time in their history, they are threatened not by persecution, but by economic bounty and the western notion of personal freedom. Shot over the four seasons, the film is both a beautiful rendering of timeless rituals and a fascinating exploration of the Old Believers' turbulent history." from the video introduction



Old Believers in America


History of the Church of the Nativity of Christ in Erie, PA

"This short video, produced in the early-2000's, details the history of the Old Rite Russian Orthodox Church of the Nativity of Christ in Erie, PA.' from the video introduction


How Old Believers live today? | The Volga region, Russia

Video from Eli from Russia


"Visiting babushka / baba Nastya in the village of Nizhegorodskaya region... Old Believers are Eastern Orthodox Christians who maintain the ritual practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as they were before the reforms of Patriarch Nikon of Moscow. Those who adopted new liturgical practices started to call themselves orthodox – or in Russian - pravoslavnye (which means 'those believing rightly'). People who opposed the reform and followed old practices were named ‘raskolniki’ – schismatics, later known as old ritualists or old believers. They were persecuted by the church and authorities for 2 centuries and only in 1905 the government officially allowed them to exercise their faith. Time codes: 00:00 I will visit baba Nastya in the village of old believers 00:54 Who are the old believers? 03:27 A village of priestless old believers 04:03 Welcome to baba Nastya's home 05:21 Let's cook pies in a Russian stove 07:52 Ancient spiritual poems and songs 10:38 Yummy pies right from the stove!' from the video introduction


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