Editing Old Believers (section)

==Belief and practice==
===Old Rite===
While Old Belief is highly diverse, all its branches are defined above all else by the rejection of the liturgical and ritual reforms, enacted in the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] between 1652 and 1657, and by strict adherence to the Russian rite and traditions which preceded them. Instituted by [[Patriarch Nikon of Moscow|Patriarch Nikon]], the reforms were intended to eliminate all differences between the Russian use and that of the [[Greek Orthodox Church]]es: wherever a certain detail in local custom was found to diverge, it was corrected to resemble the parallel Greek one. The reform was not concerned with theology, and in this respect, there is no real difference between the Old Believers and the official Orthodox Church. They did touch upon numerous matters of form, totaling hundreds of pages in details.

Some of these changes are discernible, and easily distinguish Old Believers from the "Nikonian" rite, as they term it. The best known, which became a symbol of contention, is the manner of crossing oneself: pre-reform Russian custom, retained by Old Believers, is to fold together the thumb, ring and little fingers, while holding the index and middle fingers upright, known as "crossing with two fingers"; the "new" rite is to fold the thumb, index and ring fingers together, in "three fingers". Old Believers recognize only baptism by triple full immersion, and eschew baptism by pouring, which is acceptable in the new rite; the symbol of the cross is always the eight-pointed [[Russian Orthodox cross|Orthodox cross]], not any other variant; the [[Alleluia]] after the psalmody is recited twice, not thrice; and during the [[Divine Liturgy]], seven [[prosphora]] are served rather than five. The procession around the church is directed clockwise, not counter-clockwise. Old Believers perform numerous bows and prostrations, using a prayer mat called ''podruchik'', mostly abandoned in the new rite.

Old Believers spell the name of Christ in Russian with a single I and not two, as ''Isus'' and not ''Iisus''. The phrase "ages of ages" is rendered in the [[dative]], ''veki vekom'', and not in the [[genitive]] ''veki vekov'', as in the new rite. In the [[Nicene Creed|creed]], the title "True", ''istinnago'', precedes the words "Lord and Giver of Life", and the Kingdom "has no" (''nest''') rather than "shall have no (''ne budet'') end". Apart from those, there are countless liturgical and ritual differences, including the names of the saints and rulers mentioned during the [[Liturgy of Preparation]], the wording of the [[Ektenia]] for the Dead, and so forth.

Breaking with the official Church over the reform, the movement ignores all the innovations and decisions of Russian Orthodoxy since the mid-17th century. New saints canonized since, like St. [[Seraphim of Sarov]], are not venerated by Old Believers, who have adopted new saints of their own, like Archpriest [[Avvakum]]. In the field of religious music, Old Believers retain the [[monophonic]], [[unison]] [[Znamenny chant|''Znamenny'' chant]], which has its own distinct notation style, and do not employ the [[Part song]] imported to Russia from the Greek churches. In the field of [[icon painting]], Old Believer artists carefully preserved the otherworldly style of the medieval Orthodox icon, and eschewed Western-influenced realistic perspective or natural colours. Animalistic representations of certain saints, or certain styles of depicting Jesus, banned by the established church, continued to appear in the movement's icons. Old Believer clerical vestments do not include items of clothing that became fashionable since Nikon's time, like the Greek ''[[klobuk]]'' and ''[[kamilavka]]''.

===Traditionalism===
The idealization and sanctification of the Russian past is an important pillar of Old Belief thought, buttressing their rejection of the reform. Old Muscovite culture was deeply religious and highly xenophobic, considering foreigners and foreign customs as barbarous and spiritually defiling. It was commonly believed that Russia was the sole bearer of authentic Christianity, after both Catholics and foreign Orthodox have fallen into heresy, [[Moscow, third Rome|Moscow being the Third and Last Rome]]. The 17th century Schism marked the gradual opening of Russia to European influence, the [[secularization]] of society and acceptance of foreign customs, with the state dismissing the notion of "Third Rome". Old Believer polemics tend to portray the Czars, church and people of pre-Schism Russia as living saintly lives of innocent devotion and simplicity, corrupted since and preserved only by themselves. The old rite, used by such illustrious figures, is therefore imbued with special holiness and nostalgia.

The movement rejected the [[westernization]] promoted since the time of [[Peter the Great]]. Old Believers cling to the [[Byzantine calendar]], which he replaced by the [[Julian calendar]]. European clothing and hairstyles were frowned upon, and the old Russian garb was kept much more than in surrounding society. Old Believer men continued to wear untrimmed beards, embroidered shirts and knee-long [[kaftan]] coats, and women kept the sleeveless [[sarafan]] dresses and the [[kokoshnik]] head covering, wearing their hair in a single braid before marriage and covering it afterwards. Though there is great regional divergence, the basics are the same. Even when modern clothing became more widespread among the adherents, traditional dress was obligatory at least during church services. Today, old garments are worn daily mostly in the rural and isolated settlements in Eastern Europe, and in the immigrant, highly traditional communities in the West.

All communities abjure men shaving their beards and the smoking of tobacco, two old Russian taboos which ceased to observed widely during Peter's time. Many Old Believers also avoided potatoes, black tea, coffee and other foodstuffs imported in his reign, regarding them as "diabolical plants". Old Russian customs surrounding marriage, sex separation and other aspects of domestic life may be seen among rural Old Believers today. Suspicious of all new influences, the stricter sects of often avoided modern technology, and accommodated slowly to it. In the 1990s, an anthropologist who visited a community in [[Udmurtia]] noted that at first, it was not allowed to pray in a house that had electricity, later on electrical appliances had to be taken out and covered with cloth, and eventually the leader had a television set in his house. This traditionalism earned them both the reputation of primitive, backward obscurantists, and of authentic Russians preserving the essence of the nation's heritage.

===Apocalypticism===
The 17th century opponents of Nikon's reform, considered as founding fathers by Old Believers, were convinced that the new ritual was Satan's machination, heralding the Final Judgement, and they were living in the End Times. Those accepting the "Nikonian" rite were deprived of true Christianity, and the Russian church and state, and the world at large, were ruled by Antichrist.

This eschatological current is deeply ingrained in Old Belief thought. There are two strains concerning the nature of the Antichrist: the "material" doctrine, more in line with conventional Christian theology, held him to be a specific person, who will appear in a determined moment and will fulfill the criteria set by scripture. The "spiritual" doctrine understood him to be an allegory for an evil presence permeating the world. These two concepts were not necessarily exclusive, and communities and thinkers could be flexible in applying them. The "spiritual" Antichrist is associated with the more radical sects, enabling them to justify extreme religious positions, explained as emergency measures for Armageddon, without a time limit. The "material" theory allowed the moderates to conduct themselves pragmatically in the present, as no person could be identified as Antichrist; but during the most zealous phases in the movement's history, the title was indeed applied to a specific individual, mostly Nikon, [[Alexis of Russia|Czar Alexis]] or Peter the Great.

The apocalyptic strain flowed in times of persecution, and ebbed at times of tolerance, but never perished. A willingness, or eagerness, to confront the corrupt world led to explosions of radicalism from time to time, most prominently to mass suicide, especially by [[self-immolation]] (quite often charismatic leaders murdered hesitant followers), conceived as martyrdom in the face of the Antichrist's dominion. A general distrust of the authorities permeates Old Belief, and the more radical sects forbade their members to serve in the army, carry official documents or even touch money, considered marked by the Antichrist's seal. In 1820, after half a century of official tolerance, a police search conducted in the respectable Old Believer merchants' quarter in Moscow, found a portrait of [[Alexander I of Russia|Czar Alexander I]] with horns, a tail and the number 666 on his forehead. In the 1980s, an anthropologist visiting a small Old Believer settlement in Canada, noted that residents were engaged in daily speculations concerning the identity of the Antichrist

===Piety===
Old Believers understood themselves to be God's elect, chosen to preserve true Christianity in a fallen world. They separated from society, often living in secluded settlement, and practiced a regimen of strict morals and devout religiosity. Some radical sects adopted convoluted monastic-like codes, and promoted celibacy and asceticism. Old Believer services are long and involve meticulous preparation, and the many feasts and fasts of the liturgical calendar are carefully observed. Religious education and involvement were far more intense among Old Believers than in the average official Church parish: children were schooled to be proficient in [[Church Slavonic]], making them able to read scripture and the prayer books, and the laity had a more active and developed role.

Old Believer communities had developed sets of ethics, emphasizing moderation, abstinence, sobriety, hard work and mutual help. Secular entertainment and other worldly distractions were frowned upon if not forbidden. The relatively tight-knit community, even in the urban centers, and the experience of being a persecuted minority fostered a strong sense of internal solidarity, and of alienation from society. Community rules were enforced by the elders, and those failing to obey were subjected to penance, sanctions and finally excommunication. In the stricter sects, marriage to an outsider entailed excommunication, and outsiders wishing to join had to be re-baptized, as their first baptism was considered invalid. Those returning from sojourns in the outside world had to purify themselves by fasting and praying, before being fully re-admitted. Separate dishes were kept for the use of visiting "pagans".

Old Believers possessed a vast array of prohibitions, with many variations from sect to sect, which reinforced their separateness from ordinary Russians and other outsiders. Some were rooted in tradition or deduced from scripture, others appeared spontaneously. Adherents usually practiced strict hygiene and bathed often, and avoided [[vodka]] – in many rural communities, it was customary to display a full bottle of vodka at home, to signal it was left untouched (milder alcoholic beverages, like [[Kvass]] and Bragha, are permitted). The stricter sects see liquids as particularly prone to defilement. In some, a drop from the baptismal font may require a chapel to be reconsecrated. They prohibit the eating of certain animals, and consider blood and bloodied meat as revolting and forbidden. These taboos ceased to be widely observed in Soviet times, and are maintained sparingly. In 1990s Udmurtia, in an otherwise flexible community, a person was excommunicated for watering a garden with a hose.