In the context of Russian Orthodox church history, the Old Believers (Russian: старове́ры or старообря́дцы, starovery or staroobryadtsy) separated after 1666 from the official Russian Orthodox Church as a protest against church reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon between 1652–66. Old Believers continue liturgical practices which the Russian Orthodox Church maintained before the implementation of these reforms.
Russian-speakers refer to the schism itself as raskol (Russian: раскол), etymologically indicating a "cleaving-apart".
Read more about Old Believers: Introductory Summary of Origins, The Reforms of Patriarch Nikon, The Schism, Old Believer Denominations, Edinovertsy, Validity of The Reformist Theory: Sources of Russian Traditions, Background, Main Differences Between The Old Believers and Post-Nikonian Russian Orthodoxy, Present Situation, Old Believer Churches
Famous quotes containing the word believers:
“Great believers are always reckoned infidels, impracticable, fantastic, atheistic, and really men of no account. The spiritualist finds himself driven to express his faith by a series of skepticisms.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)