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:
“Agnosticism is a perfectly respectable and tenable philosophical position; it is not dogmatic and makes no pronouncements about the ultimate truths of the universe. It remains open to evidence and persuasion; lacking faith, it nevertheless does not deride faith. Atheism, on the other hand, is as unyielding and dogmatic about religious belief as true believers are about heathens. It tries to use reason to demolish a structure that is not built upon reason.”
—Sydney J. Harris (1917–1986)