Old Believers

Old Believers Wanderers in the Second Half of the 19th — Early 20th Century (Based upon Reports of Kargopol Missionaries)

The article discusses the patterns of everyday life of the Old Believerswanderers in the territory of Kargopol district of the Olonets province. It draws upon new archival materials of church and secular origin, as well as a number of significant works by the missionaries. The study explores peculiarities of the wanderers’ worldview, the forms and methods of their preaching activity, and the structure of their communities. The wonderers’ teaching was deeply eschatological, which led to a complete break with “the world of Antichrist”.

The Early History of the Hristovschina: From an Ecstatic Movement to a Confessionalized Sect

This article considers the emergence of the sect of Khlysty. Sources that were not previously used in the study of this movement (investigative documents of Streltsy riots, the case of queen Evdokia, Major Glebov and others) allow a better reconstruction of the environment in which the shaping of the movement took place, its structure and early history.

How Religion Becomes Visible: Old Believers’ Communities in Social Media

The article discusses how Old Believers create the space of a new visibility of their religion in social media. The author analyzes online and offline practices as complementing each other, examining Facebook pages of those communities and settlements in which field anthropological studies were previously conducted (the North‑ Western Black Sea region).

Technology and Its Representation as a Source of Religious Experience for Old Believers of Yenisei Region

The paper discusses an ambivalent interaction between Chasovennye Old Believers of Yenisei region and modern technologies. Old Believers have to rely on certain technologies and equipment for survival in severe conditions of taiga and mountains. Nevertheless, technology is strongly associated with Antichrist and signifies his imminent arrival. The paper is focused on the intensity of usage of certain technological devices by the Old Believers, and how these devices are interpreted in eschatological terms.