Dissenters and Prisoners (Raskolniki I Ostrozhniki), by Feodor Vasilivich Livanov, a Translation from the Russian, Originally Published in 5 Volumes, St

DISSENTERS

AND

PRISONERS

Feodor Vasilivich Livanov

Selections dealing with the origin and history, theology and beliefs, traditions and worship, community and domestic life, and personal conduct, of the early Spiritual Christian Molokans of Russia.

This volume contains selections from Dissenters and Prisoners (Raskolniki i Ostrozhniki), by Feodor Vasilivich Livanov, a translation from the Russian, originally published in 5 volumes, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Volume 1, 1872 edition. Volume 2, 1872 edition. Volume 3, 1872 edition. Volume 4, 1873 edition. Volume 5, 1875 edition.

Translated and published by Daniel H. Shubin.

Bible selections are based on the New King James Bible, used by permission, Thomas A. Nelson publishers, Nashville, TN. Since this volume is a translation from the Russian, the English has been modified as necessary to match the original Russian or Slavonic Bible rendering. copyright 1994 Daniel H. Shubin. All rights reserved. Revised for CD, 2002.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Translator's Preface

SELECTIONS FROM DISSENTERS AND PRISONERS

1. The Beginning and Origin of the Molokans and Dukhabors in Russia 2. Molokans of Tambov 3. Molokans of Saratov 4. Molokans of Kherson 5. The Molokan Pastor 6. Molokan Elders 7. The Molokan Liturgy 8. Molokan Weddings 9. Legal Status of Women among the Molokans 10. Molokans of Kharkov 11. Molokans of Simbirsk 12. Molokans of Astrakhan 13. Molokans of Moscow 14. Molokans of Ryazan 15. Molokans of Orlov 16. Molokans of Samar 17. Molokans of Orenburg 18. Molokans of Ekaterinoslav 19. Molokans of Novgorod 20. Molokans of Vladimir 21. Molokans of Tver 22. Molokans of Tavria 23. Oppression of the Molokans of Saratov 24. Oppression of the Molokans of Tambov 25. Instructions regarding the Resettlement of the Sectarians to the Transcaucasus 26. The Sect of the Communals 27. Discussion between the Dissenters and the Molokans

TRANSLATOR'S PROLOGUE

Let this be recorded for the generation yet to come, So that the people yet unborn may praise the Lord. Ps 102:18

The purpose for this volume is to make available to the English speaking Molokan population information about the early Molokans of Russia which the translator feels is valuable and beneficial to the present-day community, and information which will never be accessible to the majority of American Molokans because of its availability only in Russian. The selections from Dissenters and Prisoners, by F.V. Livanov, chosen for translation and publication in this volume comprise the most comprehensive collection of concise and reliable information about the Molokans in Russia, from their earliest origins and to the period of the mid 1860's. Livanov (pronounced Lee-va-NOV) also includes in his voluminous ethnograph considerable material dealing with the geographical, ethnic, political and historical background of each of the provinces he investigated having a Molokan population. Without burdening the reader with superfluous information not related to the specific purpose of this English volume, the translator selected only that material which focused on the origin and history, theology and Bible understanding, community development, church services, personal conduct and domestic life of the Molokans. The selection of what to translate and publish was primarily based on those areas which would be informative and of practical use, with an application to the Molokans of the present era. Quite often material found in an initial volume is also repeated by Livanov in a subsequent volume, no doubt to add bulk to his own composition, or if initial volumes were not available to readers of subsequent volumes. Of all the information in the 5 volumes that is classified as dealing with Molokans, all valuable and practical information is included in this translation. Any material that the translator felt was unreliable or of dubious origin was not included. The 5 volumes of Dissenters and Prisoners likewise contain extensive information regarding many other religious groups in Russia, including the Dukhabors, Scoptsi, Khlysti, and many lesser known sects, along with much of the politics of the era. None of this is included in this present translation, except for material on the Orthodoxy and Dukhabors that is interwoven by Livanov with Molokan history.

Livanov's information is basically divided into 2 categories: research and personal association. The areas of research are based on information previously researched and published by writers of the 18th and early 19th century, and this comprises those chapters that deal with the Origin of the Molokans (part 1), and the Molokans of the various provinces (parts 2 through 4, and 10 to the

3 end of the book). This material Livanov considered to be reliable for reprint and use in his own book. The balance of this translation (parts 5 through 9) are based on personal visits Livanov made to Molokan communities and villages, and personal observations and interviews with Molokan elders and other members of the religion. Feodor Vasilivich Livanov holds a doctorate in theology from the Academy of Sciences and was a professor of comparative religion in a university in St. Petersburg. He utilized his position, access to information, and capabilities for the research of the many sectarian groups in Russia. His use of the term dissenters refers to those groups that branched off from the Orthodox church during the movement known as the raskol, although they still held to Orthodox traditions and theology. These groups for example would be the Priestless (bez-popovtsi), Old Believers (staroveri), Wanderers (straniki), and others. The sectarians were those sects that rejected the Orthodoxy in its entirety and established independent denominations. These were the Molokans, Dukhabors, Khlisti, Netovtsi, and others.

III

In general the Molokan communities in Russia held to the tenets established by Semeon Matveev Uklein. However, due to the extent of the country of Russia, with meager and poor communication between the villages and cities and provinces, some differences did exist in their understanding of the Bible, but the majority of these were very minor. Only the Molokans of the Don Region could hardly be called Molokans, since they deviated from almost every point defined by Uklein. Most of the evidence indicates that the worship services, along with the wedding, child- naming, funeral, and memorial services contained in this translation, were composed by Uklein in the late 18th century, and then copied and recopied as they were distributed throughout Russia. M.G. Rudometkin mentions in his writings that Uklein "isolated himself in a secluded corner and wrote a book of ceremony and prayer for the faithful, containing various topics, which today are read aloud unchanged, everywhere.1" It is very possible that the ceremonies contained in Livanov's volumes are Uklein's ceremonies, although they may have been modified or altered due to transmission to other provinces of Russia and from generation to generation. One important item the reader will notice is that Molokan theology gradually developed over time with additional and greater access to the Bible. Bashkin and Kosei were well in advance of the balance of the population in recognizing the error of Orthodoxy, but their theology still had many flaws. Likewise Tveritinov was the most advanced of his era, and so others learned from him and continued to perfect the theology with additional study of the holy Scriptures and applying it to personal, domestic and community life. Uklein's original tenets of faith were concise and brief, but this was only after consulting with Dalmatov. Apparently Uklein needed and utilized Dalmatov's Biblical education to compile a practical systematic theology. And the tenets of faith compiled 50 years later by subsequent Molokan preceptors were even more comprehensive, even though some items took additional generations to perfect. Further preceptors of the Molokan community, beyond the period of time

1. Spirit and Life, page 460, verses 3-4.

4 researched by Livanov, those mentioned in the Spirit and Life, Book of the Sun, brought the Spiritual Christian Molokan community to a greater perfection in the knowledge of Biblical truth, and its personal, domestic and community application.

Livanov himself was a member of the Russian Orthodox Church. But it is also evident that his goal as a professional ethnologist overrode his personal bias toward the Orthodox church, since he readily and without any reluctance exposes the inefficiency and corruption of the Orthodoxy; admits that some of Orthodoxy was adapted from paganism; mentions repeatedly the ignorance and illiteracy of the clergy; details the larceny, alcoholism and immorality of the priests and nuns; and even records accusations of homosexually among the priests in the monasteries. But even though his is a very objective observation and record of research and associations, his true nature as a member of Orthodoxy does appear very subtle in scattered instances. This subtlety is not malicious or derogatory, but included to stealthily inform the reader that the Orthodoxy, regardless of its failings, was still the sole bearer of salvation and grace and Biblical truth, and that all the other dissenters and sectarians were deviating from this and alienating themselves from the sole true church, the Russian Orthodox. Whenever the words church or Christian are used by Livanov, they specifically refer to the Russian Orthodox church. Any other group is a dissenter or sectarian and is often mentioned by name. A few of Livanov's subtle remarks are noted in the following examples: that the teaching of dissenters and sectarians are "infectious" and "infect the people and countryside"; that Molokan prayers are "inartistic and bland," that the songs are "very poor in quality"; and that the Orthodoxy "should refute these people". This however should not suffice as evidence to discard the material as unreliable or biased; but the reader should be aware that these are observations made by a person not directly involved or participating in the religion. This is good because he is impartial in his observations, relating only what he sees and hears, and knowing nothing about the internal workings of the religion. But its shortcoming is that this superficial observation does not include background or details or thorough explanations of facets of Molokan life not familiar or strange to the reader.

The translator feels that these selections dealing with the history of the Molokans, interwoven with their Bible understanding, community development, church services, personal conduct and domestic life, will make the reader wise unto the salvation which is by faith in Christ Jesus, (2 Tim 3:15) and that grace and peace would increase among us in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (2 Pet 1:2)

THE BEGINNING AND ORIGIN OF THE MOLOKANS AND DUKHABORS IN RUSSIA

Volume 1, Chapter 8

The ancestors from olden times loved the [Orthodox] church2 services and formal ceremony, even to the point that their life received a portion of the liturgical church character. Not without a purpose were they first of all, after Vladimir,3 captivated by the superficial beauty of the Greek divine liturgy; the building and decoration of churches occupied the entire lives of many. Receiving from the Greeks icons, crosses, holy vessels, books and other church decor, our ancestors did not give themselves over to detailed, educated and contemplative research of the dogmas they accepted, but nourished their faith for the most part with the worship services and books describing the worship services. The pious princes and princesses, boyars, clergy and laymen spent considerable money to purchase church [service] books, or else occupied their lives to recopying them. All were taught in the [Orthodox] churches of God, from prince and boyar to the least of the layman, and they often ran to the clergy with questions: what to eat and drink. And their lives continued along in this manner, reciting and singing psalms unto the honor and glory of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for their own health and salvation for those that sang. During such progress of [Orthodox] Christian piety among the ancient Russian people, it would have been quite strange to expect the appearance of some type of religious freethinking; they would expect to find zealots, rather than enemies of the church liturgy. But known to all that such has occurred even from the beginning in the land, that where people do not think of something themselves, then others will assist them, even foreigners or aliens. Such occurred with our ancestors! Hardly 15 years passed from the introduction of Christianity into Russia in 988 AD, that in 1004 AD, there appeared a certain Adrian, a monk, rejecting the [Orthodox] church and liturgy entirely. In this manner 750 years before the appearance of the Molokans and Dukhabors, the Russian land publicized the dogmas that, later in the 18th century, became the basics of the teaching of the Molokans and Dukhabors. Adrian was the first person having the character of religious rationalism in the history of the Russian church. The contemporary metropolitan of Kiev, Leonti, attacked the freethinker; so Adrian was rebuked and imprisoned. It

2. The general use of the word church and christian by the author is directed towards the Greek-Russian Orthodox Church and its members and adherents. Sectarian groups and other denominations are referred to directly by name. People referred to as not attending church mean those not attending the Orthodox church, or leaving christianity refer to those who leave the Orthodoxy. 3. St. Vladimir, Grand Prince of Kievan Russia, traditionally in 988 AD introduced and instituted Eastern Orthodox Christianity in Russia.

6 is pitiful that this initial incident of the Russian church dealing with a religious dissenter was not resolved without imprisonment. The chroniclers nevertheless indicate that Adrian repented soon after his imprisonment. Some 121 years after Adrian, namely in 1125 AD, there appeared in the south of Russia another religious rationalist, a certain Dimitr, rejecting the church ordinances. So the metropolitan of Kiev, Nikita, banished Dimitr to prison in the city of Siniletz. Obviously Adrian and Dimitr held common opinions. But where did they derive them from, and what specific system of belief did they adhere to in rejecting the formal liturgy? In agreement with the author of "History of Heresies and Dissenters," Rudnev, we feel their system did not pertain to those who were actually members of the Russian church. There was hardly enough time for the field enlightened by Christianity to allow rationalist religious thinkers to appear. It is true that wherever conviction abides, so does doubt, misunderstanding and delusion; where law exists, so does transgression of the law, and this can be applied to all facets of life. No less was time needed for this liberal and deliberate effort. It was necessary for reason to develop ideas, which usually precedes facts. For this reason, it is correctly felt that the rationalist dogmas of Adrian and Dimitr, pronounced twice in ancient Russia, was none other than the teaching of the Bulgarian Bogomiles. The Bogomiles are known to have evolved from the Paulicians, called in southern France, in Piedmont, Lombards and Bohemian Valdenses, while in the [French] Provence and Languedoc areas, Albigences. These people rejected all the formality of the church and the entire hierarchy, thinking that they serve God in spirit and truth by doing this. A favorite saying likewise of our Molokans and Dukhabors! God is a Spirit the latter constantly affirm, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth, John 4:24. It is pitiful that the sect of the Bogomiles originally advocated a type of gnosticism, which will not be discussed, even though its influence on the adjoining southern provinces of Russia would explain much that is dubious in our history. Their precarious books and Bulgarian fables must contain much that is gnostic and perhaps can explain to us this unusual phenomenon, that following the introduction of Christianity we began to build temples to the honor of Sophia, the wisdom of God, the first abstract understanding appearing among the gnostics. The opinion that every man is a living book, an inclination to mortify the flesh, avoidance of formal education - since the letter kills - their contempt for superficiality, all of this is encountered with the Bogomiles and likewise the Molokans. The Bulgarian church from early times has always had a close tie with our ancient Orthodoxy. The evidence of this unity, among other items, are the following: the use of a common translation of the Holy Scriptures, and also Russian honour of many of the saints of the Bulgarian church. Bulgarian tunes are found in Orthodox church hymns. For this reason it is natural that the coeval movement occurring in the Greek and Bulgarian churches would also be expressed and repeated in the Russian. Meanwhile in Bulgaria arose the Bogomiles, as we mentioned, from the Paulicians, who were known to the Greek church. The Paulicians4 advocated, among other items, defiance to the ceremonialism of the church hierarchy and the church liturgy, and rejected the sacraments, The emperor of

4. Originally disciples of Paul of Samosata, the bishop of Antioch, 260-272 AD, the Paulicians developed in subsequent years. They were strongly iconoclastic and opposed the cults surrounding the virgin Mary and the veneration of saints. Their influence was primarily in Greece, the Balkans, and Syria.

7 Constantinople rose up in arms several times against these freethinkers, and at the command of the empress Theodora5 there were hanged, beheaded and drowned about 100,000 adherents. The emperor Tsimiski decreed to finally resettle a considerable portion from the east into Thrace near the borders of Bulgaria. The Bulgarian church was in this manner placed in a threatening situation. And so at this time, as the religious freethinker Dimitr was under judgement, in the Bulgarian city Mengelene almost all the residents were sacrificed to the Paulician delusion and the local prince himself almost fell from orthodoxy. The Bogomiles, among other items: 1. Rejected the personal existence of the son of God and the Holy Spirit. 2. Rejected the necessity of sacraments and liturgy. 3. The miracles of the Saviour they understood allegorically. 4. All the activities of Jesus Christ they deemed allegorical. 5. The visible church they considered somewhere between the ancient Jewish and the inner life, which they claimed to adhere to, calling themselves true spiritual Christians. 6. The baptism of Christ is a spiritual baptism and is contained in abstinence, prayers, reading and the singing of hymns. There are a total of 13 points, and several of them passed on verbatim into the teachings of the Molokans and Dukhabors. One canon written in the 15th or 16th century, defines all of the points of teaching of the Bogomiles. Correlating this with the wanderings of the propagators of Bogomolism and the close ties of the Russian church to the Bulgarian and Greek church, we can now see that the foundation of both Adrian and Dimitr were the Bogomiles; and consequently our Dukhabors and Molokans follow as later descendants.

And so religious independent thought during the initial periods of the emergence of Christianity in Russia was foreign, and the individuals working in the midst of the then young [Orthodox] Christian community were not Russian, but alien. Hardly were the seeds of religious rationalism sown upon Russian soil: and if history indicates to us here a certain silence in the Russian church until the 16th century, this occurred because the seeds had not yet grown and produced fruit. It is proper to insist here the historical circumstances of that era. Difficult sorrows among the Russian princes were exchanged for an even greater difficult sorrow: the yoke of the Mongols. Traces of further religious independent thought are no longer seen in southern Russian, but in the north it was to no surprise, since this area was unoccupied by the Mongols. The Russian metropolitan moved there, and the entire national life was drawn there. Novgorod, not experiencing destruction by the Mongols, had expansive businesses, and along with Orthodox churches there stood churches of foreign guests. Karamzim speaks even of a special tax gathered in Novgorod from the German church and called "divine tribute". At this point in Russia, the concepts sown by the religious rationalists were easily developed and modified to cater to someone's taste; and food for them was found. There appeared disorder in the [Orthodox] church. Independent from the tumult caused by the teaching

5. Also called Theodora the Fool, she was the wife of Justinian I, Emperor of the eastern half of the Roman Empire 527-565 AD.

8 of Martin the Arminian, and discord regarding the fast on Wednesday and Friday, the Christians were disturbed over other disorder in the church and clergy. The Kiev metropolitan Kiril, during a review of the congregations of all Russia at the council of Russian archbishops who were in Vladimir at the River Klyasm near the end of the 13th century, said, among other items, much about the varied confusion and disorder in the church. The latter items were even more supported, as during the destruction of the villages, churches, monasteries and cities by the Mongols, continuing the rituals of the faith became especially difficult and even arbitrary. During the Tatar invasions of southern portions of Russia the throne of the Metropolitan of all Russia was transferred from Kiev to the north; first to Vladimir, then soon after to Moscow, since the church contact with the Greek church weakened. The principals of the Russian church were now no longer Greek, and even in the Russian hierarchy there appeared diversity. Other than the metropolitan of Moscow, there appeared a metropolitan in Kiev in 1414. In short, the church hierarchy beginning with the top and to the bottom was shaken. And such indications, obviously could already lay a path for the development of different religious views with the community. The concepts disseminated in the south of Russia and preserved as historical narrative in books and texts now had a fertile field and could to the known extent draw closer to other church and religious ideals. Such was the characteristics of the ideas, and partially religious. In their dissemination they totally agreed with the preaching of knowledge in general. On such a field of the church situation in Russia quickly appeared a pure Russian independent thought in the person of the Proto-pope6 of Novgorod: Seyit and the Strigolniks. Seyit, the proto-pope of Novgorod, acting alongside with the Bishop of Tver, Theodor, attacked monasticism. Consequently many in Novgorod abandoned the calling. But the deacon Karp, a Strigolnik, along with the deacon Nikita (circa 1371), taking advantage of the disorder of the clergy, rejected the entire hierarchy. The Strigolniks, among other items, taught: 1. That apostle Paul commanded even the common people to teach. They then chose teachers from among their own peers, rather than the clergy. 2. The validity of the laying-on of hands for ordination they implemented with the consensus of the community. 3. In place of liturgies at the church they began gathering in homes for reading and singing. 4. They preached the dignity of every commoner. 5. Marriage was freely bestowed on mutually consenting individuals without the sacramental blessing of the priest.

Almost all of these points intact are found in the teaching of the Dukhabors and Molokans. The teaching of the Strigolniks appears in this form as the first native, pure-Russian independent thought. It is worth noticing that 20 years prior to the appearance of the Strigolniks, i.e. in 1350, that in England Wycliffe, a theologian from Oxford University, spoke against the clergy in the same vein as our Strigolniks. Wycliffe founded a distinct congregation called the Wycliffites (Lollards), who after his death migrated to Germany and especially into Bohemia, where near Moravia they associated with the known groups mentioned above, the Valdenses and Bogomiles,

6. Or, Arch-priest.

9 remnants of the Marcionites and Manichees. The teaching of Wycliffe here found many zealous adherents, especially the very popular John Huss, forerunner to the German reformation. His opinions regarding the clergy and other items almost word for word coincide with the opinions of our Strigolniks, although our commoners appeared as uncultured, while the Hussites appeared refined. The harbinger of the new beginning in belief, the deacon Nikita, was deprived of his rank, while Karp the Strigolnik was thrown from a bridge into the Volkhov River. All of their followers were excommunicated from the church. Following this they fled to the various areas of Russia, and finally spread about teaching even more. The freethinkers were given over to death by execution; there was even affirmed, after counsel with the metropolitan Fotiem, to seize all the Strigolniks and confine them to prison. It was reasonable to understand that this was impossible, especially since those who fled throughout Russia began to disperse their teaching in the cities and villages and this error produced the opposite results. The proselytes of the new teaching began to proclaim that those drowned, executed, and dying in prison were martyrs for the faith, which according to these accounts was definitely a persecuted faith. And the most-reverend Ignatius rightly expressed after this occurred that in time of human miseries, usually the majority have heartfelt consolation toward those who endure calamity, even those which the situation does not even concern. But the teaching of the Strigolniks was not sentenced to annihilation and for other reasons. It was popularly known that the Russian clergy from olden times lived on contributions from the people: the diocesan bishop took it from the parishes and clergy of his diocese; the metropolitan took it from the diocesan authorities; while the patriarch of the royal city (Moscow) took it from the metropolitan. At the time of the appearance of the Strigolniks, there were special coercions used by factions of the ecclesiastical authorities to acquire these contributions, such that citizens of Moscow and Novgorod refused in 1392 to cooperate with the metropolitan for using extortion. The metropolitan then complained to the great sovereign. The great sovereign, having need for taxes from Novgorod, accepted the accounts and complaints of the metropolitan; this caused in Novgorod a revolt, even bloodshed. This incident gave reason to the populace of Novgorod for greater contempt for the bishop. In Pskov province they began to accept priests from Lithuania who were without education. The Russian clergy was immersed in intolerable ignorance, while the church services were conducted by people uninitiated and polygamist. The Novgorod archbishop Gennadi asked the metropolitan Simon to institute schooling to instruct children to at least have a basic knowledge of church rules. Monks and nuns lived together in monasteries; and to complete it all, priests were placed in sacred offices for money. This vehemently revolted the Strigolniks. Reviewing all of this we conclude that the teaching of the Strigolniks, expressing in itself all previous rationalist attitudes to religion, was necessary to finally develop a visible form which continued until the 2nd half of the 15th century. At this time it was expressed in a new stronger and fuller teaching, which we now familiarize ourselves with.

III

The discontent which was expressed in the sect of the Strigolniks by way of the various rationalist interpretations and formulated over the century in a new voluntary community was called the

10 heresy of the Judaizers,7 and appeared in the very city Novgorod, which was for a good reason called in history liberal Novgorod. In this new rationalist community the teaching of the Strigolniks regarding ceremony, the priesthood, the sacraments, monasticism, the future life, and other items, was repeated with such accuracy, having deviation only in one item, that the new community of the Judaizers, as a later development, accepted elements of the continuing new religious movements in the west, with which Novgorod, as earlier, was always in continuous commercial dealing. The chief role in the sect of the Judaizers is played by the Latvian Jew Zachary, who lived in Kiev about 1470. In 1471, when the great Novgorod, in defending its willful mode of life as opposed to that of Moscow, because of threats, asked of the King Kazimira the brother of the Kievian prince Mikhail Olelfovich, or Aleksandrovich, to be vice-regent, together with Mikhail there arrived at Novgorod Zachary. In Kiev Zachary was already an acquaintance with the prince, and this acquaintance the reverent Ioseph Volokolamski considered valuable. In these circumstances Zachary found it easy to be placed in good relationships with the higher circles of Novgorod and the priesthood. Zachary was an educated individual, and had an excellent mastery of dialectics; he knew the Holy Scriptures and the works of the holy fathers, astrology, and all the sciences, and was a man having a very loose direction in faith and life. He was also familiar with the natural sciences. Zachary attached himself to this Judaizer interpretation, and it is difficult to understand why. It is doubtful that he was a Talmudist, because in the teaching of Zachary not even one word from the Talmud is found. Turning to history we find that at the end of the 14th century the Karaites, a branch of the Jews which always acted against the Talmud, migrated from the Crimea to Latvia and to Poland, and the prince Vitold gave to them special privileges. Accordingly it is apparent that Zachary, as a migrant from Latvia, was an adherent of the interpretations of the Karaites, from which it would have been easier and more naturally, than from the Talmudists, to transfer over to this new teaching. There is no evidence to deny that Zachary was likewise ordained in the mysteries of the Kabbalists, and that the kabala was one of those means which Zachary used to give strength to his activities among the simple fold, who were already inclined to the magical. By all credibility he was a member of some type of religious community in Latvia, which is confirmed by the fact that Zachary ordered several Jews from Latvia to assist him. Zachary conducted himself in a different manner than did the Strigolniks who directly reprimanded the priesthood, while the Judaizers began first to make friends with the priests and found the first proselytes of his liberalism in the person of the priests Dyonisi and Alekses, and then the very proto-pope of Sophia Cathedral, Gabriel. Many of the fathers and deacons, living a swinish life, became friendly to the new persuasion, and began to develop the liberalism. Remnants of the Strigolniks with this united effort formed the new teaching, at the head of which stood Zachary on one side, and on the other the priests Dyonisi and Alekses and the proto-pope Gabriel along with a large group of priests and deacons, popular citizens, churchmen, city rulers and people. This entire teaching did not contain anything new, original, nor was it complete, delivered to us from somewhere else, but was a compilation of various and sundry, similar and

7. The rendering of the Russian word zhi-dov-stvoo-yu-shi has historically been Judaizer. More is mentioned about the Judaizers, Zachary and Ioseph Volokolamsk in "A History of Russia," N.V. Riazanovski, pg. 135, and "The Icon and the Axe," James Bullinger.

11 conflicting opinions and interpretations, all of which developed from the eras of the Bogomiles and Strigolniks on Russian soil. To consider this movement to have fallen as if from the clouds suddenly and unexpectedly would mean to deny the historical progress of the life of every nation, in which name all mental, moral and religious changes are executed. And so we see that the new teaching, popularly known by the name, the sect of the Judaizers, quickly seized the Russian community of the era and found for itself proselytes mainly among educated individuals, such that among the number of the preachers there was included Gregori Mikhailovich Puchin, the son of a popular boyar, who had great authority in Novgorod. In Moscow there was the archimandrite of the Semeonovski Monastery, and then the metropolitan Zosima, popular due to his education and talents; a secretary of the palace who was personally close to the Tsar,8 Feodor Kyrichin. The sect penetrated even the palace of the prince, where Elena the daughter-in-law of the great prince accepted it, and which almost even captivated the great prince himself.9 It is obvious that after this the new teaching was released in an unrestrainable flood upon the masses and engendered, as Gennadi indicated, sects, sects, and more sects. Ioseph Volokolamski [to refute them] said that only the lowest classes study Judaism. Ioseph and Gennadi several times brought to their attention that the adherents of the sect were the simplest of the teachings of Judaism. As far as others were concerned, they clearly interpreted the Holy Scriptures independently, they criticized Christianity, and for reasons totally unknown, wanted to make their proselytes Judaizers, and then quickly rationalists, and then finally, heaven forbid, materialists. Very valuable among the harbingers of the new teachings were the compositions of Kozmi, a Bulgarian presbyter and organizer of the sect of the Bogomiles, and also Menandra, Jesus the son of Sirach, logic and other philosophic books, which were all evidently brought from Latvia. Those who accepted the teaching of Zachary taught, among other things, that:10 1. The almighty God does not have a son, a god-man, or holy Spirit as persons of the same essence and co-enthroned with Him. 2. Jesus Christ is Jesus Christ and the son of God, but not by essence, but by grace, as were the prophets and believers. 3. If is it true that in the prophetic writings there is spoken about the last judgement, resurrection of the dead, and etc., then it is not Jesus Christ who will judge, but God Almighty. 4. The body of Christ and His blood in the sacrament of the eucharist they did not consider as actual flesh and blood, but plain bread and wine. 5. They did not pray to the icons of Christ, His mother Mary, the holy saints and the cross, but labeled this idolatry. They said that this was the work of man's hands, having lips but unable to speak. God did say: Do not make for yourselves a graven image or any type of likeness. He not make for yourselves god of silver or gods of gold, and do not worship them. 6. Temples and other sacred items made by hand they considered unnecessary. 7. They rejected the fasts; on Wednesdays and Fridays they ate meat and milk. 8. They did not worship the saints and had no veneration for the [holy] relics.11 Their images,

8. Probably Ivan III, the Great, who reigned 1462-1505, the father of Vasili III. 9. Helen Glinskaya, or Elena Vasilivna, 2nd wife of Vasili III, and mother of Ivan IV the Terrible. 10. The teachings and practises of the Judaizers are more fully documented in the section Molokans of Saratov.

12 said the heretics, are vanity and that they loved dead bones. 9. They rejected monasticism. The eunuchs, they said, chose this life for themselves, but neither the prophets nor the apostles commanded to live this way. The writings of the holy elders and the traditions they rejected. Almost all of this entirely entered into the teachings of our Dukhabors and Molokans. At this time, as it was earlier with the Strigolniks, our church pastors dealt with the Judaizers in a manner not at all in compliance with the spirit of Christ. Gennadi himself began to conduct searches among the adherents of the new teaching, himself joining the police force after having been a servant at the altar. Many priests were betrayed by him over to penal punishment. And Gennadi asked the metropolitan that all these liberals be anathemized by the church synod. Ioseph Volokolamski incessantly tried to convince the Grand Prince to annihilate all the followers of the teaching of Zachary. Gennadi even brought to the attention of the Grand Prince the example of the Spanish ruler, who at the request of Pope Innocent, enforced the inquisition with all terror and execution.12 Sinners or heretics, he said to the Prince, must be put to death by our hands, or we are no different then them in prayer. Gennadi finally reached the point where multitudes of them that accepted the new teaching were publicly burned in cages, others had their tongues cut out, and others were imprisoned in dungeons for indefinite terms. At the synod the new liberals were anathemized. While in Novgorod Gennadi commanded that they be put on horses with their face to the rear, turn their clothes inside out, decorate them with helmets made of straw pointed upwards, by which the insane are identified, with bast shackles, with crowns made of straw and grass, and having the inscription: Behold the army of satan. And in this condition they were lead through the city, passing from street to street. Those that met them on the road would spit at them in the eyes and say to them: Enemies of God, blasphemers of Christ. Then at the prison their helmets were set on fire. The proselytes of the new teaching, under such measures, may have been defeated with force and torture, but not in their convictions. They scattered throughout Russia after having been decimated, and still with spite deep in their souls they zealously began to preach this teaching, propagating especially specific points which discredited Gennadi. Nevertheless the martyrdom of their brethren enlightened this new teaching in the eyes of listeners, and the efforts of the church was in this manner defeated.

Reviewing in this manner the history of the heresy of the Judaizers, we permit ourselves to conclude a certain number of facts which we have gathered in the following order: 1. The heresy incorrectly labeled by us as Judaizer, was not Judaism. 2. It was not of a unified nature, complete and well-defined, but was a mixture of many interpretations, finally unified arbitrarily under the name of Judaism. It was not original, but a rediscovery of much that was dormant since the time of the Bogomiles and then rediscovered by the Strigolniks in their criticism of belief, all this occurring at the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th centuries.

11. A portion of the dead body of a canonized saint of the Orthodox Church. 12. The Spanish inquisition under Ferdinand V, King of Castile and Aragon and his wife Queen Isabella, and Pope Innocent VIII, 1484-1492.

Religious indifference labeled it the heresy of the Judaizers, although under the shelter of which, the beginnings of rationalism lived and slowly unveiled itself, strongly expanding in the cities and villages, slowly smoldering, with sparks flaring up on occasion but never dying out. Only after another half century did all of this again flare up in a new religious movement and was labeled in history the heresy of Bashkin and Kosei. Matvei Semeonov Bashkin appeared in the beginning in the countryside of Novgorod while his teaching was formulated in the areas beyond the Volga River. Accomplices that first appeared alongside the teaching of Bashkin were: Kassian, the bishop of Kasan; Artemei, the abbot of the Trinity Monastery; the monk Porfirei; the deacon Ivan Viskovati, and others. It is apparent that religious individualism which was expressed in the person of Bashkin was in reality actually Russian. And we can see in this manner, that outside of Moscow it was Novgorod, Pskov and the areas beyond the Volga River along with the monasteries of the Volga which were infected by this spirit. Bashkin, once coming to confession, expressed a desire to have an intelligent knowledge of the faith, so that the holy faith in the person of its chosen ministers would be more fruitful and active among the people. In faith, he said, effort was needed more than words; the entire law is consummated in the words: Love your close associate as you do yourself. Christ calls us all His brethren, while we carry on with serfdom, and other activities. Father Semeon, to whom Bashkin turned, was completely unable to satisfy the curiosity of his spiritual son, and reported him to the popular Silvester, as being an extraordinary person, asking many perplexing questions. It was in this spirit that the followers of Bashkin would discern. The metropolitan Makarie reported in detail the new heresy in 1552 to the Tsar, Iyon Vasilivich13 after his return from the campaign of Kasan. While the Tsar in a letter to Maksim Greek wrote regarding calling a council in Moscow, Bashkin was taken in for questioning and unveiled his teaching to the monks of the Iyosifovski (Volokalamski) Monastery, Gerasim and Thilofei, and even wrote down the heresy, along with giving the names of his fellow adherents. First the Tsar and then the Metropolitan, publicly asked the heretics to appear saying they needed witnesses, and placed them face to face with them with accusations. Bashkin with a few of his fellow adherents was finally convicted and arrested. But hardly was the conviction of this heresy pronounced that already another one started to appear; in 1555, a new heresy having the same direction. This was accomplished by Theodosei Kosei, who began to teach in White Russia and Vitebsk prior to the judgement against Bashkin. Theodosei Kosei, a native of Moscow, was a servant of one of the palace boyars. He escaped from his master to the White Sea, and there was tonsored for the monkhood; there he was penetrated by the teaching of Bashkin. Zinobei, a monk of the Novgorod Oteinski Monastery, relates in his book, which was written against the teaching of Kosei, that once he arrived at the monastery, 2 monk-clerics from the Novgorod Spasski Monastery, Gerasim and Afanasie, and a 3rd, an icon-painter, the layman Feodor, had asked him to teach them how to be saved. There appeared, they said, the new teaching, and then many praised him for it. Was it from God? and should they follow him? The new teaching was the teaching of Kosei himself, which was in its

13. Ivan IV, the Terrible, Tsar of Russia 1533-1584.

14 fullest essence a continuation of the teaching of Bashkin. And one and the other likewise meditated on the person of Jesus Christ, about icons, about traditions, and the rules of the church. But as far as history is concerned the appearance of Kosei is worth noticing because he evolved from the elders originally beyond the Volga, which Bashkin had mentioned, that the elders of the areas beyond the Volga had him censored, and confirmed his opinions. For us at the present it is especially important to realize the immensity of the area that the teaching of Bashkin and Kosei developed in and spread to. The teaching of Bashkin is the following: 1. He did not recognize Jesus Christ as God, equal to God the Father. 2. In the eucharist the bread and wine he did not consider as the actual bread and body of Christ. 3. He did not apply importance to the manifest church as constructed, because the term church is to be understood as the gathering of believers. 4. Icons of Mary the Mother of Christ and the saints he labeled idols. 5. Confession before the priest he considered unnecessary, expressing that if a man ceases to sin, then he has no sin, even if he fails to confess before a priest. 6. The traditions of the fathers he did not consider an obligation to fulfill. 7. The lives of the saints he considered fables. 8. The authority of the ecumenical councils he did not accept. 9. The Holy Scriptures he interpreted on his own, indicating that he did not accept something if it was not written in the Gospels or Apostle's letters. 10. He felt prayers for the dead to be useless. 11. The church service recited prayers he considered futile if a person’s conduct did not correlate with them. 12. He recognized no power in the sign of the cross.

Theodosei Kosei taught: 1. The mystery of the Holy Trinity is not to be recognized because the law recognizes only one God. 2. He did not believe that Jesus Christ was the only begotten son of God, incarnated for the salvation of people, but confirmed that he was a plain person. Kosei said that there was no necessity for the Son of God to become incarnate for the rise of the fallen Adam, since God can by His own hands renew the defiled image of God in man. 3. For this reason, he did not accept the renewal of the image of God in man through redemption and said that man today lives as he did earlier prior to the [first] coming of Christ. 4. He rejected all the writings of the fathers as human traditions, mixed with lies. 5. Veneration of the icons he rejected on the basis that in the Scriptures there are no commands regarding the veneration of icons. 6. Rejecting icons, Theodosei rejected also the miracles which occurred due to icons. 7. He taught that we must not bow down to the cross, because the cross was the weapon of the enemies of Christ. 8. He said that we must not pray to dead saints. Consequently Kosei felt that it was improper to have the remains of the saints in the church, and recommended that they be buried in the ground.

15 9. Regulations and rules of the church, cantations, fasts, genuflexions, church prayers, according to Kosei, were the traditions of men. 10. He rejected monasticism as an institution of man, explaining that the monastic rules of Vasili the Great did not pertain to even Vasili. 11. He blamed the church for the lack of unity, and as a result of this the members cannot be called the members of Christ. 12. He said that the bishops, rejecting the heretics and not accepting their repentance, transgress the commandment of the Lord, who commanded to forgive every sin, even if he should sin a 2nd time. From a review of the teaching of Bashkin and Kosei it appears that the teaching of Kosei was identical with that of Bashkin and served somewhat as a continuation, although Kosei progressed further than Bashkin. And it is noticeable that Kosei with his individualism remains more on the soil of Christianity and strives to use the very Christian teaching to destroy [Orthodox] Christianity or else establish his own personal ideals as the status quo, and in this manner attacks it, as all the rationalists in general attack it. The teaching of Bashkin and Kosei nevertheless are apparently an alteration of observations of some initial beginning. But what was this beginning? This was in part protestant, in part Calvinist, in part Unitarian. When Luther started the reformation in the western church, then the spirit of reformation did not only flood the greater portion of the west, but also expanded into Poland and Lithuania and further east. The reformation began in 1517, but unitarianism even earlier. This teaching consisted mainly in this, not to accept anything as the truth which cannot be understood rationally. Unitarianism began in the area of Russian Poland, and based on the evidence of prince Kyrbski expanded then to Volin Province. In 1523 Luther's reform was already accepted in Riga. In about 1550 the reformist churches then appeared in White Russia, and then here came to Russia 3 Greek-Russian monks: Feodosei, Artemei and Thoma, of them Thoma was later made reformist pastor and was a preacher in Polotsk, Vitebsk Province. Finally, the reformists had their own pastors and churches, and not only in White Russia but in the Podol, Kiev, and Beloruss Counties. This religious individualism, which consisted of Bashkin and Kosei, in western Russia spread during the first half of the 16th century. The teaching of Bashkin and Kosei in full development appears continuing likewise in the middle of the 16th century, and which was condemned at the council in 1553. And this, we repeat, was now pure-Russian rationalism on Russian soil, which being a continuation of the teaching of the Judaizers accepted elements of the west. In this manner the teaching of the Judaizers expanded in the course of time into 2 halves: the rationalism preserving the Jewish elements, from which evolved the sect of the Subbotniki,14 which also still exists to this time and has its own history; and that rationalism without the Judaism, confined in the person of Bashkin and Kosei, out of which emerged the Molokans. We can say that in the person of Bashkin and Kosei we have the primary progenitors of Molokanism in Russia. We are even more convinced of this train of thought by the comparison of all the 12 points of the teaching of Bashkin and Kosei with the teaching of our Molokans, which during the later period, it seems, added to them several others. The Molokans themselves indicate in their

14. Sabbatarians or Sabbatists, not to be confused with the modern Seventh Day Adventist Church.

16 Confession of Faith, printed in Geneva that their origin was at this time. At the time of the reign in Russia of Ivan Vasilivich the Terrible, they say there was invited to the palace in Moscow from England a certain doctor. Because of the spirit of the era and the barbarity of the people, he was looked upon in the capital as an antichrist and was called cursed, and doors and gates were locked to him. The name of this doctor has been long lost. Due to some circumstance he became friends with a well-known landowner from Tambov who was living at the palace. He spent some time with him and discussed much about the Bible, which no one at the time was allowed to possess in Russia. This landowner had a favorite servant, an intelligent and educated person, a certain Matvei Semenov, who understood Biblical truth more quickly than the landowner, and who then soon scorned the rituals of the Greek-Russian Church and the worship of icons. He acquired a slavonic Bible and began to impress upon those close to him a more accurate truth regarding the worship of God in spirit and truth. But during this time it was very dangerous and even almost prohibited to say anything against the rituals. Because of this, as soon as it became known that Matvei abandoned the rituals, then immediately this was reported to the knowledge of the highest authorities, and the unfortunate person, due to the sentence handled down by the high court, suffered a martyr's death through the wheel. Some of his disciples, peasants, informed the landowner during his visit to his birthplace in Tambov Province. They then also began to quietly preach the true worship of God in spirit and truth, with the help given them by the Bible he brought there. Their teaching was followed by a considerable number in the various villages. Due to the severity of the era and the unrestricted authority of the [Orthodox] clergy the teachers were exposed, given over to judgement and cruelly punished by whip by some executioner, and with indefinite exile to penal servitude. The followers of this teaching however did not cease to preach it in secret. How accurate this narrative of the Molokans is, we will not take the time to ascertain, but will incline to use it on this basis, that from Moscow, which was stimulated by the teaching of Bashkin and Kosei, there could also actually arise a person from among the peasants of Tambov Province and disseminate a new teaching among the people with Bible in hand. Having at hand also other incidences to view how the religious rationalism of this era overtook Moscow, Novgorod, the Trans-Volga, and other provinces, we can ascertain that from this time the teaching of Bashkin and Kosei expanded to other provinces of Russia by other persons, although this was not yet known as Molokanism. Later, in the 18th century, we see that in Moscow and other cities the teaching of Bashkin and Kosei already existed and was firmly established and developed more and more with the influence of western protestantism.

In the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries the rationalist teaching of Bashkin and Kosei not only did not weaken, but under the influence of Lutheranism and Protestantism incurred nothing but success. During these centuries Russia had already opened the door to trade, science, art and others, and finally to the stream of western religious criticism. The field of Russia was already ready, such that the Russian rationalist had only to stretch out his hand to western criticism. And so did it occur. Every generation in the history of man looks at life in the world in the light of some type of ideal and only these manifestations in the sphere of thinking is recognized by the intelligent and educated, who explain all they know in terms of these ideals.

17 From the time of the appearance of Bashkin and Kosei, settlement in Moscow began by the preachers of the teaching of Luther: various craftsman, artist and doctors, invited by the Great Prince Vacili III and his son, Ivan IV [the Terrible]. They were allotted a place for settlement outside of the city, where they built a house of prayer and a school. Between 1560 and 1565, Moscow was beautified by a Lutheran Church; almost at one and the same time there was erected in Moscow a print shop, which the Danish ruler, Christian III, intended to turn into an instrument of the publishing of Lutheran teaching. Together with the arrival of the Holstein duke Magnussen, the brother of the Danish ruler Fredrick II, the number of Lutherans in Moscow was increasing still. In the house of the duke began church services, while the pastor Bokgorny was gifted a gold chain and wealthy clothing by the Tsar. In 1573 Magnussen finally acquired from Ivan Vasilivich [the Terrible] permission to build a church of his own confession of faith, and conduct church services in it. All of these occurrences generated their own type of following. The ancient Russian chroniclers indicate for example a certain Bomelei, a Lutheran, who was not quite able to lead the Tsar away from the true faith. While the reformer Sokran was able to get Ivan Vasilivich to admit that Lutheranism would be considerably closer to the truth. The reign of Peter I [the Great], began an epoch especially beneficial for Lutheran and Reformist propaganda in Russia. But already Theofan Prokopovich stood in defense of it secretly. The rationalism of Bashkin and Kosei had proselytes in the higher ranks of the priesthood, and Stefan Yavorski armed himself against them in vain with his book: The Rock of Faith. The Sovereign himself during days having church services would walk nearby protestant churches and there even sing spiritual songs. During his era there appeared in the Russian language a copy of the Augsburg Confession, as well as an injunction to translate into the Russian language and publish Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Calvinist catechisms. In 1711, an emigrant from Hamburg, Bartolg Vagetsi, flaunted himself in Moscow with the title of superintendent of all the Lutheran churches in Russia. Peter [the Great], who permitted the Germans living near LeForte Palace to build another stone church in the name of the Apostles Peter and Paul, with a belltower and church bell, himself laid the first stone during the initiation of construction. It is comprehendible that during the conditions as related by us, the activities of the local religious rationalism who evolved from the sect of the Strigolniks and Judaizers, and stating their final words in the persons of Bashkin and Kosei, inevitably added newer and even more stronger foundations to their efforts of opposition to the [Orthodox] church, efforts that were extracted easily and without difficulty from the protestants. As an illustration of how easily and freely there toured through Moscow promoters of the propaganda of rationalism, and how great was religious emancipation, we will present here a few characteristic features of the life of [Dimitri Evdokeev] Tveritinov, popularly known as a heretic during the reign of Peter 1 [the Great] in our church histories.

Tveritinov was a doctor. And as the religious mind of the people in Moscow was completely unstable, he then without reservation ridiculed the Orthodoxy, whomever and wherever he could. An ill person would ask at the pharmacy for a prescription for an eye or ear infection, Tveritinov ironically and with a laugh advised him to make a silver eye or tooth and

18 attach it to an icon of either Saint Ipatie or Saint Antinie, the miracle workers. Would he require his patient to read the church books? He would answer: Do you have a Bible? If you do then why waste your time reading any other books: in the Bible you will find all you need for salvation. When he had the occasion to dine with some people on a fast day,15 who were serious in regards to its observance, he immediately began to say that these fasts were useless and they were the tradition of man. There came to Tveritinov's apartment a visitor of some sort, and in place of the icons16 he saw on the wall a piece of paper with these words written: I am the Lord your God, You will have no other gods other than Myself. Do not make for yourselves a statute or any image, and etc... On another was written several texts, explaining protestant dogmas versus those of the Orthodoxy. There were several opportune occasions for Tveritinov to become close to the Russian people, because the vocation of a doctor with an extensive practice gave him the ability to get acquainted with the many classes of the community, with aristocrats and clergy, with business people and peasants. And we notice from his activities, that he had a number of zealous supporters and disciples, among them, the informer Mikhael Andreev Kocoi, the Zaikonospaski scholar Ivan Maksimov; Nikita Martinov a sheep dealer; and another merchant Mekhaino Minin, a barber Foma Ivanov, and others. At his home were various leisurely gatherings where the rationalists, and without oppression, unveiled their censored views, and some even considered him worthy enough to assume the place of the existing patriarch. And who knows, perhaps the hundreds of disciples of Tveritinov from among the merchants and sheep dealers did extend at that time his teaching to the villages and cities of Russia, and thereby strengthened his teaching? "Right now in Moscow," said Tveritinov, "every person can believe whatever he wants: whatever persuasion a man selects, so does he believe." For this reason he passively distributed notebooks to the people, which were filled with specific texts from the Holy Scriptures, with an exposition of the faith according to the spirit of the Bible.17 There is no doubt that these notebooks served later as a profession of belief for the men of the rural areas, the rationalists, who later received the name of Molokans. The disciple of Tveritinov was bold enough to even call icons manikins. Tveritinov, as with Bashkin and Kosei: 1. Rejected the worship of icons. The veneration of icons is absurd, he said, because nowhere is this in the Bible; not in the Old and not in the New Covenant is it written. Tveritinov confirmed his teaching of non-veneration of icons using the Holy Scriptures and common sense. From the Holy Scriptures, Tveritinov showed them all places were polytheism and the veneration of idols was prohibited, especially and repeatedly focusing on the 1st and 2nd of the ten commandments. Point for point the same attitude Molokans have towards iconolatry were several places of the Holy Scriptures compiled by Tveritinov into one aggregate, with the majority of it primarily on the 2nd of the ten commandments. Was it Tveritinov who first inscribed in the notebooks which he distributed to the people a catalog of texts, which fortunately and finally reached in written form to our Molokans? The attitude based on common sense against the veneration of icons which Tveritinov and his followers offered was the following: That God must

15. The Orthodoxy allowed meatless dishes to be eaten on fast days. Milk and eggs, as the product of an animal were also considered meat dishes and forbidden to be eaten on the fast days Wednesday and Friday, although the Molokans did eat them. 16. The Orthodoxy requires family icons to be located in the home, usually kept in the corner of the living room. 17. A list, or the contents, of Tveritinov's notebook is in the section on the Molokans of Tver.

19 be worshipped in the spirit, and an icon is only a wood board; and if the icon was thrown into the fire, it would burn up. These phrases point by point are repeated by our Molokans during formal investigations and explanations of their teaching. And this is natural, because the notebooks distributed by Tveritinov had texts and notes supplied and which are maintained among some Molokans even today. 2. Tveritinov and his followers rejected the dogma regarding the veneration of the cross of Christ. "It is absurd to bow down to the cross," said Tveritinov, "because a soulless piece of wood has no strength. If someone should kill someone else's son with a knife or stick, how can the father of the dead son love the knife or stick which was used to kill his son? So with God: how can He love the tree upon which His Son was crucified?" This same phrase is repeated point for point by our Molokans, as we constantly see from their depositions. 3. Tveritinov with his followers rejected the dogma of the veneration of the saints' dead bodies (Holy Relics).18 4. Tveritinov and his disciples rejected the dogma of the presentation of the bread and wine as the body and blood of Christ in the sacrament of the eucharist. 5. Tveritinov rejected the dogma of petitioning in prayer the saints. First of all, he and his adherents created doubt regarding the piety of many of these saints who long since passed away. These rationalists especially armed themselves against Saint Nikolai the miracle worker,19 and perhaps because the people had a special veneration for him. They preferred to designate him as a very plain country person whom people decided to honor instead of God. Rejecting in general the legitimacy and appropriateness of cannonism of saints on the basis that no one has been in conversation with God and that there has not been a resolution for the saints or the sinners, to occur at the awesome judgement, the Moscow rationalists rejected the need and benefit to petition in prayer Mary the Blessed Virgin, and the saints. "God and Son are merciful towards all the saints and do not need any other mediators, and since God is likewise omniscient," said Tveritinov. "Other than God alone there is no other helper. Christ is our only mediator, and for this reason it is absurd for us to beseech and have other mediators and petition them at every occasion for help." 6. Tveritinov, with his disciples, rejected the dogma regarding the special bliss of the souls of the saints until the common judgement of Christ, and affirmed that the saints cannot know our prayers, because to the time of the common resurrection they abide unconscious, in a condition analogous to sleep. In his notebooks, inscription 19 reads: The righteous who have departed from here have not yet received the promised goodness. Combined with the teaching of the unconsciousness of the souls of the saints until the common resurrection Tveritinov said, "In ancient times the souls of the saints have been in hades, and Christ Himself descended into hades." 7. Tveritinov and his adherents rejected the dogma regarding benevolence on behalf of others, i.e. requiems and prayers on behalf of the dead. "Requiems for the dead are useless,' said

18. The Orthodox church has venerated the bodies of the those deceased which they have canonized as saints, and have held relics of the body in high esteem, such as a lock of hair, tooth, or some other portion of the corpse. The antiminse, the communal cloth or napkin on the altar in the Orthodox Church, always has a relic of a saint sewn into it. The priests would also bury the body of a saint under the church in a cellar or vault. 19. St. Nicholas of Myra, died 343 AD. Active at the First Ecumenical Council. His holiday is celebrated on December 6. He is the patron saint of Russia and Greece.

20 Tveritinov, "whatever a person does on earth, so will it be unto him, referring to the words of the Apostle: Every person will receive according to his deeds. This the fathers devised for the purpose of making money," he affirmed, "and there is no testimony anywhere that there has been some type of benefit from a requiem after the person's death." This very phrase, that requiems were devised by the priests for their own personal benefit, is repeated verbatim by our Molokans.20 8. Tveritinov and his disciples rejected the dogma regarding the importance of the priesthood and [Orthodox] church tradition, as one of the sources for Christian profession, Tveritinov said that we should only believe what is written in the Bible, and not to believe anything else otherwise. "Our Orthodox faith," said Peter Semlyanich, a Serbian monk, to Tveritinov, "is the best of all and confirmed on a strong foundation by the ecumenical councils themselves." Tveritinov replied, "You place your confirmation on the ecumenical councils, but there are other people who retain their faith and commandment from Christ the Saviour Himself, based on the Gospels and Apostles, and you and your councils can say nothing against their righteousness. All of your councils," he said to the silver-tongued archimandrite Antonio, "do not agree even with one another. They discredited each other, saying: It is good our fathers did not know about this council. And who can establish himself on such disagreements?" The disciple of Tveritinov, Mikhael Kosoi, labeled the book of Saint Efrema of Syria and other books by the holy father as ancient nonsense. Rejecting the [Orthodox] church holidays, Tveritinov incessantly spoke against the holiday of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 10. Tveritinov and his followers rejected the dogma regarding the significance of the Divine eucharist as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the people. This teaching of the Moscow rationalists in part was derived from other teachings of theirs stating the uselessness of other sacrifices. Tveritinov taught that there is a mystery in the sacrament, but it is not divine. 11. Tveritinov and his disciples rejected the dogma regarding the sacred fasts. The monk Makarie of the Periaslavski Monastery related that he and the abbot had the occasion to have dinner with Tveritinov during Lent. The monks only ate meatless food, while Tveritinov ate fish and reprimanded his conversers for not eating fish and rejected the distinction made during a fast of various foods.21 A disciple of Tveritinov, the scholar Ivan Maksimov, said: "We should eat what is served to us, not doubting." 12. Tveritinov vocally said and wrote in his textbooks against the [Orthodox] church court system and the punishment of heretics, and that it is not proper to swear. And he rejected even the significance of the authority of the [Orthodox] church in the name of the personal immediate attitude of each Christian towards Christ. "I am the church," said Tveritinov. This final phrase is verbatim repeated by our Molokans. 13. Rejecting the sacrament of the priesthood Tveritinov expressed that it was not instituted by the command of God. 14. Regarding monasticism Tveritinov expressed that it originated from the intentions of the church fathers.

20. The concept and practise of memorial services by the Molokans is different than the Orthodoxy. Note the sample memorial service in the chapter on the Molokans of Simbirsk. 21. The Orthodoxy allows the eating of meatless food during a fast.

21 Such was the form of Russian rationalism of the 18th century which we have familiarized ourselves with in the person of Tveritinov and his followers, with its fundamentals identical with the rationalism of Bashkin and Kosei, except that it progressed even further than any previous religious liberalism. Just as the liberalism of Kosei progressed further than the teaching of Bashkin, and the liberalism of Bashkin progressed further than the liberalism of the Judaizers, and so on. That Tveritinov depicted in himself the influence of protestantism, this undoubtably is justified in part by this, that in his teachings were dogmas of pure protestantism naturally side by side with the teaching of Bashkin and Kosei already popular in Russia. The following is an example of what was said regarding him by the priest Iyon Iyonov, at the Church of Pimen the Great: "In 1708, during the Holy Passover I visited the home of the mother of Tveritinov, Evdoki Ivanovna, with the honored cross and icons, and her son would not approach the cross, saying to me, “God said, You are the church of the living God, I will dwell among them and walk among them and be their God, and they will be My people.” When I asked, “Do you confess the counciliar and apostolic church?” He answered, “I am the church.” I then asked his mother, “For how long a time has been alienated from the holy church and holy icons?” “From the time that he left home,” she answered, and began seeking information from doctors and healers in the German suburb." Peter Smilyanich reported that every evening certain young people arrive at Tveritinov's, they profess to be students of the German school, whom he, a doctor, in his great heresy teaches and lectures. But we would be in grave error if we were to say that Tveritinov was a propagandist of Lutheranism. The evidence indicates, and among other things, that certain dogmas of protestantism, even substantial ones, like for example, justification only by faith in Christ independent from good deeds, is not his and is not preached by his followers. But his independent thinking depends more on the basics identified already in the teachings of earlier Russian rationalists, such that the religious criticism of Tveritinov has a greater original character, having particulars distinct from the Russian [Orthodox] church life. Tveritinov considered Luther a man who renovated the church; he had a copy of the Lutheran catechism and often quoted from it and apparently from his acquaintances with the German schools. And there is no doubt that the concluding efforts of Tveritinov were not perspectives of the Russian towards protestantism, but its attraction was due to development of criticism within his own teaching. The teaching of Tveritinov and his followers in conclusion was identical in all areas to the teaching of our Molokans, and which it is easy to confirm this by comparing the 2 side by side. But just as the heresy of Tveritinov is counted by our [Orthodox] church histories as the final complete and unveiled rationalist heresy, arousing against itself persecution, after it we see rationalism very productive in the steppes, villages and towns of all Russia. There it began to dwell and develop secretly among the simple peasants, and so from this time we permit ourselves to originate the factual appearance of Molokans in Russia, as religious communities, which began to gather in groups in the various provinces and unite in their convictions. There is no doubt that the exposition of the entire teaching of Tveritinov was placed in notebooks so that it would not fall by the wayside, and would more expediently circulate throughout the people to all the ends of Russia more than its preceding tenets. We today see that many of the texts of codified tenets of the Molokans are cited directly from the notebooks of Tveritinov, which is easily confirmed with their comparisons. From this point on the grounds have appeared for the concluding resolution of the evolution of our Molokans which were already beginning to form as religious communities in

22 the 18th century.

VII

This question, after all said by us above regarding the beginning and progression in Russia of religious criticism, is presented to us in such a manner for a resolution in the following form. We have already seen that the inclination towards criticism of the [Orthodox] church writings and rituals as an attempt to discover other points of view with ones own mind as distinct from those accepted by the church and situated contrary to it, endeavoring to spiritualize the church, created the essence of religious meandering in Russia from the time of the teaching of the Bogomiles. We saw how this spirit of criticism, passing through the teaching of the Strigolniks, Judaizers, Bashkin and Kosei, and finally Tveritinov, generated a series of phenomenon, more or less related to one another in essence, but distinct in details and often contrary in its practical implementation. Seeing finally this also as an original Russian reformist movement. Before the 18th century, personified as the Strigolniks, Judaizers, Bashkin-Kosei, and Tveritinov, this intellectual meandering, it seems, was not yet called Molokan. For this reason to affirm that the Molokans evolved from the efforts of Uklein, a tailor of Tambov, which our church historian Filaret Chernigovski and the editors of the Orthodox Sobesednik (Interlocutor) do, is strange. To use as an example, that Lutheranism evolved from one certain person who first in a specific German city preached its beginning. Lutheranism existed already prior to Luther, as a religious criticism in inquiring minds, as a protest against church bedlam and its disparity with the spirit of Christianity. And if it was called Lutheranism, this is completely coincident, naming it after the person destined to give a church and civil format to the rationalist rudiments. Here in Russia we did not have such a person, who would accept the boldness to unite the minds of the rationalistic movement into a form of general political detachment from the Orthodox church; and this role remained for the few teachers scattered in various provinces and localities of Russia, commonly called heresiarchs. Included in the number of such regional preachers long-living in Russian rationalism was Uklein in the Tambov Province. During the same period and even earlier than Uklein, Molokanism was already in other provinces of Russia, although its preachers were not called Molokan, but Spiritual Christians. For the Tambov community of rationalists, formed by Uklein, we can allow them the first acceptance of identification as Molokan, having become from that time a classical identity and by all means also the right of the progenitors of Molokanism.

Now that we have finished with the general question about the origin of the Molokans and Dukhabors, we will say a few more words about the evolution of the names of these sects. The appellation of our Russian sectarian mystic-rationalist Dukhabors was given to them, as we suspect, in the Ukraine by the Ekaterinoslav bishop Ambrosius, and was given as if to express the distinctive nature of their teaching, and although this designation indicated those particular people who reject the ideas of the spirit, or who enter into a struggle against all that was spiritual, but in

23 the present situation it is applied to these sects in the following sense, that they, on the contrary, recognize the special activity of the holy Spirit in themselves and do not recognize its graceful presence in others. Baron Gykstgayzen interprets the word Dukhabor in this manner: The designation of Dukhabor is composed of the words spirit and struggle. To struggle can be accepted in 2 senses: in the sense of warrior or defender of the Spirit; or in the sense of those fighting against the Orthodox spirit of Christianity. Gykstgayzen says that bishop Ambrosius accepted, perhaps, this appellation in the first sense. But they (the Dukhabors) accept it themselves in the latter sense. A writer of the 18th century regarding the raskol, Andrei Iyannov Zhuravlev, calls the Dukhabors and Molokans, schelniks,22 for the reason that they do not make for themselves images. On this basis they pray in plain peasant homes instead of in [Orthodox] churches. The news of Andrei Iyannov regarding the sectarians and dissenters given him by his contemporaries is considered by us to be accurate and correct, because there is no doubt that the word Schelnik was in used in the 18th century among the Orthodox in reference to the Dukhabors and Molokans. The Orthodox population called the Dukhabors and Molokans names of the very lowest class, French Masons, terms very abusive at the time in the vocabulary of the people and which had a barbaric connotation in the 18th century. The government from the beginning and for a long time called the Dukhabors and Molokans icon-fighters (iconoclasts), on the basis that they did not recognize the veneration of icons and would not keep them in their homes. But as far as the Dukhabors were concerned, they called and referred to themselves plainly as Christians, and other people as secular. The term Molokan was given to the sectarian group because they did not observe the established [Orthodox] church fasts, and ate on fast days meat dishes, and primarily milk.23 This was very customary of the economic life of the peasants. And so the Tambov Consistory, already in 1765, in its own report to the Holy Synod called this sect Molokans, for rejecting the fasts and having milk on Wednesdays and Fridays.

22. According to ancient Russian tradition, the Hebrews of the tribe of Benjamin, during the era of Nebuchadnezzar, settled near Derbent. Hearing of the birth of the Messiah they sent an embassy, but Christ was already crucified by the time they arrived. And they brought back with them only his garment and the writings of the apostles. The first subbotniki supposedly originated from them, which were nicknamed schelniks. (Vladimir Dal'). The word schel refers to a crack or a crevasse. A cliff dweller was also referred to as a schelnik. 23. Milk, along with eggs, were considered meat dishes because they were a product of animals, and so were prohibited to be eaten on the partial fast days of Wednesday and Friday. The word for milk in Russian is moloko.

MOLOKANS OF TAMBOV

Volume 1, Chapter 12

Tambov Province is one of those provinces where the sect of the Molokans and Dukhabors are especially populated. After researching reliable sources and having an opportunity to become familiar with the conditions of these sects in the Tambov Province, we consider it reasonable to also make you, the public reader, familiar with them, and especially because of the disreputable attitude towards them, the notoriety that the activities of the dissenters and sectarians have had, which has only been available to this time. In general little has been written among us regarding that which occurs in the world of the Russian dissenters and sectarians. Today and due to our enlightening travels throughout Russia, our views have changed; and only in these past 3 or 4 years has the Russian public and educated sphere learned regarding these dissenters and sectarians in interviews, more than in the previous 1,000 years of the existence of the Russian state. Our communication at this time will not be immense, but it should suffice.

At this time when Dukhaborism, because of its fear of the government, fled from Moscow to the Ukraine, there it grew in the provinces of Kharkov and Ekaterinoslav, and in about 1733 traces of Dukhaborism appear in Tambov Province. About this year in the village Goreloi, Tambov county, there arrived a fugitive from Siberia, whose name was Semeon [Matveev Uklein]. He found refuge in the home of a certain countryman, Ilarion Pobirokhin. Semeon was exiled to Siberia from Moscow or some area in the region, apparently during the reign of Peter I.24 Semeon then found occasion to escape from there. Now being enlightened by Pobirokhin in his new teaching, Semeon hid in the Tambov Province, evidently to preach his new teaching in other provinces. The fundamental points of his teaching, among others, consisted in the following: Not to attend [Orthodox] church; not to recognize any sacraments or priesthood; not to keep the fasts; not to honor their traditions or icons; in civil matters he emphasized equity and liberty; the high authorities he call oppressors of the people. When Semeon left Tambov Province, Pobirokhin appeared already as the independent preacher and expounder of Dukhaborism in the province. We will say a few words about Pobirokhin: The countryman Pobirokhin was a merchant of wool; he had business dealings in the counties of the neighboring provinces, and consequently was an experienced person, having seen much and traveled much. Already during the sojourn of the fugitive Semeon, and especially after his departure, the home of Pobirokhin became a nursery school teaching the new teaching to all who poured into the place to listen to the enlightened teacher. The memory of Pobirokhin is still

24. Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia 1682-1725.

25 preserved to this day in the Tambov Province; he was a short fellow, with an alluring character, possessed the gift of knowledge and had the ability to convince. Even before he accepted Dukhaborism he was well-known among the people as a well-read person enjoying debate, and mainly in regard to matters of faith. It is understandable why such a person who was not indifferent to religion in general was averse to the Orthodoxy and became a threat to it. But one truth known from long ago is that where strong convictions exist, this becomes an excellent field for speculation. During the general disorder of the people during the reign of Peter I, during the popular dislike of the government by the people, it was easy for Pobirokhin and his listeners to accept Dukhabor teaching, which teaching included the rejection of the indiscreet authorities and clergy. Of course Pobirokhin did not have the ability to more or less compile on his own the Dukhabor teaching, which we notice later on. Accepting a faith based on the inner enlightenment of the God-Word, which dwells in the soul of every man, with subsequent points grasped in works of faith and the word of God, he with his own alluring character soon recognized himself as a prophetic teacher in his own person. And then rejecting, as do the Dukhabors, the existence of Jesus Christ as an actual person, he taught among other items that Christ abides as the inner word in the generation of the righteous, and so all the righteous are sons of God, and that he, Pobirokhin, is likewise a son of God, and in this sense called himself the son of God Jesus Christ. The Bible, which he called a nuisance, was rejected by him as the absolute infallible word, but was to be interpreted in accord with the inspiration of the inner word living in a man. As an example, Pobirokhin, the preacher of the inner God-Word Jesus Christ, to assist himself chose from among his followers 12 apostles, whom he labeled archangels, and then enrolled with them another 12 helpers whom he labeled death angels, but perhaps this was done in order to increase his own authority. The responsibility of the latter was the persecution of those who, once having accepted the faith, would abandon him and leave Dukhaborism. Captivated by the teaching of Pobirokhin, the people called him prophet and the foster-father who provided them with spiritual food. But considerably earlier then Dukhaborism, there appears in Tambov Province Molokanism. By 1765, it already expanded among the people to a significant degree, because in this year the government initiated strict measures against it. During investigations, Molokans in 1765 declared that their faith was accepted by them from forefathers. If we were to understand forefathers to be no further back than their grandfathers, i.e. the 3rd generation, when Molokanism was handed down to them, then the beginning of Molokanism in Tambov Province reaches back to the very first years of the 18th century, i.e. to the time of the expansion of Molokanism by the followers of Tveritinov throughout the various provinces. Without doubt, this did occur at this time when the followers of Tveritinov with notebooks in hand, containing texts of the Holy Scriptures, spread Molokanism to Nizhni-Gorod and Kostroma on the Volga; and already when in 1708, Dmitri Rostovski, while in Rostov, met a Molokan, Trofima, who lived in the suburbs and who discussed with him regarding the Lutheran and Calvinist sense of the Holy Scriptures. And now with the appearance of Uklein Molokanism proceeds with a strong director. Semeon Matveev Uklein was a palace peasant of the village Uvarov, Borisoglebsk County, a tailor by trade. Undertaking the sewing of clothes, he constantly traveled throughout the various villages of the Tambov and Voronezh Provinces, and once ended up in the village Goreloi. There the daughter of the Dukhabor teacher Ilarion Pobirokhin fell in love with him. After denouncing the Orthodoxy, Uklein accepted Dukhaborism and married the daughter of

26 Pobirokhin. There is no doubt that Uklein was popular up to this time among the Tambov Molokans under the nickname of Semushka, and that there were special qualities about him which led Pobirokhin to allow his daughter to marry him. In reality Uklein, as with Pobirokhin, was considerably well read and well familiar with the Holy Scriptures, possessing a captivating ability in his speech such that even among the Orthodoxy he was well known as a blessed person. Certainly Pobirokhin saw in Uklein one of the most zealous and promising helpers in the work of his own propaganda. Unfortunately Pobirokhin did not take into account that 2 bears can not live in the same den. Uklein, who was exceptionally strong in the holy Scriptures, as was Pobirokhin, and was lauded with honor and the respect of the people for his merit in becoming self-educated and his knowledge of the Word of God, could not carry out the authority and pedagogical control of Pobirokhin unchallenged, and eventually they began to argue. Dukhabor faith in the inner enlightenment from the God-Word living in the soul of every person gave Pobirokhin the right to interpret the Holy Scriptures at his own discretion and so there often entered into his interpretation regular contradictions and one-sided arguments, many of which were totally opposite to the Bible. Uklein, caught in this situation, with his knowledge of the Holy Scriptures was totally humiliated and compelled to accept the interpretations of Pobirokhin as law. It is apparent based on this, that Pobirokhin had less of a comprehension of the Holy Scriptures than Uklein, because Pobirokhin forbid his followers to read it. As a result of this there was no way for Uklein to continue in agreement with his father-in-law, to accept his interpretations unchallenged and rigidly hold to his preaching. Subsequently Uklein would have to abandon all his learning in the Holy Scriptures, since it often placed him in total conflict with the interpretations of Pobirokhin. But Uklein could not repudiate what he had acquired so far, which he earlier had boasted of and for which he was highly respected. Then when Pobirokhin had a turn in attitude and weakened even more in his respect for the Bible among the Dukhabors, Uklein began to argue with his father-in-law. The following incident caused a complete split between them. On one occasion in a Dukhabor assembly, Uklein was vehemently reprimanding them for their lack of esteem for the Holy Scriptures. Hearing about this, the outraged Pobirokhin decided to take vengeance against his son-in-law. While Uklein was sewing clothes in the home of one widow, there appeared 3 men from the number of Pobirokhin's angels of death, and seizing Uklein they started to beat him up. The cry of Uklein and this lady running out of the house created an alarm, and Uklein survived. After this incident, Semushka Uklein completely separated from Pobirokhin. Abandoning the sect of the Dukhabors, Uklein had no intention of returning to the Orthodoxy. He migrated to the Molokans who had long been in existence in the Tambov region and who rigidly held to the Holy Scriptures, and as he was well read in the Holy Scriptures he hoped that there he could become a mentor. The Molokans in Tambov Province prior to this time lived scattered in various areas. Uklein, taught in the school of Pobirokhin to develop the sect, soon gathered the Molokans under his instruction. After the example of Pobirokhin, he chose for himself helpers from among his students, not 12 but 70,25 and with them successfully organized the disjoined Molokan community. He then traveled to the Morshansk County, the village of Ribnoi, to the palace peasant Andrei Shvetsov, father of the well-known preceptor of the sect, Semeon Shvetsov, a

25. No doubt patterning himself after Moses and his selection of the 70 elders of Israel in Num 11:16-17.

27 merchant in the city Shatzk, who is described further in the history of Tambov Molokanism. Molokans before Uklein said that they believed in the living God through their spirit, and not by wearing a replica of the cross; and images of the Lord, or Mary the mother of Christ or any of the saints portrayed by man on wood boards they did not venerate; although they did venerate each other, because they felt the soul was the image of God. They have no desire to attend [Orthodox] churches built by men, neither do they go to the Orthodox priests for confession. They do not participate in the sacraments, because these sacraments were developed by men and performed by unworthy priests. They do desire to participate in the sacrament of Christ, created and performed by God Himself; they do make confession to these priests who were consecrated by God Himself and those whom they chose themselves. The holy trinity they professed only as a symbol, and worshipped it in spirit. They accept the 10 commandments and honor them. The immaculate Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints they honor in spirit, but do not venerate their bodies. The sacraments of the church and cross they do not accept, but they are baptized by the word of the Lord: In the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit.

Professing his teaching, distinct from that of Pobirokhin, Uklein became close friends with one of the preceptors of the sect of the Judaizers, [Matvei Semeonov] Dalmatov, whom he was able to win over to his side. Combining Molokan teaching with that of Dalmatov, Uklein was able to compose together with him a sufficiently complete system for a Molokan profession of faith, which he expounded in the following form:

MOLOKAN TEACHING according to the exposition of Semeon (Semushka) Matveev Uklein.

1. About God God is a spirit in 3 features: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

2. About the feature of the Holy Trinity The Son of God and the holy Spirit, although consubstantial with the Father, they are not equal with Him in the Divine dignity.

3. About the Incarnation of the Son of God The Son of God, for the salvation of the human race, was born of the virgin Mary without sperm.

4. About the death of Jesus Christ Not possessing the totality of human flesh, Christ did not die the death typical to humans, but died in a special manner.

5. About the Church During the time of His earthly life Christ founded a church. Initially it was composed of the apostles, and then all who believed in Christ.

6. About the Ecumenical Councils and the Church Fathers The true church of Christ existed only to the 4th century when the ecumenical councils and teachers of the church, by the interpretation of the Bible at their own discretion, distorted Christianity and mingled it with paganism.

7. About Sacred Traditions At the present time, the true Christian church is composed of only true spiritual Christians, who do not accept [Orthodox] traditions, nor the decisions of the councils, nor the writings of the teachers respected by the church; but only confess to that which is taught in the Bible.

8. About Final Judgement and the Resurrection of the Dead And they, the Molokans, can receive eternal salvation by the merits of the Son of God.

9. About the Sacraments in general To attain moral perfection and receive eternal salvation, the graceful gifts of the holy Spirit are given to the spiritual Christians, but not through anything visible or by some type of token,26 but spiritually. For this reason the sacrament, regenerating and sanctifying the Christian, must be understood spiritually.

10. About Baptism Due to this, baptism in Christ must not be in water. John the Baptist baptized with water, but his baptism is distinct from Christian baptism. Spiritual baptism consists in instruction from the Word of God unto repentance and the remission of sins.

11. About Anointment and Unction Cleansing the believer from sins secretly the Divine teaching invisibly endows him with a spiritual anointment.

12. About Repentance Repentance is the contrition of the heart before God and the confession of sins before Him alone.

13. About Communion The true communion consists in the acceptance of the teaching of Christ and in the fulfillment of the commandments of Christ. And if Christ commanded us to eat His flesh, John 6, then we must construe this to mean the Word or the teaching of the Saviour.

14. About the Priesthood [Initiation to] the priesthood is not a sacrament, and priests found in constructed [Orthodox] churches are not necessary. For we have no other high priest than the one seated on

26. Referring to the piece of consecrated bread given to the communicant to eat during the celebration of the Eucharist or communion.

29 the right side of the throne of majesty in the heavens, Heb 8:1. Therefore, on the basis of the teaching of the Apostle Peter, 1 Pet 5:1, Christians must have elders as guides in the faith and be obedience to them.

15. About Weddings A wedding likewise is not a sacrament, and the words of the Apostle, This mystery is great, Eph 5:32, does not pertain to a wedding, but to the mystery of the wedding of Christ with the church. Weddings must be performed in a manner as indicated by the example of Tobit, i.e. with the blessing of the parents; and not as presently performed in constructed [Orthodox] churches. There is also no command for a priest to marry a couple.

16. About Worship Services and Rituals It is said in the Gospels: God is a spirit and they who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth, John 4:24. For this reason, all worship must not be superficial or ritualistic, but spiritual.

17. About Temples and the Sign of the Cross All the rituals of the worship services of the constructed [Orthodox] churches, such as, making the sign of the cross, their prayers and songs, and the temples themselves, are not instituted by the Holy Scriptures, but devised by men.

18. About Icons and Relics People at their own discretion decided to pray to and worship the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Holy Relics [of dead saints] and icons.

19. About Petitioning the Saints It is necessary to recognize the holiness of the Blessed Virgin Mary27 and the Apostles, but it is not needful to pray to them.

20. About Fasts The Orthodox church has instituted fasts at certain intervals.28 It is true that fasting is quite necessary for the weak in spirit and is often commanded in the Word of God, but there is no indication in the Scriptures that the fast consists of abstention of only certain kinds of food on these specific days. The obligation to fast lies solely on the individual, whenever he feels his sinfulness and the flesh overpowering the spirit. A fast must consist in total abstinence from all food and drink, and not just from certain popular foods. This is how Moses, Elijah and Jesus Christ Himself fasted.

21. About Foods We can consume all foods, except those animals which are prohibited by the Scriptures,

27. Often the term Theotokos - Mother of God - is used to refer to Mary the Mother of Christ among the Catholics and Orthodoxy. It took many generations before the use of this word was finally uprooted from protestanism. (Tr.) 28. Referring the the partial fast days of Wednesday and Friday, Lent before Easter and Advent before Christmas.

30 such as, swine, fish without scales, and others.

22. About Christian Freedom Where the Spirit of the Lord abodes, there is freedom, says the holy Apostle Paul, 2 Cor 3:17. Subsequently, the basis for the moral life of a true Christian must be freedom, independence from the compulsions of men.

23. About Oaths and War Fulfilling the Divine commandments, they [the Molokans] do not have need for man's and must escape the fulfillment of those laws which are contrary to the teaching of the Word of God. So they must, for example, escape servility to landowners, war, military obligation, and oaths, and matters not permitted by the Holy Scriptures.

24. About Hospitality Since is it not possible to openly oppose the clergy and government, then spiritual Christians in imitation of the first Christians can hide from them. And their brethren in faith are obligated to accept them and conceal them, fulfilling the command of the Scriptures: The old and young conceal between your walls, 2 Esdras 2:22. And also imitate Abraham who accepted into his tent the 3 strangers; and the prostitute Rahab who hid the Hebrew spies.

III

The Orthodox clergy itself was deceived by the new teaching of Molokanism, and for this reason assumed no efforts against it. The priests and deacons of this era themselves were continually abandoning the Orthodoxy and migrating to the various sects, especially to the sectarian persuasions, and because of this they became subject to judicial proceedings. Those among them who sincerely repented were sent to monasteries29 for penance because of their error and received forgiveness from the Holy Synod. The stubborn were deprived of their rank and fell under surveillance by the civil authorities. Some of the members of the Tambov clergy even secretly fled to the Irgizsk Monastery, which belonged to the dissenters. The Tambov diocesan authority was unable to assign a label to the sect of the Molokans; even when after half-a-century of prolonged indifference on the part of the clergy, the Molokan sect was finally discovered by the government. Comparing Molokanism with the persuasions of other sectarians, which was distinct from them, the Tambov Consistory in its report to the Holy Synod in 1765 finally named the new sect Molokans, because, rejecting all the rituals of the Orthodox church, this sect did not observe any of the fasts. Although this identification hardly described the essence of the new sect of spiritual Christians, however its attachment has remained to this time. Carried away by his new teaching and his success among the people, and some also with the Orthodox clergy, Uklein proposed the spiritual non-ritualistic evangelical religion as the true

29. Several of the monasteries had cells for the confinement of prisoners, as well as sentries and guards. These monasteries served as a prison system by the Orthodox Church and were used for dissenters and sectarians, and was also used by the government for confinement of political prisoners.

31 Christian religion, which was destined to finally appear in Russia in the middle of superstition and the ignorance of an illiterate people. Then he finally decided to present his creed as a concrete fact. Surrounded with his 70 students and with the singing of psalms, he jubilantly entered the city Tambov to preach the new teaching. But the local police seized him and imprisoned him in jail along with his students. Some of the students of Uklein returned to Orthodoxy and were subsequently freed from confinement. Uklein patiently remained in prison. The Empress Catherine30 informed of the activities of Uklein, commanded that he be handed over to the clergy for admonishment, and if he would not repent of his errors then he be brought to trial. Not wanting to vainly waste away in prison with no benefit to his teaching, Uklein pretended to return to the Orthodoxy; he attended Orthodox church for 6 weeks, fulfilled all the church statutes, and finally was released from confinement. Receiving his freedom, Uklein left and went to the village Razskazov, in Tambov County; and there with renewed zeal began to expound his teaching. But once under the jurisdiction of the authorities Uklein remained under their surveillance, and so they began to follow him. Noticing this, Uklein instructed his students to confirm the new teaching in the Tambov Province, while he himself traveled to the present-day Voronezh Province and settled for some time in the village Peskakh, Novo-Khopersk County, where he had a house. The peasants living there accepted his teaching, and in turn themselves began to disseminate it among their neighbors. After preaching in various villages of Voronezh Province, Uklein wanted to return to Tambov Province, but found out that they were seeking him there, and so quickly and secretly withdrew to the neighboring province, the present-day Saratov, and settled in the village Dyrnikin (also known as Kislo), Balashevsk County. Here his preaching had such success that over half the residents of this village quickly accepted his teaching, and even the priest of this village, Savva Ivanov, became a Molokan. The priest converted to Molokanism his 2 daughters, both of whom he later gave to Molokans in marriage. His 2 sons, Giorgi and Pyotr, because of disagreement with their father, eventually left home. The 3rd son, Mikhail, accepted the teaching of Uklein and later on, when he was given the position of priest in place of his father, concerned himself zealously to expanding this teaching among his own parishioners. As a result of this he was later exiled to Krasnoslobodsk Monastery. With the assistance of his new followers, Uklein acquired a house in Dyrnikin and restarted his business, and from this center began to travel throughout the Saratov Province preaching Molokanism. During the time of these travels, he became acquainted with Dalmatov, whom we mentioned earlier. To oblige him and without reservation, Uklein incorporated into the rules of Molokanism a number of Old Covenant prohibitions, pertaining to swine as food, fish without scales, and in general, food forbidden by the law of Moses. This situation served later on as an opportunity for dissension among the Molokans, especially those of Melitopol. Defining the system of Molokan profession of faith and rules for his sect, Uklein, disregarding its spiritual direction, strove to develop the surface of its worship services. So, among other items, he was intensely worried about the introduction of good singing. Under his direction, Molokans chose from among themselves their best singers, whom he obligated to listen to the songs of the common people, and the better tunes, motifs, to adapt into psalms. Semushka

30. Catherine II, the Great, a German who married Peter III, grandson of Peter the Great. She ascended the throne of Russia after the death of her husband and reigned 1762-1796.

32 Uklein, visiting some of the communities of his sect, listened to these new tunes, approved them for general use, and improved some. He assembled young girls who were singers into a choir, whom he sometimes took with him. Nonetheless, holding rigidly to the words of the Saviour, that worship must be in spirit and truth, Uklein did not permit any Orthodox rituals, and the entire worship and prayer service consisted of only the reading and singing of Psalms and the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures. Attaining his goal in 3 provinces, Uklein would have rested for a time and be satisfied with the fruits of the teaching as sown, but the nature of Semushka was more energetic then the nature of his father-in-law Pobirokhin, and the thirst to preach intenser and stronger. His steadfast belief in his own calling led him out of Saratov Province and further into Russia. Leaving behind the village Dyrnikin, Uklein descended into the south of Russia, travelling through the Ekaterinoslav and Astrakhan Provinces, and the land of the Don Cossacks, and even reached the Caucasus. The success of his preaching was unbelievable. In the Tambov, Saratov and Voronezh Provinces, he had over 5,000 followers during his own life. The work of propagating Molokanism was also assisted by the students of Uklein; there was no lack to the number of new preachers and proselytes, because even in the very beginning of the expansion of the sect, almost all Molokans fervently began to learn to read and write and learn the Holy Scriptures. This was required of them by the profession of faith itself. According to the teaching of Uklein, only the person who recognizes the teaching of Christ is deserving to receive the true baptism and the true communion, because the true baptism is the baptism of teaching and communion is eating the spoken word of God. Subsequently, in order to be baptized spiritually and have communion with Christ and the Holy Spirit it is necessary to learn the Holy Scriptures. On the other hand, the followers of Uklein were motivated to learn the Holy Scriptures and had a passion towards education. The novitiate Molokans learning by memory a few texts from the Holy Scriptures assumed the work of publicizing the spiritual teaching. After his one year confinement in jail for his jubilant entry into Tambov, Uklein saw what he could expect from public preaching. For this reason he had a steep change in the manner of publicizing his teaching, and decided to secretly expand it instead. Fearing surveillance from the authorities and clergy, he impressed upon his students to now conduct themselves in this manner as an unconditional duty. So did Molokanism perform and grow. All the Molokans hid under the facade of Orthodoxy, as did Uklein, who continued to call himself a son of the Orthodox Church after he gained freedom: they attended church, confessed, had fellowship, and allowed the priests to visit them, kept in their homes icons and superficially fulfilled all the rituals of the Orthodox Church. Uklein justified himself by saying that participating in a superficial worship service without heartfelt disposition is not considered sin. In this manner did Uklein disarm the government and clergy. While Uklein was so successfully expanding Molokanism and so craftily circumventing the government and clergy, Ilarion Pobirokhin, who drew the attention of the police and local authorities upon himself, was brought to trial and exiled with his children and some of his apostles to Siberia to live. The sect of the Dukhabors was thereby deprived of their organizer, but did the strong spirit of Pobirokhin remain with them? His followers were firm in faith and instructed by him sufficiently, so the work of Pobirokhin was carried on even without him.

33 V

We will turn our attention to the Tambov Molokans. The listeners of Uklein and his successors in the work of disseminating Molokanism grasped fervently the preaching of the new teaching, convinced that finally our people found the true path after long wandering through impassable thickets, and that now with every step they approached closer to the truth. The spirit of the people suddenly felt free of the stifling manner of the civil and church life existing until then, and they swiftly threw themselves into religious questions about the attitude towards God, the government, their neighbor, and others. They obtained resolutions for all of these questions exclusively from the Word of God, from the Bible. Every one who learned a few texts from the Bible considered himself having the right in his turn to be a teacher of others. With Bible in hand they began to walk from house to house, from village to village, from countryside to countryside, newly converted; with enthusiasm in their chests, with eloquence on their lips, according to their ability, not fearing persecution or harassment. This was the struggle of the people in the search for Biblical truth, the peasant rationalism. How great and bold the religious propensity we can judge by the activities of the peasant Shvetsov. Hearing the preaching of Uklein about building a church and community life based on the Bible, Shvetsov, holding a Bible in his hands, appeared on market day at the village Staroi Susoev, also known as Ribnoi. In the midst of the people he began to walk through the market place back and forth, reading and interpreting and gathered a crowd. The village Ribnoi already in 1755 was infected with Molokanism and the family of Shvetsov was one of the first to accept the teaching of Uklein. Semeon Andreev Shvetsov was the first enthusiast in the Shvetsov family. The father of Semeon Semeonov Shvetsov, prior to 1791 was a merchant of Morshansk, but beginning in 1792 he was transferred by a decree of the Tambov Court of Treasury to be a merchant in Shatzk. He initiated Molokanism in the family of Shvetsov, which was to play a rather significant role in the expansion of this sect in the Tambov Province. Due to a successful commercial enterprise, the family of Shvetsov, dependably enlarged Molokanism up to 1836. He was so wealthy that he possesses real estate, flour mills and dams valued at 200,000 rubles. The amount of grain milled into flour at the mills of Shvetsov amounted to 25,000 bushels a year. Grain sold to distilleries and to the government amounted to over 25,000 sacks. Semeon Andreev Shvetsov, with enthusiasm walked in the footsteps in Uklein, and considered himself equal with him as being destined for the same work. During his term he laboured hard in the work of expanding Molokanism in the Tambov Province, and considered himself as was one of those individuals after Uklein who had the same purpose as Uklein in the history of Tambov Molokans. His great memory, dexterity, and skill in exposing the weaker aspects of the Orthodoxy, his Biblical scholarship, versatile knowledge, practical view and self-confidence in words, gave him the right to success among his listeners. Excepts from the Bible poured from his lips as if on their own. But more than anything, in his speech there was a boiling desire to search for and find the truth. As a wealthy person and a businessman, using his personal abilities developed in business, he utilized his own capital as a means for the success of proclaiming Molokanism, and these means were real. The family of Shvetsov from this time became mediators before the government on behalf of the Molokans. Shvetsov, riding through the astonished crowds, excited and sympathetic to the new teaching, cried out, "We have found the truth; may God be to us our help." And the people would reply, "Teach us. We are yours." The Molokans of Ribnoi, the home

34 of Shvetsov, still at this time are greatly respected among the Tambov Molokans. Afanasy Nikitin, in the 1770's, was a feudal peasant of the village Isad, Spassk County. In the capacity of preacher and a Molokan propagator and instructor, he was active together with Shvetsov. He was a literate person, could write and often read the Bible; and according to his personal expression, desiring to know more about the law of God and seek out genuine truth, he joined the Molokans. His preaching had success everywhere, such that at one time he converted about 53 men and woman. The essence of his preaching was the following: Not to attend [Orthodox] church, but to conduct prayers in the peasant homes; not to venerate the [Orthodox] church and images; not to fulfill the [Orthodox] church obligations required by the clergy; and for the performance of rites, for example, naming of a child, weddings, funerals, and etc., to turn to preceptors from among the people. The wife of Nikitin, Ekaterina Lukyanova, was converted to the Molokan sect by her husband. Her children, Irina, Avdotya, and Lukian were taught to be Molokans by their father. Afanasy Nikitin won his brother Ivan Nikitin over to Molokanism, when he tried in 1824 to get Afanasy to return back to the Orthodoxy and accept a position of high rank. He likewise won over a significant number of feudal peasants in Isad, and in general planted Molokanism in the Spassk County. In 1824, by the decision of the Committee of Ministers, he was brought to trial and during the trial in 1825, died at an advanced age. During the same 1770's, there travelled through the Morshansk, Shatzk and Spassk Counties, preaching and promulgating Molokanism, a certain Gavriel Voykin. The personality of Voykin was conspicuous in this regard that he was a circuit rider type of preacher and did not concentrate solely on Tambov Province, but travelled constantly throughout the other neighboring provinces preaching Molokanism. As a well experienced person, rugged and alert, Voykin had unfailing success wherever he went. The Holy Synod, recognizing Voykin as a heresiarch, entrusted the Tambov bishop Theophil to himself admonish him. But Voykin was not counted among those who would waste time in polemics with the clergy and then be threatened, and if it so be, punished. He quickly hid in a neighboring province to continue his propagation, and this matter concerning him at the Tambov Consistory came to an end. Of the propagators and preachers of Molokanism in the Tambov Province in the 1770's was the popular Nikifor Vasiliev, a feudal peasant of the village Dmitriev Ysad, Spassk County. He together with Nikitin was brought to trial in 1824, and sentenced by the criminal court to be punished by the police, 20 strikes with a whip. And it was only because they took into account his advanced age, he was 62 at the time, that pursuant to a petition of the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Holy Synod, according to the resolution of the Sovereign, the Emperor, he was sent off to a monastery to repent. On this same course, together with Nikifor Vasiliev, also laboured Mikhail Volodin, Konon and Feodor Lyesei, and others. In general the successors of Uklein in the work of expanding Molokanism in Tambov Province performed with success in all areas of population in the province. In the villages Goreloi, Zhigolobsk, Lyesikh-Gorakh, and Razskazov, Molokanism was cultivated already in the first half of the 18th century, and was subject to persecution in 1766. In the village Ribnoi in 1755, from the family of Shvetsov it proceeded to a peasant family in the village of Grisheninkov; then quickly expanded to the entire village. In the village Algasova31, at the conclusion of the 1750's, it existed already in the peasant family of Trofima Bukreev. And by

31. The birthplace of M. G. Rudometkin.

35 the end of the 18th century it was already in the city Tambov and, along with many other families, in the family of the commoner Gavriel Matveev Goncharov. At the conclusion of the 18th century, Molokanism existed in the following places in Tambov Province: in Tambov County, the village Stetensk - also known as Serebrank, in the family of the peasant of Count Sheremetev: Mikhail Petrov Chelikin, Yakov Alekseev Zheltov, Mikhail Alekseev Cherenin, Afanasy Sergeev Somona and Stefan Yakovlev Solovyev, and others. In the same village among the families of the peasant landlord Postnifov: Yakov Petrov Mykhortin, Gerasim Denisov Suchkin, and others. In the Borisoglebsk County, village of Burnak: in the family of the peasant Martin Kysmin Popov, who brought here Molokanism from the village Razskazov, and other families of this county. In the village Zhikharevk, the family of Kysma Ivanov Popov. In the village Sokolnika: Praskovia Biechkov, Agafia Zdanov, and others.

VII

The ecclesiastic and religious affairs of the region of Tambov at the end of the 17th and first half of the 18th century, was in an extremely detrimental situation. True, the diocese of Tambov was started very early, already in February of 1662, but the size of the diocese was so immense that the high spiritual authorities could not have an influence on the conscience of the people, nor even develop a life style for its own clergy. The reopening of the diocesan cathedral was entrusted to the responsibility of the southern zone of Ryazan in the Ukraine. With such an extensive diocese, it was difficult to do anything for the religious conscience of the people, and with the cognizance of this put off to the side it was completely to the detriment of the government and church. To supplement this we can add the following circumstances which continually caused the absence of the bishop from the diocese. First example: the bishop of the Tambov diocese, Leonti, almost did not even see his own diocese; he was participating in the funeral of Tsar Feodor Alekseevich in Moscow, or at the coronation of Tsar Ivan and Peter Alekseevich,32 or at the ordination of the bishop of Voronezh, Mitrofani, or at other appointments. The 2nd bishop, Pitir, 1685-1698, was inexhaustably dedicated to the worship services, that he daily performed them himself or participated in them, to the point that it was difficult for him to identify with the obligation of enlightening the people with living and true Christianity and generate for them a national life style in such a large diocese. The 3rd bishop, Ignati, 1698-1699, himself was convicted of participating with the dissenters and was exiled by Peter I to imprisonment. Subsequently, the Cathedral of the Tambov bishop Saveli, became desolate. And so the Tambov diocese remained an entire 59 years, to 1758, totally without a bishop, but was under the administration of the Metropolitan of Ryazan at times, and the bishop of Voronezh at times. There was no instruction in regard to the religious education of the people; no one even mentioned it. Neither was there even a word in regard to the preaching of the word of God in the [Orthodox] church pulpits. But they treated themselves more towards the accumulation of contributions, which was ordered by the decree of the Patriarchate and sent to them.

32. Theodore III, Tsar of Russia 1676-1682. His full-brother Ivan III and half-brother Peter I, the Great, became Tsars following him: Ivan reigning 1682-1689, and Peter the Great, 1862-1725.

36 It is understandable why the Tambov population only saw its clergy during an inquest for heresy, or during the collection of taxes for the Patriarchate. And so the populace of the Tambov diocese required another spiritual activity. Do we really have to mention that the Tambov diocese at this time had a meager number of [Orthodox] churches, lack of beauty in the churches, and in general lacked in all matters which would satisfy the search for Christian piety? In this condition of religious and ecclesiastic matters, in a countryside that was still half-untamed, an area of forests and uninhabited expanses, and meagerly populated, there appeared much earlier, and unimpeded, the Old Believers;33 and then the Skoptsi, and following them were the Khlisti in the beginning of the 1700's; and following them the old Russian rationalists, the Molokans and Dukhabors. In this manner did many of the circumstances benefit Uklein, Pobirokhin, Shvetsov and the other preachers of Molokanism and Dukhaborism; and with their new enlargement they were able to freely lure from Moscow liberalism political-religious thought and have others accept it. With the bad predicament of the minds of the era and the desolation of the church, the inactivity of the clergy, the impoverished comprehension, or better said, the total lack of understanding of the Orthodox faith and its ritualism, the preachers of the one clean spiritual beginning in faith and religion, the political and daily formation of a community, found an appreciable field for their preaching. How this "new unknown" was formed, and how the seekers of what was new entered into life, is another question. But we do see that no one was able to place any obstacle during this time against these seekers of what was new, for a community life and Christian faith. And by the time this enthusiasm towards the search for the new did gain control over their ears, the damage was already done and it was too late to stop it. The common people once convinced that, for example, that layman and craftsman could also be preachers, it was already too difficult to persuade them of the opposite. There was no way to oppose the enthusiasm once it possessed them. We will remember that the religious enthusiasm not once prevailed over any philosophers or educated professors, so it was able to rapidly allure the common peasants.

VIII

During the 2nd half of the 18th century, when Molokanism and Dukhaborism were already formed, the condition of religious and ecclesiastic affairs in the Tambov Province not only did not improve, but became even worse, so that for the most part it even warranted the success of the preaching of Uklein, Pobirokhin, Shvetsov and the succeeding preachers, to worship God in spirit and truth. The diocese in 1758 was in a pathetic state, brought into complete desolation during the 59 year absence of a bishop; even the home of the archbishop stood idle for 59 years, and was rented for record keeping by the military chancellor. The people of Tambov Province during the half-century became totally alienated from the bishop, alienated from this rank, and no longer carried in their soul any reverence for the high ranks, They became used to seeing church conducted by aged [Orthodox] Fathers, who would walk from house to house asking for

33. The Staroveri, or Old Ritualists, those who held to the rites and ceremonies of the Orthodoxy as maintained prior to the modifications and improvements of Nicon, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, during the late 17th century.

37 contributions. The diocese had no laws to guide it in the resolution of any matters; the clergy wallowed in complete ignorance. This alien condition provides a satisfactory explanation for the quick development and formation of Molokanism and Dukhaborism at that time in Tambov Province. Uklein and Pobirokhin equated themselves in their rights with any of the clergy, and so there was no real reason not to accept the teaching of Uklein and Pobirokhin as better than the teaching of the Orthodox teaching regarding beliefs, especially when the teaching of the [Orthodox] church declined to the level of the people in general, deluded its tendencies, and had profit as its material objective. Of those who abandoned the clergy, many were not without some guilt [of some crime], and after detailed investigation of their guilt the consistory34 servants seized them and took them in shackles to the consistory in public view. There, after being humiliated in public, they were confined in the consistory prison for some indefinite time, or else were sent to the military chancellor. The episcopal court at this time was lower than any people's court. No one was able to bring any type of justification before the bishop; he would not accept any explanations. It is understandable how low the rank of bishop stood among the people. An arbitrary, foolish attitude with the people that opposed the [Orthodox] Christian teaching finally caused the bishop's reputation to collapse in front of the people, and they began to consider him not only unnecessary but even harmful. It only remained to destroy the last traces of respect for the lower clergy in order to create a natural drive to reject the entire ecclesiastic hierarchy, and this very thing was done by the bishop of Tambov. Bishop Pakhomi dealt with the clergy as if with a whip: his priests for 5 years dug holes in the monasteries, in the middle of the streets; in view of the people they carried bricks to the bell-casting foundry; they cleaned yards and horse stables; they drove piles into the rivers to build a steambath for the archbishop; they drug wood for the archbishops house; they carried snow from the monasteries. All of this only because they could not give the bishop 50 rubles to cast a bell, which caused him to get sick and become a laughingstock. The Tambov clergy fell apart; they started to walk around in rags and had to often walk to complain to the Synod. The clergy finally ended up turning to robbery. The wives and daughters of the altar boys walked to the Synod seeking for some just defence of their husbands and fathers. It is understandable after all this the appearance in history of the Tambov Molokans and Dukhabors; and namely that with the appearance of Molokanism the Tambov clergy did not fight with them, but had sympathy towards them and was misled by them. To complete the humiliation of the rank of bishop in the eyes of the people, in the Tambov region, the bishop Pakhomi himself in 1766, was finally brought to trial for larceny, greedily withholding money from memorial services and from disbursements to an invalid who was receiving assistance from a monastery. Under the following bishop, Theodosei, 1766-1786, new assessments were levied against him to the disgrace of the clergy; to the point that in many villages not even one clergyman remained. There appeared confusion in conducting the [Orthodox] church. The clergy, and even the domestic servants of the archbishop, refused to obey the bishop. The bishop himself was then exiled to Voronezh and brought to trial; to add to the confusion of the Tambov region, it remained an entire 2-1/2 years without a bishop. And magnifying this disarray of ecclesiastical

34. The Orthodox Church consistory was the court system made up of bishops, priests and other officials, to arrest, try and punish any of the clergy a well as dissenters for heresy, crime or any illegal activities.

38 matters the Synod arranged to return to the ecclesiastic ministry various incapable people and some clergy who fled to escape military service; and they were all installed in clerical positions to edify the people. To add to this ecclesiastic disarray, there followed civil disorder. During these very years, Uklein and Pobirokhin travelled openly throughout the province, and in place of the clergy began to install teachers from among the people. Circumstances acted to promote the new preachers: the episcopal consistory acted illegally and made arrangements outside of its authority, while Uklein and Pobirokhin preached that in the word of God there are no commands regarding the necessity of bishops, and much more a consistory. In the [Orthodox] churches and due to the ignorance of the clergy, they sang unconventional and crude church songs, sang obscure tunes; while Uklein brought with him girls to lead the arranged singing of Biblical texts using the tunes of popular motifs. More than half of the parish churches in the province were converted into monasteries by idle monks, where the brethren did not live at all according to their monastic orders or monastery rules; while Uklein and Pobirokhin affirmed to the people that monasteries on earth are not divine institutions but human, completely contrary to human nature. Monks and nuns, disdaining the statutes of the holy fathers and ascetics, would wander about the entire province, through the cities and private homes, through the market places and town squares, to the point that the Tambov bishop required the help of the Tambov battalion commander to return them to the monasteries. But Uklein initiated a church-family piety in the homes of the peasants on the basis of only the Bible, and he affirmed that the Christian monastery must exist in the soul of a man. The monks in the monasteries would fight, disturbed by the austerity of the monastic vows;35 while Uklein and Pobirokhin preached to the people regarding moral-spiritual freedom in life. The bishop of Tambov, during the entire time of his administration of the diocese, instead of instructing the people true Christian religion and leading the half-idol worshipping population of Mordovian, Mescheri36, and newly-baptized Tatars from the darkness of ignorance and a mental and moral blindness, had them casting bells. And so the belltower of the Tambov cathedral, due to the weight of one and-a-half thousand puds37 of bells cast by the egotism of bishop Pakhomi, and not forgetting the cost of metal at the time, leaned over and collapsed. The roofs of the churches glistened with gold, and belltowers had bells at a height of 250 feet; and although having the monastic vow of poverty they accumulated immense amounts of hard currency,38 money, as their personal gain. But Uklein and Pobirokhin preached the uselessness of the constructed churches and cathedrals39 with all their beauty, expounding to the people that the church of the living God lives inside a man and its decoration increases according to the spiritual measure of the people. For this reason they brought and distributed to the people the word of God - the Bible, inviting them all to its instruction and the inspiration of the true spirit of the Christian religion. In short, and not prolonging ourselves with further details of the religious-

35. The monastic vows of the Orthodoxy are similar to those of Catholicism and consist of celibacy, obedience and poverty. 36. Tribes of Finish descent originally living between the Oko and Volga River, but during this time living in the Penza, Saratov, Yfimsk and Perm provinces. 37. About 60,000 lbs. American weight. 38. Money in the form of gold and silver coins, as opposed to paper money. 39. The cathedral was the largest church in the diocesan capital were the bishop lived and ministered.

39 ecclesiastic condition of the region of Tambov during the epoch of the beginning of the development and the final formation of Molokanism, we will not sin if we say that the religious- ecclesiastical condition was at the time the best for this criticism of belief, which in the personage of Tveritinov ripened into the sect, and which was brought from Moscow to the Tambov region to be planted there by Uklein, Pobirokhin, and their fellow-laborers. The historical and political condition of the region, as we have already seen, presented even more an accommodation for the preaching of a spiritual kingdom on earth according to the word of solely the Bible.

As a resistance to such a direction of the minds of the people in matters of belief, unfortunately, there was not found in the local authorities nor in the clergy, any that would prefer to use the armaments admonished by the Saviour: spiritual understanding, Christian love, benevolence and a clean conscience. No one muttered these words, the words of Christian love, which identify all professions of faith and Christian sects. With the initial, although perhaps already belated, official unveiling of Molokans in Tambov Province, in 1766, in the villages: Goreloi, Zhigolobk, Lyesikh- Gorakh, Razskazov, and others, after a crude and subsequently unsuccessful admonishment by the priest Aleksandr Polyanski, adult Molokans, numbering 30, were in listed into military service, and whose children were entrusted to Orthodox families. The work of successfully reconverting the sectarians, in this manner, from the first step was lost: severance, separation from their wives and children, disaster, condemnation, relinquishing their homes, singing holy songs, reading Psalms from the Bible, and preaching to the remaining brethren a hate of the clergy and authorities. Consequently, neither the clergy, nor the local civil authorities in any way admitted their responsibility in the attitude towards the Molokans and Dukhabors. But the scene of various punishments, which they used to hope to scare the new preachers of Christ in spirit and truth, caused a completely opposite effect. They attacked the minds of the Orthodox peasants, who had sympathy for their persecuted brethren, and said of their state, "Obviously their faith is indeed the correct one, when they go to suffer and endure punishment for it." Describing the picture of the actions of the local authority and clergy of the 18th century, the Tambov Molokans wrote to the Emperor Alexander I,40 after his ascension to the throne, "Please, Most August Monarch, inquire into the tearful picture of the actions of the Tambov authorities against us, in the area, in the villages, who are on purpose sent from the capital, against the good conscience of tested people. Then you will know the truth that we die from inhuman beatings, and then there will be unveiled before the light and before our God-like Monarch a scroll which will refute them. These investigations are conducted not according to the law and conscience, but by other means, deserving of search and seizure. And in this wise, meek and benevolent administration of Yours is it really divided into parts among those selected especially for this, that they with every coercion act opposite to the betterment of the fate of the people and security of citizens, and that the guilty would remain without inquiry? Not only the

40. Just is just one of many petitions submitted to Tsar Alexander I, for relief from persecution and for religious freedom. Please also note the Petition to the Tsar in the Appendix.

40 will of the venerate Monarch, but also your motions are we the innocent ready to entirely obey, and to sacrifice all we have for. By your supreme will, Sovereign, established by the Angel of protection for the prosperity of the citizens, on you do we rely to restrain them using every defense, and especially the slandering and wicked. Follow the example of the angel who banished from paradise with a fiery sword the violators. Banish them with the sword of justice from paradise with your monarchial confidence, for they are unworthy. You justify the hopes of all, and then all will recognize that your authority is higher then the waking eye can see, in order that inhuman and extreme viciousness, shame and reproach brought against humanity does not remain with punishment."

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Volume 3, Chapter 2

Here by the way we will say a few words about the posterity of the popular Semeon Uklein. Semeon Uklein had 3 daughters: 1. Agafia Semeonovna, who was given in marriage to Anton Mikailov. They had a son Yacov Antonov, who was later exiled to the city Okhansk, Perm Province. He had a daughter, who is at present the wife of the Samar Molokan, Akim Feodorovich Svetov. 2. Nastasia Semeonovna, who was given in marriage to Yacov Dykhanin, she died in 1864. Her husband Dukhanin lived in Tyagloi Ozero, Samar Province, and later the village Dybovki, Saratov Province. He was exiled to Siberia and died there. They also had children. 3. Marfa Semeonovna, who was given in marriage to Ivan Demidovim, who died in his 40's. Marfa Semeonovna died in her 50's. The sons of Semeon Uklein were exiled from Tambov to the Milky Waters.

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Volume 4, Chapter 7

Bolotin presented as part of his petition the Tenets of Molokan instruction, which we are printing here in its entirety.

TENETS OF THE SPIRITUAL CHRISTIANS (Tambov Molokans in the 1820's)

41 We believe in God Almighty, in the glorious Trinity: the Father and Son and Holy Spirit, and honor Him as He is God abiding in 3 indivisible features. Our hope toward the salvation of our soul we have in accord with the 2 holy Covenants, the prophets, Gospels, letters of the Apostles, united into the holy book, the Bible.

2 We have the bishop41 who is sits on the right side of God, the Son of God, as the holy apostle Paul said: Heb 4:14, Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Heb 8:1, Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.

3 The episcopacy we understand to be the holy apostles and their successors, as indicated in Acts 20:28, Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

4 We have the type of elders that are spoken about in 1 Pet 5:1-2, The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by constraint but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly.

5 The sign that embraces salvation to bring to memory the commandments of God's law, is in accord with the Wisdom of Solomon 16:6-7, For he who turned toward it was saved, not by what he saw, but by You God, the Saviour of all. Eph 1:13, In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, that is, in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit.

6 The baptism we fulfill is the very one that the Lord Jesus Christ commanded His disciples, in the holy gospel, Matt 28:19, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. In Mark 1:8, we note that John baptized in the desert, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. But in Mark 16:16, He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And in 1 Cor 10:2, All were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. And the Saviour said to His disciples in Acts 1:5, For John truly baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. And in Heb 6:2 it talks about the doctrine of baptisms. For this reason we recognize that this baptism consists in instruction in the word of God, in observance of His holy commandments, repentance and the remission of sins.

41. There is one word in Russian for both the rank of bishop and the Old Testament high-priest.

7 We practice confession as taught by the holy apostle James 5:16, Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. And in the book of the righteous Job, Job 31:33, If when I sinned inadvertently I concealed my sin, afraid of the great multitude that I should confess before them.42 And as said in Ps 111:1, I will confess the Lord with my whole heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. Our violations, whatever should occur, we confess one to another; we bring to Him our repentance in sins. This is testified in 1 John 2:1-2, And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and He is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

8 Communicants of the Divine and enlivening sacraments we honor as those who fear God and observe His commandments, just as the holy prophet David says in Ps 119:63, I am a participant43 of all those who fear You, and of those who keep Your precepts. And so we believe according to the witness of the prophet Moses, Deut 8:3, Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. And also by the inspiration of the Wisdom of Solomon 16:26, That it is not the production of fruits that feeds man, but Your word preserves those who trust in You. We profess in full measure the words of the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, explained in John 6:47, 51, 55-56, 63, He who believes in Me has eternal life. I am the bread from heaven, and whoever eats of this bread, he will live for ever. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life. For this reason we understand the communicants as those who taste of the spoken word of God, as it says in the letter of the holy apostle Paul, Heb 6:4, For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit.

9 The church according to the word of the Sacred Scriptures we consider as an assembly of people, as the Savior Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, said in the holy gospel, Matt 18:20, For where 2 or 3 are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them. And the holy apostle Paul. 1 Cor 14:23 and 26, Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place,... Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. And also 2 Cor 6:16, For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be My people.

42. So rendered in the Slavonic Bible and LXX. 43. This word in the Slavonic also refers to the communicant who partakes of the Eucharist.

43 And the apostle also explains, 1 Tim 2:8, Therefore I desire that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. And even further in the very Acts of the Apostles we read that the followers of Christ gathered and had prayer services unto God any place, as explained, Acts 12:5 and 12, Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying. And we also notice in Acts 20:7, Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. Imitating this we also on Sundays, holidays and other days, in our homes discuss the Scriptures and read the word of God the entire day and on occasion the entire night until morning, for the knowledge of His holy commandments; and we sing the Psalms, according to the instruction of the apostle Paul, Eph 5:19, Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. and also, Eph 6:18, Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

10 We pray to and worship the heavenly Father, the King of the ages, the imperishable, invisible, sole wise God, with our heartfelt sincerity and upon our knees praying for all men, for the Tsar and for all who are in authority, as it is said and explained in the apostolic letter: 1 Tim 2:1-2, Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. We utilize in our prayer services at the beginning the prayer composed by the Saviour Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ: Matt 6:9, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name... And then we recite prayers and psalms of the prophets and other holy men of God. During our prayer services we stand one with another, facing each other, believing without doubt the words of the Saviour, that He then abides in the midst of us invisibly, for the Spirit is God, and whoever worships Him must worship in Spirit and truth, as the Saviour taught the woman of Samaria, explained in the gospel of the holy apostle John 4:23-24, But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. We consider ourselves to be spiritual Christians through this type of prayer and worship service of ours.

11 We have the image of the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, as explained in 1 Pet 2:21, For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example (image), that you should follow His steps.44 For this reason we have no material or fabricated images, because in the Old Covenant given by God, through the holy prophet Moses, this is forbidden in these words: Lev 26:1, You

44. So it is rendered in the Slavonic Bible.

44 will not make idols for yourselves; neither a carved image nor a sacred pillar will you rear up for yourselves; nor will you set up an engraved stone in your land, to bow down to it; for I am the Lord your God. And in the New Covenant, in the instruction of the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the traditions of the holy apostles, we see no abrogation of this at all.

12 Vows or oaths are used by us in necessary situations according to the commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the holy gospel in Matt 5, But let your Yes be Yes, and your No, No; and in James 5, But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your Yes, be Yes, and your No, No, lest you fall into judgment. In this manner do we preserve our credibility.

13 We observe fasts at various times, imitating our Lord Himself, Jesus Christ, and the prophets Moses and Elijah, who fasted for 40 days; while Ezra fasted for 3 weeks, and the many other righteous, not eating bread or drinking water. This is performed at Christmas, at the Resurrection of Christ (Passover), and at the Descent of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost). And other than these, on occasion and according to our ability we fast a day or 2, or 3, and others even an entire week. And during the time of our fast we spend it in prayer, the singing of Psalms, and do not partake of any food or drink.

14 When children are born we read prayers appropriate for the occasion, and they are given a name after the name of the Saints, based on the month and date.45

15 The marriage of couples is performed by a selected elder or preceptor. In the presence of gathered men and women, the couple to be married, that is, the groom and bride stand next to each other, and are asked if they are getting married according to their own mutual desire, and if the groom has perhaps promised another, or the bride is engaged to another. Then whether they have the respect of their parents and of others. And when they declare this voluntary agreement, then they made a promise one to another to remain in an indivisible marriage to the end of their live, fulfilling the words of the apostle Paul, 1 Cor 7:10, Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. And also, 1 Cor 7:27, Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. The newly-wedded confirm this with the Evangelic affirmation;46 then a prayer service is conducted with the singing of Psalms, and the newly-wedded are instructed in the commandments of God and taught about an undefiled life style, domestic obligations, respect of parents and the authorities. And in conclusion there is read to them from

45. Apparently, this remnant of Orthodox influence was long from abandonment: to name the child after the saint on the Orthodox calendar this day was dedicated to. Later, Molokans gave children names in the Bible, or after parents or other respected relatives. 46. That is, Yes, in accord with Matt 5:35.

45 the Apostolic writings Eph 5 and Col 3, and the General Epistle of Peter 3. After this the assembly will testify to the fact that the couple married at that time are now known as man and wife to the end of their life.

16 The burial of the body of the deceased is conducted in the following format: Prior to death, appropriate prayers are recited; and after death psalms are also read with the name of the deceased mentioned. During the funeral the body is accompanied by the singing of Psalms and recitation of prayers. Afterwards, a prayer service is conducted on behalf of the dead, as noted in 2 Macc 12, where Judas Maccabees prayed on behalf of the dead. We believe in the resurrection of the dead, and hope that after death we will live again. This is also the testimony of the prophet in 2 Esdras 14:35, For after death the judgement will come when we will live again; and then the names of the righteous will become manifest and the deeds of the wicked will be disclosed.

MOLOKANS OF SARATOV

Volume 2, Chapter 17

The residents to whom Uklein proclaimed Molokanism were Cossacks from olden times and Mordovians who were resettled here by Peter I. This locale, ancient in terms of settlement, was infected with religious liberal-thinking brought there from Moscow, namely the rationalism of Zachary, popularly known among us as the heresy of the Judaizers, already by the time that Uklein appeared there. In all reality, Uklein heard of the instability of the minds of the residents of Balashovski region, and if anyplace, then it was here that he decided to count for a greater success of his preaching. In this calculation he did not error. The religious condition of the minds of this region came very close to his teaching, and in many points their religious liberalism definitely coincided with the Molokanism of Uklein. But what did the population believe prior to Uklein's arrival, and who had acted in the course of instruction against the Orthodoxy? The locale of the present day Balashovski County was already populated in the middle of the 14th century and was subject in church matters to the bishop of Ryazan. Alien and almost unbelievable is the possible circumstance that at this locale, from the time of the out-pour of the heresy of the Judaizers throughout Russia, they were infected with Judaizer liberal thinking and this teaching of the Judaizers lived on without interruption unto the appearance of Uklein, that is, unto the 1770's, and there are facts that can attest to this circumstance. At his arrival, Uklein found the succeeding religious condition of the populace in the present day Balashovski County. In many villages, especially Svinukha, Inyasev, Dyrnikin, and Melik, the teaching of the Judaizers was openly professed in the following format:

A. Instead of a clergy, the Judaizers selected special individuals from among themselves, primarily educated elders, to conduct worship services. B. They named their children after the national saints, and fulfilled on them the circumcision of Moses. C. The selected elder-preceptors performed the weddings and funerals. D. They observed Saturday instead of Sunday. E. They did not recognize Christ the Saviour as the Son of God. F. They did not recognize as saintly the Blessed Virgin Mary and the other saints venerated by Christians. Nikolai the Miracle-worker they called a commoner and John Chrysostom yellow- weed.47

47. The Russian word translated as the plant yellow-weed, also referring to the ragweed, is derived from the root words yellow and ear, and can be a disparaging term meaning yellow-ears, in contradistinction to the word Chrysostom, meaning golden-tongued in the Greek.

47 G. They did not perform the sign of the cross. H. They did not venerate the icons, but called them boards designed by Orthodox country women. They called idolaters those who bowed before the icons. They did not recognize any of the rituals or sacraments. I. Their worship services consisted of the reading and singing of verses from the Bible and selections from the Psalms. They did not utilize any other books for this purpose. J. They performed their wedding with a ceremonial worship service appropriate for the occasion; and to confirm the union they read as edification selections from the Divine Scriptures to the newly-wedded couple which were to remind the couple that marital obligations were accepted from the patriarchs of Israel. K. They buried their dead with the reading and singing of Psalms with all attending at the gravesite. L. Fasts were not observed in the manner the Orthodox observe them. M. Fugitives from military service they would not harbor, counting them as traitors. N. The church building and related sacred utensils they counted as unnecessary. Their worship services they conducted in special peasant's homes, which they also called a school, where children learned to read and write. O. They did not recognize the writings of the holy fathers and traditions; and neither were they familiar with the Talmud.48 This is the very teaching popularly known that the Judaizers preached at the time of Zachary. It is difficult to state with all due certainty that this teaching was brought to the locale of the present day Balashovski County at the time of the general flood of religious liberal-thinking of the Judaizers throughout the provinces of Russia, that is, at the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th century, or later. But nonetheless, the fact that lies before us is that the teaching of the Judaizers was preserved in various places in the Balashovski County up to the arrival of Uklein. The field for the propaganda of Uklein was very fruitful in the Balashovski County.

But who was it that directed the minds of the Judaizer liberal-thinkers of the Balashovski County during the time of the visit of Uklein in this locale? Russian Judaizers were called by the government Subbotniki,49 as well as Molokans by some of the population, due to the similarity of their teaching with Molokan teaching. They had no particular heresiarchs as guides, although there were occasional preceptors who are mentioned in the Balashovski region during the visit of Uklein, one for example was a certain Semeon Dalmatov.50 Inasmuch that these Russian Judaizers in general from the era of Zachary himself never were Jews,51 in the narrow sense of the word,

48. This last statement of Livanov is highly questionable, because some Judaizer practice is Talmudic, and especially Midrashic, and some of which was absorbed into Molokanism. 49. Or Sabbatists, or Sabbatarians, not to be confused with the modern Seventh Day Adventist Church, which had its origin in the middle 19th century. 50. Other sources state his name as Matvei Semeonov Dalmatov. 51. The Judaizers were not Hebrew or descended from Jewish stock, but were people of non-Jewish Russian or

48 and never did base their thinking on the Jewish Talmud, and were like Jews only due to circumcision, in essence they were Russian rationalists living on the edge of a yet incompletely formed and still unstable original Russian religious rationalist sect, and so they quite often converted to Molokanism. The following incident serves as the evidence for this. Uklein, as an independent rationalist, as a Russian organizer, knowing what to do and what people sought for in religion, collided with Dalmatov but soon gained his confidence and converted him without difficulty to Molokanism, and along with him several of his followers. By correlating the teaching of the Judaizers with the teaching of the Molokans, Uklein with Dalmatov reconciled both their teachings and composed something in the way of an original Russian dogmatic system, which was earlier presented in volume 1 of my book, Dissenters and Prisoners, under the title of the "Teaching of Semushka." The effort of the preaching of Uklein in the Saratov Province, in this manner, from the first step he took, was overwhelmed with radiating success, and he became in this province so established that he soon acquired a special home for himself in the village Dyrnikin, where he would arrive as an apostle and from which he began to expand throughout the entire Saratov province. He had for assistants in his work of preaching the best selected individuals from the newly-converted, who were formerly Judaizers. From this time Molokanism, implanted by Uklein in the Balashovski County, never has changed and is preserved to the present era in massive quantity. This is how Molokanism in the Balashovski region of the Saratov province was born with the intervention of Uklein as a truly native rationalism, which existed here from earlier years in the form of the heresy of the Judaizers. This circumstance cannot better confirm for us the thought mentioned above, that Molokanism lived in Russia from olden times in the form of various rationalistic teachings, which was eventually consolidate in the 18th century in the form of Molokanism and Dukhaborism.

At this time there appeared on the map the town of Salamatino, which in the 1780's heard the preaching of Molokanism from Uklein. Following the course of the Volga River to preach Molokanism Uklein, leaving behind Dalmatov in the Balashovski County, stopped in Salamatino while on the road and proclaimed there his new teaching. Question: Who were his first listeners? This can be answered on its own after considering the population of the Kamishinski region. These were streltsi, freed feudal peasants and cossacks. The visit of Uklein to the populace of Salamatino was so successful that the locale of Salamatino from this time was continually elevated in its significance and eventually became a prominent place to Molokans. Later in Salamatino there was active Isai Krilov, Nikolai Bogdanov, Sidor Andreev, Pchelintsev and others, whom they boasted of. And of these Bogdanov was even a native of Salamatino. Salamatinski Molokans to this time tell their children about the tradition of the golden 18th century of their fathers, when they in all abundance lived serenely, in tranquility, and without fear of anybody, definitely under the shadow of the grace of God. But as the times are not as they were earlier and it has become oppressive for them, they now petition to migrate to the Caucasus; and the more so as they are threatened by the futile authority of the Orthodoxy. Earlier they did

Slavic descent who accepted the authority of the Old Testament of the Bible as much as the New Testament. Livanov uses the derogatory Russian word zhid here and in several other places, translated as Jew.

49 not have any problem with these authorities, the manner they lived with their elders and instructors.

The Judaizers of Balashovsk accepted Molokanism from Uklein, and received also a written profession of belief from the Tambov Molokans. We have a copy in our hands of one of these codified professions of the Balashovski Molokans dated 1798, which is in total agreement with the tenets of the Tambov Molokans.52 Consequently, rather than here copying the tenets of the Balashovski Molokans, we will only transcribe its conclusion, having the title of the Twelve Friends, and then proceed to the observance of the Salamatinski Molokans, a special one we have, which we have not yet published and which we present here in its entirety. The Molokans, as seekers and champions of the inner perfection of human nature and as enemies of the superficial, instead of icons and every type of religious image and portrait which they reject, have quotations and verses which they teach from childhood, eager for the inner success of the individual. Scrutinizing one of the manuscripts we present here the Recital of the Twelve Friends, rewritten from the conclusion of the codified tenets of the Balashovski Molokans.53

About the Twelve Friends 1. Friend righteousness: Delivers man from death. 2. Friend purity: Leads him to God. 3. Friend love; Where love is, there is God. 4. Friend effort: Honor for the body and help for the soul. 5. Friend obedience: Sorrowful path to salvation. 6. Friend acquittal: Gives man salvation without difficulty. 7. Friend discernment: All the benevolence from above. 8. Friend prayer: Unites a person with God. 9. Friend gratitude: A work of our Christ and God. 10. Friend mercy: Satan himself trembles at such a person. 11. Friend submission: The fulfillment of the law. 12. Friend repentance: Joy to God before the Angels over one sinner who repents. And whoever, writes the Molokans, acquires these 12 friends while on the earth, 12 Angels will intercede for him and will carry his soul to the heavenly Kingdom and it will there rejoice for ever and ever.

We have the opportunity to present here the tenets of the Molokans of Kamishinski County, village of Salamatino, dated 1798. We do not know who the editor is, although by comparing it with another codification of tenets of the 1830's acquired from a Molokan in the Ryazan Province, the 2 of them are almost identical word for word. In all probability, this compilation of a

52. He refers to the profession of belief under the section on Molokans of Tambov. 53. This is almost identical to D. Yesseyevich, chapter 73, in the Spirit and Life.

50 declaration of Molokan teaching in this form was delivered to Ryazan Molokans independent from the Tambov and Saratov Molokans. This is the form of the written profession of faith of the Saratov Molokans, namely those of Salamatinsk, during the 19th century.

TENETS of the Spiritual Christians of the village Salamatino.

ACROSTIC For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1 Cor 3:11

1 We look upon the initiator and perfecter of faith, Jesus Christ. We believe in God, that He abides in 3 features: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

2 We witness to the salvation of our soul according to both testaments; according to the prophets and the gospel.

3 We have one priest and bishop, who is at the right side of God the Father, that is, the Son of God according to the witness of Apostle Paul, Heb 4:14, Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Heb 7:14, For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. Heb 8:1, Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. Acts 20:28, Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. Eph 4:11, And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. Likewise we have among us men known as elders. And of them the Scriptures witness: Sirach 37:12, But stay continually with a godly man whom you know to be a keeper of the commandments. Jer 5:1, Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem; see now and know; and seek in her open places if you can find a man, if there is anyone who executes judgment, who seeks the truth.

4 Hosea 14:9, Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them. 1 Tim 2:8, Therefore I desire that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. Matt 18:20, For where 2 or 3 are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them. 1 Pet 5:1, The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that

51 will be revealed. About elders there is witnessed the words: 1 Pet 5:2, Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by constraint but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly.

5 For the sign of the cross we signify ourselves with the promised Holy Spirit, as it is written: Eph 1:13, In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. Matt 28:19. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. So we carry our cross after the words of Christ as He said to His disciples to go and teach all nations, baptizing54 them in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit.

6 Our prayer services consists in following Christ's example in our prayers, after the command of the Son of God to His disciples, as said in the gospel: Matt 6:9, In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Eph 6:18, Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. For this reason we gather and recite all prayers in the spirit. In the assembly at our church we all stand facing each other, and upon our knees we pray and worship the invisible God of heaven, according to the command of Christ: John 4:23, But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. And the image we worship is priceless, as the apostle Paul wrote: Col 1:15-16, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. Christ gave Himself as an image to the apostles, as it is written: Rom 8:29, For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 1 Pet 2:21-22, For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example (image)55, that you should follow His steps, who committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth. Phil 3:17, Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern (image). 2 Tim 1:13, Hold fast the pattern (image) of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.

54. The Russian word baptize, kres-teets, is derived from the Russian word cross, krest. The word baptize in Russian was derived from the Orthodox Priest's ritual of making the sign of the cross over the person with a crucifix or with his hand during his baptism by water. 55. The word image is used here in the Slavonic Bible.

52 Our baptism consists in repentance and the remission of sins, after the witness of the gospels: Mark 1:4, John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 1 Cor 1:18, For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. Heb 6:2, Of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. This spiritual baptism is the one we lean toward.

8 Confession we witness according to the word of the prophet David: Ps 111:1, I will confess the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. The mediator we have in this matter unto the heavenly Father is in accord with the witness of the epistles: 1 John 2:1-2, And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

9 On discerning the sacraments: Communion of the divine secrets are in the following manner: Whoever fears God and observes His commandments, he is a communicant according to David: Ps 119:63, I am a participant of all those who fear You, and of those who keep Your precepts. Heb 6:4-5, For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come. Even in reference to food, Christ said: Matt 6:11, Give us this day our daily bread. In other places is said: John 6:41, I am the bread which came down from heaven. Deut 8:3, Man will not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. John 6:27, Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life. Ps 34:8, Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! So do we partake of bread today and are communicants of it.

10 About the performance of weddings we are founded on the Scriptures: Tobit 7:9,12-13, After Tobias was married, then Raguel said to Tobias: Eat drink and be merry, for it is your right to take my child, and said, Remember her. And he called his daughter Sarah, and taking her by the hand he gave her to Tobias to be his wife, saying, Behold according to the law of Moses take her and go to the house of your father. Apostle Paul likewise wrote: 1 Cor 7:27, Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. For a legitimate wedding and union the groom and bride, according to their mutual love, must stand before an assembly of the people, and witness that according to their own will they desire to live mutually one with the other; and that the groom will not take another wife, and that the bride will not have another husband. And then all the brethren will witness that they are recognized as husband and wife.

53 We observe fasts according to the words of the Son of God, the prophets and apostles. The Son of God fasted 40 days and 40 nights. Matt 4:2, And when He had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, afterward He was hungry. Nehemiah the prophet fasted and prayer before the presence of God: Neh 1:4, I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven. Daniel fasted for 3 weeks: Dan 10:2, In those days I, Daniel, was mourning 3 full weeks. And the prophet Joel said: Joel 2:12, Turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. For this reason in our faith we observe this type of fast: On occasion during the year, for one or 2 weeks we eat no food and drink no water. But to establish that bread, meat and milk cannot be eaten on certain days of the week, this is not part of our beliefs, and not to observe it is not a sin, according to the words of the Son of God, who said: Matt 15:11, Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man. Mark 7:20, And He said, What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.

12 In giving a name to our children we rely on the witness of the gospel, Luke 1:59, Now so it was, on the 8th day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. Upon this we base ourselves. On the day which a child is born the fathers give him a name, and after which we perform a prayer for him.

13 Regarding the burial of the dead, we take the example of Tobit, as he conducted this in earlier eras.56 After the soul departs we sing Psalms. At the funeral we carry the body of the deceased singing psalms and conduct a prayer service.

14 We honor the king and authorities, as Solomon the wise said, Pr 8:15-16, By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, all the judges of the earth. Rom 13:1-2, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. Therefore we ask in our prayers on their behalf, for the king, the authorities, and their prosperous life.

15 Other than the above, in our faith we witness and affirm to the entire congregation of the people that immorality and adultery, alcoholism, theft, and all sinful activity be banished and rejected, and those who are not obedient to this are excommunicated from the congregation, in accord with the witness of the apostle Paul, 1 Cor 5:11, But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a

56. Tobit 1:17-19, 2:7-8.

54 reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, not even to eat with such a person. This we strongly affirm.

16 The church among us we consider the assembly of the people according to the witness of the Scriptures: 2 Cor 6:16, For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be My people. Acts 17:24, God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 1 Cor 14:23, Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those who are uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind? 1 Cor 14:26, How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, a teaching, a tongue, a revelation, an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. Acts 20:7-8, Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread. This is exactly the pattern we have. We gather together and have sermons; and spend the evening with an assembly of men and women and young people, singing psalms and maintaining discussions dealing with the prophetic books, Gospels, the words of the Apostles, and when concluding we have a prayer service.

Molokanism in the Saratov province was formed quietly during the 18th century, not violating any civil obligations toward the government or responsibilities of the state. For this reason the governor of Saratov Province reported in an official investigation to the Minister of Internal Affairs regarding the morals of the Molokan sect of Saratov Province, that they are quiet, their efforts industrious, their conduct honest and sober, and assume all obligations without demonstration; they are subject to the authorities and conduct themselves peaceable in the presence of other communities.

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Volume 3, Chapter 18

We have in our hands copies of sermons, delivered during prayer assemblies by preceptors of the Molokans of Saratov province. We bring to your attention one of the sermons, selected from the Balashov County. This is the written transcription of the sermon. "Brothers and sisters, I must love all of you as Christ loves us, and all of us must accomplish this in the strength of the holy Spirit. Consider the will of the flesh which Adam gave us as an imaginary inheritance as our enemy. Heaven and hell is found in us in this life, the visible world has this struggle of the both of them. The holy Paul said: Our dwelling place is in the heavens, from which we await the Saviour. When our dwelling place is in the heaven, then heaven must be in us, because Christ lives in heaven. And if we are his temple, then heaven is us; but

55 because sin is in us, then hell must also be in us. Our soul has lost God, paradise and the heavenly Kingdom, and in their place arises a pseudo-love, every obscenity and vanity, of which Christ said to the Pharisees, that they turn a newly-converted person into a son of hell twice worse than yourselves, which is exactly what is occurring among all the foolish raskol sects through clamoring and arguing teaching, who are just like birds of prey, wild animals in the forests roaring, and with their howls scaring the birds and interfering with their singing praise unto God, forgetting that the Kingdom of God does not consist in the knowledge of rituals, but in the strength of love, living in love as children of the same mother or as branches of the same tree which all receive sap from the same roots. God created man in His image and likeness; He is our heaven, and if we want to be in heaven, then this can be only when the inner mundane man is found in the spirit in heaven, which the superficial mortal man in the world does not have. Beloved brethren, today is the time to seek and find the true spirit; and whoever seeks will find it, but who ever sleeps in sin and lives for his sensual appetite does not hear the voice of the Lord, although the voice of the Lord echoes throughout all the ends of the earth and enters into the soul, as the radiance of a great light. I say this for the hearts of the hungry and the thirsty for the water of the fountain of Christ. For the scoffers I have nothing to say, because they against even their own will serve that which they even do not understand. Amen."

As can be seen in the inquiries and the petitions delivered by the Molokans of Saratov Province from 1800 to 1811, Molokans have deduced that the baptism consists solely in evangelism. This is obvious from the words of the Apostle Paul that, "He did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel," 1 Cor 1:17, and here is their justification concerning this sacrament, "The sacrament of the baptism we understand not as a bodily one, but as a spiritual cleansing from the sins of our spirit by faith in the Tri-hypostasis God and the death of the old man and his activities through a faithful and virtuous life. Water baptism, or more accurately, its necessity, we reject because, first, no man can perform it according to the words of John the Baptist, where John confirms to his disciples that the Saviour baptizes according to the authority given him from above, John 3:27. The prophesy of John the Baptist regarding the descent of the Holy Spirit on the believers is that baptism by the Holy Spirit." Matt 3:11, Luke 3:16 Saratov Molokans accept the literal statute of [water] baptism only as applicable under the Old Covenant, against the objection of those who are based on the fact that Jesus Christ Himself accepted water baptism in the Jordan. They quote the words of the Evangelist, that this baptism was necessary only for the Saviour, that through it He would appear to the world.57 The example of water baptism performed by the apostle Phillip on the eunuch, Molokans call a chance occurrence and do not attribute to it grounds to duplicate.58 In the literal understanding of water baptism, in His conversation with Nicodemus, they see a symbol representing the activity of the Holy Spirit, John 2:5. The living water, they say, is not material water, and so the visible baptism by water they concede to be false, John 7:37. In the words of the Saviour, what is born of flesh is flesh, but what is born of spirit is spirit, they see the disproof of water or superficial baptism.59

57. John 1:31 58. Acts 8:36-38 59. John 3:6

56 About chrismation. Saratov Molokans explain in their testimonies that the believer in Christ and the observer of His commandments has an anointment from above, a spiritual one; and so they express that they do not recognize the visible unction. They quote certain texts regarding this where the anointment from the holy one is mentioned, 1 John 2:27-28.

About communion. The Molokans expressed to the government that there is no sacrament of the holy communion. The statute that was dictated by the Saviour during the communal meal and the words, "Do this in remembrance of Me," they say pertained only to the apostles and interpret this as a farewell gesture, similar to what usually occurs when friends depart from one another after a meal of bread and wine. In disproof of the sacrament of communion,60 the Dybovski Molokans quote the words of the Saviour where he speaks of the uselessness of the law of Moses as being a bodily one, and construe Christ's reference to his flesh as being of no worth to mean His prohibition of any visible bodily communion, John 6:63. Regarding this they also quote from the Psalms, and interpret texts, sometimes in the literal sense, sometimes in the allegorical sense, 1 Cor 11:24-27, Luke 4:4, Heb 6:4-5, 1 Pet 1:23.

About repentance. The Molokans explain that they allow confession before God without an intercessor, as David the prophet confessed, Ps 32:5, and likewise one to another, as the apostle James commands, Jam 5:16. Not recognizing the need for an intercessor in the confession of sins before God, the Balashov Molokans depend on the text: But if any one should sin, we have a mediator unto the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and He is the expiation for our sins, 1 John 2:1-2.

About unction. The Balashov Molokans reject the manner it is accepted by the Orthodox church. But the literal understanding of the Holy Scriptures regarding the anointment of the sick with oil, Jam 5:14, they interpret allegorically, as noted in the petition to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They affirm that the term unction should be understood as a heartfelt and fervent prayer of the believers on behalf of the sick.

From the prayerbook of the Molokans of Saratov province of this era, the following was also made known to us:

The ceremony of the holy kiss. This consists of those present at the conclusion of a community prayer service to kiss one another. As the Molokan sect has the appearance of an evangelical brotherhood, so the rite of the

60. The Orthodox church, following the standard of the Roman Catholic church, accepts the doctrine of the transubstantiation, that the bread and wine are converted into the real blood and flesh of the Saviour during the sacrament of the Eucharist, the Mass, although remaining in the form of bread and wine.

57 holy kiss is obviously instituted to confirm and signify brotherly love among the members of the sect. It is held in high esteem among the Molokans as an absolute participation in their worship service even up to now; and that alienation from [the holy kiss] is counted as excommunication from the church, as an indication of public penance.

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Volume 4, Chapter 17

According to the advice of foreigners, if the Russian kings and patriarchs would teach the Russian people a better understanding of Christianity, instead of casting such large bells, and not promoting a superficial religion adopted from the pagans, then it would have been more useful. Christ did not have need for such church bells for the people to adopt the spirit of His teaching. But because one extreme always causes the development of the other extreme, and contrary to the above, the Saratov Molokans, based on the words of Uklein, taught that church bells and superficial churches are not necessary, but that the church is to be found everywhere, wherever 2 or 3 are gathered in the name of Christ. To the extent that Molokanism was a protest against the adoption of ritualism into Christianity, this is best of all seen in the precepts presented by the Saratov Molokans of the suburb Dybovki.

Following the teaching of Uklein, his disciples Krilov, Bogdanov, Pchelintsev, Maslov, and others implanted Molokanism in the Saratov region. The subsequent preceptors of the Saratov Molokans earnestly diverted them away from every ritual similar to the Orthodox, advising them to serve God more in the spirit. At the conclusion of the reign of the Emperor Alexander I, a certain Philip Alekseev Belyaev in Dybovki, a Molokan preceptor and preacher, developed this teaching. In 1822 he was brought to trial dealing with the incident where he converted to the Molokan sect from Orthodoxy the daughter of a certain peasant, and then married her to a Molokan named Syslov according to the Molokan ceremony. The Committee of State Ministers became very suspicious of this, and dictated to him to restrain from performing Molokan weddings. Even prior to the reign of Alexander I, Belyaev fled from his landlord to Turkey; He returned to Saratov Province with the issue of the All-Merciful manifesto after the ascension upon the throne of Alexander I,61 and there expanded Molokan teaching primarily in Dybovki and along the Volga. With the investigation of Belyaev in 1822, they found out that many of the interpreters among the Dybovki Molokans were merchants of Dybovki: Evstrat Semeonov Kositsin, Ivan Petrov Kruchkov, Emelyan Ulianov Khvorostov, Ilya Ivanov Khlupin, Sidor Abramov Samodurov, Ivan Andreev Zhitkin, Akinfi Ivanov; and the common peasants: Yacob Pavlov Goncharov, Ivan Feodorov Konovalov, and Sergei Abramov Samodurov.

61. Issued in 1805 by Tsar Alexander I, allowing the Molokans freedom of persuasion in their faith, and prohibiting their persecution by the Orthodoxy.

58 The local police commissioner of Dybovki appeared once at the home of Samadurov during services and discovered a large assembly of the Molokan-Voskreskini.62 And just as the governor had reported to him they had an open Bible on the table where the hosts of the home of Samadurov were found with the merchant Ivan Petrov Kruchkov. Samadurov first explained to him that he had been part of the Molokan sect from his birth along with his entire family. He did not recognize the state religion and its rituals, would not attend the church, not honor the icons nor bow before them. But that he follows his own sect, which services he performs with the assistance of the merchant Kruchkov, reciting prayers and reading and interpreting the Bible and Psalms to the Molokans gathering in his home; during the prayer service they sing various psalms from the Book of Psalms. The provincial director wrote to the Police Commissioner of the city Dybovki to require in writing from Samadurov, that he would not in any manner or even invitation, allow into his home any assemblies of Molokans for public instruction and prayer services. But Samadurov declined signing the document and so was arrested and held in jail for one week. Other than Samadurov, there were another 21 people exposed who had allowed Molokan gatherings in their homes in Dybovki. A few of these signed a document stating they would no longer allow having prayer services in their homes; but the rest of them firmly declined. Of the Salomatinski Molokans, county of Tsaritsinsk, at the conclusion of the reign of Alexander, one woman played an important role. She was the wife of the Molokan teacher and preceptor Pchelintsev, who was exiled to the Caucasus: Daria Pchelintseva. She was considered an instructor of all the Molokan woman and girls. Consequently, during the reign of Nicholai I, she was tried at the criminal courts for preaching Molokanism; however she was acquitted at the trial.

62. Molokans who observed Sunday as sabbath, as opposed to the Molokan-subbotniki who observed Saturday as sabbath and who may have been in the same village.

MOLOKANS OF KHERSON

Volume 2, Chapter 7

The following teaching of belief of the Molokans we were able to acquire from the Kherson Governor-General. It is written in the following format:63

TENETS of the Spiritual Christians, called Molokans.

1. About God We believe in one God, that He abides in 3 features: Father and Son and Holy Spirit. As the apostle Paul said, Eph 2:20, Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. And Christ said, Matt 28:19, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

2. About Prayer Our prayer in Christ consists in the prophetic and apostolic prayers according to the command of the Son of God to His disciples, as is written, Matt 6:9, In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Luke 11:2, So He said to them, When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name... Eph 6:18, Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. Luke 22:41, And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed. Acts 21:5, And we knelt down on the shore and prayed. Dan 6:10, And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees 3 times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. John 4:23, But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. Jude 1:20, But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.

3. About the Church We consider the church an assembly of the people according to the words of the Apostle

63. This list of 25 Tenets is identical to the first 25 of 27 tenets published as the "Dogmas: The Foundation of the True Spiritual Christian Molokans from 1803." This was printed as part of the Prayerbook of M.P. Lezin, 1910, Tiflis, Russia, and subsequently reprinted and translated into english in the Molokan Review, 1948 and 1949 issues.

60 Paul, 2 Cor 6:16, For you are the temple of the living God, as God has said: I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be My people. Acts 17:24, God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 1 Cor 14:26, Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, a teaching, a tongue, a revelation, an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 1 Pet 2:5, You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Eph 3:10, That now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. Eph 5:27, That He might present to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. Acts 20:8, There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together. Acts 20:11, Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while. Rev 19:5, Then a voice came from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great! Heb 9:24, For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true.

4. About the Sign of the Cross We do not make the visible sign of the cross on ourselves, but signify ourselves using the promised Holy Spirit, in accord with the witness of the Holy Scriptures. Wisdom 16:6, They had the sign of salvation to remind them of the commandments of Your law; he who turned toward [the bronze serpent] was not healed by what he saw, but by You the Saviour of all. Is 66:19, I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations. Acts 11:28, Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and signified by the Spirit. Matt 28:19, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Eph 4:30, And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were sealed for the day of redemption.

5. About Icons Hand-made icons, the creativity of man's hands, we do not worship according to the words of the Scriptures. 2 King 17:41, Yet they served their carved images; also their children and their children's children have continued doing as their fathers did, even to this day. Ps 115:4- 8, Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear; noses they have, but they do not smell; they have hands, but they do not handle; feet they have, but they do not walk; nor do they mutter through their throat. Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them. Ps 135:15-18, The idols of the nations are silver and gold, The work of men's hands. Wisdom 13:10, With their hopes set on dead things are the men who give the name gods to the works of men's hands, gold and silver fashioned with skill, and likenesses animals, or a useless stone, the work of an ancient hand. Wisdom 14:8, But the idol made with hands is accursed, and so is he who made it, because he did the work, and the perishable thing was named a god. Is 44:12-18, The blacksmith with the tongs works one in the coals, fashions it with hammers, and works it with the strength of his arms; even so, he is hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. Jer 2:27, Saying to a tree, You are my father, and to a stone, You gave birth to me. For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time

61 of their trouble they will say, Arise and save us. Rev 9:20, But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. Wisdom 14:27, For the worship of idols not to be named is the beginning and cause and end of every evil. Rom 1:22-23, Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and 4-footed beasts and creeping things. For this reason, instead of perishable images we have the image of the intangible Son of God, according the witness of the apostle Paul, Col 1:15, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Rom 8:29, For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. 1 Pet 2:21, Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example (image64), that you should follow His steps. Jam 5:10, My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example (image) of suffering and patience. Phil 3:17, Brethren, join in following my example (image), and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. 1 Tim 4:12, Be an example (image) to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Titus 2:7, In all things showing yourself to be a pattern (image) of good works; Heb 1:3, Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person. 2 Thess 3:9, But to make ourselves an example (image) of how you should follow us.

6. About Bishops and Priests We have one priest and bishop who sits at the right hand of God the Son of God, the head of the church. Eph 5:23, also Christ is head of the church, and He is the Savior of the body. Eph 1:20, Which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. Ps 2:7, The Lord said to Me, You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ps 110:5, The Lord is at Your right hand; He will execute kings in the day of His wrath. Heb 5:4- 6, And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was. Heb 5:10, Called by God as High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Heb 4:14-15, Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Heb 4:15, For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Heb 7:26, For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens. Heb 8:1, We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. The apostles imitated Christ and were cleansed by the Holy Spirit. Acts 20:28, Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Eph 4:11, And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. So do we have in our faith elders according to the word of Scripture. Sirach 37:12, But stay constantly with a godly man whom you know to be a keeper of the commandments. Jer 5:1, And seek in her open places if you can find a man, if there is anyone who executes judgment, who seeks the truth. Jer 9:12, Who is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom

64. In these verses the Slavonic Bible uses the word image, in lieu of the American words example or pattern.

62 the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? 1 Tim 2:8, Therefore I desire that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. 1 Pet 5:1, The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ. 1 Pet 5:2, Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers.

7. About Special Garments We do not wear special garments, because the holy apostles did not have special garments to wear during worship services, and Jesus Christ did not establish such. As the holy apostles wore plain clothing, so do we pray in our traditional clothing. We understand wearing of special clothing as referring to clothing ourselves in salvation, and to be clothed in justice according to the words of the Scriptures. Eph 6:14, Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of rectitude. Eccl 9:8, Let your garments always be white, and let your head lack no oil. Is 59:17, For He put on rectitude as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. Is 61:10, For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of rectitude, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Rev 3:4-5, You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will be clothed in white garments...

8. About Bringing Offerings Offerings we bring at every place, the fruit of our lips, a contrite spirit, according to the words of the prophets. Mal 1:11, In every place incense will be offered to My name, and a pure offering; for My name will be great among the nations. Heb 13:15, Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Heb 13:16, But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. Ps 51:17, The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, these, O God, You will not despise. Ps 40:6, Sacrifice and offering You did not desire. Ps 50:14, Offer to God thanksgiving, And pay your vows to the Most High. Prayer of Azariah 15,65 And at this time there is no prince or prophet, or leader, no burnt offering, or sacrifice, or oblation or incense, no place to make an offering before You or to find mercy; yet with a contrite heart and humble spirit may we be accepted. Is 56:7, Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. Is 66:20, Then they will bring all your brethren for an offering to the Lord out of all nations. Eph 5:2, And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. Heb 9:26, He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

9. About the Throne

65. Dan 3:38 in the Russian Bible.

63 The throne we witness to be the intelligent person according to the word of the Lord. Is 16:5, In mercy the throne will be established; and One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David. Pr 12:23, A prudent man is a throne of knowledge.66 Jer 14:21, Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory. Eze 43:7, And He said to me, Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. Zech 6:13, He will bear the glory, and will sit and rule on His throne; so He will be a priest on His throne. Pr 25:5, And his throne will be established in rectitude. Jer 3:17, At that time Jerusalem will be called The Throne of the Lord. Rev 21:3, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God.

10. About the Incense Burner and the Burning of Incense Incense and the incense burner we consider prayer, in accord with the words of the Scriptures. Ps 141:2, Let my prayer be directed before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands considered as the evening sacrifice. Eph 5:2, Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. Rev 8:3, Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. And he was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints. 2 Cor 2:14, Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.

11. About the Holy Vessels The vessels used during worship services we consider to be lips of knowledge. Pr 20:15, There is gold and a multitude of rubies, but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel. Ps 71:23, My lips will greatly rejoice when I sing to You. Is 52:11, Be clean, you who bear the vessels of the Lord. Acts 9:15, But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 1 Cor 10:16, The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?

12. About Baptism We regard baptism as repentance and the remission of sins according to the witness of the Scriptures Mark 1:4, John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Mark 16:16, He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. Acts 13:24, After John had first preached, before His coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. Acts 22:16, And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Rom 6:3, Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 1 Cor 1:17, For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel. Heb 6:2, Of the doctrine of baptisms... Acts 1:5, For John truly baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Luke 3:16, John answered, saying to them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am

66. So rendered in the Russian Bible and LXX.

64 not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

13. About the Naming of Children In the naming of children we act according to the witness of the Word of God. Luke 1:59-60, And they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. And his mother answered and said, No; he will be called John. Ex 2:22, And she bore him a son and he called his name Gershom. We follow likewise. On the day that the child is born, the father, mother, and relatives give a name to the new-born child.

14. About Unction Unction,67 we testify as the holy oil of joy, according to the Word of God. Ps 45:7, Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the holy oil of gladness more than Your companions. Hab 3:13, You went forth for the salvation of Your people, for salvation with Your Anointed. Acts 4:27, For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed... Acts 10:38, How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. 1 John 2:20, But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. 2 Cor 1:22, Who also has anointed68 us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.

15. About Communion Communion we consider to be communion with the divine and enlivening secrets according to the word of the Scriptures. Ps 119:63, I am a participant69 of all those who fear You, and of those who keep Your precepts. Heb 6:4, And have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit. Heb 3:1, Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling. Heb 3:14, For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end. Heb 12:10, For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit that we may be partakers of His holiness. Deut 8:3, That He might make you know that man will not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. Pr 12:14, A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth, and the recompense of a man's hands will be rendered to him. Pr 16:26, The person who labors, labors for himself, for his hungry mouth drives him on. Sirach 15:3, She will feed him with the bread of knowledge, and give him the water of wisdom to drink. John 6:27, Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you. John 6:63, It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. Ps 34:8, Taste and see that the Lord is good. Ps 119:50, For Your word has given me life. 1 Cor 10:17, For we, being many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. 1 Cor 10:30, But if I partake with thanks, why am I evil spoken of for the food over which I give thanks?

67. i.e. anointment with oil. 68. So rendered in the Slavonic Bible. 69. This word in the Slavonic is the word that refers to the communicant, a participant in communion.

65 16. About Repentance Confession we testify as the remission of sins, according to the testimony of the Scriptures. Ps 111:1, I will confess70 the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. Ps 119:62, At midnight I will confess to You, because of Your righteous judgments. 1 John 2:1, My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Heb 3:1, Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus. Jam 5:16, Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much.

17. Regarding Weddings For marital cohabitation we marry in virtue and mercy, generosity and faith. The Lord God said to the first man and wife, Increase and multiply and fill the earth, Gen 1:28. Gen 2:24, Therefore a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they will become one flesh. Eph 5:22-25, Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 1 Cor 7:27, Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. Tobit 7:10-12, And taking her by the hand he gave her to Tobias to be his wife. We do the same. For the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom present themselves before an assembly of the people and are married in faith and virtue to their end, in mercy, in generosity, and among them we conclude an avowed promise. It is always performed in the present of the mothers and fathers; then they become husband and wife.

18. About Crowns Crowns we consider to be the resistance to lust and crown our life to observe virtue and hope to receive the crown of life, joy and hope, and the many offerings according to the words of the Scriptures. Sirach 1:11, The fear of the Lord is glory and joy, and gladness and a crown of rejoicing. Sirach 1:18, The fear of the Lord is the crown of wisdom. Sirach 19:5, He who withstands pleasures crowns his life. Sirach 25:6, Rich experience is the crown of the aged. Is 28:5, In that day the Lord of hosts will be for a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty to the remnant of His people. 2 Tim 4:8, Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. Rev 2:10, Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

19. About Ablutions and Sprinklings Ablution and sprinkling we do not consider material, but aspire to cleanse ourselves from every defilement of the flesh and spirit by the sprinkling of the heart from a bad conscience, as it says about this in the Scriptures. Heb 10:22, Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 2 Cor 7:1, Let us

70. So it is rendered in the Slavonic Bible.

66 cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Is 45:8, Rain down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down rectitude. Is 4:4, When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning. Jer 4:14, O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. Jer 6:16, Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find cleansing71 for your souls. 1 Cor 6:11, But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. Eph 5:26, That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.

20. About Fasts We fulfill a fast after the example of Jesus Christ, the prophets, and apostles. Dan 10:3, I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till 3 whole weeks were fulfilled. 2 Esd 6:31, indicates that Ezra fasted for 7 days. David himself fasted, as noted in Ps 109:24, My knees are weak through fasting, And my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness. Joel 2:12, Turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. Zech 8:19, The fast of the 4th month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the 7th, and the fast of the tenth. God himself called these days fasts at regular intervals. So do we imitate them and fast likewise, 4 days or 5 days, or even a week, bread or water we do not take, according to our strength. But the food that is blessed we eat all the other days, according to the word of the Scriptures. Lev 11:3, Among the beasts, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud--that you may eat. 1 Tim 4:3-4, And commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. Other fasts, such as Wednesdays and Fridays, we do not observe. We prefer the spiritual fast, according to the following words from the Scriptures. Is 58:3-9, Why have we fasted, they say, and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice? In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and exploit all your laborers. Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh?

21. About Funerals for the Deceased For the deceased, after the soul leaves the body, we have a wake consisting of prayers and songs and the reading of Psalms. Likewise at the funeral we accompany the body of the deceased weeping and singing Psalms, according to the words of the Scriptures. Ps 146:4, His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; In that very day his plans perish. Ps 24:1, The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness; the world and those who dwell therein. Ps 84:2,

71. So rendered in the Slavonic Bible and LXX.

67 My soul desires and finds its rest in the courts of the Lord.72 Acts 8:2, And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. Sirach 38:16-17, My son, let your tears fall for the dead... Let your weeping be bitter and your wailing fervent. Sirach 38:23, When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance rest and be comforted for him when his spirit has departed.

22. About the Resurrection of the Dead We believe in life beyond the grave, and hope that after death we be constituted in another flesh and arise, according to the witness of the Scriptures. 2 Cor 5:1, For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 1 Cor 15:50-51, Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed... Mark 12:26-27, But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken. John 5:28-30, Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice... Rev 20:12, And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God. Rev 21:1-4, And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea...

23. About Memorial Services for the Deceased We perform memorial services and prayers on behalf of the deceased, in order that their sins be remitted. This example we see in the Word of God. Judas Maccabee brought an offering on behalf of the dead, in 2 Macc 12:43-45. Baruch 3:3-5, Lord Almighty, hear now the prayer of the dead of Israel and of the sons of those who sinned before You...

24. About the 7th Day The 7th day of the week we honor, in accord with the witness of the Scriptures. Lev 23:3, Six days will work be done, but the 7th day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You will do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. Zeph 3:8, Therefore wait for Me, says the Lord, until the day of my resurrection73... Mark 16:9, Now when he rose early on the first day of the week. This day we sanctify in prayer and benevolence in accord with the words of the Scriptures: Col 3:16, Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Eph 5:18, And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. Jam 1:22, But be doers of the word, and not hearers only.

72. So rendered in the Slavonic Bible. 73. So it is rendered in the Slavonic Bible and LXX.

68 25. About Kings and Authorities The kings and authorities we respect in accord with the witness of the Word of God. Pr 8:15, By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. Rom 13:1, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 1 Pet 2:17, Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. 1 Tim 2:1-2, That supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.

These codified tenets were not recently compiled in the Kherson Province but were brought here, in all credibility, in part by the refugee Molokans from Ekaterinoslav and Tambov Provinces and in part by the preaching Molokans travelling throughout all Russia. By this is expressed the expansive endeavor of many of the peoples of Russia, who have placed for themselves a goal in the midst of the collapse of the [Orthodox] church, to renew its original simplicity and apostolic purity by compiling these esoteric bonds.74

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Volume 3, Chapter 33

Interesting are the opinions of the German scholar baron Gakstgayzen regarding the Kherson Molokans, whom he visited personally during his travels in Russia. These people, he wrote, believe in the Bible as the Word of God, and in the unity of God in 3 features. "This triune God is not dependant on anybody and did not evolve from anybody, but exists of his own personal essence, and includes in himself the reason for all created matter. He is eternal, unchangeable and an invisible spirit. God lives in a serene realm, knows all, sees all and governs all. We believe furthermore, that this triune God using one of His words created heaven and earth out of nothing, just as He [created] all the incorporeal spirits and the invisible world with all its creatures. Initially all that was created by God was good and perfect. The apostasy of part of the Angels was due to pride; the creation of Adam was after the image and likeness of God, but only his soul, and not the body. This created immortal soul of Adam was possessed of the intelligence of heaven and purity, and was gifted with a clear cognizance of God. Adam knew nothing about evil, and made use of his holy freedom in striving toward God, the sole creator. The apostasy due to sin, the loss of the image and likeness of God resulted in their banishment from paradise unto a cursed land. The kind heart of God promised them a redeemer to arise from the seed of the woman, who would strike the head of the snake and restore the image of God lost to him. "This redeemer, the only-born Son of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the

74. See Appendix I for Tenets #26 and 27.

69 Virgin Mary is a God-man. The redemption of fallen mankind and the pure truth of His teaching He validated through His suffering and the death of the cross. He resurrected on the 3rd day, and for 40 days appeared to His disciples, then ascended to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit, which emanates from the Father, to the Apostles, and with them founded and affirmed the Holy Church, which is nothing else other than the assembly of those who correctly believe." After this the 10 Commandments are expounded. The first and 2nd commandments forbid idolatry, as they say, "For this reason we do not tolerate in our homes any images made by a person and which are supposed to portray the Godhead; and not recognizing in them any salvation we do not bow before them." In the 3rd commandment they recognize the sin of oaths. In the 4th commandment they recognize the holy day of Sunday, in place of Saturday, as the day of the resurrection of Christ from the dead; and they celebrate all the Sundays and holidays with prayer, singing and the reading of the Holy Scriptures. In the 5th commandment regarding the respect of parents they recognize the obligation to obey the Tsar and all authority. In the 6th commandment they say are 2 types of killing: murder of the body using a weapon, poison, etc., and spiritual murder. "When using lying words we cause some one to depart from the truth, or lead him to sin using ourselves as a example, and subject him to eternal ruin. Along with this we include crimes against a neighbor, persecution or hate, as the evangelist John wrote, Every one who hates his brother is a murderer."75 The 7th commandment is prescribed as meaning: flee the sin of immorality, adultery, and carnal lust, likewise alcoholism, gluttony, and the company of evil people. "Because if for someone this present world and its fleeting passions seem to be valuable he commits spiritual adultery." With the 8th commandment every type of coercion, greed and deceit is counted as theft. With the 9th commandment every embarrassment, prank, flattery and lie is counted as false witness. The 10th teaches restraint and suppression of all passions. "Finally, we know and believe that these 10 commandments are concluded in 2 principle points, namely: In love toward God and in love toward your close associate. The initial 4 commandments pertain to the former; while the latter 6 to the 2nd. We believe that the person observing these 10 commandments of God in all of its applications is deserving of bliss. We likewise believe that after the fall of Adam not one person was able to fulfill these ten commandments with his own personal strength. We believe that a person to perform benevolence and the commandments of God must first believe on Jesus Christ, the only-born Son of God, who came into the world and was incarnated on behalf of our redemption. We can seek for this true faith solely in the word of God, We believe that the word of God gives birth to faith in us and makes us capable of accepting the blessing of God." To this extent this profession of belief is totally Catholic. But now the profession turns to the sacraments and here we meet with spiritual views which developed during the latter era of protestantism. Namely the following is mentioned: The sacrament of baptism. "Although we know that Christ was baptized in the Jordan by John, and likewise that the Apostles baptized others with water, as for example Philip did the eunuch, however as baptism we understand this not as earthly water, which washes only the body and not the soul, but the spiritual living water, that is, incontestable faith in the triune God which is in subjection to the holy word. For the Redeemer says, He who believes in Me, out of his womb

75. 1 John 3:15

70 will flow rivers of living water.76 John the Baptist said likewise, that a person cannot accept anything if it is not given him from heaven.77 And Paul, Christ sent me to preach the gospel and not baptize.78 Based on this the sacrament of baptism we understand as the cleansing of our spirit from sin by faith and the mortification in us of the old man and its deeds, in order that we might be again clothed in faith, an irreproachable life. Although at the birth of a child we wash its bodily uncleanliness with tangible water, but we do not consider this baptism. We name our children after the saints." They say basically the same about the other 6 sacraments. The external anointment they likewise do not accept, on the strong conviction that, "By the teaching of Christ we accept the spiritual anointment from above. Communion is only a memorial celebration regarding Christ, the actual bread of life is the word of the Gospel. Not by bread alone will a person live, but by every word of God; It is the Spirit that enlivens, the flesh is of no benefit.79 For this reason there is no need to use the earthly bread and wine." Regarding the sacrament of repentance they say, "We affirm the apostle Paul: Confess your sins one to another and prayer one for another.80 Anything more than this we do not accept." Regarding the sacrament of the priesthood they say, "We have a bishop and priest only in Christ, who has called us all alike. But as the apostles have already defined, we choose for ourselves intelligent people who live in the fear of God and they are called elders among us. They read to us the word of God and fulfill other obligations; we earnestly respect them and are subject to them according to the instruction of the apostle Peter."81 The sacrament of marriage is accepted by the community. Weddings are performed with the announcement of the mutual agreement of both of the couple to be married and with a community prayer. Marriages cannot be dissolved. About the sacrament of unction, there is said, "We do not perform unction, although we know from the word of God that the Apostles healed many using holy oil. We understand holy oil as the pure and bodily prayer of the believers on behalf of the sick. And there are some that are always caring for the sick and pray for them." Out of all of this it is apparent that the western European spiritual views on the sacraments has penetrated here. We even encounter completely protestant methods of expression: The mortification in us of the old man and its deeds, that we be clothed in new garments, and etc. Such speech never could have on its own been produced on Russian soil and express itself in the Russian language. But from the other side it is noticeable that the entire spiritual building is constructed on the foundation of the eastern Coptic church. Of these ancient 7 sacraments, they only accept 2, which are to be discerned in a spiritual sense, just as do the Quakers who also evolve from the formation of protestantism. They observe the fast before Christmas, before Passover and even on certain days of the week, each person according to the measure of enthusiasm regarding this. But they have a genuine fast, and not just abstinence from meat dishes,

76. John 7:38 77. John 3:27 78. 1 Cor 1:17 79. Matt 4:4, John 6:63 80. Jam 5:16 81. 1 Pet 5:5

71 as in the Russian church. In conclusion, they do define an understanding of the church, which according to their opinion is the assembly of the devout according to the words of Christ: Wherever are 2 or 3 gather in My name there am I in the midst of them, referring to the assembly of the devout. They do not boast of constructed temples, whether stone or wood. Solomon built a temple to the All-High, but He does not dwell in constructed temples.82 Regarding prayer they say, "We pray and worship our heavenly Father, God for all eternity, with heartfelt humility and upon our knees, just as Christ at a time of His own, prayed on His knees."83 However they are silent about prayer on behalf of their close deceased and about the intercession of the saints. The conclusion of this profession is in a direction that is totally Old Protestant, and seems almost a translation from the German, "Other than the holy sacraments, we run to the assistance of the word of God and inner faith. We do not consider ourselves sinless or saints, but perfect our redemption with fear and trembling, in hope to attain this only through faith in Jesus Christ, the only-born Son of God, and with the fulfillment of the commandments of the Lord. We have no personal strength in this matter, but draw from the living faith in our Defender and Redeemer Jesus Christ."

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Volume 5, Chapter 8

When Gakstgayzen travelled throughout Novo-Rossia84 and in Kherson province, to his amazement he encountered certain Russians, people who were in no way similar to the dissenters nor to the Orthodox. The Kherson Molokans told him this, "A long time ago the Hebrews were given the ten commandments from God through Moses. All the obligations a person has toward God and his close associate are explained in them. These commandments are to be fulfilled even to now; they were not disposed of by Christ. The commandments of Moses still remained in effect even after the advent of Christ the Saviour, but it is easier for us to follow them. For the Hebrews the commandments were written on 2 stone tables, while with every true follower and confessor of Christ, they are inscribed on the heart. The Hebrews fulfilled them solely due to their fear of the Lord, but we obey them due to our love toward God and close associate, and for this reason their fulfillment is not difficult for us. And since love and the fulfillment of what is commanded us signifies the same thing, then we fulfill the commandments not only in accord with the letter but also in accord with the Divine sense and spirit, which enliven them. Because the letter kills, but the spirit enlivens. (2 Cor 3:6). And only the spiritual understanding is the true one, because the time has already arrived for the true worshippers to worship God the Father in spirit and truth for

82. Acts 17:24 83. Luke 22:41, Matt 26:39 84. Novo-Rossia, or New Russia, is the area of southwest Ukraine, from the Sea of Azov to the border of Rumania, which also included the province of Kherson.

72 such does the Father seek to worship Him. (John 4:23) But what does true worship of God consist of, if not in the fulfillment of His commandments? And what does the true fulfillment of His commandments consist of, if not in their fulfillment according to the spirit which is contained in them? This is how Jesus Christ Himself taught us to understand the commandments of God. He said, If your rectitude does not transcend the rectitude of the scribes and pharisees, which is the fulfillment of the law solely by the letter, you will not enter into the Kingdom of God. You heard what was said to the people of ancient times: Do not murder. And whoever murders is subject to judgement. But I say unto you: every person who is angry at his brother for no real cause is subject to judgement. You heard what was said to the people of ancient times: Do not be adulterous. But I say to you, that whoever looks upon a woman with lust has performed adultery in his heart." (Matt 5:20-22, 27, 28) Amazed by this teaching of the Molokans, Gakstgayzen noticed that the Molokans of Novo-Rossia enjoy the company of the foreign settlers, their Mennonite neighbors and the Bulgarians, rather than the company of the Orthodox. They have complete disregard for the total ignorance of the [Orthodox] dissenters.

THE MOLOKAN PASTOR

Volume 1, Chapter 10

I Bogdan Ivanov

The sun was still high above the horizon when I, travelling to gain an acquaintance with the various sectarian groups, saw among the endless steppes before me the Molokan village of O-G-, of the province of Astrakhan. This in June of 186-. The coachman drove carefully through the village. Several men walked into the street wearing better clothing than the common villager. This village appeared to be productive and prosperous. Near the flour-mill stood about 30 hay-stacks. The yards were full of cattle; the houses were well-built for village houses: they were all wood frame. Wells for water stood in front of the homes. No saloons could I find; all they had was a church. Within half-an-hour after my arrival into this prosperous Russian colony in the steppes, I was sitting in the large home of the Molokan elder Bogdan Ivanov. The benches were high and covered with sheets of white felt; the walls were washed clean. The table was covered with a snow-white tablecloth. A huge Bible purchased from the Russian Bible Society set on the table, a valuable possession of the Molokans. This type of atmosphere was always used when the Molokans discussed matters of faith. There was no exception in my case. The other grey-haired elders seated themselves around the table on the felt-covered benches and listened closely to our discussions. "Why do you Bogdan Ivanov say that the Molokans understand God better than us?" I asked. "I did not say that we understood him better than you," answered the Molokan theologian, "but I repeat, that we understand Him well. God reveals to us concerning all matters, that around us and within us, the reason and the goal for all things. Woe unto the one blind to the light. We see in all the creation His presence, and all of the beauty, splendor and radiance of the world is solely the reflection of His beautiful, excellent and radiant glory. The fullness of the truth God discloses unto us through our Spirit. We are created in the image and likeness of God which, according to the apostle, consists in rectitude and holiness of truth.85 In our spirit God discloses to us concerning our existence: the beginning, the purpose, liberty, truth, and His objectives. He resides within us because we are the temple of the living God, and He dwells in us and we in Him. "Besides these 2 revelations, by which all who have ability to reason can understand God, we also find understanding of Him in the Bible. In it we see all the depths of the Divine wisdom,

85. Eph 4:24

74 and accept this as the immutable guide to the understanding of God. The Bible narrates to us the judgements upon the Hebrew people, and we also see in it the inspired descriptions concerning the gradual growth of the human spirit in the understanding of God. Although this book was written long ago, we count it to be eternally contemporary and inexhaustible. The final book in the Bible is the Apocalypse, or the Revelation to John. "These are our sole sources in gaining the understanding of God; in them God reveals Himself to us. These are His true revelations. We do not accept any other sources for the understanding of God. The apostle Paul said, But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.86 This is why we do not accept the mystic meaning in the traditions and symbols of the fathers of the Greek-Russian [Orthodox] Church. We do not honor any of their instruction, forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from foods which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving."87 Bogdan Ivanov was an educated preceptor among the Molokans, His mastery of theology was obvious. He was able to flip through the pages of the huge Bible like an elementary schoolbook. Such was his knowledge of every page of the Bible.

II The Brotherhood

"You call your community a brotherhood," I expressed to Bogdan Ivanov. "Please tell me, how great is the love you have toward your close associates, and how do you interpret these Christian obligations?" "Very well," answered the Molokan theologian. "In order to have well-mannered individuals, and not drunks, or aimless and slovenly characters, we must be perfect, as is your Father in heaven. (Matt 5:28) The divine teacher portrayed for us with His own life the manner by which we can attain this perfection. His whole life was the disclosure of His divine Spirit, and it was dedicated in love to God and close associates. He told us what the entire true divine and human law was contained in! When He was asked concerning the greatest of the commandments, He answered, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength. This is the primary commandment. The 2nd is like unto it. Love your close associate as you do yourself. This contains all the law and the prophets. (Mark 12:28-31) His commandments are not difficult. (1 John 5:3) God first loved us and dwelt among us. (1 John 4:19) He is our existence. He is that which in us is the most true and intelligent. So it is easy and natural for us to love him, because only in love towards Him will we understand ourselves, and we become that which by nature we should be, that is, in the image and likeness of God. Love is from God, and whoever loves is born of Him, because God is love and he who abides in love abides in Him and he in Him. (1 John 4:16). "And with this commandment of love towards God is tied the commandment of love

86. Gal 1:8-9 87. 1 Tim 4:3. This passage refers to the Orthodox Church celibate priesthood and monasticism, and the prohibition of meat and meat by-products on the partial fast days of Wednesday and Friday.

75 towards your close associate. We love the children of God and by this can we recognize when we love God. Whoever says, I love God, but hates his brother is a liar. How can one hate his brother whom he sees, and then love God, whom he cannot see. And we have such a commandment from Him, that everyone who loves God should love his brother also. Whoever does not love his close associate is an enemy of God. God is a lover of mankind. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer. In no murderer will there abide eternal life. (1 John 3:15) "To love is not just to do kindness to ourselves, but to every individual. And not only because of some friendliness he may have towards us, but as a brother in Christ, in the likeness and image of God. This not to be for personal gain or satisfaction, but solely for the sake of the love of God. We ourselves did nothing to deserve God's love and it was without greed. He who loves his brother for greed does not have the pure love, the divine love that Christ Himself our Saviour taught us. Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do kindness to those that hate you and despise you and persecute you, so you might be the sons of your father who is in heaven. He makes the sun rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust. (Matt 5:44-45) For if you love them which love you, what thank have you? For sinners also do even the same. And if you lend to them of whom you hope to receive, what than have you? For sinners also lend to sinners to receive as much again. But love you your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward will be great, and you will be the children of the Highest; for he is kind unto the unthankful and the evil. (Luke 6:32-35) "Our love towards our close associates is expressed in deed. Hereby we perceive the love of God, because He laid down His soul for us; and we ought to lay down our soul for the brethren. But whoever has this world's good, and sees his brother has need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God dwell in him? (I John 3:16-17) Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this: To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unblemished from the world. (Jam 1:27) Let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. (1 John 4:18). If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says unto them, Depart in peace; be warmed and filled. But not giving them those items needed for the body, what good is it?" (Jam 2:15-16) "What is it you have done and do for your close associate?" I asked. "We have no poor," answered those sitting around the table. "There are no orphans, or any poverty in the community. We sow a tenth especially for our close associates and the needy, and we assist them with a community effort." "Whoever listens to the Word of God", continued Bogdan Ivanov, "and does not fulfill it, is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror. For he sees himself and goes his way, and suddenly forgets what manner of man he was. But whoever looks into the perfect law, and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the word, this man will be blessed in his work." (James 1:23-25)

III During Tea

Among the Molokans there is no other entertainment except tea with honey. They do not recognize the use of wine or even know the names of wines. It is obvious that the same ten or

76 fifteen thousand [rubles] that is spent each year by each Orthodox village stays in the [Molokan's] pockets and is rather used to increase their community prosperity. And if 10,000 [rubles] not consumed [in drinking] remains in the village, this means that in 10 years, there remains in their pockets 100,000 rubles. This amount of wealth definitely raises the standard of living of the population. It grew dark outside. The Molokans provided us with tea. All started to drink from their tea dishes and our conversation turned to monasticism, which the Molokans do not have. Bogdan Ivanov spoke up on this theme, "When Jesus Christ spoke to the pharisees regarding the holiness and fidelity of marriage, the disciples asked him, If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry. But He said to them, All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: for there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of heaven's sake. He who is able to tolerate it, let him tolerate it. (Matt 19:10-12) "The Saviour spoke of 3 different categories of eunuchs. First those who are born as eunuchs. These are the retarded, who were deprived by nature, who from their birth have their genitalia deformed and can not be utilized for marital cohabitation. The 2nd are those who are emasculated by men. In ancient times, and especially during the era of the earthly life of the Saviour, among the rich pagans they had a custom to utilize emasculated men in certain services. They paid more money to these people and so many were willing to subject themselves to emasculation. Both of these categories of eunuchs do not violate the 7th commandment. But can this really be of some service to them? Obviously not, because what virtue is it not to sin when a person is incapable of sinning? The very act of voluntary dismemberment is a sin, because in the Holy Scriptures is said, He whose testicles are damaged or whose male member is removed will not enter the congregation of the Lord. (Deut 23:1) "And then, said the Saviour, there are eunuchs who have become eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven. But of what type of emasculation does the Saviour speak of here? We understand it to be spiritual; because if He was commending bodily emasculation, dismemberment, then he would have shown this example upon himself, as our Divine teacher taught us not only in word, but also in deed. If the Saviour commended dismemberment, then would He not have found followers of this teaching among His apostles and disciples? It is not apparent from the holy Scriptures that Christ or any one of His holy apostles were ever bodily emasculated. Some of the holy apostles were even married, for example, one of the most zealous disciples of Christ, the holy apostle Peter. (Matt 8:14, 1 Cor 9:5) To this Christ added, He who is able to tolerate it, let him tolerate it. Consequently, He was aware that such a matter was not easy to bear. But how difficult it is, we will say for an example, to walk when we have no legs; it would be extremely difficult to walk. "As an example of the extent an absurd and carnal understanding of the words of the Saviour can lead to, we present our sect of the foolish Skoptsi.88 For the attainment of bliss these people feel that the mortification of the genitalia is absolutely required. They do not want to accept that our genitalia was created by the Lord God in exactly the same manner as all the other

88. Skopets is the Russian word for eunuch; skoptsi is the plural. They were a religious sect in Russia which required emasculation of all the males. Women were also de-feminized.

77 members of our body, and that it is absurd to consider sinful that which God has created. The sect of the Skoptsi is an aberration of human nature, a discredit of the image and likeness of God, and so it is a sin against the Lord God who created all in all. "The obvious is that Christ everywhere speaks about spiritual emasculation, about restraint from immorality. And although He Himself was unmarried, but He hardly considered many to be capable of handling this achievement; and so He did not counsel His disciples to be unmarried. He only said, He who is able to tolerate it, let him tolerate it; and who cannot, of course, to watch out for yourself. "In accord with this the apostle Paul teaches, Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband." (1 Cor 7:1-2)

4 Word of Honor

Knowing that the Molokans do not take oaths, and that the government, even in the most important of criminal matters, accepts their word of honor, I then began a conversation with the Molokans regarding their honest word. Bogdan Ivanov, leafing through the Bible, spoke thus: "In the Revelations it says that all liars have their fate in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone.89 The liar speaking falsehood defames the holy name of God and then defiles in himself His image and likeness, because this image and likeness is composed of rectitude and truth. But whoever alters what is right who has not the truth of God, then where is the image of God? And he who dwells in falsehood is unworthy as a worshipper of God. One must worship God in spirit and truth, for such worshippers does the Father seek for Himself. Furthermore the holy apostle says, Casting off falsehood, lie not one to another, but all speak truth unto your close associate. (Eph 4:25) The tongue that speaks is an unrestrained evil, it is full of deadly poison. (Jam 3:8) "Cursed is the gossiper and deceiver, for he has destroyed many who were at peace. Slander has shaken many, and scattered them from nation to nation, and destroyed strong cities, and overturned the houses of great men. Slander has driven away courageous women, and deprived them of the fruit of their toil. Whoever pays heed to slander will not find rest, nor will he settle down in people. The blow of a whip raises a welt, but a blow of the tongue crushes the bones. Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not so many as have fallen because of the tongue. Happy is the man who is protected from it, who has not been exposed to its anger, who has not borne its yoke, and has not been bound with its fetters; for its yoke is a yoke of iron, and its fetters are fetters of bronze; its death is an evil death, and the grave is preferable to it. It will not be master over the godly, and they will not be burned in its flame. Those who forsake the Lord will fall into its power; it will burn among them and will not be put out. It will be sent out against them like a lion; like a leopard it will mangle them. See that you fence in your property with thorns, lick up your silver and gold, make balances and scales for your words, and make a door and a bolt for your mouth. Beware lest you err with your tongue, lest you fall before he who

89. Rev 21:8

78 lies in wait. (Sirach 28:13-26) I tell you, on the day of judgement men will render account for every careless word they utter. (Matt 12:35) "Worse of all is when we speak a lie to destroy another person. Love your close associate as you do yourself, commanded the Savior and the Lord God through Moses. (Matt 22:39, Lev 19:18) Also, Love does not rejoice over evil, but rejoices in truth. (1 Cor 13:6) While the liar or the one giving false testimony against another has not love in his heart for that man and is not a fulfiller of the love of God. On the contrary he is a transgressor, for he rejoices in wrongs and not in truth. "Also a sin against God is unjust judgement. This is what the Lord commanded through Moses, You will do no injustice in judgement; you will not be partial to the poor or bias to the great, but in rectitude will you judge your close associate. (Lev 19:15) You will not pervert justice; you will not show partiality; and you will not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous. (Deut 16:19) You must remember to keep righteous judgement because, with whatever judgement you judge, by such will you be judged. (Matt 7:2) But for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. (Rom 2:8) "We must not lie or slander our close associate or oppress him with injustice, but rather endeavor that his reputation be clean from all censure and slander. For a good name is better than great riches. (Pr 22:1) For this reason we do see necessary the time and trouble to witness to the honesty of a close associate, especially when his honorable character is at stake. Open your lips to protect the deaf and the cripple, commands the Holy Scriptures. (Pr 31:8-9) Remember all of this for we with travail call upon the name of God to witness. Do not take part in oaths, and do not readily use the name of the All-high. For like a slave that is punished often will not be freed from his bonds, so is he that swears with the name of the Lord. The man that often swears increases his iniquity and the whip will not fall from his home. If he does this out of ignorance he brings sins upon himself; if due to disrespect, the sin is double. If he swears without reason he will not be justified and his house will await the visitation of God. (Sirach 23:9-11) Our divine Saviour taught us not to swear at all. You have heard that it was said to the men of old, You will not transgress your oaths, but will perform to the Lord what you have sworn. But I say unto you, do not swear at all, either by heaven for it is the throne of God, or by the earth for it is His footstool, or by Jerusalem for it is the city of the great king. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair black or white. Let what comes from you be simply: Yes, or No. Anything more than this comes from the evil one. (Matt 5:33-37) "On this foundation," concluded Bogdan Ivanov, "we count it unnecessary to swear, and allow our words to be honored without an oath; which word we uphold lest we sin.

5 Thieves

Molokans, as do other religious groups, do not concern themselves with locks and keys, and they live in their villages not seeing any thievery or robbery. "Neither thieves," replied Bogdan Ivanov, opening the Scriptures, "nor robbers will inherit the Kingdom of God. The Lord abhors thieves and thievery because of its evil. This is what we

79 read in the Holy Scriptures regarding thievery. "So the Lord said to Joshua: "Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff..." And Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. So Joshua said to Achan, "My son, I beg you, give glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me." And Achan answered Joshua and said, "Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I have done: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, 200 shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it." So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it. And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord. Then Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, the silver, the garment, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his tent, and all that he had, and they brought them to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, "Why have you troubled us? The Lord will trouble you this day." So all Israel stoned him with stones; and they burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. Then they raised over him a great heap of stones, still there to this day. (Josh 7:10-26) "You will not oppress your close associate or rob him. The wages of a hired servant will not remain with you all night until the morning. (Lev 19:13) You will not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brethren or one of the sojourners who are in your lands with your towns; you will give him his hire on the day he earns it, before the sun goes gown, for he is poor and sets his heart upon it, lest he cry against you to the Lord, and it be sin unto you. (Deut 24:14-15) You will not have in your bag 2 kinds of weights: a large and a small. You will not have in your house 2 kinds of measures: a large and a small. (Deut 25:13-14) Cursed is he who removes neighbor’s landmark. (Deut 27:17) "Neither by thievery, nor by deception, nor by swindling must a person gain his subsistence, but only by work and labour. In the sweat of your brow you must eat bread, commanded the Lord (Gen 3:19). And every person that does not labour or is lazy is a transgressor of the commandment of God. Now we command you brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is living in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: If anyone will not work, neither will he eat. (2 Thess 3:6, 10) "The laborer will be paid and should be satisfied with what he has earned. Keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have. (Heb 13:5) But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that many have wandered away from the faith and pierced their heart with may pains. (1 Tim 6:9-10) Come now you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is for the last days that you have stored up your treasure. Behold the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields and which has been withheld by you cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvest has

80 reached the ears of the Lord Sabbaoth. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. (Jam 5:1-5) Be miserable and weep and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom." (Jam 4:8) Closing the Bible, Bogdan Ivanov concluded his conversation, "We know the law of the Bible, and what we know we believe and observe."

6 Male and Female Elders

Learned foreign travelers through Russia are astonished that among the Molokans the older folk are more honored than anywhere else in Russia. Their family life in this situation is the purest Biblical understanding. Introducing this circumstance, I asked Bogdan Ivanov to tell me how they are guided in this respect. Bogdan Ivanov willingly answered. "The Holy Scriptures," he said, "say that whoever strikes mother or father must die; and who ever reviles his father or mother must die. (Ex 21:15, 17) Children, listen to me your father and act accordingly that you may be kept in safety. For the Lord honored the father above the children, and he confirmed the right of the mother over her sons. Whoever honors his father atones for sins, and whoever glorifies his mother is like one who lays up treasure. Whoever honors his father will be gladdened by his own children, and when he prays he will be heard. Whoever glorifies his father will have long life, and whoever obeys the Lord will refresh his mother; he will serve his parents as masters. Honor your father by word and deed that a blessing from him may come upon you, for a father's blessing strengthens the houses of the children but a mother's curse uproots their foundations. Do not glorify yourself by dishonoring your father for your father's dishonor is not glory to you. For a man's glory comes from honoring his father, and it is a disgrace for children not to respect their mother. O son, help your father even in his old age and do not grieve him as long as he lives; even if he is lacking in understanding show forbearance in all your strength so not to despise him; for kindness to a father will not be forgotten, and against your sins it will be credited to you; in the day of your affliction it will be remembered in your favor; as frost in fair weather your sins will melt away. Whoever forsakes his father is like a blasphemer, and whoever angers his mother is cursed by the Lord. (Sirach 3:1-12) With all your heart honor your father, and do not forget the birth pains of your mother. Remember that through your parents you were born; and what can you give back to them that equals their gift to you? (Sirach 7:27-28) "Through these commands the parents also have required of them responsibilities in regard to their children. For if the children are commanded to obey the parents and comply with them, then the parents must also be concerned that they be found worthy to accept this honor. The parents must love and raise their children properly. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and your mother. (Eph 6:1-2) Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the Lord. (Eph 6:4) He who loves his son will whip him often, in order that he may rejoice at the way he turns out. He who disciplines his son will profit by him, and will boast of him among friends. He who teaches his son will make his enemies envious, and will glory in him in the presence of friends. The father may die, and yet he is not

81 dead, for he has left behind him one like himself; while alive he saw and rejoiced, and when he died he was not grieved. (Sirach 30:1-5) Give him no authority in his youth, and do not ignore his errors. Discipline your son and take pains with him, that you may not be offended by his dishonesty. (Sirach 30:11, 13) "You will rise up before the silver-headed and honor the face of an old man, commands the Lord God. (Lev 13:32) Do not disdain a man when he is old for the time will come for us also to be old. (Sirach 8:6) Do not disregard the discourse of the aged, for they themselves learned from their fathers; because from them you will gain understanding and learn how to give an answer in time of need." (Sirach 8:9) What Bogdan Ivanov spoke was right, and the words of the Molokans do not deviate from their deeds. This I saw for myself on the following day, the honor that the younger people showed to their elders in the daily course of life in this Molokan village.

7 The Molokan Priesthood

The most delicate question regarding the beliefs of the Molokans is that of the church priesthood. I could not avoid asking about this question as also the others led the conversation to this topic. Again opening his Bible, Bogdan Ivanov began his discourse. "The head of the church is the divine teacher Jesus Christ, whom God resurrected from the dead and placed at His right hand in the heavens far above every rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come; and He has put all things under His feet and has made Him the head over all things for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Eph 1:20-23) There is no other inaugurator of the faith or head of the church except Christ, none can be. If we have another as the head of the church, than it is not Christ's; and if it is not Christ's, then it is not genuine. If anyone else claims that he is the head of the church, then he elevates himself superior to Christ, and becomes in truth an enemy of Christ. "The bishop and high priest of the true church is Jesus Christ Himself. For we do not have a high priest that cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sinning. (Heb 4:15) During the time of the old covenant there was a priest chosen from among mortal men. The former priests were many in number because they were prevented by death from continuing in office; but He holds His priesthood permanently because He continues forever. Consequently He is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separate from sinners, exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; He did this once for all when He offered up Himself. (Heb 7:23-27). "And it was not by his own choice or by some indiscriminate manner that the Saviour Jesus Christ became the high priest of the true church, for one does not take the honor upon himself but is called of God just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest but was appointed by Him who said to Him, You are My son, today I have begotten You. As also He says in another place, You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

82 (Heb 5:4-6) Outside of Jesus Christ, there are no high priests, bishops or priests in the New Covenant. "After the example of the church during the time of the apostles we gather for community prayer and church services and worship of God. In order to preserve in an orderly fashion the church services, for the reading of the Holy Scriptures, as also the recitation of prayers, every one of the local church chooses for themselves a presbyter or overseer, and an additional 2 helpers to take his place during travels or illness. "Deacons, which existed in the apostolic church for the proper fulfillment of the church services and attended to the conduct of those attending, we have none of. Our gathering even without established deacons is still very orderly, all are gathered solemnly and observe the holiness of the Divine presence in the gathering. If our church should grow and the need for a deacon is needed, we will appoint one. For the selection of men of these capacities we follow the words of the Holy Scriptures. If anyone aspires to the office of the presbyter he desires a noble task. Now a presbyter must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, dignified, hospitable, and an apt teacher, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way. For if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for God's church? (1 Tim 3:1-5) "The presbyter and his assistants also have obligations outside the church services; they must guide the morals of the church members and labour for the spiritual needs of the congregation. So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker in the glory that is to be revealed. Tend the flock of God that is your charge, not by constraint but willingly, not for vile gain but eagerly, not as domineering over those in your charge but being examples to the flock. (1 Pet 5:1-3) "For this reason the ministers over the church do not accept any type of salary or reward for their efforts. God does not require anything from us for sending His mercy and generosities to us, and Christ suffered for the sake of His church without monetary reward; so also our ministers serve and fulfill the obligations of the priesthood without any monetary recompense. They would consider it utmost sacrilege and dishonesty if they were to take payment for every recited prayer. We also do not consider the presbyters as an official or governor over the local church, nor as official teachers of the church. But you are not to be called teachers; for one is your teacher, Christ, and you are all brethren. Neither be ye called leaders; for you have one leader, Christ. He who is greatest among you will be your servant. (Matt 23:8,10,11) "Our presbyters and ministers likewise do not wear any special clothing or garments to distinguish themselves from the other members of the community, as is done in the Greek-Russian [Orthodox] church. Our presbyters wear regular clothing during church services."

8 Honeycomb

It was about midnight when we were given to nibble on some honeycomb with white bread. The wife and 2 daughters of Bogdan Ivanov were hosts to us, sitting at the table with us. During the meal I asked Bogdan Ivanov regarding the Molokan custom of fasting and fast days. Bogdan

83 Ivanov replied. "During the days of the passion of Jesus Christ we hold a fast as a memorial to his bodily suffering, which He willingly accepted and endured.90 During these days we eat nothing and drink nothing; our time is spent in prayer. "All other fasts are established by the Greek-Russian Orthodox church, the fasts on Wednesdays and Fridays and the others; these we do not accept. Outside of the days of the passion of the Saviour, which we accept willingly and each of us according to ones own strength, we have no church fasts. On occasion, a person may fast on his own if he feels there is a need for him to restrain the carnality of his body and the various lusts of the mind. But this is strictly a personal item and is based only on the conscience of the individual. "Also we do not make a distinction between meat and meatless food. All food was created by God and is likewise healthy for man. Meatless food is not acceptable as a fast unto God, because a fast is abstinence from all food, not with just the exception of fish and mushrooms. "For this reason when we fast we accept nothing to eat or drink. We also do not ascribe any special virtue to fasting. Abstaining from food may release the spirit from carnal thinking and route it to be more capable of good. But it is not virtue in itself. And for a fast we do not await a reward from our heavenly Father. "The Scriptures speak in this manner regarding fasts and fasting: Cry aloud, spare not, lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to My people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as if they were a nation that did rectitude and did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of me righteous judgements, they delight to draw near to God. Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it? Behold in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight, and to hit with wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on-high. Is not the fast that I choose, a day for a man to humble himself. Is it not to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you not call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord. Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh. Then will your light break like the dawn, and your healing will spring up speedily; your rectitude will go before you, the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer. You will cry, and He will say, Here I am. (Is 58:1-9) "This is what the true fast consists of, a fast that is acceptable to God. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: To visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep yourself unstained from the world." (Jam 1:27)

8 Farewell

90. The period from Good Friday through sunrise Easter Sunday.

84 Before I bid final farewell to those who conversed with me, I briefly asked regarding icons, the sacraments (mysteries), and life after death. "The 2nd commandment given by Moses," answered Bogdan Ivanov, "forbids making any type of images of whatever kind, in order that we not worship them. For this reason we have no images or portraits, neither of the Lord, nor of anybody else. "We do not acknowledge sacraments of any type, for the entire secret was revealed with the advent of Jesus Christ to His followers. To you has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom. (Matt 13:11) Likewise teaches the apostle Paul: When you read this you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. (Eph 3:4- 5) "Finally Christ disclosed to His disciples and apostles the secret, and disclosed it for the purpose of evangelizing it to all and everybody. To me, the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; in order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church... (Eph 3:8-10) "During our church services we do not have any ceremonies or rituals. We have no burning of incense, no sprinkling of water or lighting of candles. Although if we gather in the evening we do have candles lit to light up the room, but we note nothing sacred in these lights. "We believe, as do all Christians, in life after death and in the resurrection of the dead. After the soul leaves the body of an individual we pray and sing psalms, and likewise at his funeral. We do this after the example of the church at the time of the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. (Acts 8:2) My son, let your tears fall for the dead, and as one who is suffering grievously raise lament. Lay out his body with the honor due him, and do not neglect his burial. (Sirach 38:16) Let your weeping be bitter and your cry sincere; observe mourning according to his merit. Remember your own fate, for yours is like it: Yesterday it was me, and today it is you. (Sirach 38:17,23) "If we did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, then we would be praying in vain. But since we know that those who die in the true faith can hope for joy and bliss, so we pray for the dead, that their sins may be absolved." Our conversation with Bogdan Ivanov concluded with the following remark from him: "This is our faith. Is it not a good one?" On the following day towards evening, after having taken a 2nd look at the life of the Molokans of the village of O- G-, and having written down their teachings and persuasion of faith and customs, I bid farewell and left to visit the Molokan settlements of Saratov province.

MOLOKAN ELDERS

Volume 2, Chapter 11.

1 Molokan Colony

Molokans from olden times love to live in the abundant and comfortable steppes, along picturesque property. They understand the value of the environment and their villages are considerably distinct from the villages of Orthodox population. We entered into one of these Molokan colonies in July of 1869, in the Saratov Province. Round picturesque hills, plowed and planted to the top, passed us by as wide waves; grown dividers made of bushes wound their way between the plowed fields; small patches of trees were scattered about like oblong islands; from the village to the countryside proceeded narrow trails. Between the fields there glistened a river, and in 4 places were dams located. Afar off in the fields, one after another, a few birds flocked together. Two mills with their offices and threshing floors stood alongside a pond. Near to the village the hills become shallower; there is the unfenced panorama of the Saratov steppes. Entering into the village of Z..., at about 9 o'clock in the morning, on Sunday, we stopped at the home of the Molokan elder Moses Romanov. His home was rather large, clean and bright, and partitioned into 3 sections, as all the other Molokan homes. The host quickly introduced himself to me and led me over to the Molokan assembly, where they fulfil what we consider liturgy. The immense home of the Molokan elder Yakov was filled with those gathered for the church services. Near to a table sat a few girls with married women holding in their hands songbooks. It was already one in the afternoon and the services were finishing when we entered into the assembly. I asked the elders to allocate some time to allow me to discuss matters of faith with them. The elders agreed after first discussing the matter and assuring themselves that I was not the police but solely an inquisitive person studying their faith. The crowd entered back into the peasant home, some on the floor, some on benches, some on the window sills, some near the table and at the table. The elders, about 10 men with large and bushy beards, the most of them grey, seated themselves around the table on which appeared 3 large Bibles with references. "So you want, respected man," spoke the elder Abram Iyonich, "to know our faith. It is not so sophisticated. It is contained here in this book in its entirety." The elder then pointed to the Bible, which at his fingertips the pages began to rustle. "Love God and your close associate as you do yourself, this is our entire faith. Give unto him who asks of you, and deny not him who wants to borrow from you. (Matt 5:42) Let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. (Eph 4:28) Be merciful to your close associate, help the needy, do not oppress the helpless; all of this the Lord God commands.

86 "When you reap your harvest in your field, and forget a sheaf in the field, you will not go back to get it; it will be for the guest, the orphan and the widow, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. (Deut 24:19) If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you will not be like a moneylender to him; you will not charge him interest. (Ex 22:25) And if one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you will help him, like a guest or a sojourner, that he may live with you. You will not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit. (Lev 25:35, 37) If you ever take your close associate's garment as a pledge, you will return it to him before the sun goes down; For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious. (Ex 22:26-27) When you lend your brother anything, says the Lord, you will not go into his house to get his pledge. You will stand outside, and the man to whom you lend will bring the pledge out to you. And if the man is poor, you will not keep his pledge overnight. You will in any case return the pledge to him again when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his own garment and bless you; and it will be rectitude to you before the Lord your God." (Deut 24:10-13) "He that shows mercy lends to his close associate; and he that strengthens him with his hand fulfills the commandment. Lend to your close associate in time of need; and in turn repay your close associate promptly. (Sirach 29:1-2) Help a poor man for the commandment's sake, and because of his need do not send him away empty. Lose your silver for the sake of a brother or a friend, rather than let it rust under a stone and be lost. Store up almsgiving in your treasury, and it will rescue you from all affliction; more than a mighty shield and more than a heavy spear, it will fight on your behalf against your enemy. (Sirach 29:9-13) When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me. Then He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me. Then they also will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You? Then He will answer them, saying, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matt 25:31-46) "Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. Remember the prisoners as if chained with them, and those who are mistreated, since you yourselves are in the body also. (Heb 13:1-3) And this will be your

87 rectitude before the Lord God." (Deut 6:25) Not one person missed even one word that the elder Abram spoke. Those gathered were so attentive that even a fly could be heard flying.

2 The Place does not Decorate the Man, But the Man Decorates the Place.

"I notice you have no superficial church buildings," I asked the elder. "Do you not envy the beauty of our [Orthodox] churches? A plain hut is nothing comparable to a grand and decorated edifice." "How shall I say this, good man," answered Matvei, another elder, as he opened another Bible laying before him at his fingertips. We are familiar with a local proverb: The place does not decorate the man; but the man [decorates] the place. The church of Christ, or the temple of God, is the community of the believers in God, unified in the teaching which is instructed us by Jesus Christ and his holy apostles. Do you not know, that you are the temple of God and that the Holy Spirit abides in you, says the holy apostle (1 Cor 3:16). It is also said: Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and you are not your own? (1 Cor 6:19) "On this foundation, there is no inherent holiness in their buildings and decor; and we do not recognize anything divine about them, as the holy apostle says: And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be My people. (2 Cor 6:16) "Either forgetting the Holy Scriptures or not wanting to accept them as a guide, the Greek-Russian [Orthodox] Church depends on the antiminse (communion cloth) for the holiness of its temples. This is a silk handkerchief, portraying on it Christ the Saviour being placed into the tomb, with the inscribed symbol of faith of the Greek-Russian church and with the signature of the local bishop; and sometimes having a holy relic sewn into it. This piece of tapestry is placed on what they call the throne. And it is the opinion of many that the importance of the church depends on it (the communion cloth), and not upon the assembly of the people gathering for prayer. Even to the point that if the antiminse was to be taken out of the church then the assembly of people gathered for prayer would have no holiness whatever, and that God would no longer be present; and so to violate any prayer with disorderly conduct would not be sacrilegious or desecrating the name of God. The temple of God is holy, says the apostle, and this temple is you. "The founder and author of the church is Jesus Christ. Where there are gathered 2 or 3 in my name, He said, I am in the midst of them. (Matt 18:20) And I will pray the Father, and He will gift you another comforter, which will abide with you forever. (John 14:16) After the ascension of Christ the Saviour into heaven, when the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:1-2, 4) "Here is the beginning of the church of Christ. Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might

88 present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Eph 5:25-28) Coming to Him, Christ, as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious. You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5) For just as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. (1 Cor 12:12) Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. (1 Cor 12:27) Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit. (Eph 2:19-22) "Consequently, Christ and the Holy Scriptures are the sole foundation upon which the true Christian Church is built. The commune of Christ or any community which does not have the teaching of Christ as its foundation is not a true church, because the true church is in one accord, And no one can establish another foundation, other then the one established, who is Jesus Christ. (1 Cor 3:11) There is one body and one Spirit, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and the Father of all, who is over all and through all and in us all. (Eph 4:4-6) "We also do not disdain the members of the Russian [Orthodoxy], or the Staroveri, or the Roman [Catholic] persuasion, and consider them members of the true church of Christ, provided they are true Christians in every respect."91

3 Envious People

"I notice that you are wealthy and I would like to know, are you not excessively greedy, and want money more that what is needed?" "We do not tolerate alcoholics and the homeless," all the elders answered in unison. This is the reason we are wealthy, and no one can accuse us of acquiring our prosperity from corrupt sources. Blessed are the pure in heart, said the Divine Teacher (Matt 5:8). Whoever has a pure heart does not desire evil upon his close associate and does not envy his good fortune. Love does not envy; and so anyone that does envy does not love his brother, so does Christ teach us. "Jesus Christ did not envy anyone. On the contrary, He laid down His soul for us: the innocent accepting death by way of crucifixion, in order to show us the way unto salvation and bliss. We must follow the path indicated by the Christ of God. Now these 3 abide: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor 13:13). For all the commandments are fulfilled in the following phrase: You will love your close associate. (Jam 2:8) It is insufficient to only fulfill some specific commandment or some of the commandments; but it is required to fulfill them in their entirety. For whoever will keep the whole law, and yet fail in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. Now if you do not commit

91. Interesting that the Confession of Faith of 1865, written in 1862, and probably the basis for this section of F.V. Livanov, states completely the opposite than what is noted here.

89 adultery, but you do murder, you have still become a transgressor of the law. (Jam 2:10-11) And God also says through Moses: Love your Lord God, always observe His statutes, precepts and commandments. And these words which I command you today will be in your heart; you will teach them diligently to your children, and will talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You will bind them as a sign on your hand, and they will be as frontlets between your eyes. (Deut 6:4-8). "See, says Jehovah, I have set before you the blessing and the curse. The blessing if you will obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today. The curse if you do not rise to obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today, and incline towards the path following other gods, which you did not earlier recognize. (Deut 30:16-17) And if you will obey the voice of the Lord your God, blessed will you be in the city, and blessed will you be in the country. Blessed will be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Blessed will be your basket and your kneading bowl. Blessed will you be when you come in, and blessed will you be when you go out. (Deut 28:3-6) But it will come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: Cursed will you be in the city, and cursed will you be in the country. Cursed will be your basket and your kneading bowl. Cursed will be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Cursed will you be when you come in, and cursed will you be when you go out. (Deut 28:15-19) Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by doing them. (Deut 27:26) For God will render to each one according to his deeds: eternal life to those who in patience continue in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness--indignation and wrath. Tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who does what is good. (Rom 2:6-10) "He who fulfills the commandments in obedience to the Lord, becomes free, for the law of God is the law of liberty. Whoever is not the slave of the Lord, sins and is the slave of sin. But true freedom is when a person is a slave of God and is obedient to Him in all matters. For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. (2 Cor 3:17) And so says the holy Apostle, Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of malice to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of rectitude to God. For sin will not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace - beginning with the teaching and death of Christ the Saviour. What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to rectitude? But thanks be unto God that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of rectitude. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of iniquity and of crime leading to more crime, so now present your members as slaves of rectitude for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to rectitude. What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God,

90 you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 6:12-23)

4 Marriages

Molokan weddings do not resemble the Orthodox. Molokans do not recognize marriage as a sacrament, and for no less a reason did I want to know more about the Bible-based teaching of the Molokans about this matter. My curiosity aroused one person I was conversing with, the elder Luke. "Marital cohabitation," he said, "was already arranged by the Lord God Himself when man abode in the earthly Paradise. And the Lord God said, It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she will be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they will become one flesh. (Gen 2:18, 22-24). This was also affirmed by Jesus Christ. (Matt 19:5) "But marital cohabitation must not be only carnal, bodily cohabitation; because only animals which do not have an immortal spirit mate solely due to carnal instincts. For the human, made in the image and likeness of God, mating solely for carnal reasons is humiliating and disgraceful. The union between a man and a woman must be a union of love, a spiritual union. The holy Apostle compares the marital union to the union of Christ with His church. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it. (Eph 5:24-25) The union of Christ with the church is a union purely spiritual, and not bodily. "But a marital union must not solely be a spiritual union either, as God said, Be fruitful and multiply; (Gen 1:28) and, Let the husband provide to his wife what he is obligated, and likewise also the wife provide to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. (1 Cor 7:3-4). "The daily attitude of husband and wife is established by the Holy Scriptures: Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, so husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. However let each one of you love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. (Eph 5:22, 25, 28, 33) "The violator of the commandments of God is that husband who abuses his wife, for example, beats her; for because of this he leads her into sin, since it is difficult for her now to be obedient or submissive to her husband. Submission is easy in love; but what type of love exists where an abusive attitude exists. And without love she no longer is a helper for her husband, as established by the Lord God; but she is now a slave, which is against the will of God. Likewise for the same reason is any forced marriage arranged by the mother or father against the will of God. For wherever coercion exists, love can no longer and will not exist. Coercing someone into marriage is immoral.

91 "Bad treatment of the wife by the husband can easily lead the wife to violate the marriage vows, into immorality. Even though the wife cannot circumvent guilt before the Lord God, but it is the husband who will first answer for the sin of the wife, because he was commanded to love his wife, as Christ loved the church. And while Christ gave Himself up for it, in order to sanctify it, to present it as a glorious church, not having blemish or flaw, [while the abusive husband] not only hates his wife, but also leads her into sin."

5 Divorce

Regarding my question about the divorce of married couples, the Molokan presbyter answered: "The dissolution of a marriage, referred to as divorce, is not permitted by the Holy Scriptures, since it is considered immoral. Now for those that enter into marriage, command not I but the Lord: the wife is not to depart from her husband, the same is commanded the husbands. (1 Cor 7:10) If you are united with a wife, do not seek divorce. The dissolution of a marriage can only occur if it is already dissolved due to the infidelity of one of the spouses, and not for any other cause. Christ the Saviour said the same when the Pharisees asked him, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason? And He answered and said to them, Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the 2 will become one flesh? So then, they are no longer 2 but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate. They said to Him, Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce and to put her away? He said to them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery. (Matt 19:3-9) "This is the basis why we do not easily permit divorce among ourselves. After the death of one of the spouses, the other can enter into a new marriage: A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. (1 Cor 7:39) says the Apostle." "One more thing," I asked. "Are you lenient in granting a divorce for not observing the virtue of marriage, and for the complaints of the spouses for abuse and beating." "Why should cohabitation be forced? They are granted," answered my discoursers. "But we firmly recognize the word of God regarding a virtuous life on earth. For this reason there are very few [dissolutions] among us, although they do occur. "Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For the 2, He says, will become one flesh. But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man commits is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. (1 Cor 6:15-20) Do not go to meet a loose woman

92 lest you fall into her snares. Do not become involved with prostitutes lest you lose your inheritance. Do not look around in the streets of a city, nor wander about in its deserted sections. Turn away your eyes from a shapely woman and do not look intently at beauty belonging to another. Many have been misled by a woman's beauty and passion is kindled like a fire because of it. Never dine with another man's wife, nor drink wine with her at a feast, lest your soul become inclined towards her and your lust cast you into destruction. (Sirach 9:3, 6-9) "Two types of people increase sins and the 3rd incurs punishment: The soul burning like a flaming fire: it will not be quenched until it is completely consumed. The man prostituting his own flesh: he will not cease as long as the fire burns. All bread is sweet for the immoral man, he will not rest until he dies. The man who abandons his matrimonial vow, says in his soul, Who sees me? Darkness surrounds me, and the walls hide me; no one sees me. Whom should I fear? The All- high will not remember my sins. He only fears the eyes of man, and he does not realize that the eyes of the Lord are ten thousand times brighter than the sun; they look upon all the ways of men and perceive even the hidden places. Before the universe was created it was known to Him; so it was also after it was finished. This man will be punished in the streets of the city and where he least suspects it he will be seized. So it is with a woman who leaves her husband and provides an heir by a stranger. Because first of all she has disobeyed the law of the Supreme; secondly, she has committed an offence against her husband; third, she has committed adultery and bore children from another man. She will leave her memory for a curse and her shame will never be expunged. (Sirach 23:16-23, 26). "But not only is immorality itself sin, as the Saviour said: You have heard that it was said to those of old, You will not commit adultery. But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matt 5:27-28) And so, if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. (1 Cor 7:9) It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time, so you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. (1 Cor 7:1-2, 5)

6 Do Not Murder

"There is a written report," I said to my conversers, "that the Molokans are murderers and haters of the Orthodoxy. Is this true?" "What is wrong with you, guest, to say such a thing," answered Abram Iyonich. "There is no slander remaining on earth which has not been brought against us by the police authorities and Orthodox clergy. God will judge them for this. There will surely come a time when all will recognize us as we really are, and not as the manner that we are discredited by people who know nothing about our faith. And if there be such people, then we even more firmly remember the 6th commandment: Do not murder. In the book of Genesis is said: Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood will be shed; for in the image of God He made man. (Gen 9:6) For this reason every murder, which ever one it might be, and however it may have occurred, is sin against the

93 Lord God. And no murderer has eternal life. (1 John 3:15) Man is the glory of God. (1 Cor 11:7) And who is it that is brazen enough to deride the glory of his God having murdered a man? Only the one All-high Lord God, the Creator of heaven and earth and all that is there, has the right over life and death over man. And no one otherwise, for we are brethren in Christ, and every one that murders a man, or permits it, or commands it, is a murderer. Cain kills his brother Abel; and the Lord says to Cain, What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you will be on the earth. (Gen 4:10-12) "A man deserves death only then when due to an evil life and his sins he turns the glory of his creator into a disgrace, when by his activities he defames His holy name and profanes the image and likeness of God upon himself. From the Holy Scriptures we see that it was in this manner prior to the flood, such it was with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, such it was with Korah, Dathan and Abiram. But all of these people were condemned by the Lord God Himself. They fell by His will and were struck down by His righteous anger. But from among men, who can say: You are not worthy of the life given to you by God; or, You must die. Whoever says, You unscrupulous! will be in danger of hell fire, (Matt 5:22) how much more he who condemns his brother to death. Judge not, that you be not judged, said the Divine Teacher. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged. (Matt 7:1-2) And so, can that person who condemns his brother to death hope that the Lord God will pardon him? And can the man who delivers a brother up to death wait for eternal life from the Lord? Let him not wait and let him not hope, for with whatever judgement you judge so will he be judged. No murderer has eternal life. Man is the temple of God, says the Holy Apostle, and whoever destroys the temple of God him God will destroy, for the temple of God is holy. (1 Cor 3:16-17) "And the murderer cannot be justified in the following manner: I killed a man to save my own life or property, because this type of justification is foolish. When the soldiers and servants of the High Priests came to arrest Jesus, to deliver Him to death, Simon Peter having a sword drew it and attached the servant of the High Priest with it and cut off his right ear. Then Jesus said to him, Put away your sword into its sheath, because all who use the sword will perish from the sword. (Matt 26:51-52) "And the murderer will not be pardoned if he should say: But I did not kill my brother, but some foreigner, someone belonging to another religion, someone not a Christian, someone not recognizing the true God. Because every man is created by God and in the image and likeness of God, and everyone is called by Christ unto salvation and eternal life. Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians: For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you gentiles - If indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in a few words, by which when you read you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: that the gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel. (Eph 3:1-6) Now how are we to kill some gentile, to curb his life, or perhaps even to deprive him of the opportunity to a true knowledge of God and withhold from him eternal bliss, a co-inheritance in the Kingdom of God?

94 "Although under the old covenant the Lord God commanded the Hebrews to destroy the gentiles, but God Himself commanded them. But now with the advent of Jesus Christ, this is no longer commanded, as Christ said Himself: Love your enemies. (Matt 5:44) "Forgive Lord, all those who engage in battle and kill, whether out of fear, servility, repression, prejudice or ambition, for they know not what they do. War between the nations is insanity. "But worse than murder is spiritual murder, that is, when we kill not the flesh of a person, but lead him into illegal activities and sin. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell, said the Divine Teacher. (Matt 10:28) For this reason we must worry that we not lead astray our brother who, if he does go astray and sins incurs the righteous anger of his Lord. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all iniquity and unjustice of men, who destroy one another and who suppress the truth in injustice. (Rom 1:18) "Those that sin disgrace the image and likeness of God upon themselves and since they did not turn their attention to have God in their minds, for even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a perverted mind, to practice the obscene. (Rom 1:28) They knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (Rom 1:32) And for all of this they must give an account on the day of the awesome judgement and the Lord will not pardon them, and will not gift them eternal life, but will turn away His face from them, and they will go into the darkness and eternal death, where they will cry and weep and grip their teeth. And the person who corrupted them, who led them astray, will he be justified before the Lord? He has sinned double, having deprived a person of eternal bliss. Is he not a greater sinner than the one who deprives him of a physical life? He is likewise a murderer, and no murderer will inherit life. "And every one who curbs the life of another using bad treatment, anger, threats, fights, hate, is guilty in the transgression of the commandments. The Lord God Himself through Moses commanded: You will not afflict any widow or fatherless child. If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will surely hear their cry; and My wrath will become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives will be widows, and your children fatherless. (Ex 22:22-24) The Divine Teacher said that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause will be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, You empty-headed, will be in danger of the council. But whoever says, You unscrupulous, will be in danger of hell fire. (Matt 5:22) Anger but do not sin, says the Apostle Paul, and let not the sun descend on your anger. (Eph 4:26) Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you. (Eph 4:29, 31-32) "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are the merciful, for they will obtain mercy. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. (Matt 5:5,7,9) This is what we well remember, good man," were the concluding words of this converser.

7 Holy Days And Fasts

"How do you spend your time on Sundays" I asked the Molokan elders. "We sanctify them with prayer and benevolence," the Molokans answered me. "The Holy Apostle Paul said: Admonish and address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. (Eph 5:19) But be you fulfillers of the law and not listeners only. (Jam 1:22) On this basis we do not consider that the person providing benevolence on the 7th day transgresses its holiness, because God teaches us in many areas in His word to be charitable. To add to this we have the example of Christ the Saviour Himself: He did not see salvation in the manner the Pharisees observed the sabbath. He never considered healing a sick person, or any other charitable deed done on the day of rest to be a transgression of the commandment of God. At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath! Then He said to them, Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? But I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? that they might accuse Him. Then He said to them, What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Then He said to the man, Stretch out your hand. And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. (Matt 12:1-13) "But although it is not wrong to do good on this day, it is especially prohibited to do evil or be given to perversion or drunkenness. The Apostle said: Do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, admonishing and addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. (Eph 5:18-19) And for this reason it is with compassion and sorrow that we see that the members of the Greek- Russian [Orthodox] church select especially the 7th day to practice every possible disorderly conduct: they get drunk, visit prostitutes, and commit every atrocity. There is hardly a holiday that they observe that does not conclude in argument and fights. The Orthodox priests worry very little about this. They fail to teach them that because the Lord God commanded them to sanctify this day, this unacceptable conduct is a hundred times more discrediting and sinful. The Greek- Russian priests themselves find it comfortable to leisurely sanctify Sunday by drinking wine, and often to the point of getting totally drunk. This is a poor manner of edifying their own fold and confirming the proper manner of honoring God. "The ancient Hebrews celebrated the 7th day sabbath, which in Hebrew means rest. Nowadays, in memory of the resurrection from the dead of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which occurred, according to the witness of the Holy Scriptures, on the first day following the sabbath, Christians of all confessions celebrate no longer the sabbath, but Sunday. Because they all believe that Jesus resurrected from the dead. This rule has existed from the era of the Apostles. On the

96 first day of the week, Paul preached to the people, and prolonged his address to midnight. (Acts 20:7-9) "Other than Sunday, we observe also the following Holy Days:92 Annunciation,93 Christmas, Feast of the Purification of Mary,94 Epiphany,95 Transfiguration,96 Easter Sunday, Ascension,97 and Pentecost. All the remaining holidays of the Greek-Russian Church we do not observe, because they are established to commemorate events that never even occurred or which have no especial holiness whatever. "During the days of the passion of Jesus Christ, we keep a fast as a memorial to his suffering and torment, which the Divine Teacher willingly accepted and endured. During these days we eat nothing and drink nothing, and spend them in prayer. "All of the remaining fasts established by the Greek-Russian church, especially the fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, we do not accept. Our only observed fast is during the days of the passion of the Saviour. However every member of our church willingly fulfills a fast whenever he feels the necessity or need to temper his body and sinful thoughts. And this type of fast continues as long as the person considers it necessary. We have no specific rules regarding the freedom and conscience of someone fasting on their own. "Likewise we do not accept the division made by the Greek-Russian church regarding to meat and meatless98 dishes. Because all such food was created by God and is likewise good, there cannot be food that can be called fasting-food (post-noi). Since during a fast the intent is to abstain from all food, and not to fill our stomach with fish and mushrooms. For this reason, whenever we fast, we do not consume food or drink at all. "But virtue in itself is not recognized in solely a carnal fast. Abstention from food can free the spirit from carnal thoughts and incline it more towards benevolence. But it in itself is not a virtue, and for fasting we do not expect any type of reward from our heavenly Father. "This is want we read regarding fasting in the Holy Scriptures of Isaiah the prophet: Cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet; tell My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My ways, as a nation that did rectitude, and did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching God. Why have we fasted, they say, and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice? In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and exploit all your laborers. Indeed you fast for strife and debate, and to strike

92. The Postoyanne Church in several areas in Russia continued to celebrate the holidays mentioned. The majority of these were discontinued in later years. The Jumpers group rejected these, and observed only those holidays mentioned in the Bible, Lev 23. 93. The announcement of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and bare a son, celebrated on March 25, 9 months before Christmas. 94. When Christ was brought to the temple 40 days after birth, celebrated February 2. 95. Celebrated January 6, 12 days after Christmas, as Christ's baptism; others celebrate this day as the Visit of the Magi. 96. Celebrated August 6, regarding the Transfiguration of the Lord, Matt 17:1-8. 97. Also known as Holy Thursday, 40 days after Easter. 98. The is a play on words in the language as implemented by the Russian Orthodox Church in regards to the word for fast (post) and the word referring to meatless food (post-noi). Meatless food (post-noi) was so named so the members could still eat food during a fast (post), although only a partial fast in reality.

97 with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, to make your voice heard on high. Is it a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light will break forth like the morning, your healing will spring forth speedily, and your rectitude will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry, and He will say, Here I am. (Is 58:1-9) "This is what the spiritual and true fast consists of; a fast that is acceptable to God," said my converser Anikei Ivanov. "And it is not in simply refraining from eating meatless dishes as food. Pure and undefiled piety before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their sorrow, and to keep yourself unstained from the world. (Jam 1:27) The Divine Teacher Himself taught us to pray on these days: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! (Matt 7:7-11) But when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (Matt 6:7-13) "From this prayer it is obvious what the true prayer must consist of and what its purpose should be. We must turn to God with love, without fear, for He is our Father. And first of all we worry about the glory of God, the Kingdom of God, in this manner in order that His holy will be fulfilled in every place; for the glory of God is our greater glory. The kingdom of God is the highest virtue and submission to the will of God is our supreme freedom. But seek first the kingdom of God and His rectitude, and all these things, i.e. every prosperity, will be added to you. (Matt 6:33) When we ask God that He give unto us our daily bread on this particular day, then we are primarily asking Him for our spiritual bread. As the Saviour said: Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matt 6:25-26) For this particular day we only ask for our spiritual bread because tomorrow will have its own needs for us to worry about. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (Matt 6:34) "Asking God for the remission of our debts, i.e., our sins, there is no other way except for us to rely on the mercy of God if we are merciful to those who offend us and to our debtors. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not

98 forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matt 6:14-15) Furthermore we ask God that He not lead us into any temptation that is beyond our strength, in order to deliver us from anything that could lead us astray. As the Holy Apostle said: Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1 Cor 10:12-13) And in every prayer each one must pray not only for himself, but for all people. This is the reason the Lord's prayer states, Deliver us, and not, Deliver me. Love for one another obligates us to pray for one another. At the end of the prayer, praise is rendered to God, in accord with the words of the Psalmist: Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!" (Ps 150:6)

8 The Rock To Trip Over

The rock to trip over among the Molokans is considered their view on icons, which they have none of. "The veneration of icons," spoke up the elder Matfei in regard to my question, "can only occur with a lack of knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, because all of it is entirely saturated with prohibitions to worship the various types of images. Here are the foremost passages in the Holy Scriptures, where it speaks regarding idolatry and service unto various types of images. "In the Book of Kings: They feared the Lord, yet served their own gods--according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away. To this day they continue practicing the former rituals; they do not fear the Lord, nor do they follow their statutes or their ordinances, or the law and commandment which the Lord had commanded the children of Jacob, whom He named Israel. (2 King 17:33-34) "In the Psalms: Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear; Noses they have, but they do not smell; they have hands, but they do not handle; Feet they have, but they do not walk; nor do they mutter through their throat. Those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them. (Ps 115:4-8) In the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon: They are accursed and in dead items is their reliance, calling the efforts of man hands gods, gold and silver fashioned with skill, and likenesses of animals or a useless stone, the work of an ancient hand. A skilled woodcutter may saw down a tree easy to handle and skillfully strip all its bark and then with pleasing workmanship make a useful vessel that serves life's need, and burn the castoff pieces of his work to prepare his food and eat his fill. But a castoff piece from among them, useful for nothing, a stick crooked and full of knots, he takes and carves with care in his leisure and shapes it with skill gained in idleness; he forms it like the image of a man or makes it like some worthless animal, coating it with various colors of paint giving it a beautiful appearance, and covering every flaw in it; and making for it a place to set it, deserving for it, placing it in the wall and fastens it there with iron. Will he now consider this the work of a man's hands? It is an idol and needs help to remain upright. When he prays about possessions and his marriage and children, he is not ashamed to address a lifeless think. For health he appeals to something weak;

99 for life he prays to somethingthing dead; for aid he entreats something utterly inexperienced; for a prosperous journey something that cannot take a step; for financial advice and work and success with his endeavors he asks strength of something whose hands have no strength. (Wisdom 13:10- 19) "For this reason there will be execution upon all the idols: for they are an abomination of all the creation of God, to lead astray the souls of men, and a snare unto their feet. From the beginning they did not exist, and they will not remain for ever. Because of the vanity of man they entered the world, and so their end will be speedy. (Wisdom 14:11, 13-14) "In the book of Isaiah the prophet it says: Surely all his companions would be ashamed; and the workmen, they are mere men. Let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they will fear, they will be ashamed together. The blacksmith with the tongs works one in the coals, fashions it with hammers, and works it with the strength of his arms. Even so, he is hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. The craftsman stretches out his rule, he marks one out with chalk; he fashions it with a plane, he marks it out with the compass and makes it like the figure of a man, according to the beauty of a man, that it may remain in the house. He hews down cedars for himself and takes the cypress and the oak; he secures it for himself among the trees of the forest. he plants a pine and the rain nourishes it. Then it will be for a man to burn, for he will take some of it and warm himself; yes, he kindles it and bakes bread; indeed he makes a god and worships it; he makes it a carved image and falls down to it. He burns half of it in the fire; with this half he eats meat; he roasts a roast and is satisfied. He even warms himself and says, Ah! I am warm, I have seen the fire. And the rest of it he makes into a god, his carved image. He falls down before it and worships it, prays to it and says, Deliver me, for you are my god. They do not know nor understand; for He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. And no one considers in his heart, nor is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned half of it in the fire, yes, I have also baked bread on its coals; I have roasted meat and eaten it; and will I make the rest of it an a god, and will I fall down before a block of wood? (Is 44:11-19) "In the Letter of Jeremiah is written: Because of the sins which you have committed before God, you will be taken to Babylon as captives by Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians. Therefore when you come to Babylon you will remain there for many years, for a long time, up to 7 generations; after that I will bring you away from there in peace. Now in Babylon you will see gods made of silver and gold and wood, which are carried on men's shoulders and which inspire fear in the heathen. So take care not to become at all like the foreigners or to let fear for these gods possess you when you see the multitude before and behind them worshiping them. But say in your heart, It is You, O Lord, whom we must worship. For My angel is with you and he is watching your lives. Their tongues are smoothed by the craftsman and they themselves are overlaid with gold and silver; but they are false and cannot speak. People take gold and make crowns for the heads of their gods, as they would for a girl who loves ornaments; and sometimes the priests secretly take gold and silver from their gods and spend it on themselves. and even give some of it to the prostitutes in the brothel. They deck their gods with garments like men - these gods of silver and gold and wood, which cannot save themselves from rust and corrosion. When they are dressed in purple robes their faces are wiped because of the dust from the temple. Like a local ruler the god holds a scepter, though unable to destroy any one who offends it. It has a dagger in its right hand, and has a axe; but it cannot save itself from war

100 and robbers. Therefore they evidently are not gods; so do not fear them. (Letter of Jeremiah 2-16) "Regards idolatry, John the Divine spoke in the Revelations: But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. (Rev 9:20) "What more can we say about the icons, when the Holy Scriptures themselves so clearly refute idolatry? The veneration of idols refutes its own sinfulness, because they who venerate a wooden god know themselves that a wooden or portrayed idol cannot punish them. And so they practice every illegal activity, not fearing the wrath of God. The true God they do not recognize, while the wooden one they do not fear. According to Solomon, service to idols is the beginning, cause and conclusion of every evil. (Wisdom 14:27) Likewise the apostle Paul also indicates: Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--and birds and 4-footed beasts and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (Rom 1:22-25) "We likewise do not believe that which is referred to as non-contrived images.99 For we know that God is a spirit, and not a man. And for this reason we do not waste our time with the manufacture of images, and especially since He Himself forbids people to make them. "We also reject the worship of dead bodies (holy relics) exactly for the same reason, based on our intellect and all the Holy Scriptures. There is no help from a dead body for a human, but only in the Spirit. The spirit is the image and likeness of God, and not flesh. And if we consider it sin against God to worship even the spirit of a special person, who is just as we are, then how must more sinful is it to worship his emaciated body? The worship of human dead bodies is clearly apostasy, which is abolished by the eternal, ancient word spoken by the living God: Earth you are, and to the earth you return (Gen 3:19). "We boast of and give praise solely to the Lord, and to Him only do we pray. May He enlighten the intellect of the peoples."

9 Wisdom

Molokans place education in the Word of God as true wisdom, which is considered spiritual baptism. The Molokan presbyter spoke to us, "We have found that instruction in the word of God is true spiritual baptism. Baptism, immersion into water, or soaking, is a ritual, which with the advent of Jesus Christ was annulled. As Christ Himself said to the Apostle, For John truly baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. (Acts 1:5) And then after several days the apostles were gathered together, then they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and went to preach the Gospel. For this reason we establish that now with the advent of Christ, the true baptism consists in instruction in the word of God, as a spiritual baptism, and not any immersion into water. John himself baptized; when he preached the baptism

99. Icons created by some miraculous act.

101 of immersion into water, he said, I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Matt 3:11) Subsequently, John the Baptist knew that the baptism with water, which he baptized, was only to continue up to the advent of Christ, after which the spiritual baptism would occur. "It is obvious the Greek-Russian church has not accepted the word fire in its narrow definition, and does not execute on its adherents a ritual of baptism by burning in a fire. Why has it not accepted the entire baptism in its true spiritual definition, as immersion into the word of God and the love of God? Even the holy apostles understood the baptism as spiritual. Apostle Paul said: For Christ did not send me to baptize [with water], but to preach, for the word of the cross (the Gospel) is for us the saved the power of God. (1 Cor 1:17-18) Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also will be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 6:3-11) "Which baptism does the holy Apostle speak about here, about the physical or the spiritual? We reason that it is the spiritual, because to be baptized into the death of Christ, in order to then resurrect with Him, means to put to death within ourselves all sinful thoughts and live in benevolence and according to the law of God. Can this really be attained by a washing in water? Washing only provides us with physical cleanliness; spiritual cleanliness and purity cannot be attained by it. Spiritual cleanliness is attained solely by anointment of God and instruction in the word of God. This is the true baptism. Christ understood it this way, and so did His apostles understand it, and we likewise understand it. "And it is vain to try to affirm a teaching regarding a physical water baptism on the words spoken by our Divine Teacher to Nicodimus: Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:5) For the manner that Christ understood the word water is obvious from His conversation with the woman of Samaria. He said to her: Whoever drinks of this water, i.e. the water from the wells and streams, will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst. But the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:13-14) It is understood that Christ referred to His teaching using the word water. "According to the teaching of the Greek-Russian church, baptism is a sacrament. But we do not see any mystery in it;100 on the other hand, we consider [spiritual] baptism a disclosure, an

100. The Russian word tai-na, means both secret and mystery. The word used in the Orthodoxy for sacrament is tain-stvo, and is derived from tai-na. The Orthodoxy taught that certain rites had some secret or mystery attached

102 unveiling of the mystery. Because for the person who knows not the word of God, for the spiritually un-baptized, the word of God is a mystery. But the baptism consists is this, that he now has been instructed in divine truth, so it is no longer a mystery to him. The Saviour Himself said to his disciples: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen. (Matt 28:19-20) For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. (Matt 10:26) "From true cognizance of God arises true worship of God. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24) By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 2:2-3) For wherever the Spirit of love, the Spirit of the Lord, abides, there is freedom. (2 Cor 3:17) For you, brethren, said the holy Apostle, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (Gal 5:13) For the entire law can be summarized in one phrase: Love your close associate, as you do yourself. When we fulfill the will of God, in this manner do we show love for God, and then we have nothing to fear. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18) But we endeavor to be perfect in all matters, as our heavenly Father is perfect. "By way of this very commandment we must walk before God, i.e. to have always the immaculate image of God upon our soul. The person who tarnishes the intellect and defiles the heart through drunkenness, perversions, or some other vice sins against the Lord God. The intellect and heart contain that image and likeness of God. And when we tarnish our intellect and heart we tarnish the image and likeness of God upon ourselves, and so we become undeserving to be called the children of our Heavenly Father. To be the children of God is our highest virtue, success, goal and glory. "And it is still insufficient for us to recognize God, believe in Him and fulfill His will in secret. We must confess the holy truth of God without embarrassment in the presence of other people, so we do not end up having to suffer because of this. The Divine Teacher Himself, Jesus Christ, commanded us: And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matt 10:7) And you will be hated by all for My name's sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved. (Matt 24:9, 13) And do not fear him who can kill the body but not the soul, (Matt 10:28) Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. (Matt 10:27) Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. (Matt 10:32-33) Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify to them, that through the sacrament grace could be imparted to the worshipper.

103 your Father in heaven. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he will be called great in the Kingdom of heaven." (Matt 5:10-12, 14-16, 19)

10 The Time Of Departure

Our conversation ended up quite a long one. Those that were listening, especially the younger girls, got tired, although nobody mentioned it. I arose from my place and said: "So you do not worship anyone other than God and Him alone. "God said to us," answered my conversers, who then also arose from their places but did not release the Bible from their hands, "I am the Lord, your God, you must not have any other gods besides Me." (Ex 20:3) "This commandment requires us to recognize God alone and to Him alone is our worship. It is not apparent that God at some time commanded or permitted the worship of someone else other than Himself. In ancient times there were men who pleased God with their benevolent life and their faith. There was Moses who, according to the witness of the Holy Scriptures, deserved to converse with God Himself. There were many other such holy men and prophets who performed many and various miracles by the grace of God and their faith for the salvation of their people. Then there was John the Baptist, about whom Jesus said, that he was more than a prophet (Matt 11:9). There were apostles, disciples and evangelists of Christ, who carried the gospel throughout all the world. The Holy Scriptures relate to us all of their activities and efforts, but no where does it mention that we should at any time worship them as we would God, or that we should venerate them or pray to them. "When the apostles Paul and Barnabas traveled through the nations evangelizing the gospel, they entered the Lycaonian city of Lystra. And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother's womb, who had never walked. This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, Stand up straight on your feet! And he leaped and walked. Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian language, the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men! And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. Then the priest of Zeus, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, intending to sacrifice with the multitudes. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard this, they tore their clothes and ran in among the multitude, crying out and saying, Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men with the same nature as you, and preach to you that you should turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all things that are in them. (Acts 14:8-15) "And as Peter was entering, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter lifted him up, saying, Stand up; I myself am also a man. (Acts 10:25-26) "John in the Revelations says: Now I, John, saw and heard these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, See that you do this not. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God. (Rev 22:8-9) If the holy

104 apostles of Christ did not permit others to offer them divine honor and pray to him during their earthly life, then how must less appropriate and allowable is it to do this after their death. And if it is forbidden and sinful to worship even Angels, then how much more sinful is it to worship those called saints, whom the people often seem to respect even more than the Lord God Himself. It is necessary for us to imitate their benevolent life, rather than worship and offer divine veneration to those individuals who were pleasing unto God. They themselves did not venerate anybody other than God alone. "And it is not necessary to ask anybody for intercession or mediation unto God, except Jesus Christ. Because every one who reads the Holy Scriptures knows that it says: For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. (1 Tim 2:5) "But in order to worship the Lord God, we must recognize him. We can recognize Him in all that exists, and the entire world is full of the works of the Lord, for the Lord created all that exists. It is good for us to be educated in the natural sciences and to learn the great truths that are there contained. The man enlightened in the various sciences and instructed in them can incomparable better and more intensely fathom the truth of the divinity, than those not educated in any of the sciences, as for example, the ignorant dissenters that live in the vicinity and the Orthodoxy with their darkened minds. For this reason we conclude that it is not proper for us to fear any science, but rather on the contrary, we seek it. For all science is from God and can only enlighten our knowledge of Him. Every wisdom is from the Lord and is with Him forever, and every knowledge and truth is from God. "The Holy Scriptures say: My son, from your youth up choose instruction, and until you are old you will continue finding wisdom. Come to her like one who plows and sows, and wait for her good harvest. For in her service you will toil a little while, and soon you will eat of her produce. She seems very harsh to the uninstructed; a weakling will not remain with her. She will weigh him down like a heavy testing stone, and he will not be slow to cast her off. For wisdom is like her name, and is not manifest to many. Listen, my son, and accept my judgements; do not reject my counsel. Put your feet into her fetters, and your neck into her collar. Put your shoulder under her and carry her, and do not fret under her bonds. Come to her with all your soul, and keep her ways with all your might. Search out and seek, and she will become known to you; and when you get hold of her, do not let her go. For at last you will find the rest she gives, and she will be changed into joy for you. Then her fetters will become for you a strong protection, and her collar a glorious robe. Her yoke is a golden ornament, and her bonds are a cord of blue. You will wear her like a glorious robe, and put her on like a crown of gladness. If you are willing, my son, you will be taught, and if you apply yourself you will become smart. If you love to listen you will gain knowledge, and if you incline your ear you will become wise. (Sirach 6:18-33) "More than all is it necessary for us to learn the word of God, as delivered to us in the books of the Old and New Covenants, and in view of it all sciences become clear. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in rectitude, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17) This is why it is a sacred obligation for every Christian to know the Holy Scriptures, and a special necessity for the pastors and presbyters of the church. He must not only know the word of God well, but must also be concerned for others to know it as well. "Now it is not apparent the Greek-Russian clergy has accepted its obligation to instruct the people in the word of God. The church services in the Greek-Russian church consist of an

105 endless multitude of rituals, not instructing the people in anything and understood by almost none of them. According to our perception it is, in the words of the Holy Scriptures, totally superfluous, because it is necessary to worship God in Spirit and truth, and not in rituals. Their rituals only obscure the meaning of the revelations of God. True though that the word of God is read in the Greek-Russian church, but very little and in the ancient Slavonic language, and without any interpretation or explanation, and often with many errors. It is mutilated by the proud deacons, and like an empty cymbal by the drunk sacristans. An unenlightened person cannot acquire anything from this type of teaching of the word of God, and even the most educated comprehend very little of that which is read by the chanter during services in the Greek-Russian church. This type of recitation we consider a humiliation of the word of God. What benefit can arise from it? It is a total waste of time. And what good is it if the people hear the word of God and do not understand it? "It would be a good idea for them to read and grasp that which the apostle Paul writes in the letter to the Corinthians: But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what will I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by teaching? Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played? For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for battle? So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them is without significance. Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks will be a foreigner to me. Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret." (1 Cor 14:6-11, 13)

At evening we left the village Z..., bidding farewell to these Russian evangelicals. The reader will notice after reading the interviews, that in the exposition of the teaching of the Molokans there exists an enticement, which is perhaps due to an incorrect comprehension of the word of God. To refute them in this is the duty of the Orthodox clergy. My intention is not to record the polemics, but a historical narrative regarding the Molokan sect. It is necessary to realize the beginnings of their error in order to have success in refuting it.

106

THE MOLOKAN LITURGY

Volume 1, Chapter 23

Even if we were not to deal with the facets of dogmatic teaching of the Molokans, their morals and customs are very exemplary. Living among them, I had the occasion to dedicate a good part of a year in the education of the customary activities of the Molokans, their community and domestic life, and in many facets it has developed considerable better than those elsewhere, even among the other sectarians. There is still little known about the Molokans among our people, and there is absolutely nothing mentioned about them in our literature. This sect of the Molokans, having a considerable population in Russia, according to their own rationalist tendencies have earned the need for serious notice and an educated historical investigation. For the person living among them, the Molokans pay close attention to everything that occurs, beginning with the construction of homes. Entering into the house of any Molokan - they have a special style of interior furnishing. On the right side of their house, as one enters in, there is located a small distinctive room with an especially large window in one wall. On the left side is the kitchen, and following it an especially large room for common use, which many have divided in half. The first room opposite the kitchen is for use by the older people: the parents or grandparents or relatives. There the aged people live apart from the rest, they read prayers, drink tea, and receive the other members of the family, for instruction and admonishment. One item quite noticeable is the high honor the Molokans have for the elderly. But they make it clear that they had to earn it. Among the Molokans the elderly do not get drunk, curse in the streets, or conduct themselves disorderly in public, or return from some saloon in some delirious state, or covered with blood, as often occurs with non-Molokans. No, the style of elderly among the Molokans is one who has ages of experience and is a stable example of the peasant life of Russia. The Molokans drink no wine, for this reason there are no saloons where they live. Even dishes for such use: brandy glasses, shot glasses, or goblets, you will not see in their homes. Alcoholism, they consider, first is a sin according to the Scriptures; secondly, it is improper for a person created in the image and likeness of God. "The Orthodox are amazed at us," say the Molokans, "because none of us drink wine. But their heavy drinking does not amaze us." Considering this, Molokans are very thrifty. Out of curiosity we made some inquiries about the neighboring Orthodox villages and found out that on the average the population will spend 10,000 rubles drinking each year. This means 100,000 rubles in 10 years. In the Molokans villages, this 100,000 rubles saved over 10 years are safeguarded in the pockets of the directors and increases the affluence of the village by a noticeable amount. The diligence of the Molokan is not just a proverb in Russia. Six days a week all of them, from the smallest to the greatest, are at work. The 7th day (Sunday),101 they spend in no less

101. The calendar week in Russia has Monday as the 1st day; Saturday (Sabbath) as the 6th day; and Sunday (Resurrection) as the 7th day. By modifying the calendar week the Orthodox still observe the 7th day, except it is

107 another work, now spiritual. The foloowing is how they spend their Sundays. From morning, i.e. beginning at about 8 AM, they gather for prayer, we call this liturgy, which ends after about an hour. Afterwards they have lunch, and following which, in every home, they open their Bibles and one of the elders reads it aloud. And everyone in the home, from the youngest to the oldest, is obligated to listen to the Bible and its interpretation, to learn the rules of faith and life by memory, and in general put the mind to work. This work they call work for God. Idleness is banished from them entirely; and even the very word idleness is considered in their language a joke. Every Molokan is taught to be industrious from childhood. Very few toys are available for the children, so they do not incline towards amusement and idleness. The Molokan children do not play games in the streets, do not sing popular songs, and do not dance, and have no swings or see-saws. They do not buy candy or sugar rolls or confections; they do not even chew sunflower seeds or salted nuts. "What is it you find wrong with chewing salted nuts? Do you actually consider this a waste of time?" we asked the fathers and mothers. "How will we say this, good man," answered the elders. "It is true that we do not directly find sin in this habit, but the habit is useless. Look, the man sits around with nothing to do and shells seeds. And time is whittled away while he shells seeds. And today he shells seeds, and tomorrow he will spit out seed shells, and the day after tomorrow he will shell seeds, and in a year a tremendous amount of time was been spent without benefit for either the person or the community. It is disgusting for us to even look at a child sitting around spitting out seed shells, with no sense to it. No, this is not in accord with our convictions. If there is extra time, get a book and read it and meditate on it; accumulate for yourself rules to live by. This is how we chew on seeds." "But what harm is there in even playing tag? Is not exercise necessary for children to develop their growth?" we asked. "We don't see any benefit in it for the children." the Molokans answered. "Today they play tag; tomorrow they will play it, and the day after they will want to also. Then they will want to play odd-man, or cross or pile.102 And then it gets worse. Any idleness is the source of vices." This type of puritanism seems to be excessively extreme. But viewing, however, the faces of the Molokan boys and girls, we expected to notice that they would have an indication of deficiency and physical underdevelopment and so on. But to our surprise, and we had to be convinced for ourselves, the Molokan boys and girls were vigorous children, chubby and rosy and the most of them quite pretty. The key to understanding this question lies in the constant involvement of the children in domestic and useful chores. Six days of the week they spend alongside the adults outside and help them in all their tasks. This is considered exercise for them, which satisfies all their needs for proper growth. We were personally witnesses of the following practical study regarding this theory of the development of children. A Molokan had to harness some horses for us in a nearby village - this was just before a church holiday. The oldest son of the proprietor brought out some horses; his younger sons outfitted him with a horse-collar, and the younger children gave one the bit, another the straps, another the reins; a girl carried hay for the cart, stacked the pillows, the carpet-bag, and the other items. The older people, the mother now Sunday, or Resurrection in Russian. 102. These are Russian outdoor childrens' games.

108 and father, sat on the porch and only watched. "Why did you get the entire family up on their feet to do this?" we asked an old man. "This is how we always do things," he answered. "They are trained to handle farm responsibilities, to work. If our children were all playing tag in the street, there would be nobody to ready the horses for you, or else us old people would have to do it. But this is not proper." The puritanism of Molokans in the rearing of children extends to the point that even the women do not wear any adornment, silver or gold. Such that earrings, rings on the fingers, or bracelets you will not find on even one Molokan woman or girl. If fact, girls don't even know what it is to pierce ears for earrings. "Don't your daughters envy the Orthodox girls because of their adornment?" we asked. "Aren't these girls at that age that they want to dress up and be made up?" "Our daughters prefer to be beautiful in spirit, and not with rings and bracelets. The one who learns earlier to read and write, can read more and learn more of the words of the Bible, and sings better than others in our congregation, this is what we consider to be prettier than others." Nonetheless we must say that Molokan girls are not really so naive, especially when brightly in their eyes their femininity, modesty, and bashfulness is shown, and some type of quiet, calm, and even domestic expression of the face. If the face is the mirror of the soul, then in the faces of the Molokan girls shines a benevolent soul disciplined in their upbringing. The excellent housewife is a faithful wife and smart mother and has interest in every one of the Molokan girls. The expression of the faces of the boys, raised in such a spartan puritanism, is completely different. The first feature that is noticed on this is obedience to the elders, then some type of restrained mental curiosity and concentration. Their manners are unpretentious, but yet they are not bashful. They are everywhere to be seen with the older folk, but children by themselves are not permitted. Even when guests are around, as when we were, they did not leave the house, and attentively listened to the conversation of the older people and without anyone's coercion. We however did not notice the Molokan girls dressed sloppily: they wore clean dresses having clean long sleeves and several having embroidered collars. The manner they presented themselves is what they consider proper attire for a Christian girl. Other stone or metal adornment they consider the customs of gentiles. "The Christian girl will adorn herself with the Christian mind - and that is that." Conversing with the mothers, we were impressed with their self-taught knowledge and their memory of thousands of rules of life, founded primarily on textbooks. In regards to my question on their attitude to children, whether they beat them for violations, the mother answered that, "Children must be taught primarily by way of personal example, and admonished with the word," and she here continued with quoted texts, "only for the most unruly child is whipping required," she quoted some texts here also, "but we almost never reached that point to do so. Our children are obedient even without it." In general the condition of women among the Molokans is very good. From childhood she is continually taught to read and write by her mother: grammar is a necessity among the Molokans and almost all of them are literate. Then she is taught to sing in the church assembly. When she is to be married her domestication is guaranteed by the church assembly, not to mention that she is considered an equal according to Molokan dogma. The church assembly among the Molokans, this is the people's tribunal having awesome authority over everyone. If the husband fails her, or offends her violently verbally, or if he should

109 strike her, the wife immediately brings this to the attention of the church assembly. And the assembly at the upcoming prayer will require the guilty husband to answer to the charges and to resolve the matter. "The husband must love his wife, as Christ loves the church," the Molokans affirm. "Has Christ ever aggravated the church?" In this manner the Molokans, these Russian rationalist sectarians, are not guided in this life by state laws but have their own practical codices of laws: church, criminal, and civil. They do not read our state laws. Based on the Bible, Molokans with their textbook knowledge have established for themselves their own sacred legislation which has been guiding them infallibly for well over a century. We had the occasion to attend one Molokan community church service. Molokans never divulge anything to the Orthodox priest, deputy, police officer or government officials. But willingly will trust an educated person if they do not see him wearing any formal cap or formal pin on their suit, and once the guest indicates to them his own fluency of various faiths and is motivated to learn more about faith. The following is the ceremony performed during the community church service, which we call liturgy. Due to the value of this material for the history of Russian sects in Russia we present it here verbatim and without alteration.

CEREMONY

Prayer and Church Services of the Molokans Referred to as Community Prayer.

ACROSTIC: And if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go first be reconciled with your brother, and then return and bring your gift. I desire then that men should pray in every place, lifting up their hands without anger or doubt. Matt 5:23, 1 Tim 2:8

Prayer of the Lord of the Church of the Spiritual Christians. From the beginning.

In the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth among men of good will! We praise you, Lord God Almighty. The Lord our God On-high lives. Save Saviour, our souls from now and to the end of time. Amen. Our Father who is in heaven, holy be your name. Let Your kingdom come, let Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory. Amen.

PRAYER

110 Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God. You are the only Mediator we have unto the Father. Jesus Christ the righteous: He is the cleansing of our sins, and not ours only but those of the entire world. To You Lord we petition, and to You God we pray: pour out Lord, the spirit of grace from Your holy throne upon our hearts and let us learn to fulfill Your holy will. You Lord, from the beginning said: Wherever there are 2 or 3 gathered in My name, I am among them. And now Lord, make us worthy, Your male and female servants, to pray unto Your most resplendent presence and worship Your most immaculate image. Amen.

PRAYER103 Lord, Lord, King of gods. Destroy not Your people and Your inheritance which You chose unto salvation from all the nations, having acquired us through the blood of Your young servant Jesus with a strong hand and Your exalted right arm. Remember Lord, Your oath which You swore to our fathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Do not lay waste Your holy covenant, and do not view the arrogance of Your people and their wickedness and their sins. But view Lord, the prayer of Your servant who prays before You, on behalf of himself and also his people. How long Lord, will You be angry at the request of Your servants. You feed us Lord, with the bread of tears; You cause us to drink tears to a large measure, and our enemies trample upon us. For the sake of Your holy Name, they receive contempt. Who will deliver us from their violence, if You Lord, do not? Turn Your face mercifully upon us and shield us with Your right hand and we will be saved. I beseech You, Lord God of Israel, send to us peace, to the many who love Your law and observe Your commandments. Deliver us Lord, from the authority of darkness; let us be workers unto You alone under a single yoke, in rectitude and piety and Your truth. Place Lord, Your fear into our hearts. We will learn to fear Your holy Name from now and to the end of time. Amen.

PRAYER (Kneeling - 2 Esdras 8:15-36) And now Lord, I will speak about all mankind whom You know more about; and about Your people for whom I am grieved; and about Your inheritance for which I shed tears; and about Israel for whom I am sad, and about the seed of Jacob for whom I am troubled. Therefore I will pray before You for myself and for them, for I see the failing of us who dwell in the land, and I have heard that the swift judgement is soon to come. Therefore hear my voice and pay attention to my words, and I will speak before You Lord who dwells forever, whose eyes are exalted to the highest heaven and in the celestial heights, whose throne is beyond measure and whose glory is beyond comprehension, before whom the hosts of Angels stand trembling and who serve in the air and the fire, whose word is sure and whose spoken words are immutable, whose ordinance is strong and whose command is awesome, whose stare dries the depths and whose indignation makes the mountains melt, and whose truth witnesses. Hear Lord, the prayer of Your servant, and heed the petition of Your creation. For as long

103. Molokan Prayerbook, Prayer # 80.

111 as I live I will speak, and as long as I have understanding I will answer. Look not upon the sins of Your people, but at those who have served You in truth. Regard not the wicked activities of the gentiles, but the endeavors of those who kept Your covenants amid afflictions. Meditate not on those who have lived feignedly in Your sight; but remember those who have by Your will learned Your fear. Destroy not those who have lived like beasts, but regard those who have clearly taught Your law. Be not angry with those who are considered worse than beasts; but love those who have always relied on Your justice and glory. For we and our fathers suffer in our distress. But You, because of us sinners, are called merciful. For if You have desire to pity us, then You will be called merciful as we have no works of rectitude. For the righteous who have many works laid up with You, will receive their reward in proportion to their deeds. But what is man, that You are angry with him; or a corrupt generation that You are bitter against it? For in truth there is no one among those born who has not acted wrong, and among those who confess You who has not sinned. For in this Lord, Your rectitude and goodness will be declared when You are merciful to those who have no store of benevolence. Be not angry at us Lord, but forgive Your people and pardon Your inheritance. You are merciful towards Your creation, and have mercy also upon us. Saviour, save our souls from now and to the end of time. Amen.

Now recite Psalm 27104

PRAYER (kneeling) Blessed is the Lord our God and blessed is Your holy and honorable name for ever. And let all Your works bless You for ever. Behold Lord, I turn my eyes and my face to You. Reveal to us Lord, Your mercy and the voice of Your salvation. Bring from Your treasury good will, and strengthen in us Lord, Your image in high morals and the abundance of Your desire. Bless us Lord with Your holy name, Your Son Jesus; and may it be Your good will Lord, for the glory of Your Christ to be in our hearts, and gift us Lord, the voice in the image of Your likeness, and overshadow us Lord, with the spirit of Your fear. And clothe us Lord, in garments of the light of Your salvation; and strengthen us Lord, with the spirit, the strength of Your suffering; and send to us Lord from the heavens, from Your throne as Saviour of all, the Comforter, the true spirit, and It will place us before the throne of Your glory, as a burning lamp; and exalt Lord, the judgement of the meek from On-high, the glory of Your right hand. Shelter us Lord, from the dreadful beast and preserve us Lord, from the deceit of the serpent; and deliver us Lord, from the jaws of the enemy; and protect us Lord, from the abyss and the shedding of blood; bring to us Lord, Your table before us as a fulfillment of Your desires; and anoint our heads Lord, with the oil of joy, the confession of Your power and the exaltation of the glory of Your name; and let not the decisions of the righteous be meager. And let all Your saints bless You, for the Lord performed the great and marvelous among His elect. The heavens are Your creation, they rely upon You and call upon You and praise Your

104. Psalm 26 in the Russian Bible.

112 name on-high, and all Your Angels exalt Your glory to the heavens in the clouds, as Your many marvels. And You are a strong shelter unto Your elect. Your generosities are many. And perform Your mercy upon us Lord; and complete our lives in health with the joy of Your mercy. Save us and pardon us. Amen.

Now recite Psalm 51105

PRAYER Lord God of heaven, great and firm and awesome, You who keep Your covenant and mercy towards those who love You and observe Your commandments. Please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open in order to hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray unto You today. Lord, Lord, for all of this is in Your authority and there is none against Your mercy when You arise to save Israel. And now Lord, raise Your exalted hand and send it from heaven from Your throne and gather all the posterity of Your elect unto the unity of faith, and place and surround us Lord, with the fear of You as a barrier, as a strong and metal wall; and motivate Lord, Your hand upon all of those who call upon You. In the strength of the words of Your lamp and with the thunderous voice release us Lord, like a flash of lightning; and enlighten us Lord, the eyes of the heart; and perfect us Lord, in the journey unto Your bosom; and appear to us Lord in Your signs and commands as a pillar of cloud; and strengthen us Lord, in the glory of Your name, as a firm and metal wall; and place Lord, Your wonders in the clouds with the advent of the Son of the King; and may Your wondrous right hand and Your marvelous name be glorious in Your elect; and all flesh will come to worship before You Lord, and will elevate Your glory in the confession of Your holy name. Lead us Lord, into Your holy temple in the renewal of the tabernacle of Your witness; and shelter us Lord, with Your right hand, for You Lord, are the creator of heaven and earth, all that moves under the heaven, and there is nothing that can oppose Your hand Lord, for You Lord, are our shelter and defender, strength, and dominion unto the elect generation from now and to the end of time. Amen.

Now recite Psalm 86106

PRAYER (kneeling) Make us deserving Lord, Your young men and women, to attain to the image of Your likeness. Prepare us Lord, prepare us to be like the jewels of Ophir; select us Lord, as Your foundation, like the sapphire; confirm us Lord, confirm us into Your collection, like the jasper; and cleanse us

105. Psalm 50 in the Russian Bible. 106. Psalm 85 in the Russian Bible.

113 Lord, to be like crystal; and teach us Lord, with Your holy Spirit. Our Saviour, save our souls from now and to the end of time. Amen.

Now sing Psalm 88107

PRAYER108 Behold Lord, our meekness and accept from us Lord, our prayer. Have favor Lord, upon our offering as upon the sacrifice of Abel. Accept from us Lord, our acceptable conduct as You did from Enoch. Preserve us Lord, from a flood over our minds as You did Noah. Protect us Lord, from the fire and brimstone as You did Lot from Sodom. Appear to us Lord, in Your holy Spirit as You did to our father Abraham. Gift to us Lord, Your covenant as You did to Isaac. Glorify us Lord, as You did Your young servant Israel. Write Lord, upon our heart the decisions and judgements as You did for Moses on mount Sinai. Lead us Lord, through the fountains of water as You led Moses through the sea. Deliver us Lord, from the swinging sword as You did David from the sword of Goliath. Destroy Lord, the idols before us as during the days of Elijah the prophet You destroyed Baal. Send to us Lord, Your benefactress, our mother: wisdom. Lead us Lord, from the depths of the abyss, from the grave of the nether-world, and from our transgressions. Place us Lord, upon Your celestial ladder and vindicate all our decisions. Saviour, save our souls from now and forever. Amen.

Now recite Psalm 116:1-9109

PRAYER110 (kneeling) Pacify us Lord, pacify the young men and women servants of Your chosen people. Cleanse us Lord, cleanse us from our transgressions, whether deliberate or not deliberate. Be generous Lord, be generous to Your holy messengers. Sanctify Lord, sanctify those that wear Your holy Name. Guard us Lord, guard us with Your holy Angels and their armies. Preserve us Lord, preserve us from every adversary and enemy. Admonish us Lord, towards every virtue and Your truth. And Lord, save our souls from now and to the end of time. Amen.

Now recite Psalm 130111

107. Psalm 87 in the Russian Bible. 108. Molokan Prayerbook, Prayer # 39. 109. Psalm 114 in the Russian Bible. 110. Molokan Prayerbook, Prayer # 22. 111. Psalm 129 in the Russian Bible.

114

PRAYER112 (kneeling) Unto You Lord, do we bend our knees; to You Lord, the creator of heaven and earth. Lord, forgive us our every sin. Lord, purify us from every defilement. Lord, free us from eternal imprisonment. Lord, protect us from the deception of the serpent. Lord, shelter us with the cover of Your wings from the wrath of the enemy. Lord, deliver us, Your male and female servants from eternal torment. Lord, save us with eternal salvation. Lord, sanctify us before all the nations, for You Lord do love all of Your saints. Love us Lord, and accept our prayer from now and to the end of time. Amen.

Now recite Psalm 141113

PRAYER114 (kneeling) Establish Lord, establish Your land. Direct Lord, direct our path before You, for You Lord, are long-enduring and much-merciful regarding our sins. You forgive every person who repents unto You from a clean heart. And now Lord, forgive us and free us Your young male and female servants from eternal torment, and pardon us. Amen.

Now recite Psalm 143115

PRAYER Blessed is the Lord God of Israel from the beginning of time and to the end of time. Lord God, the father of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and us. Send us Lord, upon Your servants your holy Spirit from the heavens. And now Lord almighty, accept our prayer and petition from our lips. And gather us in the holy temple of our God and we will bend the knee before Your immaculate Lamb. And now Lord God creator of the heavens and the earth, combine us Lord, with the one fold of the house of Israel, and send us Lord, the one Shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ, and He will deliver us with a strong hand and uplifted arm. Include us Lord, with the number of your righteous. And accept us Lord, in Your holy abode; and look upon us Lord, with Your omniscient and immaculate eye; and turn to us Lord, Your radiant face and accept Lord, what our hearts pour out unto You; and light the fire of our hearts Lord, so we will follow You the sole true God

112. Molokan Prayerbook, Prayer # 78. 113. Psalm 140 in the Russian Bible. 114. Molokan Prayerbook, Prayer # 23. 115. Psalm 142 in the Russian Bible.

115 and our Lord Jesus Christ. To You alone we confer honor and glory and thanksgiving and worship in the spirit. Amen.

Then all are to sing: Consider us worthy to be Your saints, Lord. And gather us Lord, unto Your holy church, And do not abandon us Lord, to the end of time.

They are to kiss one another with a holy kiss during the singing, as mentioned in Romans 16:16.

PRAYER116 (kneeling) Behold now Lord, we glorify You and bend our knees before You the Creator of us all. We praise Your all-holy Name and exalt You along with all Your incorporeal holy hosts: the angels, archangels, Cherubim, Seraphim. We emulate all Your holy prophets, apostles, martyrs and Your elect. You have made us worthy Lord, to pray to Your most-radiant and most-honorable holy Name and worship Your immaculate image. And now Lord, make us worthy, Your young male and female servants, to dwell with Your presence in Your heavenly Kingdom, for ever and ever. Amen.

PRAYER Lord, Lord, the heavenly King of kings and Sovereign of our life. Gather us Lord, all Your male and female servants into Your one united flock from one end of heaven to the other end. And accept from us Lord, our prayer and forgive us Lord, our sins, whether done deliberately or undeliberately, as much as we have sinned in our life, and cleanse us from our wrongs. For You Lord God almighty said: Whoever turns to me with all your heart and all your soul, and I will turn unto him. And now Lord, be merciful to Your servants according to Your words, and accept from us Lord, our offering from our community assembly brought unto You by the multitude of the young men and woman. And teach us Lord, to have intelligence and wisdom, a spirit of meekness, temperance, endurance, brotherly love, faith, hope and love. And perfect us Lord, as You are perfect so we may know you as the sole God and can boast of Your timeless holy name and glorify the King of the ages, the sole wise Lord of hosts. Save Lord, Your people and bless Your inheritance. Shepherd us and secure us from now and to the end of time. Save Lord, Your male and female servants, the compassionate and suffering, the sorrowful and sick and those imprisoned. Deliver us Lord, from the dungeons and from the village of Belial. And accept from us Lord, our community prayer and send to us Lord, Your holy Spirit, and It will direct us away from our wrongdoing, and will install us in every truth. Amen.

116. Molokan Prayerbook, Prayer # 82.

116

To be read after the Prayer Service117

This now pertains to us and is expedient for us to cleanse ourselves from every defilement of the flesh and spirit, and perfect holiness in the fear of God. The house built by us is worthy of the heavenly dwelling. One another know that He is love, give praise to the God of heaven, impart to Him glory and honor and salvation. And you the beautiful virgins, confess the Lord God, great is the Lord and praiseworthy, righteous and holy, resplendent, divine and reverent, honorable and venerable, our true God rests among His saints. Great is the strength of the Lord; the meek boast of Him. Many are there prominent and distinguished, but the secrets are unveiled to the meek. Impart songs from your lips that are sweet unto God, luscious and fruitful. Endeavor one for another in prudence with a meek spirit, towards salvation; and not viewing the sins of others. But be careful, wherever a log lays, splinters can be picked up from it. And silence is often our deliverance. But for the sinful and wicked is sorrow and oppression upon every soul of theirs. In God is sympathy and brotherly love. The Lord do we worship. Amen.

End of the Prayer Service118

PRAYER ON DEPARTURE

Lord God of our fathers, the Father Sovereign of our life. You are our shelter, You are our refuge, unto You Lord we deliver our spirit; and all the world beseeches You Lord and Creator. Remember us Lord, and do not take vengeance because of our sins, and do not remember Lord, the sins of our youth, and do not consider our ignorance. Lord God Almighty, You promised Your people with Your kind heart to sent to Your elect a guest unto the eternal generations, the preceptor and comforter, Your holy Spirit. And Lord God, the creator of all the world and all creatures, and You Lord, administrate all with Your justice. I pray to You Lord my God, help us and wash us from our violations and send to us Lord from Your heights Your holy Spirit through our Lord Jesus Christ, to rectify our hearts before Your, and to cleanse our conscience and body from every sin. Then all of us will bring spiritual sacrifices: confession and praise from our lips, with all who call upon your holy name from a clean heart. And may our prayer be complete Lord, in Your presence, from now and to the end of time. Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE KING AND THE AUTHORITIES

We petition You Lord God Almighty on behalf of our Tsar, the Emperor (recite his name), and for all his royal family and for all the princes and for all having the authority, that we may have a

117. Appears to be a short sermon of church instruction. (FVL) 118. In their prayerbook at the end of the Church Services is an additional 5 prayers. But we are not sure if they are read at the conclusion of the services, or perhaps at the discretion of the minister. (FVL)

117 quiet and peaceful life, and dwell in all piety and purity. Lord, hear our prayer, send to us from the heavens, from Your throne, Your holy Spirit of wisdom and the revelation to know Your holy will, and enlighten our eyes and hearts Lord, with radiance and wonders from the promise of Your holy Spirit. That all together the Kings and Princes of the earth will confess Your name and build the spiritual temple, and in every place bring the spiritual and acceptable sacrifice, our Lord Jesus Christ. And send from the heights Lord, to the Tsar and his Princes, Your omnipotent right hand, and affirm to rectify the throne. And they will display themselves unblemished before the glory of God. To the sole wise God and to our Lord Jesus Christ, to Him we offer honor and glory from now and for all the ages. Amen.

PRAYER FOR THE IMPRISONED

Lord God of heaven and earth and the Sovereign of all creation. Hear the prayer of Your elect and view Lord, our petition. And now Lord, from Your holy temple and from Your flaming throne turn towards us. And hear Lord the prayer of Your male and female servants, and perform Your mercy with Your creation as You performed it with Israel. You heard their groaning in Egypt and sent to them Your servants Moses and Aaron, and placed in their hands great signs and wonders. You delivered them from the malicious hands of Pharaoh, and led Your people out of Egypt in joy and happiness and sanctified in their presence the Red Sea and led them through the impassable desert while pursued by the haughty Pharaoh. You destroyed him and his army with the fresh waters. Then You delivered the people who recognized Your glory; they sang a song and praised Your holy name. But they soon forgot Your benevolence, which You performed in Egypt and at the Red Sea and wanted to return back, and complained against Your chosen Moses and Aaron and reviled Your great name in the desert at the River of Marah. But You Lord, were merciful upon them at that time: You did not send a fire upon them for their revile, but rather placed a tree in the water and made it sweet and tasty and all the chosen generation drank of it. And now Lord God, the father of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their righteous posterity and us, perform your mercy with Your servants, because Your holy name is glorified throughout all the world. We recognize You alone and we have no one other than Yourself Lord. And now, Lord God, the King of heaven and earth. Be the shelter for the despondent, deliver us from the terrible torment and send to us Lord, Your holy Spirit, and It will free us from the prisons of the earth and admonish us unto every benevolence and truth. And Lord, gift Your servants to voice the secrets with boldness; and send Lord, from Your throne our benevolent mother wisdom, that it manage us and lead us unto the law of God. And now Lord our God, listen to us, as You listened to Your holy prophet Elijah during the drought; You sent fire from heaven upon Your sacrifice and destroyed all the alien prophets. Perform Your mercy with us Lord, listen to Your elect. Scatter our enemies, and shelter us from the wicked assemblies, so the horns of the sinners attack not Your people. Deliver us from our enemies, from now and to the end of time. Amen.

PRAYER REGARDING THE OFFENDERS

118

Lord, Lord, King of heaven and the Sovereign of all creation. Holy among the saints, who began all that exists, the Almighty. Heed us who cry unto You, and view us Lord, from Your holy throne and Your glory. Do not remember our sins Lord. Be Lord, merciful unto the prayer of Your slaves who confess Your holy name. Do not betray us Lord into the hands of those who offend us; deliver us from the hands of the enemies. You Lord, promised Your chosen people, saying: If evil should befall you and oppression surround you, turn to Me and I will hear you. And we Lord, pray unto You: Hear our petition. Deliver us from the hands of those who aggravate us, and You Lord are faithful and true. And many times You delivered our fathers long before us out of their sorrows and out of great calamity. Today holy King, because of our many and great sins we suffer and humbly subject ourselves to those who oppress us. But may the oppressors not boast, and in their pride not say: The Lord will not deliver. Lord, remit our sins and dissipate our injustices and turn Your face toward us in mercy and be not angry at us to the end. Do not destroy us Lord in our violations. Remember Lord, Your oath which You swore to our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their righteous posterity from the beginning. And now Lord, be merciful to the people praying unto You, from now and to the end of time. Amen.

PRAYER REGARDING REMISSION

Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, sitting upon the Cherubim. You are alone God and the King of all kingdoms and all the world. You created the heaven and earth. Bend Your ear Lord and open Your eyes, and hear from Your holy heavens. Be attentive Lord, to the prayer of Your male and female servants who confess Your great and awesome, holy name. Be Lord, merciful to Your people who have sinned against You. Do not remember Lord, our transgressions and reveal to us Lord, the path of goodness along which we should walk. And now Lord God of Israel, be merciful to the requests of Your servant from now and to the end of time. Amen.

Conclusion of the Prayers

A comparison of the preceding compilation of the community Molokan prayer service with such ceremonies of Molokan prayer services of the various provinces, it seems that this one is more festive, along with the prayer services of the Molokans of Tambov Province. This is an indication of its derivation from the Molokans of Tambov, as the oldest to appear in Russia. The persons who perform the worship services among the Molokans are simple laymen, selected from among their own peers because of their excellent knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and having an exemplary moral life. This person is called among the Molokans the presbyter, although there is no ceremony that installs him in this position. The Molokans do not have robes or wear any special clothing during worship services, and their presbyters preside over the divine services wearing the usual peasant attire. No where is

119 it apparent, say the Molokans, that the holy apostles wore special clothing during worship services. This was done by the Old Covenant priests, but not by the apostles. The place for performing their divine services is usually a typical peasants’ house, and they do not build special churches. Every village where the Molokans live has its own preceptor, a selected man. Knowing that the authorities especially persecute such persons, the Molokans carefully hide them, and do not expose their whereabouts, so that the entire village does not suffer. But if for some reason the preceptor is caught and placed in prison, and then after a while is released and returns to his earlier home, then the Molokans bestow upon such a martyr the greater honor. Returning from the prayer service and bidding farewell with the Molokans, after allowing me to freely view their flourishing farm economy, I left the Molokan village for another province. Departing from the village we admired the picturesque particulars of the sectarian colony. The grandfathers of the residents, moving here about 50 years earlier from the Tambov Province, planted with their own hands the first fruit trees, lining the roads with linden trees. Today the fruit trees are grown with many having beehives, and the linden trees are beautiful. The surrounding plowed fields herald the generations of fathers and brothers long deceased. The beautiful tree is an old face. Even the ruthless axe of a Russian peasant will spare it. The leaves on it are few, but the immense branches project far on every side, leaving continual shade under it. And under this shade Russian people have discussed religion to the extend their intellect allowed them. Unknown to us they have become wealthy, peacefully becoming prosperous and firmly holding the Word of God, the Bible, in their hands.

120

MOLOKAN WEDDINGS

Volume 2, Chapter 13

Community and domestic life among the Molokans developed differently when compared to the manner of life of the Orthodox Russian peasants in general. With the Molokans, everything they have is original, beginning with the raising of children and concluding with daily common customs. Their religious rites are also totally different from our rites, beginning with the baptism of children and concluding with the wedding. These rituals are interesting and very little is known about them by the general public. We do not consider it superfluous to publish here in detail one of these ceremonies, which we have in our hands, namely, the Ceremony of a Molokan Wedding in the manner it is fulfilled among the Molokans. During one of my repeated visits to the various provinces of Russia, to become familiar with the sectarians in their own areas, we had the occasion to observe one of these ceremonies; in discussion with a Molokan elder, whom we would call "Father", we were convinced that this ceremony was for the most part derived from those in Tambov. Most noticeable in the Molokan ceremony was in general its celebrate nature: on occasion in a meadow, in a house, but more than often outdoors in the yard of someone's home, with an immense assembly of people, quite often the entire village or all the Molokans in the vicinity. For the blessing of the wedding there is chosen the eldest of the entire village, hair and beard white. The depiction is remarkably festive as well as patriarchal, when a certain 90 or 100 year old elder, white as a bald kite, places his quivering hands on the head of the newly-wedded, and then raises them to heaven and facing the open sky, declaring the blessing of heaven on the couple in the middle of the entire gathering, all whom are on their knees. In Molokan weddings it is also worth noting the post of certain others in their participation, in the capacity of "those active", (действующих лиц) who are equal with the elders performing the wedding. The parents of the newly-wedded place their hands on the couple, pray over them and recite in public some instruction and admonishment. There is no doubt that these festive and public vows, which are short and edifying, made by the 2 getting married before the crowds deeply penetrate the soul during this solemn episode, and especially the position that the instruction of the parents takes at this festive occasion which is also in public; and finally the touching counsel and instruction of the elders makes a strong impression on the 2 getting married. They counsel them to observe marital fidelity to the grave. The Molokan family life that they create is in general noticeably stable and firm, even if we disregard that they are not sanctified by an [Orthodox] sacrament. Love and respect for one another is admonished by the elders and the parents of the newly-wedded, with fidelity to the grave, the requirement to be industrious, the fear of God, honor in life and the love to work, the upbringing of children in the fear of God, obedience and honor to the new parents acquired with the marriage, and other items, make the Molokan wedding an activity totally in accord with Christianity. The following is the pattern by which Molokan weddings are performed.

MOLOKAN WEDDING SERVICES

121

"In the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen." They pray to the God of heaven, "Our Father," and additional prayers. Then it is proper for the father and mother to bless their son and deliver him to the bride. Likewise the bride is blessed by her parents. During this the groom or bride stand on their knees and ask for the blessing in the following manner: "Forgive me and bless me with an eternal blessing from God inviolate for ever, and give to me peace and blessing; and now and always I bestow upon you my submission and physical honor." Then the father and mother place their hands on his (her) head and bless [their child] in the following manner: "Be our child, blessed of the God of heaven, and may the Lord bless you from the dew of heaven from above and from the fat of the earth, and may the Lord bless you from Zion to see good from Jerusalem and see the sons of your sons. Peace upon Israel and may the crown of grace rest upon your head. Child, remember your creator during the days of your youth and all the days of your life. The Lord our God has no desire that you sin and transgress the commandments of the Lord: do what is right all the days of your life. Restrain yourself from every immorality. Enter you into a holy marriage blessed of God, and honor Him with its fulfillment. And observe love and harmony among yourselves. May God bless you and you will see your children and the fruit of your womb. Draw to yourself the blessing of God and a peaceful life. For this reason may our blessing abide upon you. May the God of heaven grant you a compatible marriage and preserve you in purity. This we earnestly desire and may our blessing abide upon you. And so we call upon the name of our compassionate God, that upon you abide the blessing of God always and forever. Amen."

Then when the groom arrives at the house of the bride, and when the bride is brought out to the assembly of the people, it is necessary to pray in the following manner: "In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen." Then recite: "He who lives in the shelter..."119 Then recite the prayer: "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel who has visited and delivered His people and raised up a horn of salvation for us. Lord our God, hear the prayer of your servants praying regarding your servants and do not deprive them Lord, of Your mercy. Let the blessing of benefaction precede them Lord. Place, Lord, a crown made of gems of honor upon their heads.120 Great is Your glory in Your salvation. Glory and majesty place upon them, for You Lord, have given them blessing for the age of the age. We magnify You Lord, and all together exalt You. Lord, we seek You, hear us and deliver us from all our sorrows. Lord, enlighten us so we be not shamed. The angel of the Lord is armed surrounding them who fear Him to deliver them. For good is the Lord, and he who seeks the Lord will not be deprived of any goodness. And now Lord, hear my prayer which I pray to you in Your presence, and gift them to see days of goodness and to have happiness. Lord, you will bless their marriage for many years with Your goodness and fill their fields with fatness. Remember us Lord, with a blessing of Your people. Deliver us with Your deliverance. Make us deserving to see the goodness of

119 Ps 91 120. In the wedding ceremony of the Orthodox Church, a crown is placed upon the heads of the groom and bride. Here the Molokans accept this allegorically.

122 Your chosen and rejoice in the joy of Your nation, to boast of Your inheritance. Lord, the God of powers, remember Your covenant which Your promised to Your chosen and to all who call upon Your holy name. Save us, Lord our God, and gather us from the nations. May we confess Your holy name, and boast of Your praise. Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, from the age and to the age. Lord, the God of us, and Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their righteous posterity. Send Lord from heaven a crown upon Your servants, and now Almighty One, accept this prayer from our lips, those who are gathered in the holy temple of our God, blending our knees before the throne of the Lamb. Look upon us Lord, with Your omniscient eyes and turn Your face towards us. We call upon You alone Lord, and pray. Enlighten our hearts with true knowledge and faith in the Lord our Jesus Christ so we can fulfill Your holy commandments which Your commanded from ancient times to our fathers. And bless Lord, your servants to accept marriage and the unity of love from now and to the end of time. You alone Lord do we worship, the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen"

Then the father will take his daughter by the hand and give her to the groom.121 "Behold, I give my daughter to you as a wife according to the law of Moses. Receive her and take her to the house of your father. May the Lord God prosper you with His mercy unto goodness. Peace be with you, and may the Lord bless you to the end of the age. Amen." Then they are to take the groom together with the bride and reunite them in the presence of the people assembled, and ask them both their intentions in the following manner: "And you, the groom, do you desire to marry (name of bride) and be a husband unto her and of your own free volition." All the brethren will witness his answer. They will say to the bride likewise: "And you, the bride, do you desire to be given in marriage to (name of groom), and be a wife unto him and of your own free volition." All the brethren will witness her answer. They will say to the groom the following to repeat: "Behold, I will not take another wife since I take this wife according to the law of God and without violation. I promise to preserve myself from immorality and adultery, and I will not deprive ourselves from one another. Amen." The bride says the following: "Behold, I will not take another husband, since I am given in marriage to this husband according to the law of God. I promise to preserve myself from immorality and adultery and will not leave my husband to the end of time. Amen" They will repeat the following words: "We who are designated the servants of God do promise before the Omnipotent God and His holy gospel and before His church, that by the law of God and according to the blessing of our parents upon us, and according to our mutual desire, that we desire to be united in a legitimate marriage, in order that we preserve fidelity and keep our marital bed without violation, with no transgression of the commandments of God and our promise to each other. We will shun adultery and immorality to the end of our lives and for ever establish fidelity. Amen." Then must be read to them that which the Apostle Paul says regarding the unity of love: "May the Lord God of heaven bless you and comfort your hearts. Peace and love with faith from God and our Lord Jesus Christ, and grace be with all who love Him. But he who is joined to the

121 Tobit 7:13

123 Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?122 Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a strange woman. Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. Let the husband render to his wife what he is obligated, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except with consent for a time that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: a wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But even if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.123 And do not deprive yourself from one another, and you will be blessed by God to the end of the age. Amen."

ALSO:

"Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own body, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the 2 will become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.124 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the

122 1 Cor 6:17-19 123 1 Cor 7:1-5, 8-14, 27-28, 39 124 Eph 5:20-33

124 Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.125 In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but that which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works. Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. Nevertheless she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control.126 So then, they are no longer 2 but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.127 Likewise you wives, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. Do not let your beauty be that outward adorning of arranging the hair, of wearing gold, or of putting on fine apparel; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror. Likewise you husbands, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.128 Brethren, I beseech you in the Lord our Jesus Christ, abide in prayer and supplication and do not violate the commandments of God, which are commanded you to observe, and you will be blessed to the end of time. Amen"

AND MORE:

"Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said: This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she will be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they will become one flesh.129 Adam, Seth, Enoch: they called upon the name of the Lord God and their posterity, and their children were blessed in the inheritance of God to the end of time. "And Noah was a righteous person, complete in his ways, and his posterity likewise was pleasing unto God, Shem and Japheth. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob were blessed of God and their posterity were blessed in the inheritance of God to the end of time. And so does the Lord bless you and your posterity until the end of time. Moses and Aaron were blessed in the presence of God along with their children who followed them. And it was commanded through Moses: Do not commit adultery, and do not desire the wife of your friend. So will you observe the commandments and your posterity will be blessed in the presence of God to the end of time. "So shall you have love between yourselves, and do not forsake the congregation. Abide in

125 Col 3:15-19 126 1 Tim 2:9-15 127 Matt 19:6 128 1 Pet 3:1-7 129 Gen 2:22-24

125 prayer and fasting, for this is pleasing before our God and Lord. Now it will come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God: Blessed will you be in the city, and blessed will you be in the country. Blessed will be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground. Blessed will you be when you come in, and blessed will you be when you go out, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.130 Amen." Then the presiding elder of the wedding will say the following: "You, brethren and couple united by God, have given a promise in the presence of God and before His holy Evangel and before the church of God, and the Church is an assembly of the people, and you have accepted a blessing from your parents. Observe the promise in holiness, do not violate the law of God, for this is betrayal. And if you transgress the vows you will not inherit the Kingdom of heaven. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. For this reason request the blessing of God that you may be called children of God and not children of the darkness of this age. Honor your parents, for it is written: Honor your father and your mother, that all may go well with you and have longevity in the land. The blessing of the father establishes the home, but the curse of the mother eradicates it right to the foundation.131 Having mercy from your father you will never be abandoned. And you, most honorable wife, honor your mother-in-law and your father-in-law who are now your parents.132 And remember the law of God given to both of you, and do not forget your vow to the end of your life. Amen"

Then they must scarf the wife, and during it sing Psalm 103:133 "Bless the Lord my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name..."

[Then recite:] "In the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen." Then recite the Lord's Prayer, "Our Father who is in Heaven..." "Father and Son and Holy Spirit, the all-holy and life-creating Trinity united in one essence, the one Godhead and Kingdom, bless them and gift to them longevity and posterity and success in their life in faith. Descend to them Lord, all goodness that exist upon earth and make them worthy to accept the promises of Your benevolence, always and now and for ever. Amen"

PRAYER while kneeling "God the immaculate and creator of all creation, because of Your love of humanity You took the rib of our fore-father Adam and fashioned it into a woman, and blessed them and said, Increase and multiply and possess the earth and subdue it. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. For what God has joined no man must divide. You blessed Your servant Abraham and opened the womb of Sarah while she slept and made him become a father of many nations. You gifted

130 Deut 28:1-4, 6 131 Sirach 3:9 132 Tobit 10:12 133. Psalm 102 in the Russian Bible

126 Rebecca to Isaac and blessed their offspring. You united Jacob and Rachel, and out of him proceeded the twelve patriarchs. You married Joseph and Asenath, and gave them great increase through their sons Ephraim and Manasseh. You united Zachariah and Elizabeth and the Forerunner134 was prophesied and born unto them. You from the root of Jesse, of the flesh of Israel, incarnated and gave birth to Your Son through the Virgin for the salvation of the human race. He came into Cana of Gallilee and there with Your indescribeable gift and much mercy blessed the wedding with His presence. Appear now, for a legitimate marriage is Your will and posterity is born of it. Sovereign and divine Lord, accept our prayer and hear the supplication of Your servants. As You did there, also be here invisibly with Your presence. Blessed this wedding and gift Your servants (recite their names) with a peaceful life, longevity, prudence, a unity of peace one with another, a long lived posterity and grace in their future: an unfading crown of glory. Make them worthy to see the children of their children, and preserve their matrimonial bed for ever. And gift to them from the dew of heaven from above and the fat of the earth. Fill their homes with wheat, wine and oil, and every goodness, and have it overflow even unto the needy. Gift likewise others who are with us in our prayers for salvation. For You are a God of mercy, generosity, and a lover of humanity for ever and ever. Amen"

PRAYER

"Blessed is the Lord our God, who is the secret and honorable priest and minister of the wedding and the legislator of laws for our physical life, the imperishable preserver, and maker of the goodness in our lives. Yourself Sovereign Lord, You created man in the beginning and placed him as king over the creation and said: It is not good for a man to be alone on the earth, We will make for him a helper just as he is, and took one of his ribs, and made woman. When Adam saw her he said: This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she will be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. And what God has united, man will not separate. Bestow upon Your servants heavenly grace and gift to your maidservant submission to her husband, and that your manservant be a head unto his wife, that they live according to Your will. Bless them Lord our God, as You blessed Abraham and Sarah. Bless them Lord our God, as You blessed Isaac and Rebecca. Bless them Lord our God, as You blessed Jacob and all the patriarchs. Bless them Lord our God, as You blessed Joseph and Asemath. Bless them Lord our God, as You blessed Moses and Zipporah. Bless them Lord our God, as You blessed Joachim and Anna.135 Bless them Lord our God, as You blessed Zachariah and Elizabeth. Protect them Lord our God, as You protected Noah in the ark. Protect them Lord our God, as You protected Jonah in the stomach of the whale. Protect them Lord our God, as You protected Your 3 holy young men, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael. Let there descend upon them the dew from heaven and may joy come upon them. Remember them Lord our God, as You remember all Your martyrs, giving them crowns from heaven. Remember Lord our God, Your manservant (recite name of groom) and maidservant (recite name of bride) and bless them and give unto them the fruit of the womb: well-behaved children; and unity both in soul and body. And exalt them like the cedars of Lebanon, like a beautiful rose. And may they abound in all prosperity and in every deed good and pleasing unto You. And they will see their sons’ sons surrounding their tables like newly planted olive trees. Lord, gift to them Your

134. John the Baptist 135. Traditionally the parents of Mary the mother of Jesus.

127 goodness from now and to the end of time. Amen."

PRAYER kneeling "Lord God Almighty, the father of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their righteous posterity to the end of time. You Lord, created our father Adam and led him into the paradise of sweetness; You made him slumber and he fell asleep. And you took one of his ribs and made for him a helper, You gave him a wife and from her the entire human race was born. And now, Lord God of our fathers, it is not because of immorality that (recite name of groom) takes this sister to be his wife, but for righteous reasons that he may inherit the blessing. Lord our God, the almighty God of Israel, incline Your ear and open Your eyes to the prayer of Your servants. Deal with us in the multitude of Your mercy. Uphold them Lord, in Your commandments, and give them to grow old together in peace and love and to observe Your commandments from now and to the end of time. Amen."

PRAYER kneeling "O Blessed is the Lord God of our fathers. Exalted and glorious is Your holy name. May the heavens and the earth and all Your creation bless You. All the hosts of Angels tremble and worship before You. And now, Lord God of Israel, look upon the prayer of Your servants. Perform Your mercy and teach them to fulfill Your holy will, to grow old together, to observe Your commandments from now and to the end of time. Amen"

PRAYER "Blessed are You God in every pure and holy blessing, and may all Your saints and all Your creation, and all Your elect people bless You for ever. Deal with them according to Your immense mercy. Lord, be merciful to Your servants, which today are getting married. And now, Lord our God, look upon us with Your omniscient immaculate eyes, and accept from us our prayer and our supplication. And lead them (recite names of the couple) away Lord, from every temptation and defilement; and fulfill the unity of their love from now and to the end of time. May they worship the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen."

Then the presiding elder of the wedding must recite instruction regarding their married life in the following manner: "Pious and believing couple united in Christ Jesus, entering into a holy marriage blessed by God. Honor Him with the fulfillment of your obligations, with which God does unite you and bless you. Preserve the love and harmony between you, as if one soul living in 2 bodies. More than all preserve love towards God and respect His laws, for God is love. He who abides in love, abides in God and God abides in him. Where there is no love of God and no fear there is every disorder and evil. Preserve in holiness the solidarity of your marital bed, and do not embarrass it with evil rage or dissolute conduct. Fear any situation that could lead to a violation of your vows, those made before

128 God and His church. Adulterers and the immoral God will judge. In the management of a home and in other general matters of life do not be neglectful, but be industrious and diligent. Be mutually careful one for another, and make use of all counsel. For this reason you are called a married couple, you have the same considerations in your livelihood and the same burden to carry. When God blesses you, you will see children, the fruit of the womb. The primary obligation before God and people to uphold is to benefit them in their upbringing. Into their young hearts impress the fear of God and the respect of His law. Teach them to first recognize honesty, and inspire them with an affinity towards work, to avoid idleness, dishonesty and deceit. All of this will be affirmed in them by your own personal example, and keep them far from evil, for good morals are corrupted by evil conversations. You, the honorable husband, love your wife as you do your own body, and do not forget to accommodate the woman's weakness. And you, the honorable wife, respect your husband as your head. Let there be in your mind what the apostle wrote: Do not let your beauty be that outward adorning of arranging the hair, of wearing gold, or of putting on fine apparel; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. In this manner carry on your life; and the secrets of marriage maintain in a clean conscious, and invoke upon yourself the blessing of God. May you have a peaceful life, actively benevolent, and abiding long and abundantly in life, and may your home stand firm. And you will be prosperous in your endeavors, and you will see your son's sons surrounding your table like the branches of an olive tree. All of this I sincerely desire and call on your behalf the name of our compassionate God. May the blessing of the Lord abide on you, now and always, continually and for ever and ever. Amen"

Then the parents of the newly-wedded are to give them both their blessing, and bless them in the following manner: "Our children, be blessed by God On-high. May God bless you from the dew of heaven above and from the fat of the earth. And may the Lord bless you from Zion and you will see the goodness of Jerusalem and the sons of your sons. May the peace of God remain upon you and the crown of grace rest upon your heads from now and for ever. Amen And also: "Behold now we bring our prayer to the throne of the supreme creator, the God of Israel and Lord of Hosts, in order that the Lord from heaven would pour upon us his indescribeable grace and mercy, from now and to the end of time. Amen." The newly-wedded are to bow down to the ground before father and mother and then stand. The father and mother of the bride will say the following: "Children, rely upon the Lord. May the Lord of heaven and earth give you joy instead of sorrow. Rely upon the Lord. May the Lord, the God of heaven, bless you with children before we pass away. Honor your in-laws who are now your parents. And let us hear good report about you so we may rejoice." The newly-wedded are to kiss their parents. Then the father and mother of the bride will say to the groom: "Beloved brother. May the Lord bless you from heaven, and may we see children from our daughter, that we may rejoice before the Lord. Behold, we give our daughter unto you, and do not grieve her." Then he is to kiss them.

129 They are to sing Psalm 128,136 "Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways."

( End of the ceremony. )

136. Psalm 127 in the Russian Bible.

130

LEGAL STATUS OF WOMEN AMONG THE MOLOKANS

Volume 2, Chapter 16

Among the rationalist religious sects in Russia the primary places, without argument, are assumed by the Molokan and Dukhabor sects. These sects are worthy of especial attention and investigation because of their philosophic views on matters of faith, and likewise this civil position in Russia which they developed on their own, creating for themselves their own civil codex of laws, by which they are governed, not recognizing the 10 volumes of the Digest of Laws, mandatory for them. In this manner in Russia, among us there exists a people that have their own civil and ecclesiastical laws, and who know little about the general laws in effect in the empire. Even then, up to now little is available in print about these people. The sects of the Molokans and Dukhabors are rather secretive sects and are only discussed in private, and that almost nothing is conclusively known about them. To the embarrassment of our scholars and theologians, we must state, that they have not to this time researched the historical evolution of these sects. How did these sects originally appear in Russia, how did they expand in the progress of time and what was their fate during their various periods of existence? What is the teaching of these sects in their mental and moral direction? What did these sects achieve in the general political organization of the state during the development of Russia? These are the questions which to this time no one has yet conclusively answered. The sole interpretive investigation, more or less, of one of these sects, namely the Dukhabor, was written by [Orest] Novitski, but from the 1840's it has not been available, so that even in the public libraries of the capital, it is a rarity. And so if at the present time some one wanted to write a history of the Molokans and Dukhabors in Russia, he would not have anything readily available. He would not only have to be an architect, but also a sculptor, and not only to design the structure, but also to drag rocks from the quarry. In 1865-66, P.A. Valyev acquired a commission from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, to compose a history of the Molokans and Dukhabors in Russia, based on the archival activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. We had opportunity to read this, at least a thousand of these issues, beginning from the 18th century and ending in 1866. But these issues were no better than rocks in a quarry. In this present sketch of ours, and not involving ourselves in lengthy exercises and not engulfing ourselves in theological-critical investigation of the religious facets of the Molokans and Dukhabors, we limit ourselves to solely the civil side of the activities, having researched the condition of the Russian woman among the Molokans and Dukhabors from the legal side.

I Marital Rights

131 Just as a wedding is in general one of the most important moments in the life of a woman, then we will begin our investigation of women among the Molokans and Dukhabors from this moment. After viewing the wedding of the Molokans and Dukhabors, it is introduced as an institution that is primarily legal, and in itself represents nothing else than the union of 2 individuals of different sexes, satisfied using popular customs with legal prerequisites that are accepted among the Molokans and Dukhabors, and which produce the necessary result for their civil life. The understanding of it was established among the Molokans and Dukhabors outside the sphere of our civil and ecclesiastical law, but within their own faith and ethics. Marital co-habitation, say the Molokans, was established by God Himself already while man lived in the earthly paradise. And the Lord God said: It is not good for a man to be solitary, I will give to him a helper compatible to him. And the Lord God created out of the rib which He took from the man a woman, and brought her to the man.137. Then God blessed them and said: Be fruitful, increase and fill the earth.138 History testifies to us that religion from the most ancient of eras has taken marriage into its jurisdiction as an institution comprising the basis of all community life. In this matter the Molokans and Orthodoxy do agree. But according to the teaching of the Orthodox church, the wedding presents itself as an institution consummated with the participation of the Godhead, as a sacrament. Although the Molokans and Dukhabors recognize it as a simple ritual, and by no means is there an obstacle to its dissolution with the agreement of the married couple. Independent from religion, the ethical law accepts into its sphere the institution of the wedding and recognizes it as the union of 2 individuals of different sexes founded on the feelings of love with a union having its purpose to complete the single person, who is not complete on his own but is with the individual of the other sex. The wedding, in this manner, appears on the one side as an institution created under the influence of ethical proportions. This 2nd view of the wedding the Molokans and Dukhabors recognize as the cornerstone of their marital right, which is fully compatible with all governments who recognize the wedding at least as having an ethical and legal character. With the creation of Eve, say the Molokans, Adam said: This is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; for this reason the man will leave his father and mother and will cleave to his wife, and the 2 will become one flesh.139 Jesus Christ affirmed the same in the New Covenant.140 This is why marital cohabitation, the Molokans continue, must not only be a carnal cohabitation, because only animals which do not have an immortal spirit have intercourse solely in the flesh. But with the emanation of Eve from Adam one and the other accepted the image and likeness of God, and so for people who descend from the initial individuals inherit the image and likeness of God, and so carnal intercourse without a spiritual union, mutual love, is humiliating and a disgrace, although according to the teaching of some, for example the Orthodoxy, this union is magnified by way of the sacrament. So since the wedding, as we see it, is found among all nations under the influence of a religious and ethical nature, then we can also naturally conclude, because of the various types of religions that exist on the earth that this institution will not be identical for all citizens. Among the Orthodoxy, for example, it appears as a sacrament; among the Molokans as a civil union of husband and wife in the name of the spiritual union, love.

137 Gen 2:18, 22 138 Gen 1:28 139 Gen 2:23-24 140 Matt 19:3-9

132 In our nomocanon,141 the marital rights of the Orthodox is dictated as follows: The wedding is the union of a man and woman in effect the rest of their lives; common Divine and human truths. This definition served as the basis for the civil ratification of the Orthodox man having despotic rights over his wife until her grave. This right among the Molokans is restrained by allowing divorce at the first necessity. But with the Orthodox it surfaces as an ordained law above the authority assigned to even parents over the children, such that there are situations where there is a collision of the rights of the husband with the rights of the authority of the parents. The legislature triumphantly recognizes the right of a husband as stronger. According to the justice in this right, the husband of Orthodox persuasion can demand from his wife her subjection using the most severe despotic orders, and require that the wife be at his presence, as on sentry duty, in his apartment and without his permission be not so bold as to be in another place, otherwise he can accuse her of abandonment and use the police to return her, as if a prisoner. This law gives the Orthodox husband the right to demand from him wife respect and unlimited obedience and gratification. The Molokans say otherwise. "The union between a man and his wife," they say, "must be a union of love, a spiritual union; without this it discredits man and requires dissolution. The holy apostle Paul compares it to the marriage union of Christ and the church. As the church is subject to Christ, he says, so must the wife be to her husband. But the church is never coerced into submission to Christ, and Christ does not utilize this. Men are to love their wives, the apostle teaches, as Christ loves the church. The union of Christ with the church is a spiritual union, and not a union based on the right of the stronger party according to the law." It is clear that the personal attitude of the married couples based on our legislation to this degree reinforces the influence of religious decisions; in actual knowledge the right is totally misplaced, that the legal decisions here are placed only as an abstract, which seems to be a joke. If according to the religious law the married couple must be one in spirit, one in flesh, then according to the ethical law the wife must be a friend to her husband, his counselor and assistant, then it is strange to have to talk about some kind of police authority the husband has over his wife. This field is not in the domestic circle where the police right of the married couple develops and acts. The application of such rights toward family considerations indicates the collapse of family life. "Woe to that community," cried out our noteworthy professor of Russian civil law, D. I. Meyer, "where the husband in the name of the law demands from his wife the fulfillment of her obligations, or the father from his children, appealing to this right!" And what occurs as a result of such legitimate rights of a husband over the wife? That which occurs in the masses of the nation which compose a significant majority of the native population of Russia, the right of the authority of the husband over the wife emerges in an unrestrained form. The husband not only considers himself master over his wife who is fastened to him, not only recognizes himself as having the right to demand of her servitude, a hired work-woman to his own benefit, but affirms for himself even the right to beat her like an animal. Referring to yearly judicial records, this is why we meet with such an immense mass of lawsuits between husbands and wives, where the husband, although the stupidest there is, either requires the wife to be brought to him as a prisoner for sexual cohabitation, or else tortures her in the name of the rights of the husband to the point of barbarity. We don't need to go far for an example. We will direct

141. A book containing a collection of ecclesiastical laws and rights, which governed the Orthodox Church. The nomocanon in effect at the time of writing was the 1839 edition.

133 ourselves to an incident which occurred recently and published in a judicial textbook, these are facts of a coarse use of the rights of the husband pertaining to the wife. The peasant in the example, from Vladimir Province, Uryevski County, village of Palazin, Afanasy Grigoryev Zenin married the peasant girl Irina Leontyeva, and in the name of the rights of the husband beat her in a most brutal manner. Finally the wife fled from home to another village. Then Zenin found her in this village, and tied her to the wheel of his carriage and in this manner drug her the distance to his own village, which he entered in a triumphant manner publicly. When at his trial, the question was asked Zenin: What right did you have to deal with your wife in this manner? Then Zenin, disregarding the fact that he was an ill-bred man, like a wild tree, answered that because he was the husband he had this authority over her. And so we have Zenin, out of all the laws he only knew one: the authority of the husband over the wife; and who then again tied up his wife, cut off her hair, and tied her feet to a horse's tail. From this torture, the unfortunate ran away completely from home and for the next 8 years wandered about the province begging. A certain peasant Esayulov, of the Shouiski County, recently also dealt with his wife Ignateevna likewise savagely. "When I arrived to the bath-house," answered Ignateevna candidly during the trial, "Esayulov locked both doors, ordered me to take off my clothes in order to whip me. I became afraid and wanted to run, but then he violently stripped me naked and began to whip me with tree branches and just anyplace, and then rinsing off the branches in the wash basins; he did this until all the branches were broken apart. At this time while wallowing on the floor, my entire body was wounded and bleeding; I had bit my tongue from Esayulov holding his hand over my mouth. After the first change of rods, Esayulov left the bath-house, and when I wanted to follow him out, he locked the door, and I wanted to cry but could not because my gums had swollen in my mouth and blood flowed like a stream from my mouth. When the door creaked from opening again, I hide under the floor in the corner out of fear. Esayulov, entering the bath-house, looked for me everywhere, and finally found me hiding under the floor. He grabbed me by the hair and again whipped me with this 2nd set of branches until all of them were beaten apart. Then he ran out of branches. When I was finally able to gather the last of my strength and wanted to lift myself from the floor, then he grabbed me with both hands using my braids and began to beat my head against the floor and wall, until I finally had no strength left in me. In the end he brought a 3rd set of rods and again whipped me with them, dipping them in the wash basin, stepping on my head with his feet, until he beat apart this rods. When he ran out of rods, he began to tear apart my flesh with his teeth." Such actions with the wife in the name of the rights of the husband have never occurred among the Molokans in Russian beginning with the time of their appearance and never can occur. According to their teaching, the men must love their wives as their own body.142 He who loves his wife loves himself. And so for this reason, say the Molokans, the violator of the law of God is that man who is abusive toward his wife, for example, who beats her. In this manner he leads her into sin; he makes it difficult for her to be submissive to her husband. Submission is easy in love; but with an abusive attitude how can love exist? Without love the woman is no longer an assistant for the man, as the Lord God instituted, but now is a slave, which is against the will of God. Poor treatment of the wife by the husband makes it easy to cause the wife to violate the wedding vow, leading her into immorality; But now the husband will be the first to answer for the sins of the wife, because he was commanded to love his wife as Christ loves the church; and Christ sacrificed Himself for its behalf, in order to sanctify her,

142 Eph 5:28

134 to present it unto himself as a glorious church, not have stain or blemish. But this [abusive] person not only has no love for his wife, but leads her into sin. God will have no mercy on him. As a result of such a different view that Orthodox men and Molokan men have toward their wives, the following occurs on occasion in Russia: The wives of Orthodox husbands, those are abused by their spouses, at the first opportunity flee to the Molokans and are again given in marriage to one of their sons, accepting likewise the Molokan tenets of belief. The Molokans who happen to lived especially close to Orthodox villages take advantage of the violent attitude of the Orthodox men toward their wives and always help them to flee. In one of the villages of the Samar Province, named Tyagloi Ozero, having a Molokan population even from the middle of the 18th century, one female Molokan told us about her flight from her Orthodox husband in this manner, "When I no longer had a life because of my husband who was very fond of fighting, and because of my alcoholic father-in-law, and the daily harassment from a quarrelsome mother-in-law, then the Molokans, who found out about this, proposed that I deliver myself from this penal servitude and flee to them. When I gave my consent to this, then they showed me a young man rather modest in appearance who agreed to accept me in marriage, and we arranged for me to flee from home at midnight on Thursday. As soon as this time came, a carriage pulled by 3 horses drove quietly to the loft where I was sleeping, and the person sitting in the carriage clapped 3 times. Then I let myself down from the loft, and those who were sent took me into their hands, and put me in the carriage. The 3-horse carriage drove off quickly, but where I did not know because they wrapped a handkerchief around my eyes. Finally the horses stopped and they lifted me down from the seat; they led me somewhere where there were a considerable number of people from the conversations I could hear. The people were orderly, and there my new husband, whom I recognized by his voice, took me by the hand and said, 'Fear nothing, I am with you my dear, and you and I will get married; that will conclude the matter.' When I asked the Molokan elders why they marry the Orthodox women who newly arrive to them, when they have no wedding ritual,143 the Molokans answered me, 'We do not consider the wedding ceremony as a sacrament, as your Orthodox do, viewing it differently than we do. In order to consummate this matter, we wed those who newly arrive to us in our fashion, and no more than a ceremony consisting of the recitation of prayers from the Bible. We do nothing here against the conscience, and we do not accept any one here against their own will. And if a person wants to be relieved from some poor style of life, then why should we as Christians not help?' That is all." So threatening was this incident of the neighbors against the Orthodoxy that the government decided to issue a decree to resettle the Molokans at the Milky Waters in the Province of Tavria, and then later to the Caucasus.

II Conditions for the Consummation of a Molokan Wedding

In our legislation the conditions for the performance of a wedding are normally divided into positive and negative points. Understood under the first are those circumstances that the wedding is dependant on. But under the 2nd class those circumstances that should be absent for the wedding to be

143. The woman was referring to the complex wedding ritual of the Orthodoxy.

135 performed. Violating the first group causes the wedding to be canceled. The violation of the 2nd group does not necessarily cause such a severe result. First of all our legislation requires the agreement of the engaged couple. As a union of 2 individuals of different sexes, and subsequently a civil matter, the wedding in itself naturally would require the consent of the engaged. This agreement formally is expressed in the following manner, that the engaged couple during the actual performance of the wedding in church give a verbal indication to the priest regarding their voluntary and noncompulsory consummation of the wedding. Expressing non-consent from the side of either of the engaged party voids the performance of the wedding. However, disregarding this, as a result of the systematic enslavement of the female by the male in accord with our law, for the most cases, as in the past and so it is today, the weddings are performed under coercion. Of course the formal announcement of the couple regarding their non-consent to enter into marriage according to the law voids the actual performance of the wedding; but the spoken word Yes, announced during the ceremony, especially from the side of the bride, for the most part is required because of threats and often torture. The legitimized agreement of the engaged has now become nothing more than a pointless sound, a dead canon of the law. Our judicial chroniclers present an endless multitude of facts to indicate this, growing especially in view of the absolute prohibition against marriage without the consent of the parents. For disobedience of this the punishment is prison confinement for a period of 4 to eight months. But such is not the case among the Molokans. Not knowing the consequences of violating our Imperial legislation, and not even acknowledging their existence, they select texts from the Holy Scriptures, from the book of Tobit, and place them as primary in their traditional and civil rights in the matter of the agreement of both groom and bride. The Molokans say, And Raguel said to Tobias, "Eat, drink, and be merry, for it is your right to take my child. Take her now in accordance with the custom." And he called Sarah and took her hand, and gave her to Tobias as wife, and said, "Behold, according to the law of God accept her and take her to the house of your father." And he blessed them.144 On this basis the Molokans and Dukhabors, in principal, regard any wedding performed under coercion, forced by the father or mother, against the will of God. Because under conditions of coercion there is no love and it cannot exist, and that coercion in marriage is immoral. Never does there occur sorrowful scenes of [Molokan] women coerced into marriage; although it has been occurring among the Orthodox from the beginning of time, and because of this there have been thousands of criminal cases in each province. Among the Molokans the groom who chooses a bride after his own heart and the bride a groom announces this to the parents who then relate it to the people during church services, and they in no way have any right to preclude the wedding of the couple in love. In cases that are otherwise the [couple] can complain of coercion by the father or mother in the presence of the people during their church assembly. This judicial custom is made legitimate through custom, since the Molokans have no written laws, or civil or ecclesiastical ones. The Orthodox brides, doomed by their fathers to an unwanted wedding with a groom they have no love for, if they live neighboring a Molokans village, take the best means of running away to the Molokans whom we know have never rejected any hospitality toward such unfortunate brides; and they hide her until she is finally given in marriage to a man she loves, who will also love the fugitive [bride]. In regard to the property rights of the spouses, this is how this matter exists among the Molokans and Dukhabors. The property of 2 individuals of different sexes, as a result of their wedding,

144 Tobit 7:10,13

136 now becomes common to them both, although the right of control for the most part is assumed by the husband, having a better understanding of economy. In short we can say that among the Molokans and Dukhabors there exists a system of community property of the spouses, which also exists in the western governments and has become the norm based on custom. In reality the ideal of the wedding is here disclosed in full and causes a consolidation between the spouses, even in the smallest material interests. And it is beautiful if the ideal of the wedding is so strong that it incorporates the material side of married life. There is in the civil laws a system for the complete separation of the property rights of the spouses, such that the wedding does not have any direct influence on their attitude toward property. This, as well known, is the system that is adopted by our legislation. But the Molokans and Dukhabors do not know about this legislation and do not want to know. Under the normal conditions of married life, remarkably there is no motivation to learn the systems of the various legalities of the Europeans or the Russian Orthodox regarding the property rights of spouses. When the [Molokan] wedding conforms in full to its ideal, that is, when it actually generates a unity of the spouses in spirit and body, then there is never any dispute among them regarding material interests and the spouses always consider their property common, and utilize it together for the satisfaction of their needs.

III Ages of the Engaged Couple

Our legislation, as it well known, establishes a general marital maturity, but not identical with the general civic definition of maturity, specifically: for the male gender marital maturity occurs when they reach the age of 18; but for the female gender it is when they reach 16 years after birth. And so many can get married some years prior to reaching the age that the general populace defines as marital maturity. Not too long ago, persons of the female gender were allowed to marry, with the approval of the diocesan bishop, after reaching the age of 15-1/2 years, while those of the male gender after reaching 17-1/2 years. Independent from this, among the native residents of the region of the Transcaucasus, the age of maturity for right to marry was placed at 16 years for men, while for women the age of 14 years. Our legislation was led by this case after reviewing the physical facets of marriage as pertaining to sexual intercourse, because physical maturity, as is known among the natural sciences, has a great significance in marriage, and to get married any earlier has detrimental effects on the organism of marriage. Our legislature became aware of this along with the economic conditions of Russian life. For a significant majority of the population of our fatherland, for the rural population, it is of exceptional importance to marry early, so [the man] can have an assistant in the farm economy, and have many children as helpers unto his ripe old age. On this basis in the village life of the Orthodox, weddings are performed for the most part with children, illiterate and mentally and morally undeveloped, not understanding anything; with children who are not in a condition to develop the cognizance of the importance or the strength or stability of the union they are concluding. In this situation the parents or relatives usually act indiscreetly on behalf of the engaged couple; and who are inevitably the first to abandon the couple to their own fate, often erupting in an unfortunate marriage. It is not this way among the Molokans and Dukhabors. The boy or girl, as groom and bride,

137 are observed by them not so much from the physical, as much as the moral side. In their life style, age for marriage is determined by mental and moral maturity. This is their civil and traditional codex. Almost all of the Molokans and Dukhabors on an individual basis are literate; and are literate as a necessity, because the best groom and the best bride is considered the one who knows better and more of the Holy Scriptures and the responsibilities of the Christian. Their literacy and scholarship and knowledge of the Holy Scriptures are admirable. They do not marry anybody too young. For males the age for marriage is not earlier than 19 or 20; and for the females, not earlier than 18 or 20. We had the opportunity to spend entire evenings to listen to the conversations of young Molokans boys, from 13 to 15 years, and young girls, from 12 to 14 years, in regard to a Christian's responsibilities to parents, relatives, elders, spouses, children and etc; and we have to admit we were amazed, plainly astounded by this education. A girl of 14 years spoke about the responsibilities of her future husband, and her as his wife, according to the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Covenants, in a manner that not even a seminarian student, learning to be a priest, could. Such a bride will definitely instruct her husband regarding Biblical obligations if he should want to violate one. And if this should occur she will disclose it to the church assembly on the following Sunday, and the church committee will resolve any marital violations. For this reason in every Molokan home is found, absolutely, a Bible which lies usually on a shelf in a corner of the living room, with other sacred books. This Bible is read every evening all year round by the fathers; and if the fathers have to work, then their children will read and the father will interpret it to them while he is working. In the strength of this quality of maturity are the groom and bride among the Molokans. Their woman concern themselves about nothing else except to have an excellent education in the Bible, and they attain such a puritanism in regard to women's apparel, that they do not wear earrings, nor rings on their fingers, nor broaches, and no metal decor of any type; although they are very neat in their dress, with white blouses having the most part sewn with colorful stitchery and embroidery. The Molokans girls do not even know what it is to have ears pierced for earrings. "Our daughters love to decorate themselves in soul and with the knowledge of the word of God, and not with earrings or rings on the fingers," answers a typical Molokan. "Whichever one of them learns to read or write the earliest, reads even more and gains more of an education in the Bible, and sings better than others in the assembly, she is considered prettier than the others." The entire worship service of the Molokans is comprised of reading, and the singing of the Psalms of David, that is, the Psalter. And so the women, taking advantage of the same opportunity, sing equally with the men, and also form from among themselves a choir and start songs. Nevertheless, we must say that the Molokan and Dukhabor women in general are prettier and can be counted as a better illustration of a Russian tribe among our peasants. There is especially and clearly noticeable in their eyes their femininity, modesty, shyness, and some type of quiet and calm, and even domesticated expression. This beauty of the Molokan and Dukhabor women is very natural in this environment, where the genders are considered equal and the effeminacy of woman is allowed in every situation. Neither the men or the woman know anything about wine, nor about obscenity. There is not one Molokan or Dukhabor village in Russia that has a bar. Even to this date the sectarians do not consider the use of wine, and their hospitality consists of tea with honey and snacks made with raisins.

Our legislation also defines likewise the maximum age, which a person once reaching can no longer marry. This age is the same for both genders - upon reaching 80 years from birth. But the Molokans

138 and Dukhabors do not have among themselves any legislation regarding the [maximum] age of couples to marry. However by surveying them, the oldest age for marriage has been in the 40's to 50's, at the most. And the church council does not permit marriage beyond this, because the ideal of marriage, according to their understanding, is no longer applicable toward couples up in age. If a person considerably older than others requires attention, care and concern, then the person of this seasoning requires support, and a marriage with a younger person will not be a mutual one; and so in this situation the wedding is not compatible with its purpose, says the professor of Russian law, D.I. Meyer. An intelligent person should early in his life concern himself with support for his later years; and if he has lived to a ripe age without outside support, i.e. a wife, he should continue so until the end of his life. In every situation, marriage is a union dedicated to earthly goals; and the person who has lived out 2/3 of his life should be more concerned about life beyond the grave rather than the balance of his earthy interests. In blessing the couple getting married, the Molokan mother and father read the following prayer over the heads of the newly-wedded in the presence of the assembly. "Child, remember your creator in the days of your youth, and in all your days honor the Lord your God and refuse to sin or transgress the commandments of the Lord. And do what is right all the days of your life. Beware, my son, of all immorality. Enter into a holy matrimony blessed of God; respect it by way of this blessing and preserve among you love and harmony. May God bless you, and you will see your children and the fruit of the womb and will draw unto yourselves the blessing of God and a peaceful life. And may our parental blessing likewise abide upon you. May the Lord God bless you to accept matrimony and preserve it in virtue; this we earnestly desire for you. May the blessing be upon you as we call upon the name of our merciful God. May the blessing of the Lord be upon you now and always and for ever. Amen" "If an elderly man enters into marriage, how can he have children?" ask the Molokans. "It would be embarrassing to read such a prayer over the heads of the newly-wedded. Weddings of this type are immoral, and we do not permit them."

IV Distribution and Guardianship

The Molokans say that sons and daughters are derived from the same womb of the mother and the path out of it is the same one. Subsequently, they are to be treated equally before the parents in all matters. For this reason among the Molokans, in the division of inheritance, the bothers and sisters receive the equal shares. But it is not this way among the Orthodox. And when we read to them, in the [Legislation of] Samar Province, page 1130, of Volume 10, part 1, published 1857, where it says that every daughter who has brothers will only receive 1/14 share of the inheritance, and if she has moved out, then 1/8 share, my converser in this topic then began to argue with me and began to quote from the Bible, that this discrimination of some children as opposed to others must not occur, and that they are not led by such laws and will not be led by them. On the other hand it happens this way, that a greater portion will be given to daughters if they have children, especially if she has many children. And if a brother is a bachelor, he will receive less than a sister, or if he has no children or few children. My converser, a Molokan woman who was a mother of children, in a trembling voice indicated to me the custom of distribution to the children in the following example, "When a son or daughter is

139 hungry and asks for bread, I should give bread to my son and a rock to my daughter? No way! In my heart all my children are equals and my possessions will be divided among them equally. And if I have 2 garments, the son will take one and the daughter will take the other; not that the son will take them both, while my daughter will end up only with remnants of cloth from my dresses. And whichever finger of mine should hurt my entire hand hurts because all the fingers on my hand are equal to me. So is it with my children, just like fingers on my hand." Whenever children in a Molokan family become orphans without father or mother, then a guardian is appointed according to the council of the elders, and not from the [state] orphanage courts, which the Molokans decline to use, They say that these courts exist only so the officials live well, but not the orphans. The guardian is usually appointed from the relatives of the orphans or else from the respected elders, whomever are the primary people in the village. In general, the civil life among the Molokans and Dukhabors is an original Bible-based life style. And we are sad that the extent of our articles do not allow us to further compare their legal system with all the articles of our 10 volumes of the Civil Code.

140

MOLOKANS OF KHARKOV

Volume 1, Chapter 16

Upon this immense expansion of Russia, the Ukraine, distant from its center, was disposed of all that was in opposition to the government. But here sprouted also opposition to the Orthodox church and its clergy. The faith of the people on the one hand, did not have firm enlivening food and an intelligent foundation; on the other hand, and long already unstable in Russia, it collided with the religious views of the west, and in the presence of the dissenters and our homegrown rationalists expressed a protest against the hierarchy of the church and the purity of the Orthodoxy. There remained for the opposing side to find strength in the conditions of the era, to grow every year, and the circumstances were very ripe for this. The Orthodox clergy at the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century had no significance among the people. Many individuals would not accept them in their home their entire life. They often did not attend confession until old age; and often they just died unrepentant. Not only on Sundays, but even on the holidays of the Lord and the Blessed Virgin, even the [Orthodox] Fathers and deacons did not attend church, and did not even revere the great fast (Lent); and they had a cold attitude and lack of respect towards the sacraments of the church. Peter I, in the name of an edit of February 17, 1718, posted throughout the cities, villages and towns on printed posters, herded the people into the forsaken churches. In place of its direct responsibilities, the clergy sold hard liquor illegally in church, and thereby lost the last traces of obedience that people had for it. The teaching of the Lutherans and Calvinists, hurrying towards such a condition, could not have found a more opportune time. And so here appeared Andrei and Semeon Denisov, who were unadulterated protestants according to the manner of their thinking. In the process of teaching the priestless145 movement there appeared also the Netovshini,146 rejecting the visible church on earth and so forming in itself an arrogant one-sided and unrecognized expression of the protestant spirit of renunciation and freedom. The mind of Daniel Vikykin and the streltsi-dissenters was not able to any more develop fullness of the rationalistic origins of the protestants; but the streltsi, cossacks, and thousands of the priestless, in general, that fled to the Ukraine and were not oppressed by anyone, found for themselves a field ready for a great religious transformation. The opposition of the era, the political-religious facet of Russia, could no longer endure the greed of the clergy; the sale of sacraments to unworthy people for money; illegal weddings performed

145. The bezpopovtsi. For further information read, Russian Dissenters, F.C. Conybeare, pgg. 151-188. The Denisovs are discussed on pg. 154. 146. Also known as the Netovtsi, or Nothing-ites. For further information read Russian Dissenters, F.C. Conybeare, pgg. 164-165.

141 for money; embezzlement of government revenue; the business of brandy distillation instead of their spiritual obligations; and incessant drunkenness. The monks in the monasteries often acted together with criminals, just as did unqualified priests and the children of priests.147 They drank heavily and fled often from the hermitages to the dissenters, and carrying away with them clothes and books. Vagabond friars wandered from yard to yard of private homes, and rambled from monastery to monastery, not knowing where to begin, and so aggravated the minds of the religious opposition of Russia, who would threaten every protest using the whip. Consequently, after concealing this hatred of the disarray of the church in their soul, the opposition fled to the Ukraine and outside of the country. These people fleeing to the Ukraine from Moscow took what they were able to carry in their souls, when at the beginning of the 18th century drunken priests laid around in saloons, shouted obscenely in the streets, slept along the roads, arguing in a vulgar manner whenever attending dinner at the home of their parishioners, were prepared to drink heavily whenever received as guests, and fell into great criminal behavior. In general, during the 18th century, the clergy collapsed into total demoralization, was humiliated in the presence of the aristocracy of the 18th century - to which reverted the respect and privilege that the clergy was now deprived of; and now sensing this total disgrace and servility in the presence of its own community, and with the absence of strength and means to raise the conditions of the community, finally morally collapsed. It became stubborn not able to recognize its own destiny, and as a result, without blaming its own soul, no longer was concerned about itself. The Moscow people and community were agitated as a result of the clergy and finally by the rationalists. Of the latter we have Tveritinov and his disciples who poured into Russia like a flood. In Moscow there began persecutions, and the announced criticism of belief forced the fugitives to the Ukraine, where the mass of dissenters long living there were ready to accept such a broad teaching and which coincided with the endeavors of the political and religious population. In the beginning of the 18th century, such teachings as the Dukhabors and Molokans appeared.

We have obtained a description of the ceremony of the Kharkov Molokans for the naming of a child. This ceremony, by all observation, originates from Tambov, and is performed by the Molokans in the following form:

CEREMONY OF THE MOLOKANS WHEN GIVING A CHILD A NAME

ACROSTIC: So that Your sons whom You did love Lord, would learn that it is not

147. The White clergy are the married clergy, and they normally had families. They were primarily the village or town parish priest, deacon or lower rank. The highest rank a married priest could attain was proto-pope (arch- priest or proto-priest), who was the senior priest in a parish. The Black clergy are unmarried, monastic. Beginning with the bishop and up to the Patriarch, they are always chosen from the monastic clergy. Because some lower positions could be held by either married or monastic, the monastic deacon or priest always had "monk" attached to his title.

142 by the growth of food that man is fed; but that Your word preserves those who trust in You. Wisdom of Solomon 16:26

During the naming of a new-born child, someone will be entrusted to hold the child in their arms to recite its name, and someone to recite the following prayers, likewise all the relatives in general and the others, except the mother, praying:

In the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. Our Father who is in heaven,... (and to the end.) The Lord is my shepherd,... (Ps 23,148 to the end.) The following prayer recite on your knees:149 Lord God, the great and wondrous, magnificent and glorious is Your name, and unsearchable is Your wisdom; and Your work in Your creation is unattainable to any creature and to human intellect; You have completed the creation of us and the earth, the word of your hand; and likewise created man in Your image and in Your likeness, and placed him as sovereign over all your creation on the earth. You assigned to him a beneficial life and abundance for his satisfaction, and said, It is not good for a man to be alone; I will make for him a helper just like himself. And He gave him a wife out of his own flesh, and commanded him to observe one commandment: not to eat from one tree, or else they will die. But they did not observe Your word, violating Your commandment. And You Lord, banished them out of the sweet paradise, and gave to them a life of difficulties. But not to their end did Your execute your anger on them; for You saw for Your creation the benefit of having a temporal life, increasing for them various pleasures and then said to them, Increase, multiply, and fill the earth. And Your holy word was fulfilled. But when the posterity of man increased on the earth and grew proud in Your presence, doing evil on the earth, You Lord, justly punished them in Your wrath for their sins, You brought upon them the waters of death and destroyed every creature on the earth. Then You again planted the earth with the posterity of man. But when the living again increased on the earth and did evil, You gave them your beloved commandments and the judgements of your justification on Mount Sinai. But they soon forgot Your benevolence, violating Your commandments and not obeying your servants, the prophets, who spoke to them, saying that they harden their hearts and refuse to be converted. And You gave them a spirit of delusion and left them to the devises of their own hearts. But Your wrath on the work of Your hands did not continue to the end, You increased Your compassion toward the human race and did not even spare Your only-born Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. You sent Him to the earth to seek out and save those who perish, and He accomplished all of Your holy will, and allowed Himself to suffer for a short time for us the sinful, and He laid down His soul for His flock, for the sake of our salvation He redeemed us with His blood from the impending wrath. And now Lord God Almighty, display Your mercy upon us and cleanse Lord, our sins. Bend Your ear and hear our prayer and open Your eyes to look down from heaven from Your holy throne.

148. Psalm 22 in the Russian Bible. 149. This prayer, as all the others in the prayer ceremonies, is written in the male gender, although when referring to a female the pronoun is changed to refer to the female when reciting the prayer.

143 Send Lord, Your blessing on the birth of the human posterity and this child (recite name); and let him grow Lord, in a proper upbringing, and direct Lord, his path before You, and do not deprive him the intellect to recognize You the sole creator. Then he will accept from You the perfect baptism - the teaching, professing the confirmed faith in God, the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit. And direct him Lord, unto Your compassionate heart and teach him Lord, to perform Your holy will. Lord, King of heaven and earth! Our heart and knee we bend unto You, and petition You Lord God, the great and much-merciful giver of goodness. Perform Lord, Your mercy with this new-born child of Yours, and do not deprive him Lord, the gift of Your holy Spirit. And confirm Lord, the strength of Your grace with Your holy blessing, from now and to the end of time. Amen.

Then read, He who lives in the shelter of the most high,... Psalm 91,150 to the end. Then recite:

PRAYER (kneeling) Lord Almighty, God of Israel, beginningless and endless, invisible, unattainable, immense, intangible, vast, omnipotent, all-steadfast, all-venerated, all-praiseworthy, all-wise, almighty; and worthy to accept from all Your creation honor and gratitude. From the beginning You created all and arranged all according to Your own good intentions with one goal: the glorification of Your honorable and glorious name for Your own name's sake. We Your servants are created according to Your image and likeness. Lord, here Your blessings are consummated with us. O our God! To increase the population of Your earth, Your servants give birth to the fruit of our womb. Happiness is unveiled for us and great joy in the happy ecstasy of our heart. We run to You with our offerings Lord, and light the incorporeal fire of Your holy altar regarding the most immaculate gratitude. Our hearts burn with fire before You. We petition and beseech You the Almighty Lord our God, Adonai Lord Eloah Sabaoth. The valuable gift that is gifted to us by You, we bring to You. Accept him as an offering of sweet fragrance; sanctify him in Your name; strengthen his weak members that they may grow in Your presence, like the fruitful olive tree flourishing with benevolence. Protect him Lord, as they pass through the course of Your struggle successfully. Teach him Lord, the dictates of Your law. Enlighten the eyes of his mind to progress into the strength of Your commandments. O Lord God, You are responsible for love, which unites us with the small children given us from You. Accept Lord, our prayer, which we pray at the throne of Your kind heart with warm tears; with them we wet your holy place. Bless the efforts which we expend regarding the upbringing of our young children. Strengthen them in virtue and faith, and do not allow them to be controlled by depraved people and follow the children of this age. Our God! We ask of You, the source of all enlightenment with all earnestness, so Your golden gift hidden in our nature would materialize and make of it a valuable vessel of benevolence. Then the tender feelings found will be a comfort when our love in this sacred pledge will continue in the honor and glory of your people. And let him be a support for our weaknesses and our comfort in our old age. Let there be fulfilled upon us the words of wisdom of Jesus the son of Sirach: While alive he saw and rejoiced and when he died he was not grieved; he has left behind him an avenger against his enemies,

150. Psalm 90 in the Russian Bible. (Tr.)

144 and one to repay the kindness of his friends.151 Father of all, the Creator of creation. Our greatest desire consists in this, that we may be able to present them before You on the great day before the assembly of Angels and men, when You will arrive to judge the deeds of Your people. Then we can say to you without shame: Behold I and the children whom the Lord has given us.152 You alone do we worship, the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Then recite Psalm 121.153

The necessity of this ceremony consists in the acceptance at this time of the participation of the relatives and the others gathered who stand with the elders on their knees and pray to God especially for a virtuous life for the new-born. The prayers that are read by the elder on this occasion while on his knees, in the presence of the entire congregation on their knees over the new-born, witness to us that the Molokans are over-concerned about the spiritual aspects of an individual, that as soon as a member of their congregation appears on earth they start him on this path primarily with the desire of the perfection of his soul, as the image and likeness of God. It is not necessary to turn our attention to the solemnity of this ritual, as it indicates very clearly that the Molokans apply a greater meaning to the membership of a new-born to their spiritual community. From this moment the child is already subject to the community prayers on its behalf as a member of the Christian family. The prayers of this ritual are usually bland and completely inartistic, although obviously sincere and fervent.

151. Sirach 30:5-6 152. Is 8:18 153. Psalm 120 in the Russian Bible.

145

MOLOKANS OF SIMBIRSK

Volume 2, Chapter 22

Simbirsk Province, as a province of the lower Volga, became familiar early with the raskol, the rationalism of the Molokans and the sophism of the Khlisti and Scoptsi and others. Even when the manifest of 1762 was proclaimed to invite from other countries the Polish and Turkish dissenters to populate the desolate areas along the Volga River, then the educated were sent to the Irgiz Monastery for dissenters, and among the other provinces a number of preachers were sent to the Simbirsk, who also then extended the ecclesiastical dissent throughout the province, and especially in the Seizranski and Alateirski Counties. Toward the end of the 18th century, Simbirsk already had elements of the Scoptsi, Khlisti, and the Molokans. The latter was brought there via 2 routes. The zealous disciples of Uklein, and almost coincidental with the preaching of Molokanism in the lower Volga provinces, proclaimed it in the 1780's and 1790's in Simbirsk Province. The road that the proselytes took from Tambov Province to Simbirsk was apparently the main highway through the city Penza to Simbirsk. The other road, which the strength of Molokanism took to Simbirsk Province, was from Samar Province along the Volga River. But however it occurred, the Simbirsk Molokans already had at the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th century a written profession of belief, identical with the dogmas of the Tambov Molokans. This prayerbook is remarkable because it practically has not changed, as we had an opportunity to certify it at the very locale it has been preserved until today in the Simbirsk Province. The Molokans of the Seizranski County, village of Tsarevo-Nikolski, not too long ago, namely in 1865, presented to the Examining Magistrate a prayerbook containing their profession of belief, almost word for word identical with the Tambov prayerbook. Nonetheless, Molokans in general hold firmly to their written profession of belief once delivered to them, and they do not allow the composition of new prayerbooks. In part, because it is accompanied by having to relearn what they have already learned as children: The prayerbook is already learned by them while still in childhood, like prayers are memorized by the Orthodox children. And in part because of having something written down on paper in case of persecution. In part Molokans have developed Christian truth to a wider extend than is indicated in the local prayerbooks. And when any Orthodox discusses the matter with them or the Orthodox clergy admonishes them, they relate considerable thoughts and new evidence that is not contained in these prayerbooks. And if the requirement should arise to present their profession of faith to the government or to the Orthodox clergy, then only the official prayerbook is ever acquired from them, if anything at all.

146 II

While learning about the Molokans at the very place of their settlement, we turned our attention to, among other matters, how they spend their Sundays. These days are literally dedicated to God, beginning with a community prayer service, which we refer to as liturgy, which begins at 9 in the morning, and lasts until 1 or 2 in the afternoon, and includes the reading of the Bible and its interpretation and likewise the singing of songs of spiritual content, similar to the religious chants that we use. Molokans are especially expert in the Bible; their women also have a considerable knowledge and can quote texts at any occasion. They have also educated -or so they think- theologians; but their versification is poor with their writings. They have almost no literary compositions, unlike the rest of our dissenters who have entire thousands of scholastic volumes. The Molokan songs we recorded are the composition of purely Molokan prose, as the reader can see, and very poor in quality as far as literary critique is concerned. We have in our hands a ceremony of the Simbirsk Molokans concerning the memorial services for the deceased. In all indication it is of Tambov derivation, and which is presented here in its original context. Here is how this ceremony is performed by the Molokans.

MOLOKAN CEREMONY Memorial Services for the Deceased.

ACROSTIC For if he were not expecting that those Who had fallen would rise again, It would have been superfluous And foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the Splendid reward that is laid up For those who fall asleep in godliness, It was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, That they might be delivered from their sin. 2 Macc 12:44-45

BEGINNING

Our Father who is in heaven, holy be Your name... to the end.

Then recite PRAYER Attend to my words, Lord. Lord the king imperishable and timeless, almighty. Look upon the posterity of Abraham, which You have chosen as Your elect. Remember us Lord God, in faith and in the hope of eternal life; hear and pardon Your deceased servant (recite name), for You are a compassionate

147 God, having mercy on us, those who sin before You. Lord Almighty, the God of Israel. Hear the prayer of Your servants regarding your deceased servant (recite name), for in death there is no remembrance of You and in the grave who can confess You. Hear Lord, according to the blessing of Aaron the voice of the prayers of Your servants. Hear the voice of our sorrow and be mindful of the voice of prayer from our lips. And we Lord, ask and beseech of You, the multitude of young men and women, for You have admonished us to pray for our friend: Pray that you may be healed; the prayer of a righteous person accomplishes much.154 For if he was not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead.155 Accept our petition on behalf of this soul which has departed from the decaying body of Your servant. Do not remember all of his sins, which he did in this life, for You promised to remit sins unto the 3rd and 4th generation of those who hate you, and perform mercy unto the thousands [of generations] that love You. Accept him Lord, into Your holy habitation, at the eternal and radiant place where the righteous rejoice and are consoled with indescribable benevolence. Hear Lord, the voice of those crying out to you. Look upon us with Your omniscient eye. We pray to You and worship You for ever and ever. Amen.

Then: PRAYER (kneeling) Lord Almighty, the God of Israel. With our soul in oppression and spirit in anguish we cry unto You. Hear us and pardon us, for You are a compassionate God and abide for ever, let us not perish forever. Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, forgive Your deceased servants and sons who have sinned before You, for they have not obeyed Your voice. Do not remember the wickedness of our fathers but remember Your hand and Your name at this time, for You are our Lord God, and we boast of You. You have placed the fear of You in our hearts to petition Your name, and we praise You for You have turned away Lord, all wickedness from our hearts. We who have sinned before You now pray for your servant (recite name) who has departed from us. Lord, forgive the sins of (recite name), whether deliberate or not deliberate, as they have sinned in this life. And allow him to migrate Lord unto green pastures, to a place of rest and a radiant place where there is no sorrow or sighing, but life without end. Amen.

Then: PRAYER Lord God Almighty of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their righteous posterity to the end of time. You Lord, created from the beginning Adam, our ancestor, and planted with Your right hand a paradise in the east in Eden, and brought there the man whom You created. And You said that it is not good for a man to be alone, so We will create for him a helper just like himself. And You made Adam delirious and so he fell asleep, and taking one of his ribs You made for him a helper. And you told

154. Jam 5:16 155. 2 Macc 12:44

148 them: Observe the path of life, do not eat from the forbidden tree. But Adam violated Your commandment and took from the forbidden tree and ate; and so Adam and Eve now in the presence of God in sin realized their shame for they were naked, and hid from You for they saw You walking in Paradise. And you Lord our God, became angry at them and banished them from paradise. And you Lord our God, became angry at them and banished them from paradise and gave to them a life of suffering and the sentence of death, and said to Adam: Of earth you were made, and to the earth you return. And Your holy word is fulfilled, for to this time all our perishable bodies return to the earth, from which we were taken. But You did not allow our souls to see decay. And now Lord God Almighty, hear the petition of Your male and female servants who pray before You on behalf of the souls of the elect generation. Do not remember the sins of Your young men and women, deliver them from eternal torment and give to them the place which You have prepared from the beginning for Your elect. Settle Lord, the soul of Your servant (recite name) in Your courts, at the bosom of Abraham, where there is no sickness nor sorrow nor sighing, but life without end. Amen.

Then: PRAYER (kneeling) Lord God of heaven, Almighty Sovereign. Look upon the petition of Your servants and forgive the deceased his sins and lead him into the kingdom of the righteous. We praise You with all who please You. Hear us Lord, You who descended into the nether-world, and with Yourself raised others from the dead. Lord, pardon Your deceased servant (recite name), and give him rest, for You alone are Sovereign Sabaoth, generous and merciful, and no one is without sin except You alone. For this reason remit the sins presented before You and lead him into paradise. Holy Trinity, hear our petitioning voice, beseeching you in church on behalf of Your deceased servant. Enlighten with Your divine light, and do not deprive him of Your heavenly grace. And forgive him his sins, deliberate or not deliberate, and settle the soul of Your servant (recite name) in Your heavenly abode, where the righteous are consoled by Your presence, and enlighten him with the light of Your right hand. O Son, the Lord, the Almighty God of our Fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Hear the prayer of Your male and female servants, beseeching You regarding Your departed servant (recite name). Forgive Lord, his sins, for You along are the Sovereign, merciful and long-patient and forgiving, and true. You Father do we ask, the Sovereign of our life, include this soul with Your saints; deliver him from eternal fire that he may praise and exalt You for ever. Amen.

Also PRAYER Have mercy on us Lord God of Israel. Hear the prayer of Your servants, who pray unto You on behalf of the souls of the elect generation. Remember Lord, Your mercy and generosity which has existed from the beginning of time. For us You became man, and were crucified and accepted death for the sake of the salvation of those believing on You. You resurrected from the death, ascended into heaven, and now sit on the right side of God the Father. And You view the humble petitions of those who beseech You with all their heart.

149 Bend Lord, Your ear, and hear the prayer of Your male and female servants, who have gathered to pray on behalf of our deceased brothers and sisters. Unto You Lord, we lift our prayer, enlighten the dead with light and with the grace of Your holy Spirit; and give them a place of rest. Deliver them from the fire of Gehenna and eternal torments. Lord, accept our prayer. Upon You alone do we bestow honor and glory and gratitude, and worship the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

End of this prayer service.

Here we must say 2 or 3 words about the Molokan presbyters who perform this prayer service. The Molokan presbyter, as we researched while there, has responsibilities other than just conducting worship service. He carefully pursues the moral standards of the community which selected him, and has constant concern for its spiritual needs. Molokans recite the words of the Gospels: The elders - presbyters- who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by constraint but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as dominating the inheritance of God -the church, but being examples to the flock.156 "On this basis the presbyters," say the Molokans, "do not accept any type of payment or reward from us or the church. God does not take anything from us when sending us mercy and generosity, and Christ suffered and shed His blood for the church without compensation, likewise with our presbyters." Also Molokans from the Tyalag Lake wrote in their most devoted petition to Alexander I, that, "Our presbyters count it this sacred debt to serve God and the church without compensation, and would consider it an immense sin and dishonor to accept payment for every holy prayer. We do take from our general fund a tenth, to provide for them,157 but not humiliating them with gifts for performing church services. We also consider this a praiseworthy deed to provide for our presbyters. Also, our presbyter can be dismissed from his responsibilities by the church for failing to live up to the standards spoken by the apostle Paul, in 1 Tim 3:2-5. We likewise have not Councils of judges or Synods."

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Volume 3, Chapter 22

The Akhtirski County was one of those where Molokanism was propagandized; and the village Kubaevo was the nativity of Molokanism in this county. In a later era, 16 Molokans from here were sentenced to exile to the Transcaucasus. One official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs wrote the following about the Molokans.

156 1 Pet 5:1-3 157. This is an isolated situation where the community out of a general fund provides income for the presbyter, and no doubt refers to the very elderly who are retired from work or business. The balance have their own business or income.

150 I had occasion to see the Molokans, who had a meek character and sound reasoning. They understand that it is not possible to circumvent civil authority; and that not even religion can exist without a shepherd, a pastor, and for this reason they have presbyters. "In essence the Molokan teaching is, according to my opinion," reported the official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, "nothing other than a reformation of the Eastern [Orthodox] church. Abuse by the Catholic clergy served as the occasion for the western reformation. Perhaps the earlier abuse by our clergy and its indifference toward the flock promoted among us the acceptance of the same ideas. Since we did not have native reformists, then imitations appeared. "The followers of the Molokan sects and the other dissenters are counted by the Orthodox along with other local officials as some type of apostates. Nevertheless, they cannot be recognized as atheists, nor deists, nor Universalists, nor Unitarians who reject the divinity of Jesus Christ; there is no comparison with any of these groups. Believing in the 3 hypostasis of the Holy Trinity and the incarnated Son of God, they must be numbered with the Christian evangelical sects. Like the Congregationalists, like the Baptists, they are led solely by the Bible, and as the latter, they allow themselves total freedom to interpret it. Their understanding of the priesthood is identical to the Presbyterians, and is founded on the Epistles to Timothy and Titus. In them is a certain spirit of resistance to the authorities, and some apparent similarity with the teaching of the small Presbyterian church in America. All of these mentioned sects perform baptism by water; and although they do not accept the substance of the true body and blood of Christ in the communion, they still have a type of communion in memory of the Last Supper. Molokans have progressed father, not accepting even these sacraments. In this attitude and based on their words in their understanding of the inner grace, they can definitely be found similar to the Quakers, although in their traditions the Molokans are different. Even if we take into consideration that the founder of the sect of the Quakers, George Fox, began his teaching in England only in the middle of the 17th century, and which created a considerable amount of clamor, and the Molokans appeared just a little later, then we can allow the opinion that it first developed in Russia from some zealous disciple of Fox. "There is also nothing, in my opinion, common between the Methodists and Molokans; because this sect is a branch of the Anglican Episcopalian church. And although later it did divide into 2 parts, of which one was called protestant, but the other abolished only the episcopacy and retains all the teaching of the original Methodists."

What direction and what form Molokanism will end up as in later periods is hard to foretell. At the present time the Simbirsk Molokans gather for the singing of psalms and recitation of the Bible, and during which they perform the apostolic kiss among themselves. In those villages where there are many Molokans, they cannot all fit into one peasant house on benches, and so some of the boys and girls listen to the teaching of their preceptors sitting on top of the oven or crowded into a dark corner in the entrance. They do not have any compositions about religion or books containing their ceremonies."

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Volume 4, Chapter 24

151 Molokans do not recognize monasticism and consider it to be instituted by man, and totally redundant. Nonetheless, monasticism in Russia has been a favored calling, although far from the fulfillment of its goals. There have been many types of monks among us from the earliest times. In the words of Fletcher, "The monks among us constitute a large group and has far exceeded the number of monks in every other country of the Christian world. Every city and the best areas of the state are full of them. They work so hard that whenever a new area is opened for settlement, which is better and more comfortable than the previous, they immediately build there a monastery in the honor of some popular saint." However, according to the words of Petrei, "They led a dissolute life, one of drunkenness. While the donations brought to the monastery by the common people to be used for the building of churches, monasteries and chapels, now serve only for vain uses, intemperance and gluttony; the monks sought only the opportunity to eat and drink. And on Christmas, Easter and other great holidays they would drink so much that they would fall down in the streets and lie there in plain view." Maierburgher says that when the monks had the opportunity to visit relatives and friends, they in their uncontrollable drinking quickly dissipated their sobriety acquired living at the monastery, and then they had to be led back to the monastery. As guests they would eat and drink whatever they wanted, and would never refuse additional helpings. They love to quarrel and fight and would roam without reason through the streets, some on foot, others on horseback, one in a dirty carriage harnessed to worthless horses, and in this manner did they teach the people. They were not lifted up by any holiness of their life and were themselves convinced that through some private performance of worship services they would draw close to God. Forgetting fear and reverence they became haughty, and even if they would commit some atrocious crime it was punished in some insignificant manner. Pierre likewise makes a similar remark about our monasteries, that they are fulfilled more with old age and weakness than with religion. As a result of this, the one extreme cause the opposite extreme, and so the Molokans completely rejected monasticism. In the village of Kidaev, county of Alatirsk, 132 Molokans during investigations said that they did not recognize the icons, and did not fulfill the [Orthodox] church rites. They did not consider as important the holy sacrament and that baptism must not be performed using water and not by a priest, but with the Holy Spirit. They perform their confession of sins everywhere in the Spirit and unto the invisible God. They do not observe the fasts; they do not recognize monasticism; they observe Sunday and the holidays; and are subject to the Sovereign Emperor and to the State authorities in full. They respect the [Orthodox] ecclesiastical clergy, but their own sect they derive from the study of the Bible, and not from somebody else. Regarding monasticism, those under investigation expressed "that monks and nuns, locking themselves up in their monasteries, only fill their stomachs, commit immorality, and disgrace themselves. And since they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man, therefore God also gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is obscene and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.158 The monks and nuns have forgotten what is said by the holy apostle: Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,

158 Rom 1:23-24, 26-27

152 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.159 They will not escape the punishment of God. They will not be justified before God for they have forgotten that He said, All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given;160 and also, Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband."161

159 1 Cor 6:9-10 160. Referring to the vow of celibacy taken by the monks and nuns, which they failed to maintain, and which as a result caused immorality and homosexuality among the Orthodox clergy. Matt 19:11 161 1 Cor 7:2

153

MOLOKANS OF ASTRAKHAN

Volume 2, Chapter 14

All of this (the Astrakhan environment) had an alluring effect on Uklein, who after returning back to Tambov Province wrote to the Molokans in very picturesque and attractive terms the Astrakhan region, and especially the areas watered by the river Akhtyba; and he advised that they resettle there to have an undisturbed settlement. Molokans followed his advice and from this time the Molokan population of the Akhtybin regarded themselves as a desireable Eldorado, and consequently flooded the area. This period of undisturbed life in this area was considered, and still is to now, as the Molokan golden age. We do not have sufficient sources to inform us to be able to relate detailed information of what places in the Astrakhan region and how many persons Uklein converted to Molokanism during his travels. Undoubtably though that in the village Prishib, he had considerable success. In regard to the village Prishib, at the time of Uklein's stay it consisted of Cossacks and refugees from the various provinces who then became the initial hearers of the new teaching of Uklein. And with the migration of Molokans of Tambov to the Akhtyba, the village of Prishib became the origin of Akhtybin Molokanism, and was considered an honored area because of the memory of the personal stay of Uklein here and his fostering of the initial seeds of Molokanism. From this period the Prishib Molokans played an important role among the Molokans of Astrakhan to the most recent time; and presented to the government on behalf of all Astrakhan Molokans the Profession of Faith, which is recorded further in this article.

Molokans expanded their teaching at the end of the 18th century in the Astrakhan region secretly, unnoticeable, but it was no less successful or prosperous. With Bible in hand, they appeared at the farmhouse or at the fishing pier, and started a conversation about faith, and then started to read the Bible and interpret the places that confirmed their teaching. Consider this, the Molokans would say - and still do - in a typical conversation with the Orthodox, "How and for what reason were the rituals and statutes among you conceived? Your church fathers devised them for their own financial gain. A child is born to you, you pay a church father money to baptize him; but we read prayers ourselves, give the child a name, and your money remains in your pockets. For weddings, for funerals, for prayer services, you pay the church fathers money, while we do all of this ourselves and without any expenditure." To one of the peasants of the Astrakhan Province, Sadovski, there came a Molokan with books to his farmhouse and began to read them and interpret the Bible. Sadovski listened to his reading and interpretation. Later he informed the authorities. We have no firm indication of the quantity of Molokans in the Astrakhan region during the previous 18th century. But we can positively state that

154 their quantity was sufficiently significant, with those migrating from the inner provinces. We can conclude, among other items, based on the facts, that in the first decade of the present 19th century, according to the report of the governor, in one village, Prishib, amounted 722 souls of both sexes. Consequently, if we suppose that 1/3 of this quantity lived at the end of the 18th century in the village Prishib, while 2/3 appeared in the first decade of the 19th century, then in this one place there must have been found over 200 souls prior to 1800. The Profession of Faith can serve, among other things, as the characteristic teaching of the Molokans of the Astrakhan region at the end of the 18th century. It was gifted to the governor by the Molokans of the village Prishib. Although this profession, due to its brevity, does not comprise the entirety of the teaching of the Molokans. Here is the profession.

PROFESSION OF FAITH of the Spiritual Christians of Prishib.

1. We look toward the originator and perfecter of faith, Jesus, having Him as our sole priest and bishop, who sits at the right side of God. 2. We signify ourselves using the promised Holy Spirit, in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. 3. Our baptism is spiritual, according to the words of the Holy Scriptures. Mark 1:7-8, And John the Baptist preached, saying, There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose. I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. 4. Regarding prayer, Christ showed His disciples to prayer in this manner: Luke 11:2, So He said to them, When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done... And the apostle wrote, Eph 6:18, Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. 5. We have a temple according to the writings of Moses, Deut 26:15, Look down from Your holy temple, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel. Is 63:15, Look down from heaven, and see from Your habitation, holy and glorious. Baruch 2:16, Lord, look down from You holy house, and consider us. Ps 80:14, Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; Look down from heaven and see. Ps 33:13, The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. 1 Pet 2:5, You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house. 1 Cor 3:16, Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1 Cor 6:19, Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you. 2 Cor 6:16, For you are the temple of the living God. Acts 7:48, However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands. Acts 17:24, God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 6. The image we have in church is the image of the invisible God. Col 1:15, the firstborn of all creation. Rom 8:29, For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 1 Pet 2:21, Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example (image), that you should follow His steps. Phil 3:17, Brethren, join in following my example (image). 2 Tim 1:13, Hold fast the pattern (image) of sound words. We also hasten to disclose to you about our sect in unison, that we do not accept the

155 priesthood of Great Russia, and do not desire the rites from the clergy; likewise they do not enter our homes to pray, nor do we want them.

The Astrakhan governor in 1805 made the following declaration regarding the Molokans of Astrakhan at the end of the 18th century, that these Molokans call themselves Christians and recognize the supreme essence in 3 features, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, whom they worship in the Spirit, not performing the sign of the cross. For the priests and bishops to comprehend the Son of God, they cannot become clergy. The sacrament of baptism is identified as repentance and the remission of sins, and so they do not accept the baptism by water. The sacrament of confession they perform in their assembly before elders who are honorable and of good conduct, comprehending the Son of God as the intercessor on their behalf. The sacrament of communion, according to their comprehension, is good conduct and the observance of the commandments of God. They call the church their assembly at one place, wherever they might be, where they involve themselves in the meditation and interpretation of the Word of God, sing the Psalms of David, and on their knees one opposite the other, worship the supreme essence, read the prayer, "Our Father who is in heaven..." Images they understand as their own creation according to the image and likeness of God and the purity of soul. And so they do not worship hand-made images. They honor the saints according to the Christian observance; however they do not venerate them. The father gives a new-born child a name, after a name of a saint, when the child is born. They have weddings that are not arranged: the groom and bride according to their mutual love vow eternal fidelity at the wedding, and unto death they do not part. The king's requirements and all statutes of the authorities they recognize and honor with special respect. The only fasts they uphold are those mentioned in the Holy Scriptures: they eat nothing for one week or 2, and spend this time in spiritual prayer. The fasts established by the Greek-Russian church they do not at all keep. And because they consume as food milk on the fast days, they are called Molokans in the common language.

The governor added to this that the Molokans have lived and do live quietly and have no indication of any involvement in temptations.

There has been passed down to us a ceremony of the Molokans of Astrakhan Province regarding the funeral for adults and children. This ceremony, which is used by the Molokans to perform prayers at the funeral of their brethren in the faith, is not much different then the Tambov ceremony, which is the natural standard in the provinces which acquired this teaching from the Tambov region. Similar to the Orthodox church, the Molokan have 2 funeral ceremonies, one for adults, and one for children. We present first the general procedure of the Molokans for the burial of the dead, and then the special one for children. The following is the complete composition of the general procedure

156 for the funeral services for the deceased.

MOLOKAN CEREMONY Funeral of the Deceased.

ACROSTIC For who can tell man what will be after him under the sun. It is better to go the house of morning, than to go to the house of feasting. For this is the end of all men, And the living will lay it to heart. Eccl 6:12, 7:2

From the beginning

In the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. Our Father, who is in heaven,... ( to the end.)

PRAYER162 Lord God Almighty of our Fathers, be merciful to Your servants. Accept the soul of Your servant (recite name) into Your holy place. Sovereign, the creator of heaven and earth and all that exists. You are the Lord of life and death, the God of spirits and all flesh who Yourself created man in Your image and likeness and left him in the hands of his own will to walk; and You gave him a command to do what was right before You, to flee from every evil. You placed before him the fire and water, life and death, and to see the light of Your intellect, to recognize You, the one true God, and walk and observe all Your commandments and love You from all his heart and all his mind. And now Lord, endow the soul of Your deceased servant (recite name) with rest, and preserve him in a blessed life, for You are a lover of humanity. In Your place of rest Lord, where all the saints rest, give rest to the soul of Your servant (recite name) in a lighted place; along green pastures, in rest, where now he will evade sickness and sorrow and groaning, and where life is without end. And if he did sin, as he was alive to this very time, You Sovereign Lord, remit and forgive every transgression committed by him, for there is no man who has lived and not sinned. For You are alone without sin and Your rectitude is forever and Your word is true. For this reason, remit the transgressions of the person now presented before You, and lead him unto Paradise and into the bosom of Abraham. You Lord, settle him there and make him deserving of the Kingdom of heaven. Do not betray him Sovereign, to the place of torment. Lord, accept our prayer regarding him who is presented before You. We cry unto You, the much-merciful Lord, deliver him from eternal torment and grant him the heavenly kingdom, where Your saints rest; make him worthy to participate in all eternal goodness. For You Yourself accepted

162. Although the prayers are written in the male gender, the pronouns are changed to the female if the deceased is female.

157 the weak flesh of Adam and came in the likeness of a human, except for sin. You became a man in his fullness and suffered death, and as a result of Your compassionate heart You desired to make man worthy. In this we petition You Lord, the God of Abraham, the only one of us who died and is now immortal. And You God, our Father, by His death deliver us and every soul from an evil death. Do not banish the soul of Your servant who just recently departed from us away from the kingdom of heaven, just as Adam away from the earthly paradise of sweetness. But give rest to the soul of Your servant (recite name) in Your courts, where all the souls of the righteous from the beginning of time migrate unto Your presence. You are the source of life and death, have much generosity and mercy and do not condemn the soul of Your servant with the wrath of endless torment. But forgive him and remit every violation and accept him in Your presence unto all the endless ages. Amen.

PRAYER (while kneeling) Lord God of our salvation, save us with Your eternal salvation and shut from us the hostile gates where there is no light of Yours, Lord. And now Sovereign Lord Almighty, God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, accept the prayer of Your servants who petition to You regarding Your servant (recite name) presented before You, and resettle him in a lighted place, in green pastures, in a place of rest where there is no sorrow nor groaning and life without end. Lord God of Israel, hear the prayer of your male and female servants, petitioning You on behalf of Your servant (recite name) presented before You, and accept him into Your heavenly abode and forgive Lord, his transgressions, for there is no man who has existed and not sinned. For You alone are without sin, Your rectitude is righteous for ever, and Your word is true. For You are the resurrection and life and rest unto Your deceased servant (recite name). And now Lord, give rest to the soul of Your servant (recite name). Open my lips, our Saviour, and give me the words to pray regarding mercy for him who is presented before You, do give rest to his soul. Sovereign Lord, save him though he is dead in the flesh and placed in a grave with all the dead. Lord, give rest to the soul of Your servant, in green pastures, for You are kind hearted and hear our petitioning voice. Our God, lead the soul of Your servant now presented before You unto the bosom of Abraham where the faces of all the saints are. For You alone Lord, are life unto all the world. Amen.

PRAYER Save us Lord, with Your eternal salvation, and assign Lord, Your servant to be in Your holy abode where all the righteous rejoice and are comforted with the light of Your presence, with goodness undefinable. And we Lord, beseech You and ask: Forgive him the sins committed, deliberate or not deliberate, and remember not Lord, every violation which he has sinned in this life. Hear Lord, our prayer, and accept Lord, the prayer from our lips, and assign Your servant (recite name) unto Your altar. Hear our prayer at this time. We pray and worship You Lord, from now and to the end of time. Amen.

PRAYER (while kneeling)

158 Remember Lord our God, in faith and hope, eternal life for Your servant (recite name) who is newly- presented before You, for You alone are God our Father, merciful, long patient, and compassionate, remitting sins and destroying evil. Release, remit and forgive all of his sins, whether deliberate or not deliberate; deliver him from eternal torment and the fire of Gehenna, and gift him participation and consolation of eternal goodness prepared for those who love You. For You are Lord God of hosts, our Father, for Your holy name is glorified throughout all the earth. And You Lord, forgive, and we ask of You God, and pray, accept the soul of Your servant (recite name) when he stands at the judgement of the Lord Sabaoth and the Son of God, the Lord our Jesus Christ, the righteous judge. Lord God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Hear our prayer and our petition, and do not condemn those who descend into the earth, and do not remember his violations which he has sinned. But lead him unto the bosom of Abraham, where the faces of all Your saints rejoice. You are life and rest and light and the joy of all who are well-pleasing unto You. All of natural humanity is astonished as the beginningless Father gave flesh unto his only born Son, through the Virgin by the activity of the Holy Spirit, which He accepted and suffered as a man, and after death was enlivened, likewise accept him presented (recite name) before You from us. And we diligently pray unto You Lord, make him worthy of Your heavenly kingdom, for there is no man that has lived and not sinned. But You Lord, are alone without sin and Your rectitude is righteous for ever. And You alone are a compassionate God. Have mercy on us. Amen.

PRAYER163 O King residing in the brilliant heavens. O timeless Creator, the rightful judging, benevolent and endless Lord. Attend O God, unto our prayer and turn towards us Your kind-hearted attention, for we are perishable sinners who pray before You Lord, and You do not turn away from us Your purest presence. We always moan in our miseries; but You have great love for mankind: You comfort our sorrowsand allow us who are made of earth to glorify Your Name and Your immeasurable timeless authority and to ask of Your mercy. And now Lord Almighty, we ask of You and beseech, bless us Your male and female servants to lay into the earth the body of Your deceased servant (recite name). For from the earth he was taken and to the earth he returns. Hear Lord, this prayer at this time from all those who call upon Your holy name, perform your mercy with Your servant (recite name) who is newly presented before You. Reveal Lord, Your mercy on those who fear You; send the grace of Your Holy Spirit into the hearts of all who call upon Your holy name, for You are alone worthy to receive honor and glory and gratitude. And we worship the Father and Son and Holy Spirit, now and always and forever and ever. Amen.

The end.

It is impossible for us not to notice the conciseness of this ceremony and its brevity of words, some of the prayers are fragmentary, and the discretion in its emission of condolence for the deceased. In its

163. Similar to Molokan Prayerbook, Prayer # 79.

159 entirety the Molokan ceremony for funeral services is completely different from the same Orthodox ceremony, which prayers and songs over the dead are incomparably touching and strongly directed toward evoking the general compassion and weeping. But still briefer and plainer is the Molokan ceremony for the funeral for children. Here the entire matter is concluded with only one prayer. Not a word from the parents or relatives over the coffin of the child, nothing done while kneeling. It consists of nothing: only a sketch worth noticing in the religious life of the Molokans. Although the shortest prayer service among the Molokans is this one regarding the burial of a child, nonetheless, not wanting to loose it from our attention, we will strive to present it here verbatim. Here is the ceremony literally word for word from the beginning and to the end.

CEREMONY Molokan Prayer Service for a Child's Funeral.

Beginning

In the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. Our Father who is in heaven,... (to the end.)

PRAYER Save him Lord, with your eternal salvation, and assign Lord, this child (recite name) unto Your holy abode, unto a lighted place and to the throne of the Lord God Sabaoth, where reign kings and priests redeemed by the blood of our Saviour Jesus Christ, the Son of God, clothed in linen clean and white and who are consoled with Your indescribable glory and the radiance of Your bright face, who laud immeasurable praise unto Your holy name. And now Lord, we ask You and beseech, receive this child (recite name) into this place, and settle him with all of Your elect; and do not take vengeance on him for the sins of the fathers. You Lord, did say, Prohibit them not to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven. For this reason we pray unto You Lord, accept him for the sake of Your mercy, for we are all born in sin. And remember not Lord, the sins of his fathers. Hear Lord, our prayer and accept our petition from our lips; and assign Lord, this child (recite name) a place at Your altar at this time, at the bosom of Abraham. Hear Lord, our prayer. To You alone do we pray and worship the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

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Volume 3, Chapter 19

The fields, gardens, farms and homes echoed with the teaching of memorial people, and the number of their followers constantly grew. From the facet of military renunciation, the Molokans arouse the threat of the government. Inquiring regarding war, the Molokans are analogous to the Quakers, who also

160 renounce war, as is well-known. Returning to the Astrakhan Molokans, from the words of the apostle Paul, Our battle is not against flesh and blood.164 The Prishib Molokans teach that God prohibits entering into state military service, where blood must be shed and the body killed, and to those who do enter military service punishment is threatened: Whoever takes into captivity, to captivity so will he go; whoever kills with a weapon, with a weapon so will he be killed.165 But if anyone should be called into military service by the authority of the government during the course of conscription, and if he cannot decline because of judgement according to the severity of the laws of man, he should much more fear the punishment of the King of kings and so should find the first opportunity to desert. In whatever place the soldiers should gather, go not; but turn away from them and keep at a distance.166 According to the sense of this teaching, having a massive repulsion towards military service, in general all the Molokans use all measures available to petition permission to hire on behalf of their families recruits from the Nogaitsi,167 or some other nationality at any price.168 But for a discounted discharge, which they were able to acquire from the Dukhabors who were exiled to the Caucasus with an exemption from recruitment, they paid up to 6,000 rubles in paper money. Based on the words of the Saviour, "I was a stranger and you welcomed Me,"169 the Astrakhan Molokans feel that under the classification of strangers they must include all those seeking refuge from others. And so they must accept and console all those who seek refuge at their homes, not excluding military deserters pursued by the law as its violators. And it was sternly forbidden to hand them over to the authorities or to the landowners, as noted in the word of God: Do not betray a slave back to the hands of his master, lest he curse you and you then perish.170 And not only not to return them, but provide them with means for resettlement and for their easier concealment. You will not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you; he will dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he will choose which pleases him best.171 Such a teaching, completely opposite to civil law, evidently could not be publicly fulfilled, and its existence was carefully hid among the Molokans in various ways. But because of reports from the Orthodox or those without passports possibly living among the Molokans, unannounced searches were made on occasion among the Molokans living in the Astrakhan steppes, with all intensity and formality, horses did surround the villages with a few Nogaitsi on foot, but nothing was ever discovered. Regarding the words of the Savior: Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and what is God's unto God,172 the Prishib Molokans gave the following sense. "They who belong to Caesar must pay him

164 Eph 6:12 165 Rev 13:10 166. So rendered in the Slavonic Bible and LXX. Pr 4:15 167. A Turk indigenous population living in the Circaucasus region and toward the Crimea. 168. This practice is not mentioned by any other writer or historian of Molokan life or beliefs, and is contrary to the general Christian principles of the Molokan community. This may have been an isolated situation or most probably mis-information to discredit the Molokan practice of objection to military service. This can be noticed in the following paragraph describing searches conducted at Molokan village for violations, and finding only some Nogaitsi migrant workers in the area, and nothing else. 169 Matt 25:35 170. So rendered in the Slavonic Bible and LXX. Pr 30:10 171 Deut 23:15-16 172 Matt 22:21

161 taxes; but those who belong to God are God's. The subject is not about the paying of taxes. They were always afraid to take oaths regarding the integrity of their service, lest they become violators in the presence of God.173 So in order that their rejection of oaths would not indicate impiety or improper, but that they were based on the word of God, they depended on the prohibition to take oaths whether in private matters or even conversation, as dictated by the Saviour, affirming that this prohibition pertains to all oaths."174

173. The reference here is the oath taken when conscripted into military service, to defend the Tsar and be loyal to the dictates of the Tsarist regime of Russia. 174 Matt 5:34-37

162

MOLOKANS OF MOSCOW

Volume 2, Chapter 32

Of the Molokan settlements known in [Moscow Province] in the 18th century, the primary one is the village of Bogorodski, where even to now Molokans live in rather large quantity. We have possession of the Prayer Services of the Bogorodski Molokans, which they use to perform this ceremony, according to the recall of the present Bogorodski Molokans, which their grandfathers and forefathers had even during the era of Pavel I.175 The ceremony consists of the following:

PRAYER SERVICES of the Bogorodski Molokans.

Beginning; kneeling. "Our Father who is in heaven, holy be Your name..." (and to the end.) Then read standing, the 95th Psalm of David:176 "Come let us sing to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation..." and to the end.

PRAYER

[2 Esdras 8:15-32, kneeling,] "And now I will speak about all men whom You know, and about your people, for whom I am grieved..." to the 32nd verse. "God be merciful to us sinners." Then read, standing, the 27th Psalm of David:177 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?..." and to the end.

PRAYER Jonah the Prophet, 2:2-9, kneeling. "I cried out to the Lord because of my affliction, and He answered me. Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and You heard my voice." and to verse 9. "God be merciful to us sinners." Then read standing, the 86th Psalm of David:178 "Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me; For I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; Save Your servant who trusts in You!" and to the end.

175. Emperor of Russia, 1796-1801. 176. Psalm 94 in the Russian Bible. 177. Psalm 26 in the Russian Bible. 178. Psalm 86 in the Russian Bible.

163

PRAYER The Prayer of Manasseh the King of Judah, kneeling.179 "O Lord Almighty, God of our fathers, of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, and of their righteous posterity..." and to the end. "God be merciful to us sinners." Then read standing the 51th Psalm of David:180 "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your great mercy; according to Your great generosity cleanse me of my transgressions..." and to the end.

PRAYER For the Tsar and the entire household of the Tsar, kneeling, the 20th Psalm of David, adapted: "May the Lord answer you in the day of sorrow. May the name of the God of Jacob defend you; may He send you help from His holy place and strengthen you out of Zion; may He remember all your offerings, and may your burnt sacrifices be fatted. May He grant you according to your heart's desire and fulfill all your purpose. We will rejoice in your salvation and in the name of our God we will we will be magnified. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. Now I know that the Lord saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand. Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will call upon the name of the Lord our God. They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright. Save Lord, our Tsar the Emperor (recite name) and all who are in his authority and in the administration over this world. And answer us on the day we call upon You. Amen.

Then sing the 150 Psalm of David: "Praise the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty firmament. Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him with loud cymbals; praise Him with high sounding cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!"

PRAYER OF THE PROPHET ISAIAH Is 63:15-19, kneeling. "Look down from heaven, and view from Your habitation, holy and glorious. Where are Your zeal and Your strength, the yearning of Your heart and Your mercies toward me?" and to the end. "God be merciful to us sinners." Then sing the 134th Psalm of David:181 "Behold, bless the Lord, All you servants of the Lord, who by night stand in the house of the Lord! Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. The Lord who made heaven and earth Bless you from Zion! Amen." Concluding the services, recite the 117th Psalm of David:182 "Praise the Lord, all you nations. Praise Him all you peoples! For His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the Lord

179. 2 Chronicles chapter 37 in the Russian Bible. 180. Psalm 50 in the Russian Bible. 181. Psalm 133 in the Russian Bible. 182. Psalm 116 in the Russian Bible.

164 endures forever." Then recite, "Remember Lord in Your kingdom all of our deceased brothers and sisters, and give their souls rest with all Your saints. God be merciful to us sinners."

End of the Prayer Service

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Volume 3, Chapter 28

I In the year of 1745, one of those retained in the Consistory presented a complaint to the Moscow Holy Synod, that the Consistory commanded that on him be hung 2 weights; one weight was 240 lbs., the other was 360 lbs., to be hanging from his feet. Even if we were to accept even half the amount that the complainer indicated, then being in chains was very difficult. Even in this condition of affairs, the preachers of Tveritinov's teaching were still not phased. The notebooks of Tveritinov with the preaching of the new spiritual religion, which is found in the Prayerbooks of our Molokans, can attest to this fact. The Molokans increased every year in the village Bogorod. In the Moscow County, the Molokans of the village Krekoboi gave the following declaration to the local Captain of Police: "Those of us who have signed this do announce that we hold to the doctrinally correct faith, called among the people, Molokan. We recognize only the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Covenants, and the Psalter. We read the prayer, "Our Father..." We have no rituals. We are distinct from other persuasions of faith because we believe and pray only in the spirit, austerely rejecting all that is superficial in matters of belief. For this reason we do not bow before icons; we do not recognize any of the Saints or Holy Relics. So we do not recognize the Orthodoxy or any other church or the rituals that pertain to them: priesthood, fasts, and sacraments. We do not wear a sign of the cross, and do not make the sign of the cross, but live in the fear of God as dictated in the holy books and fulfill all the sacraments spiritually. We walk in the example of the Old and New Covenants, and refrain from partaking in swine and other such animals identified by the ancient law as unclean; and we do not consider it sin to eat meat dishes and milk during the time of the Orthodox church fasts. But sometimes, when we inwardly feel it necessary, we undertake a fast of 2 days or more. During this time we completely abstain from all food. We recognize the Tsar and the authorities and obey them. Ours is not a secret society, nor it is totally accessible; we consider all people as our equal. We have grown up in this spiritual sect of ours, for our fathers and our grandfathers held to this from time immemorial. For this reason we desire to remain always in this sect, and not to unite with the Orthodox church."

165

MOLOKANS OF RYAZAN

Volume 2, Chapter 24

Bishops lived in Ryazan during this era (late 18th century), which directed also the neighboring provinces. The Episcopal cathedral in Ryazan is considered in general the most ancient of all Russia, and already in the 15th century a portion of the present-day city of Ryazan was called the island, where the sovereign's court yard was established, and where the Bishop of Ryazan lived until 1564, and then after this year moved to the kremlin.183 But the presence of the bishop in the province did not save the province from sects and dissenters. Already from the time of Tveritinov, the religious rationalists came from Moscow and were roaming around the areas surrounding Moscow Province with their notebooks in their hands, having texts from the Bible, rejecting icons, the holy relics, the priesthood as a caste system, and other items. The fruits of their teaching were not slow in soon appearing among the people. Already in 1708 in the suburbs of Rostov, father Antoni reported to the Rostov metropolitan Dmitri regarding the arrival of some man at his suburb who was alien to the church and did not bow to the icons. In his investigative report wrote Dmitri of Rostov, "A certain man arrived here, and inquiring about him, found him in word and deed as follows. Entering the church building, this liberal thinker did not make the sign of the cross, did not bow before the icons, and started to indicate the uselessness of these icons, blaspheming them, as if he was taught by heretics since he himself was not educated, reciting from memory certain divine words from the Scriptures and interpreting them according to his false interpretations, and telling us heresies and Lutheranism and Calvinism, together with some Jewish spirit from the Scriptures, that somewhere there is written, You will not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth,184 and that icons are idols, the work of men's hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; eyes they have, but they do not see; they have ears, but they do not hear; those who make them are like them; so is everyone who trusts in them."185 This very teaching had now infected Ryazan, neighboring the Moscow Province, and especially the Zapaiski and Egorevski Counties, among whom these religious liberals were called by the common name of Molokans. In the manuscripts of arch-bishop Yacov, it says that at this time when Uklein preached Molokanism in south-east Russia, this was in the 1770's, that his new co-workers spread the teaching of Uklein also in the Ryazan Province. There is no doubt that followers of the teaching of Uklein,

183. In a large city where there are many Orthodox churches, the largest is termed a kremlin, and is the home of the Bishop. 184 Ex 20:4 185 Ps 115:4-8

166 which appeared in the Ryazan Province, found here a prepared field and especially in the Zapaiski and Egorevski Counties; and so united under the name of Molokanism the followers of Tveritinov, and in general all of those who reflected from olden times the liberal thinking of Moscow, already from the era of the Judiazers and perhaps even earlier.

We have knowledge of how the prayer service of the Molokans is performed regarding the health of a sick person by the Ryazan Molokans. Here is the ceremony as to how this is performed.

MOLOKAN PRAYER SERVICE REGARDING THE HEALTH OF A SICK PERSON

The assembly is gathered to pray for the health of a sick person.

An elder, or whomever is entrusted, recites a prayer in the following manner for the health of the sick person.

PRAYER Lord God of Israel. We are ashamed and afraid to confess our wickedness before Your presence, for our sins have increased over our heads, and our foolishness even reaches to the heavens. And as we are in sin, and even to this day it is because of our sins that You Lord did lighten our sin and send Your only-born Son, and He freed us from the curse of eternal sin. Righteous are You Lord, and all Your works and all Your paths are merciful and true, and the judgement is true and righteous. You judge for ever. Remember us Lord and look upon the sick person, heal his illness; do not remember our sins which we have committed before You transgressing Your commandments. And now Lord, Your mercy and destinies are true. Deal with us according to Your mercy, just as You did with Tobit when he prayed unto You. You heard his prayer and sent mercy to him and an Angel to heal his eyes.186 You gifted back to Job his health after much suffering, to glorify Your holy name.187 Lord Our God, Your servant Hezekiah who was sick unto death and who petitioned You, You delivered from death and gave to him a sign and showed unto him many more days.188 And now Lord God Almighty, hear our prayer and send Your mercy upon Your servant. Deliver him and remove his sickness, and return to him his health; deliver his soul so he perishes not. Lord, do not remember our sins. The dead cannot bless You, and they in the grave cannot rely on Your mercy; but it is the living that can bless You and Your rectitude. We beseech You Lord God Almighty, forgive our sins, send Your mercy upon us, deliver from illness this servant (recite name). You Lord, spoke through the lips of the apostle, saying, Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them

186. Tobit 11:8-13 187. Job 42:10 188. 2 King 20:1-7

167 pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much.189 Lord God Almighty, Hear our prayer, and send Your mercy upon Your servant (recite name), and forgive him his sins which he has committed in this life, deliberate or undeliberate. Heal his illness (recite name). You Lord do we worship, the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

( End of the Prayer Service.)

III

Not too long ago as we travelled through Russia, we had the opportunity to visit one Molokan village of the Ryazan Province. On the streets of this village, we did not meet with even one beggar or drunk. No one in this village appeared to be in poverty. All of it was different because of the calm and the courteousness, not at all normal in an Orthodox village. With the presence of trees, water and many domestic animals, the streets had a pasture-like character. We did not meet with any noise, no violence, which is an inherent attribute of our Orthodox villages. We saw no slovenly dressed women, no children wearing rags; no drunks or any men cussing. Because the Molokan men never drink distilled liquors and seldom smoke tobacco, their sole diversion during holidays is to listen to the singing of religious verses by choirs in the homes and in the street under the trees. Molokans have made the attempt to reconcile religious sentiment with pleasure, and have been successful. The have created their own personal civil law, their own theology, their own social science, significantly different from the dominating theology and civil institutions in Russia. They do not accept any visible images in their prayer services. And all the rituals, the entire superficial facet of the sacraments of the Orthodox church they explain in an allegorical sense, a spiritual one. They say about the church that it is an assembly of true Christians. Likewise they explain in an allegorical manner all that pertains to the worship service.

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Volume 3, Chapter 11, ( selections )

As far as the attitude of the Ryazan Molokans toward the Bible Society, we know this from our

189. Jam 5:14-16

168 sources in the following: A certain Molokan of the Ryazan Province, Nahum Glukhov, present at the local court house explained in 2 of his dispositions that he is a member of the Molokan sect and is involved in the study of the Bible and Psalter acquired from the Bible Society, and likewise the singing of Psalms and the learning the Acts of the Holy Apostles. All of this he undertakes at home, not having gone to [Orthodox] church since 1817. He does not wear a cross and during prayer does not make the sign of the cross, but only places his hand on his chest and bows in the spirit. And finally, that the Molokans gather in a peasants home for their prayer services, where they stand in a circle. Their services he saw in the village Slizhanakh, county of Melenkov, province of Vladimir, and liked it. So he abandoned his Orthodox faith and joined the Molokans, and then was taught by the well-known peasant of the village, Trofim Mironov. "I could not return to the Orthodox faith," replied Glukhov, "because according to the Bible I do not consider it genuine." After a useless admonishment at the Ryazan clerical consistory, Glukhov was exiled to the far region of the Caucasus.

From the Prayerbook of the Molokans-Voskresniki,190 we can become familiar with the following teaching of the Molokans.

About the veneration of holy icons: The icons are idols, Lev 21:1, and bowing to them is sternly forbidden by the holy Scriptures, Acts 17:29. As proof, all the dictates of the Old and New Covenants can be used, where they speak of the gods of the gentiles; for example, from the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon 13:10-19 and Isaiah 44:13 and 17.

About temples191 and rituals: Temples, as decorated icons, are equal with pagan idol temples. As proof, the dictates of the holy Scriptures regarding the gentiles, Wisdom 14:8, or the words of the apostle Paul directed to the gentiles, as he said to the Athenians: God does not live in constructed temples. Acts 17:24-25. In the words of the Saviour: My temple will be called a temple of prayer. Matt 21:13, 1 Pet 2:5. In the speech recited by Stephen against the Jews who boasted of their temple, which is unnecessary for God to have, Acts 7:47-51, but not for them; he had the strong opinion that the temple of Solomon, and subsequently all the following, were not needed by God. Matt 18:20 There is only one temple - not made by hands, spiritual, or the assembly of the spiritual Christians, the true believers, the holy church, and the offerings brought there are spiritual, acceptable unto God. 2 Cor 6:16, 1 Cor 3:16-17, 1 Cor 6:19-20, Heb 13:15 All the rituals of the Orthodox church are considered to be inventions, against the word of the Gospel. Matt 24:26

About veneration of the cross, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints: The cross is simply used to refer to the suffering of the Saviour and the weapon of his death. But the instrument of death, for instance, a log, is improper to worship, according to the prayerbook. Rev 13:16.

190. The Molokans who observe Sunday, as opposed to the Molokan-Subbotniki, who observe Saturday. 191. Orthodoxy also uses the word temple to refer to their construction churches.

169 The Blessed Virgin Mary is honored as a holy woman who gave birth to Jesus Christ. Her and the saints and their intercession on our behalf is rejected of God, and so also the worship of Angels and Saints is considered useless. For this reason they, the Molokans, reprimand the Orthodoxy for placing their faith on holy Angels, icons, which is subsequently idolatry. 1 Cor 6:3, Acts 4:11-12

About Holidays: They do not recognize any religious institutions upon which there is no literal directive in the word of God. And so they celebrate Sunday instead of Saturday; the 3 days surrounding the birth of Christ, the 3 days of the Holy Resurrection, one day for the Ascension, and 3 days in the memory of the descent of the Holy Spirit. Lately, due to the customs of the Orthodox church, based on tradition, they have been taking the Gospels with them to the fields. They have no other holidays.

About Fasts: They do not accept fasts because there is no direct command for it in the Holy Scriptures.192 And they condemn those who regularly throughout the year separate types of food, who figure a fast refers to types of food eaten. John 6:26-27. A fast, according to the words of the prayerbook, must be in secret, without any predetermined time, and not dealing with foods, but in the spirit. Heb 13:2, Matt 6:17-18.

About the Priesthood: They reject the hierarchy of the priesthood as a special institution, since the ecumenical councils do not unconditionally dictate belief, because they with their additions have led astray the church from the true path creating a multitude of secular additions, material items anomalous to the spiritual Christian. Sensing however the need for a minister to perform certain unavoidable obligations, Molokans, as it appears from the prayerbook, chose from among themselves a priest and pray for him in their own assembly; these men in earlier eras were called elders and presbyters. After this selection, they call upon the Spirit of God to spiritually teach the selected person. Acts 6:6, 1 John 4:13. A few receive the title of presbyter without direct selection and call upon themselves the spirit from above. 1 John 2:27. Among the Molokans, every person is permitted to enter the spirit and sense of faith, to explain and interpret the spirit of the Holy Scriptures. They confirm that no one other than Jesus Christ can call himself a bishop193 or priest. They say, "According to the apostolic explanation we select men of high morals and virtue from among our own assembly, who assume the teaching of the word of God and perform any rites according to our traditions. We honor them spiritually and are subject to them according to the word of the apostle Peter." 1 Pet 5:2-5.

It is noticeable that the selected Molokan presbyters, or elders as they call them, are almost always indisputable in the knowledge of the Bible; but they do not use this among the Molokans to gain some special distinction or respect. The Molokans say that they are not the interpreters of religious truth. Every one is free to understand and interpret the Holy Scriptures to their own satisfaction. If it happens to occur that the person who performs a wedding ceremony and other rites also works under the

192. Referring to the partial fast days of Wednesday and Friday. 193. The word for bishop in the Orthodox church and the word high-priest as used in the Bible is the same word.

170 person whom he married or performed some rite for, he still must be subject to his bosses, and he will also watch for any improper conduct.

About Weddings: The wedding occurs after the consent of the parents of the bride and groom first. The wedding is performed according to the prayerbook in a house, and preferably the bride's; a special hall is not required. At the assembly of men and women, the parents bless the groom and bride who are entering into marriage in the manner of the wedding of Tobias in the land of Media. Tobit 7:12-14. During it, the presbyter will conduct the bride to the groom, saying, "Behold I give to you a legitimate wife, take her and lead her to the house of your father." Then is read the first chapter of Genesis about the creation of humans, also the Epistles of the Apostle to the Corinthians and Colossians. The entire assembly sings psalms, and the ceremony is concluded with the groom and bride kissing, along with instruction to live in friendship and not to worship idols or images. Weddings among the Molokans are not dissolved when fidelity is observed by both parties.

About community prayer: Community prayer is performed in what the Molokans call assembly. Matt 18:20. For the most part held in private homes, and on occasion in a tent, warehouse or cellar, wherever the people feel comfortable. They stand facing the east and worship God in spirit and truth, and not bodily. They read the Holy Scriptures, interpret it among themselves, and after singing a few psalms they disperse. Heb 10:25, Titus 2:8, Acts 29:7-8, 11, 1 Cor 14:26, Heb 6:18.

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Volume 4, Chapter 24

In one of the Archives of the activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at the conclusion of the reign of Alexander I, we found the following description of the Molokan sect in Ryazan Province. The Molokans shun the Orthodox church and clergy, they do not accept the holiness of the sacraments, or holy saints, they do not bow before the icons. They honor solely God, the creator of the universe, and worship him mentally, in the spirit. They do not accept our holy days, do not have fasts; and they perform any prayer service in their home, limiting it to the singing of a few hymns. They perform their wedding with a blessing of the parents and the singing of selected hymns. The dissolution of the marriage occurs with the mutual consent of both parties; and then they marry again. They do not baptize their infants, but name then using their own preceptors. They bury their own dead. This occurs not only where there are many of them living, but also places where only a few families live. They have collections of community contributions to support the under-privileged among themselves and so there are no poor among them. They provide the necessities for people to get started. They conceal any obvious discord or disorder that may evolve among themselves, and in this manner they avoid any possibly inquiries from the local authorities. There has never been even one complaint from them against another colleague. They also have high standards pertaining to ethics and

171 the management of business done among themselves. They pay all state taxes correctly and fulfill all obligations imposed upon them, and are in strict subjection to orders of the State authority.

172

MOLOKANS OF ORLOV

Volume 2, Chapter 28

Molokans were already living in the Orlov Province toward the end of the 18th century, although the indication of the activities of the sect did not appear until the reign of Alexander I. The Bolkhovski County village of Barilovo presents itself, according to our sources, as one of those vicinities where Molokans appeared first of all. We have acquired a copy of the profession of belief of the Orlov Molokans, which they have been using since the end of the 18th century, and which we will not here reprint, because it is word for word identical with the Tambov and Saratov Molokan professions of belief. In the beginning of the reign of Alexander I, the Molokans living in seclusion to that time disclosed themselves to the government. The first of the number of Molokans to be disclosed were 33 men from the village Barilovo. The bishop of Orlov wrote regarding them in a report to the civil governor, explaining that these people from olden times retain an iconoclastic conviction and do not observe any of the rituals of the Orthodox faith. Once the government realized the existence of this sect, it seems that one person living in the village Bolkhov, Semeon Nechushkin, a postal worker, a long time prior had expanded Molokanism in the province and among other things fostered it in the village Barilovo. The Molokans of Barilovo, or as they were called at the time iconoclasts, during inquires indicated that they exchanged their previous Christian faith yet during the 1790's, for the iconoclastic sect, which they called the Molokan sect; and renounced the apostolic cathedral.194 They rejected all the rules instituted by it; they did not observe the fasts, nor went to confession; did not participate in the sacrament of communion; the honorable and life-giving cross of Christ and the holy icons they did not venerate, since they called them images; and they did not make the sign of the cross on themselves. The performed their weddings based on the Old Covenant; and the Great-Russian priests and all of their rites they had no need for. The courts, after recognizing them as violators of large magnitude, imprisoned them, based on Statutes 237 and 243 of the Criminal Code; and were to be brought to trial. Due to a turnabout of affairs, 11 of these Molokans pretended to return to the Greek-Russian Orthodox faith; while 21 remained unchanged. The initial 11 were freed from confinement and entrusted to the local parish priest; but the remaining 21 stayed imprisoned. The Director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Privy Chancellor, prince Alexandr Nikolaevich Golitzen, became involved in this matter with a petition and report to his majesty the Emperor, who commanded that the remaining inexorable Molokans of Orlov Province, the iconoclasts, are to be exiled and resettle along the Milky Waters.195 Prince

194. Referring to the central administration of the Greco-Russian Orthodox Church. 195. Along the Molochnye (Milky) River north of the Sea of Azov, in Tavria, the lower Ukraine near Melitopol.

173 Golitzen related the edict of his majesty to the Director of the Ministry of Police, then to the General of the infantry, the Senior Commander in Saint Petersburg, and from Saint Petersburg to the military governor, Count Sergei Kozmich Byazmitinov, who passed the information on to the Orlov civil governor.

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Volume 3, Chapter 24

In the first volume we mentioned that the initial Molokans in Orlov Province which became known to the government, according to our sources, were the Molokans of Barilov. A certain driver, Semeon Nechushkin, delivering passengers, also delivered the Molokan teaching to the towns and villages of the county of Bolkhovsk. When Nechushkin with 21 of his adherents were sentenced by the government to be exiled to the county of Melitopol, province of Tavria, along the Milky Waters, then all of them subsequently in the city of Oryol, delivered via the Orlov governor, a petition to the Emperor Alexander I, with the following contents. "We, the undersigned subjects of your Imperial Majesty, of the province of Orlov, the first Semeon Nechushkin, a village driver of the of Bolkhovsk, and the rest of the same county, from the village of Barilov, having discovered that in St. Petersburg a Bible Society had been formed, we sent to them 25 rubles and received a complete Bible in one volume, containing all the books of the holy Scriptures of the Old and New Covenants. We undertook the study of it in depth in the truth of all that it taught, and decided to follow all its precepts, and began to study it with many others. "However, the parish priest and other [Orthodox] clergy of the town Barilov found out about this study of the Bible of the Old and New Covenants and then forbid us. Because we were not inclined to do as they said they considered this apostasy from the Christian faith and added our tenets along with those of the Dukhabors and iconoclasts and presented it to Dosifey the bishop of Orlov. He communicated it to the former Orlov civil governor who acquired the help of Kysmin, the civil attorney, and as a result we were accused of not honoring the Holy Trinity, that is, the Father and Son and Holy Spirit, and not venerating the holy icons, and other accusations. As a result of this we were locked up in prison and suffered there. Finally, your Imperial Majesty, we were ordered to be exiled to the Milky Waters in the Province of Tavria. But because we were already separated from our families, the father deprived of his children, the children a father and mother, the husband his wife, and the wife her husband, we fall before your feet, your Imperial Majesty, with this petition to beg of you to order that our families be united with us, who desire to be united back with us in whatever unfortunate situation we may be in." The committee of ministers, reviewing this petition, decided to resettle their wives and children also to the Milky Waters, along with the iconoclasts of Orlov Province, and that this migration would be at the expense of the government without causing any more difficulty, allowing them to sell their possessions in the Orlov Province or do with them what they want. Soon after the Kherson military general-governor, Count Lanzheron, reported to the Minister

174 of Internal Affairs that the Molokans arriving in Melitopol County from the province of Orlov were totally incompatible with the settlements of the sects of the Dukhabors. The Molokans informed the Tavria governor that because of this reason they could not live in the same villages with them; while the Dukhabors would not at all allow the Molokans into their communities due to the difference in their convictions. Regarding this conflict the Minister of Internal Affairs wrote to the Kherson general-governor, that just as the resettlement of the Orlov Molokans to the villages of Melitopol was made by Imperial command and by the Committee of Ministers, and since the Molokans in reality differ in tenets of faith from the settlements of Melitopol and do not want to settle in these villages, and these likewise do not want to accept them either, then the local provincial authority was ordered to take measures before further resettlements are made from the Orlov Province so that an adequate place for their settlement can be arranged. Along with the Barilov Molokans there were also Molokans of the village of Gubkin who become known to the authorities. They indicated in inquiries, that, "They call themselves Molokans based on the reading of the Bible in 1 Peter chapter 2, as it says: So put away all malice and guile and insincerity and envy and all slander. Like newborn children long for the true spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation. They do not attend [Orthodox] church, do not perform the sign of the cross, do not pray to the icons, and do not have images in their homes. They worship God in the spirit, gathering in homes, where they read the various books of the prophets and apostles, and recite prayers of Christ. They do not proselytize, but do interpret and inspire members of the Orthodox confession in regard to their rules. The primary preceptors of the Molokans of Gubkin were: Ilya Bobrikov, Alexsei and Grigori Krasnikov, and Alexsei Ogarkov. They taught that all that a person acquires through prayer, pious study, meditation, church worship service and preaching, he must perform in his life, he must indicate this in his personal conduct, he must prove in his attitudes toward others. "And in reality we can say that the church is a school for faith and the door to the Christian life; the world is experience and exercise in Christianity: its practical application. The person who has never been to sea cannot be a good sailor, although he may have learned sitting at home the theory of seamanship. A person cannot be a good soldier if all he does is read in his study at home about military tactics; he must acquire this while in service himself, becoming cold-blooded, valiant, disciplined, cleaver and quick thinking; and without all this, even the most educated in the theory of military sciences would be a poor soldier. Exactly in the same manner is the warrior of Christ formed with living experience of self-denial, resistance to temptation, with kindness, meekness, humbleness, love and active benevolence, which he develops in his daily involvement with people. Life is a genuine and real training course where we can undoubtably show that piety is not a matter just for holidays or for a few hours alone, but it can become a matter dealing with every single day and every hour, and can withstand even the strongest shock, the most difficult struggle, and any rough collisions with the world."

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Volume 5, Chapter 10

175 We must note that the codified tenets of the Molokans are almost all identical to each other in all the provinces of Russia, and differ only in the extend of their size, whether larger or smaller. They do not allow any incredible mysticism, as do many of our other sects and those of the west. In all the codified tenets of the Molokans, we notice a Bible-based rationalism standing on the field of the Bible and not allowing any inclination towards mysticism. As a result of this, nothing especially wild, perplexing or unnatural has ever evolved from the sect of the Molokans, like that among the Scoptsi and others. The morality of the Molokans founded upon these tenets was also a Biblical morality. The implanted basis for civil prosperity consist of recognizing the Tsar and the authorities; the sanctity of the family; and the strict moral attitudes among themselves and toward others, always a Bible-based one. These are distinct particulars of the Molokan sect, and so they exclude any malice, which seems to occur everywhere else. None of the above is noticed among the other sects.

Using as a foundation the text from the evangelist Luke 14:26, If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple, the mystics have abandoned their wives and children, homes and possessions, and without any purpose wandered through the cities and villages, and lived freeloading off their brethren, until they finally are exhausted supporting these vagrants and chase them off. According to their understanding, no one has the right to private possessions and all must be communal among the brethren: it is impossible to be wealthy and be a Christian at the same time. None of this has ever occurred among the Molokans. We state this here because during the reign of Nicholai I, many governors in their reports mention this. We can only feel sorry for the Molokans because they do not completely understand the inner meaning and the serious importance of the ancient [Orthodox] church rites and church disciplines, and often become too involved in the interpretation of the Bible. It is because of this that their codified tenets are stable and almost never change. We acquired a codified confession of faith from the Orlov Molokans used during the reign of Emperor Nicholai I, and which is totally identical with other codified tenets circulating at the conclusion of the 18th century. It is undersigned by the Molokan Semeon Nechushkin, Andre Bomakin and Petro Kireev. We present this set of codified tenets for historical proof of the immutability of Molokans teaching beginning from the 18th century and to the reign of Nicholai I.

Confession of Faith of the Molokans of Orlov.

1 We look towards the initiator and perfecter of our faith Jesus. We believe in one God, that he abides in 3 features: Father and Son and Holy Spirit. Our witness for the salvation of our souls we accept according to the 2 Covenants: the prophets and the Gospels and the Apostles' letters.

2 We have one priest and bishop, who sits at the right side of God, that is, the Son of God according to the witness of Apostle Paul, Heb 4:14, Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Heb 7:26, For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens. We do not accept the teachings of any not knowing this. Heb 8:1, We have such a

176 High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. But just as the apostles were imitators of Him, they were sanctified by the Spirit as witnessed in Acts 20:28, the Holy Spirit has made you overseer, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. This is also testified to by the apostle in Eph 4:11, And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. Upon this do we establish ourselves, Likewise we presently have in our faith righteous men acting as priests but known as elders, according to the testimony of Sirach 37:12, But stay continually with a godly man whom you know to be a keeper of the commandments. And Jer 5:1, Find a man, if there is anyone who executes judgment, who seeks the truth. And also Jer 9:12, Who is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? The letter also testifies to Timothy, 1 Tim 2:8, Therefore I desire that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. And elders are testified about in 1 Peter 5:1-2, The elders who are among you I exhort, shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseer, not by constraint but willingly, not for dishonest gain, but eagerly. All of this do we affirm for ourselves.

3 For the sign of the cross we signify ourselves with the promised Holy Spirit, that is, in the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit, Amen. As it is written: Eph 1:13, In whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. This is according to the command of Jesus Christ to His apostles, Matt 28:19. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

4 Our baptism consists in repentance and the remission of sins, after the witness of the gospels: Mark 1:4, John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And also in the same Gospel, Mark 16:16, He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. The apostle also testified about this in 1 Cor 1:18, For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

5 Confession we regard according to the word of the prophet David: Ps 111:1, I will confess the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. For this reason we confess our sins to one another and recite our confession before another man or before an elder. The mediator we have in this matter unto the heavenly Father is in accord with the witness of the epistles: 1 John 2:1-2, And if anyone sins we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins.

6 Regarding the sacraments, we discern the communion of the divine secrets in the following manner: Whoever fears God and observes His commandments, he is a communicant according to David: Ps 119:63, I am a participant of all those who fear You and of those who keep Your precepts. And the

177 apostle wrote to the Hebrews, Heb 6:4-5, For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come. Even in reference to food, Christ said: Matt 6:9, Give us this day our daily bread. And He also said: John 6:41, I am the bread which came down from heaven, which is His divine word. Deut 8:3, Man will not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. And David says, Ps 34:8, Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! This is the very bread that we partake of, since the Word became flesh and we are communicants of it.

7 We consider the church an assembly of the people according to the words of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians, 2 Cor 6:16, For you are the temple of the living God, as God has said. And in the Acts of the Apostles 17:24, God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. And in 1 Cor 14:26, Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. And just as Paul conducted himself in Acts 20:8, There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together. So do we follow the same pattern. We gather, discuss and spend the entire Sunday evening in an assembly of men, women and children, singing psalms and discussing the words of the prophets and apostles.

8 Our prayer service consists in following Christ's example and using the prayers of the prophets and apostles, after the command of the Son of God to His disciples, as said in the gospel: Matt 6:9, In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, holy be Your name, which is also mentioned in Luke 11:2. And to the Ephesians was written, Eph 6:18, Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. For this reason we gather and recite all prayers in the spirit. In the assembly at our church we all stand facing each other and upon our knees we pray and worship the invisible God of heaven, just as did Christ and the apostle Paul, who prayed on his knees. So do we pray to and worship the invisible God of heaven.

9 And the image we worship is priceless, according to the testimony of the apostle Paul to the Colossians: Col 1:15-16, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. Christ presented Himself as an image to the apostles, as it is written: Rom 8:29, For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. And it is also written, 1 Pet 2:21-22, For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an image (example),196 that you should follow His steps, who committed no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth. Phil 3:17, Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern (image). 2 Tim 1:13, Hold fast the pattern (image) of sound

196. The word image is used here in the Slavonic Bible.

178 words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is the image that we imitate, and not the images made by hand. We do honor the saints of God believing that they did live in such a manner.

10 When a child is born and when giving them a name we rely on the witness of the gospel, Luke 1:59, Now so it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. Upon this we base ourselves. On the day which a child is born the fathers give him a name, and after which we perform a prayer for him.

11 Regarding weddings we observe what was previously spoken by the prophets and apostles: Tobit 7:9, 12-13, After Tobias was married, then Raguel said to Tobias: Eat drink and be merry, for it is your right to take my child, and said, Remember her. And he called his daughter Sarah, and taking her by the hand he gave her to Tobias to be his wife, saying, Behold according to the law of Moses take her and go to the house of your father. And according to the testimony of the apostle Paul, 1 Cor 7:27, Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. We discern this matter in the same manner. For the performance of the wedding the groom and bride, according to their mutual love, must stand before an assembly of the people, and recite their mutual vows. The groom vows, "Cursed will I be before God if I take another wife." And the bride also vows, "Cursed will I be before God if I take another husband." And then all the brethren will witness that they are recognized as husband and wife.

12 We honor the king and authorities, according to the witness of the Provers of Solomon, Pr 8:15-16, By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, all the judges of the earth. And according to the testimony of the apostle, Rom 13:1-2, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. Our prayer on behalf of the king and the authorities consists in prayer for their life and longevity.

13 We observe fasts according to the words of the prophets and apostles. The Son of God fasted 40 days and 40 nights. Matt 4:2, And when He had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, afterward He was hungry. In the same manner did Moses and Elijah fast for 40 days, not eating and not drinking. Ezra fasted for 3 weeks. Others likewise fasted in a similar manner. And the prophet Joel said: Joel 2:12, Turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. And the prophet Zechariah chapter 7 also wrote about fasts. For this reason in our faith we observe this type of fast: for one or 2 weeks a person will choose to fast; while others a week or 4 days; others for 5 days; we eat no food and drink no water.

179 And we are called in general Molokans, because we partake of milk as established by our fathers, during Lent197 and on St. Peters Day,198 and the Lent before the Day of Assumption,199 and on the fast of Advent,200 and we do not consider it wrong according to the words of the Son of God, who said: Matt 15:11, Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man. Upon this are we established.

14 Regarding the burial of the dead, we take the example of Tobit, as he conducted this in earlier eras.201 After the spirit departs we read the Psalms and have a memorial for him. At the funeral we accompany the deceased singing Psalms.

15 We believe in the resurrection of the dead, and that we will live again after death is testified by Ezra in 2 Esd 2:16, And I will raise up the dead from their places, and will bring them out of their tombs, because I recognize my name in them. And in the gospels it is testified, Luke 16:22, The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man died and was also buried, and in hades in torment he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. So do we believe.

This stability in the protection of the codified tenets indicates more or less their immutability, and is the reason why the Molokans do not succumb to the madness of the western mystics and some of our Russian native sects, such as the Scoptsi, Khlisti, and others.

197. Beginning Ash Wednesday and lasting for forty days concluding the eve of Easter. 198. Holiday of the Holy Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, celebrated June 29. 199. The 2 week fast prior to the Orthodox holiday of the bodily ascension into heaven of the Blessed Virgin Mary, August 15. 200. Beginning the fourth Sunday before Christmas in Roman Catholicism and the sixth Sunday before Christmas in Eastern and Russian Orthodoxy, concluding Christmas Eve. 201. Tobit 1:17-19, 2:7-8.

180

MOLOKANS OF SAMAR

Volume 2, Chapter 19

I Without doubt these initial settlements of Molokans, endeavoring to discover the spiritual kingdom on earth, did not have the same interpretations which exist now among the Molokans of Samar Province. Living peacefully and quietly in their isolated settlements at the time, the Samar Molokans of the 18th century knew only the Bible as taught by their preceptors; and using this developed their teaching quietly, seeking Biblical truth using their intellect. And most of all satisfied that in these wide and expansive steppes, distant from the authorities and clergy, the authority of the superstitious Orthodoxy did not threaten them. Based on personal inquiries into the Molokans of these settlements, they at the beginning of the 19th century were not oppressed by anybody; and inquiring into the local authorities, they were never a visible threat to the Orthodoxy. They led a very meek and sober life; and had much respect toward hospitality. The supreme essence they recognized in 3 features: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and worshipped them, but not with making the sign of the cross. They called the Son of God their priest and bishop, and so did not accept the clergy. The sacrament of baptism they consider as repentance and the remission of sins, and so they do not accept the baptism using water. The sacrament of repentance they perform in their assembly before honored elders having benevolent conduct, recognizing the Son of God as intercessor on their behalf. The sacrament of the communion they fulfill in terms of benevolence and the observance of the commands of the Lord. The church they call their assembly at one place, wherever they might be, at whatever assembly they undertake the discussion and interpretation of the law of God; there they sing psalms of David, and on their knees facing one another they worship the supreme essence, reciting the prayer, "Our Father, who is in heaven,.." and others. Rather than having icons, they recognize their own creation as after the image and likeness of God, and so do not worship in the presence of hand- made images. The saints venerated by the Orthodox church they respect, but do not worship. The parents bestow a name on their new-born children on the day the child is born. Their weddings are not arranged, and its performance is based on this, that the groom and bride wish to marry due to their mutual love in the presence of the general assembly of their community and vow eternal fidelity, and are indivisible unto death. They recognize government obligation and the statutes of the authorities. They observe only those fasts that are mentioned in the holy Scriptures: they eat nothing for a week or 2, and spend this time in spiritual silence. They do not observe the fasts instituted by the Greek-Russian church and so eat milk as food [on these days], due to which the Orthodox populace names them Molokans.

181

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Volume 4, Chapter 19 ( selections )

Nonetheless it is to our benefit to say that all the Molokans living in the steppes are experienced in agriculture, and are particularly serious in their conduct, and boast of their perseverance in the word that was handed down to them. All the government remarks can be summarized as follows, that every Molokan can be trusted to complete any contract agreed on, not requiring any kind of signed contract or a written document. One disadvantage we have is that they have for a long time been hauling merchandise and have established the business such that delivery of all commodities is in the hands of the Molokans. The wealth of the Molokans, as the Samar authorities have written, is no doubt to their thrifty and austere life style, and their existence as the middle man of capital is not just a fairy tale, disregarding the fact that quite often and under pressure the Molokans do use these funds to further the sin of sectarianism. But this same money is always ready on the due date to pay taxes and any other government demands. For the most part, the primary means of subsistence among the Molokans is that in the fields, in agriculture. They do not tolerate the vice of alcoholism, which they consider a great misfortune, against their faith and as a violation. Anybody that winds up in the company of drunks is no longer considered one of their own, and they shun him. Sensing the necessity of education for the sake of understanding the Scriptures, the Molokans teach their children to read and write under the guidance of an able and willing educator, even if one from the Orthodoxy. They send them to be taught in the home schools and public schools willingly, but still have not recognized that such an education is very costly. To this time not one of the Molokans preceptors has advocated that such an education should be at the expense of their own community, to be contributed to. Their education is slip-shod: they start late. Some want the church [Slavonic] reading and writing; others want the civil. And they all complain, "We need the grammar; what use are books without it? We are not Dukhabors; the spirit does not reveal to us what we do not see for ourselves in books." It is worth noticing that in Russia in the Samar region did the Molokans first call themselves an evangelical religion in the presence of the authorities. An earlier Molokan of Samar, a merchant of the 3rd guild, who stood at the forefront of the Molokans, gave to Count Benkendorf a petition having the following content with an explanation of the their tenets, "A petition from the merchant of the 3rd guild, Akinfi Prohorov Grachev, of the city of Samar. From the earliest times I continue in the tradition of my forefathers, in the evangelic Christian conviction, having as my foundation the God-inspired holy Scriptures and the holy Gospels, performing my prayers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ on behalf of the Sovereign Emperor and his august house and the holy governing synod according to the rites of the ancient Christians; I have peacefully fulfilled all of the obligations of the state and community responsibilities for the past 60 years of my life. But now the Samar police chief Rutkovski has included me and my family on the list of dissenters in the city of Samar, not paying any attention to my notarized petition at the police station

182 and county court building. I asked them to confirm me in our religion and that it be called Evangelical, but he would not do this, and I was all the more psychologically upset and offended and found it necessary to bother the city official about this. He then wrote to the city police chief for him to investigate my manner of life and that of the Molokans. In report No. 155, the city police chief reported to the governor regarding all the Molokans of Samar in general, that all of our conduct is commendable and everyone leads a sober life, having high morals, and especially myself, the petitioner, conduct myself better than the others and am not involved in any foolish activities; and it is not apparent that we are members of the sect of the Judaizers and have not harbored any people under the guise of mercy, and none of us has ever been noticed begging for alms. "To cover up his mistake, the city police chief ran for the assistance of the priest of the capital city, and although he had no notice from the [Orthodox] ecclesiastical administration, he still wanted to discuss our religion. And so he came to my house, but showed himself very weak in the knowledge of the holy Scriptures, and rather than discussing matters of religion and faith he only discredited the Molokans. I, noticing him in this uncomfortable mood, took the liberty of reminding him of temperance, using as an example the Proto-priest Belski, who also had visited me and discussed with me matters of faith; him I enjoyed and never heard any discrediting remarks from him. The voice of such truth only caused greater contempt against me in the capital city, and in this information given to the city police chief about the Molokans of Samar, he still decided not to separate us from the Jew- Subbotniki, although there are absolutely no similarities between us. We have as our faith and are guided by the New Covenant; we have learned to honor and confess Christ the Saviour as true God, to honor the Tsar and his august house and devoutly be subject to him, to protect the fatherland and the holiness of the laws, and in accord with the Christian teaching observe piety and high morals in truth; just as the Holy Synod mentions at the end of the preface to the New Covenant, for us to uphold the Holy Gospel, to read it, listen to it, believe it, fulfill it, become wise from it, and be saved by it. The capital city also testified that the Molokans honor more the Old Covenant, and that our sect as if teaches not to preserve the fatherland and not to observe the holiness of the laws, but rather to promote rebellion and be arrogant towards the Orthodox religion and its ministers. But this is not correct, and the capital city has erred trying to combine together 2 sects that are completely contrary one to another: The Subbotniki and Molokans; and the city police chief has incorrectly acted by including Christ in the list of Subbotniki-Jews. "For this reason I take this liberty to run to the shelter and defence of Your Excellency. You are the upholder of the holiness of your own laws, and in you, our Most-august Monarch, do we have hope in justice and support in truth and comfort to endeavor toward the good of the fatherland. Look upon us with your omnipotent eye, upon the smallest member of the fatherland, having a family of 11 boys and laboring in difficulty due to the oppression of the police. And command them to erase me and my family from the list of the Jew-Subbotniki, as one who performs all in the Christian religion according to the tradition of forefathers and the Holy Gospels, and permit me to be called a Christian of the Evangelical conviction. And I hope to soon receive from your Excellency a merciful defence and protection." The government decided not in favor of Grachev and his petition was denied. But what is important for us is the disclosure of Grachev, that the Molokans should more correctly be considered members of the evangelical confession of the western church.

183

MOLOKANS OF ORENBURG

Volume 4, Chapter 22

Foreigners have always looked upon Russia as upon a country which is primarily one of superficial piety, where there are many icons, churches, bells, where at every footstep you can meet with some Russian making low bows in front of a large number of churches and chapels, where the sound from the ring of a church bell deafens the ears, where they observe the most strict of fasts, where the morality of a person is measured by his superficial motions. And the childish tints of piety and childish simplicity in the innovation of ideals of moral piety and accomplishment reached such a point that the Russians even considered sugar a meat dish, and for this reason would not eat it during a fast. Initially, before they knew its composition, they would use it during fast days; but when one foreign merchant related to the Patriarch, that in its composition is found the white part of the egg, the Patriarch enacted the directive that from that time on, they should not use sugar. With the absence of an enlightened view of those items for the Russians to have a more firm support for moral conduct, there evolved the attitude that at the time of fasts they should be prepared not to eat anything and deny their body. And because of this, at other times the Russian was completely absorbed with unrestraint and obscene conduct. Foreigners noted that if some holy day is approaching which requires a fast, which the Russian do strictly observe, then prior to this day they get drunk and lay along the streets, and this is not considered sin to them. The principle item is not to be defiled with meat. Foreigners complained that the Russians called them dogs for eating meat dishes on fast days, recognized as evil the smoking of tobacco, because the smoker would as if together with his tobacco, bring his defiling tobacco smell into the very church, and in this manner violate the veneration due the icons. The Russians even counted the beard as a dogma. And although Russians did begin to shave their beards following the style of Peter I, but the shaved-off hair they still saved, as though it was sacred, so they could stand with it at the judgement of God. Perrie related that the first time he saw a Russian acquaintance with his beard shaved off and asked him what he was going to do with it, the Russian answered by taking out of his inside coat pocket a lock of hair and said that he will save it until he dies and command that it be placed in the coffin with him to give account of it to Saint Nicholai as he migrates to the other world. All of this in the opinion of the foreigners substantiates the Russian inclination to emphasize a greater significance in superficial actions and forms of piety, which they now have become accustomed to identifying with morality itself. In the absence of religious enlightenment and a true perception of the Christian ideals of morality, the [Orthodox] Russian man, in the opinion of the foreigners, see a higher example of piety and fullness of life in achieving a hermetical life style. The attitude that fasting in his eyes appears as natural means and unavoidable condition of virtue and moral perfection can be derived out of all this. In short, according to the words of foreigners, the Russian man, based on the simplicity of his views, loves all that affects the superficial sensation, that all this would be near his childish

184 mentality and nature. This explains his inclination toward increasing the amount of icons, [Orthodox] churches, and his love and desire for the deafening ring of church bells, his love and respect for the demented202 who find nothing they like in the religious life or in recognizing other nations and religious communities. As a buttress to this extremity, the Molokans, for instance those of Buguryslan County, Circassian District, the village Frolkin, also known as Erzovka, explained to the authorities through Ermolai Kytykov, who was entrusted with this matter, that they observe fasts after the example of Jesus Christ, the prophets and apostles. Dan 10:2-3, In those days I, Daniel, was mourning 3 full weeks. I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till 3 whole weeks were fulfilled. 2 Esd 6:31, says that Ezra fasted for 7 days. David also fasted, which is apparent in Ps 109:24, My knees are weak through fasting, and my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness. Joel 2:12, Turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. Fasts have been established by the Lord: Zech 8:19, Thus says the Lord of hosts: The fast of the 4th month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the 7th, and the fast of the tenth, will be joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah. Therefore love truth and peace. These are the fasts that we observe, each according to his strength, whether 4 days or 5, or even a week, we eat no food and drink no water. But the food that is blessed we eat all the other days. Lev 11:3, Among the beasts, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud--that you may eat. 1 Tim 4:3, Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving. The other fasts we do not observe, and we do not accept the fasts on Wednesdays and Fridays. We prefer to observe a spiritual fast, according to the words of the Scriptures. Is 58:3-9, Is it a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord? Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light will break forth like the morning, your healing will spring forth speedily, and your rectitude will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry, and He will say, Here I am. If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness.

The lack of spiritual enlightenment causes another inescapable evil to follow close after: the absence of a living oral instruction. Foreigners pathetically tell about this sorrowful condition of the [Orthodox] church propagation in Russia, about this absence of a living sermon, which then causes the evangelical teaching to serve as the sole means of preaching.

202. Probably referring to the attitude of the hermits or recluses, mentioned above.

185

MOLOKANS OF EKATERINOSLAV

Volume 4, Chapter 9

The Orthodox clergy complained constantly to Bishop Iyov, because the Molokans and Dukadors do not build churches and do not have icons, and this displayed criminal activity requires severe persecution. Of course the clergy of the time in its narrow point of view was correct. Nowhere in such abundance is piety and the religious feelings of an individual disclosed except in [Orthodox] church, where a person senses the presence of the Divinity and then enters into a spiritual unity with him in close proximity. But this conception is in itself true with the insufficient mental development of the Russian individual and with his childlike and simple views of the items and subjects of piety. He tends to migrate into the vain desire to have as many churches as possible. The highest feat and crown of life of the religiously undeveloped person is counted as his building of a church. The highest degree of piety is measured by the number of churches that someone builds, although this person may well be in his life a swindler and thief. And based on the above observation, we notice this as a natural appearance, that we have many churches, which was also noticed by foreign visitors. This is the fruit of piety understood by the Russians according to the dimensions of their own undeveloped mind. The Molokans of Ekaterinoslav Province, seeing such a narrow understanding of Christianity, affirmed: We consider the church as the assembly of the people, according to the witness of the apostle Paul. 2 Cor 6:16, And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be My people. Acts 17:24, God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 1 Cor 14:26, Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, a teaching, a tongue, a revelation, an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 1 Pet 2:5, You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Eph 5:27, That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. Acts 20:8,11, There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together. Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed. Rev 19:5, Then a voice came from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great! Heb 9:24, For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.

There is no doubt that one and the other are extremes: since one extreme will cause the opposite

186 extreme. The foreigners arriving in Russia testify that the piety of the [Orthodox] Russian people is expressed in their superficial customs and appearance of piety. Such a viewpoint of the religion and piety is in full agreement with an uneducated and underdeveloped community, as were the Russians.

187

MOLOKANS OF NOVGOROD

Volume 3, Chapter 30

During the reign of Alexander I, the Novgorod Captain of Police reported on December 9, 1811 to the Minister of Police, A.D. Balashov, that the former Dukhabor sect, which had earlier considerable influence on the residents of the Novgorod region, again appeared in public. Hearing of this rather important occurrence, I immediately travelled to the village Ostrov, where an official of the same sect was living, Afanasy Ignatyev. When I arrived at his home, I started to question him, and he answered that he in 1809 joined the Molokan sect. Then by the sentence of the Novgorod Judicial Courthouse he was beaten with sticks and was exiled back to his previous place of residence. After this but only superficially he began to fulfill the [Orthodox] Christian rites, such as, attending [Orthodox] church; but inwardly he observed the statutes and rites of the above-mentioned sect. And so he said that he allowed the [Orthodox] baptism of his children, and likewise his marriage, although he considered it a futile act and does not recognize any of these rituals. It was all superficial in order to escape inquire from the State. With these attitudes he attended [Orthodox] church, but considered totally futile the observed sacraments and rituals, and does not recognize them genuinely, since the church is found inside every individual; all else is vain and ostensive. He also participated in instruction, for which he travelled often to the villages. He, Ignatyev, received this instruction from his father, Ignati Zenovyev, and he from the former coachman Efrem Semeonov Sosninski, who was taken to St. Petersburg during the reign of Pavel I, and it is not known where he is at present. Then he, Ignatyev, along with others who were taught this teaching by the peasant Semeonov and Efrem Ylyanov, taught that during prayer not to use any cross, but to pray in the spirit. The following was acquired during an investigation of followers of the Molokan sect. This indicates that their sect consists in the following:

1. They do not attend [Orthodox] Christian church, but recognize [the church] in the heart of each of them. 2. They do not bow before the holy icons. 3. During prayer, they do not make the sign of the cross, and do not wear a cross; but they bring prayer unto God only in the spirit. 4. The sacraments of the Greek-Russian faith, that is, confession, the eucharist, or the Holy Communion, they do not recognize. 5. The instituted fasts and other rituals they altogether deny; and if they ever do observe them it is

188 only superficial, and only so [outsiders] would not intervene into the sect, or else to escape legal investigations from the State. 6. These Molokans in general all have said that they were baptized according to the sacrament of the Greek-Russian faith at various times, but joined the Molokan sect due to the influence of the mail service man Afanasyev. 7. Other followers of the sect have said that they were inspired from a long time earlier, by the coachman Efrem Semeonov, who during the reign of the Sovereign of blessed memory the Emperor Pavel 1,203 was taken to St. Petersburg and was banished to some unknown place. 8. Other than Ignatyev, his fellow Molokans during the inquest said that they obey the All- merciful Sovereign and the civil instituted laws. 9. The civil court provided a proposition to the Molokans to again return to the Greek-Russian faith. 10. Subsequently out of 63 men, 2 desired to return to the [Orthodox] Christian faith; but the remaining 61 remained steadfast.

The governor of Novgorod got on his side the Minister of Police, and the following were his intentions: 1. That the coachman Afanasy Ignatyev, as the head of the Molokan sect, be given over to the severest sentence possible. 2. That his followers, who have abandoned the religion, along with any others that may agree with them, should be left alone in their delusion, and not be harassed by the State. Without doubt and this measure of punishment, which they will see occur to their preceptor, will have a great impact on them, rather than inflicting direct punishment, which would not be of a benefit, but would only harass them. This method should stop them from further expanding their heresy. All of this is even the more necessary, because as soon as we attack these people and take them to trial, then it will appear as persecution and oppression, and subsequently over half of the population of this area will also appear oppressed and would have to be arrested and subject to the consequences of the law. Our accommodation in this matter will have greater success, rather than using severe measure, which would only irritate them and cause them to become even more steadfast. 3. All of these people, and without exception: a) who teach the precepts of the heresy and strive to incline others to it from the [Orthodoxy]; b) who allow the use of their homes as a meeting place; c) who have attended one of these meeting, whether out of curiosity, or having intentions of participating, or serving as their basis, and not reporting it to the Civil Authority; d) those who travelled with the teacher Ignatyev throughout the various villages and gathered assemblies; and finally, e) those who protected these members during times of investigation; these to be given over to legal action and punishment.

On February 24, 1812, from the directing Novgorod Civil Governor was a report issued to the Minister of the Police, Balashov, that the head of the Molokans Afanasy Ignatyev died in a dungeon; and the other 9 men sitting with him are still retained in prison.

203. Pavel Petrovich, reigned as Tsar over Russia 1796-1801. He was the son of Peter III and Catherine the Great.

189

MOLOKANS OF VLADIMIR

Volume 3, Chapter 14

The religious liberalism in the regions of the present Province of Vladimir was well-known to Dimitri Rostovski. The Molokans of the village of Domnin disclosed their existence prior to the reign of Alexander 1. Later it was in the year of 1812, that incidences aroused and awakened in the society unrest in the areas of moral and state politics. Then the citizen's movements directed themselves towards questions of the Russian life and resolved these questions in the sense of European ideas, which were summoned into the Russian communities due to the tight association with European life, from the influence of the ideas which themselves dominated the European community. When Alexander I became close to his people and expanded his activities among them, the Molokans of the village Domnin delivered to the Emperor a petition through their trusted agents Kornil Merkylov and Afanasy Prohorov. The context was the following: "Your Imperial Majesty. Accept our boldness to fall before your feet, and in tears ask for your defense. We are peasants of the Vladimir Province, Melenkovski County. In 1814 we found out about the opening of the Bible Society in St. Petersburg, and that we were able to purchase there the Bible in the Old and New Covenants, which is an absolute necessity for every person. Seeing the benevolent work created, we started a community to gather funds, and sent a monetary contribution in the amount of 405 rubles. They also sent us a considerable number of small booklets regarding the success of their society. "Today we gather to read and listen to the word of God, and learn from it about love toward God and the Emperor, and we acquire for ourselves a personal tranquility. And all of us teach the word of God to our children; and if anybody does not know how to read or write, then he sends his children to someone in our community that does, who accepts them into their home and teaches them without charge. We did try to send our children to the local public school, but it takes so long for them to learn anything, not less than 3 years. But we strive to complete this much education in 6 months, exerting much effort in teaching them but without exhausting them. "But when the authorities found out that the peasant Fedot Merkylov of the village Domnin was teaching his own children, then he was arrested and taken to trial and has been in jail up to now. And so to stop any more teaching of the word of God in our homes the Melenkovski police captain issued a prohibition and the village bailiff required our elders to subscribe to it. On October 3, in the village of Priklon, in the house of the Molokan Petro Dmitriev, while our community was gathered for the study of the word of God, in the evening at 9 o'clock, the local parish priest walked into the house, and grabbed the Bible out of our hands and closed it, and said that plain people should not take the

190 Bible into their hands, but that only the [Orthodox] priests and deacons can; and then he took the report from the Bible Society and threw it against the table. Such oppression has also been increasing against the secular population. The Melenkovski landowner required us in his presence several times and tortured us with various cruel punishments and whipped us with tree branches, and then held us in prison confinement for over 3 months, and solely because we undertook the study of the Bible. Because of this my family, consisting of 7 people, the youngest a child of 5 months, went into poverty; and during the period of my imprisonment did not even have the means to provide for themselves, and the village supervisor was even forbidden to supply us with wood for our stove during the winter. “Other than this, once we gathered in the house of Pavel Niconov, a peasant of the village Levenda, to study the Bible, the police sergeant Evstafi Pankratev found our about it and chased us all out of the house. He then reported it to Burtsev, who commanded him to arrest us and then brought us to his presence. There were 4 of us presented to him: myself, Akinfi Prohorov, Afanasy Kireev, and Dimitri Efimov. Out of these Afanasy Kireev and Dimitri Efimov were whipped with tree rods by the order of Burtsev; while myself and Akinfi Prohorov, along with Emelian Efimov, were kept under arrest and held in jail for 2 weeks; and during this time we suffered cruel oppression and hard labour. It is due to the type of cruel and torturous punishments which were executed upon myself and Akinfi Prohorov by Burtsev, along with the situation of our families, that our community was compelled to pay for our freedom with a very high price. Disregarding these sufferings, I still subscribed as a member of the Bible Society. In an announcement signed by Your Imperial Majesty on December 6, 1812, every person, whether in St. Petersburg or in other areas of Russia, can freely subscribe to the Bible Society and contribute any amount he pleases to. Likewise the holy apostles and prophets did not act arrogantly against persecution as indicated in the holy Scriptures, to take vengeance against their persecutors in the same manner, but rather they described their sufferings and persecutions in the holy Scriptures, and did not hide this from kings. Likewise we do not hide this, and do not want to be deprived of eternal life. "Your Imperial Majesty, you have the anointment from the holy one and know all things. Look upon us from your throne on-high, upon the destitute and sufferers from every persecution and torture who are attached to God and His holy Word in love. Warm them with your shelter, with the same one which was ordered by your Imperial Majesty to the Kherson Military General-governor. Restrain their malice, which they use to try to destroy our community and families. We have not caused anybody harm due to our study of the word of God. But we have a desire to learn the word of God and do not want our children to become destitute or immoral or alcoholic, as occurs among the Orthodoxy; but we meditate upon God and his holy Word. For your mercy we will give praise to the On-high along with humble prayers on behalf of your Imperial majesty and your royal family, upon our knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom all families in heaven and earth are named. God, save the Tsar and bless the All-august Monarch, our Most-honorable Emperor Alexander Pavlovich; increase his years and may God give His judgement to the Tsar and His justice to the son of the Tsar to judge his people in rectitude and the meek in justice. Let the mountains bring prosperity and the hills rectitude; may he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor." The Domnin Molokans also included the tenets of their faith to this petition.

191

One of the contemporaries of Alexander I tells among other items, about the many petitions, memorandums and reports which are delivered to Alexander I, in various matters by private individuals, and how he noticed, "True, the Autocrat could save himself from such a burden which he could not be able to bear, seeing himself besieged by such a mass of petitions, notes and requests, by just forbidding any more to be delivered to him. But Alexander I did not do this, because his heart would not allow to abandon all these requests, which were all directed toward the common benefit of the people, and primarily because he had been able to gain the respect and confidence of important people. Although it may not have achieved many useful results, he hoped his inclination and zeal for the general benefit of the people would place his name in some honorable position in history." Not seeing an apathetic type of effort among the Molokans, as he saw among the dissenters, nor one against nature, nor against the edits of the state, Alexander I became interested in this sect more than in all the other sects, and as a result of this, to him was delivered confidentially the innumerable quantity of Molokan petitions with their tenets of faith attached, which provides us with abundant material for a history and study of the Molokan sect.

The Minister of Public Education, Prince Alexander Nikolaevich Golitzen, wrote to the Minister of Internal Affairs in regard to the complaints of the Molokans of Domnin, that they should turn their special attention to this and will reliably discover that their complaint is justifiable, the evidence does indicate that the peasants of Domnin were forbidden to read the books of the holy Scriptures; and that from this time on they should no longer be prohibited from engaging in this activity, since the study of the holy Scriptures is the sole and correct method to have them draw nearer to the Orthodoxy and in time be able to return back to the bosom of the [Orthodox] church. That strict measures should not at all be used in any situation to attempt a sincere repentance and the cognizance of their error, since this would be the easy means of creating greater antagonism. "If their only guilt lies in the study of the Bible and in their contributions for the assistance of the Russian Bible Society, then I cannot any longer become involved in any accusation against them. And among other items, the accusations of negative and even criminal charges on the account of the Russian Bible Society brought about by the police officials with the contributions of these peasants, I cannot hide from you, Mr. Minister, my thoughts and feelings in regard to this matter, that they are totally unfounded and out of place. It is well known that the establishment in Russia of the Bible Society promotes the distribution of the books of the holy Scriptures to all who desire such; and that they invite all and everyone to the study of it. The Imperial Sovereign himself decrees the protection of this society and has a concern for it, that the word of God, as the foundation of true Christianity and all virtue, should be promulgated everywhere and among all who are under the jurisdiction of His Majesty. Respectfully, I, in the capacity of the president of the Russian Bible Society, can only ask Your Excellency to turn your humble attention to the complaint brought by the peasants of the Vladimir Province, and if it seems that their error is due to their personal ignorance or lack of education, that you be tolerant in this matter and not use cruel torture. Such measures, as many other such experiences have indicated, do not work in these situations to turn those in error to the correct path; but only make matters worse and do not do anything to correct their error."

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192

Volume 5, Chapter 48

The Vladimir Civil Governor reported to the Minister of Internal Affairs in 2 documents that after the exile to Tavria province of the ringleaders of the Molokans, another 4 men took their place in the villages of Domnin and Sinzhan and the town Sofrovonov. They were namely: Ivan Pavlov, Kirill Ivanov, Filipp Tarasov and Terenti Gerasimov. They conducted prayer services for women who had given birth, for children when giving them a name, and during funerals. After careful investigation the diocesan bishop found out that 2 of the above named were considered to be the primary teachers of this sect, namely Ivan Pavlov and Kirill Ivanov. To circumvent disastrous consequences which could evolve from the activities of these 2 Molokans, the governor was compelled to issue an order to the Melenkovsk county court to have them keep under surveillance, and also scrutinize any other Molokans who would conduct themselves in a similar manner. The Minister of Internal Affairs, V.S. Lanski, concluded, "Since out of the 4 Molokan preceptors of Melenkovsk county, the primary promulgators of this sect are Ivan Pavlov and Kirill Ivanov, then I would identify these 2 men as violators of the law and order, after the manner of the peasant Burtsov, and exile them to Siberia for resettlement. And the other 2 select preceptors, Filipp Tarasov and Terenti Gerasimov, who are less guilty, are to be exiled to Tavria province, to live with their partisans." The Committee of Ministers affirmed the resolution of the directing Minister of Internal Affairs. In a meeting of January 9, 1826, there was disclosed to the Committee that the Sovereign Emperor recommended the same conditions for them. Soon after, Filipp Tarasov and Terenti Gerasim were exiled to Tavria province to settle there and live with their partisans. But the 2 Molokans Ivan Pavlov and Kirill Ivanov, sentenced to exile to Siberia, fled away to somewhere unknown. After some time passed the Melekovsk police chief apprehended Kirill Ivanov, who was caught while traveling from a neighboring county to that one in the Vladimir province. The police chief sent him to Siberia to live, in accord with the decision of the Committee of Ministers. His confederate, Ivan Pavlov, was ordered to be apprehended. In 1835 Ivan Pavlov was located in the county of Melitopol in the Tavria province. After his arrival back in Vladimir province, the government authorities deported him to Siberia to live.

193

MOLOKANS OF TVER

Volume 3, Chapter 28,

The Molokans [of Tver Province], Bezhets County, village of Tebleshov, have one of the notebooks of Tveritinov, where there is explained:204 1. That it is improper to accept in church another scripture other than what is contained in the Holy Bible. 2. The writings of the church fathers can not be considered correct because of their mutual disagreement. 3. Why did the [church] fathers rectify each others writings, and the latter accuse the former of ignorance? 4. It is in disagreement with the Holy Scriptures to pray for the intercession of Angels and departed saints, since they do not know anything about us and can not do anything for us. 5. The saints did bow before the Angels because they saw them face to face. 6. The [departed] saints do not know our petitions. 7. The saints after their departure are as though sleeping, for this reason they are said to be "asleep." 8. Up to the day of judgement, no one can say who is righteous and who is sinful. 9. It is against the truth to build a church in the name of saints. 10. Why in ancient times did such massive veneration of the saints not exist? 11. The Old Covenant saints were never in hell, but likewise in the presence of God, as today. 12. The veneration of icons disagrees with the words of the scriptures: Do not make for yourself a hand-made image, nor a portrayal, and other verses. Lev 26:1, Ex 20:4-5 13. If the building of these images transcends the command of God, then it must be shown if anybody has created a likeness that transcends his commands.205 14. In such situations it is better to teach plain people using words rather than designed icons, because some people deify them.

204. Since Dmitri Tveritinov taught during the late 17th and early 18th century, during the reign of Peter 1 the Great, this was over 150 years prior to the time of Livanov's research in central Russia during the 1850's and 1860's. As a result, much of Tveritinov's actual notebook is difficult to understand plus that many of these points have suffered in their contents over the century and-a-half of transmission generation to generation. A better view of Tveritinov's theology is noted in part VI of Beginning and Origin.... in this volume. 205. This precept does not appear to have been correctly transcribed from Tveritinov's notebook. The point apparently is that the making of icons does not transcend or annul the 2nd commandment, as indicated in point #12 above.

194 15. What is the reason for bowing and the burning of incense to icons? and bringing candles to them? Why inscribe them with the name of the maker? or call [the icons] miracle working? or carry them around with themselves? or admit that a person will receive salvation from them? 16. The above noted people worship in this manner because they only recognize that God dwells in one place. 17. At the present time God is not pleased with such offerings, but only with charity toward a person's close associate. 18. Monastic celibacy is in disagreement with the Holy Scriptures. Apostle Paul had in mind monks when his spoke about some falling away from the faith, forbidding to marry. 1 Tim 4:1-3 19. But why is monasticism undertaken with a vow and not voluntarily? 20. But this [vow] is said not about celibacy, but about other virtues.206 21. Why do monks wear special clothing, as if to present their benevolence to people in public? 22. These words of the apostle about not eating meat or wine carry such strength, just like the acknowledgement of circumcision, which he allowed based on certain circumstances, Acts 15:3. 23. Apostle Paul instituted abstinence from meat and wine not because he saw some kind of virtue in it, but only so that it would not lead a brother astray. 24. Why is the reason monks never eat even a little meat, as if considering it unclean.207 25. A fast consists in eating nothing at all for some period of time, after the example of Jesus Christ and the prophets. 26. How and when to fast is solely dependant on the individual person's will. 27. Why in the course of time and in the preceding generations church ranks were made law? Was there some type of shortcoming in Christianity prior to their institution? How were some saved without them? 28. It is not necessary for someone to use coercion to require belief in certain dogmas, but to leave this to the free will of each person. 29. Prayer for the dead are in vain, because once they are dead all access to the compassion of God is closed to them. 30. Bread and wine is distributed during the sacrament of the eucharist, and not the body and blood of Christ. 31. Seeing fire, we must not surmise that it is the essence of water; and neither is water the essence of fire; exactly so we must not surmise that the bread and wine is the essence of the body and blood. 32. Are many parts -members- of Christ distributed in the eucharist, or is He the one and same in every portion, whole and perfect? 33. In the sacrament and baptism water is not needed, because John said regarding the baptism of Christ, I baptize you with water; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Matt 3:11 34. As far as the priesthood is concerned, every Christian has the rank of a priest, as it says regarding Christ: He has made us kings and priests unto God. Rev 5:10 35. Priests have the obligation to earn their own keep with their own hands, just like the apostle Paul did.208 36. A person can attain salvation in all faiths, as it is written: For in every nation anyone who fears

206. The vows of monasticism include celibacy, poverty and obedience. 207. Referring to the partial fast days of Wednesday and Friday. 208. Acts 20:34, 1 Cor 9:6

195 God and does what is right is acceptable to Him. (Acts 10:34) 37. It is unjust for the church make a distinction between lower classes and higher classes of ministering Angels; all of them are equal, and learn the mysteries direct from God. 38. In vain are some individuals recognized as saints, because they were exalted on the basis of their own works. 39. We must not accept as holy those called blessed; their lives were not at all godly, since their [lives] were not depicted as morally ideal. 40. Prophets according to the will of God had a pattern to follow, so did they conduct themselves. 41. The cross should have quickly been a symbol of contempt and not to be respected, since it served as the weapon to disgrace and kill the Lord. Why would you want to honor some weapon that killed your friend? 42. Should we also thereby honor the Jews who built the cross? 43. In what manner did Christ defeat the enemy through the cross? 44. The apostle boasts of the cross as being the endurance of Christ. 45. If we venerate the actual cross of Christ, how are we to discern any image of the cross? 46. It is not sufficient to justify church rites using excerpts from the Bible; it is necessary to have definite commands in the Holy Scriptures pertaining to every matter.

As time went along, the Molokans disappeared from Tver Province, and based on our sources few traces of them remained after the reign of Alexander 1.

196

MOLOKANS OF TAVRIA

Volume 2, Chapter 11

The County of Melitopol in the Tavria Province is one of those places which was destined from the beginning of the 19th century to gather Dukhabors and Molokans from all of Russia.209 Our government found out that after the resettlement of the Dukhabors and Molokans into one place from all of Russia, namely along the Milky Water in the Melitopol County, the opportunity for strife and dissension was removed, which earlier regularly occurred between them and the Orthodox settlements in the various provinces of Russia. And now with their settlement in one area their surveillance could become more efficient. From the time of the government edit regarding this, the Melitopol County and the Milky River became well-known at the beginning of the 19th century.

209. The Dukhabors were exiled from Tambov and central Russia to this area by the decree of the Tsar Alexander 1, on January 25, 1802. Many Molokans also took advantage of the opportunity to be freed from the landowners and released from servitude to the feudal system. In Tavria they were given considerable religion freedom as well as free land.

197

OPPRESSION OF THE MOLOKANS OF SARATOV

Volume 5, Chapter 20

During the reign of Emperor Nicholai I, Molokanism developed immensely in the Saratov province, and the government carried out against it an incessant struggle. In the 1830's there began and extended for several years a great matter regarding the Tsaritsin Molokans, which Akim Gogotov, from the county of Tsaritsin, village of Chorvlenoriz, played a primary role. His family, consisting of his sons Stepan and Afanasy with their wives, from a long time back were part of the Molokans and preached it strongly in the county of Tsaritsin, until they were arrested for converting some peasants of a local village: Pankrat Derugin, his wife Akulina Osipovna, Nikolai Chaplin, his wife Avdotya Danilovna, Nikifor Melikhov and his wife Aksinya Akimovna. The Tsaritsin County Court concluded that the government peasants Akim Gogotov, 62, Praskovya Gogotova, 28, Vasili Derugin, 52, were recognized as spreaders of the Molokan sect and converted others to it and are to be deprived of all civil rights and exiled to the region of the Transcaucasus. The child of Afanasy Gogotov, a son Ivan, who was not baptized [by the Orthodoxy] at birth was to be baptized. Searching the homes of Akim Gogotov and Nikifor Melikhov, they found books: 2 old Psalters, a New Testament, 2 Bibles, a Prayerbook, a history of the church, and a children's grammar book. All of these were confiscated and sent to be examined by the [Orthodox] Clerical Consistory. The Saratov Criminal Court on September 29, 1849 confirmed the decision of the County Court. The Minister of Internal Affairs also decided regarding this matter, that Akim, Stepan, Afanasy and Praskovya Gogotov, Vasili, Akulina and Ivan Derugin, and Aksinya Melikhov were to be sent to the Clerical Consistory for admonishment to convert back to Orthodoxy. If these people would remain obstinate in their error, they would be deprived of all civil rights, and Derugin would be recruited into the army of a Detachment of the Caucasian Corp; and if he was totally unfit for military service, then he, Akim and Praskovya Gogotov would be exiled to reside in the region of the Transcaucasus; Stepan and Afanasy Gogotov for raising their children in the Molokan faith will have them baptized in the Orthodox church, and be held in prison for 4 months each. Then Stepan and Afanasy Gogotov, and also Marfa Gogotov, and Akulina and Ivan Derugin, and Aksinya Melikhov would be under strict surveillance of the local clerical and police authorities. The Committee of Ministers of January 3, 1850 confirmed the decision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Quickly the Saratov governor reported to the Minister of Internal Affairs that the peasants Akim Gogotov, Vasili Derugin, Praskovya Gogotov with her young son Ivan Afanasivich, and Stepan, Afanasy and Marfa Gogotov, Akulina Derugin and Aksinya Melikhov, attended admonishment at the Saratov Clerical Consistory, but did not agree to convert to Orthodoxy due to their obstinacy and

198 stubbornness. So then Akim and Praskovya Gogotov were deprived of their civil rights and sent by the Saratov police to the commander of the Saratov Garrison Battalion for departure to the Caucasus. Vasili Derugin was recommended to be recruited in some type of military service, but he indicated that he was unfit because of his age, for this reason he was also designated to exile to the Caucasus. The other individuals were sent to the Tsaritsin Civil Courts, to be held in jail for 4 months each, and then be subject to strict surveillance by the [Orthodox] clerical and police authorities.

The ecclesiastic superintendent of Balashovsk county, village of Mordovski-Karai, the priest Tsvetkov, presented to His Eminence Bishop of Saratov news regarding the sectarians. In his report he explained that in the village of Turok, some of the Molokans are removing the crosses gifted to their children when they are baptized by the Orthodox church at their birth, and that the parents are teaching them their own rites. A considerable matter began regarding the Molokans, and almost all of them in the entire Balashovsk county were cross-examined. As a result of this the Balashovsk County Count was not able to find many of them guilty, and dictated the following judgement: The peasants of the village Turok, Ivan and Mikhael Evdokimov, who converted from the Orthodoxy to the Molokan sect, are recognized as perpetrators of this sect, converting their wives and children who were originally baptized according to the [Orthodox] Christian. Now they are to be deprived of all civil rights and exiled to live in the region of the Transcaucasus; their wives and the daughter of Ivan Evdokimov, the widow Vasilisa Ivanovna, will be sent to the Diocesan authority for their admonishment and reeducation to leave the Molokan sect and to accept Orthodoxy; while the fate of the under-aged children of the peasant Evdokimovs is to be decided by the Saratov Courts. The Saratov Criminal Court decided to confirm the Balashovsk County Court sentences for all of those who apostatized from Orthodoxy to the Molokan sect, and that those not subject to the Court sentence of punishment are to be sent to the [Orthodox] clerical authorities for admonishment and reeducation. The Minister of Internal Affairs concluded that those who leave the Orthodoxy to become Molokans are all subject to the actions of the Diocesan authority, to intensive admonishment regarding joining the Orthodoxy. But if these noted individuals do not agree, then they are to be rebuked under threat of absolute subjection to the strict penalty of the law. Ivan and Mikhael Evdokimov and Marfa Dememtevna and Aksinya Yakovlevna, for raising their children in Molokanism, who were earlier baptized by the [Orthodox] church, are to be confined in prison for 5 months, but the husband and wife at different times. The Committee of Ministers of December 20, 1849 confirmed the decision of the Minister of Internal Affairs. Quickly the Saratov governor reported to the Minister of Internal Affairs that they were in agreement with the decision of the Committee of Ministers, and that the peasants Ivan Evdokimov, his wife Marfa Dememtevna, their children, Vasilisa, Ivan, Daria, Anna and Akulina, and Mikhael Evdokimov, his wife Aksinya Yakovlevna, their children Nikolai and Vasili, were all at admonishment at the Saratov Clerical Consistory; but they would not agree to convert to Orthodoxy, and so were threatened with subjection to the strict penalty of the law.

199 Ivan and Mikhael Evdokimov were confined in prison for 5 months and released; and then their wives were confined for 5 months under lock in prison and then released back to their homes.

The bishop of Saratov, based on the report furnished by the arch-priest Lubarski of the city of Tsaritsin, informed the Saratov Governor's Office that the Molokans of the village of Prishib are corrupting the simple [Orthodox] Christians using their secret deceptions, and enticing them into their own delusion, to the point that they only have a superficial appearance of an [Orthodox] Christian. The Molokans, in leading the Orthodox astray, gather in their homes for public worship services: conducting them during the winter in their houses; while during the summer outdoors in their yards or barns. And the Orthodox population, seeing the manner the Molokans conduct their worship services, are joining them with zeal and abandoning the [Orthodox] church. After an investigation was conducted, the 19 Molokan families of the village of Prishib were all arrested. The Saratov Criminal Court decided that the peasant Zholobov, one of the number arrested, who was already arrested before for twice converting the Orthodox to the Molokan religion, and now increasing their suspicions of him, was assigned to military service in a regiment at a garrison in the Province of Siberia. Aleksi Gorshkov, Ivan Morozov and Andrei Zubkov were held in the city jail for one month on bread and water only. The family of Gorzhanin was delivered to the [Orthodox] church, arrangements made by the clerical authorities, to fulfill church penance. Later the other Molokans under arrest were freed from confinement. The Saratov Governor from its own standpoint wanted to assign the peasant Kozmy Zholobov to military service, but not at a Siberian garrison regiment, as the Courts decided, but at a Caucasian detachment of corps. However the Minister of Internal Affairs decided that all of those Molokans arrested under this matter would be freed from arrest, and that none of them should be arrested under any account. The Committee of Ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs confirmed all of this on July 21, 1831. At this time the Emperor Nicholai I ordered to suspend the exile of the peasants living on state property from the province of Saratov to the Transcaucasian provinces and the north-east shores of the Black Sea until further investigation. This pertained especially to those families that still had members who were of the Orthodox confession. All of them were not to be transferred from their residences, but were to be assigned to the local [Orthodox] clergy for admonishment, to reconvert them to the path of truth. At this time the parish priests and clergy of the [Orthodox] church in the village of Prishib reported that the preceptors of the Molokan sect Andrei Karpov and Ermolai Chugunov, in clear disrespect of the Orthodoxy, were performing weddings; and on holidays honoring the Tsar were conducting funerals, not informing anyone of the reason for their death, whether from illness or stroke, or who it was that died. And that this example of unrestrained exercise of the sacrament of weddings had a strong impact on the parishioners of the Orthodox church, who called their priests oppressors. The Saratov Criminal Court concluded that Karpov and Chugunov be punished at the place of their residence in the presence of a gathering of both Orthodox and Molokans, each one to be struck 30 times with a stick, and then left at their residences.

200 Karpov presented a petition to the Ruling Senate, which contained the following: I and my forefathers follow the faith of the spiritual Christians, named the Voskresniki,210 which is permitted [by law], numbering 416 in the village of Prishib; while a census of the [Orthodox] church indicates over 800 members. Not too long ago the Government Court Assessor I. Efremov, arriving in the village of Prishib, had his Cossacks tie me up to a tree, who then ruthlessly beat me with sticks in open view of the people of the local community, to the point that I lost consciousness, and was not able to recollect anything regarding the investigation of me by the Ruling Senate. The Minister of Internal Affairs found out that the peasants Karpov and Chugunov, who were not reprimanded for preaching this sect and converting others to it, were subjected improperly to this punishment by the Criminal Court. But because this sentence was already fulfilled on those who were still under arrest, the Ministry ordered the Saratov governor that if he should arrest the sectarians due to their activities, those pertaining to the exercise of their faith, he should follow in detail the decisions of the Committee of Ministers. Then the Minister of Internal Affairs required from the Saratov governor a circumstantial report regarding the sectarians in the Saratov province and his opinions regarding them. As a result of this the Saratov governor, the actual councilor of state, Pereverzev, quickly delivered to the Minister of Internal Affairs special correspondence, which contained the following:

If there are in the Saratov province examples of Orthodox Christians abandoning the Holy Church, the sole reason for this is because of those people named Molokan-Voskresniki, who utilize a special zeal to convert people to their sect, acting with great success on the minds of the simple villagers. The Saratov province does have Old Believers211 and dissidents of all sects. The reason for the increase of these persuasions in the local areas, in my opinion, is due to the following: 1. The unpopulated regions. Those who joined the dissenters found refuge in earlier periods in the steppes, ravines and forests of the province, where they remained in obscurity, passively continuing in their heresy. 2. The yearly increase of migrants from other provinces, consisting of the poorest peasants, settling along the forestless regions, and end up living in mud-huts. But they do not build any [Orthodox] churches. For this reason in the area along the Volga there are very few [Orthodox] churches. Because of this scarcity it only contributes to the development of the dissenters, and to the extent of their finances. For this reason the residents of the villages and farms which are distant form any [Orthodox] churches lose any possibility to attend it for worship, and so are all the more willing to be deceived by fanatics. 3. We are bordered on the one side by the Don River and Urals, where dissenters have long lived, who are ready to share their heresy with their neighbors; and bordered on other sides by the Kalmyks, Bashkirs and Tatars, who have different religions than we do. But of all the dissenting sects that exist here the most harmful for morals and detrimental for the governments is the Molokan, which sorry to say, is so firmly rooted in the Saratov province, that all measures taken so far by the civil authorities and [Orthodox] clergy to uproot it have been unsuccessful.

210. Molokans who celebrated the Sunday sabbath. 211. Staro-veri

201 This sect is divided into 2 categories. First are the Subbotniki or Jews, Russian Jews.212 Then the Voskresniki, who are the true Molokans. The Subbotniki in all ways imitate the heresies following the Old Covenant and are still awaiting the advent of the Messiah. Fortunately, we have not noticed their sect gaining any new adherents now after a period of 3 years. The Molokans who believe in Christ recognize solely the invisible spiritual essence as Holy; while they hold strong contempt toward superficial articles of honor, such as holy icons, the sign of the cross of Christ, and other items, and so do not recognize them. But to have a complete understanding of the harm and disorder that is conveyed by their community, we must include here a few beliefs, various facets of their fanaticism, and a few rules that are withheld at present, which the branded apostates are guided by and hide in deep secrecy. They disdain the laws of our fatherland and the state church, and following their own convictions they are ready to resolve any matter on their own. The divine faith cannot be a material one for them, but this is because they do not understand [the Orthodoxy] sufficiently. Turning our attention to their hatred of our government, we can adamantly state that they disdain all of its statutes, and strive in every possible manner to convert people to their own sect. The Molokans for the most part are wealthy, and conduct the ceremonies of their worship sitting down.213 And every occasion after their prayer service, they eat and drink and enjoy themselves. They consider it a sacred honor to desert the military and to conceal the deserters. For those that are weak in the [Orthodox] faith, this makes it easier for them to join their sect. Their wealth they also claim as God's benevolence toward them. We cannot find anywhere such a sect that is so united and secret like the Molokans. Due to their illegal activities they are silent before the authorities. Even then, during the 3 years of my governorship of the Saratov province, very few of them have appeared in the criminal court. The Molokans do not at all recognize the holy sacraments of the holy [Orthodox] religion. Although they accept marriage, they do not conduct it in our manner; because when one [wedding] does occur they select elders from among themselves who marry the couple using words from the holy Scriptures. Adhering to the Old Covenant, the Molokans distort the truth with their course arbitrary interpretations, which from one side only weakens their endeavors toward a sensual gratification; and from another side serves to promote evil as though it was good.214 Perhaps some type of enlightenment which would penetrate even the most remote regions of the expanses of Russia could in time obliterate the followers of these sects, who have only ignorance as their foundation. And this beneficial activity of education would enlighten the darkness of their understanding and immensely increase the monarchy of the [Orthodox] Christian, the believers of the religion and throne. But to await the time of the conversion of the Molokans to Orthodoxy is an impossible task, because we, as subject to the law, cannot utilize strict measures against them. On the other hand, the constant increase of these sectarians will unavoidably cause very harmful results. For this reason, in order to curb this path to the deceit and conversion of the Molokan

212. The first Jew is the proper Biblical term, the second is zhid, the discrediting Russian slang term. The reference here is to the Judaizers, as described in other sections. 213. The Orthodox church rites are conducted entirely while standing; the Molokans of course sit during the sermons and singing prior to the prayer service. 214. The evil here refers to the food laws, rejection of the icons and the intercession of saints, and other attributes of the Orthodoxy not accepted by the Molokans.

202 dissenters, to uproot the harmful sect that is contrary to the civil order, and to confirm the state church in our fatherland, we find it necessary: 1. For all Molokans, because they are harmful to the society, to be placed under strict surveillance by the city and rural authorities; and place in those communities where they live an obligation upon everybody to keep a vigilant surveillance of their mode of live, whether [the Molokans] that live there or any that should visit them. And if anybody should notice that they are converting someone to their sect, or detaining people against their will, or gathering people for their worship service, then the police should be immediately informed, so they can be arrested and every meeting of theirs be dispersed. 2. Since the resettlement of the Molokans to the Transcaucasus provinces has been abandoned, on the same basis there also confirm the order of surveillance as defined in the previous paragraph; that they should be refused any travel from their present residence, and to record every activity in buying or selling. 3. To impress upon the Molokans as a requirement in every petition that they might present to the authorities, or in any legal documents, to certainly include their religious persuasion; and if anyone should avoid this they would be arrested. 4. Both the male and female perpetrators of the Molokan sect to be punished after trial by whipping performed by the police deputy, and then be sent to penal servitude; while any adults that convert [others to Molokanism] are to be punished after trial also by whipping performed by the police deputy, and then also sent to penal servitude. The younger people are to be exile without direct punishment to a battalion of young military cadets, while those unfit to be recruited into the military are to be exiled straight to Siberia to live, delivering them to the admonishment and strict surveillance of the local authority. All the female adult perpetrators, after whipping performed by a police deputy, are to be exiled to Siberia to penal servitude; while the younger ones sent there also but without punishment, there to be delivered to local surveillance and [Orthodox] clerical admonishment. 5. Almost all of the Molokans that are recruited into military service desert the recruitment or the regiments. And changing their names (which according to their faith is only a personal designation), they hide among their own sectarians. To preclude this evil, it is necessary to assign all the Molokans recruited for military service to the Navy and transfer them to some designated place, and preferably in a chain-gang procession with criminals and under guard. 6. With the apprehension of Molokans who have deserted military service, or after some type of civil violation, or for leaving the feudal estate as determined by the landowner, they should be punished after trial by whipping and followed by exile to penal servitude. And the Molokans that harbored them are also to be whipped by the police deputy and sent to penal servitude. While any of the others that participated in harboring the deserters who are not Molokans, should likewise be whipped by the police deputy, and the fit will become soldiers, and the unfit will be recruited into the military in some other capacity and exiled to Siberia to live. And above all of this, if some Molokan deserter is not apprehended and delivered by the community or village or city he is in, but is apprehended by the efforts of the police themselves, then that entire area will be fined: if he lived there one month, 100 rubles; if 6 months, then 500 rubles; from 6 months to a year, 1,000 rubles; if over a year, then 2,000 rubles for each year. The citizens and village elders, due to their poor surveillance in this matter, will also be arrested and punished relative to the guilt of each one involved. In general these measures appear to be rather extreme when compared to the leniency of the spirit of meekness of the present legislation. But if we were to take all of this into consideration, the

203 harm that is caused by these Molokans, and which they threaten to cause in the future as their sect grows, it is necessary to impress fear upon them, and so these measures are an absolute necessity. They laugh at the Orthodox faith and disdain the state legislation, and so do not deserve any mercy whatever, but must be prosecuted, and on a level equal with murderers, arsonists, and other serious criminals.

When the Ministry of Internal Affairs brought the contents of the correspondence presented by the Saratov Governor Pereverzev on August 6, 1836, to the attention of His Imperial Majesty, Nicholai I, the Sovereign ordered to write to the Saratov governor pertaining to the Molokans observing the rules presented by the hand of the Civil Authority, regarding the method of dealing with the dissenters, on the basis of which it is now necessary to watch that they in no manner deny the teachings of their faith and their manner of worship, and that they in no manner depart from observing the rule for good order, the legislation, always having in mind that there could be a surveillance of them imposed by the police. This reply was not at all favored by the authorities of Saratov. Then the Saratov Governor presented for review by the Minister of Internal Affairs, a new proposition to eliminate the harmful Molokan sect, namely as follows:

A. After prohibiting the Molokans of congregating togethers for their worship service, having the requirement of a circular listing the names of the violators, they will be arrested and placed under police surveillance with the following in mind: The eldest of each family that would gather for prayer services with other sectarians, or with their close relatives, would be dealt with as frauds and false-teachers. B. Similar arrangements apply to the Russian Jews (Judaizers), whom the Molokans are very similar to in opinions of faith. They will be forbidden to have passports issued to them,215 because receiving them and passing themselves off as genuine Christians they easily congregate in villages and towns, where the plain peasants are swayed by their cleaver schemes to join their sect. With this type of restraint of Molokan activity, the deprivation of freedom and capability of further fulfilling activities contrary to the civil order and statutes, they will sense in full the concern of the authorities, and will surely see the uselessness of their error, and in time will themselves decrease in their fanaticism.

Reviewing this new proposition of the Saratov governor, the Sovereign Emperor, Nicholai I, having in view that the Molokans of Saratov province are not increasing at any less at rate than those in the Tambov province, and that the sectarians numbered here now 6,000 individuals, ordered to impose some restraints in the enlargement of this sect in the Saratov province, with the following arrangements to be made:

1. To entrust the Saratov Governor to acquire accurate local information, and conscientiously determine who the heresiarchs are among the Molokans, those who have the primary influence in their sect and endeavor to secretly impress this on the Orthodoxy. And this list of names, including their age and vocation, be sent here, and include his opinion if it be useful and best to resettle these heresiarchs

215. This document is required for feudal peasants and others living on state property in order to travel any distance from their residence.

204 to the provinces of the Transcaucasus, imposing on them a strict police surveillance. 2. To leave to the governor to utilize the following measures with strict preciseness. When it appears that new people are being converted to Molokanism, then from among those who do not declare their conversion arrest 10 men from the province and sent them to confinement in the fortress, and then inform all the other Molokans in the province of this, and watch what impact this will have on them. 3. In order to begin decisive measures with all necessary preciseness, to write to the Saratov governor to plan this out and report: Will it be easy to accomplish all of this, dealing with those who newly converted to Molokanism, because the law indicates that they should be arrested and the guilty sent to military service in the Caucasian corps; while those unfit for military service sent to live in the Transcaucasus provinces. After communicating this to the Saratov governor, return to me a list of names of all the heresiarchs, with their age and vocation indicated, and likewise your impressions regarding these people and any others that may have recently converted to Molokanism. Then the governor required of the city and rural police captains to gather in all accuracy a list of names of the preceptors or false- teachers living in their areas.

While gathering this information, the Saratov governor received from the Bishop of Saratov 2 considerations, where he informed the governor that Metropolitan Serafim had written to him earlier to gather such information regarding the Molokans and then to deliver it to the local governor. And so the Bishop of Saratov forwarded to the governor this list compiled by the [Orthodox] clerical missionaries, with an explanation of his conclusions which consisted in the following and which he considered to be very useful: All the Molokans noted in the list are harmful false-teachers and should be exiled to the Transcaucasus provinces, with the exception of those who might repent of their error and return to Orthodoxy, and submit a signed document indicating their unwavering adherence to Orthodoxy to the end of their life. These could remain in their present residences, but only under special surveillance, in order not to be reconverted. After examining the lists of the Molokan false-teachers compiled by the police and clerical missionaries, the Saratov governor discovered that certain heresiarchs were only included in the list compiled by the police; while others were only in the lists of the clerical missionaries, and excluded by the police. But although all of them were Molokans in general, whom he considered to be harmful for the common good of the society, he decided to choose those who were recognized as heresiarchs by either the police department or the clerical missionaries, along with those whom he knew personally to be harmful teachers and propagators of their sect. Presenting this list216 to the Minister of Internal Affairs, the governor explained the following: All those mentioned by name in this list of Molokans as perpetrators of the sect and teachers of the harmful sect, and whom he considers necessary to be exiled to the Transcaucasus provinces, will be very beneficial for those who acknowledge their error who will now realize that for apostasy from Orthodoxy they will receive their just punishment; and for those who waver in Orthodoxy, who now see these others banished for false-teaching, and who will now fear to follow it; and this will be beneficial for the state church and government, because the Molokan officials hold the state church and

216. This list contains 115 names of male adults, who were all teachers and elders of the Molokan communities in the Saratov province.

205 government in contempt. But because these false-teachers have children, who are raised in the sect by their parents, and by the common law must not be subject to the same measures, then we find it acceptable and just to exile along with them any of their sons, whether married or bachelor, who are 18 years of age and older, unless they themselves ask to rejoin the Orthodoxy; while those under 18 years of age will be sent to military cadet schools, where they will be presented to the clerical authorities, to set them straight on the path of truth. These measures will tend to be a useful means in the future, because the Molokans will now be apprehensive, not only of exile to some distant region, but of separation from their children. To make this departure easier, the feudal, state or manor peasants will be given 2 months, while the citizens one month, to sell their belongings and prepare for the migration. They will be kept under strict surveillance by the police and community during this entire time. They are to travel under the escort of the national guard keeping their papers will them at all times. Each one can take with himself a wagon, horses and other agricultural implements, for future resettlement. Regarding the 10 men assigned to arrest at the fortress, those who have recently converted to Molokanism who will not expose the perpetrators, he will write to the county and rural courts and the city police departments, those which handle such matters, instead of exiling them according to the dictates as indicated in the above paragraph after an investigation is concluded, they are to be sent directly to him [the governor]. After his personal questioning, if they appear to be newly converted Molokans, and are not willing to expose the perpetrators, then he [the governor] will propose to the Provincial Government that they be sent as prisoners to the fortress, and that this be advertised in all the Molokan villages to impress upon them the measures that will be taken.

After fulfilling all of the above the governor explained that they are incurring the following circumstances. 1. By experience he knows that when the Molokans are asked about their preceptors, they refer to those who have already died. 2. Should not these new Molokans, who claim their conversion by preceptors now dead, be also considered as those who are concealing the actual preceptors and be sent as prisoners to the fortress? 3. Regarding the promulgation of the law legislated for the perpetrators of Molokanism, if the quantity of those joining the harmful sect still continues to steadily increase, then we must make additional changes in the criminal laws. Among the number of those converted are fathers along with their children, who just blindly followed the influence of their parents. As a result of this both the father and mother must be deal with according to the dictated law. The children who appear to be aggressive followers of Molokanism are to remain at their residence but under strict police surveillance and the admonishment of the [Orthodox] clerical authorities. If they should join the Orthodoxy and hold to it steadfastly, they will again acquire all the rights of the local citizens, except that the police surveillance will still continue. In the situation that they refuse to [join the Orthodoxy] after a term of 6 months, the adults will be dealt with according to the above legislation; but the underaged will be sent to join a military cadet school. But if any of them should declare their desire to return to Orthodoxy, and then again return back to Molokanism, as deceivers and insulters of the state church, they will be whipped by a police deputy and then sent to penal servitude. In general, due to the extent of this sect and the local conditions, he [the governor] feels that the more that severity is used on this branch of harmful delusion, the number of adherents will

206 decrease, and gradually this harmful sect will be eliminated.

With the presentation of this report to the Emperor Nicholai I, and after consultation with the Archbishop of Saratov province, a letter was written to the Saratov governor for him to designate 2 or 3 of the primary Molokan preceptors, the most capable of those promoting this sect, and communicate this to the Ministry for further disposition. The governor replied that after his mutual consultation with Iakov, the Bishop of Saratov, and after the Bishop's review of the information acquired by the clerical missionaries, the Molokans recognized to be the most harmful to the Orthodox church were: Pyotr Plekhanov, a citizen of Saratov, Evstrat Kositsin, a merchant from Dybovski, and Andrei Evdokimov, a peasant from the village Prishib, county of Tsaritsin. Then His Imperial Majesty ordered: 1. These heresiarchs will be sent away for admonishment to monasteries. The citizen Plekhanov to Solovetski; the merchant Kositsin to Konevski Monastery, on an island on Lake Ladoga; and the peasant Evdokimov to Antoniev Syiski Monastery, on an island on Lake Michaelov in Archangel province. 2. The [Orthodox] clergy will make arrangements so the suspected heresiarchs would be admonished at the above-mentioned monasteries, and that after one year the Sovereign would be informed of the success of their admonishment. Quickly Pyotr Plekhanov, Andrei Evdokimov and Kositsin were transferred to the Archangel civil governor, with the police guard sent along with them. Imprisoned in Solovetski Monastery for admonishment, Pyotr Plekhanov, after the course of admonishment by the archimandrite, denied the Molokan sect and converted to Orthodoxy. The Holy Synod elected to release Plekhanov from the monastery as a result of his reconversion, but the Emperor Nicholai I, after reading the report, wrote personally the following: I agree, but it would be better to transfer him to the Uryev Monastery to examine him for another 6 months to make sure he is firmly rooted in Orthodoxy. After 6 months His Sovereign Emperor declared his willingness to submit to the decision of the Holy Synod regarding the release from the Novgorod Uryev Monastery of the former Molokan heresiarch, the Saratov citizen, Pyotr Plekhanov, who now converted to Orthodoxy, and allow him back to his former residence to live, and there his manner of life would be under surveillance by the [Orthodox] clergy. Also he [the Emperor] required that His Eminence the Bishop of Saratov entrust the parish priests and local ecclesiastical superintendent with information regarding the residence of Plekhanov, so they could closely observe his attitude toward the Orthodoxy and his fulfillment of [Orthodox] rites. Meanwhile Evdokimov, held in the Syiski Monastery, also repented of his error, and broke away completely from the sect of the Molokans and converted to Orthodoxy. Then as a result of an edit of the Most Holy Governing Synod dated December 31, 1837, he was released from Syiski Monastery and ordered to appear at the Saratov Provincial Government office to receive papers to allow him to return back to his home.217

217. Based on the sequence of events and chronology, Plekhanov and Evdokimov spent about 1 to 2 years each in

207

OPPRESSION OF THE MOLOKANS OF TAMBOV

Volume 5, Chapter 22

The freeholder Akim Vorobyev, from the Borisoglebsk county, village of Arkangelsk, and the peasant Ivan Tokarev, from the Tambov region, village of Bolshoi Lomov, and freeholder Dimitri Koslov, from the village Pakhatni Ygol, delivered a petition to the governor, to permit them to publicly profess the Molokan sect and be removed from membership in the parish of the Orthodox profession. The family of Vorobyev consisted of 4 individuals, while the Tokarevs and Koslovs of 6 each. The governor intended to banish these Molokans with their families to the province of Tavria, to live there with other adherents. The Committee of Ministers mandated that the noted Molokans with their families migrate to the province of Tavria to be with their adherents, and asked His Highness for his consensus. In a session on December 29, 1825, the Committee was informed that His Majesty personally decided that they should execute the sentence as previously proposed. Other than these Molokans there appeared in a suburb of Borisoglebsk 2 Molokan families, one family the freeholder Ismailov, consisting of 11 individuals, and the other the citizen Avdotya Vlasova, consisting of 4 individuals. All of them by the mandate of the Committee of Ministers on March 9, 1826, were relocated to the Milky Waters in the province of Tavria. The freeholders of the county of Borisoglebsk, village of Kosaksa: Grigori Goosev, Evsei Voropaev, Kozma Menshov, Zakhar and Feodor Krygov; of the village of Uvarov: Leon Ykshin; of the village Teschin: Efrem, Pankrat and Filat Samataev, and Denis Ivanikov, in a petition delivered to the governor, they asked to be removed from membership in the Orthodox Greek-Russian profession. In agreement with the proposition of the Tambov governor, all the above noted with their families were mandated by the Committee of Ministers to relocate to the province of Tavria. The peasants Naum Sorokin, Grigori Pominov, and Efrem Strokov, in a petition delivered to the governor, also declared themselves with their families, consisting of 19 individuals, to be Molokans. When it was announced for them to relocate to the province of Tavria, then one member of these families, Peter Naumich Sorokin, reconverted to Orthodoxy. One woman, Matrona Titaeva, a freeholder from the Borisoglebsk county, village of Muchkap, left the Orthodoxy and joined the Molokan sect with her children, by the influence of a freeholder of the same village, Silvester Tarysov and his sons Isai and Mikhael. As they travelled through the villages working, they would announce to others their convictions. After an investigation was held by the Borisoglebsk Rural Police Captain, after discussion with the [Orthodox] clergy, the following was

Monastery imprisonment.

208 discovered: 1. Matrona Titaeva with her children joined the Molokan sect about 4 years earlier at the insistence of Silvester and Mikhael Tarysov. Since her home was on the property of the Tarysov's, she would attend their gathering with her children and listen to the Psalms and prayers read there. 2. Implicated with them are Nazar and Ivan Tarysov, his son Trofim, Kyzma and Merkul Tarysov, Pyotr Popov, all of whom have been part of the Molokan sect almost 18 years. 3. The freeholder Grigori Istomin and his daughter joined the Molokan sect from the influence of Tarysov. 4. A freeholder of the same village, Dmitri Galaktionov Popov joined the Molokan sect from the influence of Silvester and Isai Tarysov. 5. The freeholder Evpel Ivanov Sosedov joined the Molokans 8 years earlier, from the convictions of Tarysov, and also had his wife join along with their children. The Minister of Internal Affairs, discovering that all the above mentioned Molokans were increasing in strength and could lead astray other members of Orthodoxy in the village of Muchkap, decided that all of the above Molokans, numbering 67 individuals with their families, and before anything else new could be accomplished by them, should be banished to their adherents in the province of Tavria. In a session of the Committee of Ministers on July 5, 1827, the Emperor Nicholai I issued personally this statement: To carry out the measures previously agreed to by Count Palen. Is there some region where the relocation of the Molokans could continue without harm to anyone, and in such large magnitude? Count Palen, the Governor of the provinces of Novo-Rosseya and Region of Bessarabia, declared that the relocation to Tavria province from Tambov of 67 Molokans, to reside near their adherents, when compared to the local environment, would not be of any harm to the region, since these people settle segregated from the other Russian settlements, and often alongside the German colonists and Nogaitsi; and the local authority has the responsibility to watch that their sect does not spread any further. Then in a session of November 8, 1827, it was announced to the Committee of Ministers, that His Sovereign Emperor ordered the noted 67 Molokan individuals to be relocated to the province of Tavria. The freeholder Savostan Strykov from the Tambov province, village of Bolshoi Lazovki, presented to the Governor a petition to remove him from membership in the Orthodox profession, since he joined the Molokans along his family, consisting of his wife and children. The Committee of Ministers decided to relocate the subject Molokans to the Tavria province. Saveli Buchnev, Savin Kolodin, Stepan Ivanov, Ivan Khvorov, Mark Kolodin and Maxim Smagin, freeholders from the village of Malikh Gor, in a petition presented to the Governor asked to be removed from membership in the Orthodox church. The Minister of Internal Affairs expressed that Savin Kolodin, Stepan Ivanov, Ivan Khvorov, and Mark Kolodin be sent to a military detachment in Georgia; and if they were unfit for military duty they were to be exiled to Siberia to live; the other Molokans were to be relocated to the Tavria province. The Committee of Ministers confirmed the decision of the Minister of Internal Affairs. A report was received from the Borisoglebski region, from the village of Rysanov, that the freeholder Polikarp Bezaev was spreading Molokanism, and calling the Molokan faith the most acceptable to God, and impressed others not to venerate icons since he considered them the work of people. By the decision of the Committee on the basis of general rules he was banished to the Tavria

209 province to live at the Milky Waters. In a session of the Committee of Ministers on March 30, His Imperial Sovereign asked that the Committee of Ministers consider whether it would be better for these sectarians to be exiled to Siberia, and separated from the others settlers there [in Tavria Province]. The staff official Dibich presented them his opinion to the review of the Committee of Ministers. "During my previous journey through Tavria with the later Emperor of blessed memory, Alexander, I personally saw several times the migrants meeting each other on the road, Molokans and Dukhabors, who were cheerful and alert, and indicated that they left their homeland without any regrets, and anxiously hurried to be again united with their adherents. Along with this, while travelling through Dukhabor villages, they presented to the late Emperor Alexander I, several dozen petitions, wanting their families to be united with them, who were left behind in their original residences. For this reason I feel that by gathering this sort of people together, and now freed from government control to practice their heresy, the goal of the government cannot be attained. And these means to date have done the contrary and only increased their population, numbering now several thousand individuals, and which could cause in the future dreadful consequences. To curb this course of evil I consider it necessary for us to turn our attention to them, and try to divide and separate the Dukhabor population even more, rather than gather them together in one place." In the village Maloi Lamovis, the peasants Polikarp Svetlikov and Vasili Pipkin also converted to the Molokan sect from Orthodoxy. The Minister of Internal Affairs concluded that if Polikarp Svetlikov and his wife and Andrei Pipkin do not return to the Orthodoxy, they will be exiled to the Milky Waters, in the Tavria province; while Vasili Pipkin, who willingly participated in raising his children in the Molokan sect, was to be banished as a perpetrator of the sect, to military service in Georgia in a detachment, and if he was unfit for this service, then banished to Siberia to live. This recommendation of the Minister of Internal Affairs was confirmed by the Committee of Ministers on March 9, 1826. Polikarp Svetlikov was quickly transferred to the designated place; while Vasili Pipkin, who was unfit for military service, was exiled to Siberia to live. His wife, Praskovya Pipkin remained to live at their present residence due to old age and poor eyesight. Learning of this, the Tambov Rural Court wrote that if she is healthy enough to make the journey to Tavria province, she should be sent there without delay; but if she is unable, they this should be reported to the officials of the province. The Tambov Rural Court quickly communicated to the Governor that Praskovya, after examination by a local doctor, was in good health, except for blindness in one eye, but because of her advanced age she was incapable of enduring such a long distant journey; and because of her poor finances she can not afford horses for the trip to Tavria province; and once there, even then she has no relatives or close friends, and because of her weak condition she is unable to acquire a home and necessities, and will only end up begging for food from other Molokans. The Minister of Internal Affairs mandated that the wife of Pipkin be placed in some institution in Tambov having regular surveillance over her activities and to restrain her from preaching her sect to others, and she was prohibited from leaving the place she would be assigned to. As a result of this Praskovya Pipkin was placed in a workhouse and under surveillance by the order of the Tambov Rural Court.

210 II

But just as the Dukhabors and Molokans have apostatized from the faith of [Orthodox] Christianity and compose a secret society, their preceptor Afanasy Nikitin,218 and his wife Katerina Lukianovna, and their children were informed that by the will of the Supreme [Emperor] they were closing down the sect and that they should not try to institute it again, and that they would return to the faith of the Greek [Orthodox] profession and so confirm this in writing. Regarding this demand the Molokans unanimously informed the Rural Police Captain that they would not leave the sect that they profess, and would always hold to it; and they would not subscribe to their demand to close down the faith. As a result of this there began a special development. The Tambov Governor reported to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, that: 1. The subject individuals under arrest, about 50 individuals, because of the rules of the Molokan sect which they adhere to, do not attend [Orthodox] church, but themselves conduct their own prayer services in their homes. They do not venerate or bow before the holy icons, and do not fulfill any of the [Orthodox] church rites. All of these people have be converted into this sect by the peasant Afanasy Nikitin, who is recognized among them as a preceptor, and conducts weddings, giving children names at their birth, and conducts funerals. To our knowledge he died in 1825. 2. Four of them repented and again turned to Orthodoxy; the remaining 46 individuals of both sexes did not respect the persuasive tactics of the [Orthodox] clergy and civil authorities, and remain steadfast in their error. 3. From investigations into the Molokans of Spassk county, they indicate that Vasili Nikitin, from Penzen province, Krasnoslabodsk county, village Mikhaelov, like Afanasy Nikitin, is conducting the various spiritual ceremonies among them: weddings, funerals, and others. The Criminal Court reviewed this matter and concluded: a. Nikifor Vasiliev, 62 years of age, who was converted by the peasant Nikitin and left the Orthodoxy, has become the primary responsible individual for the expansion of the Molokan heresy among the peasants of Spassk county, and so was punished by the police with 20 lashes with a whip, and then returned to his residence, and was harshly instructed that he should no more interpret or voice his heresies, but rather with a whole heart join the Greek-Russian church. b. The remaining peasants who have rejected their persuasive efforts to return to the Orthodox faith are to be banished to resettle in the Tavria province. In a session of November 2, 1826, His Majesty announced to the Committee of Ministers, that Vasiliev will be taken to a monastery for penance.

III

As the Molokans increased in population, information was required by the Minister of Internal Affairs from the Governor of Tambov province regarding their sect, and the following report was submitted.

As a result of the written request of Your Highest Eminence, I have turned to the local Bishop and to the activities of my chancellory. The former has communicated to me details specific to the Molokans,

218. Afanasy Nikitin is also discussed in detail in the section Molokans of Tambov.

211 and regarding their activities I have also acquired the following information. The sect of the spiritual Christians, Molokans and Dukhabors began in Tambov province during the first half of the previous (18th) century. After some time one of his disciples named Semushka (Semeon Uklein) began to preach the rules of the sect of the spiritual Christians. Due to this a dispute arose and Semushka left the village Goreloi and resettled in the Morshansk county, in the village Ribnoi, near the home of the peasant Shevtsov, whose father Semeon Shevtsov was in later years a heresiarch. Kapustin taught that the Bible is not necessary, but all that is required is to listen to the spiritual word which proceeds from living lips. Semeon [Uklein] on the contrary taught that the books of the Bible are useful, but it is necessary to interpret them by the inner inspiration of the Spirit. From the former (Kapustin) the Dukhabors evolved; from the latter (Uklein) the spiritual Christians. The above difference in attitude is the primary distinction between them. Very few Dukhabors remain; but the teaching of the spiritual Christians has expanded throughout the entire province, and primarily because of the efforts of the peasant Shevtsov, who was finally confined in a monastery, and which [efforts] his son and grandson continued, having business ties in all of Tambov and along the neighboring provinces. The primary reasons for the expansion of this sect, other than the capabilities in every situation of its heresiarchs, are the rules of the sect and their freedom from the instruction, censure, and penance of the Orthodox priests, and having to pay them for baptisms, weddings, funerals, and other rites. The seriousness of the stubbornness of the Molokans in their error is dependant on whether they are raised in the sect or whether they recently joined it. The former are irremediable; while the latter are carried away by the deceit of their heresiarchs and promises of prosperity, and they do not sense a special attachment to it at the very beginning. The teaching of the Molokans constitutes a sect that is the most harmful within the scope of the government, and not only their opinions of beliefs, but more regarding their attitude toward politics. They do not accept any civil authority, and feel it is their obligation to act contrary to the government in every situation. Every Molokan recruited into military services deserts, and their adherents always find the means to hide them, and not just them only but also giving refuge to any who desert [the military] or are political escapees. And to our regret, this harmful sect is expanding.

This historical treatise on the Molokan sect was first of all presented to the Ministry of Internal Affairs by the former Tambov Civil Governor, Gamale. My predecessor, the State Counselor Kornilov, presented to the Ministry likewise the following descriptions of this sect.

The teaching of the Molokan sect consists of 2 main areas: One is the religious, which is a compilation of blind and distorted interpretation of the Holy Scriptures, some Hebrew traditions, and mystical books, consolidated without any type of structure and often contradictory. The 2nd is the political, whose purpose is to declare to the people the most harmful and threatening principles and ideas, namely: The teaching of the freedom of the nature of man, equality of rights for all, independence from the instituted laws and authorities, a clear contempt and hatred of all the rituals of the [Orthodox] faith and its worship service. Under these conditions, if the Molokans had any more strength and opportunity they would turn into Russian Anabaptists. The reasons for their expansion, the intentions of this sect is contained in part in the very teaching of the Molokans, which flatters the shallow understanding and lack of education of the simple people; and in part in the proselytization of the sectarians, who utilize for this purpose every possible

212 measure and skill. The success of their endeavor is also aided from the one side, by the attitude of our [Orthodox] parish priests toward their parishioners, exempting the Molokans from fulfillment of the spiritual obligations and rites; from the other side, their firm convictions which they strive to impress on and spread among the people; for which the government has failed in persecuting them for this, but even shelters them. Though some of the local oppression which has occurred on occasion from the local authorities and priests, has attempted to suppress them.

In this manner my predecessors, who differ only in the specific expressions used, totally agree in understanding the destructive principles of the Molokan sect, and having this conviction we propose the following measures to suppress the evil. The Privy Counselor Gamale proposed: 1. Register all who confess the Molokan sect, and advertise everywhere that if any of them do not appear for the registration at a designated time, and then if he indicates that he does not fulfill the obligations of the [Orthodox] faith and does not honor icons in his home, which is a distinctive sign of all Molokans, he will be transported, without trial, to the Transcaucasian provinces. 2. All those registered, the Molokans, are to be required to wear on their clothing some type of noticeable emblem along with a payment. And if this is not fulfilled, a fine will be paid, to go to the government and to the informant. This means of action was utilized during the reign of Peter the Great.219 3. To impress upon the peasants and freeholders in brief the fundamentals of the rules of the [Orthodox] law of God, certain capable priests should be selected in the capacity of missionaries. At present the peasants do not have even the slightest knowledge about the [Orthodox] faith and law of God, and their ignorance is unbelievable, and even the village priests cannot carry out this task. 4. To curb any more expansion of the sect, to deal with those who newly-convert to it as with its perpetrators, that is, relocated them to serve in the Caucasian military corps; and those unfit [for military service] to be exiled to the Transcaucasian provinces.

The acting state counselor Kornilov felt that in order to stop this evil it was necessary to cut it off at the roots. For this reason they must act on the convictions and beliefs of the people quickly, clearly and decisively, removing their principal teachers from the core of the crowds they have deceived; while the remainder will be subject to the activities of the [Orthodox] clergy and success of public education. It is a pity that we have only been tearing off leaves, and in the process of following protocol we restrain them only with registration or some general measure which only annoys the Molokans every time they take a step, but does not cease their efforts of completing their goal. Viewing the existing legislation there is no Molokan activity, even family activities, which is not labeled as a violation of the law; but other than converting others, none of these violations have any measure of punishment attached to them. So as not to lead astray [Orthodox] Christians, Molokans are forbidden, among other things, to conduct their worship services in public, to gather together for prayer, to retain laborers, to live together with [Orthodox] Christians, to travel over 20 miles from their residence, and etc. Every violation of the above mentioned rules subjects the guilty party to judicial prosecution, and is processed through the Rural and County Courts, Criminal Courts, the Civil Governor, and then the Committee of Ministers. And for the most part ends up with the guilty party remaining under some surveillance, or

219. This proposition was never put into effect.

213 else is to be reprimanded by the Rural Police force, so he would not be bold enough to continue his activities. Those that abandon Orthodoxy are usually sent to the Clerical Consistory for admonishment and then is returned to his residence under the condition that he not convert anybody to his new faith. It is only in the case of specifically discrediting the [Orthodox] church, or the conversion of others, that the law assigns any measure of punishment; but even then the guilty, knowing all the workings and loopholes of the criminal process, and making use of the leniency of our laws, remains for the most part unconvicted and unsentenced after a trial, and so they escape punishment.

As a result of this, to curb further expansion of the Molokan sect, the acting State Counselor Kornilov felt the following measures should be taken. First, define clearly and decisively what Molokans cannot do, and what infractions of the legislated rules are subject to punishment. Second, the infraction by Molokans of the legislated rules are to be divided into 2 classifications: violations and offenses. In his opinion those infractions which are to be classified as violations are the following: discrediting the [Orthodox] church; blasphemy; reckless and provocative remarks against the government; insulting the [Orthodox] church, clergy or its officials while they are conducting rites; rebellion and disobedience of the authorities; converting others to their sect, and apostasy from the Orthodox Church. In the classification of offenses are: public and open demonstration of their worship services and singing of psalms; retaining laborers who are [Orthodox] Christian; not submitting to relocation from their residence; and in general any activity legally forbidden, anything against the police statues and orderly conduct. After an infraction the criminal progress begins, on the same basis and in the same manner as proceeds now. Those items defined as offenses is concluded with a brief procedure conducted by the local police, and requiring from the guilty a monetary fine in proportion to the seriousness of the infraction, or in case of minor infractions, bodily punishment is performed by the police captain after a sentence is issued by the police. Other major matters are to be presented to the Provincial Commander, who will present the matter to the review of the Committee of the Privy Counselor, and the committee will issue its decision. Independent from this, after consulting with the local Diocesan Bishop, the Provincial Commander should present to the Ministry of Internal Affairs the matter of exile from their present residence of certain principal officials of the sect and teachers of their law, who have avoided legal prosecution, and due to the fanaticism of their adherents have been able to escape every legal point of evidence and punishment, and who have a very harmful influence on the minds of their followers.

The Tambov Governor presented the Minister of Internal Affairs his opinion regarding the means of weakening it. He reported: What are the means of weakening this plague? Based on the propositions of my predecessors, the first would be exile to the Transcaucasian provinces. This is good as a method of removing the Molokans from the midst of Orthodoxy, but as a measure of punishment, this has long lost its effect, because many of the Molokans are requesting to move there. The 2nd means is to assign a special emblem, which was very effective during the era of Peter the Great. Although in our era this might be an anachronism, because the Molokans would succeed in interpreting this to the people as the persecution for their faith, a persecution which is contrary to the spirit of our toleration of religion, and

214 it would be dangerous to use this infamous tactic as it would serve for greater expansion of the sect, delivering them the martyr's crown. The assignment of Molokans to the military in the Caucasus seems to be the best method to fulfill our goal. Nevertheless, whether these measures are good or bad, these measures are measures of punishment, and prosecution and trial must be dispensed. In this perspective I am in complete agreement with the propositions of the acting State Counselor Kornilov.

215

INSTRUCTIONS TO THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES REGARDING

THE RESETTLEMENT OF SECTARIANS AND HARMFUL SECTS

TO THE REGION OF THE TRANSCAUCASUS

Volume 5, chapter 7

The Minister of Internal Affairs and the Minister of State Domains compiled for the local authorities details instructions, having the following content:

The followers of the sects considered especially harmful, namely, the Dukhabors, Molokans, Iconoclasts, Judaizers, Scoptsi, and others identified with them that are also considered harmful congregations, that are relocated to the Transcaucasian region, are of 2 categories: First are those sent for resettlement due to their expansion of their sect, as unfit for military service; the others are migrating to the Caucasus as a result of their petitions, due to personal reasons. The resettlement of these and the others with them to the region of the Transcaucasus is conducted on the basis of the rules assigned for the task by the proceedings of the Government Council, confirmed by His Majesty December 14, 1842. The detailed arrangements to accomplish this task is delivered to the local authorities in the following paragraphs. 1. All the dissenters resettled from the inner provinces to the region of the Transcaucasus will be initially transferred to the regional city Stavropol, and then conveyed from there in groups through the Caucasus mountains to the place of settlement, with arrangements made by the Caucasian Regional Authority. 2. The Commanders of the provinces and regions, with the exception of Siberia, before their deportation to Stavropol are obligated to inform the Commander of the region of the Caucasus, likewise the Principal Director of the Transcaucasian region, the time of their departure and also acquire a list of their names with a description of their families, and likewise the number of horses and sleds, if they should have any. NOTE: Since the resettlement to the region of the Transcaucasus of the male dissenters for preaching their sect and other violations against the Orthodox faith is executed by the law only in the event that the criminals are unfit for the Caucasian military corps, then the officials of the province during the execution of this task, in the assignment of the sectarians for resettlement, must carry out a rigorous probe regarding those unable to become soldiers. 3. The Chamber of the State Domains assigned in the previous paragraphs to the subject provinces and regions, at the request of the harmful sects regarding the permission for their resettlement to the region of the Transcaucasus, will provide the Ministry the following information along with the petitions and lists of family members: A. Does this petitioners actually belong to this sect.

216 B. In he at present under investigation or sentence. C. Are any members of this family members of the Orthodox faith. D. Are any members of this family part of any induction or recruitment selection process. E. How much land is attached to the village where this family lives. 4. The Ministry of State Domains, after resolving the request of the dissenters regarding their resettlement, will inform the Principal Directors of the Transcaucasian region about this. The Chamber of State Domains, after receiving all the above information from the Commanders of the provinces these people are being transferred from, the names of the individuals of both genders who are being resettled, a description of their family and their ages, and once they depart will forward this to the Commander of the region of the Caucasus for their arrival to Stavropol, indicating the number of sleds, horses, and other items, that each family possess. 5. The designated resettling groups of dissenters will receive from the warehouses the amount of bread needed for the number of individuals in their group along with other provisions needed, and they will depart under the surveillance of special guides or elders selected from among the migrators. The arrangers of the resettlement will impress upon them that the resettlers are to abide by the rules instituted for the resettlement of the government manor peasants, and namely, that they proceed in orderly fashion; that they be able to acquire temporary living quarters without charge; that they not have to pay for ferry across rivers and other similar expenditures; that any who become ill along the route and cannot travel further be taken by carriage by the local residents to the nearest city, to be cared for at a hospital under the supervision of local officials, and at the established rates. The dissenters are not to be placed in the homes of residents along the journey lest they spread to them their sect. 6. The principal regent of the Transcaucasian region, after receipt of the aforementioned information regarding the resettling dissenters, will assign suitable land for them to settle on, wherever free government land is available, and distant from any of the Orthodoxy. The Commander of the region of the Caucasus will arrange for the further travel of these resettlers from Stavropol in groups across the Caucasus Mountains, and the supply of provisions for those relocated by order of the courts. This information will be relayed to the principal Commander of the Transcaucasian region. 7. Regarding their actual resettlement in the Transcaucasus, it is the responsibility of the Chamber of State Domains to appropriate them land, and to provide assistance in the construction of homes, acquisition of food, and their domestic reestablishment. 8. The Transcaucasus Chamber of State Domains will be concerned with measuring the land to be assigned the resettling dissenters, which will be divided into parcels based on the environment, making sure that one village does not acquire all the best land, and leaving the poorer quality land behind which would not be developable. 9. The dissenters sent as individuals by order of the courts, both the men and women, would best be relocated in settlements already developed by the dissenters, in the homes of established residents. If any of them should develop some financial means and want to build a house, he will be assigned a partial of free state land near the village. 10. The dissenters sent as entire families to live in the region of the Transcaucasus by sentence of the courts and the lessor number of families who chose voluntarily to resettle, will first live at the villages of dissenters, where fertile land is available. 11. A significant number of families in a group will be assigned a portion of land relative to the size of their group.

217 12. Any dissenters in the Caucasus that receive permission to settle closer to the adherents of their sect are allowed to select the dissenter's village they would like to reside in. This will be unavoidable due to the hardship of relocation to the Transcaucasus. 13. The dissenters of the harmful sects who migrated to the Transcaucasus at their own personal discretion, who have not been involved with farming, will not settle in the cities, but will join others wherever land is assigned them. 14. In general for the resettling dissenters there will be appropriated developable land, but not more than 15 acres per person in a family; but if there is insufficient land, or if the land is especially fertile, then only 8 acres per person can be appropriated; but no less than 5 acres of fertile land will be allocated per person, while more of the undevelopable land can be allocated. It is also permitted for new settlements that the land be appropriated not by the number of individuals in a family, but that each family be allocated from 30 to 60 acres each. 15. Homes as residences for the families of the dissenters relocated by order of the courts will be built with arrangements made by the Chamber of State Domains; while those who migrated voluntarily can build homes using the forests or money that they have. Prior to building homes the resettlers will live in quarters furnished by other dissenters in the villages they wish to build their home, but not in villages that belong to the Orthodox confession. 16. Grain as seed needed for sowing and bread to live on until the harvest will be provided the settlers with arrangements made by the Chamber of State Domains from the general funds, with the requirement to return the loans within 3 years. 17. Money needed for construction, assistance and loans will be allocated by the Chamber of State Domains from the general fund, as allotted for the resettlement of the government manor peasants. 18. With the resettlement to the Transcaucasus the dissenters will be granted exemption from taxes and military service in general. 19. The exceptions to exemptions to assessments are dissenters that will move from their designated residence; they will be assigned taxes and military service based on existing legislation as applying to the new local of their residence. 20. The county officials, wards and village elders have the responsibility to administer that none of the settlers move voluntarily to other parcels from those allocated them. The only exception is if they notice that the parcel allocated them is unfit for development, they have the right to notify the county officials of the poor quality of land allocated them, and ask the Chamber to allocate them another parcel. 21. The regulations that compile the laws regarding the Dukhabors, Molokans, Iconoclasts, Judaizers, and Scoptsi must be fulfilled likewise in the areas of their new settlement in the Transcaucasus. Especially the local officials are obligated to observe that the dissident settlers do not expand this heresies and that no one else join their dissent; that they not build any public houses of prayer; that they not harbor any people without passports220 or deserters from the army; that they not retain in their homes or work any laborers, male or female, that are Orthodox; and that they themselves do not live as laborers among any Orthodox; that the Molokans and Dukhabors do not acquire ownership of land that is over 20 miles from their residence. The officials of the area must realize that it

220. This was an identification paper for all residents, and which needed proper approvals before an individuals could travel any distance from his residence.

218 is a necessity for every Molokan or dissenter receive permission to travel anywhere at all, he must inform the local police or commander, with the addition that these people not stay any longer than their passport allows, and not travel anywhere else from there. 22. The following measures are presented to the local commander in order to confine the dissidents to the area of the Transcaucasus: A. Those dissenters exiled to the region of the Transcaucasus as a court sentence due to violation against the Orthodox faith, if they should have families they are subsequently to be housed in special homes, located in areas which have less physical wealth and comforts for life. B. They are to be kept under strict surveillance. C. When communities of the dissenters form, effort must be made that the above [item B.] be accomplished by adherents of other sects which have rules that are inconsistent; for example, for [surveillance of] Molokans Scoptsi should be recruited; for the dissenters, popularly known as the Priestly and the Priestless, who have been exiled due to violation of the [Orthodox] faith, whose error consists mainly to adherence of rituals and superficial objects of belief, Dukhabors should be recruited, who reject all rituals. 23. The dissenters who return to Orthodoxy in the new areas of settlement in the Transcaucasus may return to the inner provinces.

These are the general rules enacted by the government for the resettlement of the sectarians to the Transcaucasus.

219

THE SECT OF THE COMMUNALS

in the Transcaucasus221

Volume 5, Chapter 4

After the resettlement of the Molokans from the Milky Waters and the various provinces of Russia to the Transcaucasus222 during the period 1830 to 1850, the Russian population of these areas found themselves in the most uncomfortable of situations, when after the difficulty and turbulence of daily life they needed religious comfort and leadership. The Orthodox Church existed in the Caucasus in an insignificant amount, and predominately in the cities, and with the lack of roads the [Orthodox churches] were few and far between. To add to this, the greater portion of these immigrants were, based on their dogmas, sectarians, opponents of the state church. Under these circumstances the Molokans were able to express themselves in their religion in new and yet unknown fashions. Just as earlier on the Milky Waters, the Molokans would not settle alongside the Dukhabors and preferred to leave to another county instead of see the preachers of the somewhat earlier coarse teaching which was subsequently corrected by Uklein, likewise in the Transcaucasus there appeared their complete detachment from the Dukhabors and a total separation from them in matters of religion among them.

During this period of the laxity of Molokanism in the Transcaucasus and its oscillation from side to side, for the consolidation and strengthening of the Molokan sect in the Transcaucasus there appeared another new persuasion, under the name of the Communal Agreement. The founder of this persuasion was a certain Mikhael Akinfeev Popov, a Molokan of the Samar province, county of Nikolaevsk, village of Tyagloi Ozero. In 1833 in the Samar region there occurred a difference of opinion among the Molokans. These arguments came from Grachev from the city Samar, F. Svetov from the same city, and Evstegni Yakovlev from Tyagloi Ozero. The result of this dispute was the origin of a new persuasion by this Evstegni Yakovlev, which he called The Hope of the Communals, and before his death he informed a certain Mikhael Akinfeev Popov of the same village, the Precepts of the Communal Hope. After receiving the precepts he began to convert Molokans of the Transcaucasus to his teaching. Mikhael Akinfeev wanted from the beginning to chose for his co-worker Denis Shipilov, who

221. This is also discussed by David Yesseyevich chapters 49-56, in the Spirit and Life, pages 132-140. 222. The Transcaucasus is the region on the south side of the Caucasus mountain range. The north side is the Circaucasus. The decree and migration to this area is discussed in the History of the Religion, in the Spirit and Life, pages 18-20.

220 started at the same time to introduce his own personal interpretations pertaining to the Communal teaching. Then Mikhael Akinfeev, calling the followers of this newly-introduced group Shipilovtsi, converted them to his own persuasion. In 1843, Mikhael Akinfeev Popov and Denis Shipilov, by the sentence of the criminal courts, were exiled to Siberia to live, to the province of Yenisei. There they were able to convert to their teaching about 50 individuals. This matter regarding Akinfeev Popov and his confederate Shipilov begin as follows: Their followers in the Komyn and Loichen regions reported to the Shervin county official that the Molokan Shipilov had devised a new sect and inclined a number of villagers to it; and that whenever they were needed for admonishment, they would gather together and walk along the street and sing certain hymns, to lead astray the other peasants. Shipilov, already 60 years old, informed them during investigation, the he was already sentenced for heresy and punished by the Caspian provincial authorities, but did not abandon the sect established by the peasant Popov. And that he, as he was going to admonishment with other adherents, which was by order of the authorities, sang with them psalms from the prophet Jeremiah, thinking that he was going to his death. The tenets of their faith consisted of praying unto God 3 times a day, and that they would gather at a special place for this, confess their sins to each other, and be reconciled with a kiss. The use of tobacco or wine, laughter and secular songs were prohibited among them. Others said that they joined the sect in the year 1839 convinced of it by Popov and Shipilov; and after joining it promised to observe the conduct of others already part of it, that they all fulfill the rules of the newly-introduced sect. Those that instituted it started schools for the instruction of children, which were sometimes taken forcefully from their parents; they initiated the community of possessions. Followers of the sect often abandoned their parents under a guise of piety, and the lazy led a life of idleness, dependant on the wealthy. When the inquiries began Popov was absent; but later he appeared to the examiner and informed them that he was the primary founder of the new heresy, and taught Shipilov and the others that the teaching of their sect is based on the interpretations of Daniel the prophet 6:7-10; on the letter of Paul to the Roman 16:4; on the Acts of the holy Apostles 4:32-37, that their possession should be common; on the letter of Paul to the Corinthians 5:9-13, not to associate with others; also Corinthians 16:18-24; and the Second letter to the Corinthians 5:19-21, that during the prayer service they must perform the kiss as a sign of reconciliation and forgiveness. The local authorities of the Caucasus wrote describing the sect in these terms to the Minister of Internal Affairs. The followers of Akinfeev Popov honor the holy prophets, the Saviour, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the apostles and Gospel writers; they observe the yearly holidays of the Orthodox church, except for those days dealing with the saints; they do not bow before the icons, for which they call themselves spiritual Christians. Their worship service is distinct from the common Molokan because they, during prayer, do not sit, but all the men and woman stand in a common circle; they sing hymns or from the Book of Psalms, or those composed by their officials or by themselves. They select a judge or altar boy, who is entrusted with the donations to be distributed to the needy and destitute. Beyond him, they also have a distributor, a watcher, a supplicant,223 an educator, an officiator over the singers, a counselor, and a contemplator, whom they honor during the course of the prayer services as holy individuals, whom they bow before and from whom accept a blessing. At the conclusion of the prayer service they explain the holy Scriptures, discuss the past and future, but once leaving the assembly they become ordinary members of the community. Their fasts consist in a fervent prayer and not consuming

223. or, prayer-reciter, molitvennik. The same term is used in Molokan usage for the Prayerbook.

221 any food from morning to the setting of the sun. They do not consume any wine, vodka, swine or sturgeon. They perform their marriages with the blessing of one of the members, acting in the Spirit during the prayer service. They do not easily permit divorce. The followers of the new sect have moral attitudes considerably higher that those of other Molokans or the Subbotniki; they are religious, meek, submissive, hospitable and industrious. There is no notice of any crime; and lying, profanity, and slander is considered sin. Their women and girls are excessively modest. The eldest in the home arranges all the domestic chores and in the evening accepts from the members of his household repentance of any sins committed during the course of the day; to the number of sins that is counted is attacking some bird or some animal. When Mikhael Akinfeev Popov and his confederate Denis Shipilov were sentenced to exile to Siberia to live there in 1843, an official of the Caspian province presented to the senior director of the Caucasian region their sentence by the Caspian criminal court. When this sentence reached the Ministry of Internal Affairs, then the Minister on November 10, 1843 asked the senior director of the Caucasian region for some information about them and wanted arrangements made to find out what the tenets and precepts of this new dissenting group were and in complete detail. This information was required of the governing Caspian province, and they in 1844 were able to acquired some material about the sect of Mikhael Akinfeev, discovering that his followers hold their teaching in such secrecy, that is impossible to any extent to determine their tenets and dogmas. And so Akinfeev Popov and Denis Shipilov were exiled to Siberia to live, not leaving behind for the authorities any information regarding the Sect of the Communals, any more than that recorded in the records during the trial proceedings. Meanwhile the Erivan military governor, in March of 1853, met with the Viceroy of the Caucasus with a directive regarding the preachers of a new persuasion among the Molokans who were settled in the province under his jurisdiction. Immediately there began arrangements to apprehend those individuals who were under suspicion of spreading this new teaching. Of the number of these individuals arrested in Tiflis, province of Shemakhin, county of Shushin, in the sectarian suburb of Korabulak, was the villager Denis Kechemenov, who admitted that he was part of the persuasion of Mikhael Akinfeev called the Communals. And as a result of the inquiry he disclosed all the rules, tenets and principles of the sect of the Communal teaching. This matter regarding Denis Kechemenov was finally presented to the Minister of Internal Affairs with all the attachments and the precepts of the persuasion of the Communal teaching of Mikhael Akinfeev Popov. As part of the history of dissension in Russia these precepts are interesting, and for this reason we present it here in its entirety.

RULES OF THE SECT OF THE COMMUNALS

The teachings of Mikhael Akinfeev Popov.

1. These codified tenets are without any imperfection according to the flesh or the spirit. Following the flesh, the grace is carnal; but following the Spirit, the blessing is spiritual. This is written to the Ephesians 2:14, For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of division between us. So is the division between the carnal and the spiritual. Interpretation: Faith is according to the flesh: we believe one another based on our deeds in the flesh; but in the Spirit do we believe that God is invisible.

222

2. About the Church The church is communal, a public gathering as a celebration of the word of God, and this church or family prays together. When a person is educated, within him alone is the church; and every person having this teaching possesses the church according to his strength. The kiss is performed communally and at home, within the body of the church. Communally the entire church participates, while at home the entire family participates in the kiss during prayer. The kiss performed as one body when entering and when leaving. It is written about the church: 2 Cor 6:16, For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be My people. 1 Cor 14:26, Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, a teaching, a tongue, a revelation, an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. 1 Pet 2:5, You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Eph 3:10, That now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. Interpretation: Visibly the people gather, the entire assembly and the entire family, to read the word of God. But invisibly the community is in harmony, a loving family, an educated person.

3. About Prayer Our prayer consists of prayers and deeds and thoughts: these 3 are one. Just as the church is 3 in one, so is it in one. It is written about prayer: Matt 6:9, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Eph 6:18, Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit. Luke 22:41, And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and prayed. Dan 6:10, He knelt down on his knees 3 times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. John 4:23, But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. Interpretation: Visibly it is the written prayers that we pray and recite. Invisibly the science of prayer is the humiliation of yourself.

4. About Bringing Offerings An offering to God is to bring him praise and be humble in spirit in order to endeavor to meditate about goodness and not perform evil. It is written: Mal 1:11, In every place incense will be offered to My name, and a pure offering; For My name will be great among the nations. Heb 13:15, Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. Ps 51:17, The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart. Ps 40:6, Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; My ears You have opened; burnt offering and sin offering You did not require. Ps 50:14, Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.

223 Matt 9:13, But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice. 1 Pet 2:5, To offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Interpretation: Visibly we must encourage one another in all matters. Invisibly we must have love for one another.

5. About the Incense Burner and Incense The incense burner and incense is the presence of God; this is the judgement on wickedness, to put to death the spirit of evil. It is written: Ps 141:2, Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Rev 8:3, Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. And he was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints. 2 Cor 2:14, Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. Eph 5:2, And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. Interpretation: Visibly the incense burner is the Bible; in its entirety is the presence of God. Invisibly the incense burner is the benevolence of an individual.

6. About Communion We partake of communion with the Divine sacraments: love, joy, meekness, endurance, goodness, compassion, faith, humbleness, restraint. It is written. Gal 5:22, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, endurance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. Heb 6:4, For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit. Heb 12:10, That we may be partakers of His holiness. 1 Cor 10:17, For we, being many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread. 1 Cor 9:10, And he who threshes in hope should be a partaker of his hope. Interpretation: Visibly, every observance in deed and word. Invisibly it is the unification of our thoughts for observance.

7. About Confession Confession is to recall sins to a knowledgeable person, who is recognized of God. It is written. Ps 118:1, Confess the Lord, for He is good! Because His mercy endures forever. Ps 119:62, At midnight I will rise to confess You, because of Your righteous judgments. Jam 5:16, Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. Heb 3:1, Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus. Ps 75:1, We confess God, we confess You, for Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near. Ps 111:1, I will confess the Lord with my whole heart, In the assembly of the upright and in the

224 congregation. Visibly to esteem all individuals. Invisibly we recite all violations to the presbyter and make a promise to no longer conduct ourselves in that manner.

8. About Anointment Anointment is joy, song, admonition, all that is needed for the people, the visible and the spiritual. It is written: Ps 45:7, Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions. Hab 3:13, You proceeded for the salvation of Your people, for the salvation of Your anointed. Acts 4:27, For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together. Acts 10:38, How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Interpretation: Visibly we assist one another, or in words comfort another. Invisibly we reconcile ourselves with everybody, in our hearts we are comforted.

9. About Baptism Baptism - teaching, washing, cleansing, beauty, strength, purity, fervent weeping, lowliness of spirit, fortunate success. It is written: Luke 3:3, And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Acts 13:24, John had first preached, before His coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. Acts 22:16, Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Matt 28:19, Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Interpretation: Visibly it is the washing of the body with water. Invisibly it is the increase of understanding, the beauty in a man, zeal toward holiness.

10. About the Throne The throne is the sincere justification of the people, freedom from sin and man in his glory. It is written: Pr 12:23, A prudent man is a throne of knowledge.224 Is 16:5, In mercy the throne will be established; and One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David. Jer 14:21, Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory. Remember, do not break Your covenant with us. Zech 6:13, He will bear the glory, and will sit and rule on His throne; so He will be a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between them both. Pr 25:5, And his throne will be established in rectitude. Rev 12:5, And she bore a male child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron. And her child was caught up to God and to His throne.

224. So it is rendered in the Slavonic Bible.

225 Interpretation: Visibly it is harmony. Invisibly is the Holy Spirit in a person.

11. About Weddings A wedding is a feast, or joy for a person in the flesh and in the spirit, and is the witness to the people of the promise made one to another before men and before God. It is written: Tobit 7:10, And Raguel said to Tobias: Eat, drink, and be merry, for it is your right to take my child. Interpretation: Visibly it is to entrust a woman according to the flesh, or to perform a great act of benevolence. Invisibly it is the gathering of the hosts of the glory of God and wisdom.

12. About Crowns A crown is joy from the justification of difficult labors, which proceeds from the hidden area of a man, his soul, or flesh. It is written: Sirach 6:31, You will wear her like a glorious robe, and put her on like a crown of gladness. Sirach 25:6, Rich experience is the crown of the aged. 2 Tim 4:8, There is laid up for me the crown of rectitude, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that day. Rev 2:10, Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Interpretation: Visibly to be justified before judgement and before men. Invisibly to be justified from your sins before God; joy and happiness of the heart.

13. About Wearing Special Garments A garment is listening to the word of God for our salvation and instruction to be benevolent, and to teach the people a good standard of living. It is written: Wisdom 5:18, He will put on rectitude as a breastplate, and wear impartial justice as a helmet. Is 59:17, For He put on rectitude as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak. 1 Thess 5:8, Putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. Rev 19:8, And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Eph 6:14, Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of rectitude. Interpretation: Visibly there is a garment on the spirit and soul and body. Invisibly we are to always fear God and tremble before Him.

14. Sprinkling and Cleansing Fear of the holy instruction sprinkles and cleanses a person, and by way of this he is turned away from the path of the iniquitous. It is written: Heb 10:22, Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 2 Cor 7:1, Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Is 45:8, Rain down, you heavens, from above, and let the skies rain down rectitude. Is 1:16, Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before

226 My eyes. Jer 4:14, O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved. Eze 36:25, Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Interpretation: Visibly people die due to their fear in the flesh. Invisibly fear is in the heart, a fear of ones sins.

15. About the Vessels A vessel is the continuity of an individual in determined activities. It is written: Pr 20:15, An honorable vessel are the lips of a wise man.225 Is 65:4, And the broth of abominable things is in their vessels. Rom 9:23, And that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory. 2 Tim 2:21, Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. Interpretation: The visible vessel are the lips and face of the hypostasis of a person. The invisible vessel is the heart of a person. If the heart is clean, so the vessel is clean.

16. About the Sign of the Cross This sign is necessary to show Christianity in a person's deeds and words and thoughts. About the sign it is written: Wisdom 16:6, They had the sign of salvation to remind them of the commandments of You law. Is 11:12, He will set up a banner (sign) for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel. Ps 4:6, Lord, signify on us the light of Your countenance.226 Interpretation: The visible sign is the greeting when entering a home, the raising of orphans, and respect toward some emigrant. But invisibly it is the Holy Spirit accepted for the hope of holy strength.

17. About Images The image of every person as God created man in His image in deed: benevolence is our image. God abides in a man based on our perfect works. It is written: Col 1:15, He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 1 Pet 2:21, Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example (image), that you should follow His steps. Jam 5:10, My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example (image) of suffering and patience. Phil 3:17, Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern (image). Heb 1:3, Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person... Interpretation: The visible image is every person. As His works are, so is the Lord. But the

225. So it is rendered in the Slavonic Bible. 226. So it is rendered in the Slavonic Bible.

227 invisible image in man is benevolence.

18. About the Birth of Children and Naming Them When a child is born the Lord will assign a name to him; that is, in a vision or if a person is inspired, and that name is given. In the gospels it is written: Luke 1:60, 63, And his mother answered and said, No, he will be called John. And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, "His name is John." Ex 2:10, So she called his name Moses, saying, Because I drew him out of the water. Interpretation: Visibly a child is born after the flesh. Invisibly he is cleansed of all defilement when he is blessed by the Lord and is given a name.

19. About Bishops and Priests The bishop and priest have authority over all our actions, and judge correctly before God. It is written: Heb 4:14, Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God. Heb 7:26, For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens. Acts 26:10, And many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests. Eph 4:11, And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. Interpretation: Visibly there are ranks for our sake. Invisibly Christ and the Spirit of God is with them, and a person is sanctified by the Sacred Scriptures.

20. About Kings and Authorities The king (tsar) has authority over the entire nation. He can punish and pardon his servants, can oppress and free. It is written: Pr 8:15, By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. Rom 13:1, Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 1 Pet 2:17, Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. 1 Tim 2:1, I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority. Interpretation: The visible king is a judge according to the flesh over us, he reigns in this age. Invisibly the Saviour is King and King over the earthly king. He has authority over body and spirit, and we honor them both equally.

21. About Fasts Fasting for the sake of the flesh acquires a joy like that at a wedding, a vigilance that is joyful and sober, and so we have accommodation for one another. It is written: Dan 10:2, In those days I, Daniel, was mourning 3 full weeks. Joel 2:12, Turn to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning. 1 Tim 4:3, Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

228 Interpretation: The visible fast consists in not eating bread and not drinking water. But the invisibly fast is the control of thoughts and silence.

22. About the Burial of the Deceased Prior to the funeral we pass the day and night in singing and reading the holy Scriptures, and impress upon the people that we will all die likewise. It is written: Acts 8:2, And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. 2 Cor 5:15, And He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. 1 Cor 15:20, But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. Interpretation: Visibly the body of a person is relinquished to the grave and the earth to decay. Invisibly we release the sins of the flesh in fear as the flesh decays; the soul is destined to justification and power.

23. Life in the Grave The righteous person puts to death the members of the body, but is alive in spirit. He must not think evil and neither should he do any. The righteous will live long on the earth. Zech 14:12, Their flesh will dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes will dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues will dissolve in their mouths.

24. About Memorials for the Deceased Memorials consist of charity, dinners, assisting the under-privileged, contributing to the table a sum of money, promising the community harmony. It is written: 2 Macc 12:43, He sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering [on behalf of the dead]. Baruch 3:4, Lord Almighty, God of Israel, hear now the prayer of the dead of Israel and of the sons of those who sinned before You. Ps 20:1, May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble; may the name of the God of Jacob defend you. Interpretation: Visibly we gather in church and have a dinner. Invisibly we are compassionate towards others and are concerned for their souls.

25. About the Seventh Day On 7th day, Sunday,227 we do not perform physical chores; and not to speak and not to think poorly, and not to judge ourselves too strictly, or assume some difficult task, but watch carefully all our activities. It is written: Lev 23:3, Six days will work be done, but the 7th day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You will do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings. Zeph 3:8, Therefore wait for Me, says the Lord, until the day of My resurrection...228 Hosea 6:2, After 2 days He will revive us; on the 3rd day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.

227. In Russian: Resurrection. 228. So it is rendered in the Slavonic Bible.

229 Mark 16:9, Now when He rose early on the first day of the week. Interpretation: Visibly the 7th day is Resurrection Day (Sunday), as Christ resurrected. Invisibly it is a 7-fold praise pertaining to our release from sin and all our difficulties.

About the Ranks229 The first rank is Judge, as written in Deut 16:18, You will appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they will judge the people with just judgment. The 2nd rank is the distributor, as written in Acts 4:35, And laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. The 3rd rank is the manager: as written, John 2:8, And He said to them, Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast. The 4th rank is the watcher, as written: Matt 6:22, The lamp of the body is the eye. The 5th rank is the supplicant, as written: Ps 74:23, Do not forget the voice of Your supplicant.230 The 6th rank is the educator, as written: Jam 3:5, Even so the tongue is a little member and can boast of great things. The 7th rank is the member, as written: 1 Cor 12:12, For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. The 8th rank is the counsellor, as written: Ps 68:27, There is little Benjamin, who stands in fear.231 The 9th rank is the contemplator, as written: 2 Esd 13:25, And I saw a man come up from the heart of the sea. Among the female singers, there are 3 ranks, as written: Ps 68:25, The singers went before, the players on instruments followed after; among them were the maidens playing timbrels.

1. The work of the judge: In church he reads the books and interprets it, and inspires the word of God. He directs the other ranks, for them not to weaken in their work, but observe it diligently. 2. The work of the distributor: He watches the people if they contribute money to the table angrily, and if someone goes to take it back. He accepts the money, records it in a book. If someone should repent he accepts the repentance. 3. The work of the manager: In church he reconciles any disputes; he gives instruction to the guilty, how they should ask for forgiveness in church; and the church asks him to prayer on behalf of people. He assigns places for people to sit and watches if someone does not bow properly. 4. The work of the watcher: In church he watches over people; he asks people to participate in every activity, and not only to gratify somebody. He watches after the ranks above himself. Anybody that is idle he sends to church. 5. The work of the supplicant: In church he recites prayers aloud on behalf of the church, and all follow after him. He charges the people not to eat bread prior to attending church. He asks if they conduct services at home, and charges them to do so.

229. These are the officials. 230. So it is rendered in the Slavonic Bible. 231. So it is rendered in the Slavonic Bible.

230 6. The work of the educator: In church he tells people to step aside to make way for others. He accepts payments made; restrains people from talking; he unfolds the felt [for the table and bench coverings]; removes and sets the benches. Returns coats after services, and thanks them all for attending. 7. The work of the member: In church he prepares for singing; he watches over the ranks below himself and the singers; he provides instruction for the ranks below himself and the singers; he teaches the school children to read and write. They have respect for each other and for other people. 8. The work of the counselor: He keeps the singers in harmony during the singing; and for them to practice at it in their spare time so the singing would be good; to agree on what to sing; to prepare for singing; accept from the singers repentance. 9. The work of the contemplator: In church to reconcile any disagreements between the singers and the thinkers; and they repent of their thoughts to him; likewise to watch after the teachers and teach. 10. The singers are to teach the singers and at the schools and the newcomers; to willingly and earnestly harmonize the singing.

Regarding the Community of Possessions It is written pertaining to property, Acts 2:44-45: And all who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need. And in Acts 4:32 and 34-35: And no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they has everything in common. And there was not a needy person among them, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made to each as any had need.

Among the Communals Three Churches are Identified 1. The church as a congregation: A congregation of adherents of the same suburb, to celebrate the word of God, sing and pray. 2. The church at home: A group gathers daily 4 times and together prays unto God. 3. The church as the individual person: Consists of the private prayer of an individual: mentally, or as he enters or exits his house, and at other times. Superficial churches with visible decor are not utilized by the Communals, and they do not rely on them for salvation. And whenever fellow believers are gathered for prayer, whether in the field, under the open sky, that is also a church.

Three type of Kiss exist. 1. The holy kiss: This is performed when entering the church congregation, among the reconciled, that is, among those having no mutual disputes and not under penance, that is, pronounced guilty by the sentence of the members and are forbidden to participate in the kiss. All those assembled are obligated to participate in the mutual kiss with their lips. 2. The holy kiss is also performed during prayer while having church at home among those reconciled and not under penance. 3. Personal kiss: When entering a house each is required to recite aloud [the prayer]: Our Father... and say, "Peace be unto this house. The master of the house will reply, "Peace unto your

231 entrance." And both will kiss with their lips.

During prayer services the Bible is read, with prayers that are composed from the holy Scriptures; psalms are sung. During the worship services of the Communals, no type of tangible offering is brought, but to the church as a congregation are brought offerings from ones own abundance, consisting of money and manufactured articles, such as, thread, cotton, and other items which are placed on the table. 1. Table charity: Gathered from the altar and recorded in detail in a special book. This is distributed to needy orphans and widows as the council of the officials agrees. 2. Contributed charity: Which any person himself gives to someone requesting in the name of Christ. 3. Secret charity: When a person sees another brother in need and helps him in secret without anybody else knowing. Although all the possessions and income of the Communals is community, charity to be contributed is acquired in the following manner: The small portion of whatever is earned remains with them, and part of this is placed on the table by the master of the house during holidays as charity when the church is congregated. Other than this, whenever women have spare time after completing their community work, they can engage in private work and keep the proceeds. Likewise the wool and flax given to the mothers to turn into thread and cloth, as much as they need for the number of children and people living under their roof, if extra is made and can be sold, this they can buy clothing for herself and her husband, and this remains with them. Also any money or gifts that are given by relatives not part of this persuasion remains with those who receive it; and donate secretly as charity from this amount. Beyond this, every adherent is required to donate one ruble to the table, which is received for fasting one day. Tangible items: incense burner, incense, and communion does not exist among the Communals. Two types of confession exist among the Communals: 1. The secret confession performed alone before the altar regarding serious sins, when a person joins this sect. 2. Confession regarding errors performed aloud when church is congregated. Physical anointment of oil does not exist. The rite of baptism also does not exist among the Communals, but when a child is born the mid-wife will spank him and wash him reciting a prayer. On the eighth day the officials will gather and pray, and the distributor will give the child a name according to his own discretion, selecting a name used among the Russians.

If an adult joins this persuasion, then the following rite must be performed: The novitiate will request the reader via the watcher his desire [to join], and the reader, accepting from him his verbal request will relate it to the church manager, who will also ask the novitiate and then relate this matter to the judge. The judge, at his own discretion will ask the novitiate to his presence and again require from him his desire [to join], and will make him familiar with the Precepts of the Sect of the Communals, interpret the holy Scriptures, and if he still remains with this desire, then the judge will order the church manager to allow the novitiate to the congregated church, and there give him instruction as to how to ask forgiveness when church is congregated. Here the

232 newcomer, after a secret confession is brought into the assembly, and confessing all of his errors and promiscuity aloud, will bow to the ground and ask forgiveness. Then by order of the judge, the supplicant will pray aloud unto God on his behalf with all present. This is concluded with the singing of the Psalm, I have sinned Lord, I have sinned.232 After this the entire assembly at the word of the judge, will ask in tears, "May God forgive." This is called the tearful release in 4 parts: 1. For apostasy from the Communal church and his return to it. 2. For discredit of the hope of the Communals. 3. For those who leave and join another persuasion. 4. For antagonism. After the tearful release, the judge will ask the newcomer: 1. Do you agree to the community of possessions? 2. Do you agree to equality? 3. Do you agree to the counsel of the brethren? And when the novitiate discloses his consensus, then he is accepted as an ally, an adherent, a spiritual brother of the Communal Persuasion, and is allowed to participate in the holy kiss. Then the church officials proceed to account and value his possessions. If this amount is above that of the rest, then to be equal, this amount is recorded on behalf of his account, but this same amount that exceeds the others is also recorded on the account of those who have not attained equality. And if one of the followers of the Hope of the Communals desires to leave the persuasion, this it is up to him whether to receive his equal share or the entirety of his property which he had when joining the Sect of the Communals. When someone is departing, first it is usually required that a person remain convinced in the persuasion of the Communals; but the extreme occurs when someone entirely abandons this teaching. The Communals have no tangible throne. Engagement and marriage consist in the following: A man and woman are engaged in the presence of the congregated church; and the entire congregated church is witness to their mutual promise, which is 3 times repeated with the words, "Do you hear?" The wedding is performed upon the mutual desire of the young couple, with the blessing of the parents and the counsel of the officials. They enter into marriage at the age of 16. Marriage is allowed [between the couple] on the fifth generation on the boys side and the 4th on the girls side. Strict mutual fidelity is required from the spouses. If he should violate this, he is forbidden to partake in the holy kiss; and if he is an elder, then he must abandon his position and remain under penance, until the officials should grant forgiveness. Strict prudence is required from all bachelors; and if this be violated, they are punished just as violators of marriage vows. Tangible crowns, special garments, sprinkling of vessels, flags and images they do not have. Children are considered born in sin, and are sanctified as mentioned in the paragraph on baptism. Jesus Christ is considered the Priest and Bishop. God is the heavenly King. The earthly king is the Sovereign Emperor. The name of the Tsar is not mentioned in prayers, but they sing: Pray for the Tsar and for all in authority. They understand the apostles and prophets

232. Prayer of Mannasseh 11-15

233 under the spiritual term authorities. The authorities established on earth are the ranks of the congregated church of the Hope of the Communals. There are 3 types of fast: 1. Before some community occasion, for example, before seeding the fields, with the general agreement of the council a community 3 day fast is initiated consisting of no eating or drinking by any of the Communals. 2. Private according to ones personal desire. A 40 day fast consists of the following: For the first 3 days they only have one meal. For the next 2 days they only have one meal; and then once over the next 2 days; and then one meal a day in the evening for the balance of the 33 days. 3. A light voluntary fast for the children, and for the people during work time it consists in a one day denial of all food.

Burial of the deceased occurs in the following manner: During the time of departure the officials and singers sing Psalms. When the dying person departs then the deceased is washed; his eyes are closed; they will wrap him in clean white linen and bind his feet in white towels; they will place him on benches and cover him with a white sheet and hang curtains around him. In the peasant hut where the body lies, one day and night the officials and singers recite prayers and sings psalms, as the contributor should arrange. On the 2nd day the deceased is placed into a coffin and he is carried or drawn to the cemetery. First walk the officials and the singers and sing psalms; while behind the coffin the relatives and people accompany the coffin. At the cemetery the deceased is placed with his feet toward the east. While filling the grave they sing psalms. In place of a tombstone they place a short stake, or the grave is surrounded by a small fence. At the grave they pray to God on behalf of the deceased upon their knees; and then return back to the house where the deceased was taken from. There they conduct a complete prayer service, on the knees 9 times and with the holy kiss. After the prayer service, the party which the deceased belonged to makes a dinner. At its conclusion they sing psalms, recite, "Our Father..." and then depart. The soul is presented to God and the judgement of God is executed based on his earthly and spiritual deeds, and he either enters into eternal bliss in paradise or else enters eternal torment. Memorial services are conducted according to the following: Once a year the Communals are obligated to observe a memorial, consisting in the people gathering, and fasting until evening, they pray and donate to the offerings on the table, and mutually ask to pray on behalf of the soul of the deceased, and in the evening they sit at table for a prepared memorial meal.

They consider the 7th day as Sunday, as the day when Christ the Saviour resurrected. This day is dedicated from morning to noon and from 4 o'clock to evening with the study of the Word of God, singing and prayer. No work is conducted on Sundays or holidays, and neither do they bake bread on this day. Between morning and evening prayer services they spend the day at home studying the word of God, learning to sing, copying prayers and proofreading them, reciting them, and practicing church singing. On holidays they strive not to become involved with vain intentions; and strictly prohibited is every type of amusement, [secular] songs, games, jokes, tomfoolery, clowning, profanity, or

234 irreverence, because all of this is called by the apostle in his letters as foul language.233 Of the number of the ranks the manager assumes the responsibility of the village elder, along with his elders, the reader and contemplator. The other ranks outside of the Worship Service are assigned to work and carry out the village responsibilities along with their fellow believers. The first individual placed in the ranks was Mikhael Akinfeev and Evstegni Yakovlev, as they selected themselves. Later on to fill the ranks as the need arose, every official would chose for himself an assistant and present him to the judge, who would examine him. And on the next gathering of the church the official would announce aloud that he has acquired this person as his assistance. In situations of absence, or death, the selected assistant would take his place. When the assistant does finally assume the place of the new rank, then this also is announced to all the congregated church of the Communal Hope. If one of the officials commits some offence, then after investigation by the judge, he is completely deprived of his rank, or for some period of time is relieved of his obligations. Other than the ranks mentioned in the Precepts, there exists also the following 3 ranks of the church at home: 1. The household or land manager: Who has the authority over the party, and he manages all the men's clothing and shoes that belong to the party. 2. The household or land female manager, who handles the belongings of the women of the party. 3. The female manager supervises the food: She has the obligation to watch that the bread is well baked; the food is properly cooked, and distribute the bread and food, equal portions for everybody. 4. The general female manager: She is in charge of all the linen, towels, clothing, that is, the women's long sleeve gowns,234 the dresses, the aprons; and the refrigerator, and other items belonging to the party. With the general female manager is the female counsellor, with whose counsel she distributes the property she is taking care of, in order that all have an equal share. She changes the linen and dresses, or else will donate them to invited guests. All of these ranks have male and female assistants. The household ranks and their assistants are selected by the party and confirmed by the judge with the other ranks of their congregated church. All property, whether moveable or immoveable, and the income from them, belongs to the brethren's communal union, and equally to all, not choosing who, where, in what suburb or village he belongs to. Nobody has any personal property, whether moveable or immoveable.

Rules of the Persuasion of the Communals The rules of the followers of the Teaching of the Communals is transmitted orally and retained in memory. The Communals are divided into parties. A party consists of those who live in one household. There is no rite to join a party, and everyone, regardless of sex, as soon as he becomes a member of the Communals, joins a party with their mutual consent. The party is selected by the desire and survey of

233. Eph 4:31, Col 3:8. 234. The sarafan.

235 the officials. Although it is preferred that the party consist of blood relatives, but this is not mandatory. One husband and wife are indivisible for their entire life, and subsequently cannot belong to 2 separate parties. A party cannot consist of one male, and not solely of women; but must consist of both genders. There is no precedence regarding the number of people in a party; but this depends on how many fit into a peasant house. Each party is assigned a number. A manager of a party who is more capable can be promoted in rank and be made the head manager of several parties, and even the caretaker, that is, an official over all the parties in one village. If neglect is noticed in a party, or their negligence in work or income, then the manager, by the decision of the church manager, is excluded from the holy kiss. And if this situation is not resolved, then by confirmation of the judge, this manager is completely removed from his obligations and deprived from his rank, and his assistant then assumes his position, who was already confirmed in his rank. The house for the party to live in is built by the adherents of the same suburb. The party itself builds summer huts for their brothers and sisters, and special ones for husbands and wives; the bachelors and widows have special ones separate from the young boys and girls. The houses, cattle, farm implements, wagons, all household utensils, the land, groves, kitchen gardens, flour mills, beehives, the tannery, in short: all village farming and business that is under administration of the party belongs to the congregated church of the suburb where the party lives, and the income from all this property constitutes the communal sum of the congregated churches. Every evening after dinner, and if there are orders and an assignment from the officials of the congregation, the household manager assigns them within his own party, including himself in the assignment of work. If there is no assignment for work, then the household manager, after counselling with his own party, will assign household work for the following day; while the female manager will assign the work for the female gender. The officials of the churches of the congregations, and likewise the household managers, are obligated to worry about the work ahead of time, so that the people will never be idle. The congregated churches have a hierarchy based on numbers. Thus, the #1 church is considered higher than the #2 church. The officials of the higher rank churches are also above the rank of the lower number churches. Thus, the judge of the first church is esteemed above the judge of the 2nd church, and so forth. The contributor of the first church is above the contributor of the 2nd church. In the number of ranks of the church is also the position of the head female singer of all the churches of the congregations of the Communal Persuasion. The monetary funds have 2 named classifications: 1. The community fund consists of income from possessions entrusted by the parties. Out of this fund is paid taxes and duties and village expenditures. 2. The table or donated fund consists of donations and is also paid out as described above. The dispersement of the community fund is managed by the church manager with the counsel of the judge and the other officials. The table fund is disbursed by the contributor with the counsel of the manager and the judge's assistant, and in his absence, with the counsel of all the officials below the church manager. The congregated church of each suburb will have 2 funds. The community fund is not recorded, but is entrusted to the church manager by the higher officials. The table fund is recorded in a special book and is entrusted to the contributor by the higher officials. The [amount of] community possessions is known to the church manager and is dispersed according to the same rules as the community fund: it is dispersed without exception to the parties

236 equally, depending on the number of people. These distributions are made according to the holy Scriptures, as written in 2nd Corinthians 8:11-15, and in the book of Moses, Ex 16:16-18, where it is indicated, He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. In this manner cattle, all agricultural implements, clothing, shoes and other items, are appropriated to the parties. The funds and community property cannot be stolen. Every person keeps in view what is written in Acts 5:1-5, But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. The parents that are members of the Communal Hope are required to send their children of both sexes, once attaining the age of 7, to the school that is run by the congregated churches, which they should fulfill quite voluntarily. In school both sexes learn together, to read and write the civil language, to count, sing Psalms, be trained to decide and analyze; learn the church worship services: to pray, bow, perform the holy kiss, repent of sins, and all the obligations required by this Persuasion. In school the children are identified by school ranks, similar to those existing in the congregated churches. The children do not live in schools but attend it from morning until dinner, and after dinner until evening. During the summer the children work, and they convene only on holidays to review what was taught them the previous winter. The schools release the children once they have attained 12 years of age. The following officials of the congregated church teach the children: member, counsellor, contemplator, and singer. School supplies and books and paper are purchased using the community funds.

The followers of the Communal Persuasion are forbidden to consume as food: Any animal whose hoofs are not split, or is not cloven-footed or does not chew the cud; is not butchered or is shot is such a manner that the blood does not flow out; swine; every fish not having scales; onion, garlic; vodka, wine, or any distilled beverage; food made with hops; isinglass;235 sugar, because it is filtered through bones and blood and is hardened with glues;236 finally, the use of tobacco is prohibited. The Communals claim the following holidays: 1. Every Sunday. 2. Christmas. 3. Epiphany. 4. Annunciation. 5. Palm Sunday. 6. The resurrection of Christ with the entire week of Passover. 7. The Ascension of the Lord. 8. Pentecost for 3 days. 9. St. Peter's Day.237 10. Elijah's Day.238 The adherents of the teaching understand [theology] as follows: God is without beginning and without end; He is all-benevolent, all-merciful, and omnipotent; creating all and governing all. All people and all creation is under His jurisdiction. The trinity is in God, and God is in a trinity. The trinity consists of the Father and Son and holy Spirit; one in 3 features

235. A gelatine made from sturgeon, which is an unclean fish. 236. Sugar is no longer manufactured in this manner. 237. Holiday of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, June 29. 238. Holiday of the holy prophet Elijah, July 20.

237 which are indivisible. The saints and the blessed are the following: the Old Covenant prophets, the apostles, the disciples of the Lord mentioned in the holy Scriptures, the holy blessed and the martyrs.239 The sacred books which we maintain are the Bible as printed by the [Orthodox] church, and the translations of the Gospels and Psalms as published by the Bible Society. The Communals do not have any condemnation or criticism of other denominations or persuasions; and have tolerance when explaining their own convictions. In regard to condemnation of other persuasions, they use as an example, that people follow that teaching which attracts their hearts, expressing the proverb, "Buying at the bazaar what looks good to them." This was directed them by Mikhael Akinfeev Popov. For this reason the Communals do not alienate themselves from any other professions, and allow all of them into their churches during worship services, not even excluding Jews or Tatar-Mohameddans.240 The Communals maintain the following punishments. 1. Deny him participation in the holy kiss. 2. Deny him the fulfillment of any obligation of his rank. 3. Arrest or demotion in rank, or complete deprivation of rank. These punishments are levied on the adults in the congregated churches and the parties, and on children in school.

Worship Services The parties that are dressed to work in fields at a distance arise at the first crow of the rooster, wash up, and then will together on their knees aloud recite "Our Father..." and other prayers, perform the holy kiss, and take the prepared groceries and depart for their assignments. The other parties, arising at dawn, washing up, gather, together stand in a circle. If someone wants to sing, they will sing a psalm or "Praise God, all nations."241 Then, "Lord bless us. In the name of the Father;" and while kneeling, "Pacify us, Lord."242 And a bow to the ground. Then one of the short psalms while kneeling, "Unto You Lord, do I bend the knee, to the creator of heaven and earth."243 Then a bow to the ground. Then one of the psalms on their knees, "Establish Lord, establish Your land."244 Then a bow to the ground, then, "Bless us Lord, that we be protected from sins this morning and at this time."245 All those not under penance will mutually kiss and say to one another, "Did you sleep well?" [The other replies,] "Praise God. Blessed is our God." And a prayer is then read on departure, "I will life up my eyes to the hills from where comes my help."246 Then the household manager will say, "Forgive," and will hear the reply, "With the mercy of God." Then he will announce, "Each to his work." All will depart as assigned.

239. These two groups are those blessed individuals canonized by the Orthodox church. 240. This is unusual in the light of the rather lengthy and detailed Confession of Faith that is toward the beginning of this chapter. But apparently any members would have to accept the Teaching of the Communals as also noted above. 241. Ps 117 242. Molokan Prayerbook, Prayer # 22. 243. Molokan Prayerbook, Prayer # 78. 244. Molokans Prayerbook, Prayer # 23. 245. David Yesseyevich chapter 75; Spirit and Life, page 153. 246. Psalms 121.

238 In the summer season during work in the fields, before breakfast, every person prays by himself unto God for a short moment. At noon before lunch, and likewise before dinner, all those working near each other will gather and conduct household worship services, that is, pray unto God as they did in the morning, except that the prayer, "I lift my eyes," is not recited. After dinner, before retiring, they must perform the 4th daily household worship service, just as done before lunch. In the winter season, during the day the household worship service is performed, just as during summer; at night, rising up at midnight, the party conducts services, and prior to morning begins work, right after the reading of the holy Scriptures.

During the holidays when the church congregates, all the parties attend. And after services they announce the gathering for the following holiday. Every person when entering recites, "Our Father..." and says, "Peace be unto this house." He bows and sits in his respective place. The judge sits on a bench toward the front corner at the head of the table; in front of him on the table lays the Bible. At the right side of the judge is his assistant, and at his assistant's right are distinguished elders of honorable conduct, who are highly respected by all. Behind them on benches are the males. On the left side of the judge on a bench alongside the table, there is seated in order: the contributor, supplicant, members, counsellor, first singer and his assistants by rank; and behind them are the women [who are officials]. On the other side alongside the table, on a bench, sit in order: the manager, watcher, and the other officials. And other benches are placed, first for the assistants of the officials, and the rest for the balance of the males. To the right of the singers, on benches set up opposite to them, sit the females. All the officials and likewise the people dress in ordinary fashion depending on the season of the year. When the manager notices that all the people are assembled, then he quietly mentions to the judge, "It is time to sing for the greeting." Then the judge will turn toward the member and mumble, "Sing for the greeting." Receiving this directive the member announces, "Sing!" Then the judge stands and all follow after him, while the reader with assistants will remove the benches. The singers sing first with the rest of the congregation following, from 1 Peter 4:7, "Behold the end of all is near," while the judge kisses the contributor and all the lower officials following him then approach the elders and kiss them, and the entire congregation begins the holy kiss, which is perform in the following manner: Each bows down to the waist, kisses, and then bows again and kisses a 2nd time and bows again. When the watcher notices that all those present and not under penance have mutually kissed, then he turns to the judge and says, "All!" Then the officials and all those present perform a common bow down to the waist. Such bows are also repeated during the service at the end of the singing of each psalm. After the community bow the judge turns to the people and will ask them, in the morning, "Have you slept well?" and after lunch, "Have you passed the day well?" In reply those present say in unison, "Praise God. Blessed is our God." After this the benches are again set up, and all those present take their respective places. The judge begins to read from the Bible aloud; or else at his own discretion, or because of a question from someone present, for example, if one of the people should ask, "How can I save my soul?" Then the judge will search out the correlating passages in the Bible and will read them aloud and then interpret what was read. When the watcher notices that it is time for prayer, or if one of those nearby should remind

239 him, then he says to the manager in his ear, "It is time to pray." And the manager tells the judge into his ear, "They are asking to pray." They the manager turns to the member and directs him, "Sing for prayer." The member, looking at the singers, says, "Sing!" The Bible is placed in the center of the table, while the benches are removed. From the corner of the table alongside the bench and facing the center of the peasant house the supplicant, judge and contributor stand in a row. In front of them a piece of felt is laid.247 Behind it and facing the supplicant stands the manager, and between them facing the table is the watcher and educator; the contemplator stands behind the manager facing the table. Alongside the educator are the assistants of the manager, and with the contemplator are the assistants of the member. Behind the watcher's and educator's assistants are the other officials, in order of age. The member and the counsellor stand with the table at their right, and then the balance of the singers facing the table. Opposite the supplicant and facing him stands the head female singer having her assistants on the right and the left side. Behind her is the 2nd female singer with her assistants, and surrounding them are the rest of the female singers. The men in general stand near the entrance to the peasant house. While all are taking their respective places, a Psalm is sung, "Lord, not in Your wrath."248 When all is ready, the supplicant will ask the watcher aloud, "Is all ready?" And when he receives the reply, "We are ready," then the educator says, "Let us pray to God." The judge turns to the supplicant and says, "Pray!" and [the supplicant] says, "Brothers and sisters, be vigilant and pray, do not fall into calamity; guard yourselves from improper intentions. Lord, bless us to pray. [He recites] "Our Father..." and then others getting on his knees 3 times. Then the educator, bowing down to the floor, says, "Save us Lord, the brothers and sisters who have prayed unto you." After this the supplicant begins the community worship service on behalf of all the adherents,249 beginning with, "Lord, bless us. In the name of the Father. Praise the Father. Bless us Lord God. Glory unto God in the highest. Lord, Lord the King of gods." Also, "And now Lord, I speak out about all men."250 This prayer is recited while on their knees, and at its end they perform a bow down to the ground. After this is sung a psalm of their choice; and then on their knees is said, "Blessed are You, Lord our God," and a bow to the ground. Now a psalm of their choice upon their knees is recited, "Lord the heavenly God," and a bow to the ground. Then a psalm of their choice upon their knees, "Make us worthy Lord, to stand in the image of Your likeness," with a bow to the ground. Then a psalm on their knees, "Pacify us Lord, Your chosen," and a bow to the ground. Then a psalm upon their knees, "Unto You Lord, I bend my knees, to the creator of heaven and earth," with a bow to the ground. Then the psalm upon their knees, "Bless us Lord," with a bow to the ground. After this prayer service the member directs them to sing psalms, those of their own choice and depending on their number: if the crowd is large, then a larger number of Psalms; if the crowd is small, then a lesser number of psalms. After the conclusion of the psalms begins the holy kiss among those present. When the watcher says aloud the word, "All!" indicating that all the people have kisses, then on their knees the supplicant will recite, "And now Lord, we praise You and bend our knees. We ask and pray to You Lord our God." And then a bow to the ground. Then they sing a psalm according to their

247. Used in the same purpose or perhaps a predecessor of the present day rug. 248. Psalm 6 249. The following prayers are selections from the Molokan Liturgy. 250 2 Esdras 8:15-32

240 discretion, with a bow to the waist. Then the supplicant, bowing to the people, says, "Have we well conversed?" And the congregation replies to him, "Praise God. Blessed is our God." Then the supplicant will recite a Psalm to conclude, "I will lift up my eyes to the hills," or "Our Father..." with a bow to the ground, saying, "Forgive," and the congregation answers, "With the mercy of God." Then the manager will say, "Do not go away idle. Be involved in study," and he will order the contributor that any petitioners not leave. After this the people will gather in a circle, and sing the psalm, "We praise You Lord," or from the Revelations, "Fear God and give him glory,"251 with a bow to the waist. Then the manager will say aloud, "You are free to go," and the worship service ends. Morning and evening worship services are the same, with the exception that during the former 9 times on the knees is considered a complete service; while 4 times on the knees is done during the latter. While the crowd gathers for the holiday prayer, their donations are placed on the table, consisting of money, thread, cotton, and other items. At the end of the service, the church manager assigns the parties as to when and where they will gather for the next worship service. The congregated church gathers at evening on the eve of each holiday; on the holiday from morning until lunch, and after lunch and until evening. During the summer season the evening services are shorter; but longer in the winter when candle lighting is used.

Now we will review the Sect of the Communals. Apparently these Communals gathered together their livelihood and all their property to live as families; they selected twelve apostles, and presented all their belongings at their feet. They built a community store, and assigned a checker. In this sect of the Communals there are twelve ranks in imitation of the twelve apostles: nine of them are male, while 3 of the ranks are female. The 9 male ranks have the influence over the entire assembly and govern the community affairs; while the responsibilities of the female is limited to only watching after the women during worship services, teaching them songs and starting songs in church. The rank of judge is the president of the congregation. Above their private concerns, each of the officials has community responsibilities assigned to him. So the judge, witness (watcher), and member tend to decide on larger matter; the contributor, supplicant (otherwise an elder), and counsellor are fluent in all secret affairs; while the manager, educator and contemplator keep all business in order. What is new in the Molokan persuasion of the Communals? This persuasion was formed to encourage Molokanism by its founder who created a more predominant superficial form among the Molokans. He developed a ceremonial side to the spiritual confession, which was very natural for him. What does this indicate? It indicates that these Transcaucasian Molokans, after denying from ancient times the rites of the [Orthodox], returned to them voluntarily and increased the number of rituals in their worship services and instituted the same ranks of bishop that exist in the Orthodoxy and limited the right of the interpretation of the Bible by all and any. Anybody that wants to express his opinion must ask permission from the judge, who unconditionally approves or rejects the interpretations of others. Is not this mental-religious censure which is required in the Orthodoxy for the priest in order to receive a position of pastor? He is either approved by or disapproved by the higher spiritual authorities to acquire the status of priest, but on his own has not the right to preach and interpret the Bible to the people.

251. Rev 14:7.

241 For the same reason our Russian sectarians will never and no way agree among themselves. What one teaches another does not accept because he does not see a sufficient concrete basis for his own convictions and is led himself by some imaginary enlightenment from above. And so among the sectarians we find every possible type of mentality and just as many teachings. Akinfeev Popov saw a weakness in the interpretation of the Bible and so subjected it all to the private interpretation of one person, the authority, the judge.

242

DISCUSSION BETWEEN THE ORTHODOX AND THE MOLOKANS

Volume 5, Chapter 19

Recently, namely in the previous year, 1874, in Tulch, Rumania, there was a discussion between the Molokans and [Orthodox] Old Believers. The Old Believers gathered several elders of their own to discuss matters of faith. The Old Believers assigned as spokesmen a priest of the raskol who was also a monk and teacher. The Molokans from their side selected the elder-presbyter Ivan Ivanov and teachers of children, Vasili Feodorov and Dementi Ivanov. The Old Believers proposed 7 questions to the Molokans: 1. "What books will you use in your discussions with us?" The Molokans answered, "We accept solely the Bible as the basis of our faith with the New Testament and will use only it in the discussion." The dissenters brought out their several books in leather covers, those written before Nikon,252 but the Molokans remained silent, since they knew that these books couldn't even fool their grandmothers. 2. "How many natures and how many hypostasis do you accept?" asked the dissenters. The Molokans answered, "We believe solely in the Trinity of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit. The other details of your question we do not know and do not want to know, since they will not get us anywhere. And even for commoners to deliberate such lofty matters is not proper." 3. "How many of your churches are the primary?" The Molokans answered, "What we have is according to the teaching of the apostle Paul, which is Jesus Christ as the sole head." The dissenters responded, "But we have 2 heads over our church, Jesus Christ and the cross." The Molokans started to laugh and a long argument broke out, which led nowhere. 4. "Why do you not bow before icons?" The Molokans answered, "We do not see such a command from Jesus Christ in the New Covenant." The dissenters expressed that in the temple there were Cherubim, and Israel worshipped them. The Molokans answered that Israel did not worship the Cherubim, but God, and if there is a command from Jesus Christ to worship icons, then they should show it to us. The Old Believers again started to flip through their books with leather covers, but the Molokans urged them, "Show us this in the New Covenant. Your books written by people just like yourselves we do not recognize as

252. The Old Believers, or Staroveri, dissented from the Orthodox church in the raskol of the 17th century, by not accepting the changes and improvements made by Patriarch Nikon.

243 necessary." The dissenters dug and dug but could not find anything explicit in the New Covenant. 5. "Why do you not pray using the sign of the cross?" The Molokans answered, "There is no command for this from Jesus Christ or His apostles." The dissenters brought up discussion regarding 2-fingers or 3-fingers.253 The Molokans answered that they do not know one from the other and do not accept either, and that this has nothing to do with faith. 6. "Why do you not pray to the saints, apostles and martyrs?" The Molokans answered, "The apostles themselves prayed to God through Jesus Christ, and so did the others and so should we. The only mediator we have unto God is Jesus Christ." The dissenters enumerated their many saints to whom they pray, but the Molokans remained with their opinion. 7. "Why do you not perform water baptism, or have communion?" The Molokans answered that neither water nor the bread of the eucharist will save a man, if he does not understand the spirit of Christ and does not live by the Gospels. Baptism is the teaching of Jesus Christ, and communion is the assimilation of His teaching. This question was debated for a long while by each side, but each remained with their original convictions.

By this time it was dark and it was impossible to continue the arguments any longer, and so the council concluded its discussion. There was another discussion later following this one. At night the [Orthodox] dissenters were walking along the streets of Tulch and reviled the Molokans for their godlessness, and agitated several Greeks there against the Molokans. The Greeks, a fanatic people and inclined toward disorder, took their knives out from their belts and searched for the Molokans in the streets and houses. A scuffle ensued, and the Greeks in their fanaticism turned to the city official of Tulch, since the governor was absent. The matter ended with the arrest of the Molokan Ivan Ivanov, as the primary instigator, who was then imprisoned for an entire month with the understanding that he no longer summon any more discussions regarding faith. The Turkish authorities then sent a patrol through the streets of the city Tulch until the unrest subsided and the religious arguments of the dissenters and Molokans was forgotten about. In conclusion, this discussion did cause some of the [Orthodox] Old Believer families to join the protestants or the Molokans. This was related to us personally in Tulch. .

253. The Eastern and Russian Orthodox hold the index finger, middle finger and thumb together to signify the Trinity, with the ring and little finger tucked into the palm to signify the dual nature of Christ. The Western Roman Catholic hold their fingers differently. This is a major issue and controversy between the two factions of the ecumenical church.

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