Russia's Old Believers preserve traditional ways of worship

(23 Jul 2017) LEADIN:
Russian Old Believers, descendants of dissident Christians who split from the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th century, are preserving their traditions which date back to medieval times.
STORYLINE:
The bells call the faithful to church.
This is no an ordinary Sunday service, these are Russia's Old Believers, sometimes also called 'Old Ritualists' who have come to Malinovsky skete (monastery) from all over the region to attend worship.
The Old Believers sect, which rejects many trappings of modern life, split from the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th century in protest at a number of reforms to Russian Orthodoxy.
Many of the changes were minor - the number of fingers used in the sign of the cross, the spelling of Jesus' name, how many times "hallelujah" was said in prayer - but the Old Believers considered any change heretical and refused to go along.
Father Alexander, rector of the Malinovsky skete, says Russia was being infused with Western values, which Old Believers rejected.
"The separation of the church began in Russia. It was because they wanted to distance the country from the beliefs of their ancestors. The religion that was in Russia started to be uncomfortable for some, most likely, for Western Europe. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was raised under Western education and had Western teachers," says Father Alexander.
Today there are estimated 1 to 2 million living Old Believers in Russia.
The Russian Orthodox Church excommunicated them and the czars persecuted them. Many left Russia or moved to the Siberian taiga (forest) where they could pass the old rites down to their children in peace.
But the Russian revolution forced many remaining Old Believers out for good when the Soviets tried to squash their religion and collective farms threatened their livelihood.
Father Alexander says Russian Orthodox Church and Old Believers have tolerable, but not yet friendly relations, because the pain of wrongdoings are still fresh in the memory of Old Believers.
"They came and made a mess in our place, our house and then they themselves forgave us for that. Well, now our relations (with Russian Orthodox church) are not bad, they are tolerable," says Father Alexander.
Even though Malinovsky skete is hard to reach, people still come here from all over Nizny Novgorod region every weekend.
On a busy Sunday there would be dozens praying, but during weekdays the service would be attended by only one or two believers, as the skete is far from big cities.
Mother Tatyana, an Old Believer nun, needs help getting to the church due to her old age, but she is a strong believer and would not miss a Sunday service.
Tatyana still keeps up with all the ancient traditions, and carries her prayer beads with her wherever she goes.
"These prayer beads, this is a weapon against dark forces, against the devil. All monks walk with these in their possession. You pray with it during the service, at the dining table. Wherever you are it always has to be in your hands," explains Mother Tatyana.
Father Alexander demonstrates the unique way which Old Believers make the sign of the cross, using two fingers, whilst Russian Orthodox faithful use three.
But not everyone is so lucky to have the health to travel so far to receive the blessing of an Old Believer priest.
For this reason, Father Alexander takes a few hours after the service to visit those elderly members of the congregation who cannot make the long journey.
Elderly parishioner Evgeniya greets him with a traditional song.
The life at the skete is simple - gardening, praying and taking care of church's territory.

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