The Russians' Secret - Book Review (Part 4 of 6)

Russian Nonconformity and “Unofficial” Religion in Russia

Chapter 8 of The Russians' Secret (hereafter TRS) is entitled “Nonconformity” and the theme itself is central to the book with the actual words “nonconformity” or “nonconformist(s)” appearing over 30 times throughout the book. The authors champion various Russian religious sects. For a more objective and impartial story of Russian nonconformity and “unofficial” religion in Russia, I recommend Russian Nonconformity (1950) by Serge Boshakoff, which proved to be a helpful resource for reviewing TRS (and it is ironically also found in the TRS bibliography). From an Orthodox perspective, schism from the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church cannot be justified, but it is important to understand why most of these small religious sects began with their struggles for religious freedom and social justice in Russia. In the words of Bolshakoff:

The Nonconformists are those who refuse to conform to the State-prescribed pattern of religion, and they are by definition champions of religious freedom. . . . 

Russian Nonconformity, broadly speaking, was a protest against State intervention in the affairs of the Church. . . . 

Russian Nonconformity, however, is not merely a protest against State intervention in the affairs of the Church; it is also a protest against the secularization of the Church and the clerical support of social injustice. (Russian Nonconformity [Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1950], 13, 17, 18).

Strigolniki being thrown into the Volkhov River from a bridge in 1375

The Russians' Secret - Book Review (Part 3 of 6)

Russian Orthodox Saints and Sources 

In relation to the authors contentious thesis regarding the conversion of Rus' (discussed in Part 2 of this series), it is ironic that the book contains so many positive references to canonized Orthodox saints, although the authors almost never identify them as such. The Russians' Secret (hereafter TRS) begins with the early mission among the Slavs in 862 by Cyril (826-869) and Methodius (815-885), both Byzantine Orthodox Saints. With the help of Clement of Ohrid, a Bulgarian Orthodox saint, they created the alphabet now used by several hundred million Slavs. The authors observed, 

Without a doubt, two Greek Christians, John Chrysostom and Basil of Caesarea had much to do with the Russian’ feeling for the poor. The writings of both men, translated to Slavonic soon after the time of Cyril and Methodius, got widely circulated in Russia (p. 21). 

The uninformed reader would have no idea that these Christians are all canonized saints of the Orthodox Church. 

Martyrs and Passion-Bearers Saints Boris and Gleb

After Prince Vladimir accepted Orthodoxy as the official religion of Kievan Rus' was the murder of his younger sons, Boris and Gleb, in 1015-1019. Pacifism being so important to the Anabaptist/Quaker traditions, the authors call special attention to Boris and Gleb: “The fact that Christ never fought back deeply impressed Russian believers,” (p. 24) and “the murder of the two boys and their nonresistant response shook Russia to its foundations” (p. 26). To clarify, Boris and Gleb were not merely “Russian believers” but the first saints canonized in Kievan Rus' after the Orthodox Christianization of the country, being known as Strastoterptsy (Passion-Bearers) precisely because they did not resist evil. While the authors note the execution of Tsar Nicholas II (r. 1894-1917) and his family, it is not with the same admiration they expressed for Boris and Gleb earlier in the book, even though the Royal Family, like Boris and Gleb, are also canonized as Passion-Bearers. In TRS, “Christian” is always in quotation marks when referring to Orthodox emperors, Tsar Nicholas being the last Russian emperor.