The Russians' Secret - Book Review (Part 5 of 6)

There is much to clarify and add when reading The Russians' Secret (hereafter TRS) narrative about Russian nonconformist religious sects. Hopefully a more complete historical overview which enumerates the heresies, incompatibilities, and divisions among Russian nonconformist groups will help TRS readers to abandon both their affinity for Russian nonconformity and aversion for Russian Orthodoxy inherited from the book by Hoover and Petrov. 

Khlysty and the Skoptsy

Both the Khlysty and the Skoptsy were among the nonconformist “People of God” religious sect in Russia. The Khlysts or Khlysty (in Russian literally “whips”) were an underground “Spirit Christian” sect which emerged in Russia in the 17th century. TRS notes some of the strange history of the Khlysts. They believed in direct communication with the Holy Spirit and practiced the ritual of “rejoicing”, which was accompanied with dancing and charismatic manifestations like “speaking in tongues” or uttering unintelligible gibberish. The sect's founder, Danilo Filippov, “proclaimed himself God Sabaoth” (Bulshakoff, 83) or was said to have become a “living god” after the Lord of Hosts descended upon him. He delivered twelve commandments to his disciples, which forbade (among other things) sexual intercourse, drinking and swearing. Thus, the followers' replaced the wine of Holy Communion with water. Filippov's successor acquired a following of twelve apostles, along with a woman who was given the appellation of “Mother of God.” TRS authors note  that upon conversion believers allegedly received the “Spirit of Christ” or the spirit of a Saint such as  the “Spirit of Mary” or the Spirit of Peter, of John, of Timothy (p. 99). 

Ecstatic ritual of Khlysts

The first historical references to the Khlysty are found in the writings of the Old Believers, who condemned the Khlysty as heretics. Indeed, the Khlysty rejected the Holy Trinity as three persons, but rather as three powers or modes. Also, they believed that Jesus Christ was not truly God but that God merely inhabited Jesus by his spirit. St. Dimitry of Rostov wrote against them in An Investigation of the Schismatic Faith (c. 1709). In the 18th century, doctrinal changes led to schisms, and by the 1970s, only a few isolated groups remained. The Khlysts also had a significant influence on other sectarian movements of TRS, such as the Skoptsy, Dukhobors and Molokans.

TRS does not mention the Skoptsy by name, but the book does name Andrey Blokhin, a member of the sectarian group within the larger Spiritual Christianity movement. The Skoptsy referred to themselves as the “White Doves.” They believed that the true gospel of Jesus Christ included the practice of castration, that Christ himself had been castrated, and that his example had been followed by the Apostles and the early Christians. The maintained that they were fulfilling Christ's counsel of perfection in Matthew 19:12 and 18:8–9. The operations of removing the male and female anatomy were generally performed by elders. During the operation, they said the phrase “Christ is risen!” According to the Skoptsy, Christ's Apostles and the Early Church practiced wholesale castration, but this great mystery was abandoned after St. Constantine the Great allegedly corrupted the Church. TRS explains the story of Sasha Golitsyn's encounter with the Skoptsy as follows: 

[Andrey Blokhin] had castrated himself. Was this the answer? Andrey convinced Kondratiy that it was, and when Kondratiy could not muster the courage to do it himself, Andrey did it for him. 

Martin Rodyonov, another young friend learned of it and followed their example. So did Aleksandr Shilov, a boy from Tula who became a powerful promoter of this “real way to holiness.” To him, and to the other young men, the Gospel suddenly became clear. Castration was Christ’s “baptism of fire,” the only way to “flee youthful lusts.” It was what John did to Christ in the Jordan when the white dove came down and what Christ did to all his disciples except Judas who “kept the bag” and betrayed him.

Calling themselves Belye Golubi (white dove people) Kondratiy, Aleksandr and their friends found their way through Russia, converting thousands of men and women to their ways. . . .

To what extent Sasha Golitsyn became a follower of the Belye Golubi we may never know. But his life remained permanently changed. He gave away his private wealth. Even though he had much to do he visited the sick, incognito, in the evenings. Still single, he never again showed the slightest interest in marriage and became a thoughtful, serious, and active promoter of Christ. (p. 100)

An important point not mentioned in TRS is that Kondratiy Selivanov was reconciled to the Orthodox Church when he died in 1832, being one hundred years old.  

Molokans and Dukhobors

According to TRS, “Spirit Christians” was a “generic term” which: 

...came to include the Molokans, the Dukhobors, Communist Christians and other similar groups. In many ways they resembled the Old Believers. But the Spirit Christians were yet further removed from Eastern Orthodoxy and closer to the Quakers and Anabaptists in practice. (p. 95).

Dukhobortsy (Spirit Wrestlers) or the Dukhobors were a Spiritual Christian Russian sect which was known for their pacifism and tradition of oral history and hymn-singing. They rejected the Orthodox priesthood and associated Holy Mysteries, believing that personal revelation is more important than the Bible. They derived their doctrines from a number of sources, including heterodox Protestantism, Freemasonry, and Khlysty teachings. The Khlysty impact became evident on the Dukhobors in the messianic claims of some of their leaders, such as Hilarion Pobirokhin who proclaimed himself “God the Son” (Bolshakoff, 100). TRS notes the how the Dukhobors' and Leo Tolstoy's views became very similar, particularly Tolstoy's anarchist denial of the state was assimilated by the Dukhobors. 

With the Khlysty they rejected the Holy Trinity, tending to have unitarian and pantheistic theology at the same time. According to them, Jesus Christ was an ordinary man who was merely inspired by the word of God, and whose Spirit continued to live with the sectarians. Like Tolstoy, they denied the bodily resurrection. It was for good reason that in 1842, “Tsar Nikolai put a new law into effect that classed all Spirit Christians (both groups of Molokans and Dukhobors) among 'the most harmful sects,'” says TRS authors (p. 108).

Molokan men, 1870s

The Molokans arose in Russia together with the Doukhobors and Subbotniks (Sabbatarians). The Molokans have been compared to certain kinds of Protestants (such as Anabaptists and Baptists) since they reject the Orthodox priesthood and icons, have their own presbyters, hold the Bible as their main guide and interpret the Holy Mysteries “spiritually.” They are thus in many ways similar to the Quakers. However, it should also be noted that some Molokans revered saints and icons, while others (like the Ikonobortsy, “icon-wrestlers”) rejected these practices. Similarly, some Molokans built chapels and kept sacraments while others rejected them. Speaking of Molokans by the name of the “Evangelical Christians” in southern Russia, Bolshakoff observes, 

They are closer to the Orthodox Church than any other Russian sectarians. They have the churching of women, baptize by the triple immersion, confess sinners with the reading of the prayer of absolution, possess the fixed form for the Lord's Supper, anoint the sick with oil, pray for the Government, serve in the armed forces and are loyal citizens. They elect and ordain their ministers. (p. 111)

In 1833 a schism took place among the Molokans between the Postoyaniye (Constants), or the Old Molokans, and the newly formed Pryguny (Jumpers) who believed they experienced an outpouring of the Holy Spirit like charismatic Pentecostals. The Pryguny were called “Jumpers” (also called Skakuny or “Leapers”), because they prayed in homes until “the Spirit fell” and they would “prophesy in unknown tongues, … leap and praise God” (TRS, 107). They also re-established the Jewish Feasts and some of these Molokan Jumpers called themselves “New Israelites.” 

As described in TRS, eschatological sects of Molokans also developed. A charismatic leader of the Jumpers featured in TRS, Maxim Rudometkin traveled from village to village, preaching repentance and the heresy of Chiliasm, the coming thousand year kingdom of Christ upon earth. In 1854, Rudometkin was crowned by the community as the “King of spirits.” A young Spirit Christian named Anakey Ignatovich Borisov was another leader of the Jumpers. He announced, “Christ was coming back! … And the Spirit says we should prepare to meet him in the east, at Ararat” (TRS, 107). The Jumpers who survived the Bolshevik Revolution became subsumed among the Pentecostals. As is the case with other sectarian groups, “The absence of a definite creed, continuous bickering and struggles among the numerous Molokan factions, failure of the leadership, and sectarian narrow-mindedness nearly finished the Molokans” (Bolshakoff, 111).

Western/Protestant Influences 

Finally, TRS follows groups which are very close to Western Protestantism in doctrine and practice. Believing agriculture to be the backbone of the Russian economy, in 1763 Catherine II (“the Great”) issued a Manifesto inviting Europeans to farm Russia's unoccupied agricultural lands. Moravian settlers established communities under Catherine's policy, and large numbers of immigrants, mostly Lutherans and Roman Catholics from southern Germany, Switzerland and Prussia followed. Many colonists in Russia belonged to smaller Protestant sects, such as Mennonites and Nazarenes. TRS explains how Catherine “the Great” promised the Mennonites “freedom from military service and free land!” (p. 79).

German Mennonites in Ukraine and Lutherans in the Baltic coast started a revival that became known as “Shtundists”, which led to the formation of churches composed of baptized adult believers. The Shtundists (spelled “Stundist” in TRS) were the predecessors of several Evangelical Protestant groups in Ukraine and across the former Soviet Union. Much like the Baptists or the Anabaptists, the Shtundists baptize only adults, and re-baptize those who were baptized as infants or children. The ecumenical perspective of TRS authors is undeniable when they write:

[T]he Stundist movement (the word Stundist itself came into common use among Russians), spread south and east. . . . Seekers of all descriptions—Lutheran and Catholic colonists, Old Believers, Don Cossacks, Dukhobors, Orthodox people from all over southern Russia, even some Muslims and Jews—became one in faith and one in baptism with Christ (p. 121).

The Shtundist “revival” led to the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists. Quoting Russian Baptist pastor Georgi Vins, we read in TRS: “The history of the Evangelical Christian and Baptist Church in Russia, except for a short period of time, has been the history of a people doomed to lifelong suffering” (p. 5). It should be noted that the persecution of these Protestants was during the Soviet era. Initially, when the Soviets came to power, the Russian Protestants had their heyday as Baptist missionaries and were encouraged by the Soviets in order to weaken the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church. Later the Soviet Congress had passed a resolution limiting religious propaganda. 

In 1944, the Union of Evangelical Christians and the Russian Baptist Union became the Union of the Evangelical Christians-Baptists. Pentecostals were later added, as Bolshakoff relates: “The Pentecostals or Spiritual Christians, a loose association uniting all kinds of sects from the Jumpers and Rollers to the Dukhobors, Judaizers, and Khlysty, which all claim to be guided by the Spirit of God, accepted the invitation” (Bolshakoff, 121). In the 1950s, some Russian Baptists were unhappy that church leaders were compliant with regime's atheist policies. Because of this, some started to express the view that the church should be separate from the influence of the state. In 1961, a new movement started, subsequently called the “Unregistered Baptists” who were persecuted by the Soviet regime. 

Inside the main Baptist church in Moscow during the Soviet era.

Due to the TRS authors' Mennonite/Quaker backgrounds, they may have been disinterested in other nonconformist religious groups in Russia. There were also nonconformist Catholics such as the Ruthenian Uniates and Russian Roman Catholics. The Ruthenian Uniate Church was in the territory of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Created in 1595/1596 by Orthodox clergy who subscribed to the Union of Brest, the Ruthenian Uniates' allegiances and jurisdiction was under the Papacy. Bolshakoff argues: “The Uniates, as a group opposed in loyalty to the Russian Church, should be recognized as real Nonconformists although they retained much of Orthodoxy in rite and belief” (Bolshakoff, 141). Russian Catholicism as a nonconformist group movement began with the reappearance of the Jesuits in Russia. In 1815, the government expelled the Jesuits from both Russian capitals, and five years later they were expelled from the empire altogether. 

Russian Orthodoxy as True Nonconformity 

But the ultimate example of nonconformity in Russia was the Russian Orthodox Church under the atheistic Soviet regime. During the 20th century era when Marxist-Leninism was the “official” state religion in the Soviet Union, the Orthodox Church was largest nonconformist body in relation to the established atheism. 

Patriarch Tikhon (Bellavin; 1865–1925) of Moscow

The struggle against the Bolsheviks began when Patriarch Tikhon (Bellavin; 1865–1925) of Moscow was the bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church who prepared a plan of resistance to the Bolsheviks and excommunicated all those Orthodox who cooperated with them. Another bishop of the Russian Church, Benjamin (Kazansky; 1873–1922), Metropolitan of Petrograd and Gdov was a hieromartyr under Soviet anti-religious persecution. Due to his role in leading nonviolent resistance to Soviet anti-religious legislation, Metropolitan Benjamin was executed by a firing squad of the Soviet secret police. Those Orthodox who rejected cooperation with the Soviet government included the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), the Metropolia (now commonly known as the Orthodox Church in America or OCA), the Russian Exarchate of the Patriarchate of Constantinople for Western Europe, and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Church. 

With such an emphasis on the themes of nonconformity and persecution in TRS, its readers would do well to learn about some of the untold millions of martyrs of the Russian Orthodox Church who were persecuted during the Bolshevik Revolution and Soviet era. Consider several of these saints whom the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad commemorates regularly in their services: 

[T]he holy Hieromartyrs and Confessors: Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow; Vladimir of Kiev, Benjamin and Joseph of Petrograd, Peter of Krutitsa, Cyril of Kazan, Agathangel of Yaroslavl, Andronicus of Perm, Hermogenes of Tobolsk, the priests John, John, Peter, and Philosoph, and all the new hieromartyrs and confessors of the Russian Church . . . the holy Right-believing Passion-bearers: Tsar Martyr Nicholas, Tsaritsa-Martyr Alexandra, the Martyred Crown Prince Alexis, and the Royal Martyrs Olga, Tatiana, Maria, and Anastasia; and the holy nun-martyrs: Grand Duchess Elizabeth and Nun Barbara, and all the New Martyrs of Russia. (The Unabbreviated Horologion, [Jordanville, NY: The Printshop of St. Job of Pochaev]) 

Again, the total number of Christian victims under the Soviet regime has been estimated to range from around 12 to 20 million, predominately Russian Orthodox Christians. The number of Orthodox Christians martyred in Russia is exponentially more than those in all of the persecuted nonconformist groups combined, even more than those Christian martyrs of Ante-Nicene Church under Roman persecution.