Beglopopovtsy ( rus, беглопоповцы, p=bʲɪɡləpɐˈpoft͡sɨ, "followers of runaway
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...
s") was one of the denominations among the
Popovtsy
The Popovtsy ( rus, поповцы, p=pɐˈpoft͡sɨ, "priested ones") or Popovschina (russian: поповщина) were from the 17th century one of the two main factions of Old Believers, along with the Bezpopovtsy ("priestless ones").
Historica ...
, who belonged to the
Old Believers.
Since none of the bishops joined the Old Believers movement after the
schism of 1666-67 in the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
, except bishop
Paul of Kolomna
Paul of Kolomna (Павел Коломенский) was a 17th-century Russian prelate and martyr in the view of the Old Believers.
The son of a rural clergyman, he was born in the village of Kolychevo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. He entered monastic ...
, who was executed, ordained priests of the old rite would have soon become extinct. Two responses appeared to this dilemma: the “priestist” Old Believers (поповцы (
Popovtsy
The Popovtsy ( rus, поповцы, p=pɐˈpoft͡sɨ, "priested ones") or Popovschina (russian: поповщина) were from the 17th century one of the two main factions of Old Believers, along with the Bezpopovtsy ("priestless ones").
Historica ...
)) and the non-priestist Old Believers (беспоповцы (
Bespopovtsy)).
The Beglopopovtsy movement formed in the late 17th century and included priests, who had "deserted" the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
(hence, the name "beglopopovtsy", meaning "with deserted priests"). They settled in the
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...
region beyond the
Volga River
The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchme ...
(along the
Kerzhenets and
Belbash Rivers), around
Starodub
Starodub ( rus, links=no, Староду́б, p=stərɐˈdup, ''old oak'') is a town in Bryansk Oblast, Russia, on the Babinets River (the Dnieper basin), southwest of Bryansk. Population: 16,000 (1975).
History
Starodub has been known ...
,
Chernigov
Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within t ...
(modern ''Chernihiv'',
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
), and on the
Vetka Island (''see
Vetkovskoye soglasie''). In the second half of the 18th century, the Beglopopovtsy formed a group at the
Rogozhskoye cemetery
Rogozhskoe cemetery ( rus, Рогожское кладбище, p=rɐˈɡoʂskəjɪ ˈkladbʲɪɕːɪ) in Moscow, Russia, is the spiritual and administrative center of the largest Old Believers denomination, called the Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Chu ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
.
At the beginning, all priestist Old Believers were beglopopovtsy. They represented the more moderate conservative opposition, who strove to continue religious and church life as it had existed before the reforms of Nikon. They recognized ordained priests from the new style Russian Orthodox church who joined the Old Believers and who had denounced the Nikonian reforms. In 1846 the priestist Old Believers convinced Amvrosii (Popovich, 1791-1863) deposed
Greek Orthodox
The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...
bishop (who had been removed under Turkish pressure) to become an Old Believer and to consecrate three Russian Old Believers priests as bishops. In 1859, the number of Old Believer bishops in Russia reached ten, and they established their own episcopate, the so-called
Belokrinitskaya hierarchy {{Unreferenced, date=November 2021
Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy (russian: Белокриницкая иерархия) is the first full and stable church hierarchy created by the Old Believers.
The Orthodox Old-Rite Church (in earlier times called ...
.
Not all priestist Old Believers recognized this new established hierarchy, which provoked a schism within the priestist Old Believers. For various reasons many could not accept this so-called
Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy {{Unreferenced, date=November 2021
Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy (russian: Белокриницкая иерархия) is the first full and stable church hierarchy created by the Old Believers.
The Orthodox Old-Rite Church (in earlier times called ...
. From this time priestist Old Believers became divided into two groups: those who accepted the Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy and those who did not. These dissenters were called beglopopovtsy and obtained their own hierarchy only in the 1920s, the so-called
Novozybkovskaya Hierarchy or
Russian Old-Orthodox Church
The Russian Old Orthodox Church (russian: Русская Древлеправославная Церковь) is an Eastern Orthodox Church of the Old Believers tradition, born of a schism within the Russian Orthodox Church (''raskol'') during t ...
. From that moment the denomination beglopopovtsy no longer existed and the term became rarely used.
References
{{reflist
Religious organizations established in the 17th century
Old Believer movement
17th-century establishments in Russia