Raskol

Uprisings and persecution

The case brought by the defenders of the old practices found many supporters among different strata of the Russian society. Some of the low-ranking clergy protested against the increase of feudal oppression coming from the church leaders in the form of monastic serfdom, while some members of the high-ranking clergy joined the Raskol movement due to their discontent over Nikon's authoritative aspirations and the arbitrariness of his church reforms. The unification of such heterogeneous forces against what had become the "official" church could be explained by the somewhat contradictory ideology of the Raskol movement. A certain idealization and conservation of traditional values and old traditions, a critical attitude towards innovations, the conservation of national originality, and the acceptance of martyrdom in the name of the old faith were intertwined with criticism of the traditional practices of feudalism and serfdom. Different social strata were attracted to different sides of this ideology.