We continue to publish stories from the elders of large Oregon Old Believer clans. In this issue of the magazine “Old Believer” we present the stories of a well-known and respected Old Believer from Oregon, Grigory Antonovich Melkomukov (born in 1939), who was initially a priestless member of the Chasovennye Denomination, but in the 1980s he came to the conclusion that salvation cannot be achieved without accepting the priesthood. He shares his memories of how a group of Old Believers from Oregon, including himself, searched the world for trusted priesthood and found the Old Orthodox hierarchy in Romania, in the city of Braila. This article presents Grigory’s childhood impressions of moving from the city of Tsitsihar, where he was born, to the villages of Romanovka and Medyany, stories about his parents, about life in Manchuria (now northeastern China) and about relationships with the Chinese people. He remembers his father, who was taken away after the Soviet troops entered Manchuria (August 1945), and whom he never saw again. Follows his further fate. He talks about leaving China for Hong Kong, moving to Brazil and living there, and his early years in the United States, first on the East Coast and then in Oregon. He touches on the topic of the Vietnam War. Grigory Antonovich had minimal education (three years) but became a sought-after maintenance mechanic. For Professor Richard Morris and me, Grigory Antonovich Melkomukov was one of the main informants for 20 years.

Keywords: Old Believer, Oregon, USA, search for priesthood, oral stories.

For citation
Morris T.B. Living Life is not a Walk Through the Field (Memoirs of Grigory Antonovich Melkomukov). Old Believer, 2026, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 5–23. https://doi.org/10.65324/ob011

Fyodor Efimovich Melnikov (1876–1960), a scholar, theologian, and chronicler of the Old Believer Church, lived an eventful life. His active biography coincided with several important stages in the development of Russian society and its distinctive component, the Old Believers. It’s worth noting that in many cases he was not only a witness but also an active participant in the historical events of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His journalistic, publishing and educational activities determined the transformations of the “Golden Era” of the adherents of “ancient piety” (1905–1917). However, despite such public prominence a number of moments in his life remain remain understudied. For example, even F.E. Melnikov’s date of birth remains controversial due to the absence of direct sources. The least known period of his biography is the last three decades of his life, when he was forced to flee “beyond the Dniester,” to Romania. There, together with Bishops Innokenty (Usov) and Siluyan (Kravtsov), he continued to defend the principles of the Old Believer Church and found himself at the epicenter of the tumultuous events associated with it. Continuing his polemical and apologetic work, the scholar compiled a “Brief History of the Old Orthodox (Old Believer) Church,” which was published only half a century later. In this context, this work summarizes original expeditionary and archival data regarding the facts of Fyodor Efimovich Melnikov’s stay in Romania. Many of the narratives are clarified, and a number of events are introduced into academic circulation. Others are known from local historiography, which is difficult for modern Russian scholars to access. The presentation is presented from a comparative perspective, incorporating general trends of the Romania’s development, as well as within the Old Believer community, one of the most powerful and ancient diasporas of the Russian people.
Keywords: Old Believers, Lipovans, Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy, F.E. Melnikov, Bessarabia, Romania, Northens Sea Black’s region.

For citation
Prigarin A.A. The Romanian Period in the Biography of Fyodor Efimovich Melnikov (1931–1960): Summarizing New Data. Old Believer, 2026, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 24–52. https://doi.org/10.65324/ob012

The article examines the persecution of the inhabitants of the Kurenev Old Believer monasteries by local authorities, central government, and the official Church during the 1850s–1860s, aimed at their gradual dissolution. It is noted that after the death of the Emperor Nicholas I, changes began to emerge in the domestic policy of the Russian Empire, and, by the late 1850s, the state adopted a number of relatively moderate measures toward adherents of the Old Rite. Nevertheless, the persecution of the Kurenev monasteries not only continued, but also became more systematic and consistent. Particular attention is given to the appearance of the Bishop Varlaam (Rymarev) in the Podolia Province and the subsequent investigation into his episcopal activities. It is established that the fate of the Kurenev monasteries largely depended on the decisions of the secular authorities, since the clergy of the ruling Church were prohibited from taking coercive actions against the Old Believers. The study also addresses the activities of former Old Believers who had renounced the ancient faith and who actively opposed their former church members. The measures undertaken by the government failed to yield the desired results, in part because the local district police did not provide adequate or timely support to representatives of the official Church, as they no longer viewed the Old Believers as a threat to the interests of the Russian state. A significant role in securing the loyalty of local officials was played by numerous bribes offered by the Old Believers to authorities at various administrative levels. The article also analyzes the activities of missionary committees established in the region, including those in the Olgopol district.

Keywords: Podolia Province, Belokrinitsa Hierarchy, Orthodox Church, Kurenev monasteries, Old Believers, persecution, bribery.

For citation
Taranets S.V. Persecution of the Kurenev Old Believers by Local Authorities, Central Government, and the Official Church in the 1850s–1860s. Old Believer, 2026, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 53–82. https://doi.org/10.65324/ob013

The history of the Old Believers in the second half of the 20th century is a topic that has only recently become the subject of closer attention by researchers. The most important (and sometimes the only) source on the history of Old Believer communities in the 1940s and 1950s are the reports of the Commissioners for religious Cults submitted to the Council for Religious Cults under the Council of Ministers of the USSR. At least in part, these documents allow us to shed additional light on the religious situation of that time. The Council for Religious Cults was established in 1944 and lasted until 1965. The article publishes archival documents concerning information about foreign Old Believer communities in the 1940s, the position of the Old Believers in the territory of the Baltic republics liberated by the Red Army in the 1940s and 1950s. Another group of documents is related to the idea of creating The All-Russian (All-Union) Council of the Old Believer Church, which has no spiritual hierarchy, the idea that has never been realized.

Keywords: Old Believers, foreign Old Believers, Old Believers in the Baltic States, Old Believer communities, Council for Religious Cults, religious policy in the USSR.

For citation
Kozhurin K.Ya. Foreign and Baltic Old Believer communities in 1940–1950. Old Believer, 2026, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 83–105. https://doi.org/10.65324/ob014

The article continues the previously undertaken work on the comprehensive study of the little-known work “Le Raskol”, published in Paris in French in 1859. The main tasks of the researcher were the translation of the book into Russian, a comprehensive analysis of its ideological content and an introduction to the circulation of Russian historiography. The current article examines the sixth chapter of “Le Raskol”, which is devoted to the philosophical foundations of the Old Believer protest. In this chapter, the anonymous author of the book examines the Schism of the Russian Church as a complex socio-political phenomenon. The key thesis of the essay is that the religious conflict of the 17th century was not caused by an accidental combination of circumstances, but became a natural expression of popular protest generated by the current bureaucratic system. The reasons for the aggravation of religious differences are seen not in individual mistakes of the government, but in fundamental contradictions between society and the grassroots bureaucratic apparatus. The author argues that the pursuit of freedom of thought and conscience is a universal phenomenon throughout human history. In the Russian reality, the struggle against the state monopolization of the spiritual sphere has taken the form of religious dissent. In the book, the Schism is interpreted as a spontaneous popular outrage caused by the facts of administrative arbitrariness and capable, in case of further connivance, of transforming into open anti-government opposition. Thus, the current chapter presents the church schism as a symptom of a systemic political crisis, the resolution of which requires a fundamental transformation of the system of relations between the state, the church and society.

Keywords: Old Believers, church schism, Old Belief, Orthodoxy, history of Christianity, church, state, administrative system, officialdom, bureaucratic apparatus.

For citation
Bytko S.S. The Schism. Historical and Critical essay on religious sects in Russia (chapter 6). Old Believer, 2026, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 106–123. https://doi.org/10.65324/ob015

This article examines the ecclesiastical judicial system of the Old Believer Church of the Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, using specific court cases involving clergy as examples. The article focuses on the decision-making mechanisms of the ecclesiastical court and the functioning of the ecclesiastical governance system. Specific examples (the cases of Archdeacon Tavrion Demidov, Bishop Mikhail Semenov, and other clergy) are used to analyze the work of the Holy Council as the highest organ of ecclesiastical justice. The research source base consists of documents from the collections of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts, the Manuscript Department of the Russian State Library, and the archive of the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Rus’ of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church. The materials cover the period 1892–1916 and include investigative proceedings, Council resolutions, petitions, and reports. Particular attention is given to the analysis of specific court cases, the procedure for their consideration, and the adoption of final decisions. The study demonstrates that the church court acted consistently and independently, strictly adhering to canons and church legislation. The practical significance of the study lies in the potential use of the findings for studying the history of the Old Believers, church law, and the church administration system of the period under review. The study’s findings may be useful in reconstructing specific trials and studying the biographies of clergy.
Keywords: Church proceedings, Old Believer Church, Consecrated Council, church administration, canon law, church court, old believer.

For citation
Sviridonova A.I. The Cathedral trial of the clergy of the Old Believer Church of the Belokrinitskaya hierarchy of the late 19th — early 20th centuries. Old Believer, 2026, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 124–265. https://doi.org/10.65324/ob016

This annotated index systematizes the court cases of clergy of the Old Believer Church of the Belokrinitsky Hierarchy from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The subject of the study encompasses documents from the Council’s legal proceedings, including investigative proceedings, resolutions of the Consecrated Council, petitions, and reports against clergy. The source database is compiled from the collections of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts (RGADA), the Manuscript Department of the Russian State Library (ORRGL), and the Archive of the Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church (Archive MMiVRROC), as well as materials from a private collection (a book of original decrees), and editions of pre-revolutionary Council resolutions. The materials reflect the activities of the Council Court over a period of more than 20 years (1892–1916). The scientific novelty of this work lies in its systematization of previously disparate materials, allowing for the exploration of decision-making mechanisms in the Old Believer Church. The index can serve as a source for studying the history of the Old Believers, canon law, and the system of church governance during the period under review. The materials can be used to reconstruct specific trials and study the biographies of clergy. A distinctive feature of the index is its alphabetical arrangement of materials by last name.

Keywords: Old Believers, Consecrated Council, Church administration, archival index, canon law, cathedral court.

For citation
Sviridonova A.I. Court cases of the clergy of the Old Believer Church of the Belokrinitskaya Hierarchy of the late 19th — early 20th centuries: an annotated index of sources. Old Believer, 2026, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 266–374. https://doi.org/10.65324/ob017