Old Believer rumors and consents on the territory of the Nizhny Novgorod region. Nizhny Novgorod split Split in the Nizhny Novgorod region

Nizhny Novgorod land was destined to play a very prominent role in the historical drama known as the schism of the Russian Church. Suffice it to mention at least the striking fact that the most prominent ideologists of the “opposing sides”, such as Patriarch Nikon, Archpriest Avvakum, Bishop Pavel Kolomensky, Sergius of Nizhny Novgorod, Alexander Deacon, were all born “within the borders of Nizhny Novgorod”.

Nizhny Novgorod land was destined to play a very prominent role in the historical drama known as the schism of the Russian Church. Suffice it to mention at least the striking fact that the most prominent ideologists of the “opposing sides”, such as Patriarch Nikon, Archpriest Avvakum, Bishop Pavel Kolomensky, Sergius of Nizhny Novgorod, Alexander Deacon, were all born “within the borders of Nizhny Novgorod”. The Old Believer movement affected the Nizhny Novgorod region as soon as it was born, and the descendants of those who once resisted the "anti-Christ power" still live both in Nizhny Novgorod and in the Nizhny Novgorod outback.

Archaeographic and ethnographic expeditions in the Nizhny Novgorod region studied the elements of the book, ritual and everyday culture of the Old Believers, at the same time, immovable objects associated with the history of the Old Believers - sketes, graveyards, holy places - were out of the scope of special studies.

By the beginning of the 1990s. among more than 1,200 monuments of history and culture of the Nizhny Novgorod region, only one architectural monument of the early twentieth century, associated with the Old Believers, was under state protection - St. Nicholas Church in Semenov, and in 1990 the village of Grigorovo, Bolshemurashkinsky district - the birthplace of Archpriest Avvakum included in the list of historical settlements of the Russian Federation.

To a certain extent, this state of affairs was predetermined by the ideology laid down in the legislation on the protection of historical and cultural monuments. In an atheistic state, monuments connected with the history of the spiritual and religious life of the people could fall under the protection of the state only artificially "purified" from their original meaning and spiritual content. Places of traditional pilgrimage, religious shrines, graves of saints and ascetics of piety were not only not protected by law - on the contrary, they were often subjected to deliberate desecration.

It was only in the 1990s that Nizhny Novgorod specialists in the protection of monuments made an attempt to expand the scope of the typology of monuments, adding new (or rather, original) content to them. Not only monuments of religious architecture, but also places of religious worship began to be offered for state protection.

In 1994, on the initiative and order of the Committee for the Protection of the Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the Institute of Manuscripts and Early Printed Books of the Russian Volga Region began work on the study of places sacred to the Old Believers. Then experts, perhaps for the first time, realized the urgent need to save from oblivion and protect from the onset of the ubiquitous "economic activity" that which constitutes a unique, irreplaceable part of Russian culture. The result of the work begun was the certification of Old Believer sketes, cemeteries and revered graves in the Semenovsky district.

The main reason for attracting this or that object to the study was a living tradition of pilgrimage that continues to this day. To the places of the former sketes of Olenevsky, Komarovsky, Sharpansky, to the graves of Sofontiy, Lotiy, Manefa and other ascetics of the old faith, recognized as saints, the Old Believers still come to worship and perform services both from the surrounding villages and from various regions of Russia, up to to Siberia.

To date, only the first stage of the research program has been carried out, which is designed for several years. The result of the first stage was the compilation of passports and the adoption of state protection of 14 places associated with the history of the Old Believers. All of them are located not far from each other, between the Olenevsky and Komarovsky sketes, mainly in the north-west direction from the city of Semenov in the vicinity of the village of Larionovo of the Malozinovievskaya rural administration. It was here, in the remote Kerzhensky forests, that representatives of noble families fled, who did not accept Nikon's reforms and founded the first skete settlements. Here at the end of the XVII century. the cathedrals of the Kerzhensky fathers were held, at which the teachings of Archpriest Avvakum were discussed, especially questions about the reception of fugitive priests and self-immolation.

The history of each Old Believer skete is legendary and dramatic. Two of the most famous sketes, Olenevsky and Komarovsky, survived periods of almost complete desolation under the Nizhny Novgorod bishop Pitirim, and then under P.I. Melnikov, were finally abolished only after the revolution.

Olenevsky Skete, according to legend, was founded in the 15th century. the monks of the Zheltovodsky monastery ruined by Ulu-Makhmet, who accompanied Macarius in his procession from Zhovti Vody to Unzha. It was here that a deer appeared to the hungry travelers through the prayers of the monk (hence the name of the skete). Olenevsky skete was Beglopopovsky. After 1737 (Pitirim’s persecution), only the remnants of the Olenevsky Skete survived, but since 1762, after the Decree of Catherine II on allowing the Old Believers to return to Russia, the population of the Skete quickly increased, the Skete became one of the largest and most famous on Kerzhents. At the beginning of the XIX century. the skete consisted of 14 women's cloisters, 5 chapels and 9 prayer rooms1. By decree of the Nizhny Novgorod provincial government of June 1, 1834, a plan was drawn up for the Olenevsky skete with the designation of monasteries and cells. In total, at that time, 432 male and female souls lived in the skete. The plan shows 6 old cemeteries and one functioning one at that time2. Since 1838, the Olenevsky skete, like many others, has been called a village in official papers, but continues to be an Old Believer monastery. In 1853-54, according to the "Report" P.I. Melnikov, there were 8 prayer houses, 18 monasteries and 17 "orphan" houses3, the inhabitants of which did not belong to the community and were fed from their household, and during the work of the Nizhny Novgorod Fair they collected donations for the skete from Old Believer merchants in Nizhny Novgorod.

Fulfilling the order of Emperor Nicholas I of March 1, 1853 on the destruction of sketes in the Semyonovsky district and the order of the Minister of Internal Affairs to move the inhabitants to one skete, the Nizhny Novgorod authorities appointed the resettlement of the Olenevsky skete ("up to 100 persons") in one Ulangersky skete4.

A part of the Olenev skitnits moved to the city of Semyonov and formed monasteries in city houses. So, mother Margarita, the abbess of the Anfisin monastery (founded in the Olenevsky skete by Anfisa Kolycheva, a relative of St. Philip the Metropolitan), who had connections with the Moscow Old Believers, temporarily arranged her monastery in the house of Lavrenty Bulganin. Although in the official reports on the state of the schism in the Semyonovsky district for 1857, the Olenevsky skete is indicated as “former”, nevertheless, the priests of the city of Semenov noted in their reports that many sketeers of the abolished skete live “at the place of their former registry”5.

The main shrine of the Olenevsky Skete was four old cemeteries with the graves of martyrs, which were a place of worship for pilgrims and pilgrims at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. According to the memories local residents, even after the revolution Olenevskaya Old Believer community visited: mother Sophia and mother Kosiyaniya from Gorodets, "Sasovo old women" Aksinya and Tatiyana and many others.

The former Olenevsky skete became the basis of the village of Bolshoe Olenevo, which deserves special attention as the only settlement that still exists in the Semenovsky district, which arose on the site of the former skete monasteries.

The building of the village basically repeats the layout of the streets and the location of the cloisters of the skete, which were built according to the "flock" type and consisted of several log cabins under one roof, with a covered courtyard, closets, cages, and upper rooms. On the sides of the long corridor were clean cells. The corridor led to a spacious, luxuriously decorated prayer room, in which services were performed daily. Some old village houses still retain the layout typical of skete monasteries (for example, the house on the site of the former estate "Evpraksei Staritsa")6.

Local residents point to the remains of three old cemeteries on the territory of the village, as reference points for them are a carved stone tombstone of the 18th century, a mountain ash planted on the grave of the abbess of the Paltsevo monastery, and a dilapidated golbets without a roof. Another cemetery with the graves of nuns and novices of the skete is located half a kilometer northwest of the village.

In the village of B. Olenevo, there are now about 20 residential buildings belonging to local residents. The Old Believers of this village have not had their prayer house for a long time and on major holidays they hold services at the graves left in the old cemeteries. These shrines remain a place of pilgrimage for the Old Believers of Semenovsky and other districts of the Nizhny Novgorod region.

Komarovsky skete is one of the oldest and largest on Kerzhents, the scene of the famous novel by P.I. Melnikov (Pechersky) "In the forests". It was founded in the late 17th - early 18th centuries. 36 km northwest of Semenov, near the villages of Elfimovo and Vasilyevo.

The skete was devastated under Pitirim, but, like Olenevsky, it quickly recovered after the decree of 1762. In the 18th century. in the skete, the Boyarkin Abode was founded, which was originally inhabited by women of noble families. Until the 50s. 19th century in the chapel of the monastery, the Alexander ribbon with an order cross, which belonged to Lopukhin, the uncle of the founder of the monastery, Princess Bolkhovskaya, was preserved as a shrine.

At the beginning of the XIX century. The Komarovsky skete consisted of 35 male and female cloisters, in 1826 - 26, in 1853 - 12 cloisters, 3 chapels and 2 prayer rooms. At the same time, up to 500 skete women and the same number of novices lived in the skete. In the 19th century, after Napoleon's attack on Moscow, the skete was replenished with immigrants from Moscow - members of the Rogozhsky community with their families.

There used to be 8-10 old cemeteries in the skete, of which two are still revered. The first one is on the site of the monastery of Jonah Snub-nosed, an Old Believer writer, a teacher, a "cathedral elder", recognized as a reverend. A miraculous spruce grew here, the bark of which was gnawed in the hope of getting rid of a toothache; at the end of the 19th century, judging by the photograph of M.P. Dmitrieva, if it has already been knocked down8. The second is at the grave of the abbess Manefa (she died in 1816), who was also recognized as a reverend and who gives miraculous healings to all who come. The grave of Manefa's mother was arranged in the form of a stone tomb under a wooden canopy. 3 bells hung on the belfry9.

Taken in the middle of the 19th century. The Nizhny Novgorod authorities attempted to destroy the skete by resettling the Komarovsky skete to Ulanger, was unsuccessful, as well as in relation to the Olenevsky skete. Although in the reports of the Semyonov priests for 1856 the Komarovsky skete is listed as "former", some of its inhabitants did not leave the former settlement and continued to wear monastic robes,10 and the inhabitants of the Manetino monastery found refuge in Semenov. In 1860 the "schismatic cemeteries"11 were restored.

The last abbess of the Komarovo cells, mother Manefa (Matryona Filatyevna), died in 1934 and rests in the Komarovo cemetery.

The traditions of teaching children to read and write, piety, and church singing were preserved in the Komarovsky Skete for centuries12, until the 1930s. 20th century, when the skete was settled. The staff of the Institute managed to record the memoirs of one of the last pupils of the Komarovsky cells, E.A. Krasilnikova (Uren), who was sent to study at the skete at the age of sixteen. It was about 1927. Before her eyes, the skete was dispersed, this time completely. "Mothers Kosiyaniya and Melania continued to teach children to read and write", having moved to the village of Fedotovo.

No less famous was the skete of Smolyany, founded under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (presumably in 1656) by noble families, monks of the Smolensk Bizyukovsky monastery Sergei Saltykov (Empress Anna Ioannovna was from the same Saltykov family on the maternal side), Spiridon and Ephraim Potemkin. In the 2nd half of the XVII century. this skete was the center of priestly consent on Kerzhents. Representatives of noble families who did not recognize Nikon's reforms were removed here.

In 1660, the skete was headed by a former monk of the same Smolensk Bizyukovsky monastery, Dionysius Shuisky, who enjoyed special reverence among the Old Believers, since he had a supply of chrism and holy gifts, consecrated under Patriarch Joseph, and could perform the liturgy and the sacrament of communion. Dionisy's successor in 1690 was the priest Theodosius. He was known for his exceptional eloquence, erudition, and knowledge of Scripture, which attracted new followers to the Old Believers and angered the authorities. In 1694, even before Bishop Pitirim, Theodosius was captured and burned. At the same time, the skete was destroyed.

In the middle of the XIX - early XX centuries. on the site of the Smolyansky skete, the Old Believers revered the following memorial places: 12 gravestones (Dionysius Shuisky, Sergius of Nizhny Novgorod, Trifilius, Dositheus are buried here); wells dug, according to legend, by Sergei Saltykov, Efimy Shuisky, Dionysius Shuisky; a wooden chapel with images that stood in the cemetery of the skete14. Nowadays, in the old cemetery, in the forest, a few meters from the clearing, 22 graves with dilapidated wooden crosses and golbts are preserved. Two pits filled with water may represent the remains of wells.

At the cemetery of another skete - Sharpansky, which existed for 170 years, among the old birches now rises five golbtsy and one dilapidated cross. There is no chapel, on the walls of which the names of the buried were written: "mono-schema-bearer Pavel, Anufry, Savvaty and Abraham." At the women's cemetery there was once a tomb with the inscription "Inoko-schema Praskovya" and 12 graves around. Praskovya was revered as Sofya Alekseevna, who fled to the skete with 12 archers. And although the grave mounds are barely visible, local residents and parishioners of the Semenovskaya Old Orthodox community come to bow to the "Queen's Grave".

The chapel was also destroyed on the grave of Sofontiy, the founder of the Duhovsky monastery near the village of Deyanovo, a consistent follower of Avvakum, one of the most revered saints by the Old Believers16. By 1917, only a wooden cross with an icon remained on the grave of Sophontiy17. The well with holy water, located not far from the grave, was preserved by the Old Believers and revered as having been dug up by Sophontiy himself18.

The "holy well and the graves of the burned" near the village of Osinki were almost completely destroyed by the recently cut clearing. Here, at the direction of the old-timers, during the ruin of Bishop. By Pitirim the cells were lowered into the well with holy gifts, and the skete was burned along with the five martyrs. Their graves have been preserved on the site of the cells, and the healing water of the spring does not freeze even in winter. At different times, attempts were made to destroy the shrine - "tar, fuel oil was poured into the water," but the next day the source again turned out to be crystal clear, because the graves of the burnt martyrs were nearby.

A lot has been destroyed. But the tradition has been preserved, destining for oneself the path of repentance, to bow to the holy relics, "resting under a bushel", following the path described by Dorofei Nikiforovich Utkin - the rector of the Old Believers of the Savior consent of the village of Sysaihi of the Semenovsky trespass:

“Once I moved myself to repentance and set aside the path of repentance. It was May 14, 1911. On Saturday morning, I went to bow to the holy places (which are famous in the Old Believers), and the guidebooks went with me - the village of Korelki Tatiana Aleksandrovna and the village of Volchikhi, the maiden Nastasia Fedorovna. And when he reached the Komarovo cells, he was in the chapel of the abbess Matryona Filatievna (Mother Manefa since 1914), not far from the tomb of the father of the monk schema-monk Jonah, that they bowed and glorified Easter ...

And go further, and made their way to the villages of Elfimovo, Vasilyevo and the village of the Rozhdestvensky Monastery, and reached a place called old Sharpan. There is no housing, only two fences of cemeteries. In the first fence we bow to Parascovia mother nun schema. And in the other fence we bow to the fathers, monks and schemniks Paul, Anufry, Savatiy, Varlaam, Lawrence.

And from here I went and reached Malago Sharpan and that bowed to the mother nun Fevronia, and that we spent the night in her tomb reading the psalter. And then a miracle happens: through the prayer of the worshipers, water comes from the heart of mother Fevronia, which is taken to heal diseases of the soul and body. But we have not received this gift; upon our arrival, the earth was dry, but upon departure it was created damp, so that, putting it on a handkerchief and shaking it, water flowed ...

And having bowed to the place called Smolina ... And having bowed to that, they also saw a pond, and told us about this pond that when there was persecution from Pitirim, then the icons of these inhabitants and the holy mysteries were lowered here; from this pond to the sunny west 40 sazhens - the key and that icons are lowered; another 100 sazhens to the west is a lake, the bells are lowered there. And now there is no housing, only a barn with icons. And then go home.

And by this journey, having somewhat lightened myself, my heart calmed down.

Much has been destroyed, but it is all the more important to preserve what remains. Research conducted by the Institute of Manuscripts and Early Printed Books (expeditionary materials, archival research), photographic fixation of objects and topographical survey of the area formed the basis of the Decree of the Legislative Assembly of the Nizhny Novgorod Region dated 10/17/95 "On the announcement of memorable places associated with the history of the Old Believers, places of pilgrimage and worship of the Old Believers shrines located in the Semenovsky district, places of interest in the Nizhny Novgorod region and historical monuments of regional significance. By this decree, the village of Bolshoye Olenevo (the former Olenevsky skete) was declared a historical inhabited place of the Nizhny Novgorod region, the sketes of Komarovsky, Smolyany, Empty (Old) Sharpan, Novy Sharpan and the "Holy Well with the Graves of the Burnt" near the village of Osinki - places of interest. On the territories of these places, a special regime for the maintenance and use of land has been introduced, which provides for the preservation of the historical landscape and viewpoints of the best perception of historical objects, the prohibition of demolition, relocation, changes in historical monuments, the laying of highways and various communications, branches land plots under construction, as well as a number of other measures aimed at ensuring the safety of revered places. The graves of the ascetics of the old faith - Sophontiy, Trifiliya, Joseph, Nicodamus, Daniel "and with him two thousand sisters and brothers of the burnt", the monk-schemes Agathia, Praskoveya, Thekla were declared monuments of history.

Thus, the holy places for the Old Believers took their rightful place in the historical and cultural landscape of the Nizhny Novgorod region. The first step was taken on the path of state protection of the spiritual and moral shrines of the Russian Old Believers.

1 Melnikov P.I. Report on the current state of the split in the Nizhny Novgorod province // Collection of NSUAC. T.9. N. Novgorod, 1911. S. 113, 131. 2 State Archive of the Nizhny Novgorod Region (hereinafter GANO). F. 829. op. 676. D. 753 (plan of the Olenevsky Skete). 3 Melnikov P.I. Report ... S. 130. 4 GANO. F. 570. Op. 558. D. 107 (1855). L. 1. 5 GANO. F. 570. Op. 558. D. 79 (1857). L. 3; D. 92 (1856). L. 2. 6 GANO. F. 829. Op. 676. D. 753 (estates 41 and 42). 7 Melnikov P.I. Report ... S. 132-133. 8 GANO. Collection of photographs by M.P. Dmitriev. No. 1578. 9 Prilutsky Yu. In the outback. Semenov, 1917. P. 129. According to the description of Yu. Prilutsky, the inscriptions were read on the tomb: "My spiritual sisters and fasting women, do not forget to pray to me always, but when you see my coffin, remember my love and pray to Christ that my spirit will do with the righteous"; "This monument was erected by the zeal of the merchant Philip Yakovlevich Kasatkin, devoted in spirit to the late Moscow First Guild. 1818 (?) June 3 days. Moscow." 10 GANO. F. 570. Op. 558. D. 154 (1854). 11 GANO. F. 570. Op. 558. D. 124 (1860). 12 John, hieroschemamonk. The spirit of wisdom of some schismatic interpretations. 1841. S. 71-83; GANO. F. 570. Op. 558. D. 204 (1850). 13 Arkhangelov S.A. Among the schismatics and sectarians of the Volga region. SPb., 1899. S. 27-28; I-sky N. Historical essays from the life of schismatics in the Nizhny Novgorod limits // Nizhny Novgorod Diocesan Vedomosti. 1866. No. 10. S. 400-401; L-in E. A few words about the schismatics of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese // Orthodox interlocutor. Kazan, 1866. December. S. 264; Melnikov P.I. Historical essays on priesthood. M., 1864. S. 27. 14 Melnikov P.I. Report ... S. 187; Prilutsky Yu. In the outback. P. 115. 15 Melnikov P.I. Report ... S. 107; Prilutsky Yu. In the outback. pp. 120-121. 16 Smirnov P.S. Disputes and divisions in the Russian schism in the first half of the 18th century. St. Petersburg, 1909, p. 35; I-sky N. Historical essays ... // Nizhny Novgorod Diocesan Vedomosti. 1866. No. 11. S. 444; GANO. Col. photos of M.P. Dmitriev. No. 1568, No. 1590. 17 Prilutsky Yu. In the outback. P. 109. 18 Bezobrazov V.P. Semenovsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod province and the schismatic world. From travel memories // Russian Thought. 1883. No. 11. S. 147; GANO. Col. photos of M.P. Dmitriev. No. 1569. 19 Testimonies of local residents (A.N. Lvova, Razvilie village; E.S. Ovchinnikova, Pesochnoye village, etc.). Institute of Manuscript and Early Printed Books, 1994, expeditionary materials. 20 Utkin D.N. My life, my adventure and my legend, and my memories // Materials. Manuscript. Beginning XX century Stored in the library of the Nizhny Novgorod State University, inv. No. 933818.

N.N. Bakhareva, M.M. Belyakova

Study and state protection of places,

related to the history of the Old Believers in the Nizhny Novgorod region

(The world of the Old Believers. Issue 4.

Living Traditions: Results and Perspectives of Comprehensive Research.

Materials of the international scientific conference.

M .: "Russian Political Encyclopedia" (ROSSPEN), 1988. S. 132-139)

Russian Civilization

From the first days of the schism, the Nizhny Novgorod region became one of the strongholds of "ancient piety." This is not surprising if we take into account the fact that the key figures of the schism - the initiator of church "innovations" Patriarch Nikon and his fierce antagonist Archpriest Avvakum - both came from Nizhny Novgorod.

Out of the sphere of influence of the official Orthodox Church, adherents of the "old faith" quickly disintegrated into various directions and currents ("talk", as they said then). The most important difference was between the “priestly” and “non-priestly” sense. The difference was that the former recognized the rank of priesthood and monasticism, the latter did not recognize it, and in their communities the main ones were not priests, but elected persons from among the laity. In turn, other directions and sects spun off from these rumors. As for the Nizhny Novgorod Territory, the Nizhny Novgorod Old Believers for the most part belonged to the “clergy” and recognized priests and monks. It is these Old Believers that will be mainly discussed.

At the end of the 17th century, fleeing persecution, the Nizhny Novgorod schismatics went into the dense forests, across the Volga, where they set up their sketes (an association of several Old Believer monasteries). Especially a lot of them settled on the banks of the river Kerzhenets.

Since then, the Old Believers in the Nizhny Novgorod Territory have been called "Kerzhaks", and the word "Kerzhach" has come to mean "to adhere to the old faith." Kerzhaks lived differently: relatively peaceful times were replaced by periods of cruel repression. The persecution was especially strong at the time when Pitirim was appointed Bishop of Nizhny Novgorod. Under him, the famous "acceleration" of Kerzhents began.

Old Believers of the Nizhny Novgorod Territory

From the very beginning of the split of Russian Orthodoxy, the Nizhny Novgorod region was one of the most important centers of the Russian Old Believers. In support of this, here are a few facts: Outstanding ideologists of the "opposing sides" - Patriarch Nikon, Archpriest Avvakum, Bishop Pavel Kolomensky, Sergius of Nizhegorodets, Alexander Deacon - were born in the Nizhny Novgorod Territory. The very first Old Believer skete was founded precisely in the Nizhny Novgorod region on the Kerzhenets River - the Smolyany Skete (1656).

In terms of the number of Old Believers, the region occupied and occupies a leading place in Russia. In the Nizhny Novgorod province in the XVIII - XIX centuries there were spiritual and organizational centers of six of the fifteen largest agreements (directions) of the Old Believers.

Supporters of the old faith were persecuted by the government. They had to either abandon it or leave their homes. And the Old Believers went north, to the Nizhny Novgorod forests, to the Urals and Siberia, settled in Altai and Far East. In the dense forests in the basins of the Kerzhenets and Vetluga rivers, by the end of the 17th century, there were already about a hundred Old Believer monasteries- male and female. They were called sketes. The most famous were: Olenevsky, Komarovsky, Sharpansky, Smolyany, Matveevsky, Chernushinsky.

Under Peter I, the persecution of the Old Believers resumed again. When, at the end of the first decade of the 18th century, the emperor paid special attention to the Nizhny Novgorod schismatics, he chose Pitirim as the executor of his intentions. Pitirim - Bishop of Nizhny Novgorod (circa 1665 - 1738). Pitirim came from a simple rank and was at first a schismatic; Orthodoxy accepted being already in adulthood Pitirim's activity was originally purely missionary; to convert schismatics to Orthodoxy, he used only means of exhortation. The result of such activity of Pitirim was his answers to 240 schismatic questions. However, seeing the failure of his missionary work, Pitirim gradually turned to coercion and persecution. The famous Old Believer deacon Alexander was executed, sketes were ruined, stubborn monks were exiled to eternal imprisonment in monasteries, and the laity were punished with a whip and sent to hard labor. As a result, the Old Believers fled to the Urals, Siberia, Starodubye, Vetka and other places.

During a trip down the Kerzhents, but tried to find and capture places related to history Nizhny Novgorod Old Believers, and just today we will talk about one of these places.
This hillock, on which the cemetery and the birch grove are located, is completely inconspicuous at first glance, but it is inconspicuous only to people who are not familiar with the tragic events that took place here in 1719. These events once again show how brutally Peter I treated the Old Believers ... This place is located near the village of Klyuchi, which is next to Pafnutovo - a place where there were once many sketes ...

The cemetery is also Old Believer here (like many in the Semenovsky district)

The villages along the Linde River are one next to one. You walk a kilometer, two - another village. Therefore, it was here, in the ancient village of Pafnutovo, that Pitirim, Bishop of Nizhny Novgorod, chose a place for his “dispute”, on the square near the wooden church of the “Three Hierarchs”, built in 1699 as a support of Orthodoxy among the hiding “schismatics”. He, Pitirim, had, as the folk legend says, here “his own man” - the elder Barsanuphius. He delivered to the forests of Kerzhensky a letter to Pitirimov with one hundred and thirty episcopal "tricky" questions.

Archbishop of Nizhny Novgorod and Alatyr Pitirim (c. 1665-1738)

He handed them to the head of the Kerzhensky schismatics - Deacon Alexander, this stubborn tall bearded man with meek blue eyes. They say that Deacon Alexander was a native of the Kostroma province. From a young age, he was occupied with questions about the truth of faith. One day he met the old woman Elizaveta from the Yaroslavl Monastery, who told him: “True faith is found in hidden places, namely in the forests, and everyone who wants to be saved needs to go there, into the deaf forests.” After such words, sunk into his soul, Alexander left his wife, children, the place of deacon at the church and went first to Yaroslavl. There, at the inn, he met the elder Cyriacus and the monk Jonah and went with them to the forests of Kerzhensky.

He lived in different sketes, moved from one to another, teaching and learning himself. In 1709, in the monastery of Lavrentiy, where he was received as a deacon, he was tonsured a monk “according to schism” and admitted to the priesthood. Since that time, his name has become known throughout Kerzhents.

By 1719, when the answers to the questions of Pitirim were ready, Alexander, with his learning, his strength in faith, became the spiritual leader of the Old Believers of the fugitive wing. Therefore, it was he who went to Pitirim to present answers to his "evil" one hundred and thirty questions.

Like thunder from a clear sky, the Kerzhensky sketes spread the news: Pitirim, the seller of Christ, deacon Alexander, put the deacon Alexander in the monastery prison in Nizhny Novgorod while giving him answers. Anger and horror seized the elders and old women of the cells. They wondered what to expect now from him, from the "beast" of this Pitirim. Many went with appeals to the initial elder Macarius, who lived in a cell in the forests of Kerzhensky for advice. Now it is he, Macarius, who will have to answer to the "heretic" and "tormentor" of Nizhny Novgorod, and he has already made an appointment - a dispute for the Feast of the Intercession Holy Mother of God- October 1, 1719.

Deacon Alexander by this time was brought in chains to Pafnutovo. This is how the writer Yuri Prilutsky (aka Priest Pyotr Shumilin of the Church of the Most Holy Life-Giving Trinity in the village of Epiphany) describes the course of the dispute in his story “For the Cross and Faith”, published in 1917:

« Pitirim came out in full dress with icons and banners. In the middle of the square, in front of the church, a lectern was placed on a platform, next to it was a table with a pile of old books in leather bindings ... From somewhere, a hundred guardsmen of the Petrovsky Preobrazhensky Regiment appeared and, mercilessly pushing the crowd aside, made an alley from the village to the square. At the far end, a party of chained skete fathers appeared under escort of a dozen guardsmen with drawn sabers, behind on a black (black) horse rode the captain of the guard Rzhevsky ... Pale, emaciated, with nostrils torn out with crippled faces, in tattered clothes, in blood, with torn beards, but calm, quietly jingling their chains as they walked, the fathers headed for the platform ... Alexander began his speech. But in the very ardor of the speech that had begun, Rzhevsky's heavy fist fell on the head of Deacon Alexander, and he fell to the ground like a mowed down man. ».

Dispute failed. Elected from the Old Believers of various sketes, fearing what they saw with great fear and under the formidable influence of Pitirim, they signed a “report” drawn up by him that the answers of the “Old Believers” of the sketes were incorrect. The first to set an example and signed Judas (traitor) Barsanuphius. After that, Pitirim showed "mercy" and released the detainees. Thus ended the "dispute".

The report with the signatures of the "schismatics" was presented to the emperor himself - Peter I. However, the "triumph of Pitirim" did not last long. The elders, once free, throughout Kerzhenets "exposed" the lies of the Bishop of Nizhny Novgorod. Deacon Alexander, unable to endure this lie, went to the capital in St. Petersburg to the Tsar Peter Alekseevich himself. In the royal mansions, he was captured and "interrogated with passion." Under severe torture, he did not refuse to testify to Pitirim's lie. The stubborn "fanatic" was sent in chains to the Lower Pitirim Court.

At that time, in the region of Nizhny Novgorod, on the Kerzhents River, the passions of the Old Believers were seething, condemning the persecutor of the true faith, the faith of the fathers and grandfathers - Pitirim, for his untruth, for torturing the elders for the sake of signatures. Condemned and feared. They were afraid for nothing. The "slander" of the opposition reached the Pitirim's ears. The priest Macarius, the elders Dositheus and Joseph, and seventeen "zealous" defenders of the old faith were captured. All of them were brought under escort in chains chained to a gentle mountain between the village of Pafnutov and the village of Klyuchi. A large and rather deep hole was dug here, along the edges of which there were posts with crossbars and ready-made rope loops. The “stubborn Old Believers” themselves, with the Jesus prayer on their lips, threw nooses on themselves. A strong push on command and... the end.

Since then, this mountain, where the "Inquisition" took place, is popularly called key mountain(near the village of Klyuchi), and the place where the execution took place - “ Gallows". Now a vast pit with swollen flat edges (the earth has settled) is visible in this place. Through the efforts of the Old Believers who honor the bright memory of the martyrs for the faith of Christ, in the fall of 2003, a large worship cross with a sign was placed on the Gallows. On it is the inscription: Father Macarius and 19 martyrs for ancient Orthodoxy ».

The righteous elder Macarius was recognized as a saint by the Old Believer Church, his name was entered in the Synod (a book in which names are entered for commemoration). We left Deacon Alexander at the moment when we took him to the Pitirim court. And the judgment was fast.

On Annunciation Square in Nizhny Novgorod, near the Dmitrievskaya Tower, with a large gathering of people, the code of 7157 from the creation of the world of the second chapter of the first article was read out: bodies."

Alexander listened to the death sentence calmly, without changing his face. Then they removed the chains from the headless body and set it on fire right here on the square. The remains of the deacon were buried in a children's coffin.
This "deed" committed on March 21, 1720 shocked the entire schismatic world. This was followed by "zoning" and the destruction of the sketes of the Kerzhensky region. The forests of the black forests were deserted. Many zealots of the ancient faith flowed to other places, even beyond the borders of Russia, and those who remained here huddled in the very wilderness, leaving away from sketes and villages ...

Nizhny Novgorod split

Monument to Patriarch Nikon in Saransk. Although he was born into a Mordovian peasant family in the village of Veldemanovo near Nizhny Novgorod (currently Perevozsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod region). That is, a monument was erected to him after all by ethnicity, and not by place of birth.

Nikon (in the world Nikita Minov), was born on June 3, 1605 in the village of Veldemanovo (now the Perevozsky district of the Nizhny Novgorod region). Patriarch, political and church figure.

Already at the age of 19 he became a priest in a neighboring village. He married, but after the death of all his children, there were three of them, he finally left the world. Since 1635 found peace in the walls Solovetsky Monastery where he took the tonsure. In 1643 he became hegemen of the Kozheozersk monastery.

In 1646, Nikon was introduced to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, and won his favorable attention. After that, he was appointed archimandrite of the Moscow Novospassky Monastery. Using the unlimited confidence of the sovereign, he found the maximum opportunities for the realization of his ideas, both religious and political. In 1648, becoming Metropolitan of Novgorod, he contributed to the suppression of the rebellion in 1652. In the same year he was elected a new All-Russian saint.

Since the spring of 1653, Patriarch Nikon began to reform, his cruel and irreconcilable position led to a split in the church, and then to a confrontation with the king.

Nikon announced that he was leaving the patriarchate and in 1658 retired to New Jerusalem. In 1664, Nikon makes an attempt to return to Moscow, but he is sent back.

The Council of 1667-1668 confirmed Nikon's reforms, at the same time he removed the patriarchal dignity from Nikon. Nikon was exiled under supervision to the Ferapontov monastery, then transferred to Kirillo-Belozersky.

It was allowed to return to Moscow former patriarch only in 1681, under the new Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich, was there also talk about the restoration of the dignity.

Died on the way to Moscow in Yaroslavl on July 17 (27), 1681, Nikon was buried in New Jerusalem according to the patriarchal rank.

Monument to the Old Believer Hieromartyr Archpriest Avvakum, opened on June 5, 1991 in his homeland in the village of Grigorovo, Bolshemurashkinsky District, Nizhny Novgorod Region. July 30, 2009. (Photo. Borisova L.K.)

Avvakum, archpriest (1605 - 1681) - the famous teacher of the Russian schism of the 17th century, participated in the correction of church books undertaken under Alexei Mikhailovich by Patriarch Joseph. However, when Joseph's successor, Nikon, recognizing all previous corrections as erroneous, undertook the correction of Orthodox liturgical books according to Greek originals, Avvakum declared himself an irreconcilable enemy of all innovations and became the head of the schism.

In his writings, Avvakum considers Nikonian innovations as a desecration of the church, predicts the imminent coming of the Antichrist, and preaches flight from the world and self-immolation. Avvakum was severely persecuted, exiled, imprisoned, tortured, and, finally, was stripped, cursed by a church council, and burned at the stake.

Nizhny Novgorod Region and Nizhny Novgorod historically, they are the second center of the Russian Old Believers after Moscow. Currently, about 50 Old Believer buildings and places revered by Old Believers are known in the region.

The Nizhny Novgorod land played an important role in the historical drama - the schism of the Russian church. Notable schismatics such as Archpriest Avvakum, Bishop Pavel Kolomna, Sergiy Nizhegorodets, Alexander Deacon, - all of them were born within the Nizhny Novgorod land. Also born in Nizhny Novgorod Patriarch Nikon, who became one of the founders of the schism of the church.

The Nizhny Novgorod region still continues to be one of the centers of the Russian Old Believers.

The real value of the architecture of the early twentieth century is St. Nicholas Church, which is located in the city of Semenov, as well as the village of Grigorovo in the Bolshemurashkinsky district is on the list of historical places: archpriest Avvakum was born and raised in this force.

Research of Old Believer places and monuments

Many scientists studied the details of the life and culture of the Old Believers in the Nizhny Novgorod lands, but the researchers could not get into the attention of the immovable places that were directly related to the Old Believer movement (sketes, churchyards, spiritual places).

So, in the early 90s, in the Nizhny Novgorod region, there were more than 1200 historical monuments, but only one of them was under state protection, since only those monuments of the cultural and spiritual life of the people that were deprived of their fundamental essence and spirituality fell under state protection. filling. And the places of mass pilgrimage, the graves of saints, pious ascetics, as well as religious shrines were not taken into account at all.

Since the 90s, Nizhny Novgorod scientists have been keeping records of the monuments of the Nizhny Novgorod Old Believers and Old Believer cultural and spiritual places: hermitages, cemeteries, revered graves, which are located in Semenovsky, Borsky and other areas.