International Union of Old Believers established in Moscow – Kommersant

In the spiritual center of the Old Believers in Rogozhskaya Sloboda, a general meeting of the founders of the association of Old Believer organizations “International Old Believer Union” was held. The new union included public (non-profit) organizations created by the Old Believers of various accords. “The initiator of the creation of the International Old Believer Union is the World Old Believer Forum, held in 2018, which was attended by representatives of the main Old Believer agreements and public organizations,” Kommersant was told in the Moscow Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church (ROOC). According to the founders of the union, “the main goals of the association are cultural and educational activities, dissemination of the cultural heritage of the Old Believers, assistance to the Old Believers and Old Believer communities.”

“The established Old Believer Union will focus its activities on public initiatives and will not deal with issues of faith,” the Russian Orthodox Church told Kommersant. The association assured that “in the near future all the documents necessary for registering the union will be transferred to the Ministry of Justice.”

It should be noted that in 2019 the World Union of Old Believers was created, headed by Leonid Sevastyanov. In the Moscow Metropolis, Kommersant explained that the International Old Believer Union is in no way connected with the World Union of Old Believers and “assesses its unauthorized activity negatively.” The activities of Mr. Sevastyanov have repeatedly provoked criticism from the Russian Orthodox Church. In February 2023, the Metropolitan Council of the Russian Orthodox Church (the highest body of church administration) even decided to appeal to the Ministry of Justice about the activities of the World Union of Old Believers, which, according to the council, undermines the authority of the Church. In turn, Mr. Sevastyanov, whom Kommersant asked to comment on the creation of a new union, said that he welcomes any unifying initiatives, but is “skeptical” about the new project “due to the politicization of its main participants.”

“The unification of the Old Believers for a long time seemed impossible due to their historical disagreements and differences,” says Roman Lunkin, head of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences. between themselves. It was precisely because of the fragmentation of the movement that the World Union of Old Believers was in sight, which was not officially recognized by any of the Old Believers. In his opinion, the new association has a chance “to become the main representative of all consents in the public field, for society and the state”, to promote “cooperation with the state in arranging the communities of Old Believers in the Far East and Siberia”, and also to be “a source of soft power in cooperation with the Old Believers in other countries. Strategically, the Old Believers are interested in “strengthening influence in society,” Mr. Lunkin believes.

Pavel Korobov