Pomorian Old-Orthodox Church

The Pomorian Old Orthodox Church (Древлеправославная Поморская Церковь) is a branch of the priestless faction of the Old Believers, born of a schism within the Russian Orthodox Church in the 17th century.

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Pomorian Agreement

Agreement (Согласие) of priestless Old Believers, abandoned the practice of receiving runaway priests (беглопоповцы) after the death of the last priests of Russian Orthodox Church before the schism. In the absence of the priesthood, they began to elected literate laity to make service . On the basis of Solovetsky Monastery rules was created Pomorian service rules for the laity, without words which were given by priests. Also in Pomerania on the river Vyg was organized Vygovsky monastery, which became the spiritual center of the entire agreement from the early 17th to middle 19th century.

History

Pomorian agreement was formed in 1694, when the Vygovsky men’s monastery (Vygovsky obschezhitelstvo) founded at the Vyg river. It became the ideological center of the priestless Old Believers.

In 1706, the Leksinskiy female monastery was founded. Vygovsky monastery is famous for compiling “Pomorian answers”, which became the basis of it’s religious doctrine. In 1738 Pomorians had started praying for the Tsar. It is provoked a split in their community. Part, that have not accepted the prayer have formed Filippovskiy agreement. Local communities of Pomorians was an important economic centers of northern Russia in the early XIX.

In the early 1830s Pomorian community was divided on Staropomorsy (Old-pomorians) and Novopomortsy (New-pomorians) consents because of the issue of marriage. Novopomortsy allowed to transfer property by inheritance and legalized marital relations outside the church marriage. It has attracted members of the other agreements, disgruntled strict attitude to marriage.

The official church organization was formed after the "Freedom of religion” manifesto publication at the April 17, 1905. First All-Russian Pomorian council was in 1–10 May 1909 in Moscow, the second - in 1912.

After the revolution of 1917, Pomorians abroad the Russia have formed organizational centers in theirs countries.

Organisation

The Pomorian Old Orthodox Church has parishes in Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Belarus and Ukraine (in these countries they are headed by National Councils and Spiritual Commissions), the United States, Brazil and elsewhere.

Chairman : Oleg Ivanovich Rozanov
Chairman : Alexy Karatayev

Pomortsy

Pomortsy (Russian: Поморцы), also known as Danilovtsy, Danilov's confession, Pomorians (not to be confused with pomors), or Pomorian Church was a confession of the Bespopovtsy (the "priestless") strain of Old Believers. It was founded in the end of the 17th century in Russian Karelia, by the Vyg River (Russian: Выг), by Danila Vikulin and the Denisov brothers. Initially Pomortsy denied the sancticity of tsar and marriage. Later they were split into Novopomortsy ("New Pomortsy"), who recognized marriage, and Staropomortsy ("Old Pomortsy"). They also spun off the confessions of Filippians and Fedoseyans.

According to 2001 data, in Lithuania there are over 27,000 Old Believers in 59 officially registered parishes of the Pomorian Church.

See also

External links