The Old Believers of the Simbirsk Governorate: Peculiarities of Interaction with Society in light of the religious policy of Alexander III

Abstract

The author examines aspects of life in Russian society during the reign of Emperor Alexander III in the light of the state policy implemented towards the Old Believers. The article is carried out primarily using the example of the Syzran district of the Simbirsk governorate - due to its convenient location in terms of trade and navigation, this administrative unit provided Old Believers of different persuasions with ample opportunities for communication with each other and strengthening their position. The highest approval of May 3, 1883 of the Opinion of the State Council “On the Granting of Certain Civil Rights and the Performance of Spiritual Ceremonies to Schismans” was caused by the desire to better understand the “schism” and was intended to promote, first of all, the development of trade and industry. The new law also required a more responsible approach to the organization of the life of the Old Believers from both the state bodies of the Simbirsk governorate and the Old Believers themselves, which encountered considerable difficulties of various kinds, strengthening mutual distrust. Officials, secular and clerical, not only monitored the observance of the schismatic communities and their individual representatives of the provisions and restrictions established by law. They also identified, recorded and systematized facts and trends, generally characteristic of the Old Believers of the province and typical of the Syzran district (for example, the predominance of the Pomor Tolk and the rise of Syzran itself, as one of the Old Believer icon-painting centers of the Volga region). Based on the above, the study was carried out on the information that has come down to us about the peculiarities of the interaction of the Old Believers with each other and with the Orthodox of the “dominant Church” in various spheres of public life under the conditions established by the Supremely approved Opinion of the State Council of May 3, 1883.