Strigolniki

The Strigolniki (singular Strigólnik– Стригольник in Russian) were followers of a Russian religious sect in the middle of the 14th and first half of the 15th century, established in Pskov and later in Novgorod and Tver.[1]

Spread of the Strigolniki
Strigolniki are thrown into the river from the Volkov Bridge in Novgorod (Illustration from the Nikon Chronicle

The origins of the name remain unclear. Some historians believe it has something to do with handicrafts that the first Strigolniki were engaged in, such as cloth-cutting or hairdressing (it appears that the word strigolnik derives from the Russian root strig-, which connotes cutting or trimming. Others think the name comes from a special initiation ceremony (a specific haircut, or strizhka), performed by a deacon named Karp – a supposed founder of the sect (together with deacon Nikita) yet others think it could mean that these people refused to either grow a beard or cut their beards when they entered churches.

Active participants of the sect were tradespeople and low-ranking clergy. They renounced all ecclesiastic hierarchy and monasticism, sacraments done by Orthodox clergy: priesthood, communion, penance, and baptism, which had been accompanied by large fees ("extortions", in their view) to the benefit of the clergy. Criticizing and exposing the venality, vices, and ignorance of the priests, the Strigolniki demanded the right to a religious sermon for laymen. Their sermons were full of social motifs: they reproached the rich for enslaving the free and the poor.[2]

Beliefs

The Strigolniki perhaps had Iconoclastic tendencies and the Strigolniki had some Proto-Protestant charecteristics.[3] According to Karetnikova, the Strigolniki were a response to changes in the Orthodox church, the Strigolniki wanted to return from ritualism to the simplicity of New Testament Christianity, emphasizing the spiritual meaning of the sacraments and basing their views on scripture.[4] The Strigolniki opposed the Orthodox church, they did not recognize Orthodox bishops and priests, [5] the Strigolniki denied going to Orthodox churches and instead gathered in separate meetings.[6] It is difficult to know if the Strigolniki rejected the sacraments of the church or if they didn't have the ability to do them due to an absence of clergy, though the Strigolniki denied confession to priests.[7]

The Strigolniki believed that the basis of true Christianity is the New Testament, especially the four gospels.[8]

In the attitude of the Strigolniki about the Church and Church hierarchy, there are some similarities with Bogomils and Cathars, however based on surviving sources they didn't have a dogmatic system of theology and likely did not disagree with the Orthodox church about Christology.[9]

History

Deacon Karp found many followers in Pskov, but had to move to Novgorod to avoid persecution. Some scholars argue that Archbishop of Novgorod Vasilii Kalika (1330–1352) ignored the heresy, but that his successors, Moisei (1325–1330; 1352–1359), and Aleksei (1359–1388) took firm measures against the heretics. In 1375, enraged citizens of Novgorod threw three heretics from the bridge into the Volkhov River.[10] Beginning in 1382, the sect was opposed by Archbishop Dionysios of Suzdal.

However, the teachings of the Strigolniki lived on. They spread widely in Novgorod, in Pskov, and also in Tver, where bishops Feodor Dobry and Yevfimiy Vislen came forward with support for the movement. In the early 15th century Photius, Metropolitan of Kiev and all Russia, denounced the Strigolniki teachings.[2]

References
  1. B. A. Rybakov, Strigolniki: Russkie Gumanisty XIV Stoletiia (Moscow: Nauk, 1993); David M Goldfrank, "Burn, Baby, Burn: Popular Culture and Heresy in Late Medieval Russia," The Journal of Popular Culture 31, no. 4 (1998): 17–32.
  2. N. A. Kazakova and Ia. S. Lur'e, Antifeodal'nye ereticheskie dvizheniia na Rusi XIV-nachala XVI veka (Moscow and Leningrad, ANSSSR, 1955), esp. pp. 34-71.
  3. Michalski, Sergiusz (2013-01-11). Reformation and the Visual Arts: The Protestant Image Question in Western and Eastern Europe. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-92102-7. in the middle of the fourteenth century the Strigolniki heresy broke out in Russia, chiefly in the cities in the north of the country, which gave this movement a proto-Reformation charecter
  4. Каретникова М. С. Русское богоискательство. Национальные корни евангельско-баптистского движения
  5. Petrushko 2019 page 456.
  6. Голубинский Е. Е. История русской церкви. Том 2: От нашествия монголов до митрополита Макария включительно. Период второй, Московский. Университетская типография, 1900. — С. 398
  7. Petrushko 2019 page 456—457.
  8. Казакова Н. А, Лурье Я. С. Антифеодальные еретические движения на Руси в XIV—XV вв. — М.;Л.: Изд-во АН СССР, 1955. Page. 47
  9. Petrushko 2019 page 456—457.
  10. Some scholars see this as an execution after the heretics were condemned by Archbishop Aleskei (r. 1359–1388), but others see it as a lynching. See B. A. Rybakov, Strigolniki, 4-11.
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