This Page Last Updated January 26th, 2010 (new style reckoning)
Self-Immolator Saints and “Priestless” Sacraments
One of the differences between Old Believers is self-immolation; some Old Believers found self-immolation acceptable, while others rejected the idea. There are misleading accounts of self-immolation. The Nikonites were already burning Old Believers alive, so it is important to understand that the Old Believers were under this very real threat to their lives. The Nikonites would go to Old Believer churches where the faithful had barricaded themselves to pray. Then the Nikonites pounded with such force that candles would fall onto the floor where straw was laying, which then caught fire. The Nikonites blamed the Old Believers for suicide, when that is not what actually happened. There are early Christian records of self-immolator saints, self-immolation is not suicide. The tradition of “passion-bearing” in Russia is long standing, Boris and Gleb accepted death without resistance. Below is a photo of their 14th century icon.
It is said of Old Believers that they practiced baptism by fire (or fire baptism), it is also known that they teach how starvation is a purifying fire. Starvation for the sake of Christ is perfectly sound. There are two options, Starve for Christ, or Surrender to the Antichrist. Maybe there is a third that I have missed, but I am not sure. I try to give here a few examples of saints which some people might call suicidal, that also record examples of Sacraments without clergy. From the beginning there have always been priests without earthly ordination, this is the truth of how it is today. Self-immolation is willfully dying by fire for a good cause while at the same time being under threat of such death in the first place. Whereas suicide is killing ourselves for no good reason at all, which is something else altogether.
On the Sacraments without Clergy issue, no matter what we might like to think, we must first realize that we cannot make bishops for ourselves, or accept fugitive heretical New-Rite clergy in their orders, nor receive deposed earthly hierarchs without at least one valid earthly hierarch. This is what many Old Believer groups have done, this invalidates all those typse of Old Believers. They have lost their Old Believer identity by participating in such heretical ways. As we can see from such sources as are given here that Christians do not require residing earthly clergy for Sacraments to exist. This is a mystery, inside a mystery, inside yet another mystery. The old Russian nesting dolls seen in the photo below are one example of the Mysteries. So it is not wrong to understand the Mysteries being present in a hidden manner, as though they were partially invisible Sacraments. These dolls also show the proper head covering for women at worship, with a pinned kerchief, not knotted. The modern practice of strutting into worship with a knotted scarf is a departure from Christianity. As will be borne out on this web page, the term “priestless” is a disparaging title given to those Old Believers that no longer have any earthly ordained clergy. In all honesty, the idea of them being “priestless” is a misnomer propagated only by outsiders. The pride of New-Rite bishops is delusion, the Fathers say delusion is always from pride.
Who Performs the Sacraments/Mysteries? God does. Traditionally a priest only witnesses the mystery of a person’s direct confession to God. The role of an earthly ordained priest is a non-essential element. A parent, faithful person, or any such thing (even rocks and trees) are more than capable of witnessing and overseeing all such sacramental responsibilities.
Page 108 of Harvard Theological Studies, X, The Dissenters, explains that in their “Responses” of 1720 the Old Believer teachers suggested that the advent of the Antichrist had exterminated the earthly ordained priesthood and under such circumstances the individual Christian becomes his own priest. In such an exceptional era it is legitimate, they argued, it is acceptable for laymen to conduct the sacraments of baptism and confession and to celebrate sundry rites. They also claimed the right to rebaptize converts from the orthodox church, a pretension somewhat falling to the latter.
Ex 19.6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.
In his homily on the Epistle to the Hebrews St. John Chrysostom makes this comment at chapter 11, verse 38 (about those who went into caves and holes of the earth), “Elia [Elijah] was driven out, persecuted, and compelled to struggle with famine...But what is this that ‘they were made to wander’? They were made to wander like exiles and fugitives, as those caught and detected in shameless crimes, as those not worthy to see the sun. They found no refuge from the wilderness, but must always be fleeing, must be seeking hiding-places, must bury themselves alive in the earth, and ever be in fear.”
Prior to the Great Schism between the Eastern and Western Churches St. Apollonia was seized and threatened to be burned. “Given, at her own request, a little freedom, she sprang into the fire and was burned to death.”
See Here.
“It is more important to remember God than it is to remember to breathe” - St. Gregory the Theologian
In the second century we have the record of 7 holy sleepers in the cave at Ephesus who lived during a time of great persecution and desired no longer to be in this world. They desired death and to be with God more than to live any longer in this wicked world with the idolaters. So they retreated one last time in a cave to fast and pray, then they all fell asleep. When the Romans came to arrest them they were all found in their tombs, so the cave was closed up with rocks. Hundreds and hundreds of years passed when an owner of the land with this cave wanted to use it to keep animals. After proceeding to uncover the entrance to the cave the seven men who had been sleeping all this time awoke, as if being risen from the dead. They thought it was only the following day, when in fact centuries had past and the Roman Empire had become Christian. What a surprise to everyone. The Muslims also share this story, and their story goes like this. Somebody went to Mohamed and asked about this story, then Archangel Gabriel recounted the entire story to Mohamed and he was then able to give the record of this Christian event. It so happens that Islams to this day tell about this and even made TV series that is about 12 hours long in total. This is like several movies in one. It has many interesting thoughts to consider along these lines, if you wish to have a look the quality of the video is low, but watchable. It is captioned in English so to read all of it might be a little dull for some people, but I say there is never a dull moment. It is broken up into 6 parts, with what I consider the best part being the last one.
Part 1,
Part 2,
Part 3,
Part 4,
Part 5,
Part 6.
Greater love has no one than this, than they lay down their life for their friends.
DROSIS and the 5 NUNS of ROME
Drosis was the daughter of Trajan... [the Emperor killed Christians casting them into unclean sites]
...five devout nuns, who were replete with every virtue for which they earnestly labored, also took on the indispensable work of collecting the sacred relics of the saints. They scented the relics with myrrh…Drosis, who loved the Christians, was informed of this God-pleasing labor...
The guards… apprehended the five nuns together with the emperor’s daughter…the women were escorted to the emperor. When Trajan beheld his daughter, he was astonished. The five nuns…he commanded to be burned in a large smelting-furnace...
in a dream, Trajan beheld five pure lambs that were pasturing inside a green field. Among the sheep was the shepherd who had a dreadful countenance. The shepherd then looked upon the emperor, and said, “O impious emperor, the nuns...the good Shepherd (Pastor) Christ has taken from thee. He hath established them in...Paradise which, in the future, thy daughter, Drosis, the pure lamb of God, shall also enter.”
...out of stubbornness...he charged that two huge ovens...be fired and placed on either side of the city. They were designated to immolate every Christian. Each furnace exhibited the imperial order on a placard, reading: “Galilean men, those that worship the Crucified One, deliver yourselves from many torments and save us the trouble. Unhindered, each of you may cast himself into whatever furnace he desires.”
...multitudes offered themselves as sacrifices, rational and acceptable, inside those roaring furnaces; for “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1...
Drosis passed through the city so she might cast herself into one of the furnaces, she thought to herself, “How shall I go unto God without a wedding garment, since I have not received holy Baptism, without which I am unclean? Yet, behold, O King of all, Lord Jesus Christ, I have departed the imperial court for love of Thee that I may be appointed a door-keeper in Thy Kingdom...Thou Who wast baptized for us, baptize me by the Holy Spirit.” Straightway, upon uttering this to herself, she drew from her bosom holy myrrh which she took from her bed chamber. She anointed herself and then was baptized inside a nearby vaulted pond...saying, “The handmaid of God, Drosis, is baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
[Later she found Christians who accepted her Baptism.]
...On the eighth day after her Baptism, she besought God in prayer to direct her. She then departed to her beloved Lord.
[Further Sacraments Without Clergy]
Holy 26 Saints of the Goths
...twenty-six martyrs lived during the reigns of the Hunnic khan...(375-383). For their pure confession of the Christ, the holy men and women received the imperishable crown of martyrdom by a fiery death...
As this took place, a certain Christian was bringing the prosphora* to church when he was captured by the idolaters. Therefore, instead of the soulless prosphora, he himself became a living prosphora to God. He, too, became a burnt offering, as he confessed Christ...
* The prosphora (meaning “offering” in Greek) is the altar bread.
Excerpted from The Holy Women Martyrs, by Holy Apostles Convent, Pages 104-111
The Nikonites asked the Pomorsky Old Believers 106 questions and from them came the Pomorsky Answers written by the Denisov brothers. One question was how the Old Believers were able to keep the sacrament of Confession and Repentance with no ordained clergy left to hear them. The answer was that at various times in the past, when faithful found themselves without clergy (as with St. Anthony the Great and many others) that confession to brothers was considered complete in itself without having an ordained priest present. In the book St. Symeon the New Theologian, On the Mystical Life, The Ethical Discourses, Vol 3 at the Introduction it says that the sacrament of confession has often been done without ordained priests. Timothy Ware (now Bishop Kallistos of Diocleia) is quoted, “First there is the visible succession of the hierarchy... Alongside this, largely hidden, existing on a ‘charismatic’ rather than a official level, there is secondly the apostolic succession of the spiritual fathers and mothers in each generation of the Church.”
Here is a link to the 187 KB PDF file for this Introduction to the work of St. Symeon. Moreover, in this Introduction [pages 16-19] there contains two other quotes of Saints, John the Ascetic and John of Antioch, who affirm the practice of non-clergy hearing confessions and even go so far as to specifically say that the granting of absolution and assigning of penances were handed over to non-priested monks and not the clergy during this time. At the end of the Pomorsky Answers it also explains at length how monasticism continued without the tonsure or blessing of bishops, starting with St. Anthony the Great considered to be the first among monks. So there are still monastic’s today even though there are no faithful earthly bishops around. St. Anthony himself was never tonsured by a bishop and never ordained. Agafia, mentioned in the book Lost in the Taiga, is a nun without an earthly bishop. There is a likeminded Old Faith Brother monk here in the USA who told me how the forest is the best place for confession, with the Angel of water being near to give one strength.
Saint Pelagia (the subject of two sermons by Chrysostom), at age 15, chose death by jumping from the top of her house, in order to stop threats to her virginity.
The strict Old Believer condition of having no earthly ordained clergy was foretold by the Holy Prophet Daniel as, “...thy sanctuary that is desolate.” - Daniel 9:17. This is due to the Abomination of Desolation and this Great Apostasy, where all the existing earthly churches are impostors, counterfeit and fake.
If someone is preparing for Baptism, or is favorably disposed in this way, and if there is danger of their dying before he/she can be baptized, any lay man or woman “has the right, and indeed the duty, to perform the rite by thrice repeated immersion, or even by aspersion, or by pouring of water on the bed, with the words, ‘the servant (or handmaiden) of God (name) is baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.’ Such a baptism is entirely valid, as far as it goes. Later on, the priest does not repeat the rite, but only completes it by saying the omitted prayers and performing the omitted rites, then enters it into the church register.” (From – A Manual of the Orthodox Church’s Divine Services)
Once at trapeza I recall the story from a book about young St. Basil. He, along with fellow Christian youths and a nonchristian youth were at a beach. The nonchristian youth was willing to become a Christian so the young St. Basil organized all his friends and baptized this willing youngster in their midst. The bishop learned of the happening and called all the youths to himself. The bishop, St. Athanasius, inquired into all that happened and decided everything was in order. The only thing necessary was to complete the priestly portions of baptism, which was then done. St. Athanasius, noticing the good desires of the young St. Basil took him under his wing from that time. If anyone can give an exact reference, or more details about this account, I would be most happy.
Ivan IV, who did truly and justly assemble the Stoglav Council, also rightly mentioned this historical Christian teaching. That those who suffer a death of martyrdom prior to baptism, with wholehearted repentance and having right faith, are in fact cleansed by their own blood. The blood of martyrs being the seed and resurrection of the Church. This is because the life is in the blood, those that find themselves in such a situation should be understood as having been baptized in their own blood. It is not unlike the idea known as baptism of desire.
Nicholas Cabasilas lived in 14th century Constantinople. His Commentary on the Divine Liturgy is part of lay theology from his time. His uncle was, Archbishop Neilos (or Nilus) of Thessalonica. In the Commentary on the Divine Liturgy Nicholas mentions, “Then, you will say, if a living man has the dispositions you mention in his soul, and yet does not partake of the holy mysteries, will he nevertheless receive the sanctification which the sacrament gives? Not in all cases; only when it is physically impossible for him to receive the elements, as it is for the dead. Such was the case of the solitaries who lived in the desert, or in caves and grottoes in the mountain-side, and could not avail themselves of priest or altar. Christ gave them this sanctification in an invisible manner. We know this because they had life, which they could not have had without partaking of the sacrament, for Christ himself said: ‘Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.’ Another proof is the fact that God sent angels to several of these men with the sacrament.”
From the beginning of man’s history there has always been marriage, so marriage is always acceptable. Speaking about the early Christian marriages in the book, St. John Chrysostom On Marriage and Family, we find on page 11, “For a long time there was apparently no specifically Christian marriage.”
The original Old Believer clergy, when the numbers of their priests began to drastically diminish, provided portions of Holy Communion for those Christians who were about to find themselves in the position of being without any earthly ordained clerical representative. Not very many people know about this fact. There is indeed actual Holy Communion for Old Believers today. This is available to those who are at the end of their earthly lives. It is not impossible to find this, as Agafia Lukov (which we read about in the book, “Lost in the Taiga”) found a Old Believer monastery where this Sacrament continues to exist. Agafia explains that today salvation can only be found in the wilderness.
The more strict Old Believers, “Instead [of an earthly ordained priest use], a nachetchik, nastavnik or nastoyatel (a layman), who is elected as spiritual leader, leads the community. He substitutes for a priest by conducting services, baptisms, and marriage rites, and by teaching church grammar to village youth. He is also consulted about spiritual questions and he holds confession.” p. 19, Old Russia in Modern America, by A. B. Dolitsky.
Here is a link to a short video,
Savoniha: A Siberian Old Believer 1997. At 90 years of age she gave this record of Avvakum teaching on the Sacrament of Confession. “...all trees are sacred... but above all Birch is holy... the Birch cleanses away any illness...” Avvakum foretold, “...that a time was coming when we might not find a priest... when this time arrives we are allowed to confess to our brothers... but if it is to remain secret we must go to the Birch...” Savoniha being with the priested Old Believers often found herself without a priest. The trees are like angels who we owe confession, along with the entire creation, for our offense towards them.
Concerning the Antichrist - St. Chrysostom says, “he will be seated in the temple of God, not that in Jerusalem only, but also in every Church.” Commentary on 2 Thess. 2:3,4. [He is talking about the throne (seat) of the bishop that is in every church.]
In the book, Early Fathers from the Philokalia (first published in 1954), on page 302 section 21, St. Maximus says, “He performs the office of a deacon, who anoints the mind for holy endeavors and drives out passionate thoughts; he performs the office of a priest, who enlightens the mind by knowledge of what is and destroys false knowledge; he performs the office of a bishop, who completes the mind’s perfection by the sacred unction of knowledge of the worshipful Holy Trinity.” St. Maximus who was merely a monk (he was not a priest and was never even ordained), in such a personal way, shows us that which is not always seen.
In the work by St. Clement of Alexandria called the
Stromata, Book 7, Chapter 8, we see the title, “The Gnostic So Addicted to Truth as Not to Need to Use an Oath.” So it goes that the person devoted to truth does not need to swear or take a vow. In these days, as much as ever, it is possible to live as a monastic without taking a vow. Even 1Pet. 1:22 says we can purify our souls by obeying the truth. Does not the Truth contain everything needful?
In the book titled Paradise of the Holy Fathers there is the story of a saint who chose death in order to remain faithful to Christ. St. Malchus, who lived in Nisibis, was born to parents an only child and much spoiled. His parents at the proper age intended for him to marry, yet he refused wishing instead to become a monk. He did so and struggled at the monastery. Yet in time he was tempted by the Evil one to go and see after his mother for his father had died. He reasoned that he would sell the possessions of the home after his mothers death. This incited in his heart the lust of avarice. His abbot begged him not to leave but even by then he began to suspect that the abbot himself had bad motives. He thus set off. He came upon a place where there were dangers of robbers. So he came together with others for safe travel, men and women a total of seventy. A band of Arab marauders fell upon them. One of the raiding men forced Malchus and a woman upon a camel and led them off. He commanded Malchus to take her as a mistress. He was able to keep his chastity...but was commanded to take her as his wife. The man led them to a cave where Malchus took a sword and said he would sooner take his life than defile his chastity. The woman cried out, “Wait in the name of Jesus Christ, do not take your life, for I am glad for you to protect my chastity.” The marauder left them to live there in peace, assuming they were married. They eventually escaped. But the point is that he was willing to forsake life itself to keep himself faithful.
From early Christian times people would go on long journeys, say on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, people would be without priests for an extended period of time. Though they might find many heretic churches along the way they would not worship with them. Such people should not believe themselves lacking any Grace or Sacrament, for the fullness of Faith certainly had not left these faithful pilgrims. They would receive Grace spiritually, by the many prayers offered during their courses. There are of course many lives of saints who lived most of their lives without Holy Communion, yet we do not think any less of them. St. Mary of Egypt and St. Mark the Ascetic are just two of them. We too can be pilgrims to heaven, like these saints. Should we not ever find any faithful earthly ordained clergy we can rest assured that there is a good example of such waiting for us on the Last Day, if we have done everything possible to be standing right and believing correctly.
Within the Holy Gospels the Lord offers a rhetorical (persuasive) question; will there be the Faith on earth when He returns to the earth? The answer a resounding “No!” If then the Church is where the bishop is, will there be any bishops on earth in the end? If St. Ignatius of Antioch from the 1st century A.D. was correct when he said, “Where the bishop is, there let the multitude of believers be; even where Jesus is there is the Catholic Church.“ Then, as the Lord’s Kingdom is not of this world and as it has always been known that the last bishops would be martyred, should we not all accept the position of the more strict Old Believers?
Did not the Lord clearly explain that in the end it would be like the days of Noah, when one faithful man, and his children, were alone left on the earth? We should not think that the last faithful have a earthly breathing bishop. The Church does not consist only of bishops, and not only of earthly people. Just because there are not right believing earthly bishops does not mean there is no Church, the Church is also in Heaven. It is possible for a bishop from above to participate in earthly affairs. When his fellow bishops rejected St. Nicholas, he recieved approval in the form of Holy Communion from Christ Himself and his mantle vestments arrived from the very hands of Holy Mother Mary. There is an anceint Orthodox icon showing all this to us. In these dry times it is much the same. Did not the Lord say it would be worse than Sodom, when only lonely and vexed Lot, along with his daughters, were saved from annihilation? Even Lot’s wife was lost to worldly pride. During this Great Apostasy are we to believe that we could find a faithful bishop presiding from earth? I do not see a one. Noah did not see any earthly bishops presiding on earth, yet Noah is part of the Church, so it is today. Noah did not believe the Devil had prevailed, neither do I. Simply said, earthly bishops, or none, do not determine the status of the Church.
I agree with the strict Old Believers that say it something like this: “How can there be any earthly orthodox bishops during the age of this Great Apostasy?” If you believe there is a right believing bishop residing on earth today, I am willing to reconsider. Each “bishop” I see today has a broken succession due to many heresies in both Faith and Practice. Even if they have one or two things right it is not possible to separate the heresy, unless they truly repent of them. From ancient times those Christians who lived in rural areas would rarely, if ever, see clergy. We should be willing to accept the same today.
God is able to complete that which outsiders falsely claim is lacking in the strict Old Believers. Their altar is the same as the Heavenly Altar. This Great Apostasy is not a fault of the faithful, nor is it their fault that their clergy were all brutally martyred. This is rather one of many evidences, proofs, facts and the truth which shows to everyone exactly how spiritually strong and powerful these few people are. Their bishops and their Lord are far above where the Church cannot be destroy. It is in this manner that the Eternal Liturgy is brought down to earth, spiritually, even if worldly-minded folks do not see it. God is still here for those that believe. Without God, for the disbelievers, there are no sacraments anyway, even if they make them up themselves. Heretical clergy have only a spiritually harmful imitation of sacraments. I do not believe the strict Old Believers to be without sacraments or without priests, they have heavenly assistance, which is the substance of those things they each represent.
The strict Old Believers do not reject the priesthood, they only obey God in rejecting all unrepentant heretical priests. They are convinced that they will not see any earthly ordained clergy until the Second Coming of Christ. Jesus Christ Himself is understood as being their Heavenly Great Archbishop (Pastor). Christ said that as long as there were 2 or 3 good Christians that He would always be with them in their midst. Yes, these kind and exceptional people do still exist in this mixed up world, but at a good distance from its present societies.
Better even is unbaptized saintliness than baptized worldliness. Saintliness includes goodness and sacrifice, and excludes all the worldly impure spirits of selfishness, pride, quarrels and conquests. Therefore, if we return to the pure Christian ideal, we will have that elementary simplicity in which the Church was so powerful as to move mountains and empires and hearts at the beginning of her history. That is what the world needs now just as much as it needs air and water, i.e., the elementary spiritual power by which we could be moved, cleared up, purified and brought out of our chaos to a solid and beautiful construction. It is greatly sorrowful that we have so entirely polluted and poisoned all the air and water that we have. [I took the liberty to edit some of the lines from, “The Agony of the Church” 1917, a eBook, free online. Though it has an idea or two right it is not on my recommend reading list.]
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