The modern church Old Believer Charter (Christian Old Believers who recognize the priesthood, which does not apply to non-priests) is built mainly on the statutes of the pre-schism Russian Church, which in turn go back to the Charter of the Jerusalem Monastery, known in Rus' in the form of a collection “ Church Eye", compiled by Rev. Afanasy Vysotsky. In fact, the entire Russian liturgical charter is based on different variations of this monastic charter.

Features of the Church Charter

The monastic charter prevails both in the temple and in home prayer. This primarily concerns the daily liturgical circle. There are seven rites of worship for the day: Vespers, Vespers, Midnight Office, Matins and the first hour, third, sixth and ninth hours. - this divine and most sacred service is not one of the seven services of the day, but it is a special service. In ancient times, all these seven services of the day were served at a specific time for each. However, over time, for the sake of the convenience of worshipers, they were combined into sequences, performed, as a rule, in the morning and evening.

Of course, it is possible to fully perform the daily cycle of Divine services only in a monastery. In parish churches, the daily cycle of Divine services is performed only on certain days: Sundays, days of holidays and memorable dates, and certain days of fasting. The same goes for home prayer. Rarely does anyone have the opportunity to perform daily Divine services, fully following the monastic rules. In this case, it is preferable to carry out as complete and approximate as possible church service on the days when this is performed in parish churches. On other days, a shorter prayer rule.

Features of the abbreviated prayer rule at home

If it is impossible to store all the specialized ones at home, it is possible to perform the Liturgical circle in a different way. In this case, the Divine service is performed by reading Psalms or one Jesus prayer with bows. Modern editions of Old Believer prayer books indicate that one or two kathismas are read for Vespers (kathisma is a chapter of the Psalter, consisting of several psalms), for Lenten Pavechernitsa (Nephimon) - one or two kathismas, for Midnight Office - one or two kathismas, for Matins - from three to five kathismas, for the first hour - one kathisma, for the Hours - two or three kathismas.

It is also proposed to perform the Divine Service with the Jesus Prayer (as well as other short prayers Theotokos, saints) with prostrations to the ground and from the waist, depending on zeal:

• for Vespers - 100–200 bows;
• for Paverenitsa - 50–100 bows;
• for Matins - 200–400 bows;
• for the First Hour - 50–100 bows;
• for the Hours - 200–300 bows.

In the collection of Rev. Kirill Belozersky, to replace the daily Liturgical circle, it is proposed to read half of the Psalter per day (10 kathismas). If there is no Psalter or the person is illiterate, the monk recommends praying 3,000 prayers for half of the Psalter or 6,000 prayers for the entire Psalter. Kathisma is equivalent to 300 Jesus prayers.

However, do not forget that all these instructions concern monastic life. In order not to overdo it or, conversely, to abandon prayer, but to adequately adapt the home prayer rule to your work and family schedule, advice is required spiritual father.

Published by the publication: Materials for the history of the schism. Collection for the history of the Old Believers, published by N. Popov. Volume 1 - Moscow, 1864
The Polish charter was adopted by the Fedoseev Old Believers at the Council of 1752, which took place in October 1752 in the Gudiska monastery - spiritual center Fedoseevites in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (now the Ignalina region of Lithuania).
About the Polish Council of 1752.
The general meeting of Fedoseev's mentors and parishioners, or the so-called Polish Council, probably took place in Gudishki in 1752. The meeting of Fedoseev's members was attended by 17, and according to other, more convincing estimates - 20 “abbots, skilled scholars of the Divine Scripture” and “books” people (total number up to 30 people), as well as “a great number of simple skilled ones” (IRLI, collection of I. Zavoloko, no. 25, l. 7-9; cf.: IRLI, collection of I. Zavoloko, no. 253, l. 106 rev). It was possible to find out from which areas 13 of the 20 abbots came: four were Gudishki elders, that is, probably local - Matvey Fedoseevich, Fedul Dmitrievich, Artamon Osipovich and Stepan Afanasyevich; then two each from Moscow and Yaroslavl or its environs, and one each from Starodubye, Voitishki and Samanyai; and Terenty Vasiliev most likely arrived from Livonia, where he settled after leaving Ryapino.

The council participants adopted a decision consisting of 46 (according to other sources, 48) points, called the Polish Charter or “Polish Articles”. Emphasizing the continuity of the ancient Church, Russian Orthodoxy before Nikon and the early Old Believers, and, therefore (from the point of view of the Fedoseevites) certainly “true” Orthodox Christianity, in the introduction its participants wrote about the subject and objectives of their meeting:

“We had a general meeting in Poland, in the monastery, about church things, and about the continuation of Christian life; and advised the general fatherly and brotherly councils, confirmation, found the Orthodox Christian faith, so that we could follow the former sufferers and ascetic and teacher of our Orthodox Christian faith” (Polish Charter 1864, 10-11).

At the Polish council, as can be seen from its resolutions, the following were discussed: critical issues: question about the title (Article 1); about icons and copper images (vv. 2-3); about relations with the “Zaonegi,” i.e., the Vygovites (Article 4); about Fedoseevites who apparently signed up for a double salary in Russia (Article 5), etc. Most of the articles (24) dealt with issues of morality and lifestyle of believers; another part of the articles concerned newlyweds (16 articles) and old wives (3 articles); the next part of the decrees spoke about behavior during worship, the church duties of parishioners and spiritual fathers (12 articles, some of them affected several groups of believers at once). You can see general trend resolutions on almost all issues: strictness towards one’s own and “external” ones and high demands on the morality and religiosity of parishioners and rectors.

Apparently, the main questions were three: about the attitude towards the Vygovites, about discipline in Fedoseyev society and about the newlyweds. The last two questions concerned precisely that sphere of the religious life of the then Fedoseevism, which became the target of sharp and sharp criticism from the newlyweds, headed by I. Alekseev at that time.

On the issue of the inscription on the cross, the Fedoseevites somewhat changed their position and allowed the worship of a cross with the inscription I.Н.Ц.I., or IС. HS. Earlier, Theodosius and Evstrat Vasilyev insisted on the correctness of the first, but I. Trofimov and the Vygovites in 1727 decided to postpone this controversial issue until a more thorough study. They decided to excommunicate those who did not worship such crosses from the Church (Polish Charter 1864, Art. 1).

Having reconciled, albeit temporarily, in their approach to the issue of the inscription on the cross, the Fedoseyevites again disagreed with the Vygovites on the issue of praying for the Tsar. This was recorded in the fourth article of the Polish Charter:

“Have separation with the Zaonegi, and with them neither drink, nor eat, nor pray, and do not blaspheme the teachings of our former sufferers. But the Pomeranian teachers of the current teaching cannot be praised. And whoever comes from Zaonezh in our consent, let him bow three hundred to the ground, but he must not extend the Zaonezh teaching” (Polish Charter, Art. 4; also see: Guryanova 1984, 77-78).

Thus, in 1752, the religious rules of the Fedoseevites established their separation from the Pomeranians in prayer and communication, which was not the case in the first half of the 18th century. Nevertheless, the two main non-priest societies continued to unite common and important dogmatic provisions about the coming of the spiritual Antichrist and the absence of the priesthood, recognition, in principle, of Church Tradition and the ideal of Russian pre-Nikon Orthodoxy. Along with the internal evolution of the teachings of the Bespopovites (the issue of marriages) and pressure from Russian state, this psychological closeness and common dogmatic basis could contribute to the gradual transition of a significant part of the Fedoseyev communities to a marital state already in 1823 and the adoption of the self-name Pomeranians at the beginning of the 20th century.

Most of the resolutions of the meeting concerned the religious and everyday aspects of Fedoseyev society. Particular attention was paid to the daily observance of religious precepts by believers and to cases of peace, that is, to connection in communication, through food, dishes, public institutions, etc. with people “external”, “heretics”. So, for example, the sixth article ordered the Fedoseevites to prepare food and eat in their homes, and whoever buys “in need” from “non-believers” in the market was entitled to a hundred bows for this; and those who bought food unnecessarily had to make a hundred bows to the ground “at the cathedral.” The twelfth article says: “In Lent on Tuesdays and Thursdays, those who eat twice, and this is disgusting for the holy fathers, and for such to impose 300 bows to the ground at the cathedral.” Further, two articles stipulated when it was possible to heat a bathhouse and wash, and when not.

Great demands were placed on the religious practice and discipline of believers. Several articles obliged them to observe religious observances on Sunday and during church holidays: “On Sundays and on great holidays, do not ride or walk around the kirmas for trading, and also do not ride on horseback (rule of Patriarch Nicephorus); If great need calls, then they bowed 100 to the ground. What if, apart from great need, it will be revealed that this is done; let such a one bow 300 to the ground at the cathedral.”

In many respects, the Polish Articles are an interesting document for getting acquainted with the religious customs and norms of Fedoseyev society in the mid-18th century. Along with strict rules and an attempt to establish them among all parishioners in communities, one can also observe the formation of a special institution of “spiritual fathers”, “spiritual people” or “spiritual fathers”, as the charter calls them. By the middle of the 18th century, the hope of the Bespopovites (primarily the Vygovites) to gain church hierarchy. The Fedoseevites, like all the Bespopovites, from the beginning of the 18th century actually built their religious and everyday life in the absence of the priesthood. Among the early Bespopovtsy, the divine service was headed and the necessary requirements were fulfilled by laymen, chosen from worthy Christians and who knew the “letter” and the basics of divine service. However, already from 1704, among the non-priests in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the people's election to a parish and the blessing of a pastor for church service to former mentors were practiced. Now this religious custom was elevated to a rule, and those who did not observe it were punished by imposition of penance or excommunication from society. Article 30 stated: “And those people who carry out spiritual work arbitrarily, without fatherly blessing, and do not have such people as confessors, and do not listen to them; If in the future someone begins to excommunicate the grays from Christianity; If they repent, let them bow down 500 times.”

It was the duty of spiritual fathers and parishioners to perform repentance once a year. And those who did not have a spiritual father and did not “correct themselves through repentance” once a year were ordered to be excommunicated (v. 10). Consequently, the spiritual fathers at the head of the Fedoseyevsk parishes were to be revered as non-clerical ministers, non-ordained shepherds of the Church. Spiritual fathers performed two church sacraments- baptism and repentance - what was considered the minimum necessary for salvation. Other articles (eg 37, 38, 39) defined the rights and responsibilities of spiritual fathers in more detail.

Religious rules were not limited to one religious and moral life of this society, but extended to others public relations. The Fedoseevites’ instructions were especially strict regarding products purchased in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth by believers and appeals to the “infidel court.” If for those bought unnecessarily “unclean products from non-believers”, i.e. Nikonians, one hundred prostrations to the ground were imposed, then for what was bought, drunk or eaten “in Polish cities, in Kirmas” the church punishment reached 300 prostrations to the ground “at the cathedral.” (v. 7). This means that in the religious hierarchy of values ​​of the Fedoseevites in the mid-18th century, Catholicism (and Protestantism) was even lower than Nikonianism. Thus, the awareness of the Fedoseevites of the presence in a Catholic state and, in their opinion, more “heretical” in the light of the idea of ​​​​the completed coming of the Antichrist into the world, could also contribute to their adoption of more stringent protective measures. The ban on the peace of the Fedoseevites was supposed to protect the few who were being saved from the Antichrist world.

The third most important issue at the Fedoseyev meeting in 1752 was the issue of newlyweds. All the decisions made by the assembly in relation to them were very strict: the spiritual fathers were forbidden to accept them for repentance (v. 24); infants - children of newlyweds were allowed to be baptized only in the event of their terminal illness and after the spouses made a promise to separate (v. 27); it was forbidden to baptize healthy infants of newlyweds, and spiritual fathers who baptized such a baby were removed from church service (v. 29); it was forbidden to live with newlyweds in the same house, to cook and eat in their houses, with the exception of old people who had to use special utensils (Articles 31 and 32); newlyweds who wanted to repent were taken to different villages, and they were forced to fast for six weeks, during which they had to go to divine services and stand “lowest of all, and bow at vespers,” and after the service, bow to the ground to each person (v. 42 ) and, finally, sick newlyweds were received in their house for confession “without debauchery” and burials “did not take place” in their house, and the spouse was not allowed to the burial, “until they were corrected” (v. 46). Such decisions were equivalent to complete excommunication from Fedoseyev society.

Thus, the Polish cathedral condemned the movement of the newlyweds: Fedoseyev’s mentors stood up against it with all the strength of their authority and influence. Pomeranian mentors, although they also did not recognize newlyweds as a legal institution, nevertheless treated the newlyweds themselves quite patiently, “they placed merciful judgment on them” and left them to live in the same house and baptized their children (Nilsky 1869, 176-181).

The spiritual fathers also began to treat the old-weds, that is, persons who were married in the Nikonian Church before converting to Fedoseevism, with increased demands regarding their observance of the “virgin life,” although they were more lenient than to the newlyweds. They called the marriages of the old-timers legal and accepted them into worship without divorce. However, they immediately added (v. 45) that if they “give birth to children, [...] they will be punished by the spiritual father: excommunicated for the first six months, excommunicated for the second year, two years for the third; and for cleansing prayers three thousand bows to the ground.” So, the Fedoseevites strengthened the demands of “angelic life” for everyone precisely when, in another part of the priestless movement, the search for ways to accept the institution of marriage began. From the beginning of the 19th century, the superiority of marriage partners over their opponents gradually began to take effect. An increasing part of the non-priest people are beginning to recognize marriages, but in the form of non-priestly class marriages. It was not understood as a sacrament, but was performed in a specially appointed manner, with the acceptance of the blessing of the mentor and parents.

Based on materials from the doctoral dissertation of G. Potashenko " Old Believers Church in Lithuania in the 17th-early 19th century" - Vilnius, 1999

Illustration: a citizen who does not comply with the requirements of the Charter home life.

In fact, Zap was drawing a dog. But as a result, it turned out that most people consider this creature to be a cat.
An incomprehensible and evil creature in general.

SECTION ONE: Kitchen

1. All utensils must be clean: before cooking, after cooking and after eating.

2. Dishes should live in the kitchen. Not in the rooms, not in the bathroom or in the hallway, but in the kitchen. Preferably in a closet.

3. Food is eaten only in the kitchen. It does not rush around the apartment, does not crumble on the floor and is not forgotten in secluded places. An exception to this article is when there is a collective viewing of masterpieces of world cinematic culture in the presence of apartment guests. Otherwise, food is still eaten in the kitchen.

4. Tea can be drunk not only in the kitchen. An essential condition for holding a tea party outside the kitchen is the mandatory cleaning of any and all traces of tea drinking, wherever it is held.

5. Food is prepared one by one every other day or at the request of the citizens living in the apartment. The following arguments are legal grounds for refusal to prepare food: “I don’t want to”, “I’m not hungry”, “I’m tired”.
If other citizens currently living in the apartment are not satisfied with this reason or combination of reasons, they have the right to arrange a debate on this issue with the party shirking cooking. The debate continues until all disputes are amicably settled. If this is not possible, all disputes are resolved in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation through a fictitious court.

6. The one who prepared the food has the right to force another citizen, currently living in the apartment and fed with this food, to wash the dishes. In this case, grounds for refusal such as “I don’t want” are not accepted.
A citizen who is forced to wash the dishes has the right to delegate the authority to bring the dishes to clean look any citizen located in this moment in the apartment, subject to the mandatory execution of these powers and full control of this execution by the citizen who delegated the powers.

7. Everyone washes their own dishes. The exception is when someone suddenly has to wash the dishes and he loudly notifies all citizens in the apartment about this in order to avoid the act of washing the dishes again or the criminal act of forgetting to wash the dishes.

SECTION TWO: General life

1. The concept of “cleaning” includes the following actions in the order of implementation: inspection of the ceiling and ceiling corners for spiders to build webs in them (in all rooms and premises), if discovered, vindictively destroy them; wiping dust on horizontal and suspicious vertical surfaces; sweeping the floor to clear it of small dry debris (in all rooms and premises); washing plumbing equipment bathroom and toilet using the sanitary and hygienic product "Domentos", in case of severe contamination - the sanitary and hygienic cleaning powder "Pemolux" ( Comrade! Remember! They accumulate under the toilet rim! etc.); washing horizontal flooring in all rooms and premises with a mandatory change of water for each room (carried out using the Domentos sanitary and hygienic product).

2. The personal space of a citizen living in an apartment (personal room) is cleaned at will, possibly irregularly, but subject to: absence unpleasant odors in the territory of personal space and other areas of the apartment; the absence of offensive sounds from the activity of pathogens and other foreign creatures that have gained life due to the accumulation of garbage; containing all possible garbage, dust and other unwanted substances (cockroaches, rats, mice) within the personal space of the citizen-owner of the substance.

3. Every citizen should go about his daily life with the following constant thought in his head:
Each thing has its own place and it must live there
Those. things are not scattered and put away in the place in which they are intended to live (example: dishes live in the kitchen in the closet, pants live in the personal space in the closet, dirty socks live in the automatic washing machine while waiting for washing).

4. Citizen! Remember! Morning is a difficult time of day. Do not aggravate the World Sadness about the coming of the morning, be polite and courteous, express your emotions with quiet, non-personalized swearing to the side!
Citizen! Remember also that evenings and weekends are your only free time from work! Give a holiday to yourself and another citizen, fulfill the requirements of this Charter with joy and pleasure, and thereby increase the amount of Good in the world!

This Charter has been drawn up

ABOUT PRAYER AT HOME

A Christian who has lost the cathedral service is required to perform the daily liturgical circle himself every day: Vespers (in the afternoon), Vespers (after dinner), Midnight Office, followed by Matins (early morning) and the Hours (in the morning), as well as the cell rule.

At each service, parish bows are required; and after the service - the original ones. If necessary, it is permissible to combine services; then, incoming and outgoing bows are not required between them. During the services they pray along the ladder with bows with the Jesus Prayer or read the Psalter. Sometimes they simply say the prayer to Jesus without bowing. There are several types of regulations regarding the duration of prayer, depending on the spiritual preparation, employment of the Christian and his state of health.

Prostrations: for Vespers - 3 lestovki (strict rules) or 2 (medium rules), or 1 (in case of need); for a celebrant - 2 bows or 1, or 50 bows. During Great Lent (all decrees in Lent- except for Saturdays and Sundays) for the great party - 3 flats. For the Midnight Office - 3 lestovkas or 2, or 1. For Matins - 7 lestovkas or 4, or 2. For the 1st hour - one and a half lestovkas or 1, or 50 bows. For hours - 5 lestovkas or 3, or 2. In Lent for hours - 7 and a half lestovoks. Bows are made at the waist, and during Lent on each staircase the last 17 bows are to the ground.

Reading the Psalter: for Vespers - 2 kathismas or 1. For Vespers - 1 kathisma (in Great Lent - 2). For the Midnight Office - 2 kathismas or 1. For Matins - 5 kathismas or 3, or 2. For the 1st hour - 1 kathisma or 100 bows. For hours - 3 kathismas or 2. During Great Lent, troparia and repentant prayers are read for every kathisma, as indicated in the Psalter.

Prayers of Jesus without bowing: for Vespers - 6 lestovok. For the evening service - 4 lestovki (in Lent - 7). For the Midnight Office - 6 ladders. For Matins and the 1st hour - 15 staves. During the hours - 10 lestovkas (in Lent - 15).

The cell rule also varies in scope. The great (“thousandth”) rule: 300 bows to the ground, 600 prayers of Jesus and 100 bows to the Mother of God. The average (“seven hundredth”) rule: 200 bows to the ground, 400 prayers of Jesus and 100 bows to the Mother of God or 100 bows, 200 prayers, 50 bows to the Mother of God. Small rule: 50 bows to the ground, 100 prayers of Jesus and 17 bows to the Mother of God. If you are busy, it is permissible to postpone the prayer for the rule to another day.

When incoming and outgoing bows are made at the waist, then all bows at services and during the rule are also made at the waist. When the initial bows are to the ground, then the last bows of each service (Most Honest..., Glory..., And now...) are also to the ground. During Great Lent, except for Saturdays and Sundays, all bows are to the ground. For meals - lunch and dinner -. bows are always made at the waist.