Contents: (1) Heresies; (1.1) Стригольники; (1.2) Жидовствующие; (2) Sectarians in Russia; (2.1) Штундисты; (2.2) Baptists; (2.3) Adventists.

1 -- Heresies
In the Greek Church, during her whole history, there appeared false teachings and heresies, and to struggle with them it was even necessary to call Ecumenical Councils. The same thing happened within the Russian Church; various church misunderstandings and disputes appeared, which led to heresies and schisms.

Questions
1. What is a heresy?
2. Were there any heresies in the Russian Church?

1.1 Стригольники
The Стригольники Heresy appeared in the second half of the 14th century, in Pskov. Стригольник Karp (a barber) and deacon Nikita (расстрига [defrocked]) started to teach that it is not necessary to accept sacraments from the clergy. Besides this they denied the need of a Church hierarchy, Church religious rites, Ecumenical Councils, evangelical writings and the resurrection of the dead. Laymen can teach, and to repent it is only necessary to drop to the ground, without talking to a priest. Евхаристию [Eucharist] has to understand in a spiritual sense.
    Preaching this destructive teaching, they showed themselves to be hypocrites and seemed to people as observing strict fasts and being подвижники [ascetics].
    From Pskov these false teachers went to Novgorod where they found many followers. Here, at first strict measures were used against the Стригольники. After the Church condemnation, the people seized Karp and Nikita and drowned them in a river. But softer measures proved more effective: letters by Nil and Anthony, Patriarchs of Constantinople and the advice of Metropolitan Фотия [Fotiy] lessened the turmoil in people's minds.
    Nevertheless, the Стригольники ideas, at the present time (1911), are repeated in some ракольнических сектах [schismatic sects].

Questions
1. Who were the Стригольники and when did they appear?
2. What did the Стригольники teach?
3. How did they fight the Стригольники?

1.2 Жидовствующие
The Жидовствующие Heresy [Hebraic Heresy] was even more harmful than the Стригольники Heresy. It appeared in the second half of the 15th century (1470) in Novgorod. A Jew, named Схария [Skhariya] who was famous for being learned, started to teach, disbelief in the basic truths of Christianity.
    Схария [Skhariya] taught that God is one and has no Son and Holy Spirit, that the Messiah has not yet come and when he will come, he will be an ordinary person, as were Moses, David and other prophets. He belittled the dignity of Lord Jesus Christ, Божией Матери [God's Mother] and the holy saints, rejected sacraments, mocked icons, мощи [incorrupt remains], fasts, monasticism and other establishments and characteristics of the Orthodox Church.
    The Жидовствующие Heresy spread quickly and even captivated [effected] many clerics. The heresy even reached Moscow where it had among its followers a powerful member at the court, the government official Feodor Kuritsyn and other boyars, and even penetrated into the tsar's family where its backer [patroness] was Countess Elena. This movement went so far that through their conspiring (secret actions, intrigues) among the heretics, Archimandrite Zosima was chosen as Metropolitan, one of the secret adherents of the sect.
    One of the reasons of the success of the Жидовствующие Heresy was the unusual cunning of the heretics. They spread their false teaching in strict secret, demonstrating external piety, and seemed humble and temperate. If they saw a person who was firm in his Orthodoxy they pretended to be Orthodox and tried to influence him gradually and with cunning.
    The first person to rise against the Жидовствующие Heresy was Archbishop Gennady Novgorodsky [of Novgorod]. In 1491, Metropolitan Zosima had to call in Moscow a Sobor, to consider [discuss, judge] the heretics. The Sobor condemned the heretics, and Zosima pretended to be Orthodox and also condemned them. Some of the heretics were sent to prison, and others were sent to Novgorod for reformation. The heresy faded away, but not for long.
    The heretics who were sent to Novgorod for reformation ran away and again started to spread their false teaching. In Moscow Metropolitan Zosima and the government official Kuritsyn remained at the court. The year 1492 was 7000 years from the creation of the world and many Orthodox both in Greece and in Russia thought that the end of the world was coming. The Жидовствующие used this to their advantage and again started to confuse the people by mocking the Orthodox faith. Then in 1492, in order to calm the Orthodox, a Sobor again was called in Moscow.
    At the same time Преподобный Иосиф Волколамский [Joseph Volokolamsky] wrote the book Просветитель [Enlightener] which was directed against the Жидовствующие Heresy. Преподобный Iosif began to accuse the heretic Metropolitan Zosima and he had to retire.
    But with the removal of Zosima the heresy of Жидовствующие did not end. The government official Kuritsyn and Countess Elena still supported the heretics. Soon Count John III found out about the countess and her supporters. The final defeat of the heresy was rendered on a Sobor, called due to the insistence of Преподобный Iosif, in Moscow, in 1504. The most guilty heretics were condemned to be burned. Others were sent into exile and sent to various monasteries. In the following year, the patroness of this heresy, Countess Elena died in jail.

Questions
1. Who were the Жидовствующие and when did they appear?
2. What did the Жидовствующие preach?
3. How did they fight Жидовствующие?

2 -- Sectarians in Russia

2.1 Штундисты
The Штундисты first appeared in Germany. The founder of this sect is considered to be Yakov [Jacob] Shpener (+1705). The name Штундисты comes from the German word "stunde" - hour. By this name are known the meetings, at which Germans gather at a certain hour in private homes, sometimes in кирках [their churches], for the reading of God's Word and singing religious hymns. These assemblies are under the supervision of pastors.
    The Штундисты decline [refuse, reject] holidays, fasts, reverence of holy icons and мощей [holy relics], praying to the saints, prayers for the dead and reject Holy Предание [Tradition]. Holy Scripture they interpret freely, often not clearly. They believe in inner inspiration directly from God as being above God's written Word. They reject the sacraments, the priesthood, the Church as a divine establishment and do not recognize civil authorities.

Questions
1. Who were the Штундисты and when did they appear?
2. What did the Штундисты preach?

2.2 Baptists
Baptists appeared in Germany in the 16th century. The Baptists came to Russia by means of the Baltic Germans.
    The basic proposition of this teaching is that baptism is only for adults, since only an adult can decide into which community he wishes to enter. They ceased to believe that baptism is a saving Sacrament which restores human nature that was spoiled by sin. They look at a baptism only as a symbol of entrance into the Church. They rebaptized those who were already baptized in childhood. But they are correct in that they baptize through immersion into the water, and not just by sprinkling as it is done by the Roman-Catholics and Protestants.
    The Baptist teaching is characterized by a rationalistic nature. Baptists reject the Sacred Предание [Tradition], the Sacraments and Church Hierarchy, fasts, monasticism and in general all Church rituals, worship of Пресвятой Богородицы [Most Holy Mother of God], praying to the saints, reverence of the Cross, icons and мощи [holy relics], prayers for the dead and baptism of babies. The only source of their faith they consider to be God's written Word. Although they reject Church hierarchy, the Baptists however have their own. Besides пресвитеров [presbyters], Baptists have teachers or preachers and deacons.

Questions
1. Who were the Baptists and when did they appear?
2. What did the Baptists preach?

2.3 Adventists
The Adventists first appeared in America in the beginning of the 19th century. This sect is similar to the Baptists. Baptist preacher William Miller, began to teach that all the prophecies about the second coming of Christ were already fulfilled and he even named the date of the second coming: October, 22nd, 1844. From this belief in the close coming of Christ, the sect received its name; in English "Advent" - means coming.
    Adventists break up into several separate, hostile to each other groups. The "Seventh-Day Adventists" is the sect that is most active in their propaganda. They reject celebration of Sunday and teach that it is necessary to celebrate Saturday.
    Now they have predicted a new date of the second coming: 1995. According to their opinion, in this year, all righteous people will resurrect and will reign with Christ for 1000 years.
    In one thousand years Christ will return to earth for the third time. Then the sinners will also resurrect, whom the Lord will exterminate by fire, so that they will not be tortured by hell's torments. Righteous people will reign with Christ eternally.
    This teaching severely contradicts the Holy Scripture.

Questions
1. Who are the Adventists and when did they appear?
2. What did the Adventists teach?

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