The Schism, or Raskol, was provoked chiefly by Patriarch Nikon
(1608–1681), a complex figure whom Tsar Aleksei had appointed
patriarch in 1652. The split divided the Russian Orthodox Church
into two sects: those who remained faithful to the official church;
and the Old Believers, who broke away. Nikon, a leader in the
religious and moral revival that the era witnessed, had great
influence over the tsar and even attempted to break with tradition
by asserting the superiority of the church over the state. With
this power, he sought to return Russian Orthodox practices—for
instance, the use of the word alleluia, the making of the sign
of the cross, the direction of church processions, and the correction
of errors in translations of Church service books—to conform
to the Greek Byzantine practice.
The opposing groups believed that such reforms were heretical.
Known as the Old Believers, they included prosperous peasants
and merchants; eventually some were characterized by fanaticism
and xenophobia. The conflict was officially resolved when Tsar
Aleksei grew weary of Nikon’s arrogance and banished him.
Ironically, the Council of 1666 legalized Nikon’s reforms,
but reinstated the state’s dominance over the church. The
Council also anathematized the Old Believers, thereby pushing
them into the ranks of religious and political dissidence.
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