Avvakum Petrovich 17th Century Martyr (1620-1682)
Created | Updated Jul 6, 2011
Born in Grigorova, Russia, in November 1620, Avvakum Petrovich became one of the central figures in the 17th Century schism of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The great reformation was not the first time Christianity had split.
Branches like the Coptic church in Egypt had existed as long ago as 451 AD.
In 1054 there was a great schism in Christianity which resulted in the two main branches
- The Eastern (Greek) church
- The Western (Latin) church.
the Roman Catholic Church.
Even before 1054 there were Christians in Russia. These became part of the Eastern Orthodox church and after the fall of the Byzantine Empire became a semi-independent church: The Russian Orthodox. During the 17th Century this also broke apart, mainly because men like Petrovich wanted to retain the old way of doing things while the patriarch in charge wanted to change and draw closer to other Eastern Orthodox churches.
His Early Years
The Russian Orthodox Church was hundreds of years old when Avvakum was born. From the earliest years of the Russian Orthodox Church ritual was one of the most important elements of the faith. So important that many would even die for it. Born in the village of Grigorovo in the Nizhny Novgorod district Avvakum's father was a priest and he taught his son these rituals. And from his mother Avakkum learned the fear of God and the power of prayer. Avvakum was ordained as a deacon at 21 and became a priest at 23. The young man worked tirelessly and added many souls to the kingdom of God. In 1638 he married Anastasia Markovna, the daughter of a local blacksmith, who raised his children and supported him through thick and thin.
The Patriarch
In the seventeenth century Czar Alexis had placed his friend Nikon in charge as patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Nikita Minov Nikon was born in 1605; after attaining power he went simply by the name Nikon.
Upon being named patriarch Nikon began his reforms. Two years later in 1654 he convened a synod to re-examine the service-books. This resulted in the church changing their established rituals.
In the same year that Nikon became patriarch, Avvakum, at age 31 was named arch priest of the Kazan Cathedral. By this time he was also a leader in a large group called
Old Believers and his name became known across Siberia.
The Old Believers did not agree to the reforms set forth by the Patriarch. They believed that the centre of Christendom had moved from Jerusalem to Rome, to Constantinople, to Moscow, that they were the guardians of the faith, and that any attack on their rituals was an attack on the heart of Christianity. Called schism-makers by their opponents they were willing to defend or even die for their beliefs and rituals.
At one point Avvakum argued that one reason Constantinople fell to the Turks was in not maintaining the faith.
Nikon, however, wanted to bring Russia's church in line with the other Orthodox Churches. He proclaimed that it was the Greeks, not the Russians, who had preserved the correct forms of worship, and he had the power of the government to support his position.
The Final Showdown
Martyr: A transliteration of the greek word witness.
particularly one willing to die for his cause
1.
Avvakum, fearing that his opposition might endanger his family he asked his wife if he should hold his peace. she replied
"Dare to preach God's word as heretofore and do not feel anxious about us"
Exiled to Siberia, life was hard. Two of his children died from starvation and Avvakum thought his head would fall to the chopping block in 1670 like
Sir Thomas More who had died as a witness to the truth in 1535 in Britain. Avvakum faced the Russian chopping block exclaiming "We suffer and die for the truth...Here stands my throne". The Tsar had other ideas however and the archpriest was soon back in his jail cell where he continued his autobiography.
Pages of it continued to be smuggled out by his followers until 1676.
Called a masterpiece of Russian Literature, "The Life,Written by Himself" has been reprinted as recently as 19792.
Finally on April 14,1682 he died-burned at the stake- on orders from the Tsar. He said in his autobiography:"Let the servant of Christ rejoice in reading it. When we die, he will read and remember us before God. And we will entreat God on behalf of those who read and listen. They will be our people there at Christ's side, and we theirs, forever and ever. Amen3."
