The Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation has officially registered the Association of Old Believer Organizations “International Old Believer Union“. The registration documents have been received by the Union. The creation of the new organization was preceded by a detailed discussion at two significant inter-Old Believer events. For the first time, this issue was raised in 2018 at the World Old Believer Forum in Moscow, at the House of Russia Abroad. Three years later, in 2021, this topic was again brought up for discussion at the International Old Believer Forum dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the birth of Archpriest Avvakum, but no concrete decision regarding the establishment of a new Association was made then.
Only at the end of April of this year, in the House of Clergy at Rogozhskoye in Moscow, the general meeting of the founders of the Association “International Old Believer Union” took place, in which representatives of various Old Believer denominations took part. In the presence of the head of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church Metropolitan Korniliy, the participants of the meeting discussed the previously prepared statute of the Association, made additional amendments to it, and made the decision to establish the Association. After that, the registration documents were submitted to the Ministry of Justice, and now the Association has been officially registered.
The founders of the Associations “International Old Believer Union” are public (non-commercial) organizations created by Old Believers of various denominations and implementing the public initiatives of those. The New Association will not be concerned with the matters of faith, but will focus its activities specifically and exclusively on public initiatives, as is inscribed in its statute. The main areas of activity of the Association are cultural and educational activities, dissemination of the cultural heritage of Old Believers, assistance to Old Believers and Old Believer communities.
Among the founders of the “International Old Believer Union” Associations, the following organizations should be mentioned: autonomous non-commercial organization “Krinitsa” (ROOBC) in the person of Mikhail Pankratov; Primorsky Krai regional organization “Assistance in resettlement and adaptation of expatriate Old Believers” (‘Chasovennye’) in the person of Avraam Kalugin; regional public organization “Cultural Pilgrimage Centre named after Archpriest Avvakum” (Pomorians) in the person of Maxim Pashinin; Charitable Fund for the Preservation of Traditional Communities “Russian Connection” in the person of Fr. Georgiy Yefimov (Ancient Orthodox Archdiocese); regional public organization “Society of Culture of Semeyskiye of the Republic of Buryatia ” in the person of Sergey Petrov. The Association “International Old Believer Union” is open for the other public organizations established by Old Believers of various denominations to join.
As the chairman of the founding meeting of the International Old Believer Union, Valeriy Korovin, explained, “the purpose of the association is to unite the efforts of socially active Old Believers in promoting the interests of Old Believers, developing their presence in the public life of the country, as well as supporting the preservation of Old Believer traditions and culture of the Russian people. The Old Believers are model Russians, Russians as they should be, which means that it is precisely from this Old Believer root a genuine, full-fledged revival of the Russian people in all its fullness will begin on the basis of its original, Orthodox traditions.
