An Old Believer before the Schism: A New 17th-Century Document on Elder Kapiton

Abstract

In the 1960s–1970s, researchers focused on the figure of elder Kapiton when V. S. Shulgin and S. A. Zenkovsky simultaneously became interested in him. As a result, the image of an ascetic and charismatic leader formed, uniting small communities of followers around him. Of particular interest was the fact that Kapiton seemed to show some skepticism about some church practices before Patriarch Nikon’s liturgical reform. Thus, he appeared to be an “Old Believer” before the Raskol. While most of the documents about Kapiton’s activities rely on the testimonies of his opponents, the petition found in the State Archive of Vologda Region provides an exceptional opportunity to understand how his supporters perceived the elder. The petition shows that the monastery founded by Kapiton was divided into two opposing camps, the reconciliation between which was impossible. The sources created in these conditions deserve a particularly critical approach, so it is difficult to restore the ideas and practices characteristic of Kapiton on their basis.