Starting the conversation about how the Old Believer icons differ from those that we used to see in our Orthodox churches, we will return three and a half centuries ago to more clearly imagine the background of the historical events that this very rare kind of icon painting has developed. What is the phenomenon of the Old Believers and what are the reasons for its occurrence?
The essence of the reform of Patriarch Nikon
The Old Believers in our country arose in the middle of the XVII century, becoming the result of a split that shook the entire Russian Orthodox Church. The reason for this was the reform carried out by Patriarch Nikon. Its essence boiled down to the fact that in order to eliminate numerous deviations from the original order of worship that came to Russia from Byzantium, it was prescribed to re-translate church books from Greek, and based on them, make appropriate changes to the liturgical order.
In addition, the reform also affected external ritual forms, replacing, in particular, the usual two-toed, adopted during the overshadowing with the sign of the Cross, with the three-toed , which has survived to this day. Changes were also made to the canons, providing for the order of writing icons.
A popular protest that ended in a split
This reform, rational in nature, but carried out hastily and thoughtlessly, provoked an extremely negative reaction among the people. A significant part of the population refused to accept innovations and submit to church authorities. The conflict was aggravated by the fact that the reform was carried out under the auspices of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, and all her opponents were accused of disobeying the sovereign, which gave the case a political coloring. They began to be called schismatics and subjected to persecution.
As a result, an independent religious movement was formed in Russia that broke away from the official church and was called the Old Believers, as its followers continued to adhere to pre-reform canons and rules. It has survived to this day, having transformed into the Russian single-faith church.
What icons are called Old Believers?
Since the Old Believers believe that since the reform it was the official church that deviated from the true "Old Orthodox" faith, and they remained its sole bearers, for the most part the icons of the Old Believer church correspond to the traditions of Old Russian writing.
In many ways, the same line can be traced in the works of the masters of the official church. Thus, the term "Old Believer icons" should be understood only as those of them that in their writing diverged from the canons established during the reform.
Old Savior Icons of the Savior
The most characteristic in this regard is the icon called "Savior Good Silence." It depicts Jesus Christ in the image of an angel crowned with the eight-pointed crown of God the Father and clothed in a royal tunic. It got its name thanks to the corresponding inscriptions on it.
Such an icon is found exclusively among Old Believers, since the canons of the official church forbid depicting Christ - the Creator of the universe - as a creature, that is, a creature created by him, which is an angel. As is known from the Holy Scriptures, the Lord created the whole visible and invisible world, which included both the angelic rank and the spirits of darkness.
In addition, the banned by the official church, but common among Old Believers, include two more images - “Savior Wet Beard” and “Savior the Bright Eye”. On the first of these, Christ is represented with a wedge-shaped beard and a left eye larger than the right, as well as a wedge-shaped beard. On the second icon, He is written without a halo, which completely contradicts accepted standards, as well as with an elongated head and a dark, slightly distinguishable face.
Examples of virgin icons and images of saints
Old Believer icons of the Virgin have their own characteristic features . The most common among them is the "Virgin of Fire". It is distinguished from ordinary generally accepted deeds (varieties) of theotokos icons by the predominance of fiery red and scarlet tones in the overall color scheme, which was the reason for its unusual name. The Mother of God is represented on her alone, without the Infant. Her face is always turned to the right.
Icons of Old Believer saints are also sometimes quite peculiar and controversial. Some of them are sometimes capable of causing bewilderment by a casual spectator. These include, in particular, the icon of the martyr Christopher the Pshegolovets. On it the saint is depicted with a dog's head. Omitting the argument for such an interpretation of the image, we only note that this icon, along with some other similar subjects, was banned by a special decree of the Holy Synod in December 1722.
Old Believers' icons with a picture of the most famous religious scholars in the past, revered as saints, but not recognized by the official church, also occupy a special place. This is, first of all, the leader of the Old Believer movement, Protopop Avvakum, who was executed for his activities in 1682, the fanatical adherent of ancient piety, the noblewoman Feodosiya Morozova, as well as the founder of the Vygovskaya bespopovskoy community Andrei Denisov. Old Believer icons, the photos of which are presented in the article, will help to visually present the characteristic features of this type of church painting.
General characteristics of the Old Believer icons
In general, we can talk about a number of characteristic differences common to the bulk of the icons adopted by the Old Believers. These include a large number of inscriptions made in the fields and on top of the painting layer. Also, the icons made on the boards are characterized by dark, sometimes hardly distinguishable faces, whether it be the Old Believer icon of the Mother of God, the Savior or some saint.
But this is not the end of the question. There is another important feature by which you can easily recognize Old Believer icons. Their difference from the official ones is often expressed in the fact that the saints are depicted holding their hands in two duodenal constitution.
In addition, the fundamental difference is in writing an abbreviation for the name of Jesus Christ. The fact is that, among other requirements, the reform established the rule of writing in it the two letters "And" - Jesus. Accordingly, the abbreviation has become such. On Old Believers' icons, the name of the Savior is always spelled in the old way - Jesus, and in the abbreviation one "I" is put.
Finally, one cannot fail to mention another kind of icon, which exists only among schismatics. These are cast tin and copper mortise old believer icons and crosses, the production of which is prohibited in official Orthodoxy.
Rejection of new “gracious” icons
Among other aspects of church life, the reform of Patriarch Nikon also affected the style of writing icons. Even in the centuries preceding it, Russian iconography felt the strong influence of Western European painting, which was further developed in the middle of the XVII century. According to the rules introduced with the adoption of the reform, a more realistic style was established in the icons, replacing the previously existing conventions and symbolism.
This caused an active protest from the leaders of the Old Believers, who called for ignoring these blasphemous, from their point of view, remodels. In this regard, the polemic works of Archpriest Habakkuk are known, who sharply criticized the unacceptable "resemblance" in new samples of church painting and declared such icons graceless.
Demand for ancient icons that spawned the fake industry
Such statements caused the fact that, starting in the second half of the 17th century, the Old Believers began to actively collect old “pre-split” icons, among which the works of Andrei Rublev were especially appreciated. By the way, the reason for this was not their artistic merits at all, but the decision of the Church Council, which had taken place a hundred years before, and had decided to consider Rublev’s work as a model for future painters.
Thus, the demand for ancient icons increased sharply, and since they remained a rarity at all times, the mass production of fakes made “antique” was immediately established. Such Old Believer icons were called "blasphemy" and were very widespread, which the followers of ancient piety tried to counteract.
Art experts and creators of new works
In order not to become a victim of deception of clever businessmen, the Old Believers were forced to delve into all the subtleties of writing icons. It is not surprising that it was from their midst that the first serious professional experts in the field of iconography came out. Their role was especially noticeable at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when Russian society showed a wide interest in the works of ancient painting, and accordingly, the production of all kinds of fakes increased.
The Old Believers not only tried to acquire old icons, but over time they began to produce their own, fulfilled according to all the rules, which they themselves established. Since the middle of the 18th century, the largest iconoclastic centers had their own icon-painting workshops, in which, in addition to paintings, copper cast icons were also created.