~ prayer books, icons, crosses, crucifixes, frankincence aromas, pure wax candles, prayer carpets, belts, prayer shirts, special prayer dress ~
and many other rare and interesting religious items
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Item description: Russian Christian Orthodox Fundamentalists Old Believers icon. All icons made outside of they community are considered by Old Believers belonging to the world of the AntiChrist. This icon is a copy of 16 century icon. All items made by Old Believers, are rare and unique and it is never sold in shops because distributed only inside they community. Strong hard cover and paper block stiching.
Weight:
Measurements:
Condition: brand new, never been used
Lacks, defects, damage: no
Date: circa 1990
Item story: I have received this icon at annual fair in Moscow where christians belonged to Old Believers communities from distant villages of Russia sell they products.
About Old Believers: Russian Christian Orthodox Fundamentalists or Old Believers, or more correctly, Old Ritualists are Orthodox Christians who adhere to the service books and ritual of the Russian Orthodox Church prior to the reforms made to those books and services by the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Nikon beginning in the year 1653. Opponents of the ecclesiastical reforms of Nikon emerged among all strata of the people and in relatively large numbers. The Old Believers fiercely rejected all innovations, and the most radical amongst them maintained that the official Russian Church had fallen into the hands of the Antichrist. The State church anathematized both the old rites and books and those who wished to stay loyal to them. From that moment, the Old Believers officially lacked all civil rights. The State church had the most active Old Believers arrested, and executed many of them some years later in 1682. After 1685 a period of persecutions began, including both torture and executions. Many Old Believers fled Russia altogether. However, Old Believers became the dominant denomination in many Russian regions, including North and Siberia. Before the Russian Revolution in 1917 there were probably more than 20 million Old Believers located throughout the Russian Empire and in Diaspora, but now after nearly a century of Communist persecution and simple secularization of Russian people, that number probably does not exceed 2 million. Old Ritualists are known for their strict adherence to the practices of the Russian Orthodox Church as it existed prior to Patriarch Nikon. Additionally, Old Ritualists have preserved ancient customs, traditional way of life, ancient clothes of Old Russia, natural rural economy, ancient form of church prayer singing, known as Znamenny Chant, that continues to draw the attention of other Orthodox Christians, as well as scholars and historians.
Group of Russian Christian Orthodox Old Believers. Village near Volga river. Circa 1916
Russian Christian Orthodox Old Believers confidently speak about themselves: "Orthodoxy means right teaching, correct doctrine. Orthodox Christianity is the true doctrine of Christ. When Orthodoxy came to the Slavic lands, the term was rendered as pravoslavie – right glorification, which fits the importance attached to worshipping God in beauty as well as in truth. Christianity is concerned with man's salvation from evil. The belief of the mind and the praise of the lips would be hollow if not joined to virtue. And so, true belief and true worship must bear fruit in right conduct, good morals and righteous actions. In Orthodox Christianity, man's mind, soul and body are elevated and ennobled to rise above the merely mundane and to lead what one writer has given as the very definition of Orthodoxy: new life in the Holy Spirit." Now it is still possible to meet this people in remote parts of Russia, mostly in Siberia. More information about Old Believers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Believers
Item description in Russian:
Russian Christian Orthodox Old Believer with his huge home icons shelf.
Village Tonkino near Volga river. Nova days, 2007
Moral and ethical sense of your purchase in our eBay shop: According to the custom law of Russia State export from the country of items created earlier 1950 are forbidden. This fair law works for preservation of a russian cultural heritage from commercial robbery and full disappearance. Therefore we do not sell antiques, non. All religious items in our shop are hand-made by modern Old Believers. Buying the things made by Old Believers, you give material and moral support to their independent community and to ancient religious culture of Old Holy Russia, which has strongly suffered from persecutions in ancient times from Patriarch Nikon reform at 1666-1917, from communistic terror at 1917-1987 and from general secularization of modern society. Thank you for support of unique traditional culture and religion of our people.
About me: as the representative of this Russian Christian Orthodox Fundamentalists Old Believers community I have an extensive knowledge in religious subjects of ancient Russia. I know well an ancient church art. I have the big collection of religious items and icons. I get subjects for my collection in auctions, antiques shops, church shops, flea markets, at private persons by purchase and by exchange on mutually interesting subjects. Also I visit the remote and wild parts of my huge native land where rare subjects were still kept on the present. Frequently these rare things are in oblivion and still wait for the person, who can understand their beauty and meaning.
Sorry: for bad English, which is not my native language. I am a new seller here in eBay, but I am fair and responsible person and I will try my best to give you a good service for your satisfaction.
Payments: All Payments can be paid through pay pal. Payments must be made within 3 days of auction close.
Shipping: All Items won in auction will be shipped within 3 days of auctions close and after pay pal payment. Worldwide shipping from Russia usialy takes 14 - 18 days. For shipping we use Russian Post Service - now it works ok (not like in Gorbachev time!). You can check shipping with tracking number here http://www.russianpost.ru/portal/ru/home/postal/trackingpo this page only in Russian, sorry. Thanks for understanding.
Combined shipping: yes, we do this. Shipping will be much cheaper. Choose few my items and ask for combined shipping price.
Questions: I shall be happy to answer any of your questions. Feel free to ask...
Have a look my other items concerning to Old Believers: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZboring-merchant