The Purpose of this Site

This project is an attempt to provide links to the vast majority of resources available on the Internet for Russian Old Ritualists. Unless otherwise stated (see the Disclaimer below), only links to these sites are presented here. Please be aware that textual and file format rights belong to the owners of these sites. In addition to what is available elsewhere, the webmaster of this site is including several items of his own work; these items will be marked with 3 asterisks (***).

Together with these links, the webmaster of this site is attempting to systematically archive all these materials in a secure (non-internet) location, in case any of these sites become defunct and thus the materials become inaccessible.

Old Believers have discovered that the Internet allows us to find one another, to build bonds of mutual friendship and good will, and to allow our culture to flourish openly. By allowing our spiritual culture to be so open to the rest of the world, we can offer a model of social restructuring and spiritual revival which Russia so desperately needs in its post-Communist era.

Regarding the Sources of Materials (Legal Disclaimer)

Any materials which are presented directly on this web site are either in the public domain or are presented with consent of respective copyright owners. In the case of some important material which I have chosen to mirror on my site without being able to contact the authors, I have attempted to place a link back to the original source at the bottom of such pages. (Please DO NOT write to me with accusations of theft or plagiarism; a link back to the original source is legally considered a LITERARY QUOTE, since it acknowledges the true author of the material. Moreover, any link from my site to yours is "good advertising" for you.) However, if you feel that a particular item is posted here without your consent and should not be here, such material will be removed without delay upon your request.

Regarding the Links Pages

Keeping track of all the Web sites dealing with Old Believers is now an impossible task, due to the multitude of materials constantly becoming available in this time of (relative) religious freedom in Russia and the increased use of the Internet. The materials have become so numerous that I have had to divide the links into three separate pages: for general historical and cultural resources, for Priested Old Believer websites, and for Priestless Old Believer websites. Please keep in mind that some of the links become outdated within days, as people reorganize their sites, move to different servers (and URLS), or simply close down their sites for any number of reasons.

In general, rural Old Believer communities and older generations tend to have more separatist attitudes between different "Tolki" (interpretations or sectarian divisions), and thus they maintain web sites dealing only with their own group. However, urban communities and younger generations (especially those growing up in post-Communist Russia, with freedom of access to technology, literary resources and the Internet) tend to be more willing to share common resources, in a desire to honor that which we hold in common, not that which keeps us divided. (Interestingly, a few web sites are so "eclectic" - including this one - that it is difficult to figure out the religious affiliation of the site owner.)

Old Believer Web sites are of three general types:
- Official Old Believer Web Sites — operated by Old Believer Church/administrative organizations
- Personal Web Sites — operated by individual Old Believers
- Related Informational Web Sites — operated by non-Old Believers

Who am I?

I am Nikita Syrnikov (Simmons), and I live in Woodburn, Oregon, USA. I attend a parish of the Belokrinitsa Hierarchy of Old Believers. This web site is maintained as my personal hobby. For more information see my Curriculum vitae.

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