Encyclopedia Britannica -- The Old Believer:
Members of a group of Russian religious dissenters who refused to accept the liturgical reforms imposed upon the Russian Orthodox Church by the patriarch of Moscow Nikon (1652–58) are called The Old Believers. Numbering millions of faithful in the 17th century, the Old Believers split into a number of different …(1) , of which several survived into modern times.the …(2) of Rus to Christianity in 988, were literal translations from the Greek into Old Slavic. In the …(3) of centuries , manuscript copies of the translations, which were sometimes inaccurate and obscure at the start, were further …(4) by the mistakes of the scribes. Reform was difficult, for there was no agreement as to where the “ideal” or “original” text was to be found. The option taken by Patriarch Nikon was to follow exactly the texts and practices of the Greek Church as they existed in 1652, the beginning of his reign, and to this …(5) he ordered the printing of new liturgical books following the Greek pattern. His decree also required the …(6) in Russia of Greek usages, Greek forms of clerical dress, and a change in the manner of crossing oneself: three fingers were to be used instead of two. The reform, …(7) for all , was considered “necessary for salvation” and was supported by Tsar Alexis Romanov.Even after the …(8) of Nikon (1658) , who broached too strong a challenge to the Tsar’s authority, a series of church councils culminating in that of 1666–67 officially …(9) the liturgical reforms and anathematized the dissenters. Several of them, including Avvakum, were executed.in the …(10) regions of northern and eastern Russia (but later also in Moscow itself) and were important in the colonization of these remote areas. Opposed to all change, they strongly resisted the Western innovations introduced by Peter I, whom they regarded as Antichrist. Having no episcopal …(11) , they split into two groups. One group, the Popovtsy (priestly sects), sought to attract ordained priests and were able to set up an episcopate in the 19th century. The other, the Bezpopovtsy (priestless sects), renounced priests and all …(12) , except Baptism. Many other sects developed out of these groups, some with practices considered extravagant.benefited from the …(13) of toleration (April 17, 1905), and most groups survived the Russian Revolution of 1917. Numerous branches of both the Popovtsy and the Bezpopovtsy succeeded in becoming registered and thus officially …(14) by the Soviet state. The membership of one Moscow-centred Popovtsy group, the convention of Belaya Krinitsa, was estimated in the early 1970s at 800,000. Little is known, however, of the Old Believer settlements supposed to exist in Siberia, the Urals, Kazakhstan, and the Altai. Some groups exist elsewhere in Asia and in Brazil and the United States.completely …(15) all the anathemas of the 17th century and recognized the full validity of the old rites.
01.) A sects B circles C coteries D boroughs
02.) A transition B conversion C influx D convergence
03.) A regime B history C period D course
04.) A deflated B diluted C penetrated D mutilated
05.) A matter B reason C regard D effect
06.) A assumption B adoption C acquisition D recognition
07.) A obligatory B obliged C compulsive D committed
08.) A exclusion B ejection C deposition D dismissal
09.) A abetted B conceded C facilitated D endorsed
10.) A impervious B unfamiliar C unapproachable D inaccessible
13.) A mission B hierarchy C morale D conduct
12.) A sacraments B ablutions C sanctions D chaplains
13.) A commandment B edict C prayer D act
14.) A approved B nominated C recognized D announced
15.) A rescinded B recanted C abjured D demonised
