Doukhobor

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The Doukhobors or Doukhabors (Dukhobory, Dukhobortsy) (Russian: Духоборы/Духоборцы) are a Christian dissenting sect of Russian origin.

Contents

[edit] History

Image:Doukhobors at outdoor meeting.jpg
Doukhobors at outdoor meeting, Thrums, British Columbia, 1951

The origin of the Doukhobors dates to 17th and 18th century Russia. The term dukhobortsy (in English Doukhobors) means "spirit wrestlers."

The Doukhobors were a Christian sect, later defined as a religious philosophy, ethnic group, social movement, or simply a 'way of life', which in the 18th century rejected secular government, the Russian Orthodox priests, icons, all church ritual, the Bible as the supreme source of divine revelation and the divinity of Jesus. As pacifists, they also ardently rejected the institutions of militarism and wars. For these reasons, the Doukhobors were harshly repressed in Russia. Both the tsarist state and church authorities were involved in the torture and exile of these dissidents, as well as taking away their normal freedoms. At the end of the nineteenth century two-thirds of the Doukhobors left Russia en masse. They chose Canada for its isolation, peacefulness, and the fact that the Canadian government welcomed them, and migrated there in 1899. The Doukhobors' passage across the Atlantic Ocean was largely paid for by Quakers and Tolstoyans, who sympathized with their plight, and by the writer Leo Tolstoy, who arranged for the royalties from his novel Resurrection, his story Father Sergei, and some others, to go to the migration fund. He also raised money from wealthy friends. In the end, his efforts provided half of the immigration fund, about 30,000. rubles. In Canada, the Doukhobors established a communal life style, similar to the Hutterites.

Perhaps the most well-known leader of the Doukhobors was Peter Vasilevich Verigin (1859-1924). Verigin was killed in a still-unsolved Canadian Pacific Railway train explosion on October 29, 1924 near Farron, between Castlegar and Grand Forks, British Columbia. The government initially (during investigation) had stated the crime was perpetrated by people within the Doukhobor community, while the Doukhobors suspected Canadian government involvment. To date, it is still unknown who is responsible for the bombing. Thus, while the Doukhobors were initially welcomed by the Canadian government, this assassination controversy, as well as Doukhobor beliefs regarding communal living and child education, amongst other beliefs, created an air of mistrust between government authorities and Doukhobors which would last for decades.


[edit] Controversies

In 1903, a radical faction of the Doukhobours, the Freedomites (also called the "Svobodniki" or "Sons of Freedom") embraced Verigin's writings in a zealous manner. A small Freedomite group participated in mass nudity and arson as a means of protesting against materialism, the land seizure by the government, compulsory education in government schools and Verigin's assassination. This led to many confrontations with the Canadian government and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (continuing into the 1970s) and eventually led to the government-backed, forced internment of Sons of Freedom children in a residential school in New Denver, British Columbia.

Abuse of the interned children was later alleged, and a formal apology demanded. The BC government made an official Statement of Regret that satisfied some, but not others. The Canadian Federal government still has not apologized for its role in the removal of children from their homes, saying that it is not responsible for actions taken by the government in place 50 years ago.

The other two factions of Doukhobors are the Independents, who remained in Saskatchewan rejecting hereditary leadership and communal living as being non-essential to true Doukhoborism, and the community Doukhobors who, loyal to their spiritual leader Peter Vasilevich Verigin, moved to British Columbia to continue communal living. Many of the independent and community Doukhobors believed that the Freedomites violated the central Doukhobor principle of nonviolence (with arson and bombing) and therefore did not deserve to be called Doukhobors. However, rifts generated during the last century between the Sons of Freedom and Community and Independent Doukhobors have largely been laid to rest now.

[edit] Current status

Today an estimated 30,000 Doukhobors live in Canada, and perhaps another 30,000 live in Russia. The Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ, also known as Orthodox Doukhobors or Community Doukhobors, was formed by Peter P. Verigin (son of Peter V. Verigin) in 1938. It is the largest and most active Doukhobor organization, and is headquartered in British Columbia, Canada.

The Doukhobors no longer live communally. Their prayer meetings and gatherings are dominated by the singing of a cappella psalms, hymns and spiritual songs in Russian. Doukhobors do not practice baptism. They reject several items considered orthodox among Christian churches, including church organization & liturgy, the inspiration of the scriptures, the literal interpretation of resurrection, the literal interpretation of the Trinity, and the literal interpretation of heaven and hell. Some avoid the use of alcohol, tobacco, and animal products for food, and involvement in partisan politics. Doukhobors believe in the goodness of man and reject the idea of original sin.

The religious philosophy of the Doukhobors is based on the ten commandments including "Love God with all thy heart, mind and soul" and "Love thy neighbour as thyself." The Doukhobors have several important slogans. One of the most popular, "Toil and Peaceful Life," was coined by Peter V. Verigin.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  • Doukhobor Historical Maps by Jonathan J. Kalmakoff
  • Doukhobor Place Names by Jonathan J. Kalmakoff
  • Guide to Doukhobor Names & Naming Practices by Jonathan J. Kalmakoff
  • Plakun Trava: The Doukhobors, by Koozma J. Tarasoff
  • Songs of the Doukhobors: an introductory outline, collected and edited by Kenneth Peacock
  • Spirit Wrestlers: centennial papers in honour of Canada's Doukhobor Heritage, by Koozma J. Tarasoff and Robert B. Klymasz ISBN 0660140349
  • Spirit Wrestlers: Doukhobor Pioneers' Strategies for Living, by Koozma J. Tarasoff
  • The Community Doukhobors: A People in Transition, by John W. Freisen and Michael M. Verigin
  • The Doukhobors, by George Woodcock and Ivan Avakumovic
  • The Doukhobors of British Columbia, by Harry B. Hawthorn
  • The Doukhobors: their history in Russia; their migration to Canada, by Joseph Elkinton
  • Spirit Wrestlers, from Jim Hamm Productions Limited, a 2002 documentary video and DVD about the Freedomite Doukhobors.

[edit] Further reading

  • Burnham, Dorothy K. Unlike the Lilies: Doukhobor Textile Traditions in Canada. Toronto, Canada: Royal Ontario Museum, 1986. ISBN 0888543220
  • Donskov, Andrew, John Woodsworth, and Chad Gaffield. The Doukhobor Centenary in Canada: A Multi-Disciplinary Perspective on Their Unity and Diversity. Slavic Research Group at the University of Ottawa, 2000. ISBN 088927276X
  • Janzen, William. Limits on Liberty: The Experience of Mennonite, Hutterite, and Doukhobor Communities in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1990. ISBN 0802027318
  • Mealing, Francis Mark. Doukhobor Life: A Survey of Doukhobor Religion, History, & Folklife. [S.l.]: Kootenay Doukhobor Historical Society, 1975.
  • O'Neail, Hazel. Doukhobor Daze. Surrey, B.C.: Heritage House, 1994. ISBN 1895811228
  • Rak, Julie. Negotiated Memory: Doukhobor Autobiographical Discourse. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2004. ISBN 0774810300
  • Rozinkin, W. M. The Doukhobor Saga. [Nelson, B.C.: News Publishing Co.], 1974.
  • Sorokin, Stephan Sebastian, and Steve Lapshinoff. Doukhobor Problem. Crescent Valley, B.C.: Steve Lapshinoff, 1990.
  • Tarasoff, Koozma J. Traditional Doukhobor Folkways: An Ethnographic and Biographic Record of Prescribed Behaviour. Mercury series. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada, 1977.
  • Tarasoff, Koozma J. Spirit Wrestlers: Doukhobor Pioneers' Strategies for Living. Ottawa: Legas, 2002. ISBN 1896031129
  • Tracie, Carl. Toil and Peaceful Life: Doukhobor Village Settlement in Saskatchewan, 1899-1918. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina, 1996. ISBN 0889771006
  • Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ. Hospitality: Vegetarian Cooking the Doukhobor Way. Grand Forks, B.C.: USCC Centennial Cookbook Committee, 2003. ISBN 0973251409
  • Woodsworth, John. Russian Roots and Canadian Wings: Russian Archival Documents on the Doukhobor Emigration to Canada. Canada/Russia series, v. 1. [Manotick, Ont.]: Penumbra Press, 1999. ISBN 092125489X



This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.de:Duchoborzen fr:Doukhobors it:Doukhobors ka:დუხობორები pl:Duchoborcy ru:Духоборы

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