The History of Secret Sects: How Religious Minorities Survived in Nineteenth-Century Bessarabia

Bessarabia and Lower Transnistria are areas with a rich historical and cultural context, where various religious movements interacted with the local population. These regions are located at the crossroads of different cultures. Historically, they have been a meeting point for Orthodoxy, Islam, and numerous sects and religious groups that have emerged as a result of political, social, and cultural changes.

Skopje

The non-Christian Skopje sect was considered extremely harmful. The Skopians were the most odious, notorious, and dangerous religious group that advocated "baptism of fire," that is, the complete cutting off of the genitals of both men and women for "purification," because according to their teachings, the first humans were created by God asexual.

The founder of this movement is considered to be the escaped serf Kindratiy Selivanov, who proclaimed himself a savior who came to save humanity from sinful passions and moral decay.

Kindratiy Selivanov. Image: Wikipedia

In order to increase their sect, the Skoptsy regularly visited fairs, where they looked for orphans and children from poor families. They would take them under the guise of upbringing and adoption, promising them their material status under a spiritual covenant, but in the end, they would end up with horrific shattering. Boys who were subjected to this disfigurement in childhood did not grow facial hair, retained a female voice, and later developed large bellies, which made their gait difficult and clumsy. Lifelessness, lethargy, weakness, and drowsiness were constant characteristics of the followers of the Skopje cult. According to residents of the village of Troitske in Odesa County, local Skopians engaged in carriage driving would stop their profession during severe frosts because their bodies would swell from the cold.

In the Russian Empire, the government actively fought against this cruel and unique sect. In 1834, this movement was categorized as a "particularly dangerous sect," and later a new term was introduced for it: "a sect characterized by cruel, barbaric and immoral acts". Since 1885, it has been classified among sects "associated with cruel barbarism, fanatical attempts to kill themselves and others, as well as immoral, disgusting actions." Beginning in 1842, hard labor in Eastern Siberia was the penalty for the ostracization of others and self-sacrifice. This punishment remained in force until the very end of the empire.

Skopians before the rite. Image: moremaiorum.pl

Among the numerous strategies of the Skopje sect for survival, an important place was occupied by the emigration of its adherents abroad and to the borderlands. This method was ideal for the "white doves" (the self-designation of the Skopje), as well as for adherents of other "heretical" teachings. Not only immigrants who were forced to flee from prosecution in Russia crossed the Dniester and Danube, but also Scopian leaders and entire communities deliberately went there to start a new life.

The emergence of a sectarian center in the border town of Izmail was directly related to the history of the prosecutions of the Skopje in 1830 and 1835, after which a significant number of sect members settled in this town and in Akkerman. The sect's activities were exposed in 1859 after several newly converted died as a result of a botched surgery. During the investigation, 13 Skopje members were detained, and surgical instruments, medicines, and three notebooks with prayer and song texts were found. Interestingly, just for concealing these notebooks, one of the sectarians tried to bribe a police officer with 55 chervonets on the spot. This shows the material costs they were willing to incur to avoid criminal liability. The trial of the sect's followers took place, but the communities of the Scopes in Iași and Bucharest used all their secret influence to protect their fellow believers, appealing to the Minister of Justice and gaining the support of government officials. Under the influence of these forces , the Izmail prefecture received an order to release the arrested. After gaining freedom, the Skopje became completely invisible in Izmail, and the tribunal soon dropped the case against them.

From Izmail, the local Skopje dispersed to different regions, and there were even rumors that some of the "white doves" settled in the Ottoman Empire. One can learn about the attitude of the Ottoman authorities towards them from the statements of the Reverend Melchizedek. He wrote: "As for the Skopje, there used to be a lot of them in European Turkey, they settled there from the time of the Russian troops across the Danube during the war of 1828; but since the Turks hate these monsters much more than Christians, they (the Skopje - ed.) were forced to leave these places for various other regions, so that now in the entire Danube part of the empire there are only three or four Skopje in Tulcea. In other places, throughout Bulgaria, Rumelia, and even in Constantinople, there is not a single Skopje."

Tools for ossification. Image: bigpicture

Over time, the border village of Mykolayivka became a significant center of the Skopje community. Numerous fugitives from Russia took refuge here, and Romanian subjects often hid from persecution. Mykolayivka became an important point of contact between the emigrant Skopians and their co-religionists. The revival of communications was further facilitated by the conclusion of an agreement in 1856 between Russia and the Principality of Moldova, according to which residents of the border areas were allowed to freely cross the border and engage in field work in neighboring lands for a week. To do this, it was enough to have a passport issued by the volost administration. In Mykolaivka, one of the most zealous supporters of the sect held the position of the chief of the volost council, which contributed to the development of ties and support for local Scopists.

In the early 1870s, the largest communities or "boats" of Scopes in Bessarabia were located in Yassy, where there were about 100 male Scopes and about 150 female Scopes. All of them lived in the suburbs and were engaged in the carriage trade and beekeeping. In the village of Mykolayivka, there were 57 adherents of the sect, including 30 men, 10 women, and 17 children of both sexes. In the village of Novotroitske, near the town of Kilia, there were 18 Skopians (11 men and 7 women). In the village of Vasylivka near Bolhrad, there were 16 Oscopal sectarians (6 men, 2 women, and 8 children of both sexes).

In 1901 in Bessarabia, only three people from the Izmail district officially recognized themselves as Scopes, and the only recognized Scopes in the province in 1903 was a resident of the village of Vasylivka. This is not surprising, since after the trial of the Scopes in Chisinau in the late nineteenth century, most of them began to hide their lives. As for the convicts, they continued to spread their teachings among the prisoners. For example, a 14-year-old resident of Izmail district, Kalistrat, convinced two convicts to undergo voluntary castration. Despite positive reports from government officials about the fight against ossification in Bessarabia, a "boat" of Ossetians operated in Izmail until 1930 in a house that today stands at the intersection of Telegraphna and Topolna streets. Today, it is still unknown whether the sect has completely disappeared from the region, as in Ukraine in the early 2020s there were more than 4000 different sectarian movements that did not advertise their activities.

The "Spiritual Sisters" sect

In the 1860s, a sect known as the "spiritual sisters" appeared in some villages. The main tenet of this group was celibacy. The one who was the first to accept the title of "spiritual sister" was considered the eldest among the others. The younger "sisters" had to fulfill all the duties: fetch water, cook food, heat stoves, and always ask for the blessing of the older one before doing anything. The main activities of the sect members were reading spiritual literature, pilgrimages to shrines, and meditation. Over the course of ten years, the sect spread significantly among the population, promoting the ideals of celibacy.

It is worth mentioning a similar sect that appeared in the Lower Dniester region and was kept in deep secrecy for some time. According to the Odessansky Visnyk, a new cult adhering to the doctrine of the prohibition of marriage emerged in the village of Troitske, Odesa County. The sectarians were found to have a prayer similar to the one sung by the Skoptsy. Members of this religious community call their men "brothers" and women "sisters". They refuse to drink wine, vodka, and meat. The sect leaders are called "dear father" for men and "dear mother" or "godmother" for women.

Sect members were also observed to occasionally attend Orthodox churches, and to participate in confession and receive Holy Communion. This was probably done in order to more conveniently disguise their sectarian affiliation and avoid persecution.

Thus, the Skoptsy and the "spiritual sisters" sect are complex religious phenomena that emerged in the context of social and political changes in the region. These groups have often been persecuted by the Orthodox Church and secular authorities because of their non-standard beliefs and practices that contradicted traditional religious and moral norms.

At the same time, all of these sectarian movements, despite their radical teachings and practices, became part of the religious landscape of Bessarabia and Lower Dniester, reflecting its complexity and the struggle for spiritual identity in times of social change. They also emphasize the importance of studying religious minorities, which, despite their marginality, have had a great influence on the formation of spiritual traditions and social structures in this region.

Андрій Шевченко, Євген Забіянов