MYSTERY SECT OF THE IOANNITES IN THE EKATERINOSLAV DIOCESE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Abstract

This analyzed the specifics of the propaganda-agitation and organizational activity of the Ioannite sect in the Ekaterinoslav Diocese at the beginning of the 20th century. The spiritual and social circumstances that contributed to the spread of the sectarian movement in the region have been established. This revealed essence of the cult of God-created personality of priest Ioann Kronstadtskiy.

The settlements of the diocese were found in which the sectarian congregations functioned. The personal composition of sectarian communities in the region is revealed. The measures of the struggle of the Orthodox Church with Ioannites, defined at the 4th All-Russian Missionary Congress in 1908, were revealed. The heterogeneity of sectarian doctrine was revealed in the communities of the Ioannites. The characteristic features of sectarian prayer collections are revealed.

The significance in the Ioannite environment of charismatic leadership is established. Considered the dogma of sectarian doctrine, preached by the head of the sect in Nikopol city V. Horobets. The domestic and spiritual way of life of the Ioannites in Nikopol city, the organization of their monastic cell is illustrated. The sources of funding for the ioanite sect in the Ekaterinoslav Diocese are considered.

It was found out that V. Horobets also held anti-Semitic positions in his own propaganda. The evolution of the Ioannites's views on the role of Ioann Kronstadtskiy is analyzed. It was discovered that the sect advocated the doctrine of the dominance of the antichrist on earth in the person of the famous Russian writer L. Tolstoy. It was established that the mystical sect of Ioannites was the branch of the religious movement of the Khlysts. The eschatological foundations of the religious doctrine of the leader of the sect, V. Horobets, who called himself a chosen God, and ultimately the Christ themselves, were traced. It was discovered that the supreme leader of the Orthodox Church in the diocese, although he considered the activity of the sect to be negative, did not support the idea of excommunication V. Horobets as a heretic.

The views of ioanites regarding the prohibition of marital cohabitation, the birth of children – the «fetus of sinfulness», which was the result of the destruction of family couples and negligent attitude towards children, and the growth of their mortality in communities. The internal conflicts that have arisen in the Nikopol sect on the basis of material abuse of V. Horobets and his disordered sexual life have been analyzed. The fact of rape by a leader of a sect of one of his juvenile adepts, the resonance of which in the sectarian environment has led to the revision of the Ioannites by the image of V. Horobets, is highlighted. The measures and methods of struggle of Orthodox missionaries with the functioning of the sect are analyzed. It was recorded that among the priests of the Ekaterinoslav Diocese, there were supporters of the sectarian doctrine. It was revealed that since the time of V. Horobets's repentance and renouncing his views, the number of Ioannites has sharply decreased, and community activity has fallen into decline.