Two Christian Sects - Essay Example

Two Christian Sects One would not make a mistake suggesting that religion plays important role in life of a society. However, there are also times when there are different divisions within one religion. The two sects which will be discussed emerged within Orthodox Christianity: the one is called Skoptsy and the other one is called Sect of Skhariya the Jew. This paper will present a brief history of each of the sect, the reason why they received their names, provide points where they agree and where they disagree, pointing out the reasons for that and presenting how the differences affected their daily life. First of all, it would be important to dwell on the nature of the division with regard to the first sect. Skoptsy was a mystical sect which emerged due to the dissatisfaction of the contemporary spiritual practices by a number of people. In spite of the fact that it was started by a single man, he was rather effective in persuading other people. The primary reason why the sect got separated focuses on the idea that East Orthodox Church was not able to provide the ordinary believers with tools that would lead to their salvation. Thus, in the late eighteenth century there was a new sect emerged which publicly challenged the morality of the dominant church and presented castration as well as similar mutilation as an effective tool for salvation (Engelstein 181). Since the government and the Church were persecuting it, Skoptsy turned into a secret sect which was concealing its activities. The name of sect comes from an old Russian word oskoplenie which meant castration that was regarded as one of the characteristic features of the sect as this action was made equal to purification of the body. Speaking of the other sect, namely Sect of Skhariya the Jew, one might point out that the nature of the division was heavily rooted in the opposition towards the growing power of Church and the desire to limit this social institution to a certain extent. As for the reason why this sect emerged, one might name the appearance of liberal thought in Russia and consequential reevaluation of the social life on the whole. In spite of the fact that the starting point of the sect in question in not purely religious, it did have various spiritual consequences, leading to the most significant religious persecution in the history of Russia. Thus, closer to the end of the fifteenth century, the two centers of social life of Russia, namely Novgorod and Moscow witnessed the spread of new thought which challenged the fundamentals of the state of social affairs, particularly the role of the Church in lives of the citizens. The name of this sect has an interesting history: on the one hand, the name Sect of Skhariya the Jew refers to the person who initiated it; on the other hand, another name for it Heresy of the Judaizers implies that the people who belonged to it favored religious practices which were carried out by the Jews. It should be noted there are several points in which the two sects might agree. First of all, the primary goal of each of them is to praise God. Indeed, none of the sect in question preaches that people should not be thankful to God for the wonderful life that He gave us. Moreover, each sect presents the believers with an effective tool with the help of which people might be able to live a life that should glorify God. In addition to that, both Skoptsy and Sect of Skhariya the Jew argue that a person should be leading a pious life. While their definition of what is pious may be different, it is the corner stone of their teaching. Finally, the two sects might find a common ground in that they were not satisfied with the way the contemporary Church functioned. In other words they were in direct opposition to it. It would be particularly interesting to examine the reasons why these sects agreed on the above mentioned aspects. First of all, these sects were, religious groups of people which resulted in that they acknowledged the significance of the spiritual practice in life of a person; that is why the idea of God truly mattered to them. Secondly, the two sects saw themselves as the only right ways that led to the spiritual development and encouraged the believers to do their best on the way of their inner evolution. In other words, the focus of them was on the active spiritual practice. Finally, these sects deeply believed that they were able to find a key to the truth about God and the world; so, they just could not stand the rivalry with the official Church which their thought to be wrong in the leading people towards enlightenment. However, it is clear that if there had not been aspect where they disagreed, the above mentioned sects would not have existed. To begin with one should point out that Skoptsy had a different opinion about Jesus Christ than Sect of Skhariya the Jew did. The former truly believed in Him as the Son of God, while the latter rejected one of the principal doctrines of the Christian Church – the Holy Trinity. Another point in which the two sects adhered to two completely different views is the role of monks. Skoptsy considered themselves to be better than the ordinary monks and encouraged all the clergy to follow their example. However, the latter thought that the society would benefit from decrease of the number of monasteries. Finally, the sects were quite different in the books that they considered to be holy. Skoptsy studied the Old and the New Testament in order to provide a scriptural basis of the necessity of castration and valued the Gospels for they believed that the apostles also were castrated. Contrary to that Sect of Skhariya the Jew not only did not consider the New Testament to be sacred, but frequently noted that other book, even occult ones, should be read by true believers. It is clear that the sects did not agree on the role of Jesus Christ because one of them adhered to a slightly different religious tradition, namely Judaism. As for the second point, namely the role of monasteries, the later sect was far more liberal and did not put emphasis on the Church as an essential social institution. Finally, the issue about inclusion of the additional book might be easily explained by the fact that the former sect was focused on exaggerated religious practice, so it paid much attention to every word in the books that it used. On the other hand the second sect wanted people to use their critical thinking and widen the outlook. The differences of the systems of belief resulted in the dramatic differences in the way of life of the respective believers. Thus, those who belonged to Skoptsy had a mutilated body and were focused on salvation. Contrary to that, the representatives of Sect of Skhariya the Jew paid more attention to the earthly life and tried to succeed in it while being freed from the limits which were put by the Church. As one can easily see on the examples which were presented in the paragraphs above, the two sects reflect the two extremes of a normal religions practice: on the one hand, it is the rejection of common sense and lack of self preservation instincts; on the other hand, it is the dissolution of the genuine faith. Works cited Engelstein, Laura. Castration and the Heavenly Kingdom: A Russian Folktale. Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 2003. Print. Read More