Confusion about Orthodox Old Believers

[Yeoman]

After posting the Old Believers link, looking up a little about them, and reading various responses, I’m now more confused about how they fit in, communion wise, than ever.

Are the various Old Believer groups that have clergy in communion with anyone? That is, are they now reunited with the Orthodox, or regarded as outside of it, or are they in communion with any other part of the Church? Outside their own groups, does anyone recognize their sacraments as valid?

 

[Polycarp1]

I think confusion is the norm. They are so fragmented into so many sects and seem to be a schism of a schism. I see that at least one sect has returned to communion with the Church though. As to the validity of sacraments I think one would have to determine if any of the sects maintained Apostolic Succession. I’ll let the Vatican sort that one out!

 

[Yeoman]

I think confusion is the norm. They are so fragmented into so many sects and seem to be a schism of a schism. I see that at least one sect has returned to communion with the Church though. As to the validity of sacraments I think one would have to determine if any of the sects maintained Apostolic Succession. I’ll let the Vatican sort that one out!

So has that one sect that has “returned to communion with the Church” returned to communion with Rome? That is, it’s Priests are Eastern Rite?

 

[Celticnovice]

So has that one sect that has “returned to communion with the Church” returned to communion with Rome? That is, it’s Priests are Eastern Rite?

This was my question, you beat me to it!

I know of individual old believers coming into communion with Rome, but I’d be curious if a whole congregation joined.

 

[Yeoman]

Okay, with the help of the answer above, and a little more net search, what I see is that in 1905 the Russian Catholic Church formally established communion with Rome, and that Old Believers were significant in that, but it was not limited to them. During the Russian Revolution the Russian Catholic Church suffered severely, but since the fall of Communism it has started to reemerge, although it is not large in Russia. At least one of the Russian parishes uses the rite form of the Old Believers. There seem to be two or three Russian Catholic Old Ritualist parishes in the US, and maybe that number in Russia, but I could well be off the mark.

Am I?

Of the remaining Old Believers with Priests, are they in communion with the Orthodox?

 

[Yeoman]

This was my question, you beat me to it!

I know of individual old believers coming into communion with Rome, but I’d be curious if a whole congregation joined.

I’d be curious also, and I’m still pretty confused on this topic.

 

[Nine_Two]

Of the remaining Old Believers with Priests, are they in communion with the Orthodox?

No.

 

[SyroMalankara]

There are some Old Believer communities in union with the Eastern Orthodox, under ROCOR and MP Communions.

There are very very few (a parish or two or three) Old Believers in union with the Catholic Church, under the Russian Catholics.

 

[Yeoman]

There are some Old Believer communities in union with the Eastern Orthodox, under ROCOR and MP Communions.

There are very very few (a parish or two or three) Old Believers in union with the Catholic Church, under the Russian Catholics.

Thanks.

I wonder how many Old Believer parishes with priests there are in general?

I notice we’re in the Non Catholic religions section now, which is certainly the moderators right, but given that we were exploring the association with Russian Old Ritual parishes in the Old Believers that were in communion with Rome, in part, wouldn’t the Eastern Rite section seem appropriate? Oh well.