The Old Believers and Society in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Eighteenth Century

The appearance of an organized Fedoseevian community in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the eighteenth century was a result of the massive migration of the Old Believers (Old Ritualists), closely related to the resettlement and disturbances of the peasants and out-oftown settlers (posadskie liudi) in Russia. It was the first wave of an extensive emigration from Russia into the Baltic countries, and in particular into Lithuania. Its aftermath was the rise of the Pomorian communities (пморские общества) of the Old Believers. In the late eighteenth century there were between 100,000 and 180,000 Old Believers (about 1.1 to 2 per cent of the total population of the 8.79 million citizens of the Republic of Poland-Lithuania). The main motives behind this emigration of the Russians in the eighteenth century were the following: (1) religious persecution of the Old Believers and the social oppression of the peasants and posadskie liudi in Russia; (2) freedom of religion for the Old Believers and more favourable social and economic conditions in Poland and Lithuania; and (3) intense eschatological feelings and impulsiveness, urging the Old Believers to avoid society and the state, in their belief dominated by the spiritual Antichrist. This article is devoted to the issue of religious toleration in respect to the Old Believers in the GDL and its reasons. Religious tolerance as a factor conditioning the emigration and formation of a united Fedoseevian community in Lithuania has not yet been properly researched

Ancient history · Economic history · Emigration · Immigration · Lithuanian · Persecution · Political science · Politics · Population · Religious persecution · Sociology · State (computer science · Toleration · Demography · Historical and Cultural Studies of Poland · Historical Geopolitical and Social Dynamics · History · Law · Philosophy