Lubov Vasilievna Titova,
Candidate of Philological Sciences, Institute of History of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
“Prayer with a Question to the All-Holy Council” by Deacon Fyodor in the System of Proofs of the Truth of the Old Faith
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2026-2-15
This article presents the results of an analysis of the polemical and dogmatic writings of one of the first ideologists of the early Old Believer movement, Deacon Fyodor Ivanov, and his development of the eschatological theme, which began with the “Prayer with a Question of the Annunciation Deacon, the Poor Fyodor, to the All-Holy Council, to All of Every Order”. It is shown that in the “Response of the Orthodox”, written on behalf of Archpriest Avvakum, Priest Lazarus, and Monk Epiphaniy, as well as in the Epistle to his son Maximus, the author attempted to attest to the inviolability of national church traditions, citing numerous proofs of the illegality of the innovations introduced into the ritual and liturgical practice of the Russian Church as a result of the reforms initiated by Patriarch Nikon. An analysis of Deacon Fyodor’s writings also revealed that Deacon Fyodor, using material from his earlier writings on the coming of the “end times”, supplemented this with scenes from Russian history in order to convince his fellow believers of the truth and inviolability of the “old faith”. He also selected key moments in history when the threat to Orthodoxy was truly real: namely, the rise of cardinals from the Pope to Alexander Nevsky, the apostasy of Metropolitan Isidore, the struggle against the Novgorod heresy of the “Judaizers”, and Grigory Otrepiev, who attempted to seize the royal throne. It is concluded that, in developing the theme of the coming of the “end times”, Fyodor Ivanov actively drew on his earlier works in his polemical writings, expanding, supplementing, and developing his previous texts depending on their purpose and focusing on the reader. For Deacon Fyodor, the text of “Prayer with a Question to the All-Holy Council…” became the starting point for developing the theme of the coming of the Antichrist. In conclusion, the text of “Prayer with a Question to the All-Holy Council…” is published. Based on the author’s original from the Synodal Collection of the State Historical Museum, No. 1135, scrolls 1−2.
Publishing: 28/04/2026
The article has been received by the editor on 12/01/2026
How to cite: Titova L.V. “Prayer with a Question to the All-Holy Council” by Deacon Fyodor in the System of Proofs of the Truth of the Old Faith // Historical Courier, 2026, No. 2 (46), pp. 210−217. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2026/ISTKURIER-2026-2-15.pdf]
The article was made on the topic of the state assignment “The Past in the Manuscript Sources of the 16th−20th Centuries: Preservation and Development of Traditions” (FWZM-2024-0006).
Links: Issue 2 2026
Keywords: Epistle of Deacon Fyodor to his son Maxim; Response of the Orthodox; eschatology; historical themes; publication of the text