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Name
This article is about the Russian religious sect. For the American doom metal band, see Khlyst (band).
Origins
The Khlysts or Khlysty (Russian: Хлысты, IPA: [xlɨˈstɨ], lit. "whips") were an
Beliefs and practices
underground Spiritual Christian sect, which split from the Russian Orthodox Church and
Persecution existed from the 1600s until the late 20th century.
Later history The New Israel sect that descended from the Khlysts still exists today in Uruguay.[1]
Influence

Connection to Rasputin Name [ edit ]

See also The members of the sect referred to themselves by various names, including "God's
Ecstatic ritual of Khlysts
References People" (liudi bozh'i), "followers of Christ's faith" (Khristovovery),[2] or simply "Christs" ("radeniye")
(Khristy).[3] The appellation "Khlysty" is a derogatory term applied by critics of the sect.
Further reading
The origin of the term is disputed. It is probably a corruption of the group's
aforementioned self-designation of Khristy, but may also allude to the sect's practice of ritual self-flagellation; the Russian word
khlyst means a "whip" or "thin rod".[2][4]

It is also possible that the word is related to the Greek word khiliaste (meaning "chiliast" or "millennialist").[5]

Origins [ edit ]

According to its own oral tradition, the sect was founded in 1645 by Danilo Filippov (or Daniil Filippovich), a peasant of Kostroma
and a runaway soldier. He was said to have become a "living god" after the Lord of Hosts descended upon him on Gorodino Hill,
Vladimir Oblast. He delivered twelve commandments to his disciples, which forbade (among other things) sexual intercourse,
drinking and swearing. He later named as his successor Ivan Suslov, a peasant of Murom. Suslov, transformed by Filippov into a
"new Christ", acquired a following of twelve apostles, along with a woman who was given the title of "Mother of God". The
tradition relates that Suslov was crucified twice by the Russian authorities, but rose from the dead each time.[2][6][7]

There is no written evidence to support this story, or to confirm the existence of Filippov. The first historical references to the
Khlysty are found in the writings of the Old Believers, a Christian community which resisted the 17th-century reforms of the
Russian State Church. The Old Believers condemned the Khlysty as heretics, and warnings about them can be found in letters
dating from around the 1670s. The Orthodox Church also attacked the Khlysty; Dimitry of Rostov wrote against them in An
Investigation of the Schismatic Faith (c. 1709).[8]

Suslov died around 1716, at which time Prokofii Lupkin became the new "Christ". The oral tradition claims that Lupkin was the
son of Filippov, but this is unlikely to be true.[9]

Lupkin was a trader, and made use of his frequent journeys to places such as Uglich and Venev to organise secret assemblies
for his followers. He encouraged his followers to worship in the manner of the Old Believers, such as by making the sign of the
cross with two fingers instead of three,[10] but he also instructed them to attend the State Church and take communion. Many
Khlysty, including Lupkin's wife and son, even took monastic vows. Lupkin also made large donations to the Church, which
helped to protect the sect from persecution.[11]

Beliefs and practices [ edit ]

Further information: Baptism with the Holy Spirit

The Khlysty renounced priesthood, holy books and veneration of the saints (excluding the Theotokos). They believed in a
possibility of direct communication with the Holy Spirit and of its embodiment in living people.[6] Each of their leaders was a
"living god", and each congregation (or "ark") had its own "Christ" and "Mother of God", appointed by the overall leader of the
sect.[4][12] Furthermore, they believed that the Holy Spirit could descend upon any one of them during the state of ecstasy which
they attained during the ritual of radenie ("rejoicing").

This ritual, which formed the focus of their worship, took place on holy feast days. The congregation would gather during the
evening at a prearranged location, such as a member's house. They would remove their outer clothing, and enter the sacred
space dressed only in an undershirt. After a period of singing or chanting the Jesus Prayer ("Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have
mercy on me, a sinner"), some of the worshippers would feel the Holy Spirit come upon them, and would begin dancing wildly,
prophesying in unintelligible language. This would continue for half an hour or more, until the dancers collapsed with exhaustion.
Finally, they would share a sacramental meal of nuts, bread, pastry and kvass.[13]

The Khlysty practiced an extreme asceticism, in order to prepare themselves for the reception of the Holy Spirit into their bodies.
They abstained from alcohol, and often fasted for days or weeks at a time. Although marriage was permitted for practical
purposes, "because the help of a wife was indispensable for a peasant", it was a sin to engage in sexual intercourse, even with
one's own wife.[14] Connected with this mortification of the flesh was the practice of self-flagellation which often accompanied the
radenie rite.

Russian author Edvard Radzinsky has described a radenie ritual which he witnessed on the island of Chechen in 1964:[15]

In white flaxen shirts worn over naked bodies they went down into the cellar of a peasant lodge. There in the dry
cellar they lit candles. They started to sing something sacred in the half-light – as was later explained, a verse from
the Easter canon: "Seeing, we are gladdened, for Christ has risen." After that a little old man with joyful, light-
coloured eyes – the local Christ – began to chant a Khlyst prayer in the flickering candlelight. And then with youthful
energy he started to "rejoice", that is, to whirl wildly in place, crossing himself and continually whipping his body. The
choir chanted prayers, their voices ever more savagely, ever more fervently and passionately praying, so that some
of them were already screaming and sobbing. But at this point the old man stopped in his whirling and cried out
wildly, "Brothers! Brothers! I feel it, the Holy Spirit! God is within me!" And he began to prophesy, shouting out
incoherent sounds mixed into which were the words, "Oh, Spirit!" "Oh, God!" "Oh, Spirit Lord!" After that began the
main communal rite of "rejoicing", or general whirling and dancing.

Radzinsky says that they referred to the whirling dance as "spiritual beer", on account of its intoxicating effect. He reports that
after the dance had continued for some time, the worshippers fell to the floor: "And that was the end of it. But apparently only
because I was present."[15] Radzinsky claims that in some arks, the Khlysts would at this point engage in "group sinning" – a
frenzied sexual orgy, which they believed would purify them from the lusts of the flesh.[16] Similarly, C. L. Sulzberger, in his book
The Fall of Eagles, writes that the Khlysty's "foremost idea was that salvation could be attained only by total repentance and that
this became far more achievable for one who had truly transgressed. 'Sin in order that you may obtain forgiveness,' was the
practical side of the Khlysty."[17]

Other scholars have dismissed these rumours. Frederick Cornwallis Conybeare, referencing a study by Karl Konrad Grass,
writes:[18]

[The Khlysty] have been accused of ending their radenia or religious dances with wholesale debauchery, the lights
being first put out. Grass examines the evidence very carefully and impartially, and rejects the story as calumny. The
only thing that gives it colour is that often, when the ecstasies are over, the exhausted votaries drop down on the
floor and sleep till dawn, the men on one side of the apartment, the women on the other. Their doing so, instead of
going home at once, is a necessity dictated either by the climate or by fear of the Russian police, whose suspicions
would be roused if they trooped home at a late hour.

Historian Joseph T. Fuhrmann claims that "splinter groups practiced 'holy intercourse,' but most khlysty were devout
pentecostalists who condemned such behaviour."[19]

Persecution [ edit ]

Accusations of sexual immorality pursued the sect from its earliest days, and provoked numerous government investigations.[20]

In 1717, Lupkin and twenty other Khlysty were arrested in Uglich. They were held for five months, during which time they were
interrogated and beaten. While some of his followers remained in custody, Lupkin managed to negotiate his own release, with the
help of a 300-ruble bribe.[21] Despite officially repenting, he continued to lead the movement until his death in 1732.[22]

From 1733 to 1739, a specially-formed government commission arrested hundreds of suspected Khlyst members, charging them
with participation in sexual orgies and ritual infanticide. These accusations were repeatedly denied, but the commission
nevertheless convicted over three hundred people. They handed out sentences of hard labour, beatings, and mutilation of the
nostrils and the tongue, and sent many of the prisoners into exile in Siberia or Orenburg.[23]

However, the Khlysty were undeterred, and continued practising. Some of those who had been sent into exile began to spread
the movement through Siberia. In 1745, therefore, a new commission was formed, this time using "far crueler methods of
interrogation".[24] This commission, although eliciting false confessions of sexual deviation and cannibalistic communion, and
sending another 200 people into exile, likewise failed to stamp out the movement.[24]

Later history [ edit ]

Around 1750, some doctrinal changes took place within the sect, and they became known as the Postniki ("Fasters"). The
leaders of the sect were now seen as "personifications of Christ", rather than only playing host to his spirit. It was no longer
considered possible for ordinary members to receive the Holy Spirit during radenie, although the ritual still held a central position
in their worship.[25]

In 1840, a new splinter sect broke away from the Postniki. Calling themselves Israelites, they shortly afterwards split again into
Old Israel and New Israel. The beliefs of the latter group departed considerably from the traditional teachings of the Khlysts.[25]

These schisms weakened the movement, and their numbers began to decline. By the start of the twentieth century, estimates of
the Khlysty's numbers ranged at around one hundred thousand.[26] Prior to the outbreak of World War I, there were reported to
be around 20,000 New Israelites, 15,000 Old Israelites and 3,000 Postniki in Russia. By the 1970s, there were only "a few
isolated groups" remaining.[25]

Influence [ edit ]

The Khlysty are said to have been "the root of all Russian sectarianism", having spawned sects such as the Skoptsy, the
Dukhobors and the Molokans.[27]

Connection to Rasputin [ edit ]

Grigori Rasputin was twice investigated (in 1903 and 1907) by the Tobolsk Theological Consistory, under charges of spreading
Khlyst doctrine. Both investigations were closed without any evidence being found against him,[28] but popular rumour continued
to link Rasputin to the sect.[29]

C. L. Sulzberger, in 1977, claimed that Rasputin "adopted the philosophy (if not proven membership)" of the Khlysts.[17]

In The Man Behind the Myth, co-authored by Rasputin's daughter Maria, it is claimed that Rasputin attended several Khlyst
gatherings in the years before his arrival in St. Petersberg, but ultimately became disillusioned with the sect.[30] The factual
accuracy of this book has been called into question,[31] and according to Brian Moynahan, Maria's story is the only evidence that
Rasputin had any Khlyst connections.[32] The consensus of modern historians is that Rasputin was never a member of the sect.
[33]

See also [ edit ]

Kartanolaisuus, Finnish cult with influences from Khlysts and Skoptsys

The Silver Dove, Andrei Bely's first novel (1909), is based on the Khlysts

References [ edit ]

Footnotes

1. ^ Shubin 2004, p. 158 18. ^ Coneybeare 1921, p. 353

2. ^ a b c Gavrilyuk 2012, p. 497-8 19. ^ Fuhrmann 1990, p. 7
3. ^ Etkind 2013, p. 568 20. ^ Clay 1985, p. 72-3
4. ^ a b Radzinsky 2000, p. 40 21. ^ Clay 1985, p. 82-4
5. ^ Brackney 2012, p. 173 22. ^ Clay 1985, p. 93
6. ^ a b Clay 1985, p. 70 23. ^ Clay 2017, p. 129
7. ^ Radzinsky 2000, p. 39 24. ^ a b Clay 2017, p. 130-1
8. ^ Clay 1985, p. 71-2 25. ^ a b c Lane 1978, p. 92-3
9. ^ Clay 1985, p. 85 26. ^ Etkind 2013, p. 570
10. ^ Clay 1985, p. 92 27. ^ Buss 2003, p. 73
11. ^ Clay 2017, p. 128 28. ^ Radzinsky 2000, pp. 45, 83–4, 183–4
12. ^ Buss 2003, p. 74 29. ^ Radzinsky 2000, pp. 101, 230–231
13. ^ Clay 1985, p. 88-91 30. ^ Rasputin & Barham 1977, pp. 100–108
14. ^ Buss 2003, p. 74-75 31. ^ Fuhrmann 2012, p. x
15. ^ a b Radzinsky 2000, p. 41 32. ^ Moynahan 1997, p. 38
16. ^ Radzinsky 2000, p. 41-2 33. ^ Smith 2017, p. 287
17. ^ a b Sulzberger 1977, p. 214

Sources

Brackney, William H. (2012). Historical Dictionary of Radical Christianity. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press. p. 173.
ISBN 0810871793.
Buss, Andreas (2003). The Russian-Orthodox Tradition and Modernity . Brill. ISBN 9789047402725.
Clay, J. Eugene (1985). "God's People in the early eighteenth century: The Uglich affair of 1717". Cahiers du Monde Russe.
26 (1): 69–124. doi:10.3406/cmr.1985.2034 .
Clay, Eugene (2017). "The 'Quaker Heresy' in Siberia". Canadian-American Slavic Studies. Brill. 51 (1): 122–126.
doi:10.1163/22102396-05101005 .
Coneybeare, Frederick C. (1921). Russian Dissenters . Harvard University Press.
Etkind, Alexander (2013). "Whirling with the Other: Russian Populism and Religious Sects". The Russian Review. 62 (4):
565–588. doi:10.1111/1467-9434.00292 . JSTOR 3664790 .
Fuhrmann, Joseph T. (1990). Rasputin: A Life . Praeger. ISBN 0-275-93215-X.
Fuhrmann, Joseph T. (2012). Rasputin: The Untold Story. Wiley. ISBN 9781118226933.
Gavrilyuk, Paul L. (2012). "Nineteenth‐ to Twentieth‐Century Russian Mysticism". In Lamm, Julia A. (ed.). The Wiley‐
Blackwell Companion to Christian Mysticism. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. pp. 489–500.
doi:10.1002/9781118232736.ch32 . ISBN 9781118232736.
Lane, Christel (1978). Christian Religion in the Soviet Union . SUNY Press. ISBN 9780873953276.
Moynahan, Brian (1997). Rasputin: The Saint Who Sinned . Random House. ISBN 0-679-41930-6.
Radzinsky, Edvard (2000). The Rasputin File . Anchor. ISBN 0-385-48910-2.
Rasputin, Maria; Barham, Patte (1977). Rasputin: The Man Behind the Myth . Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-446-82480-1.
Shubin, Daniel H. (2004). A History of Russian Christianity, Vol. III: The Synodal Era and the Sectarians – 1725 to 1894 .
Algora Publishing. ISBN 978-0-87586-426-6.
Smith, Douglas (2017). Rasputin. Pan Books. ISBN 978-1-4472-4585-8.
Sulzberger, C. L. (1977). The Fall of Eagles. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-517-52817-7.

Further reading [ edit ]

Emeliantseva, E. "Situational Religiosity: Everyday Strategies of the Moscow Christ-Faith Believers and of the St Petersburg
Mystics Attracted by This Faith in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century," in Thomas Bremer (ed), Religion and the
Conceptual Boundary in Central and Eastern Europe: Encounters of Faiths (Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008) (Studies
in Central and Eastern Europe), 98-120.
Panchenko, Aleksandr. "Strange faith" and the blood libel

Categories: Khlysts Spiritual Christianity

This page was last edited on 5 August 2023, at 18:35 (UTC).

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