The Truth of the Old Believer Hierarchy
This book presents a clear theological and historical defense of the Old Rite Church and its canonical Hierarchy, known today as the Belokrinitskaya Metropolia. Written in the nineteenth century in response to New Rite polemics, it carefully answers accusations of schism and illegitimacy using Holy Scripture, the Fathers, canon law, and documented history.
Newly translated into modern English, this edition provides a point-by-point refutation of claims surrounding Apostolic succession, the restoration of the episcopate through Metropolitan Ambrose of Belaya Krinitsa, and disputes arising after the reforms of Patriarch Nikon. It also addresses internal divisions among Old Believers and calls priestly schismatics back to canonical unity.
Methodical, deeply sourced, and spiritually sober, this work affirms the uninterrupted Apostolic continuity of the Old Rite Church and underscores a central truth of Orthodoxy: communion with lawful bishops is essential for life in the Church of Christ.