Doukhobors

Description

The Doukhobors are members of a fundamental Christian group that originated in Russia in the 17th century. The Russian word Dukhobortsi means “spirit wrestlers” and was first applied contemptuously because of their rejection of church rituals and worship practices. The Doukhobors adopted the name, saying that they wrestled with, not against, the Holy Spirit. They follow a pacifist philosophy and traditionally reject concepts of church organization, hierarchy, liturgy and clergy; instead, they profess that God dwells in every person. They also reject secular governments and practise a form of pacifist, agrarian socialism, generally preferring communal ownership of farms. Vegetarianism has also been a feature of Doukhobors beliefs and practices, out of respect for the sanctity of life.

The Doukhobor commitment to nonviolence had often been sporadic in Russia, and young men sometimes ignored the sect’s pacifist teachings and served in the army when called. In 1885, the Russian government began to impose demands of alternative service. It also threatened to make men fully liable to be called for military service, and it imprisoned and exiled some conscientious objectors for refusal to serve. In 1893, a Doukhobor leader, Peter Verigin, feared Russia would lose its tolerance for conscientious objectors and advocated that the Doukhobors seek a new homeland. In 1895, several thousand Doukhobors refused military service and burned their weapons. The reaction of the Russian government was greater repression and forced military service. With the help and advice of British and American Quakers and the financial backing of the Russian novelist Count Leo Tolstoy the Doukhobors began their emigration from Russia. In 1898 and 1899, armed with the guarantee of the Canadian government of exemption from military service and an offer of free land in Saskatchewan, 7400 Doukhobors immigrated to Canada.

In little time, their fear of government and their refusal to swear the oath of allegiance in return for free homesteads led to the cancellation of their property deeds and the departure of 6000 Doukhobors for British Columbia. There, they purchased communal land at their own expense and embarked on a long period of noncooperation and, occasionally, violent conflict with the provincial government, principally over education.

The difficult migration to British Columbia splintered the group into traditional and radical elements, including the Sons of Freedom. In the late 1930s the BC farm commune ran into financial difficulties, and the BC government repossessed the land. By the 1960s, individual members of the sect had managed to buy back properties, but by then the Doukhobor community was in serious decline. Today, some Canadians identifying themselves as Doukhobors follow the communal, religious and pacifist life of the sect, while others live and work within the broader Canadian community. The Doukhobor communities estimate that as many as 30,000 practise the faith in Canada, mostly in Saskatchewan and British Columbia.

Religious Elements

Scriptural and Doctrinal Sources

• Holy Bible.

• Strong oral tradition of prayer and song, handed down from one generation to the next.

Sacraments

• None.

Moral Code

• Doukhobors are pacifists who believe in the sanctity of all life. The Ten Commandments and their motto, Toil and Peaceful Life, guide their lives.

Houses of Worship

• There are no houses of worship. Prayer meetings are held in homes and communal buildings.

Devotional Practices and Services

• Doukhobors reject the rituals, organization and iconography of churches. Devotions are limited to group prayer, singing and readings from the Bible.

Clergy, Organization and Government

• There are no clergy in the Doukhobor faith. Members believe they do not need an intermediary between themselves and God.

• There is little or no organization of the religion. The community of worship is centred in the communal social and working life of believers.

Propagation of the Faith

• The religion is handed down from parents to children through oral teaching and example, as it has been since its founding in 17th-century Russia.

Major Celebrations and Observances

• None.

Dress Requirements

• None.

Dietary Requirements

• Doukhobors may be vegetarians. The practice is not universal.

Medical and Health Requirements

• There are no medical or health requirements.

• Belief in the sanctity of life will guide personal decisions and those made for incapacitated family members.

Death and Burial

• There is no church service.

• The presence of family and community members is traditional and sought as a spiritual comfort for the dying and the bereaved.

• Burials are accompanied by prayers and hymns.

Sources of Additional Information

http://edocs.lib.sfu.ca/projects/Doukhobor-Collection/ — Simon Fraser University Doukhobor Collection.
http://www.spirit-wrestlers.com/ — The Spirit Wrestlers, a website dedicated to the Doukhobors.

ISKRA
Box 760
Grand Forks, BC V0H 1H0
Phone: (250) 442-8252