{{More citations needed section|date=May 2026}} '''Fedoseevtsy''', also '''Fedoseyans''' ({{Langx|ru|федосеевцы, феодосиевцы|fedoseevtsy, feodosievtsy}}), sometimes anglicised as '''Theodosians''', comprise a dissident religious movement formed in Imperial Russia. They have become one of the denominations among the Bespopovtsy (the priestless Old Believers), along with the Pomortsy, the Beguny and the Filippovtsy.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://mustreadalaska.com/alexander-dolitsky-traditions-of-the-20th-century-russian-old-believers-in-alaska/ |title= Alexander Dolitsky: Traditions of the 20th Century Russian Old Believers in Alaska |last= Downing |first= Suzanne |date= 8 January 2022 |website= Must Read Alaska |publisher= |access-date= 22 April 2026 |quote=}}</ref>
The movement was established in the 1690s in Novgorod.<ref name="Priestless">Е. М. Юхименко, А. И. Мальцев, Е. А. Агеева, [https://www.pravenc.ru/text/print/78246.html БЕСПОПОВЦЫ], Orthodox Encyclopedia, ‘’Bespopovtsy’’, 2009.</ref> It was founded by an ex-deacon {{ill|Feodosy Vasilyev|ru|Феодосий Васильев}} (1661–1711), and originated amidst Old Believers (mostly peasants and posad people) in Northwest Russia.<ref name=NRM1>{{cite web |url= https://newreligiousmovements.org/f/fedoseevtsy/ |title= Fedoseevtsy |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website= New Religious Movements |publisher= |access-date= 22 April 2026 |quote=}}</ref> The Fedoseevtsy disapproved of a certain group within the Bespopovtsy, namely the Pomortsy, who had been diverging from the strict principles of the Old Believers and had adopted the custom of praying for the Tsar ({{Lang|ru|моление за царя}}). Initially, the Fedoseevtsy were irreconcilable towards serfdom in Russia and observed strict asceticism, negating the institution of marriage.<ref name="Priestless" />
By 1706, Vasilyev had announced a formal split from the Pomortsy group, although they continued to have a good relationship for the most part.<ref name="Priestless" />
The group grew over time, and after Vasilyev’s death, members were to be found in Poland, Livonia and Wallachia as well as Novgorod-Pskov.<ref name="Priestless" />
In the late-18th century, the Fedoseevtsy centered on a group led by {{ill|Ilya Kovylin|ru|Ковылин, Илья Алексеевич}} (1731–1809) with their all-Russian "headquarters" at the Preobrazhenskoye cemetery in Moscow. With the development of social inequality among the Fedoseevtsy, their doctrine gradually began to lose its elements of social protest. In 1848 they adopted the custom of praying for the Tsar.<ref name=NRM1 /> In the second half of the 19th century, a group of the so-called "newlyweds" ({{Lang|ru|новожёны}}) detached itself from the Fedoseevtsy movement, acknowledging the institution of marriage.
The Old-Pomorian Old-Orthodox Church of Fedoseyan Confession was established in 2014.
==References== {{reflist}}
== Further reading == * ''Быковский И. К.'' Преображенский приход старообрядцев-феодосиевцев старопоморского благочестия в Москве. — М.: 1907. * ''Миловидов В. Ф.'' Старообрядчество в прошлом и настоящем. — М.: 1969. * ''Подмазов А.'' Современное старообрядчество в Латвии. — Рига: 1969. * ''Попов Н. И.'' Из истории Преображенского кладбища. — М.: 1862. * ''Попов Н. И.'' Материалы для истории беспоповских согласий в Москве, феодосиевцев Преображенского кладбища и поморского монинского согласия. — М.: 1870. * ''Попов Н. И.'' Сборник для истории старообрядчества. Т. 1 — М.: 1864. * [http://www.pavel-prusskiy.ru/lib/preob_kladbishe.html Преображенское кладбище и его прошлое] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201083621/http://pavel-prusskiy.ru/lib/preob_kladbishe.html |date=2020-02-01 }}. — М.: Тов. типографии А. И. Мамонтова, 1901. − 64 с. * {{ВТ-ЭСБЕ|Федосеевщина}}
==External links== * [http://www.staropomor.ru/index.html Fedoseevtsy website] * [https://www.europeanproceedings.com/article/10.15405/epsbs.2021.05.02.113 ''Laboratory Of Miracles: Russian Old Believers And Relics Of Novgorod'', by Ilia Melnikov, 27 May 2021 (European Proceedings website)]
Category:Old Believers
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