Polemics against the Doctrine of Bespopovtsy about the Church and the Church Hierarchy in the Work of N. I. Ivanovsky “Critical Analysis of the Doctrine of the Old Believers who do not Accept the Priesthood about the Church and the Sacraments”

The article provides an overview of the polemics with Bespopovtsy on canonical issues about the Church and church hierarchy, contained in the doctoral dissertation of one of the leading scholars of the Synodal Era, N. I. Ivanovsky († 1913). The dissertation examines in detail the canonical aspects of the doctrine of the Church and the church hierarchy of the Old Believers who do not accept the priesthood, reveals their dogmatic and canonical errors. It can be said that the teaching of Bespopovtsy on these issues stands at the very origins of the Old Believer schism and is more logically verified than the teaching of the Old Believers who accept the priesthood. Therefore this polemic is of particular interest to schism scholars and schism historians. The article describes the analysis of N. I. Ivanovsky’s dogmatic- canonical teaching of the Bespopovtsy about the Church and the church hierarchy and a criticism of this teaching from the point of view of Orthodox ecclesiology. It also describes Ivanovsky’s main practical recommendations for conducting a discussion with adherents of a split. It is concluded that the legacy of the outstanding Russian scholar of the schism is relevant for everyone who wants to understand the foundation and development of the Old Believer schism.