Jack Tarasoff, Calgary AB writes:
Our family is having a family re-union, and I was asked to make a short presentation about the different groups of Doukhobors, i.e. their titles, major beliefs and positions. J.J. Verigin has offered some help, but I feel I need a little more for the family.
Jack was former chairman of the Council of Doukhobors in Canada.
Our family is having a family re-union, and I was asked to make a short presentation about the different groups of Doukhobors, i.e. their titles, major beliefs and positions. J.J. Verigin has offered some help, but I feel I need a little more for the family.
Jack was former chairman of the Council of Doukhobors in Canada.
Update: In May 2021, Jim (Dmitri) Popoff published a 2-part article in Iskra detailing the many factions of the Doukhobors from Russia to Canada, which is much more complex than the simple diagram above. More to be added later.
Answer by Koozma
Doukhobor groups and personal identities and affiliations varied by time, place, environment and individuals. People could form new groups, intermarry, and join and leave groups. Our social evolution since 1886 (death of Luker'ia Kalmykova) has evolved in many directions — primarily from Russian heterodox to a multi-faceted religious and social movements.
However, the 1895 arms burning and the dropping of sectarian roots towards a nonkilling social movement ethic has remained stable as the defining element of Doukhoborism in the 21st Century. This evolution has encapsulated Lev N. Tolstoy's attempt at a real reformation in the formal church as well as a strong message to the military-industrial complex to get rid of wars once and for all.
Here are some useful references:
- Doukhobors, Wikipedia.
- Chapter IV: Wisdom of the Ages, in my 2002 book Spirit Wrestlers: Doukhobor Pioneers... Pages 361-378. In the Glossary, page 389, is a brief definition of Community and Independent Doukhobors. I updated Chapter IV for my website as: Unified Doukhobor Beliefs, June 28, 2013.
- Evolution of the Doukhobor Movement, Nov. 13, 2013. — My best slide show-lecture. See slides 17, 30, 33, 35, 37, 45, 47.
- Taxonomy of Spiritual Christian Doukhobors, by Andrei Conovaloff, in-progress
— In Russia divisions were by new leader.
— In Canada divisions were by leader and/or obeying new laws. - Researching Your Russian Doukhobor Roots: A presentation by Jonathan J. Kalmakoff, Doukhobor Genealogy Website, 24 January 2012. Pages 13, 17, 30, 33, 37.
All of this should help you designing your talk on the Doukhobors.
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