“Standard Cleanly Medieval Obscurantism” (to the History of One Neokruzhnichesk's of Educational Project of Belokrinitsky Old Believers)
The paper introduces in scientific circulation a previously unstudied writing titled‘About the needs of the Old Believer world'. It was written by an unknown author who was amember of a radical Neokruzhnik group of the Belokrinitsky Agreement or ‘Austrian Agreement'after 1901. An analysis of the sources demonstrates how the largest Neokruzhnik conflict in theBelokrinitsky hierarchy has been connected with provisions in the ex-Beglopopovtsy movementregarding the official Orthodox church and revising the reason of the conflict in Russian OrthodoxChurch in the 17th century. This process took place in the context of changing governmental policytowards the Old believers. The Neokruzhnik conflict was started in 1860. The next wave of discussions after the publication of the ‘Circular Epistle' had an impact on the development of themissionary apologetics against the Old believers because the missionaries of the official churchpaid special attention to the internal divisions among the Old believers. The Synodal missionariesconsidered a certain enhancement of centrifugal tendencies like evidence of a non-substantiation ofthe old believer movements. Furthermore, the tendentious interpretations of the sources did not payenough attention to the conciliation efforts that were specific for the apologetic of the main oldbelievers' groups. To date, the writing ‘About the needs of the Old Believer world' is one of thefew famous works which allows to follow the intentions of a certain part of the Neokruznik party.Perhaps this work was read out at the Neokruzhnik congress that remains unknown for the researchcommunity. The writing was a rewritten text of a Synodal bishop, as it turns out. His name wasAmbrose Klyucharev and he was a significant figure of the Synodal episcopate. Nevertheless, thewriting includes original fragments that demonstrated the Neokruzhik postulates very well duringthe period under study.