Lipovans (Russian Old Believers) during a ceremony in front of their church in the Romanian village of
Slava Cercheză in 2004 (photo by
Mikhail Evstafiev.)
or
Lippovans (, , , ) are the
Old Believers, mostly of
Russian ethnic origin, who settled in
Moldavia, in the
Danube Delta, in
Tulcea county, in the
Dobrogea region of eastern
Romania, and in the southwestern part of
Odessa Oblast (in
Budjak), in
Chernivtsi Oblast in
Ukraine, as well as in two villages in North-Eastern
Bulgaria and in
Bukowina (as in
Bila Krynytsya). According to the 2002 Romanian census there are a total of 35,791 Lipovans in Romania, of whom 21,623 still live in Dobrogea.
Name
The name has been suggested to be related to Russian Липа (lipa),
linden tree or to Filippovka, a holiday name dedicated to
Saint Philip, however, the accepted etymology says it's derived from name of
Filipp Pustosviat (1672-1742), the adepts of whom being named
filippovcy or
(fi)lippovane.
History
They emigrated from Russia over 200 years ago as dissenters with the mainline
Russian Orthodox Church. They settled along the
Prut River in
Moldavia and in the
Danube Delta. They have maintained strong religious traditions that predate the reforms of the
Russian Orthodox Church undertaken during the reign of
Patriarch Nikon. When he
made changes to worship in 1652, part of the believers carried on worshipping in the "old way". In that sense, they continued to speak
Old Russian, to cross themselves with two fingers instead of three, and to keep their beards. The Russian government and the Orthodox Church persecuted them and as a result some committed suicide
by burning themselves, with many other being forced to emigrate.
In 1876, the Lipovans were joined by some
Skoptsy sect members who emigrated to Romania to escape prosecution.
The Lipovans were considered to be schismatic by the Nikonians. However others consider this label to be incorrect.
Population
The main centre of Lipovan community in Ukraine is
Vilkovo. The town has its own church,
St Nicholas. In order to construct their homes, the Lipovans create islets of dry land by digging mud out from trenches and put into work a series of canals. The house walls are made of
reed and mud, and
thatching is standard for the roofing. Because of the characteristics of these materials, the buildings have a tendency to sink into the mud and need to be rebuilt every few years.
For details on the Lipovans in Bulgaria, see
Russians in Bulgaria.
