Khlyst

[JM]

Do followers of the Khlyst religion still exist in Russia?

 

[rusmeister]

Do followers of the Khlyst religion still exist in Russia?

I live here and I had honestly never heard of them.
(IOW, if they do, they're still secret.)

 

[MariaRegina]

What is the Kylyst religion anyway?

 

[JM]

Khlysts or Khlysty (Хлысты in Russian), was an underground sect from late 17th to early 20th century that split off the Russian Orthodox Church and belonged to the Spiritual Christians (духовные христиан&#1077 tendency.

It's a mix of traditional Russian paganism and Orthodoxy and I've read that the Holy Fools in Russia had contact with them.

 

[Livindesert]

Spiritual Christianity (Russian: духовное христианств&#1086 is a type of religious thought among the sectarianism (sektanstvo) of Russian Orthodoxy, with followers called spiritual Christians (Russian: духовные христиан&#1077.
Traditionally, the following sects are "spiritual Christians": Molokans, Dukhobors, Khlysts, Skoptsy, and Ikonobortsy (Icon-fighters, "Iconoclasts"). These sects often have radically different notions of "spirituality". Their common denominator is that they sought God in "Spirit and Truth", rather than in the Church of official Orthodoxy or ancient rites of Old Believers. Their saying was "The church is not within logs, but within ribs".
Rejecting the official church, they considered their religious organization as a homogeneous community, without division into laymen and clergy.-Wikipedia

 

[ArmyMatt]

It's a mix of traditional Russian paganism and Orthodoxy and I've read that the Holy Fools in Russia had contact with them.

I have never heard of them, but it wouldn't surprise me if they do exist. pick and choose religion seems to be the trend nowadays

 

[E.C.]

Rasputin was one of them.

I'd be surprised if there were any Khlysts left.

 

[Dorothea]

Never heard of this religion until I read this thread.

 

[Andrew21091]

Rasputin was one of them.

I'd be surprised if there were any Khlysts left.

Indeed. Rasputin was not Orthodox. They rejected the priesthood, holy books, veneration of Saints, and other Orthodox practices. They practiced very strange forms of asceticism which included forms of mortification (self flagellation and the such) and their rituals would include induging in certain things such as over consumption of alcohol for spiritual purposes and it is said that their rituals also turned into mass orgies. I once read somewhere that they believed that over indulging in sin would help them to conquer it. I'm not sure if any groups have survived through to the present day. Many priestless Old Believer groups were able to hide and survive through years of persecution so I would not be suprised if there was some sort of reamnent of the Khlysts left today.

 

[Ortho_Cat]

If so, they exist off of the map.

 

[mysho44]

Interesting topic. The Khlysts ( Russian word ‘khlestat’ to lash or whip), is often translated as “Flagellants", did indeed practice self-flagellation. Though I believe that originally the sect called themselves 'khrists'. They believed in metempsychosis (transmigration of the soul, and reincarnation), and that Christ was incarnated in the leader of each Khylst community. One can say that there is almost something gnostic about them.