A formerly unknown sect in Kazan province in the first half of the 19th century

The article is devoted to the history of the origin and existence of a sect discovered in 1841 in the village of Sheshma, Chistopolsky district, Kazan province. According to the reports of Orthodox clergymen, several families fell away from Orthodoxy into an unknown sect. In the materials of the investigation they called themselves representatives of the “Spasovaya”, “Pravaya”, “ Nebesnaya” faith. The Orthodox clergy, in connection with the denial by the apostates of the sanctity of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God, and then of the Orthodox icons, began to refer them to the “Judaizers”. At the same time, there were differences in the religious life of apostates from the diverse Judaizers in the Russian Empire. In particular, their ideas about the sacred meaning of the cross and the specific practice of making the sign of the cross with a blow to the chest. At the time of discovery, they represented an example of a textual community that emerged from the reading of spiritual books in a circle organized by under-trial peasants. The wording of the peasants' explanations of their religious ideas and practices indicated independent reading and discussion of the books. In addition, already after the community was discovered, their views were influenced by Orthodox parish priests who were in conflict with each other. While in the early stages the peasants naively tried to formulate their own views, from the moment of closer contact with the priests, they literally quoted and repeated their words and actions, which became the model of apostate behavior.