Selivanov, Kondraty Ivanovich

In the second half of the 18th century, in the Oryol province there was a crowded Khlystovsky “ship” (community) of a certain Akulina Ivanovna , already in her advanced years. This ship was visited by an alien, a peasant in the Oryol province , later known as Kondraty Selivanov. At first he pretended to be dumb, but then he spoke and the leader of rejoicing was recognized as “a god over the gods, a king over kings, a prophet over prophets”. Left to live in a society of whips, Selivanov was recognized by Akulina Ivanovna for his “son of God,” born of her, immaculate virgin, on the inspiration of St. spirit ^[3] .

Outraged by the spread of debauchery among the whips, Selivanov began to preach a congregation as the surest way to avoid carnal sin; but the teachings of Selivanov did not take root in the ship of Akulina Ivanovna. Separating from the whips, Selivanov led his own ship in the village of Sosnovka (near Morshansk , the Tambov province ) and declared himself the son of God the Redeemer (sealer), who came to save the human race from moltenness (voluptuousness), to crush the soul-destroying serpent (that is, to scour), introduce into the world of fiery baptism ^[3] .

Consequences

In 1772, the first investigative case of the eunuchs began ; Selivanov at first managed to hide ^[3] .

After 2 years, he was caught and in 1775, after corporal punishment, was exiled to Nerchinsk , but reached only Irkutsk and, for no reason for what reason, remained to live there. The tortures experienced by Selivanov, poetically and in a touching form for the commoner, were transmitted to them in Strada ^[3] .

Five years after Selivanov’s exile, the eunuchs began to think about how to return him from Siberia . The location of Selivanov was found; found people who agreed to go to Siberia; funds necessary for travel were collected. It was decided, finding Selivanov, to persuade him to escape. The messengers saw Selivanov, but then escape was impossible ^[3] .

Around 1795, Selivanov was able to leave Siberia and appeared in Moscow, where he was known not only for the redeemer, but also for Tsar Peter Fedorovich . Emperor Pavel Petrovich even earlier heard rumors that Peter III, his father, was alive and was in Siberia; now there is a rumor that he is in Moscow ^[3] .

In 1797, Selivanov ended up in St. Petersburg and, according to the scribes, was introduced to Emperor Paul I. To the latter’s question: “Are you my father?” Selivanov answered: “I am not a father to sin; accept my business (insult), and I recognize you as my son. ” Although there is no official evidence confirming the legend of the scribes, but taking into account, on the one hand, the importance of Selivanov’s crime, that is, his political imposture, and on the other, the fact that Paul I called Shilov from Dunamunde (fortress in Latvia) preceding this event, it is possible to assume that Selivanov was also introduced to the sovereign. Selivanov’s meeting with the emperor ended with the fact that he was ordered to be taken to the madhouse (now Obukhov Hospital ) ^[3] .

In 1802, Selivanov was released from there and sent to reside in an almshouse at the Smolny Monastery , and then was taken on bail by a chamberlain (former Polish king Stanislav Ponyatovsky ) Yelyansky, who accepted austerity. Wishing to "crown the All-Russian monarch with a new laurel," Yelyansky drafted an original project for the complete transformation of the state in a priestly spirit, with the appendix "Izvestia, on which monasticism is affirmed." Under this project, all of Russia was supposed to turn to some kind of skoppy ship. The sovereign, like Joshua , must govern the state according to the heavenly voice, and for this, the redeemer Kondraty Selivanov must constantly be with him and “try out all the secret advice,” since “he has the complete Heavenly Spirit with the Father and the Son.” Elyansky modestly granted himself the second place in the redeemer and power over the troops. The result of this extravagant project was that its author was sent to the Suzdal monastery , and a promise was taken from Selivanov not to make insults. This promise was broken at the first opportunity ^[3] .

Services

The delights were made constantly, with great solemnity. At the entrance of Selivanov to the room where they gathered for rejoicing, he was called a god, and he, waving a white cambric shawl, said: “My saint's cover is above you!” The police were forbidden to enter the house in which the rape was made ^{[3 ]} .

The significance of Selivanov was growing, and not only between the eunuchs, but even among the Orthodox society of St. Petersburg, attracting many superstitious visitors, especially those from merchants and noble ladies who wanted to receive a blessing from the “old man”, to listen to edification or some kind of prediction. In 1805, even the emperor himself visited Selivanov. This continued until 1820. ^[3]

Link to the Monastery

In 1819, the governor-general of St. Petersburg, Count Miloradovich, learned that two of his nephews were involved in the assembly of scribes, and that several lower ranks from the guards regiments and sailors, especially from the flipper crews, had been screened in Selivanov’s ship, and asked the prince Golitsyn bring this important circumstance to the attention of the sovereign. But the government again resorted first to the old measure of exhortation, which lasted until June of the next 1820; finally, it was decided to take Selivanov under arrest and secretly exile to the Sufdal Evfimiev monastery , where he remained until his death (in 1832). The petitioners' requests for the release of Selivanov were unsuccessful. Selivanov’s monastery was kept fairly free. Skoptsy went there to worship him; he handed out to those who came his hair and the remnants of bread from the table, which were stored by them like sacred objects ^[3] .

Selivanov wrote: "Message", "Strada" and nine letters to the priest Sergeyev ^[3] .

The “Message” and letters are nothing more than the exhortations of his followers to live according to the scapular rules. The “Message” was first published by Nadezhdin in the appendix to his “Study of the Skoppy Heresy” (1845), and it was also included in the Collection of Government Information on the Schismatics by V. Kelsiev (3rd edition) ^[3] .

In 1864, the “Message” was published by Tolstoy in “Readings of the General History and Antiquities of Russia” (1864), together with “Strada”. Selivanov’s letters, in the amount of two, were originally published by Nadezhdin, then entered the Kelsiev Collection, and finally printed by Melnikov (Readings on the General History and Antiquities of Russia, 1872) ^[3] .

"Strada" is a story about adventures that the founder of the skoptic sect experienced in his life before returning from Siberia. A separate edition of "Strad" is placed in the appendix to the same "Study" by Nadezhdin, which was also included in the "Collection" of Kelsiev. Melnikov published the first edition of Strad, which differs in both completeness and table of contents. The latter reads as follows: “The sufferings of the world, the true sovereign of the priest, the wanderings and labors of our dearest redeemer and universal teacher, the announcement” (“Readings of the General History and Antiquities of Russia”, 1872) ^[3] .

• Borozdin A. Selivanov, Kondraty // Russian Biographical Dictionary : in 25 volumes. - SPb. - M. , 1896-1918.
• Selivanov, Kondraty // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Mainov V.N. Skopsky heresiarch Kondraty Selivanov (Link to the Savior-Euthymius Monastery) // Historical Bulletin . April 1880, vol. 1.
• “Adventures and sufferings” and “Messages” by Kondraty Selivanov