The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1744 page)

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
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Old Believers
.
Dissident groups of Russian Orthodox Christians. Because they have been in
schism
(
raskol
) since 1666, they are known also as Raskolniki. The schism began when Nikon, patriarch of Moscow, introduced reforms of ritual. Penal laws remained in force until 1903. Under such continuing pressure, there were several divisions, but two main groups: the
popovtsy
(those with priests) and the
pezpopovtsy
(those without priests who resorted to less formal organization).
Old Catholics
.
Christians who adhere (according to the declaration of their
bishops
in 1889) to the
Vincentian Canon
, not in order to resist all change, but in order to guard against unwarranted innovation. The roots of the separation of Old Catholic Churches go back to the post-Reformation debates in the Netherlands: the
Jansenist
Church of Utrecht retained the
apostolic succession
after its separation from Rome in 1724 and was later able to supply valid consecration of bishops. The major breach occurred as a consequence of the
Vatican I
proclamation of papal
infallibility
. In 1889, the newly called Old Catholic Churches united in the Union of Utrecht. Old Catholics recognize the seven ecumenical
Councils
and the teachings of the undivided Church before the
Great Schism
of 1054.
Old Man of the Mountain
(name for ruler of Syrian sect):
Old Testament
.
Christian name for the Jewish scriptures (see
TANACH
) which form the first part of the
Bible
. In Roman Catholic usage the
deuterocanonical books
are included.
Olympian religion
:

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