From Antipin’s Potrebnik. Chapter 4.
1. We believe and confess the Christian, Old Orthodox faith, in accordance with the Creed of the Holy Fathers of the First and Second Ecumenical Councils. We adhere to all the teachings of the Gospel, the Apostles, and the Holy Fathers. We follow all the teachings of the Holy Church that existed in Russia in the fullness of its hierarchy before the time of Patriarch Nikon. Therefore, our community is the Church of Christ.
2. Since the time of Patriarch Nikon, when all hierarchs abandoned ancient piety and adopted new, contrary teachings—thereby falling into heresy—the grace-filled and salvific ecclesiastical succession ceased.
3. Due to the hierarchs’ fall into heresy, our Church has been left without hierarchical figures, under the shepherdship of the Great Shepherd and High Priest, Jesus Christ.
4. Christ is the eternal High Priest, and His priesthood is eternal—that is, His personal action. We believe that all the saving mysteries of salvation which, through necessity and the absence of priests, we are unable to perform in the usual way, can be received in full directly and invisibly from the Most High High Priest Jesus Christ—namely, cleansing and sanctification from every impurity, holy communion, and the like.
5. We do not reject pious priests and the true visible sacrifice; we simply have none at present, because nowhere now are there pious priests—all have deviated into heresy, and from such it is impossible to receive anything. For all heretical actions and mysteries are not saving, but destructive to the soul.
6. Baptism, marriage, and confession of sins among us are performed as simply as possible without priests. The only performer of marriage is the Lord Himself. In the absence of spiritual fathers, confession is made directly to God.
7. We have our prayer houses and conduct church services with singing according to the ustav.
8. We venerate holy icons—both ancient and new, provided they are painted correctly. We also accept liturgical books—both ancient and new, if they are translated from ancient texts.
9. We do not turn to heretics for any spiritual needs whatsoever. With all those of other faiths and with schismatics we have no communion at all—neither in prayer, nor in drinking, nor in eating. In exactly the same way we have no communion with those who use tobacco or who shave their beards.
10. We obey all civil authorities in all matters except those concerning faith, and we pray to God for the authorities.
11. We believe that the Antichrist reigns in all heretical churches.
12. Those who come to us from the Nikonians and other heretics who were baptised correctly—by triple full immersion with the words “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”—even such baptism performed by heretics is without grace and brings no benefit. Nevertheless, according to the rules of the Holy Fathers and out of economy, we receive such persons without rebaptism, but “through repentance and faith,” which is accomplished over forty days with a rule of one thousand prayers daily. We believe that the Lord Himself baptises such persons with the Holy Spirit through faith and repentance. But those who were not baptised by triple immersion must be baptised again with water.
13. We completely reject the so-called Old-Rite Belokrinitskaya (or “Austrian”) hierarchy and all the “begging-priest” (beglopopovtsy) priesthood, regarding them as graceless and false, springing from one and the same heretical root. All their actions are false, unsaving, and destructive to the soul.
14. Other priestless Old Believers who, for even the smallest reasons, rebaptise without distinction everyone who comes to them; or who receive people through cursing the heresies while maintaining a self-willed monasticism without priests yet according to the priestly rite; or who keep some kind of “reserved Lamb” obtained from fugitive Nikonian priests; or who reject marriage because there are no pious priests; or who accept certain mysteries (“baptism and marriage”) from heretics while at the same time calling those same priests heretics—all the above-mentioned practices of other Old Believers we reject as their errors. Moreover, we reject and keep apart from all schismatics who introduce disputes and divisions over small matters that are ordinary and in no way contrary to the teaching of the Holy Fathers and to the faith.
This Confession of Faith must be taught by the superiors to all, especially to those who have newly come, so that each may know his own doctrine of faith more precisely—for many do not know their own faith at all. For the convenience of everyone’s knowledge we have therefore set forth this confession of faith.
