The Quarterly Journal of St. Philaret’s Institute

The article, based on various sources (Old Believer historical and polemical works, council decrees, etc.), makes an attempt to summarize information about the practical, organizational side of the activities of Old Believer cathedrals, about the role of the conciliar principle in the life of the Old Believer communities of the Southern Urals and Trans-Urals. Information is summarized on the number and composition of participants in the council meetings, on the time and place of the councils, on the preparation and progress of the council meetings themselves, and on the issues that were brought up for discussion at the council. It has been established that from several dozen to several hundred people took part in the meetings of the Old Believer councils (the Kurgan council of 1924 — 400 participants). Representatives of communities from central Russia could be present at the councils. The main subject of the conciliar meetings was the question of the possibility of marriage without the participation of a priest. The controversy over marriage has always occupied a significant place in the life of the Pomor community, and in the region under study it acquired particular acuteness after the controversial decisions of the Ozersk Council of 1875, which led to divisions in the community. The divisions intensified the council’s activities. The councils considered issues regarding church singing, elected rectors of Old Believer communities, and made judicial decisions. Sources have preserved data on 25 Old Believer councils that took place in the region since the 1850s. until 1925. Materials from council decisions allow us to come to the conclusion that cathedrals were the main regulator of the internal life of the Pomorian Old Believer community of the Southern Urals and Trans-Urals.