The Doukhobors (Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ)

Russian peasant Christians, the "Spirit Wrestlers", who put away priests, icons, water baptism and the bread and cup, hold that conscience is the voice of God within, and since the Burning of Arms in 1895 refuse all violence. This chart speaks of the Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ in Canada and the psalms it inherits.

USCC, "About Our Faith": Frequently Asked Questions about Doukhobors and the USCC

USCC, "Who are the Doukhobors" (from the USCC publication The Doukhobors in Canada, 1974)

USCC, "Origins of the USCC" (Early History)

USCC, "Origin of the Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ"

USCC, "About the USCC"

USCC, "USCC Organization"

USCC, "Guiding Doukhobor Principles"

USCC, "The Doukhobor Life-Concept", by Eli A. Popoff, Grand Forks, B.C.

USCC, "Bread Salt and Water", by Eli A. Popoff

USCC, "The Soul Expressive Heritage of The Doukhobors: Russian Group Singing", by Eli Popoff (USCC Festival Program Booklet, May 21-22, 2005)

USCC, "Why Doukhobors are Vegetarians" (from Hospitality, Cooking the Doukhobor Way, 1995)

Declaration of the "Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ", proclaimed at the Second Convention, Verigin, Saskatchewan, 29 July to 7 August 1934 (PDF on the USCC site)

The Book of Life of Doukhobors, translated version (1978; translator Victor O. Buyniak; Doukhobor Societies of Saskatchewan). Recorded and collected by Vladimir Bonch-Bruevich, published in St Petersburg in 1909

Svetlana A. Inikova, "Spiritual Origins and the Beginnings of Doukhobor History" (keynote, Doukhobor Centenary Conference, Ottawa, 1999), Doukhobor Heritage

Svetlana A. Inikova, "Leo Tolstoy's Teachings and the Sons of Freedom in Canada", Doukhobor Heritage

Jonathan J. Kalmakoff, "Rediscovering the Lost Burning of Arms site in Azerbaijan" (1 July 2022), Doukhobor Heritage

Jonathan J. Kalmakoff, "An Overview of Doukhobor Settlement and Migration" (Peter's Day commemoration, Blaine Lake, Saskatchewan, 24 June 2012)

W. Stewart Wallace, "Illustrated Interview: Mr. Peter Verigin, the Doukhobor Leader", The Westminster, July 1904 (republished on Doukhobor Heritage)

Doukhobors (Wikipedia; last resort, used for the census figures only)

The Doukhobors arose among Russian peasants in the 1700s, were named by an Orthodox archbishop, were exiled to the Caucasus, and on the night of 29 June 1895 burned their weapons. About a third of all Doukhobors then left Russia for Canada in 1899, helped by Leo Tolstoy and the Quakers. In Canada they lived communally, lost their land, divided into several groups, and in 1938 the USCC was organized. In 1960-61 its leadership passed from a hereditary leader to an elected committee.

The name Doukhobor

Svetlana Inikova writes: "The word Doukhobors did not appear until 1786. It was coined not, as is commonly supposed, by Ambrosius, Archbishop of Ekaterinoslav, but by Nikifor, Archbishop of Slovenia." The USCC's own 1974 publication gives the year as 1785 and the archbishop as Ambrosius, and says he "intended it as a derogatory label" meaning that these people struggled against the Holy Spirit. The Doukhobors, it says, "adopted the name, but gave their own interpretation to it": "We are Spirit Wrestlers because we wrestle with and for the Spirit of God." Inikova adds that they did not adopt the name themselves until the early 1800s. The group had existed for some time before, with leaders such as Illarion Pobirokhin in Tambov.

Milky Waters and the forms of worship

In 1802 the government permitted Doukhobors to settle on the Molochnaya River in Tavria, with a religious amnesty. Jonathan Kalmakoff calls it a "Period of general prosperity, religious toleration, growth and consolidation of the sect." The USCC writer Eli Popoff says the Doukhobor forms of worship were set at this settlement under Saveliy Kapustin: "Having set aside idolization of the Bible and other so-called sacred writings, the Doukhobors acknowledged as their guidance their own, “Book of Life” composed of psalms which were committed to memory."

Exile to the Caucasus

Persecution resumed under Nicholas I from 1825. Kalmakoff's overview records that the exile "culminated in 1841-1845 with the deportation of the main group of Doukhobors in Tavria", with "4,992 Doukhobors exiled in five parties over a five year period". They settled in what is now Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The leadership breaks

The Kalmakoff overview dates the end of "central hereditary leadership" to 1886: "leadership crisis results" and the "Doukhobor community splits into Small, Middle and Large parties". The USCC says Lukeria Kalmikova had prospered the community in the Transcaucasian exile, and that she chose Peter V. Verigin as her successor.

The Burning of Arms

In the 1890s, on the advice of Peter V. Verigin, the USCC says, they took up a simple communal life, gave up alcohol and tobacco, and embraced vegetarianism and pacifism. Jonathan Kalmakoff writes that at midnight on 29 June 1895, the feast-day of Saint Peter, "over seven thousand Doukhobors in the Caucasus region of Russia – followers of Peter Vasil’evich Verigin – gathered all the firearms in their possession, heaped them onto a pile of kindling, doused it with kerosene and lit it aflame." It was done in three regions of the Caucasus at once. The government answered with arrests and exile.

To Canada

After a refuge on Cyprus where, in Kalmakoff's account, 108 settlers died, "7,500 Doukhobors immigrate to Canada", "aided by Leo Tolstoy and Society of Friends (Quakers) in England and America". Kalmakoff calls it the "largest mass migration in Canadian history". The USCC says almost 8000 came between 1899 and 1905. About twelve thousand, on his count, remained in Russia.

To British Columbia, and the end of external ceremonies

The USCC says Canadian authorities demanded an Oath of Allegiance and individual land titles, that most refused, and that the government then seized some 260,000 acres of land developed through communal work; between 1908 and 1911 almost 6000 followed Verigin to British Columbia and formed the Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood. In a letter to Bonch-Bruevich dated 12 February 1909, Ivan Konkin wrote that on 15 December 1908 "we all, the Doukhobors, have abandoned all the external ecclesiastical ceremonies", so that the only practices left were "the reading and the singing of psalms and bowing to the ground", and that instead "If we do not get angry, then, by this very fact, we are already praying and bowing to God".

The Book of Life is published

Bonch-Bruevich, a Russian ethnographer, "accompanied the Doukhobors to Canada and for a time lived amongst them, collected and recorded their Psalms and beliefs", then "published the BOOK OF LIFE of Doukhobors in 1909 in St. Petersburgh, Russia". It was reprinted in Winnipeg in 1954. The Foreword to the 1978 English translation notes: "Prior to 1909 Doukhobors transmitted their psalms and hymns mainly by word of mouth." Its psalms and its question-and-answer catechisms are the oldest long statement of Doukhobor belief, and they are quoted in this chart with their dates.

The Declaration

At its Second Convention, held at Verigin, Saskatchewan, from 29 July to 7 August 1934, the USCC proclaimed a Declaration that opens: "We, “The Union of Spiritual Communities of Christ”, have been, are and will be members of Christ’s Church, confirmed by the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Himself and assembled by His Apostles." The USCC now lists it among its historical pages. Answering a question on political involvement, its FAQ says: "Officially, the USCC membership still stands by the 1934 document known as the “Declaration”".

The USCC is organized

The USCC says the death of Peter V. Verigin "in a mysterious train explosion in 1924", government efforts to assimilate the Doukhobors and the Great Depression undermined the Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood. "So, in 1938, this inspirational leader" (his son, Peter P. Verigin) "organized the USCC, with a program of action focusing on youth".

From a leader to an elected committee

The USCC says that after word came of the death of Peter P. Verigin Istrebov in a Stalinist labor camp, delegates at extraordinary conventions in 1960-61 were asked to acknowledge a new Spiritual Leader. John J. Verigin counseled them "to reconsider", and the convention "adopted a new designation – the role of “Honourary Chairman”, who would serve along with a democratically elected Executive Committee."

John J. Verigin dies

John J. Verigin, Honourary Chairman since 1960, "passed away on October 26, 2008". The USCC says its members then "expressed its unanimous wish" to have his son, John J. Verigin Jr., continue in the traditional role of leader, and that he "responded with an explanation that he would do his best to serve the people as they requested, as the Executive Director". He is named in that office on the USCC's pages.

Illarion Pobirokhin

A Doukhobor leader in Tambov province. Inikova writes that "Edom, Pobirokhin and Kapustin were all generally recognized Doukhobor leaders, whose collective activity spanned the whole of the 18th century." She adds that Pobirokhin "was held to be" a "Doukhobor Christ", as Edom was before him. The USCC's FAQ names him, with Sylvan Kolesnikov, among the "historically recorded Doukhobor leaders" of the 1700s.

Saveliy Kapustin

The USCC says Kapustin served "somewhat in the role of a Doukhobor “Moses”, codifying many of the Doukhobor ideas and traditions" during the Milky Waters period, and that every later hereditary leader was descended from him, apart from Lukeria Kalmikova, widow of his great-grandson Peter Kalmikov.

Lukeria Kalmikova

The USCC says the community prospered "at times", "as under the leadership of Lukeria Kalmikova, during their exile in Transcaucasia". Her chosen successor was Peter V. Verigin.

Peter V. "Lordly" Verigin

Leader of the Doukhobors who burned their arms in 1895, and of those who went to Canada. In a 1904 interview, asked about Christ and the miraculous catch of fish, he said that Christ taught a "half-way doctrine" to men not yet ready for "the extreme truth", "but we, who are more enlightened, should live up to the spirit of Christ, beyond the letter." The USCC credits him with the slogan "Toil and Peaceful Life".

Peter P. Verigin

Son of Peter V. Verigin. The USCC says he organized it in 1938 and left "guidance in letters, speeches, and the slogans" such as "The Welfare of the World is Not Worth the Life of One Child".

John J. Verigin

Grandson of Peter P. Verigin, Honourary Chairman of the USCC from 1960 until his death. The USCC records that he was honored "in recognition of his efforts to integrate the Doukhobors into Canada’s multicultural mosaic", and its FAQ says he counseled that the leader's role "should be allowed to change with the times".

Other Doukhobor groups in Canada. The Kalmakoff overview says that in the land crisis of 1903-1907 the Doukhobors split into three factions: the Independents, who "take oath, accept private property"; the Community Doukhobors, who "refuse oath, reject private property"; and the Sons of Freedom, a "small radical zealot wing". The USCC descends from the Community Doukhobors, and calls itself, in one of its pages, "also known as the Orthodox Doukhobors".

The Sons of Freedom (a report, not a portrait of the Doukhobors). Svetlana Inikova writes that "The Freedomite movement, an extremist socio-religious trend, originated among that portion of the Doukhobor sect that had come to be known as “Fasters,” those Doukhobors who in 1895, after proclaiming their pacifism, burned their weapons in the Transcaucasus". She says the name Syny svobody (Sons of Freedom) or Svobodniki (Freedomites) arose in the summer of 1902, when a group went from village to village urging others to turn their cattle loose. She traces their ideas to the influence of Tolstoy's circle and notes that their pantheism "had not previously been characteristic of Doukhobors." Her verdict on their later history is her own: "For almost a hundred years, the Freedomites have kept Canadian society in a state of tension, organizing acts of arson against schools and private homes and enterprises, bombing of railway and power lines, and scandalizing respectable citizenry by disrobing in public places and staging “nude parades” along the roads of Canada." The USCC speaks of them only indirectly. Its 1974 publication says that in the stresses of the move into modern life, "In the case of a small number of people this has resulted in a bizarre and tragic behavior completely incompatible with Doukhobor ideals of non-violence and pacifism", and its Early History speaks of "depredations and stigma caused by fanatics". The USCC's pages do not name the Sons of Freedom, and no teaching or act in this chart is theirs. The USCC's Executive Director writes that the organization is "currently engaged in reconciling the differences that have historically divided Doukhobors living in Canada, Russia, Georgia, and Ukraine".

Dates differ between sources. The USCC's 1974 text dates the name to 1785 and Archbishop Ambrosius; Inikova dates it to 1786 and Archbishop Nikifor. The Burning of Arms is given as the night of 28-29 June (Old Style) in Russia, which is 10-11 July in the modern calendar; Kalmakoff gives 29 June.

What the Doukhobors in Russia believed, in a historian's account. Inikova, who read the Russian archives, writes that "Doukhobor teachings" held that "The Christ-figure of the Trinity continued to be embodied in each Doukhobor leader in turn, each of which represented Christ, the true God." That is her reading of the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century faith, not a present USCC statement. The USCC now says that "Some of their overly zealous and simple-minded followers tended to attribute a supernatural “holiness” to them", while "the majority of the mainstream community members had a more rational understanding".

The voice of God is conscience within. The Bible is not holy or infallible; the guide is the oral Book of Life, the psalms kept in memory.

The USCC answers the question of authority plainly. In its FAQ it says: "Doukhobors do not consider the Bible to be either a “holy” book or infallible in its content." It allows that the Bible can be called "inspired of God" in the sense that its writers were inspired by "their “inner voice of God”", "but no more so than any other written work of great dedication or inspiration", and it names the Tao Te Ching, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Koran and the writings of Tolstoy, Gandhi and others beside it. The authority it gives is within. The USCC says: "Our “conscience” is the “voice of God” within us and each of us has the ability to listen to that voice." The Doukhobors' own guide, in the USCC writer Eli Popoff's words, is their "Book of Life", "composed of psalms which were committed to memory". The Foreword to the printed Book of Life says the psalms passed "mainly by word of mouth" before 1909. Eli Popoff's Life-Concept page on the USCC site says Doukhoborism is "not fettered by any static dogmas." The 1934 Declaration, however, says that members "acknowledge only the law and supreme authority of God", and names the Ten Commandments as the law of God.

Doukhobors do not consider the Bible to be either a “holy” book or infallible in its content.

Our “conscience” is the “voice of God” within us and each of us has the ability to listen to that voice.

Having set aside idolization of the Bible and other so-called sacred writings, the Doukhobors acknowledged as their guidance their own, “Book of Life” composed of psalms which were committed to memory.

The Book of Life, c. 1900. The catechism recorded by Bonch-Bruevich asks, in Psalm 2, "Why do you not believe in the Holy Writ?" and the recorded answer is: "We do believe. The Lord said: Record in your hearts, proclaim by your mouths." (Book of Life, Psalm 2, Q. 20). It asks, "Do you have the Gospel?" and the recorded answer is that the Lord said, "I am your Gospel, I am the light to all the world." (Psalm 2, Q. 57). And "Do you have a psalm-book?" "We have psalms and psalms are psalm-book." (Psalm 2, Q. 56). Another psalm in the same book says: "On the throne there are direct books, books of knowledge and the living book." (Psalm 156). Bonch-Bruevich's own summary, which is his and not the Doukhobors', says: "In such answers the Doukhobors reject the divine inspiration of books which are known as “the holy writ”, thus reducing them to the usual level of human creation." (Book of Life, Summary of the Doukhobor World Outlook). The Foreword to the 1978 translation adds that "Prior to 1909 Doukhobors transmitted their psalms and hymns mainly by word of mouth."

Leaders on the Bible. The USCC says an early Doukhobor teacher "suggested that it should be done away with altogether, if one were to actually achieve true enlightenment", and that Peter P. Verigin "suggested that all of it could be quite safely ignored, save, perhaps, the Gospel of Matthew, and, even there, all that was really needed was the Sermon on the Mount." It cites "the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life". Peter V. Verigin told an interviewer in 1904 that "we, who are more enlightened, should live up to the spirit of Christ, beyond the letter." The USCC adds that its answers are "based on an informed estimate of a current consensus of understanding among a majority of USCC members", so they are not a vote or a creed.

Each person earns salvation by good deeds and by following Jesus' example. Jesus' death was not a ransom; water baptism is not kept.

The USCC teaches that salvation is each person's own work. Its FAQ says that for Doukhobors the death of Jesus is important "mainly because it demonstrates the degree to which we must be prepared to emulate His example of unconditional love". It continues: "Doukhobors reject the notion that Jesus died for our sins; that His martyr death serves as some kind of “ransom” for the salvation of others." What Jesus asks, it says, is "each person’s individual responsibility for emulating Jesus, living according to the Golden Rule, and earning one’s own “salvation” through the good deeds of one’s life". It does not hold original sin. It calls "sin" the act against what one knows to be right: "that action (representing knowledge unused) is the only true “sin”." Its list of practices rejected includes "water baptism". The older answers recorded as The Book of Life say the same of baptism: "A baptism with water is not beneficial to our soul; for our soul baptism means that one accepts God's word; we are baptized by Christ in the name of the Holy Spirit." (Psalm 1, Q. 23, recorded c. 1900).

Doukhobors reject the notion that Jesus died for our sins; that His martyr death serves as some kind of “ransom” for the salvation of others.

each person’s individual responsibility for emulating Jesus, living according to the Golden Rule, and earning one’s own “salvation” through the good deeds of one’s life

A baptism with water is not beneficial to our soul; for our soul baptism means that one accepts God's word; we are baptized by Christ in the name of the Holy Spirit.

The 1934 Declaration says something different. The Declaration the USCC adopted at its Second Convention says that members believe in "Jesus Christ the Son of God - Who came in the flesh and was crucified. He is our sole - Leader, Saviour and only Hope." It adds: "There is none and could not be any other name under the heavens - through which man ought to be saved." It says members were "redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ". The USCC does not say, in the pages fetched, how that language and the FAQ's rejection of any "ransom" fit together. The FAQ is undated but speaks of events as late as 2008, so it is the more recent text, and the USCC says it reflects the present "consensus of understanding among a majority of USCC members", so this chart weighs the FAQ as the present teaching and the Declaration as the body's own older word, and credits it where it stands with Scripture.

Bonch-Bruevich's summary of the Doukhobors' sacraments. He wrote: "The Doukhobors consider “peace and purity of heart” as sacraments of the New Testament. The sacraments established by the ruling church such as: baptism, anointing, communion, confession, priesthood, marriage, unction they renounce in their material form, but they interpret and understand them in their spiritual form." He also reported them saying, "Create truth and love in your midst this will be a true baptism not by water but by spirit." (Book of Life, Summary, section V). These are his report of what Doukhobors said, in his words. Inikova, writing of the older faith, says the Doukhobors "did not recognize original sin, since God the Son came into the world not for its redemption, but to show people the pattern of suffering for the truth."

No bread and wine. Communion is spiritual: taking Christ's teaching and sufferings into one's life. The USCC's pages say nothing of a rite.

The USCC's own pages do not describe a communion. The bread, salt and water on the table at the prayer service are symbols of peace and hospitality, and it says they are not the Supper: "Our symbols – Bread, Salt and Water denote that we are people of peace." The recorded Book of Life (c. 1900) is where the Doukhobors speak of communion. Asked about "the sacrament of communion, flesh and blood of Christ, under the appearance of bread and wine", the answer is that bread is wheat and wine is grapes, so "your communion is of no use to us. We take communion of His holy divine, life-giving, inspiring, immortal sacraments, of Christ's passions for the atonement of sins." (Psalm 1, Q. 24). Asked "From whom do you accept communion?" the answer is "From a living angel. A living angel means harmless thoughts." (Psalm 2, Q. 86). Another psalm asks what the seven sacraments of the new testament are, and the answer is "Mildness of temper, purity of heart." (Psalm 3, Q. 12). Bonch-Bruevich summarizes: "the communion is the teaching of Christ, the word of God."

your communion is of no use to us. We take communion of His holy divine, life-giving, inspiring, immortal sacraments, of Christ's passions for the atonement of sins.

From a living angel. A living angel means harmless thoughts.

Our symbols – Bread, Salt and Water denote that we are people of peace.

Popoff says that Bread, Salt and Water "were chosen as the material objects to be placed on the table because as objects representing the basic staff of life, they were the simplest symbols to reflect the Doukhobor life concept." They mean the old Slavic welcome, when one tribe met another "with bread and salt on a platter". Peter V. Verigin is quoted: "Bread, Salt and Water symbolize our basic principle – “Toil and Peaceful Life.”" Bonch-Bruevich's long summary also reports the Doukhobor saying: "I am heralding to you about the spiritual communion which gives people strength and fortitude to fight against evil and to implement truth in this world, among us." The same summary says: "Through communion we join Christ in our future life". Both are Bonch-Bruevich's report of the Doukhobors' sayings, not a present USCC statement. In the Psalm 2 catechism (Q. 47 and 48) the seven sacraments are named, including "third communion", and this has been the older form of the answer. The USCC's recent pages are silent on the point, and this chart does not supply what they leave out.

No priests, clergy or hierarchy. Any capable elder leads the prayer meeting. For two centuries a hereditary leader; now elected committees and an Executive Director.

The USCC says: "Doukhobors do not accept the need for an institutionalized priesthood or clergy, or any ecclesiastical hierarchy". Its FAQ explains that from the start each person, "having the Spirit of God within him or her", could "communicate directly with that Spirit, without an intermediary such as a priest or other clergy." A "capable, respected elder could lead a moleniye, a wedding or a funeral." For two centuries the community also had a hereditary spiritual leader, a vozhd ("вождь" or "духовный руководитель", the USCC's own gloss: "spiritual leader"). The USCC counts four with the surname Kalmikov and five named Verigin since Kapustin. In 1960-61 the USCC replaced the office with an Honourary Chairman beside an elected committee. Today it is "governed by an Executive Director and seven Executive Committee members elected from the membership, and nine Community Representatives elected by members". A convention is held each February, at which "delegates elect governing bodies, present and hear annual reports, adopt an annual budget, formulate new policies". The USCC employs "up to ten full time and part time personnel", including the Executive Director.

Doukhobors do not accept the need for an institutionalized priesthood or clergy, or any ecclesiastical hierarchy, with a monopoly on the interpretation of religious and spiritual understanding.

any capable, respected elder could lead a moleniye, a wedding or a funeral.

The organization is governed by an Executive Director and seven Executive Committee members elected from the membership, and nine Community Representatives elected by members

The hereditary leader. The USCC does not describe it as a priesthood: "Doukhobors did not view their leaders as mere replacements for the former priests." It says the leader was seen to have "a special destiny, an exceptional ability, intelligence and spiritual insight", and that he served as "a unifying community figurehead, a collectively acknowledged spokesperson, as well as a wise, impartial arbitrator and consultant". It adds that some followers "tended to attribute a supernatural “holiness” to them", but "the majority of the mainstream community members had a more rational understanding." After 2008 John J. Verigin's son agreed to serve as Executive Director, and not as a leader. The Book of Life, c. 1900, says of the question "Who is the successor of Christ's deeds or who is his representative on earth?": "He is the successor of Christ's deeds who is pure in body and deed, humble and kind, obedient to good deeds and remote from evil deeds." (Psalm 1, Q. 17), and "No, we have no Orthodox priests." (Psalm 2, Q. 58).

Sunday prayer meetings of psalms sung from memory, without instruments or books. A table with bread, salt and water; each bows to the other.

The USCC says it "hosts prayer services every Sunday", in Russian. It says the Doukhobors "set aside idolization of the Bible" and put a table at the head of the assembly with Bread, Salt and Water on it, men to the right and women to the left, and that "during their prayer service each person bowed to the person next to him". The singing is of psalms learned by heart. Popoff writes that in breaking from the church "the Doukhobors also placed the instrumental playing of music, in connection with prayer worship to God, as something to be abstained from", and that they gave up "any books with words or notes to lean on to while singing". The old psalms trace their singing to John: "From John the Theologian, the friend and brother of Christ" (Book of Life, Psalm 2, Q. 42). Asked "What do you have in place of church?" the recorded Doukhobor answer is "A voice calling over the seas and oceans." (Psalm 2, Q. 80). The 1974 USCC text gives the Doukhobor answer to the question "What is God?": "God is a word, God is a spirit, God is love."

During their prayer service each person bowed to the person next to him signifying a recognition of the spirit of God, which according to Doukhobor beliefs, dwelt within the heart and soul of every individual human being.

in breaking away from the church and all its rituals, symbols and ceremonials, the Doukhobors also placed the instrumental playing of music, in connection with prayer worship to God, as something to be abstained from.

From John the Theologian, the friend and brother of Christ

Ceremonies set aside, 1908. Ivan Konkin wrote to Bonch-Bruevich on 12 February 1909 about the general Doukhobor congress of 15 December 1908, at which Peter V. Verigin raised the question of their spiritual ceremonies: "We have considered them as a necessary performance for the salvation of our souls. All this resulted in an eclipse of Christ's truth because we were made to understand" that serving God meant praying and fasting, to starve oneself for a few days and nights. Since then, he wrote, "we all, the Doukhobors, have abandoned all the external ecclesiastical ceremonies, although among our practices there was only the reading and the singing of psalms and bowing to the ground." He added: "If we do not get angry, then, by this very fact, we are already praying and bowing to God" (Book of Life, Summary, section III). The three kinds of song. Popoff says Doukhobor singing has three kinds, of which "the first and oldest is psalm singing." The USCC says its "traditional singing and prayer ritual are still conducted in their original Russian", though "many Anglophones" take part.

God is a spiritual force of love in every person; the Spirit is the conscience within. The USCC accepts none of the miracles of conventional Christianity.

The USCC says: "They believe the word “God” to be a term used to denote a spiritual energy force, synonymous with the term “love”, which is omnipresent throughout the universe, including in each and every human being." Its Guiding Principles say that "every person has a spark of the Creator within them". The Life-Concept page by Eli Popoff says: "God is a Spirit; God is a Word; God is Truth; God is Love; God is Man." The USCC says the Doukhobors "do not accept any of the so-called “miracles” of conventional Christian theology", naming "the “Virgin birth”, “raising of the dead”, “walking on water”, “Jesus’ physical Resurrection from the dead”", and calls them "artificial embellishments". Of the gifts of the Spirit, Bonch-Bruevich's own summary, in his words and not theirs, says the Doukhobors count the "best qualities in human nature" as those gifts: "wisdom, reason, council, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of God." (his summary, section IV). The psalms speak of the Holy Spirit as guide and teacher: "Our teacher is God our Lord; our mentor is the Holy Spirit." (Psalm 2, Q. 19).

They believe the word “God” to be a term used to denote a spiritual energy force, synonymous with the term “love”, which is omnipresent throughout the universe, including in each and every human being.

Doukhobors do not accept any of the so-called “miracles” of conventional Christian theology

Recognizing that every person has a spark of the Creator within them and tries to lead their lives according to the teachings of Christ.

The Doukhobor Trinity, in the older catechism. The Psalm 1 catechism, recorded c. 1900, answers the question "In what power is the essence of the Holy Trinity, and how do you confirm it?" with a teaching in these words: "The Holy Trinity is an unfathomable being. In man it appears as follows: God-Father as memory; Son-God as reason; Ghost-God as will. God-Trinity means one." (Psalm 1, Q. 5). The USCC's present text does not use this language. It says "God" is "a spiritual energy force", and that "the tendency of most Christian denominations to personify God" is "viewed as a concession to the pagan stage of human understanding".

Heaven and hell are states of consciousness; a "Heaven on Earth" can be built by love. Jesus rose in spirit, not in body. The 1934 Declaration also hopes for eternal life.

The USCC says: "Doukhobors understand “Heaven” and “Hell” to be states of existence and consciousness, and not actual “geographical” locations as many “Christian” interpretations would seem to imply." It teaches that "a true “Heaven on Earth” is attainable in Doukhobor understanding, if all people were to actually “Love thy neighbour as thyself”." Of Jesus, the USCC's 1974 text says: "He arose in spirit, and continues to arise in those people who follow His teachings, not in word, but in deed." Its FAQ calls "Jesus’ physical Resurrection from the dead" one of the embellishments it rejects. The 1934 Declaration speaks of hope too: "There is no higher blessing than “eternal life in unutterable joy”." The Doukhobor Life-Concept says that following Christ's rules "entitles a person to his place in eternity". The recorded catechism says: "Hell is people who know no light; evil dwells in them." (Psalm 1, Q. 21). The USCC states its view of heaven and hell "irrespective of individual beliefs regarding afterlife".

Doukhobors understand “Heaven” and “Hell” to be states of existence and consciousness, and not actual “geographical” locations

He arose in spirit, and continues to arise in those people who follow His teachings, not in word, but in deed.

life after death should be considered as a return to mature fruit, to its source. There is no paradise there, nor are there any torments.

A judgment day in the older psalms. The Psalm 2 catechism, recorded c. 1900, asks "Do you remember the last four?", and the answer is yes: death, last judgment, hell and the kingdom of heaven. (Psalm 2, Q. 53 and 54). Bonch-Bruevich's summary says the Doukhobors "transfer “life after death” to this world and this life". That is his summary, and Konkin's letter is a Doukhobor's own words of 1909. Inikova says of the older faith that "the Doukhobors do not believe in the resurrection of the flesh." The USCC does not state a doctrine of judgment; its pages leave the afterlife to each person.

No violence, and the Burning of Arms

No taking of life for any reason: the weapons burned on the night of 29 June 1895, and a refusal of war that the USCC calls its strongest mark.

The USCC says that "this principle of non-violence is perhaps the strongest of Doukhobor identifying features". Its 1934 Declaration says that members "do not allow any force whatever by man over man and even more so the allowance of killing of man or of men by a man or men under no circumstances, causes or arguments whatsoever". The USCC dates the decision to the 1890s: "When several thousand Doukhobors refused military service and burned their firearms on June 29, 1895, to demonstrate their unconditional adherence to the Commandment “Thou Shalt Not Kill”, Tsarist authorities launched a wave of persecution that almost decimated them." In the same Declaration members pledge to "render" to government "everything demanded of us which is not contradictory to the law of God", and today the USCC calls itself apolitical at the provincial and federal level.

we do not allow any force whatever by man over man and even more so the allowance of killing of man or of men by a man or men under no circumstances, causes or arguments whatsoever.

When several thousand Doukhobors refused military service and burned their firearms on June 29, 1895, to demonstrate their unconditional adherence to the Commandment “Thou Shalt Not Kill”, Tsarist authorities launched a wave of persecution that almost decimated them.

Ye have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, Resist not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

for he is a minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is a minister of God, an avenger for wrath to him that doeth evil.

And soldiers also asked him, saying, And we, what must we do? And he said unto them, Extort from no man by violence, neither accuse any one wrongfully; and be content with your wages.

The Doukhobors stand near the Lord's word where it is plain. "Resist not him that is evil" (Matthew 5:39) and "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight" (John 18:36) govern how a disciple acts for his Lord, and for these words they were burned out, imprisoned and exiled. The cost was real and is honored here. The text goes no further than that, however. The ruler "beareth not the sword in vain" (Romans 13:4), the sword is given to government, and when soldiers asked John what to do he told them to "Extort from no man by violence" and be "content with your wages" (Luke 3:14), not to leave the ranks. To bind every believer against every public use of force is to go past what the apostles laid down. The Doukhobors' witness is strongest where it is a disciple's own refusal to avenge himself.

The 1934 Declaration roots the refusal in the commandment "Thou shalt not kill" and in Christ's words, and it also forbids voting and party politics. The USCC's FAQ says that since then "virtually all Doukhobors in Canada have become actively involved in the political processes", while the Declaration is still officially the position.

Vegetarianism and abstinence

No meat, alcohol or tobacco, adopted in the 1890s out of reverence for life. About a fifth of USCC members keep the diet; USCC events are all vegetarian.

The USCC says Doukhobors "did not always practice vegetarianism", and that in the 1890s, "if they could not take the life of a fellow human being, neither could they kill any other of God’s living creatures". In the same years they gave up alcohol and tobacco. The USCC reports: "Today, perhaps 15%-20% of USCC members comply with a vegetarian diet in their day-to-day lives", while "virtually all Canadian Doukhobor organizational events still comply with the standards of total vegetarianism, and total abstinence from alcoholic beverages and tobacco products." In personal life, "the vast majority consume alcoholic beverages on a regular or occasional basis". Peter V. Verigin told an interviewer in 1904 that after shooting a bird he "inquired of myself if it was a Christlike action to kill the animals", and that "Since that day I have not touched meat."

if they could not take the life of a fellow human being, neither could they kill any other of God’s living creatures.

Today, virtually all Canadian Doukhobor organizational events still comply with the standards of total vegetarianism, and total abstinence from alcoholic beverages and tobacco products.

Every moving thing that liveth shall be food for you; as the green herb have I given you all.

One man hath faith to eat all things: but he that is weak eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth set at nought him that eateth not; and let not him that eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.

But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving:

And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common and unclean. And a voice came unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, make not thou common.

Abstaining from meat, wine or tobacco is a thing a Christian may choose, and the apostle gives the weak brother room: "One man hath faith to eat all things: but he that is weak eateth herbs" (Romans 14:2), and neither is to "set at nought" or "judge" the other (Romans 14:3). The USCC's own practice honors that, for most members no longer keep the diet. The error would be to make abstinence a mark of purity. God gave the animals for food, "Every moving thing that liveth shall be food for you" (Genesis 9:3), and the Spirit names "commanding to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving" as a sign of falling away (1 Timothy 4:3). Peter was told, "What God hath cleansed, make not thou common" (Acts 10:15). The Doukhobors do right to refuse drunkenness. Their reasoning from the sanctity of life, taken to forbid meat, goes beyond the text.

The Living Book: psalms kept in memory

The old psalms and catechisms, learned by heart and passed by mouth, stand in place of a written scripture.

Popoff writes that the psalms "in reality are prayers, which at their origin were learned by memorizing them orally", and that "Most of them were formulated during the time of the breakaway from the Greek Orthodox Church in the eighteenth century". The Foreword to the 1978 English translation of The Book of Life says: "Prior to 1909 Doukhobors transmitted their psalms and hymns mainly by word of mouth." One psalm speaks of "the living book" among the books on God's throne: "On the throne there are direct books, books of knowledge and the living book. No falsehood is contained in them, even until today." (Psalm 156). Bonch-Bruevich's motto for the work, which he gives as "A Doukhobor saying", is "Record in heart, proclaim in word." The USCC's Early History says the Doukhobors "sought guidance from the voice of God within".

Psalms, in reality are prayers, which at their origin were learned by memorizing them orally, since literacy was quite uncommon among the peasantry of Russia.

On the throne there are direct books, books of knowledge and the living book. No falsehood is contained in them, even until today.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts unto God.

So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours.

But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men. Ye leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men. And he said unto them, Full well do ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your tradition.

Beloved, while I was giving all diligence to write unto you of our common salvation, I was constrained to write unto you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered unto the saints.

To learn God's word by heart and sing it is what the apostle asked: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly… singing with grace in your hearts unto God" (Colossians 3:16). The Doukhobors have done it through centuries of persecution without a printed book, and that is to their credit. But the apostles' "traditions" were those "ye were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours" (2 Thessalonians 2:15), and they were later written down, so that the faith "once for all delivered unto the saints" (Jude 1:3) is kept in a form that cannot drift. The Doukhobor psalms are a different matter. They are not the apostles' teaching, and in places they depart from it. A rule of faith that is carried only in memory, and that its keepers say is open to growth, answers to the Lord's charge against "the precepts of men" (Mark 7:7) set where His commandment should stand.

Bread, salt and water, and bowing to one another

A table of bread, salt and water at the head of the meeting, and a bow from each to his neighbor in recognition of the spirit of God in every person.

The USCC says that when the Doukhobors broke from the Orthodox rituals the "major advance in establishing Doukhobor forms of worship took place at the Milky Waters settlement … under the outstanding Doukhobor leader Saveliy Kapustin", and "serve as a basis of worship for all Doukhobors to our present day". The bread, salt and water mean peace and hospitality. The bow means that God dwells in each: "Why should we bow to a wooden ikon?" they asked. "Let us rather bow to each other, thus recognizing the Spirit of God which dwells in each of us."

Why should we bow to a wooden ikon?

Let us rather bow to each other, thus recognizing the Spirit of God which dwells in each of us.

In love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned one to another; in honor preferring one another;

And when it came to pass that Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. But Peter raised him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man.

Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

And I John am he that heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel that showed me these things. And he saith unto me, See thou do it not: I am a fellow-servant with thee and with thy brethren the prophets, and with them that keep the words of this book: worship God.

The Doukhobors are right to refuse the icon, and right that honor is owed to people: "in honor preferring one another" (Romans 12:10). The reason they give for the bow is where it fails. The apostle says that the Spirit of God dwells in the church, "Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16), and not in every person by birth. When Cornelius "fell down at his feet, and worshipped him", Peter "raised him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man" (Acts 10:25-26), and the angel told John, "See thou do it not" (Revelation 22:9). A bow of respect between brothers is harmless. A bow that honors the divine spirit in every man is an addition to the assembly that Scripture does not give, and it rests on the teaching that the Spirit is within everyone.

Communal life

In Canada, a common purse and common villages under Peter V. Verigin; the USCC says it was the largest communal experiment in North America.

The USCC's Early History says that in British Columbia the Doukhobors "established the Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood, the largest experiment in communal living ever attempted in North America", and that at its peak it "had assets totalling several million dollars". The community came apart after Verigin's death in 1924, the Depression and foreclosure, and the USCC was organized in 1938 on a different footing. Its vegetarianism page says that in the 1890s they carried out "a program of sharing their worldly possessions, and established a brotherly, communal way of life".

they carried out a program of sharing their worldly possessions, and established a brotherly, communal way of life.

established the Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood, the largest experiment in communal living ever attempted in North America.

And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, according as any man had need.

And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and soul: and not one of them said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While it remained, did it not remain thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thy power? How is it that thou hast conceived this thing in thy heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

The Jerusalem church "had all things common" (Acts 2:44) and "not one of them said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own" (Acts 4:32), and the Doukhobors tried to live this out, which most churches have not. What the text adds is that the sharing was free. Of the land Ananias sold, Peter said "While it remained, did it not remain thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thy power?" (Acts 5:4). A communal life gathered around one hereditary leader, as the Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood was, stands on less than that. The USCC says the leader's death and the Depression "made it more difficult for the Doukhobors to maintain the high standards of their faith", and the communal life ended; the New Testament never made it a rule for every church.

The plumb line is the New Testament: what the apostles commanded, and what the churches practiced with their approval. Each position above is set against it, and the wall below shows how far each one stands from it. Choose a course to read the Scripture and the reason. The Doukhobors suffered more than most for what they believed, and where they stand near the pattern they are credited plainly. This part weighs the USCC's present statements: its FAQ, which is undated but speaks of events as late as 2008, on a site that seems not to have been updated since about 2020. Where the USCC has said nothing newer, it weighs the older answers of The Book of Life, recorded around 1900 and published in 1909, and says so. The USCC's 1934 Declaration says much that the FAQ denies, and each verdict names it where it does. No Sons of Freedom act or teaching is weighed here, for they are not the USCC.

Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.

knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit.

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

who also made us sufficient as ministers of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

The Scriptures are "inspired of God" and make "the man of God" complete (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Of prophecy it says that "no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21). The USCC's present FAQ answers that the Bible is neither holy nor infallible, no more inspired than the Tao Te Ching or the writings of Gandhi and Tolstoy, and that Doukhobors have "traditionally considered the Bible to perhaps be more of a hindrance than a help". It puts conscience in the place of the apostles' word. The apostle sets the order the other way: "believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God" (1 John 4:1). The rubric's measures of what is added beside Scripture give the step before this one. The chart places it one step further, at the furthest course, because this is not a book added beside the Bible but the Bible set below the voice within, and what remains has no fixed teaching, "not fettered by any static dogmas". The Doukhobors' care for the Sermon on the Mount and their long memory of the psalms show a real respect for Christ's words, and the 1934 Declaration is nearer the line than the present FAQ.

The USCC cites "the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life" (2 Corinthians 3:6). Paul is speaking of the old covenant of the law engraved on stones, as against the ministry of the Spirit, and he is writing a letter as he says it. He does not tell the churches to put the written word aside; he tells them to "hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours" (2 Thessalonians 2:15). A conscience bears witness (Romans 2:15), but it can err: Paul himself says, "I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth" (Acts 26:9), and he did them. The 1934 Declaration names the Ten Commandments as the law of God and Christ as sole Savior; the verdict rests on the FAQ because the USCC says it reflects the present consensus. The advice that the Bible "could be quite safely ignored, save, perhaps, the Gospel of Matthew" removes the epistles, which are the apostles' own account of how Christ's work is to be received and the church ordered. The Lord himself sent his apostles to teach "all things whatsoever I commanded you" (Matthew 28:20), and what they taught is what is written.

And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.

for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to show his righteousness because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God;

Or are ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.

The apostles preached that "Christ died for our sins" (1 Corinthians 15:3), that God "set forth" Jesus "to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood" (Romans 3:25), and that "in none other is there salvation" (Acts 4:12). Peter told the crowd, "Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins" (Acts 2:38), and Paul wrote that believers "were buried therefore with him through baptism into death" (Romans 6:4). The USCC says that Jesus' death was no ransom, that each person earns salvation by good deeds, and that water baptism is among the "pagan forms" to be rejected. That puts the Lord's own work and the Lord's own ordinance out of the way of salvation. Water baptism has no place in entering Christ, and salvation by the sinner's own deeds is the opposite of the gospel. They are right that no one is saved by claiming Christ's name while living as he pleases, and right to say the cross shows love.

The USCC's rejection of a ransom is aimed, it says, at those who live as they please and "receive salvation merely through the acceptance of Jesus as one’s personal “Saviour”". The Scriptures agree with the complaint. "faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself" (James 2:17), and the penitent is told to "Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance" (Luke 3:8). They do not agree with the cure. The same New Testament says that we are "justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24) and that the Son came "to give his life a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). The 1934 Declaration's words, "redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ", were nearer this than the FAQ.

For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, This is my body, which is for you: this do in remembrance of me. In like manner also the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood: this do, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord’s death till he come.

And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and prolonged his speech until midnight.

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ? seeing that we, who are many, are one bread, one body: for we all partake of the one bread.

And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Paul wrote, "I received of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 11:23) that the Lord took bread and the cup and said, "this do in remembrance of me" (1 Corinthians 11:24), and that "as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord’s death till he come" (1 Corinthians 11:26). The first church met "upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread" (Acts 20:7) and "continued stedfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread" (Acts 2:42). The recorded Doukhobor answer is that bread is wheat and wine is grapes, so "your communion is of no use to us", and that communion is to take Christ's teaching and sufferings into one's life. That replaces the bread and the cup with a thought, and keeps nothing of the memorial Christ gave. The Doukhobors are not charged for who may come to the table, nor for the lack of a rite beyond this. They are also right that sharing Christ's sufferings is part of what the Supper means.

The USCC's present pages say nothing about communion, so this verdict rests on the recorded catechism. The bread, salt and water on the Doukhobor table are a sign of peace and welcome, and nothing in the USCC's account makes them a memorial of Christ's death. Paul's own word is that the bread is "a communion of the body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:16): a sharing in the one body, set out in the assembly and eaten together on the Lord's day.

And when they had appointed for them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.

For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that were wanting, and appoint elders in every city, as I gave thee charge; if any man is blameless, the husband of one wife, having children that believe, who are not accused of riot or unruly. For the bishop must be blameless, as God’s steward; not self-willed, not soon angry, no brawler, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre;

Tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, according to the will of God; nor yet for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you, but making yourselves ensamples to the flock.

But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father on the earth: for one is your Father, even he who is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your master, even the Christ.

The Doukhobors stand nearer the New Testament than most on this course. They have no priesthood, no bishop over their communities and no clerical caste, and "any capable, respected elder could lead" a meeting. That fits the Lord's word, "one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren" (Matthew 23:8), and Peter's charge to elders not to be "lording it over the charge allotted to you" (1 Peter 5:3). What the pattern asks beyond this, the Doukhobors lack: the apostles "appointed for them elders in every church" (Acts 14:23), and Titus was to "appoint elders in every city" (Titus 1:5), blameless men set over each congregation. The USCC has instead a single Executive Director over its whole union, a convention and committees above the local communities, and for two centuries before 1961 a hereditary leader. Inikova reports an older belief that Christ was embodied in each leader in turn; the USCC says some followers did regard a leader as holy and calls that the error of the overzealous. Since the office has been set aside, and the sources show no present office issuing doctrine that binds members, the leader is not charged here as one who binds doctrine.

The fault is not in having too much structure. A church needs overseers: the elders "that rule well" and "labor in the word and in teaching" (1 Timothy 5:17). The USCC's Executive Committee and Representatives are elected for administration and for "Spiritual and Cultural Development", which is a different thing. The office of a "spiritual leader" descending from father to son has no pattern in the New Testament, and the USCC itself laid it aside in 1961 for the reason that "Too much focus on one individual was no longer in the best interests of the Doukhobor community." That was a step toward the pattern.

speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

The Doukhobor prayer meeting is near the apostolic pattern in its center: psalms sung by the whole assembly, "speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19), with no instrument and no priest. This is the rule these charts hold, and the Doukhobors have kept it through exile. The additions are small beside it: a table of bread, salt and water, and a bow to one's neighbor in recognition of "the spirit of God" in him, which Peter refused when Cornelius bowed to him (Acts 10:25-26). What the meeting leaves out is charged under the Supper and the teaching, and is not charged again here.

The Doukhobors' care that nothing stand between the worshiper and God, "A voice calling over the seas and oceans" for a church, is not far from Paul's "dwelleth not in temples made with hands" (Acts 17:24). They do not, in the sources, address prayer to anyone but God.

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth: whom the world cannot receive; for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: ye know him; for he abideth with you, and shall be in you.

how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? which having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard; God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will.

And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call unto him.

The Lord promised "another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth" (John 14:16-17), and Peter told Ananias that to lie "to the Holy Spirit" was to lie "unto God" (Acts 5:3-4), so the Spirit is a person and God, given to those who repent and are baptized (Acts 2:38). The USCC's present FAQ teaches that God is "a spiritual energy force", and its Guiding Principles that a spark of the Creator is in every person. That makes the Spirit an impersonal force that everyone has by birth, which is where the Christian Science chart stands. None of the USCC's pages claims present tongues, prophecy or healing, and in that they stand with the text. Their denial of the gospel miracles is named in the fold below and charged elsewhere, not here.

The FAQ calls the gospel miracles "artificial embellishments". The apostles' message "was confirmed unto us by them that heard; God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders" (Hebrews 2:3-4), and to deny that those signs happened is to deny the witness on which the church was founded. That denial rests on setting the written record aside, which is weighed under authority, and the resurrection is weighed under the last things, so neither is charged a second time on this course. The Doukhobors are right to teach that every person has a conscience and that love is the mark of God's children. The text does not make the Spirit an energy that everyone has by birth. It says the Spirit is given "to them that obey him" (Acts 5:32) and that "ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).

For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures;

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither hath Christ been raised: and if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain.

Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.

See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye behold me having.

The gospel the apostles delivered "first of all" is that Christ "was buried" and "hath been raised on the third day" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Paul adds, "if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain" (1 Corinthians 15:14). The risen Lord said, "handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye behold me having" (Luke 24:39), and said that "all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth" (John 5:28-29), some to the resurrection of life and some to the resurrection of judgment (John 5:29). The USCC says Jesus rose "in spirit" and rejects his physical resurrection, and it teaches that heaven and hell are present states of mind with a "Heaven on Earth" to be won by love. That denies what the apostles preached as of first importance. The Doukhobors are right to hold that love is the work of this life, and the 1934 Declaration's hope of "eternal life in unutterable joy" is nearer the New Testament than the FAQ.

The USCC leaves the afterlife to each person: "irrespective of individual beliefs regarding afterlife". The recorded catechism lists "death", "last judgment", "hell" and "kingdom of heaven" as the last four things. Both are thinner than the New Testament, which says God "hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness" (Acts 17:31).

The Doukhobors hold much that Scripture holds. They have suffered for refusing to take another's life, and for the commandment to love their neighbor as themselves, and that witness is honored. They have no priestly caste and no icons. They sing, all together, without instruments, which is the pattern of the first churches. They teach, in the old psalms, that "faith without deeds is dead" (Book of Life, Psalm 2, Q. 40). They share what they have and welcome the stranger. Their 1934 Declaration confessed Jesus Christ, "the Son of God - Who came in the flesh and was crucified", as the only Saviour and the only name under heaven, and held that members were redeemed by his blood.

The Doukhobors began as Russian peasants who would not bow to a wooden icon or take up a sword for the Tsar, and they were right on both. They are asked to be judged by what Christ taught, and Christ taught that he gave his life a ransom, that he rose in the body, and that those who believe in him are baptized into his death. The USCC's FAQ denies each of these. A church that sets the apostles' word beneath the conscience, and the cross beneath the good deeds of the sinner, has no gospel left to carry, whatever its peace and kindness.

Its own 1934 Declaration said more: "There is none and could not be any other name under the heavens - through which man ought to be saved." That sentence still stands in the USCC's own records, and it is the one to return to.

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