Old Believers Considered Napoleon I the Antichrist

17:43, December 15, 2022

They explained in their writings

The Old Believers saw in Napoleon I the incarnation of the Antichrist - the rationale they laid out in their eschatological writings. These texts were analyzed by Irina Pochinskaya, head of the Ural Federal University's Academic and Research Laboratory of Archeographic Studies, in her monograph "The Image of Napoleon in the Context of Old Believer Eschatology". The results of the study showed the confidence of the Old Believers that it was Napoleon I who was the Antichrist who would harbinger the end of the world. The monograph was prepared within the framework of the state assignment of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation on " Regional Identity of Russia: Comparative Historical and Philological Studies " (Project No. FEUZ-2020-0056).

"From the beginning of their history Old Believers have had no doubt that the Antichrist, whose appearance precedes the end of the world, either has already reigned in the world or is about to appear. Therefore, they continued the tradition of "factual evidence" and chronological calculations that had arisen before the Church split in order to determine the exact time of the accession of the Antichrist. As the basis of these calculations Old Believers took the "number of the Beast" 666, specified in the Apocalypse as a symbol of the Antichrist, in combination with different systems of chronology. For example, the end of the world was expected in 1666, taking into account the earthly life of Christ - in 1699," explains Irina Pochinskaya.

The authors of eschatological writings reflected on the signs of the end of the world and found similarities between any current events and the prophecies of biblical texts. This strengthened people's expectations that the end times would soon come. They were especially strong, for example, in the second half of the 17th century in connection with the church reform and the dynastic struggle, as well as during the reign of Peter the Great.

"According to the theory of the sensual Antichrist, according to which the enemy of the human race appears in the world and is embodied in one character or several, in Old Believer literature all Russian sovereigns, beginning with Alexei Mikhailovich, who sanctioned the church reform of Patriarch Nikon, were declared the incarnation of the Antichrist or its precursor. Among the images in the context of the theory of the sensual Antichrist a special place is held by the figure of Peter the Great as the first Emperor; in most Old Believers' works the counting of Russian rulers in whom the Antichrist was incarnated begins with him, not with Alexei Mikhailovich. Along with the Russian tsars, Napoleon Bonaparte also appears in Old Believer literature as the embodiment of the enemy of the human race," notes Irina Pochinskaya.

The historian adds that the Old Believers did not think of Napoleon the Antichrist in a vacuum. This was aided by the popular 19th-century German mystic writer Johann Heinrich Jung-Stilling, who in his writings defined Napoleon in this way, and the wars with him called the opposition to the Antichrist force. The Synod also assisted in creating the image of Napoleon the Antichrist.

"In connection with the Tsar's manifesto on the outbreak of war with France in 1806, the Synod issued the "Proclamation". It was announced after the services. There Napoleon is called "a fierce enemy of the world," "alienated from the Christian faith," and the laws of the "Godless Revolution" of 1789, through which Bonaparte came to power, are described as anti-Christian. However, the official church applied these epithets metaphorically. On this basis Old Believers created a number of works about Napoleon the Antichrist. The French Emperor’s name was also associated with the Apocalypse’s Apollyon, which means "destroyer", so in many Old Believer works Napoleon is spelled as Apollyon," concludes Irina Pochinskaya.

The texts analyzed by the historian can be read in full - they are present in the monograph. In addition, in the process of research Irina Pochinskaya identifies aspects of the creation of works and their existence, which are related to the Ural.

The news article was translated by UrFU International Marketing Office
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