In the history of Russian Orthodox religion the tradition of wandering (, ''strannichestvo'') was a special way of life, a form of piety, devotion, and the search of God, which consisted in rejecting the earthly ways of life. A person was called ''странник'', ''strannik'', literally "wanderer". It is similar to the concept of (Christian) pilgrimage and often is translated in English with this term. However, in Russian language pilgrimage is denoted by a different word: (, palomnichestvo). The major distinction is that pilgrimage has a finite goal: a visit of some holy place, while ''strannichectvo'' is the wandering way of life. It should be distinguished from aimless wandering, or wandering of the poor,

vagrancy Vagrancy is the condition of wandering homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants usually live in poverty and support themselves by travelling while engaging in begging, waste picker, scavenging, or petty theft. In Western ...

. For the purpose of this distinction, the terms "spiritual wandering" and "holy wanderer" were used.О паломничестве и странничестве
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History

''Strannichestvo'' did evolve from the Christian tradition of pilgrimage. Some pilgrims carried out pilgrimage into several places spending a considerable part of their life for this. Over time it has evolved into a particular kind of spiritual feat, which could include pilgrimage. ''Stranniks'' were welcome by Russian common folk. In return for hospitality, strangers described the holy (and other) places they visited, peddled holy relics and texts. Unlike European

mendicant orders Mendicant orders are primarily certain Catholic Church, Catholic religious orders that have vowed for their male members a lifestyle of vow of poverty, poverty, traveling, and living in urban areas for purposes of preacher, preaching, Evangelis ...

, Russian ''stranniks'' were ordinary people, rather than monks.Д.Б. Дорофеев
ФЕНОМЕН СТРАННИЧЕСТВА В ЗАПАДНОЕВРОПЕЙСКОЙ И РУССКОЙ КУЛЬТУРАХ
''Культурология'', 2010, no. 1. pp.63-88 Superficially a Russian ''strannik'' and a

vagrant Vagrancy is the condition of wandering homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants usually live in poverty and support themselves by travelling while engaging in begging, scavenging, or petty theft. In Western countries, ...

looked alike in their way of life. The main difference is that for a ''strannik'' peregrination is a spiritual value, while for a vagrant or a travelling beggar it is an inevitable hapless state due to overwhelming circumstances.

Wanderers schism

In the last quarter of the 18th century, a priestless

Old Believers Old Believers or Old Ritualists ( Russian: староверы, ''starovery'' or старообрядцы, ''staroobryadtsy'') is the common term for several religious groups, which maintain the old liturgical and ritual practices of the Russian ...

''tolk'' (denomination) emerged, who declared that the only way of salvation from the

Antichrist In Christian eschatology, Antichrist (or in broader eschatology, Anti-Messiah) refers to a kind of entity prophesied by the Bible to oppose Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ and falsely substitute themselves as a savior in Christ's place before ...

was the clandestine, fugitive way of life. The reason for that was the belief that

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

with his reform of the Russian church was the Antichrist and all state institutions are those of the Antichrist. This denomination was called ''stranniki'' ("wanderers") or ' ("runaways").

In culture

*'' The Wanderer, a 1867 poem by Apollon Maykov *''

The Enchanted Wanderer ''The Enchanted Wanderer'' (Очарованный странник) is a novel by Nikolai Leskov, first published in ''Russkiy Mir (St.-Petersburg newspaper, 1871-1880), Russkiy Mir'' newspaper in 1873. Background The original idea for the sto ...

'', a 1873 novel by

Nikolai Leskov Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (; – ) was a Russian novelist, short-story writer, playwright, and journalist, who also wrote under the pseudonym M. Stebnitsky. Praised for his unique writing style and innovative experiments in form, and held ...

References

{{reflist Culture of the Russian Empire Russian Orthodox Church Pilgrimage *

History

Wanderers schism

In culture

See also

References