In the Shadow of Antichrist: The Old Believers of Alberta

by David Z. Scheffel (Editor)

Book by Scheffel, David

Genres: Religion

482 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Logan Streondj · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book about Russian Old Believers with special focus on the ones that moved to northern Alberta, as well as their beliefs and rituals.
Particularly interesting is their veneration of beards, and mix of practices, with significant idiosyncrasies and inconsistencies.
Also many of the things such as emphasis on ritual rather than personal practice, and having a version of the bible people don't actually understand are similar in Amish communities.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ordered this book used through Amazon for pretty cheap back in the summer of 2010. I think that I stumbled on the title while poking around on Erie, PA's Church of the Nativity Old-Rite (ROCOR) parish website. This book provides an interesting overview of life and faith in a Bezpopovtsy (Priest-less) village in Alberta, Canada. My knowledge of Old-Believer perspectives and practices is admittedly limited. I've already re-read this book once, and it's a valuable resource. I'd like to see a companion work that provides a treatment of the Old-Believer groups that do have priests. If you know of any Old-Believer books of interest (recognizing that my command of Slavonic and Russian is all but non-existent), feel free to suggest them in the comment section below. One thing that might put people off regarding In the Shadow of Antichrist is the author's voice as a sociologist. It's not a big deal, but I personally don't feel like wading through personal reflections on the question of "going native" and all that So-AN 101 college business. Still, it was an interesting read.

[Vanjr · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best book I have read in helping me understand the Old Believers. It also has a great introduction that helped me understand some of the key features of the Russian Orthodox church and Russian in general. There are not a lot of books in English that focus on the Old Ritualists and the raskol. Generally very readable written by an anthropologist.

[K. Vecchio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in one of David Scheffel's Anthropology classes at Thompson Rivers University. He's a wonderful professor and a excellent anthropologist. Great book, very insightful. I also enjoy his ethnography, "Svinia in Black and White: Slovak Roma and their Neighbours"

[Stranniki · Rating 5 out of 5]

more than worth it

[john callahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book about a community of Russian sectarians -- specifically Old Believers -- in Canada.