A History of Molokans in Boyle Heights

    The Molokans were one of the more interesting, close knit groups to immigrate and take up residence in Boyle Heights. The Molokan religion first appeared during the schismatic movement that shook the Russian Orthodox Church in the beginning of the modern era.

A Molokan Elder

It began during the reign of Peter the Great over the revision of the liturgy and it continued with the reign of Tzar Alexis. Nikon Mordonor found many errors in Russian Holy Books and manuscripts.

    He contended that these manuscripts were inconsistent with the original and that, as a result, the ritual had been greatly changed from early practices for many centuries, and the people and clergy knew no other. Nikon issued a new edition of the Mass in 1659. All the old books were called in and new ones were distributed. However, many priests refused to accept the innovations. The people no longer believed in the Orthodox Church. An irreconcilable conflict resulted between the disciples of the old and new books. The disciples of the old book separated into two groups: the Papovtsy and the Betpopovtsy. The Betpopovtsy had another schism that created many independent sects. One of them was the Dukhobors from which the Molokans would later be formed. The word Molokan means "Milk-drinkers". It's a name given to them by the Russian Orthodox Church because they did not refrain from milk and dairy products during Lent.

    

A street in “The Flats”

Molokans have been compared to other sects such as the Quakers. However, their beliefs and practices make them unique. The Molokans reject icons, sacraments, canonization, and images. They dispense with every kind of formalism which they believe strips religion of all spiritual elements. Molokans take the scripture literally. They have an earnest belief in the second coming of the Savior. Molokans are guided by the "inner light". The inspiration of the Holy Ghost is the final authority in all matters of faith. Molokans have no ordained priesthood. Elders are leaders in the faith. Elders are chosen because of their Scriptural qualifications.

    They are simple men, plain, unostentatious and void of affection. They advocate salvation through faith,

A Molokan church

virtuous living, honesty, uprightness, and morality. An Elder sums up the virtues and aspirations of the group. A Molokan church is large, barren, and void of ornaments. Long wooden backless benches surround a simple square table, covered with white cloth, where the Holy Scriptures lay. Two Elders sit at the head of the table. The seating arrangement is from oldest to youngest. Divine service consists of reading the Lord's Prayer from Scriptures and the singing of Psalms. The brotherly kiss is exchanged during the service; it is held to be a sign of equality and a token of brotherly love. During singing, the presence of the "Holy Ghost" is felt. Rarely are more than one or two of them possessed with the Holy Ghost. They begin to jump and speak in tongues. This practice is what earned them the name "Holy Jumpers".

    The Molokans came from the Northern Caucausus, in Russia, where they had been exiled by the Russian government. Life for the Molokans was a difficult one. Both the Russian church and the state took an extremely hostile attitude towards the schismatic movement that shook the empire in the beginning of the modern era. The Russian Emperor Nicholas the Second had decreed that all who broke away from the Orthodox church would be punished. The punishments handed out were harsh ones.

The Russian cemetery

They included: whippings, having nostrils torn out, and being stigmatized by cleanly shaving half the head and half the beard. However, sometimes punishment was to distant Siberian mines or the wilds of Transcaucasia. This is what happened to the Molokans.

     It was during this time that a peasant named Semen MatreiUklein, along with Matvej Dalmator, spread their teaching of the Gospel, in its full detail, as based on the Holy Bible. Simultaneously, with the declaration of their faith, violent persecution and pursuit began for whomever wasn't of the Orthodox church. Besides the fact of religious persecution, the Molokans left their country to escape conscription from the Russian government.

    Russia had entered into the Russo-Japanese war. The government began to try and draft Russians into the army. In 1900, the Molokans petitioned the tzar for exemption from the war. But they were denied exemption from the army. It was at this point that they decided to flee the country. They refused to bear arms or even enter noncombatant service, because they were pacifists. They began to flee the country. Most of them left for America; they saw it as the land of destiny. They all didn't leave at once. It was more of a steady flow from 1900 to 1905. About 5,000 Molokans fled in large groups, called clans, to America.

    More than 1,000 families arrived in Los Angeles, California. Not all of them went straight to L.A.; some of them settled in Canada, Mexico, and San Francisco. The Molokans who settled in Los Angeles, just east of downtown, lived in Boyle Heights. They settled in the flats area, which is between the Los Angeles River on the west and Boyle Ave. on the east. They moved to that area because they followed the low cost housing. The Molokans considered home ownership one of their most important goals. They felt that they should never take up more space than necessary. Many times they would rent out extra rooms to Mexican families. The reason why the Molokans left Boyle Heights is unclear. One of the reasons might be that the Molokans left in an attempt to keep their culture and community from being assimilated into oblivion.