Educational tool only. All groups exist on a spectrum of control. Individual experiences vary. Based on publicly available reports, ex-member accounts, court records, and expert analyses — not medical or legal advice.
3 group profiles for organisations whose documented founding falls in the 1660s. Sorted by CLCI score, descending.
Priestless wing of the Russian Old Believer schism that rejected the 1652–66 Nikonian liturgical reforms. Concentrated in remote Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania (Lipovans), Alaska, and Oregon. Subsumes the Pomortsy, Fedoseyans, Filippovtsy and others.
Russian Orthodox Christians who rejected the 1666 Nikonian liturgical reforms. Several million globally, primarily in Russia and diaspora. Mostly low-control with strong tradition of distinctive practice.
Strict Cistercian contemplative monastic order. Distinctive silence practice. Voluntary lifelong vows.