| Summary: | Spreading of mystical sectarianism in the Russian Empire in XIX century has reached threatening scale. According to official statistics in this period number of the followers different mystical religious communities has increased on several occasions. In spite of tough measures state anti-sectarian policy skopchestvo (the most radical mystical community) spread over the country’s territory by fast rate, covered new provinces. Considering the development of skopets’ confessional culture in adverse outside conditions, authors focuse on features of formation the “wise elder’s” image. Working with investigative documents for a case of castration in Russian regions, authors come to the conclusion that birth of mythological image was a reaction of community mystical sectarians to the persecution by the state authorities and became a part of strategy, calling to save arrested sectarians from prison and banishment. Authors demonstrate that image reflected archetypal features of perception reality by believers. Archetype of «wise elder» which was used by many religious cultures, according Russian mystics’ tradition found expression through the image of skopets, and its exploitation gave an opportunity to the leaders of skopets’ communities to facilitate to neophytes entry into new religious surrounding.
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