Spiritual Warriors

The Doukhobors call themselves “Spiritual Warriors”. They are Protestant Christians who believe that God is within all people and therefore no materials of any kind are needed to live one’s faith. That not only includes the church as a building, but also as an institution with its priests, rituals, crosses and other icons of any kind.

According to the Doukhobors’ belief, history is a constant struggle between the spiritual side and the carnal side of mankind. They do not consider themselves followers of a certain religion, but at birth, marriage and death, the Doukhobors perform simple rituals to praise God.

Their denial of any religious materialism was one of the reasons for their resettlement from Russia to Georgia by Tsar Nicholas I in the 19th century, as the Doukhobors did not accept Russian Orthodoxy, with its church and priests. The other and probably more important reason was of course the pacifist Doukhobors’ refusal to serve in the Russian army.

Spiritual leaders were always at the head of the Doukhobors community and very often these leaders were women, as there never seems to have been a big gender gap in the Doukhobors’ society. The Doukhobors still uphold their culture and religious beliefs including their tradition of oral history with memorized hymns and verses, however their culture is in danger of disappearing due to population decline.

Picture credits: beyondarts GmbH

Project “Increased regional added value in the tourism sectors of Georgia by Digital Heritage Tourism Guides” was funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) with funds of Austrian Development Cooperation