What is "doukhobor"

The Doukhobors or Dukhobors (, Dukhobory, earlier Dukhobortsy, ; literally "Spirit-Wаrriors of Christ") are a Spiritual Christian religious group of Russian origin. With support from the Canadian government, 7500 moved to Western Canada around 1900. They were pacifists who lived in communes that rejected personal materialism and had little use for schools. When one faction, the "Sons of Freedom", began using arson and nude marches as protest techniques, they became highly controversial. The government took back most of their Saskatchewan land in 1907, and their leader Peter V. Verigin led most of them to new colonies in British Columbia. Verigin was assassinated in 1924 by persons unknown, and his son took over.

The word Doukhobor means "Spirit Wrestlers"; they are part of Spiritual Christianity. The origin of the Doukhobors is uncertain. The first records of them are from the 18th century. However, some scholars believe that the sect had its origins in the 17th or 16th century. They do not use the Holy Bible as their source of faith, but its teachings are evident in some of Doukhobor psalms, hymns, and beliefs. The teachings of Jesus Christ have been accepted as their foundational truth. They draw on the characteristics of God, as portrayed by Jesus, to guide their faith as God's peaceful ambassadors.

They rejected the tyranny and oppression of the Czarist Russian government of the late 1800s. They also rejected the Russian Orthodox priests, use of icons, and all associated church ritual. They came to believe that the Bible alone, as a supreme source, was not enough to reach divine revelation, and that doctrinal conflicts can interfere with their faith. Their goal was to internalize the living spirit of God so that God's spirit would be revealed within each individual.

Their pacifist beliefs and desire to avoid government interference in their life led to an exodus of the majority of the group from Russia to Canada around 1900. They adapted to life in agricultural communes. The immigrants were overwhelmingly of peasant origin, and had a low regard for advanced education. Many work as loggers, lumbermen, and carpenters. Eventually, splits happened; many left the communal dormitories and became private farmers homesteading on the Canadian plains. Religious a cappella singing, pacifism, and passive resistance are hallmarks of the sect. One subgroup occasionally demonstrates while naked, typically as a protest against compulsory military service. Their policies made them highly controversial. The modern descendants of the first Canadian Doukhobors continue to live in south-eastern British Columbia, southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, where their ancestors settled. Today, the estimated population of Doukhobor descent in North America is 40,000 in Canada and about 5,000 in the United States.