JURILOVCA A RUSSIAN-LIPPOVANS VILLAGE

By Professor Paul Condrat

In Dobrudja settled, along the centuries, various populations, making up a complex ethno-cultural
mosaic, matter of fact proved by Barbu St. Delavrancea: Strange country with its 12 or 14
nationalities. However the Tatar never argues with the Romanian, both he with the Lippovan,
the German doesnt anger on Turk and catholic priest is very best friend with Turkish imam.
To this ethnographic complexity, specific to Dobrudja, it also contributes the Lippovans population
(Russians after ethnicity, Old Believers after confession), who represents a distinct ethnic community.
In Romania the Lippovan is equal with Danube Delta, fishing, fish.
The village of Jurilovca is an important settlement of Russian-Lippovans, one of the most relevant
localities for this ethnic group. Placed in South-Eastern part of Tulcea County, at the juncture between
continental land and Golovita Lake, Jurilovca benefits after ORGAME/ARGAMUM, the ancient Greek
colony vestiges, localized on Dolosman Cape. This promontory together with the Isle of Bisericuta
strangles Razim-Sinoie Lagoons.
THE FOUNDATION OF JURILOVCA VILLAGE

Although on its territory were discovered inhabiting traces from very old times (7-th century B.C. 7-th
century A.D., 9-th 10-th centuries A.D., 17-th 18-th centuries A.D.), in current archeological
prospects it cant be determined a chronological link between this discoveries and, as a result, it cant
be maintained a continuity of inhabiting in this area. Medieval written sources - Ottoman tax books or
travelling notes (Evlia Celebi) - dont mention any human settlement in this area, although there are
mentioned localities from vicinity.

Connected to the problems of Jurilovca foundation, it appears the necessity of presentation for
population origins the Lippovans those who founded the village. Traditionally, the Lippovans were
characterized through two attributes:

they are Russians who ran away in Peter the Great time, because he, in his measure of
Russian society modernization, requests them to shave their beards;
they keep the religious holidays in old style (after Julian calendar).

These are simplest explanations for Lippovans origin, partial real, investigations for this problem
bringing explanations to it.

The main cause for an important migration of Russian population from Russia, to various
destinations, is represented by Russian Orthodox Church Reform, initiated by the Patriarch Nikon,
in 1654. In comparison with western church reform this one was initiated by political authority, the Tsar
Alexei Mikhailovich, the father of Peter I of Russia.

Nikons reform was a formal reform and not a fundamentally one, being revised elements belonging
to the worship and not to the Russian church dogma. The synod convoked in 1654 decides the revision
of Slavonic church books after Greek model measure justified by the matter that while these books
were translated there were committed many mistakes, which leaded to Russian church moving off from
the rest of the Orthodoxy.

In fact, not the translations made in time of Russia Christianization (the end of 1-st millennium) were
made wrong, but Greek rite itself suffered transformations in its evolution, unintercepted by Russian
church until the Reform.

The evidence that this revision would have leaded to the cult unification in whole Russia is
inadequate, the real reason being just a political one the realization of a Pan-Orthodox empire under
Moscow authority, the unification of Russian church rite with the other Orthodox churches, following to
be a catalyser in this process and rite unification on whole Russia territory.

Nikons reform, contrary to the evidence that would lead to the cult unification, therefore to a bigger
cohesion of Russian society, it had a contrary effect, the split of the society in two groups:

those who accepts the reform the Nikonians or new-stylists official church;
those who doesnt accept the reform the Starovers (old believers) or the Starobreadts (old
rite keepers).
The last one, because of the persecutions that they were forced, there were obliged to leave their
native lands and to take refuge, first in areas from the periphery of Russia, and during its extension, in
neighbor countries. In this way an important group established on Romanian territory (the mouths of
the Danube).

The first documentary attestation of the village is from Russian map (1828-1829). On this map,
accompanied by statistical data, it is mentioned the locality of Jurilovca, with a number of 20 houses.

The insignificant number of houses, in comparison with the information for 1850, accordingly to them
Jurilovca would have had 500 houses, it could have 2 reasons: the village foundation is very close to
the moment of map realization, on the one hand, but then the war situation, that is possible to
determinate the refuge for a part of the population on isolated sand strips in the area, hypothesis
sustained by oral sources and information given by the same map. Accordingly to them at 7 km South-
East there was the locality of Guserica, placed by the document on the Isle of Bisericuta, locality for
there isnt given the number of the houses, fact which would lead to the conclusion that in this place
there was a temporary settlement, probably to the refugees from the village.

Other documentary mentions regarding to the village, during 19-th century, we have from the Polish
diplomatic agent Korsak, in 1849, Ion Ionescu de la Brad, in 1850, and Ottoman property certificates
fund, between 1864 and 1877.
An important document for the reconstitution of the village beginnings, with a careful interpretation, is
the inscription of the church account (pisanie), written in Slavonic and in Romanian. This document
presents the circumstances of the Starovers arrival in Dobrudja, the village foundation and the church
historical evolution. It is necessary to stress the fact that the document was probably transcribed for
many times during its history, every time occurred a modification in the church evolution or when it was
necessary the physical renewing of the document. With these occasions it is possible to appear
accidentally mistakes.

The praying house of this deeply religious community, that for its ancestral faith made so many
sacrifices, leaving its native places and exiling itself at thousands kilometers away, must have been one
of the first solicitude for oppressed Starovers, settled on the hospitable shore of Golovita Lake.

The document places in the year of 1705 this first praying house malebnaia small praying house
probably temporary, until the building of a real church, what will happen in 1815, when was built
malaia tercovi small church. The document doesnt mention, but oral tradition says that this wooden
small church would have burnt a possible reason for the construction of the big church balisaia
tercovi in 1838, which it will be attached the steeple calacolinia in 1892.

Analyzing the chronology of this information, together with statistical information from Russian map and
these from Ion Ionescu de la Brad, we can suggest, with some prudence, the next hypothesis:

The year of 1705 the year of the first praying house building was probably wrong
transcribed during the passing from Slavonic numbers to Arabic numbers, probably more
exactly is the year of 1805, considering that the period of 110 years between the construction
of this temporary praying house and the raising of the first church it isnt justified to a very
religious community. In addition to this is the very scanty probability that the Lippovans would
have established in this region in the first half of 18-th century.
The more reduced period between 1805 and 1828 the date of the first documentary mention
supports the hypothesis that Jurilovca was founded in early 19-th century.
In conformity with we wrote, in 1828, the village has 20 houses, 30 years later it having 500
houses; this increase could have place because of a new Russian refugees arrival from the
north of the Danube and from Danube Delta, as a result of Adrianople Treaty, accordingly to
the Danube becomes the border between Tsarist Empire and Ottoman Empire, the delta
being comprised in Tsarist Empire, the right bank of Saint George branch must being
depopulated on an interval of 2 hours.
This increase of the village justifies, on the other hand, the raising of a big church in 1838,
beside the event that the small one burnt.

With attitude of reserve, we can use the information from Th. Condratovici study, Trans-Danubian
Sicia, accordingly to, in the context of the struggle between the Zaporozhian Cossacks and the
Lippovans, during Russian-Turkish War (1806-1812) and the establishment of the Zaporozhian in the
delta area, it is mentioned the locality of Jurilovca.

With the lack of other documents, we can conclude that the village was founded in early 19-th
century, considering the date of founding the year of 1805, the year of the first praying house building.
The village developed, becoming 100 years later like a clean township and an important center
for the export of caviar and smoked fish.