The book, as the most important element of orthodox Christian culture, always had in Russia the highest authority. In this case the number of names, extended works was limited, and books themselves were accessible for the acquaintance to each educated person. The appearance of the new book became noticeable public event, that caused the lively consideration. The Moscow printed books, and also foreign publications underwent church censorship and either they started for free sale or they were forbidden. The manuscript book to a slight degree was only subjected to church control, and therefore a long time ago in Russia existed the blessed by age-old tradition extra-church, and sometimes also anti-church literature. In spite of the substantial advances in the development of Moscow printing in 1650-1660- e yr., manuscript tradition in Russia did not perish. It successfully underwent all tests of time and, with a certain inevitable transformation, it were preserved to the present. The direct cause for this istorikokul'turnogo phenomenon was the division of Russian church, the beginning to which marked church reform of 1653 .
The complete ideological reorientation of the activity of printed court led to the fact that the newly published books began "to attend" the begun in patriarch Nikon reform. The at the same time old bogosluzhebnye books were withdrawn from the church use and were substituted by new, "those corrected" on the Greek models. The emergent sharp shortage of the "donikonovskikh" bogosluzhebnykh books caused their intensive correspondence, which practiced for elongation Xvii-xx of substances.
The Old Faith manuscript book is the completely special type of the manuscript book, that is rested both on the Old-Russian traditions of knigopisaniya and on the tradition of domestic book publishing. Old believers not only attempted to give to those copied by them to the manuscripts the formal resemblance to the printed, but beginning with 1667 they began to call manuscript collections the books, attempting to make even them in the eyes of the readers with the official publications. However, the books were copied not only by professional clerks (including to order), but also by readers themselves, which involved the appearance of a large quantity of unskilful, frequently written by primitive poluustavom manuscripts. The same it is possible to speak also about the formulation of the monuments of Old Faith bookishness.
The Old Faith book in its final form appeared not immediately. Only with the time, when the walked along the hands "notebooks" began to be united in one binding, appeared the unexpected publicistic effect of this association. Skillful subject selection gave independent semantic value to such compilations. So were borne the type of the Old Faith book, the defined as collection.
There are many Old Faith collections, which belong to the different I see, the main things from which are: literary- publicistic, theological -ucitelсy1, dogmatic, bogosluzhebnyy, etc. pri this it should be noted that the division of the Old Faith manuscript books into the forms and the genres must not be, yes even it cannot be rigid. Specifically, the synthesis of genres is one them it is indicative Old Faith literature.
The analysis of the historical development of Old Faith motion makes it possible to isolate several stages. In this case to each of these stages corresponds the specific period of the literary creation of old believers, which left to us the monuments of written language, which possess features characteristic for their time.
The special features of the first period (1653 - 1663) became the creation of source base for the Old Faith propaganda and the journalism. Gathering chelobitnye and "notes", analyzing the "corrections", made by church reformers, old believers accumulated the richest material for the subsequent development of the manuscript book.
The second period (1664 - 1682) was characterized by the deepening of conflict between the the old and novoobryadtsami and carrying out of intra-church controversy to the law court of community. Specifically, at this time the Old Faith book began to acquire legal status and was received wide acceptance in the people. During this period the writer- old believers gradually pass from the addressed to small circle persons of "letters", the letters and the the chelobitnykh to the literary- the publicistic and it is theological -ucitelсym to compositions.
The third development period of Old Faith written language (1683-1725) was noted by the loss of the main Old Faith writers of the first years of division and by the appearance of new generation of old believers. During this period the public activity of Old-Believers departs to the depth of the people masses, predominantly peasant. At this time begins the making and development of Old Faith it is center in all regions of the country.
The literature of the fourth period (1725 - 1760) reflects the process of the deepening of the separation of staroveriya into the agreements, each of which attempted to emphasize their true "drevlepravoslavnost'". Development and fixation in the monuments of the Old Faith written language of different eschatological theories and lively controversy between themselves of the representatives of different agreements became the special features of period.
The fifth period (1761 - 1821) was passed against the background of the attitude of government toward division "in the spirit of wide tolerance and humanity". At this time occurred the revival of the extremely radical eschatological study, propagandists of which became runners (wanderers). The basis of eschatological constructions in the compositions of the radically disposed Old-Believers composed the study about Peter I - antichrist. Specifically, eschatological thematics rules at this time in the Old Faith literature.
The sixth period (1822 - 1860) was characterized by the decline of the book activity of old believers, which was connected with the stiffening of relation to the division and the attempt of the old believers to be adapted to the new conditions. At this time the ideological centers of popovshchiny and bespopovshchiny are moved to Moscow.
Seventh period (1861 - 1905) of -&.nbspvremya of the lift of Old Faith literature, output to the foreground of the compositions of polemical nature (disputes between the Old-Believers and the missionaries). In these years wide acceptance obtained the works, multiplied on the hectograph.
The eighth period (1906 - 1918) -&.nbsp"zolotoy the century" Old Faith motion, which although lasted not long, left a large quantity of monuments of bookishness, created in the different regions.
Ninth period (1919 - 1955) - the heavy time of the total offensive of state on "spiritual obscurantism" and, as a result, the almost total curtailment of the book activity of old believers.
Tenth period (1956- to our days) - the slow restoration of the destroyed traditions, the appearance of a new wave of writer- old believers.
With all conditionalities of this periodization it gives the possibility to survey the circle of Old Faith compositions, to name the names of writer- Old-Believers, the thematics of their works, to compare the literary and knigopisnuyu activity of Old Faith it is center. In our brief description we stopped only at some original works of the Old Faith authors. In this case one should remember that another, much more substantial part of Old Faith bookishness composed the bogosluzhebnye books, the collections of the compositions of the fathers of church, the monuments of eschatological nestaroobryadcheskoy literature and the like precisely these manuscripts predominated in the libraries of Old-Believers into XVIII -&.nbspKhKh of substances. They are the basis of the funds for the largest libraries, formed as a result of the activity of archeographic it is center Russia.