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Molokans (Russian for "milk-drinkers": молокане) are sectarian Christians who evolved from "Spiritual Christian" Russian peasants that refused to obey the Russian Orthodox Church, beginning in the 1600s. They were so named for their drinking milk on most of the approximately 200 fasting days, especially the Great Fast (Lent)— an activity which was prohibited by ecclesiastical authorities. In contrast, they called themselves "true Spiritual Christians", rather than "milk-drinkers", because they could no longer accept the Russian Orthodox Church, nor that of the Protestant sects or the Catholic Church. They may have been influenced by an earlier religious sect of Armenian "Paulicians", who became known as the "Bogomils" of Thrace, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Serbia.

Media in category "Molokan"
