Duchobortzi

Duchobortzi ('Warriors of the Spirit'), a sect of Russian mystics, traceable to the middle of the 18th century, who depend upon an inward light, like the Quakers, attach little importance to the sacraments, priesthood, and services of the church, refuse military service, and reject the doctrine of the Trinity and the divinity of Christ. The Emperor Alexander I. allowed them to settle in Taurida, in South Russia; Nicholas I., in 1841, transferred them to Transcaucasia. See RASKOLNIK.