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Rh either side for reconciliation, a speedy end to Popovtsism, by its absorption into the Mother Church, might seem probable, but many obstacles still intervene, and chief among them is the difficulty of satisfying their rival pretensions.

Old Believers insist upon the ancient rites; they further demand that, having been condemned by a council, they shall, with equal solemnity, be absolved by a council, and acknowledged to have ever been steadfast in the Orthodox faith; the Holy Synod might yield, as regards ceremonies and verbal differences, but, as to the graver question of doctrine, it exacts submission, recognition of error in the past, and repentance, before it can allow the Church to receive them back into full communion.

A similar desire on the part of the State and of the Synod to end and heal the schism in the Church was evinced during the tolerant reign of Catherine II., towards the close of the eighteenth century. In order to restore unity and bring Dissenters back to their allegiance, they were ready with every concession possible. The ritual in use before the days of Nikon was acknowledged to be canonical, and priests were specially ordained to officiate in accordance with it. Some of the Old Believers, less imbued with prejudice, or more tolemat in matters of conscience, yielded to the earnest appeals and exhortations of the clergy, supported by the influence and authority of the government, and were enrolled alongside, as it were, of the Orthodox in regular standing, as belonging to a branch of the established Church, under the appellation of "Edinovertsi," or "Uniate Believers."

Had a similar step been taken when Alexis was on