In February 2026, the three of us skied to Agafya Lykova's farmstead. Father Igor, an Old Believer from Novokuznetsk and Agafya's spiritual mentor, blessed us for this expedition. After the hike, my questions only grew, so I went to see him at the Old Believer church.
An hour and a half of conversation. Will Agafya become a saint and why will she never return to humanity? How Old Believers live today and what, according to Father Igor, modern Orthodoxy has lost? Archpriest Avvakum and Boyarynya Morozova, "Taiga Dead End" and "Taiga Clearing." Satiety, sin, and the most terrible encounter a person can have is with oneself.
"We live in the world, but we do not live by the world."
The Taiga Med first aid kit I gave to Father Igor: https://t.me/taiga_med_bot
Father Igor's Telegram channel, for strengthening the spirit and lifting the mood. Like clockwork, only without the notes!
https://t.me/glas1y
MY CHANNELS
Telegram: https://t.me/oleg_taiga_channel
MAX: https://max.ru/id420543534288_biz
Instagram: Instagram: oleg.taiga
TIMES CODES
0:00 The Ship-Temple in Novokuznetsk
3:05 How Father Igor Came to the Old Faith
7:20 The 17th-Century Reform, Avvakum and Morozova
9:32 First Meeting with Agafya
11:55 The Lestovka: What Each Knot Means
14:13 The Podruknik and the Prostration
15:09 Agafya's Spiritual Mentor
17:57 "Taiga Dead End" or "Taiga Clearance"
18:53 The Belokrinitskoye Agreement and Agafya's Choice
21:13 Disputes between Co-religionists
27:19 "We Are All Virgins": The Lykov Hermits
29:47 Solitude Filled with God
32:29 Will We Infect Agafya?
33:23 The Religion of Death as Life
36:39 The Yeti
37:37 Will Agafya Become a Saint?
39:29 "Become Russian Finally"
42:47 Why Do People Need Suffering?
44:55 Satiety, Excess, Luxury, Madness
48:24 Passports, Barcodes, and the "Seal"
50:16 "Eat to Live": The Meaning of Lent
51:40 The Secret of the Beard
55:52 Secular Art and Dance
59:06 Sin: Missing the Target
62:38 Drums and Meeting Yourself
65:27 Agafya "Adonizes" for a Flashlight
66:36 The Catholic Cross and the Orthodox
69:06 Why Agafya Won't Return to the People
70:15 Agafya's Language and Znamenny Chant
73:40 Choir
74:33 Gift: First Aid Kit
76:13 Whom Father Igor Doesn't Bless to Visit Agafya
79:27 How to Become an Old Believer
82:14 A Word to the Viewers
#OldBelievers #OldBelievers #faith #Orthodoxy #Lykovs #AgafyaLykova #OlegTayga
In February 2026, the three of us skied to Agafya Lykova's farmstead. Father Igor, an Old Believer from Novokuznetsk and Agafya's spiritual mentor, blessed us for this expedition. After the hike, my questions only grew, so I went to see him at the Old Believer church.
An hour and a half of conversation. Will Agafya become a saint and why will she never return to humanity? How Old Believers live today and what, according to Father Igor, modern Orthodoxy has lost? Archpriest Avvakum and Boyarynya Morozova, "Taiga Dead End" and "Taiga Clearing." Satiety, sin, and the most terrible encounter a person can have is with oneself.
"We live in the world, but we do not live by the world."
The Taiga Med first aid kit I gave to Father Igor: https://t.me/taiga_med_bot
Father Igor's Telegram channel, for strengthening the spirit and lifting the mood. Like clockwork, only without the notes!
https://t.me/glas1y
MY CHANNELS
Telegram: https://t.me/oleg_taiga_channel
MAX: https://max.ru/id420543534288_biz
Instagram: Instagram: oleg.taiga
TIMES CODES
0:00 The Ship-Temple in Novokuznetsk
3:05 How Father Igor Came to the Old Faith
7:20 The 17th-Century Reform, Avvakum and Morozova
9:32 First Meeting with Agafya
11:55 The Lestovka: What Each Knot Means
14:13 The Podruknik and the Prostration
15:09 Agafya's Spiritual Mentor
17:57 "Taiga Dead End" or "Taiga Clearance"
18:53 The Belokrinitskoye Agreement and Agafya's Choice
21:13 Disputes between Co-religionists
27:19 "We Are All Virgins": The Lykov Hermits
29:47 Solitude Filled with God
32:29 Will We Infect Agafya?
33:23 The Religion of Death as Life
36:39 The Yeti
37:37 Will Agafya Become a Saint?
39:29 "Become Russian Finally"
42:47 Why Do People Need Suffering?
44:55 Satiety, Excess, Luxury, Madness
48:24 Passports, Barcodes, and the "Seal"
50:16 "Eat to Live": The Meaning of Lent
51:40 The Secret of the Beard
55:52 Secular Art and Dance
59:06 Sin: Missing the Target
62:38 Drums and Meeting Yourself
65:27 Agafya "Adonizes" for a Flashlight
66:36 The Catholic Cross and the Orthodox
69:06 Why Agafya Won't Return to the People
70:15 Agafya's Language and Znamenny Chant
73:40 Choir
74:33 Gift: First Aid Kit
76:13 Whom Father Igor Doesn't Bless to Visit Agafya
79:27 How to Become an Old Believer
82:14 A Word to the Viewers
#OldBelievers #OldBelievers #faith #Orthodoxy #Lykovs #AgafyaLykova #OlegTayga