Editing Khlysts (section)

==Origins==
According to its own oral tradition, the sect was founded in 1645 by Danilo Filippov (or Daniil Filippovich), a peasant of [[Kostroma]] and a runaway soldier. He was said to have become a "living god" after the [[Lord of Hosts]] descended upon him on Gorodino Hill, [[Vladimir Oblast]]. He delivered twelve commandments to his disciples, which forbade (among other things) sexual intercourse, drinking and swearing. He later named as his successor Ivan Suslov, a peasant of [[Murom]]. Suslov, transformed by Filippov into a "new Christ", acquired a following of twelve apostles, along with a woman who was given the title of "[[Theotokos|Mother of God]]". The tradition relates that Suslov was crucified twice by the Russian authorities, but rose from the dead each time.<ref name=gav/><ref name=Clay70>{{harvnb|Clay|1985|p=70}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Radzinsky|2000|p=39}}</ref>

There is no written evidence to support this story, or to confirm the existence of Filippov. The first historical references to the Khlysty are found in the writings of the [[Old Believers]], a Christian community which resisted the [[Nikonites|17th-century reforms]] of the Russian State Church. The Old Believers condemned the Khlysty as heretics, and warnings about them can be found in letters dating from around the 1670s. The [[Russian Orthodox Church|Orthodox Church]] also attacked the Khlysty; [[Dimitry of Rostov]] wrote against them in ''An Investigation of the Schismatic Faith'' (c. 1709).<ref>{{harvnb|Clay|1985|pp=71–2}}</ref>

Suslov died around 1716, at which time Prokofii Lupkin became the new "Christ". The oral tradition claims that Lupkin was the son of Filippov, but this is unlikely to be true.<ref>{{harvnb|Clay|1985|p=85}}</ref>

Lupkin was a trader, and made use of his frequent journeys to places such as [[Uglich]] and [[Venev]] to organise secret assemblies for his followers. He encouraged his followers to worship in the manner of the Old Believers, such as by making the [[sign of the cross]] with two fingers instead of three,<ref>{{harvnb|Clay|1985|p=92}}</ref> but he also instructed them to attend the State Church and take communion. Many Khlysty, including Lupkin's wife and son, even took monastic vows. Lupkin also made large donations to the Church, which helped to protect the sect from persecution.<ref>{{harvnb|Clay|2017|p=128}}</ref>