a term signifying "Seditionists, "and applied to the Russian sect Isbraniki, or the "Company of the East." This sect was formed in the middle of the 17th century, during the patriarchate of Nicon, A.D. 1654. The cause of separation was not any difference of doctrine or ritual, but a desire to protest against the laxity and inclination to change displayed by the clergy, and to adopt a greater piety and purity of life. Pinkerton (Dissertation on Russian Sects) identifies them with the Starovertzi, or "Believers of the Old Faith." See Platon, Present State of the Greek Church. (See RUSSIAN SECTS).