The Sectarians in America: The JumpersLeben: a journal of Reformation Life, Volume 5, Issue 4, Oct-Dec 2009Review by Andrei Conovaloff, February 11, 2010. Updated April 27, 2015. All updates in red font. On 15 May 2014, this erroneous article was shortened and posted on the commercial WND (WorldNetDaily) website with one photo, under a misleading title and author: Cloud of Witnesses: Did Russians In L.A. 'Found' Pentecostalism? The editors of Leben discover history of the Molokan immigrants. By Lillian Soklokoff, A.B.
The Sectarians in America: The JumpersClick on images to read scanned pages 9, 10, 18, and 19, from Leben, Vol. 5.4, Oct-Dec 2009.
 [This erroneous article is not about "Jumpers." It appears to have been quickly written by one person and edited by another, with neither doing much fact checking. Some topics are over reported, like the neighborhood location which could be better explained with a map. Other parts are scant, like the description of the prayer service; or omitted, like diet and pacifism. An obvious blunder is showing www.molokanS.org 3 times on photo credits, instead of www.molokanE.org. References for 3 editorial comments are lacking. Whether Doukhobors are actually in "Grand Junction" without showing the state (Colorado?), was not checked. It should be "Grand Forks, B.C." Since this series is about "Sectarians in America", the Russian sectarian Molokane, Pryguny, Doukhobors (Dukhoborsty) and Sabbatarians (Subbotniki) would be much better covered in separate articles, or in one article about Russian "Spiritual Christians" in America or North America, and each covered in a section. The distinction between Dukh-i-zhiznik, Prygun Jumper and Molokan sects is not clear and the terms erroneously used as synonyms. The history of Pryguny Jumpers is scant. More source material and notes should have been cited, as in Scott's: "The Pilgrims of Russian-town Seventy Years Later." More comments follow in the article below and at the end.] American Christianity has influenced, and been influenced by, a stunning panoply of non-conformist groups, separatist enclaves and, in some cases, self-styled prophets and messiahs. In our series "The Sectarians," we will trace the origins, the beliefs and the impact which some of these groups have had on the Church today. We begin the series with a fascinating report we've recently discovered written in 1918 about a group known as the Spiritual Christian Pryguny or "Jumpers," or "Molokans," ( After one-third (7,411) of all Doukhobors fled from the Caucasus in 1899, various non-Doukhobor Spiritual Christians, mostly Pryguny, moved to California mostly for economic reasons and resettlement guidance offered by Captain P.A. Demens, a Russian-born business man promoting immigration to booming Southern California. A minor number were motivated Adapted from The Russians in Los Angeles by Lillian Sokoloff, A.B., 1918, graduate student, Department of Sociology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. [The reader should study Sokoloff's 18-page paper documenting that 94% of the sectarians from Russia in Los Angeles were Pryguny. The Leben editors omitted this fact which will mislead readers. Though Sokoloff notes these early immigrants from Russia were a mixture of historically related Spiritual Christians, she missed the Armenian Pryguny, and clustered all non-Orthodox immigrants from Russian together.]  The first group
of Spiritual
Christians Molokans, who came here in 1905 [some date
this as 1904, Ed.], settled
around Bethlehem
Institute on Vignes Street. When others came, a few
bought homes along Clarence and Utah Streets. Then the
settlement grew in the district situated between Boyle
Avenue on the east and the Los Angeles River on the west,
and between Aliso Street on the north and Seventh Street
on the south. Recently there has been a new settlement
made along what is known as Salt Lake Terrace several
blocks east of the larger colony. On that street are
located many of the somewhat better homes. In a hollow
south of Stephenson Avenue [renamed Whittier Boulevard in 1922] and
east of Mott Street, there is a group of about sixty
houses occupied by Russians only [called Karakala by locals].[In the photo right showing relatives who scouted North America about 1900 for immigration sites. Vasili (William) Halopoff was the first and only Molokan known to have enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Forces (army) in World War One. He wrote his religion as "Brotherhood" with no space to add "of Spiritual Christians." He was reported missing in action December 10, 1917. Though claiming to be pacifists, more Spiritual Christians enlisted in WWII than registered as Conscientious Objectors (but about half served as non-combatants); and Dukh-i-zhizniki who avoided the military during WWII by performing Alternate Service in CO camps, failed pay nearly half (46%) of their camp fees, defaulting on $17,000 in debt in 1944. They made no effort to reimburse the Society of Friends (Quakers) and Mennonites who operated the camps though one, Alex Shubin, often asked members to collectively pay the shameful bill.] Sectarian Emigration from Russia.  To understand these immigrants from Russia Prominent among the religious sects that developed, were the Dukhobors [Doukhobors], the Molokans, and the Subotniks [Subbotniks]. The last-mentioned are different sects in Russia  The essence of the
Doukhobor religion is a belief in the divinity of Christ
[this is contrary to modern sources, Ed.], and the
brotherhood of man. The Dukhobors [Canadian
spelling: Doukhobors] do not believe in any
earthly representative of God; they have no church
leaders, and no icons or images. They do not have church
ceremonies nor do they believe in saints as do the Greek
Catholics. They are opposed to war and therefore to
military service. Their religion forbids their indulging
in the use of intoxicating liquors, and in smoking. [This photo of Molokane in San Francisco and following partial history of the Molokan faith is confusing in an article about Pryguny and Dukh-i-zhizniki in Los Angeles. These are different faiths 400 miles apart in America.] The name "Molokan, derived from the word "moloko" which means milk, was first applied to them in 1765 by a religious sect in the Government of Tambov. This name was applied because of the fact that the Molokans drink milk every day in the week, while the Greek Catholics abstain from it on Wednesdays and Fridays, which are fast days for them. The Molokans had no definite form of religion for many years. During the last years of the seventeenth century, two highly educated men, Skovoroda and Tveritinoff, had come under the influence of the teachings of Luther, Calvin, and other European reformers. These men then preached reform among the dissenters of the Russian Greek-Catholic Church. They thus paved the way for other reformers. For about one hundred years, the Molokans were unmolested by the governmental authorities.  It was not long, however,
before the Russian government again began to oppress the
sectarians in various ways. The heavy taxation of their
land proved to be a greater burden than they could
possibly bear. They were again compelled to serve in the
army. Some of the more educated among them foresaw
disastrous times because of inevitable wars in which
Russia was to engage. They therefore began to consider the
advisability of emigration from their country. It is well
known that of the emigrants from Russia up to the end of
the last century, the greatest number were Jews and a
smaller per cent were Poles, but scarcely any Russians
proper. In the last two years of the nineteenth century,
many of the Spiritual
Christian Dukhobors left the Caucasus region and
went to Western Canada where several thousands now live.
[There remains a large community in the Grand Junction [Grand
Forks, British Columbia] area, Ed.] [The prayer house (photo right) was occupied by a congregation founded by prophet E.G. Klubnikin, was the most zealous of the Dukh-i-zhiznik congregations, and today is divided into 5-7 branches. The photo was taken in the "Flat(s)", on Clarence Street, south of First Street.] The beginning of the Russo-Japanese War [1904-1905] inaugurated a new era of persecutions for the sectarians in southeastern Russia. They were compelled to go to war and pay war tax. Though many were capable of occupying high military positions, they were prevented from so doing and were put to the most menial work. They also suffered all kinds of insults at the instigation of government officials. They were not permitted to go anywhere without passports — and passports were not granted them. It is therefore not surprising that these people became disgusted with conditions such as they experienced, and longed to leave the country. Occupations  Of all
the immigrants from Russia It is the usual thing among the Russians for the married women to work. The young women are employed chiefly in laundries. Girls who have attended school and have learned the English language, work in the biscuit factories which are in the neighborhood. A small number of girls work in a candy factory on Utah Street. The older women work in fruit canneries or do housework by the day. Though many of the girls who have been to school for several years, could do other work and perhaps earn more money, the parents are anxious to have them work near home and among their own people. Clerking or office work might cause the girls to become "Americanized" quickly and to this the older people object. The religion of the Molokans (1765) sprang from the same origin as that of the Dukhobors (1785) — from ikonobory, khristovoverei and their precursors. Both these sects are opposed to war. They believe in no earthly representatives of God. The Molokans have no ministers or church dignitaries of any kind. They have no rules or traditions as to who shall be their religious advisers. Their pastors are not ordained, do not receive compensation, and are not dependent upon the approval of the community. Their authority prevails only at prayer meetings, marriage ceremonies, and funeral services. It may be said that the Molokan religion has little definite form. It is systemless. Many of its phases are exceedingly crude. It is incoherent and inconsistent. Like the orthodox Jews, the Molokans abstain from eating pork and are supposed to slaughter their beef in a certain manner. There are at present seven diaspora Dukh-i-zhiznik meeting halls churches in east Los angles County [This is a simplified description of a complex ritual which varies depending on the people involved, their fluency in the Russian language, past relations to each other, location, purpose for meeting, interaction, whether a prophesy was delivered, the song being sung, timing, and other factors. Sometimes no one raises hands or jumps, sometimes one person, other times many. Sometimes the prophesy is ignored, sometimes it is relayed to other select congregations. A few congregations require charismatic raising of hands, jumping and singing by all members or specific members.] [Southern California Pryguny transformed to Dukh-i-zhizniki after 1928. In America, 4 Prygun congregations persisted up to 1950 in Arizona, Mexico, San Francisco, and shortly in Los Angeles among new immigrants from Iran.] Abridged from: Studies in Sociology, SOCIOLOGICAL MONOGRAPH NO. 11. Vol. III MARCH 1918 No. 3. EDITED BY EMORY S. BOGARDUS, Department of Sociology. University of Southern California, Originally published by the University of Southern California Press. Los Angeles, California. For the complete text, please visit: http://www.archive.org/stream/russiansinlosang0lso ko/russiansinlosang01soko_dj vu.txt [The complete original 1918 document is online in 6 formats on the Text Archive, and on Google Books in Sociology and social research, Volumes 1-5. See the report updated and corrected: The Russians in Los Angeles by Lillian Sokoloff, 1918.]  While
there are still numerous groups in the U.S. and in Canada
that are direct descendants of the Molokan and Doukhabor [Doukhobor] sects,
their influence may have had a
minor impact  The Spiritual Christians Molokans,
especially of the "Prygun Jumper"
variety, had a long history of laying claim to modern-day
manifestations of the apostolic gifts, including healings,
tongues, etc. When they moved to Los Angeles, California,
most settled near the lumber yard that employed many of
the men, a lumber yard situated in close proximity to
Azusa Street. A year after the Spiritual Christians Molokans
arrived, the "Azusa Street Revival", considered by many to
be the birthplace of American Pentecostalism, burst forth
into the American church scene. The "revival" continued
with three services a day for nearly three years. [This photo (right) is not about Pryguny and was taken in Russia. The caption should say: "...clothes donated by American Molokans and Dukh-i-zhizniki It is an established fact that some In addition to the above text in red font:
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