Rasputin and the Women of the Imperial Court

Rasputin and the Siberian Pilgrimage Network

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Rasputin's early years as a pilgrim, tracing his footsteps through the vast network of Orthodox monasteries and holy sites across Siberia and European Russia. They discuss his visits to Verkhoturye Monastery, where he met the starets Makary, and the remote hermitages of the Ural forests. The episode examines how these pilgrimages shaped Rasputin's spiritual identity, his reputation as a yurodivy, and his connections with peasant mystics and wandering holy men. It also covers the controversy surrounding his reported encounters with the Khlysty sect and the Okhrana's surveillance of his movements. The conversation reveals how Rasputin's travels gave him access to a web of informal networks that later proved crucial for his rise at court, including introductions to influential figures like Bishop Varnava and Anna Vyrubova. Drawing on recent scholarship, the episode challenges the myth of Rasputin as an isolated Siberian peasant, showing instead a savvy navigator of Orthodox pilgrimage culture. Keywords include: Grigori Rasputin, Siberian pilgrimage, Verkhoturye Monastery, starets Makary, yurodivy, Khlysty, Okhrana, Pokrovskoye, Tobolsk, Orthodox Church. #Rasputin #SiberianPilgrimage #VerkhoturyeMonastery #StaretsMakary #Yurodivy #Khlysty #Okhrana #Pokrovskoye #Tobolsk #RussianOrthodox #TsaristRussia #Mysticism #PeasantPiety #PilgrimageNetwork #EasternEurope #ImperialRussia #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Rasputin and the Khlysts: Heresy or Slander

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the persistent accusation that Grigori Rasputin was a member of the Khlysty, a heretical Christian sect known for ecstatic rituals and flagellation. They examine the origins of the claim, including the 1903 investigation by the Tobolsk Consistory and the testimony of a fellow villager named Yakov Parchuk. The hosts delve into what the Khlysty actually believed and practiced, and contrast that with Rasputin's own theology and behavior. They also discuss the political motivations behind the slander, particularly how the clergy and the Okhrana used the heresy accusation to discredit him. The episode weighs the evidence, concluding that while Rasputin was certainly unorthodox, the charge of Khlyst membership remains unproven and may tell us more about his enemies than about the man himself. #Rasputin #Khlysty #Heresy #RussianOrthodoxy #Tobolsk #Pokrovskoye #Starets #Yurodivy #Okhrana #HolySynod #TsarskoyeSelo #Mysticism #Sects #Ecstasy #SexualRumors #Propaganda #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Rasputin and the Orthodox Mystics of Mount Athos

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a largely overlooked dimension of Grigori Rasputin's spiritual world: his connection to the hesychast mystics of Mount Athos. We trace the 1913 'Name of God' controversy (the Imiaslavie movement), which pitted Athonite monks who venerated the divine name against the Russian Holy Synod. Rasputin, though not a theologian, intervened on behalf of the monks, seeing in their experiential mysticism a kindred spirit to his own Siberian yurodivy tradition. We examine how this obscure doctrinal dispute became a political flashpoint, with Rasputin lobbying Tsar Nicholas II to protect the monks, while church authorities like Archbishop Antony (Khrapovitsky) condemned them as heretics. The episode reveals how Rasputin's support for the Imiaslavie monks deepened his estrangement from the Orthodox hierarchy and aligned him with populist, anti-establishment currents within Russian Orthodoxy. We also discuss the aftermath: the monks' exile, the role of the Holy Synod, and how this controversy foreshadowed the larger conflicts that would engulf the church after 1917. #Rasputin #MountAthos #Imiaslavie #Hesychasm #RussianOrthodoxy #HolySynod #TsarNicholasII #AntonyKhrapovitsky #Yurodivy #1913 #NameOfGod #AthoniteMonks #ChurchHistory #RussianEmpire #EasternOrthodoxy #Mysticism #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Rasputin and the Siberian Exile: The 1904-1905 Trail

In 1904, Grigori Rasputin vanished from St. Petersburg into a Siberian exile ordered by Bishop Antony of Tobolsk. But far from silencing him, the journey to the remote Verkhoturye Monastery became the crucible that forged his reputation as a holy man. We trace Rasputin's path from Pokrovskoye through the snow-choked Ural foothills, the monasteries that hosted him, and the peasant pilgrims who spread his name. Along the way, we meet the monk Makary, who may have been Rasputin's spiritual mentor, and the strange figure of the yurodivy Mitya the Blessed. This is the story of how exile, not scandal, made Rasputin a national figure — and how the Siberian wilderness gave him the aura he would later wield in the imperial court. #Rasputin #SiberianExile #VerkhoturyeMonastery #BishopAntony #Pokrovskoye #Makary #MityaTheBlessed #yurodivy #RussianHistory #OrthodoxMonasticism #TsaristRussia #SiberianWilderness #Pilgrimage #HolyFool #Romanovs #1904 #EasternEurope #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]

Rasputin and the Holy Synod's Final Stand

In the final months before his death, Grigori Rasputin faced his greatest institutional enemy: the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. This episode explores the Synod's last desperate attempt to excommunicate Rasputin in early 1916, led by Metropolitan Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky) and Archpriest Georgy Shavelsky. We follow the secret meetings in Petrograd, the role of Tsarina Alexandra and Anna Vyrubova in blocking the move, and the ultimate failure that sealed the Church's fate as the monarchy fell. Specific attention is given to the Synod's use of the canon law against heresy, the 1916 synodal decree that was never published, and the quiet resignation of key bishops after Rasputin's intervention. Listeners will encounter figures like Metropolitan Pitirim, who replaced Vladimir as a Rasputin ally, and learn how the Church's credibility was shattered. #Rasputin #HolySynod #RussianOrthodoxChurch #MetropolitanVladimir #ArchpriestShavelsky #TsarinaAlexandra #AnnaVyrubova #CanonLaw #1916 #Petrograd #Excommunication #ChurchHistory #Romanovs #RussianRevolution #OrthodoxChristianity #TsarskoyeSelo #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo [https://buymeacoffee.com/fexingo]