But years passed, and neither of these expectations was fulfilled.  The fanatics awaited in vain the sound of the last trump and the appearance of Christ, coming with His angels to judge the world.  The sun continued to rise, and the seasons followed each other in their accustomed course, but the end was not yet.  Nor did the civil power return to the old faith.  Nikon fell a victim to Court intrigues and his own overweening pride, and was formally deposed.  Tsar Alexis in the fulness of time was gathered unto his fathers.  But there was no sign of a re-establishment of the old Orthodoxy.  Gradually the leading Raskolniki perceived that they must make preparations, not for the Day of Judgment, but for a terrestrial future—­that they must create some permanent form of ecclesiastical organisation.  In this work they encountered at the very outset not only practical, but also theoretical difficulties.

So long as they confined themselves simply to resisting the official innovations, they seemed to be unanimous; but when they were forced to abandon this negative policy and to determine theoretically their new position, radical differences of opinion became apparent.  All were convinced that the official Russian Church had become heretical, and that it had now Antichrist instead of Christ as its head; but it was not easy to determine what should be done by those who refused to bow the knee to the Son of Destruction.  According to Protestant conceptions there was a very simple solution of the difficulty:  the Nonconformists had simply to create a new Church for themselves, and worship God in the way that seemed good to them.  But to the Russians of that time such notions were still more repulsive than the innovations of Nikon.  These men were Orthodox to the backbone—­“plus royalistes que le roi”—­and according to Orthodox conceptions the founding of a new Church is an absurdity.  They believed that if the chain of historic continuity were once broken, the Church must necessarily cease to exist, in the same way as an ancient family becomes extinct when its sole representative dies without issue.  If, therefore, the Church had already ceased to exist, there was no longer any means of communication between Christ and His people, the sacraments were no longer efficacious, and mankind was forever deprived of the ordinary means of grace.

Now, on this important point there was a difference of opinion among the Dissenters.  Some of them believed that, though the ecclesiastical authorities had become heretical, the Church still existed in the communion of those who had refused to accept the innovations.  Others declared boldly that the Orthodox Church had ceased to exist, that the ancient means of grace had been withdrawn, and that those who had remained faithful must thenceforth seek salvation, not in the sacraments, but in prayer and such other religious exercises as did not require the co-operation of duly consecrated priests.  Thus took place a schism among the Schismatics.