Doukhobor

American  

[doo-koh-bawr] / ˈdu koʊˌbɔr /

noun

1. a member of an independent religious sect originating in Russia in the 18th century, believing in the supreme authority of the inner voice and in the transmigration of souls, rejecting the divinity of Christ and the establishing of churches, and expressing opposition to civil authority by refusing to pay taxes, do military service, etc.

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Doukhobor British  

/ ˈduːkəʊˌbɔː /

noun

1. a member of a Russian sect of Christians that originated in the 18th century. In the late 19th century a large minority emigrated to W Canada, where most Doukhobors now live

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Etymology

Origin of Doukhobor

1875–80; < Russian dukhobór, dukhobórets, Old Russian dukhoborĭtsĭ literally, one who fights against the Holy Ghost, a calque of Late Greek pneumatomáchos (compare Russian dukh spirit, boréts wrestler); originally a derisive term, later adopted by the sect itself

Example Sentences

These days, with the Ukraine war raging, most Doukhobors no longer aspire to return to Russia, said Mr. Verigin, who leads the largest Doukhobor organization in Canada, and studied in Moscow in 1979.

From New York Times

They also resisted serving in the imperial military; in 1895, thousands of Doukhobor soldiers set fire to their weapons, which led to the group’s violent suppression and exile.

From New York Times

At a recent choir practice at a Doukhobor cultural center, Jasmine Popoff, 34, a nurse with purple hair, led her choir in a rousing version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” — in Russian — followed by a spirited rendition in English of Queen’s “Somebody to Love.”

From New York Times

At the Doukhobor Discovery Center in Castlegar, the museum director, Ryan Dutchak, said that some Doukhobors over the past decades had changed their Russian-sounding last names for fear of being ostracized.

From New York Times

A blaze destroyed precious family artifacts, including correspondence between his great-great-grandfather, a prominent Doukhobor leader, and the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, an early admirer of the Doukhobors’ pacifism and Christian morality.

From New York Times