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.