Odd Russian Religious Sect

[Andy Conovaloff]

On Thu, 9 Mar 1995 15:20:13 CST, Bill Comer <WCOMER%
UKANVM.bitnet at CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU> wrote:

>Dear Seelangers--
>Someone has asked me to help come up with the name of a Russian religious
>sect that would be distinguished by the following belief/ practice:
>  the members of this sect save all their hair and nail clippings and
>  and bury them with the member when he dies.  The reason for saving
>  all of these parts of the person is so that the member may be com-
>  pletely reassembled when the resurrection of the dead takes place.
>  (Bodily excrement doesn't seem to count since it's not a "permanent"
>  part of the body.)
>
>Those are all the details that I have, and even those I have only third
>hand.  I would appreciate suggestions, even if your sect doesn't corre-
>spond in all its particulars with the above.  I know it sounds very odd,
>and I am at a loss to identify what sect the person has in mind.
>Please send responses to me off the list.
>
>William Comer
>Slavic Languages
>University of Kansas
>Lawrence, KS  66045
>913-864-3313
>wcomer at ukanvm

A few years ago, I was asked a similiar question about the "finger-nail
Molokans" by John Ghosoph, Fresno CA. Here's how I posted it:

Molokan NEWS 2002
Fingernail Molokans?      Jan 8
2002 -- An old friend writes: "... an interesting conversation I had with
a visiting Russian colleague. I asked him if he knew of Molokans in his
homeland? What he had to say intrigued me. He described the ones he knew
as 'the bearded ones that wore Cossack shirts and grew very...very long
fingernails'. He explained that these Molokans believed that their uncut
fingernails would help them climb into heaven when they die. This probably
has something to do with their belief that their spiritual body will have
whatever their physical body had. Interesting! I'm hoping to have more
information about the "Fingernail Molokans" soon." Can anyone else add to
this? Perhaps long finger nails helps one craw out of his grave?

http://gecko.gc.maricopa.edu/clubs/russian/molokan/news/index_2002.htm

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