Mistä skoptsien liike sai alkunsa?
The Skoptsy (; singular "castrate"; also transliterated as "Skoptzy", "Skoptzi", "Skoptsi", "Skopzi", "Scoptsy", etc.) were a heretical sect, within the larger Spiritual Christianity movement in the Russian Empire, best known for practicing castration of men and the mastectomy of women in accordance with their teachings against sexual lust. The term is a descriptive one used by the official Russian Orthodox Church.
The movement emerged in the late 18th century. It reached the peak of its popularity in the early 20th century, with as many as 100,000 members, in spite of persecution by the imperial government. Despite severe repression under the Soviet Union some members still lived at the start of the 21st century.
Christianity