Book Review: The Doukhobors by George Woodcock and Ivan Avakumovic

Running Head: BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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Author Note

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BOOK REVIEW
The purpose of this study is to analyze the book “The Doukhobors”, by George
Woodcock and Ivan Avakumovic on the basis of content, merit as well as style. George
Woodcock was a professor of University of British Columbia (English department). He was a
proficient poet writer, biographer and also the editor of the academic journal, Canadian
literature. On the other hand, Ivan Avakumovic who was a professor of political science in
the University of British Columbia had written a book on the history and inception of the
Communist party, in the country of Yugoslavia. The name of the book, “The Doukhobor,"
bears a significant meaning. It refers to the "Spirit Wrestlers". The term Doukhobors was
coined by Archbishop Serebrennikov in the year 1785. Initially the term was used to refer
people who were dissenters from the Churches that used to follow orthodox policies, were
making efforts to fight against the Holy ghosts. The Doukhobors. 1977 adopted used the term
as the name of the book, but changed its connotation subtly and claimed that they believed to
fight with, not against the spirit of the Almighty. The book denied the concept of mediatory
priesthood elaborated in the translation of the Bible in 17th century. In a nutshell, it can be
stated that the authors resembled Anabaptist dissenters who were the followers of Western
Christianity and tried to establish the same belief all through the book.
The name of the book suggests that the book is all about Doukhobors. Doukhobors were
the spiritual as well as religious group who were against the orthodox beliefs regarding
Christianity. They were originally from Russia but migrated to Canada later.The books threw
light on the same concept. It pointed out that Christian churches tend to cling the
conventional concepts like Baptism and the doctrine of redemption and, also elaborated the
reasons why such beliefs should be rejected. In this book, the author stated that, they
considered the basic sign of existence as the emblem of their beliefs, which were-the loaf of

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BOOK REVIEW
bread, cellar of salt and the jug of water. They also depicted the tradition, culture, dance and
songs of Doukhobors.
Authors have made the book educative, reflective and informative by consulting a
wide range of appropriate historical sources. One of such sources., which is considered one of
the most significant sociological work by Harry B. Hawthorn, is The Doukhobors of British
Columbia (1955). This work was a result of the effort of the provincial government. There
are some other articles from which the authors of “The Doukhobors” extracted the essence of
the central theme, these were- Vasya Pozdnyakov's Dukhobor, a translation by Peter Brock, a
narrative in the Slavonic and East European Review (June 1965); Life of Tolstoy, an article
based on Dukhobors before their immigration of to Canada. The book The Doukhobors
(1903) written by Joseph Elkinton was another valuable source, as the author Elkinton were
allowed to access the records of Imperial Russian government. There were many books,
which were the reflection of the unacceptance that Doukhobors received from the journalists.
One such book was, Terror in the Name of God (1964), by Simma Holt. George Woodcock
and Ivan Avakumovic used such sources to add spices in the argumentative discussion cited
in the book. Aylmer Maude's Life of Tolstoy (1953 ed.) was one of the most objective
treatments prior to the immigration of the group to Canada in 1899.
The book contained evidences, which supports the points mentioned about the
philosophies of Doukhobors. According to the authors, Doukhobors have already rejected the
way Bible looks at Christianity, still they tended to follow a method of ethnical teachings
which is almost similar to the teaching methods of the early Christians. In order to support
this point with sufficient proofs, authors mentioned that such similarity between the the
Doukhobors and the orthodox Christians made Tolstoy falsely assume that, he had found out,