Meet The Skoptsy, The Russian Religious Zealots Who Castrated Themselves To Be Closer To God
Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2025 3:37 pm
In their devout faith, followers of Tsarist Russia’s Skoptsy sect could be compared to Orthodox Christians. They both believed in saints and sinners, heaven and hell, and that Jesus Christ died on the cross to give the world salvation. But only the Skoptsy believed Jesus was also castrated.
This was really how Jesus absolved the world, according to Skoptsy founder Kondraty Selivanov. So fiery was his passion that soon enough, his sect amassed thousands of members — up to 1 million by some estimates. They were fervent proselytizers, reportedly coercing children and prisoners to join them in order for their ranks to reach the magic number of 144,000 — at which point Jesus Christ would return.
In a ritual ceremony reportedly called “the seal,” men and women removed parts of their sexual organs to seal their faith in God and live in true imitation of Christ on the cross.
Men who opted for the “lesser seal” removed their scrotums and testes, while those who took the “great seal” removed it all — including the penis. It often happened in one swift motion; as one medical study put it, “the operator seized the parts to be removed with one hand and struck them off with the other.” Women, in turn, had their breasts cut off and their genitalia mutilated.
These dismemberments were called “fiery baptisms,” perhaps because they were often performed with red-hot iron rods.
Today we have chemical means ... So easy to get the eunuch calm..... The heavenly goals are not the case today cos ladies going almost naked these days is a thorn to the flesh of many a gentlemen
This was really how Jesus absolved the world, according to Skoptsy founder Kondraty Selivanov. So fiery was his passion that soon enough, his sect amassed thousands of members — up to 1 million by some estimates. They were fervent proselytizers, reportedly coercing children and prisoners to join them in order for their ranks to reach the magic number of 144,000 — at which point Jesus Christ would return.
In a ritual ceremony reportedly called “the seal,” men and women removed parts of their sexual organs to seal their faith in God and live in true imitation of Christ on the cross.
Men who opted for the “lesser seal” removed their scrotums and testes, while those who took the “great seal” removed it all — including the penis. It often happened in one swift motion; as one medical study put it, “the operator seized the parts to be removed with one hand and struck them off with the other.” Women, in turn, had their breasts cut off and their genitalia mutilated.
These dismemberments were called “fiery baptisms,” perhaps because they were often performed with red-hot iron rods.
Today we have chemical means ... So easy to get the eunuch calm..... The heavenly goals are not the case today cos ladies going almost naked these days is a thorn to the flesh of many a gentlemen
Not totally off base, as it is still dealing with raising the dead.... 