Journalist visits Russian sect of exorcists

A journalist of EcoSever website visited a village in the Saratov region, where people exorcise demons with the help of many days of fasting and swimming in ice-cold water.

The journalist did not specify the name of the village, as he promised not to disclose this information. We only know that the settlement is located about 80 kilometers far from the city of Saratov and is unofficially known as "Spring" ("Rodnichok").

It is believed that a person can get there only with the blessing from the so-called Master - the leader of this lost-in-the-woods community. People from all across Russia come to this place in an attempt to get rid of their demons and heal their souls.

The journalist described some of the practices accepted in this place. For example, the food that people bring to the village with them as they arrive becomes the food that all other members of the community can consume. The members of the community constantly pray and swim naked in a water reservoir all the year round, in all weathers.

The Orthodox way of life of the community goes along with a symbol of Freemasonry - a pyramid with a transparent top - that is placed next to Orthodox icons. 

Th community looks like a sect, but its leader, the Master, a man only named as Ivan, is a perfectly sane person, who is highly concerned about what the Orthodox Church has become.