Bespopovtsy is one of the two major strains of Old Believers

Old Believers

In the context of Russian Orthodox church history, the Old Believers separated after 1666 from the official Russian Orthodox Church as a protest against church reforms introduced by Patriarch Nikon between 1652–66...

, the one that rejects priest

Priest

A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...

s and a number of church rite

Rite

A rite is an established, ceremonious, usually religious act. Rites in this sense fall into three major categories:* rites of passage, generally changing an individual's social status, such as marriage, baptism, or graduation....

s, such as the Eucharist

Eucharist

The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...

. The reasoning behind this is a belief that any priest or hierarch who has used the Nikonian Rites has forfeited Apostolic Succession

Apostolic Succession

Apostolic succession is a doctrine, held by some Christian denominations, which asserts that the chosen successors of the Twelve Apostles, from the first century to the present day, have inherited the spiritual, ecclesiastical and sacramental authority, power, and responsibility that were...

.

There are several confession

Confession

This article is for the religious practice of confessing one's sins.Confession is the acknowledgment of sin or wrongs...

s of them: Pomortsy, Fedoseyans, Filippians

Filippians

Filippians or Philippians was a soglasiye of the Bespopovtsy strain of Old Believers. They detached themselves from Pomortsy under the leadership of a "teacher" Filipp at the beginning of the 18th century...

, Beguny ("Runners"), Netovtsy/Netovshchina, and many others.

Bespopovtsy are Old Believers that reject Nikonian priests, however, they still believe in the existence of a Priesthood; but happen to find themselves without priests. Historically the Bespopovtsy have received Nikonian priests that have publicly repented from the reforms of Patraich Nikon.