Most of you are aware of the Stoptsy( some times spelled Skoptsi ) , the self castrating religious sect in Russia. I am wondering if they really have died out. Although they were suppressed during the Soviet era many fled to Romania. There they became prosperous in the late 19th century and often worked as horseman, driving carriages. This came up as I read Curzio Malaparte' war diary "Kaput " . He was an Italian journalist who wrote about the Eastern Front during WWII . At one point he is a Romanian town called Jassy (in Romanian "Iași" ) .He notes the eunuch Skoptsy carriage driver of a local noble man. This was in the summer of 1942. The first time I had heard of the Skoptsy was in a London Times article on them that I read when I was a student in France back in 1968. The article called " The World's Strangest Religion " noted that there were still practicing Skoptsy in that part of Romania, and that occasionally Skoptsy priests came across the river from Russia for castration ceremonies. Although 1968 is a long time ago, there still could be eunuchs from that time, I suppose ... Does any one know if there are Skoptsy in Romania still , either in that town or in the Danube delta where they settled originally?

maybe they still exist, but they remain in the most strict anonymity