Avvakum was born into the family of a parish priest in the Nizhny Novgorod province. After his father's death, his mother Maria insisted that 17-year-old Avvakum marry Anastasia, a poor orphan and the daughter of a blacksmith, who was only 14 years old. Anastasia became a faithful helper to her husband, and he remained devoted to her throughout his life. Once, when a prostitute came to Avvakum for confession, he felt an attraction to her. To suppress this feeling, he lit three candles and held his hand over the flame until the pain drove out the sinful desire. For his righteous deeds and steadfast character, Avvakum was honored with the title of protopope, which corresponds to the modern position of protopriest.

In 1651, Avvakum found himself in Moscow and joined the Circle of Zealots of Piety, which included Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The members of the circle sought to reform the church and secular life in Russia, strictly adhering to church statutes. However, after Nikon became patriarch in 1652, the circle disbanded. The opposition between Nikon and Avvakum arose not from a principled rejection of reforms, as many believe, but because Avvakum insisted on correcting church books based on ancient Russian manuscripts. Nikon, on the other hand, used Italian editions of Greek liturgical books, which Avvakum believed were distorted. Avvakum openly opposed Nikon and even wrote petitions to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich about this, despite their friendship.

In the autumn of 1653, Avvakum was imprisoned in the basement of the Andronikov Monastery in Moscow, where he spent three days and three nights without food or water, yet did not change his beliefs. He was then exiled to Tobolsk, Yeniseisk, and further to Transbaikalia. Everywhere, Avvakum actively fought against the Nikonian 'heresy,' despite persecution and beatings. In 1663, when Nikon was on trial and the tsar offered Avvakum to become his spiritual mentor, he continued to oppose the reforms, although most had already accepted them. For this, he was exiled again, first to the Arkhangelsk province, then to Kaluga, and finally to Pustozersk beyond the Arctic Circle. Deprived of his rank and excommunicated from the church, he continued to receive pilgrims who came to him at the 'end of the earth.' In 1682, Avvakum was burned alive in a wooden hut along with his closest associates.