Russia in 1839 -Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia

journalism is more capable of inspiring men with really humane and independent sentiments than the sacerdotal school. All the question is comprised in this ; and France is called upon to resolve it.

' But, without further reference to general considerations, give me an idea of the actual state of religion in your country; tell me, how are the minds of the men who teach the Gospel in Russia cultivated ? '

44ТПЕ GRECO-RUSSIAN CHURCH.

Although I addressed a man of superior mind, the question would have been an indiscreet one at Petersburg : at Moscow I felt I might risk it, confiding in that mysterious liberty that reigns in this city, though we can neither fully account for nor define it; and though the confidence which it inspires may sometimes have to be dearly paid for. * The following is the summary of my Russian philosopher's reply: I use the word philosopher in its most favourable signification. After years passed in different European countries, he has returned to Russia very liberal, but very consistent. His reply then was as follows :

' There has always been very little preaching in the schismatic churches; and among us, the political and religious authority has been opposed more than elsewhere to theological discussions. AYhenever there has been a wish to commence the debate of the questions at issue between Rome and Byzantium, silence has been imposed upon both parties. The points in dispute are of so little moment that the quarrel can only be perpetuated by means of ignorance. In several public institutions for education some religious instruction has been from time to time given, but this is only tolerated, and often forbidden : it is a positive, although it may appear to you an incredible fact, that religion is not publicly taught in Russia. The result is a multitude of sects, of which the government would not endure that you should suspect the existence.

' There is one which tolerates polygamy; another

* The reader will hereafter see the danger of such a confidence instanced by the arbitrary detention of a French citizen.

ITS SCHISMS.45

goes farther, and maintains not only the principle but the practice of promiscuous intercourse between the sexes.

' Our priests are forbidden to write even historical scripture ; our peasants are constantly interpreting passages from the Bible, which, taken separately, without the context, and falsely applied, frequently give rise to some new heresy, most generally Calvin-istic in its character. Before the pope of the village discovers it, it has already gained a hold among the inhabitants, and often spread among the neighbouring populations. Should the priest then treat the matter publicly, the contaminated peasants are sent to Siberia, which ruins the lord of the soil, who consequently, if previously aware of the circumstance, finds more than one way of causing the pastor to preserve a silence : so that, when at last the heresy does break out and attract the eyes of the supreme authority, the number of seceders is so considerable that it is no longer possible to act against them. Violence would divulge the mischief without stifling it; persuasion would open a door for discussion — the worst of all evils in the eyes of an absolute government: they can therefore do nothing but have recourse to silence, under whose veil the evil is concealed, without being cured; on the contrary, it gradually spreads.

' It is by religious divisions that the Russian empire will perish ; therefore to envy in us, as you do, the power of faith, is to judge us without knowing us.'

Such is the opinion of the most clear-sighted and sincere men that I have met in Russia.

A foreigner, worthy of credence, and who has been

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POLYGAMY.

long established in Moscow, has likewise informed me, that he dined some years ago with a merchant of Petersburg and his three wives — not concubines but leo`itimate wives. This merchant was a dissenter, a secret sectarian of some new church. I presume that the children borne him by his three helpmates would not be recognised as legitimate by the state ; but his conscience as a Christian remained at ease.

If I had learnt this tact from a native, I might not have recounted it; for there are Russians who amuse themselves with lying, in order to perplex and lead astray too curious or too credulous travellers ; a circumstance which tends to throw obstacles in the way of a pursuit, difficult everywhere, for those who would exercise it conscientiously, but doubly so here — I mean the pursuit of an observer.

The body of merchants is very powerful, very ancient, and very much esteemed in Moscow. The life of these rich dealers reminds us of the condition and manners of the Asiatic merchants, so well painted in the Arabian Nights. There are so many points of resemblance between Moscow and Bagdad, that in travelling through Eussia we lose the curiosity to see Persia ; Ave know it already.

I have just been present at a popular fete, held round the monastery of Devitschiepol. The actors are soldiers and peasants; the spectators, people of the higher classes, who go there in great numbers. The tents and booths for drinking are placed close to the cemetery. The feast, or fair, is kept in commemoration of some Russian saint, whose relics and images are ceremoniously visited between two libations of kicass. This evening an inconceivable consumption of that national liquor has here taken place.

DEVITSCHIEPOL.

47

The miraculous Virgin of Smolensk — others say it is her copy — is preserved in this convent, which contains eight churches.

Towards nightfall I entered the principal one, whose appearance is imposing. The obscurity aided the impression. The nuns undertake the charge of ornamenting the altars of their chapels; they acquit themselves with great punctilio of this duty—the easiest no doubt of any for people in their situation. As to the more difficult duties, they are not, I am told, particularly well observed: if I am to believe the best-informed parties, the conduct of the religious orders in Moscow is anything but edifying.

The church contains the tombs of several czarinas and princesses; amongst others, that of the ambitious Sophia, sister of Peter the Great, and of Eudoxia, the first consort of the same prince. This unhappy woman, repudiated in, I believe, 1696, was compelled to take the veil at Sousdal.

The Catholic church has so deep a respect for the indissoluble tie of marriage, that it does not permit a married Avoman to unite herself to any religious order unless her husband does the same, or takes, like her, monastic vows. Such is the rule, though with us, as with others, laws are often made to bend to interests.

The Imperial nun died at Moscow, in this monastery, 1731.

In general, the Russian convents have rather the appearance of a cluster of small houses, of a walled division of a city, than of a religious retreat. Being often destroyed and rebuilt, they have a modern look. In this climate nothing long resists the war of the elements. The whole country has the