Exarch of Georgia, who is a member ex officio of the Holy Synod. The Holy Governing Synod consists, we may say, ex officio of the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg, who is the President, the Metropolitan of Moscow and Kief, the Exarch of Georgia, and other temporary members, among whom was my friend, Bishop Tikhon. "During my stay in St. Petersburg I had many conversations with General Kereef, who has taken such a deep interest in the union of the Churches. He has published several pamphlets concerning the relations of the different communions to each other. From him I obtained a great deal of information as to the attitude of the Russian laity towards their Church, and on the subject of restored intercommunion. "My own impression of the laity corresponds with that of the late Bishop Creighton, that the Russians are the most religious nation in Europe. While it may be said that the English are the most practical, the French the most logical, the Germans the most learned, the Italians the most artistic, and the Americans the most freedom-loving, of Russia it may fairly be said that, as a nation, she is the most religious. It is certainly one proof of this to see the enormous congregations, composed so largely of men, assembled in their churches. At St. Saviour's, Moscow, the great church built in thanksgiving for Russia's deliverance from Napoleon, I saw on an ordinary Sunday a congregation of eight thousand or ten thousand persons. In every railroad station, public building, in every private house are to be seen icons, or sacred pictures, which not only remind persons of sacred subjects, but bring forth in most public places acts of devotion. Nor is this a mere matter of external piety; the religion reaches into their business affairs. It is common for the great merchants of Moscow to hold religious services in their places of business once a year, to offer thanks to God for the way in which they have been prospered, and to make substantial acknowledgment of it by offerings to the Church. The popular idea with us, that the Russians are given excessively to drink, is disproved by statistics, which show that, since the Government has abolished saloons, the amount of liquor consumed per capita in Russia is less than that taken in England or America. "I was also honored by a visit from that holy priest, Father St. John Sergieff. The simplicity, earnestness, and piety of this remarkable and wonder-working man was most striking. One could not but be drawn to him by his deep evangelical spirit, nor, when one came to know him and learn of his life, doubt of the many wonders God has seen fit to work through his prayers. He was a living witness to the truth that in all ages and in all portions of the Catholic Church God is raising up persons to a supernatural degree of holiness and sanctity. "It would be interesting, if I had time, to enter into the great missionary spirit of the Russian Church, their missionary societies, and the evangelical work which is done throughout Siberia, Japan, and elsewhere. In examining their training of their clergy for the priesthood, I noticed that there was an ecclesiastical school, and seminary in every diocese, and in addition there were three or four academies. In these academies the higher grade of students, selected from the others, received a higher education and were trained for professors and the higher walks of the ministry. "On my arrival the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg was absent, and upon invitation of the Archbishop and Metropolitan of Moscow, I went thither, proceeding first to the famous Monastery of the Troitsa, where I spent the Feast of St. Sergius, with his Excellency Vladimir. It was a wonderful sight to see the many thousands of pilgrims who had assembled thither to keep the feast; and the blessing of them by the Metropolitan, from the parapet overlooking the great courtyard, was a touching spectacle. "Here I made a visit to the Ecclesiastical Academy and the Seminary, where I was entertained and where I had many speeches of welcome made me by the professors. On my return to Moscow I was the guest, with the others of my party, at the Monastery of St. Michael, in the Kremlin. We received every attention from the prior Innokenti, who has since been consecrated Bishop of our Pacific Coast and Alaska. |