From modern church life in Russia

From a number of diverse, but rather ordinary phenomena of church life over the past six months, the event of September 9th stands out sharply - the day of the discovery of the relics of the Holy Hierarch and Wonderworker Theodosius of Chernigov. Although at one time this great and, in the very essence of the matter, rare triumph of Orthodoxy found quite sufficient attention in current literature, we do not consider it superfluous to remind our readers about it even now, six months later. There are some features in this event that I would not like to forget and to remind of which, I think, is not unnecessary or useless in our time with its pursuit of news and its tendency to quickly forget the past. When we say this, we mean the nationality and, so to speak, naturalness of this event, despite its unusualness. What irresistibly attracts attention is the fact that the canonizing power of the church appeared here after the consciousness and conviction of the holiness, incorruption of the relics and miracles of the saint had reached complete certainty, so that it seemed as if it could no longer help but testify with its authority to the fidelity of this consciousness and this conviction of Orthodox Christians. She did not need to resort to any measures to artificially arouse religious feelings, much less resort to any measures to attract as many witnesses as possible to this church celebration. On the contrary, there was an urgent need to take care of measures to preserve order and make it possible for everyone to equally spiritually enjoy the intended celebration. The glory of the saint preceded the notification of the church authorities and to the day of celebration it announced from all over Russia attracted pilgrims with their rich victims, and with their helplessly sick relatives and friends - attracted both deeply believers and those who strongly wavered in the faith and those who were testing. As a result of this, the church celebration was a nationwide joyful holiday: it was not heard that among those who came to see the celebration, anyone returned disappointed, having endured regret instead of grace-filled consolation. ….. What is special, remarkable, expensive about this? - perhaps some reader will ask: after all, it was so before, so it should be... Absolutely right - we will answer - so it should be, but it does not always happen that way. Not more than a month after the Chernigov celebration, precisely on October 1, a triumph of Catholicism similar in form took place in our native and once Orthodox Galicia or Chervonnaya Rus, but how profoundly different in content?! The actual center of the celebration was the 300th anniversary of the Union of Brest, but the following individual events preceded and accompanied it: 1) Award from the Lvov Uniate Metropolitan Silverst Sembratovich, with the dignity of cardinal: 2) Replacement of the idle Przemysl Uniate episcopal see by Canon Chekhovich, a humble servant of the Polish Right 1. H) Canonization of Josaphat Kuntsevich among the saints of the Roman Church, naming him the patron of Poland and the assumption of the founding of an institute named after him for the education of youth in the spirit of this saint; 4) Pre-anniversary Catholic congress in Lvov, held on June 26: at this congress, a series of speeches and abstracts established that the union with Rome brought enormous benefits to the Russian people, giving them European culture 2. These individual moments of the Brest celebration are highlighted by Galician patriots approximately as follows: Regarding the appointment of Chekhovich, the “Galician” says the following: “it should be noted that it is positively inconsistent with the rules of our holy church, ensured by Rome when it united with the Roman church, that our bishops are appointed, and not elected by the clergy and the people, as required by the autonomy of our church, which must be protected and protected not only by our rulers and our clergy, but also by every faithful layman. Meanwhile, in our time, the prevailing trend has become that the guardians of our church and our conscience are trying to produce as bishops only those individuals who, in contrast to the above, are ready to sacrifice as many rights as possible for our church and, under the pretext of strengthening the union, to promote the speedy, albeit gradual, equalization of our holy rite with the rite of the Roman church for the sole purpose that in this way the Polish hierarchy hopes to Polish the Russian people. If the union of our church with the Roman church serves the all-powerful Polish politicians as a means to destroy our nation, then no less in our time the same above-mentioned factors have turned our church directly into the political arena, and our church hierarchy into Polish political agitators and are trying to do the same with all our clergy, to put things in such a way that not devotion to the church, not reverent life, not science, not merits are considered the ladder on which our clergy can achieve higher merits, or a better parish, but an exceptionally greater or lesser capacity for apostasy from our church and people..... Recently, a desire has been discovered in the Vatican to awaken in our clergy an appetite for the titles and virtues of the Latin Church, in order to supposedly thereby testify to a special favor towards our church and our clergy. Meanwhile, this is only a new step towards the Latinization of the Russian Church, to which all those virtues are completely alien.” “We said that our church has now been turned into a political arena for the propaganda of the Polish-Jagiellonian idea under the guise of the so-called “New Era” trend, the leader and main representative of which is considered to be the Galician-Russian Metropolitan - Cardinal Silverst Sembratovich 3." As for the canonization of Josaphat Kuntsevich, on the part of the Roman Curia it represents such a tour do force, in which contempt for the evidence of history is combined with an astonishing mockery of the religious conscience of the poor Uniates. Time did not have time to erase the too characteristic features of this personality - a terrible fanatic, a furious persecutor of the Orthodox. This is what the Catholic Chancellor of Poland Lev Sapega (great-grandfather of Adam Sapega - chairman of the Lvov Congress, 1896 June 6 - 26) wrote about the activities of Kuntsevich to the Uniate Metropolitan of Rutsky on February 9, 1621: “not only I, but others also highly condemn the fact that the priest Bishop of Polotsk (i.e. Kuntsevich) began to act too cruelly in matters of faith and the people were very tired and frozen both in Polotsk and everywhere else. For a long time I warned him, asked and exhorted him not to act so cruelly, but he, having his own considerations that were more stubborn than solid, did not want to listen to our advice. God grant that the consequences of his orders and harsh actions do not damage the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. For the sake of God, I ask you to enlighten him, so that he stops and stops such severity in these matters and rather voluntarily surrenders to the Mogilevites their church, without waiting for them to take them away from him without asking. Please, your grace, keep him on the reins." The death of this “saint” was accompanied by the following consequences: the commission of inquiry appointed in the case of the murder of Kuntsevich in 1624 completed the trial and reprisal in three days and announced a cruel sentence, which was immediately carried out: the heads of 19 people were cut off, including the two first burgomasters of Vitebsk and that of Polotsk; about 100 other citizens who fled the city before the arrival of the commission were sentenced to death in absentia; 100 people were imprisoned, 200 were whipped. In short, as one writer noted, not a single pagan funeral feast was celebrated more bloodthirsty than the death of Kuntsevich.” 4 Russian Galicians are now called by His Holiness the Russian Galicians to pray to this executioner in the altars built in his honor; Russian youth will be brought up in the spirit of this “saint”! “The proposed organization of the institute in Lvov in memory of Kuntsevich,” says Podolsk Vedomosti, “makes it clear to everyone that the Latin Poles are throwing a noose over the ancient Russian Galich, which should strangle it in the arms of Rome” 5. As for the cultivating significance of Roman guardianship over the Russian people, it is very doubtful in view of the following, for example, the depiction of the current situation of Russian Galicians: “The spirit of slavery, ignorance and pride has taken deep roots in our midst. Everything bad is accepted by us, so to speak, before our eyes, and what is familiar is trampled or distorted. This is the state of our entire Russian society. And that is why we can draw the following conclusions: “Our intelligentsia must unite in resistance against Latinism and Polonization. And for this to come true, she needs, firstly, true love and devotion to her church and people. As long as our educated class only looks indifferently at Orthodoxy, and instead unconsciously accepts other people’s oddities, then our spiritual distance from the truth will reach the point of impossibility. Let love, intelligence, and education be the basis for us to achieve our goals. Away with all pride and ignorance! Down with spinelessness and Machiavellianism, and let the healthy seed of Christ’s science fertilize us! “The 300th anniversary of the union is celebrated by the degenerate sons of a desecrated mother. With noise and splendor they will sit around a rich meal together with their proud overlords, to honor with feasts the memory of the enslavement of Orthodoxy, the enslavement of the peasant will, and to remember the unenviable glory of the perpetrators of our misfortune. The ringing of bells will be heard throughout Carpathian Rus'; but they will announce to us a better fate, and will only bring to memory the times of unrest and bloody persecution. And just as then, during the raids of the gentry, our people fled and fled to the forests and wilds to escape cruel outrages and violence, so today’s bells will not be heralds of joy, but of tears and grief. At the sight of the deplorable situation of our people, they will arouse not only bitterness and a dull groan in the chests of the faithful sons of Rus', but their mournful echo will penetrate into the dungeons, into the graves where the mutilated, corruptible remains of thousands of martyrs for the faith and for the people rest.” “And won’t such thoughts arouse in us feelings of some guilt, and at the same time won’t they clearly remind us that we are nothing more than slaves, descendants of martyred slaves? Will a spark of love for those ideals and shrines for which our grandfathers and great-grandfathers laid down their bones be kindled in our hearts?” “No tea! Virtue has not yet completely perished in us; the spark of love and gratitude still smolders in us, so as not to leave the precious treasure of the people bequeathed to us to the mercy of will. And this treasure is our faith, the alphabet, the good and poor Russian people. Let us not allow ourselves to be snatched away from those jewels, but let us be worthy guardians of them. Let us leave to others the abundant meals, the unnecessary noise and brilliance with which they want to obscure the nakedness of their mother, and quietly and lawfully, with a hardened soul and heart, let us unite to the struggle that will undoubtedly break out over us in the near future. We will not allow the slightest branch to be cut off from the mighty folk tree, which protects us from thunderstorms and death. And for this to follow, we need to unite in resistance against all encroachments and in eliminating spiritual blindness and servility from our society. And let us be united not by malice or the weapon of deceit and flattery in relation to our enemies, but by virtues: faith in our church and genuine love for the people. Let those virtues be a weapon for us, which neither tempting feasts, nor brilliance, nor violence will crush. This love can be given to us by the teachings of Christ, preached and preserved in its complete purity by the Eastern Church. The Eastern Church did not know and does not know servility or arrogance, but on the contrary, it personifies a kind mother who does not know the difference between poor and rich, man and gentleman, and protects everyone with the same care and love. If we delve closer, if we know the value of our native faith and church, then we will not only destroy treason and instilled demoralization, but we will begin to love our younger brother not according to the recipe of the noisy West, but with deeds and with our whole hearts.” “It’s time to turn away from the disconsolate past and present and take the path of clarity and frankness. The fogs that have lately obscured our mind, conscience and character will dissipate as soon as a clear ray of truth and self-sacrifice pierces them in favor of the thirsty and abandoned masses.” “Back to the church, even closer to the people! May a conscientious understanding of the holy goals of Rus' and clear deeds justify us in the face of history and the Eastern Church for our pre-present spiritual weakness and insignificance.” 6 God grant that this patriotic call sinks deep into the hearts of the true representatives of Carpathian Russia and arouses in them a noble desire to fight for freedom of faith and national development!..... Of course, the reader will agree, but why did we need to move from Chernigov to Lvov and Galich, instead of devoting ourselves with all attention to the consideration of the phenomena of our own church life? We apologize for this digression, which we made involuntarily, out of passion. We do not think, however, that this retreat is a waste of time. How often the true state of affairs is comprehended only by comparing similar or opposite phenomena, and yet what is considered directly and only in itself seems to have not only no importance, but even simple interest. This is exactly what needs to be kept in mind in the present case. To understand and appreciate the full importance of the Chernigov celebration, it is necessary to compare it with the Lvov celebration: Catholicism and Orthodoxy were expressed in the most characteristic way in these celebrations. The first with all clarity is only as a political force, the second as a moral, religious force. The first to bring nothing of oneself into the life of peoples and humanity; he strives only to enslave the weak and to strengthen his influence among the strong, and does not neglect any means: the interests of true morality, true Christianity occupy him little; to the devoted slave of the pope everything is permissible; just as nothing can prevent the pope himself from elevating any Torquemado, Josaphat Kuntsevich, etc., to sainthood. – Orthodoxy, on the contrary, refers exclusively to the moral and religious sphere and is alien to any political aspirations. In the life of peoples and humanity, it is an active striving for the moral ideal of holiness along the equally narrow and narrow path of the cross and self-sacrifice for both the noble nobleman and the poor peasant. It brings into the life of the people and humanity a special light that illuminates the activities of everyone; it brings into the soul of a Christian, regardless of his social position, the desire for holiness, elevating the humiliated and poor to the consciousness of his full Christian dignity and humbling the Christian exalted by his high social position. Here the above-mentioned call of the Uniate of its compatriots to virtue and love for the people is combined with a call to the holy Eastern Church: “back to the church!” Even closer to the people!..... The vast Russian state, the bearer of this holy faith in the patronage of the Holy Church, is currently attracting the attention of the whole world with nothing other than this side of its existence. We, Russian people, with deep reverence for Divine Providence and Eternal Truth, must realize that only at the present time has the Orthodox Church reached a position that can be recognized as its triumph after many centuries of struggle. For both in the east and in Russia itself, until recent decades, was not the position of Orthodoxy the position of a church, to say the least militant, but precisely fighting for its existence? The entire western half of Rus' waged a centuries-long struggle against Catholicism, and from the east and south Islam and paganism attacked it with wild ferocity, sweeping away, so to speak, from the face of the earth the beginnings of Christianity, sown by zealous labors, and sometimes watered with the martyrdom of Orthodox missionaries. And within the great Russia itself, among representatives of the highest aristocracy and the ruling classes, Catholicism, Protestantism and atheism have reaped few victims, if not positively rejecting the natural Orthodox into their embrace, then in any case instilling in them an arrogant attitude towards the people's faith and towards the fathers, as something outdated and not entirely cultural in comparison with the Christian confessions of cultural Western nations or with their atheistic-philosophical exercises? The significant call of a modern Galician patriot: “Back to the church.” Even closer to the people,” until very recently, even in our country, was the motto of only a relatively small circle of intelligent society of Slavophiles: for the most part, our aristocracy and intelligentsia were in captivity, conscious or semi-conscious, of the West, even in religious and moral terms. The true and unchanging guardian and representative of Orthodoxy remained only the people with the clergy and monasticism. The second half of this century was a crisis that was resolved, apparently, irrevocably in favor of Orthodoxy. Motto: Back to the church. Even closer to the people, fortunately it turned out to be a powerful conscript message that awakened the dormant Russian thought and the inactive, apathetic will. More quickly than in other areas, scientific thought responded to this good news, delving into the study of monuments of Russian history and archeology and, as a result, providing excellent examples of the Old Russian style. The past 50 years have truly been a century of restoration and revival of folk style. Russian began to be liked not only by Russians, but also by cultured Western peoples. The religiosity of our ancestors, their moral steadfastness in the face of various foreign influences have now become the subject of respectful surprise when compared with the instability, licentiousness of morals and lethargy of modernity, which has turned its head with the unreasonable use of freedom where laws and principles of eternally unchanging morality should always have strength and unconditional authority. An urgent need was felt to strengthen the people themselves with education in the spirit of the church - through the establishment of church schools everywhere and the multiplication of Orthodox churches. Let the highest secular schools of various fields of knowledge - law, medicine, technical, agricultural arts - grow stronger and prosper, multiplying the number of cultural and economic workers, which our Russian land so needs and in which it is so lagging behind its enlightened Western neighbors. But let the religious and moral education of the people, of all classes of society, be carried out entirely in the spirit of Orthodoxy. Here the ideal relationship should be combination, and not antagonism, in which Catholicism and culture have long found themselves in the West... The past six months were marked by very gratifying events of the victorious triumph of Orthodoxy with the consecration of majestic churches created by the generous diligence and voluntary sacrifices of both the entire Orthodox people, and especially representatives of the domestic art of construction. In the foreground among these events is the consecration of the majestic and elegant Church of St. Vladimir in Kyiv; which took place on August 20 in the presence of Their Imperial Majesties. This national monument in honor and memory of St. Equal to the Apostles Prince Vladimir was created at four reign: conceived during the reign of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, during which subscriptions were opened and a draft plan was developed; was founded during the reign of Alexander II, completed during the reign of Alexander III and consecrated during the current prosperous reign of Emperor Nicholas II 7 . “The appearance of this monument, which will forever remain a bright page in the history of our national architecture, truly makes a grandiose impression. Resembling a Byzantine basilica in its appearance, this cathedral consists of three naos (ships), of which the middle one is almost twice as large as the side ones. The seven domes of the cathedral are brightly gilded. Bathed in the bright rays of the spring sun, they rise above the city and burn like bright luminaries.” “The internal structure of the church is striking in its grandeur and splendor. The overall dimensions of the cathedral's capacity are quite significant: its length is 22.5 fathoms and its width is 13.5; the height from the ground to the cross of the main dome is 23 fathoms; The diameter of the main dome is 12 fathoms. The choir divides the building into two uneven halves. At the bottom, the entire width of the building is occupied by the main altar with a deacon and an altar on the sides, and in the choirs the latter correspond to two chapels: the Nativity and the Resurrection of Christ... The luxury and beauty of the marble work in the cathedral is amazing and they were made with great taste and grace. The church is illuminated by electricity from 36 light bulbs of 50 candles each, which is a total of 1800 candles. In order to give electricity more softness, the glass of the light bulbs is slightly tinted yellowish. In addition to electric light bulbs, the cathedral contains three large chandeliers with wax candles, and in front of the icons there are candlesticks, also with wax candles. “The main decoration of the church is its wall paintings. It belongs to the brushes of four artists: Vasnetsov, Nesterov, Kotarbinsky and Svedomsky..... Particularly remarkable are the picturesque images of holy persons and events placed in the main altar. This part was painted by the highly talented artist V. M. Vasnetsov, who devoted 12 years of hard work to creating these images...... In general, “Kiev Cathedral, while inferior in wealth and size to the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior, surpasses it in the artistry of both internal and external decoration, containing truly remarkable works 8. On November 17, another majestic church was consecrated, built in the city of Narva exclusively at the expense of the Krenholm manufactory. The construction cost 500,000 rubles. At the foundation stone of the church, their Imperial Majesties the Sovereign Emperor Alexander III and the Empress Maria Feodorovna were present (6 years ago). The Krenholm manufactory, which takes advantage of the forces of the Narva Falls, is one of the largest in the world; there are about 4,600 workers at the manufactory; Most of them live in specially designated buildings, located in a group on the banks of the river. Narva and, together counting families, constitutes a very crowded place of 8,300 inhabitants. More than half of the working people are Orthodox. Until now they had to go to church three miles away, which seemed extremely inconvenient; The shareholders of the Krenholm manufactory partnership, at the suggestion of the director P.K. Prove, allowed the board to build an Orthodox church near Krenholm and allocated the above-mentioned amount for this. The round central dome covers the structure, which has a Greek cross in plan and is designed in the Byzantine style. The dimensions of the church are quite large: the height from the panel to the tip of the domed cross on the main dome is 19 fathoms, the length of the church is 16 1/3 fathoms, and the width is 12 1/3 fathoms. The church has three altars - the main one in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, and the side ones - in the name of the unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian and All Saints 9. In October (14th and 16th) the Highest permission followed on the proposal of the Holy Synod regarding the opening of a widespread collection of voluntary donations throughout the empire for the repair of the Mtskheta Cathedral of the 12 Apostles and for the restoration of the Mstislav Church in the city of Vladimir Volyn 10. News of this kind resonates with deep joy in the heart of every Christian: from the Tsar to the last subject, Orthodox Russian people unite here in the name of one purely religious impulse - to bring the first fruits of their labors, savings, and talents to the glory of God. perpetuating by this union sacrifice a visible expression of the unity of faith of the distant past, present and future. Even more touching and joyful news about the Orthodox religious movement is coming from Siberia: the number of Orthodox churches here is growing rapidly. True, this growth is parallel to the increase in population due to the recent increased influx of the resettlement movement, and it is regrettably noted that the increase in churches still does not meet the needs of the population 11: but it is very gratifying that among the settler population a most sincere and lively desire to build churches is noticed. According to State Secretary Kulomzin, “not a single village let him out without a request to establish a church there. And how touching these requests were sometimes” 12. About the diligence shown by the peasants in building churches and schools, the report of Mr. Kulomzin says the following: “Of the 12 churches being built within the Tobolsk province at the expense of the Siberian Committee and private benefactors, I was able to personally visit 10 churches and in addition 10 schools. Church construction work on the initiative of the former Tobolsk governor D.S. With. Bogdanovich is here in the safe hands of peasant officials devoted to him with all their souls: Ikonnikov, Velichkovsky, Nizovets, Marepschild, Honore, Kazarikov and Kalachev... There was a lot of work in finding materials, such as bricks, timber, and lime. We had to build brick factories, float and transport timber from afar, and take advantage of all possible circumstances to reduce the cost of buildings. However, the rapid completion of these buildings would not have been possible if the peasants themselves had not taken an outstanding part in the construction work: timber material for the church was carried out not only by new settlers, but also by old-timers. The extent to which the zeal of the settlers reached can be seen from the fact that in one of the villages (Novo-Rozhdestvenskoye) they carried materials for the church with such zeal that they missed the time to remove the timber assigned to them for their own buildings. The peasants of the village of Demyanovskoye have been taking time off from field work all this summer to deliver the timber they need for the church. The joyful faces of the new settlers, who convincingly asked me to lay at the feet of His Majesty their most loyal gratitude for the help provided to them in the construction of churches, always expressed deep emotional excitement; while inspecting the churches under construction in the villages of Novo-Arkhangelskoye and Demyanovskoye, choirs made up of new settlers suddenly filled the vaults of the not yet consecrated buildings with church chants 13 . Church construction and the creation of schools in the Akmola region are of outstanding importance. Here the Russian population has settled so far only in the form of rare oases among the country occupied by the Mohammedan nomadic population... The local governor, Lieutenant General Sannikov, experienced in the art of construction, took up the task of creating a whole network of churches and schools here. For 47,000 rub. allocated to him by the Committee of the Siberian Railway and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and from private donations, he began the simultaneous construction of 25 churches and a school at each of them. I was able to personally see 12 churches out of this number; here, as in the Tobolsk province, churches under the leadership of administrative district leaders are created thanks to the live participation of the immigrants themselves. New settlers who have barely settled, who have not yet established their own economy, with self-forgetfulness, transport the necessary timber 80–150 or more miles, deliver stone for the foundations of churches and carry out other work. Within the Yenisei province, assistance has so far been provided for the construction of only one church in the village of Novo-Berezovsky, Minusinsk district. Here, a recently emerged settlement, consisting almost exclusively of Nizhny Novgorod residents, independently set about building a church costing no less than 10,000 rubles. To finish the church, 3,000 rubles were allocated from private donations. and it is expected to provide some more assistance. The peasants were so carried away by this good cause that when they had a bad harvest, in their worries about the church, they forgot about their farming and even somewhat shook their well-being. In general, within the four Siberian provinces and the Akmola region, 56 churches and 36 schools are being built with funds from the Siberian Committee and voluntary donations; with them, 3 churches and 8 schools are being built at the expense of Archpriest Fr. Ioann Sergiev... The need for churches and schools in Siberia, one can safely say, is limitless 14. It should be limitless in the western and other outlying areas of Russia, just as the growth of new and new members of the Orthodox Church should be limitless. Perhaps a larger number of churches, sufficient for believers to unhinderedly satisfy their demands for religious communication, is a matter of necessity in the Orthodox Church. For it is no longer in the order of church life if an Orthodox Christian does not have the opportunity to attend the liturgy every Sunday; not in the order of church life, even if the private circumstances of life - birthdays, funeral services, the memory of the deceased, for more or less a long time, are not consecrated with the blessing of the church beyond the distance of the church. In view of this, in our opinion, more space than is currently given should be given to private initiative in the construction of churches and the requirements for the construction of churches set out in the Charter of Spiritual Consistories, Art. 46. ​​Let us remember how in ancient Rus' the construction of churches was carried out simply and quickly. A far from numerous society of peasants, and sometimes even townspeople, completely on their own initiative, having made a promise to build a church of God, began to tear down the forest in unison and, having built it, went to the bishop to ask both for the consecration of the new church and for the ordination of their chosen ones as priest and clerk, so that the new church would not remain “without singing.” And then a “parish” arose, which then continued to exist for centuries. But in the present case we are not talking about the formation of new parishes, but about the multiplication of only the churches affiliated to the parish. Why not allow the construction of the simplest church buildings, following the example of ancient “ordinary” churches? Private personal initiative means a lot: despite its simplicity and poverty, such a church is sacred and dear as a voluntary sacrifice, as a deed pleasing to God and dedicated to Him. The relative poverty or fragility of the building should also not serve as an obstacle in this case, where it is a matter of satisfying a high religious and, at that, proper need. The Orthodox rite of Divine service is edifying both in a wretched peasant’s hut with a smoking torch illuminating it, and in a poor Yakut yurt, and is not at all necessarily associated with the shine of gold and marble. Regimental camp churches are currently far from distinguished by their wealth, but who would dare to deny the feeling of deep reverence and edification that those who pray from them take away?! We think that for many native inhabitants of the Yakut region, who now do not see the church of God for thousands of miles, a wooden church, built, for example, by Vologda carpenters without any ornaments, even in the form of carvings, will seem like a palace in comparison with their miserable own homes. We further think that the church as a building, with all its simplicity and poverty of architecture and ornamentation (as long as it has the necessary sections for worship of the altar, church, vestibule and sacristy), should have an exclusively liturgical purpose: only in this case will it forever retain its sacred character in the eyes of the people. As a result, it seems to us far from desirable to repeat such a newly invented type of Orthodox church, as depicted in the description published in the November book of Public Education for last year, pp. 137–138. In the Ekaterinoslav diocese - we read here - Bakhmut district, in the Petromaryinsky coal mine, a church-school 15 was recently built with the following structure: a two-story building; The school with an apartment for the teacher is located on the ground floor. and the church is at the top. The school is located so that under the porch there is a vestibule and an antechamber for students (on the north side); under the middle part of the church there is the front entrance (also on the north side), a kitchen, a room for school servants, a pantry, two classrooms and a teacher’s bedroom; under the altar is the teacher’s hall. The entrance to the church is along a stone staircase, starting and ending at the door of the narthex with a square platform. Both in church and in school, things from small to great have grace and beauty, which evokes a kind of solemn and joyful mood of spirit on visitors.” – We willingly believe the last remark; but still, there is no doubt that in the opinion of our ordinary pilgrims, the church and the teacher’s apartment, connected in one building, confuse each other in many respects... But let this not be a condemnation of the venerable church builders. On the contrary, their cause, like the cause of the management of the Krenholm manufactory, is a great cause and very gratifying for Russian self-consciousness. In the so-called “labor question”, in such matters the Russian state is sharply different and ahead of cultural Western states. May we be allowed to see in this the victorious march of Orthodoxy in its hitherto narrow and cramped path... Over the past six months, the Russian hierarchy suffered the loss of three bishops through the blessed death: His Eminence Dionysius, Bishop of Ufa and Menzelinsky (September 8), His Eminence Sava, Archbishop of Tver and Kashin (Oct 13) and His Eminence Nicholas, Bishop of Orenburg and Ural (Oct 29). The first two of these hierarchs, with their longevity and prolific episcopal service and high moral character, earned themselves a long, glorious memory, and their death evoked sincere tears of sorrow and gratitude from their flock. So about the Right Reverend Dionysius, the local diocesan body placed the following, among other things, dates: “The first alarming telegram about the poor state of health of the bishop was received on September 6, then several others on the 7th, and finally the last fatal one was received on the night of September 8 and at midnight, among the peaceful sleep of the citizens of Ufa, the soul-stricken, sad ringing of the cathedral bell was suddenly heard - and thus announced to the whole city about the death of his beloved archpastor, valiant warrior in the field of Christ for the Orthodox faith. More than one fervent prayer was raised at this midnight hour and many burning tears were shed from people close to the deceased Vladyka, and even more so with the onset of the morning at the funeral liturgy, when the name of the Vladyka was pronounced at the litanies for the repose of his soul and at the memorial service, when with earthly worship the whole church sang: “Eternal memory.” We cannot speak without tears, and we cannot forget the ever-memorable Vladyka. His image is presented to us, the image of a bright, righteous soul and long-suffering heart. And again, “eternal memory” to him throughout the generations for the abundance of good seeds sown by him in the field of Christ, which in due time will ripen and bear great enlightening fruit among the foggy Islam and hopeless paganism of the local (Ufa) region. We are deeply convinced that in the near future, in all the dark corners of the Ufa diocese, the light of Christ will shine and illuminate hearts with faith and love for the Lord Jesus. We bow before the ashes of the saint of God and tearfully pray and beseech those who are unworthy to offer up their prayers for us before the throne of the Heavenly King." 16 The following lines from the same diocesan body can serve as a fairly vivid description of the missionary exploits of the blessedly deceased hierarch: “For 43 years, the Most Reverend Dionysius labored among the Siberian foreigners, first in the rank of priest, and then in the rank of bishop. How difficult it was for the Vladyka to serve amid 50 0 frosts, deep snows and impassable tundras with myriads of insects, this is described in detail in the anniversary celebration of the Vladyka. Here we will quote the story of the Lord himself that we heard: “The frost takes your breath away, somehow you get to the yurt on dogs or reindeer, light a fire to warm up, warm your hands, face, stomach, but your back freezes, turn your back to the fire - your hands and face freeze. Finally, the yurt becomes unbearably stuffy and smoky from the smoke. If you go out, you’ll just sit in the cold all night.” The missionary’s lot is not easy under such conditions and thousands of spaces with a distance from one point to another. Nevertheless, His Grace Dionysius became so comfortable with the foreigners of the Yakut region that he compiled a grammar for them and taught them the truths of the Christian faith in their native language. For this purpose, in 1857 he was sent to Moscow, under his supervision and editorship, grammar and liturgical books and everything needed for the education of the Yakuts and the success of the mission among them were published in the Yakut language. On July 19, 1859, the first divine service was performed in the Yakut Trinity Cathedral in the Yakut language. There was no end to the joy of the foreigners” 17. His Eminence Savva, one of the most learned hierarchs of the Russian Church, earned himself high respect in the scientific world for his scholarly works, independent and published, and was an honorary member of various learned corporations and societies. At the same time, he was one of the active bishops in diocesan administration, who knew how to combine both administrative firmness and love in his relations with the governed and the flock. We personally heard the most sincere reviews about these qualities from those he ruled and his flock... So we consider the following words about him, speeches spoken about him, already deceased, not at all exaggerated: “We, who stood closer to you than others due to our official duties,” said the speaker, a member of the Consistory, “we boldly affirm that everywhere we saw only the beautiful, admirable features of your moral character: and they will never, never be erased from our hearts. You were always serious, you took everything seriously. Wise with experience, you did not act rashly in anything, acting in everything with extreme caution, and moreover, calmly and without haste. A bright mind, clear thought, firm memory, solidity of convictions made us revere you. The advice and instructions that you generously provided to us who came to you at your invitation - these advice and instructions were always strictly precise and definitive. And we had nothing to do but follow them and use them” 18. But, however, we do not need to dwell long on the testimonies of others about the moral personality and episcopal activity of this hierarch: they will reveal themselves to the readers of the Theological Bulletin from his autobiography, which is of great interest, printed in the appendix. The Moscow Theological Academy is especially indebted to this deeply enlightened hierarch, patron and zealot of theological science for his precious gift - a rich library, bequeathed to the property of the Academy by the deceased. May his memory be eternal, glorious and deeply grateful. The time of the bishopric of His Grace Nicholas, Bishop of Orenburg and Ural, covers only a five-year period (he was named Bishop of Aleutian and Alaska on June 8, 1891). The main feat of his life was missionary service in the Chinese mission. “In China, for almost 4 years, he took part in Chinese translations of church liturgical books, organized a choir of singers at the Beijing mission and worked on archival material on the history of Orthodox and heterodox missions in the Middle Empire. The result of these studies were his works on the history of the Beijing mission. For the main one he was awarded the degree of Master of Theology. 19 The untimely death of His Grace Nicholas deprived the Russian Church of one of its remarkable hierarchs. 20 Church Gazette No. 47. The meetings of the congress are described in detail in Church Gazette No. 44, article by Prof. Malyshevsky. Church Bulletin. 1896, No. 47: Chronicle of church and social life abroad. Wanderer, 1896, June-July, p. 270. Podolsk Diocesan Gazette 1896, No. 34, p. 707. Kholm-Warsaw Diocesan Bulletin 1896, No. 22, article: Tercentenary of the Brest Union in the coverage of the Russian Uniate. Church Bulletin 1896 No. 39. Church Gazette 1896, No. 48. Church Gazette No. 46. There are 1,947 churches in six Siberian dioceses, with one church per 3,700 souls and 5,732 square meters. versts. Recently, there has been a significant outflow of the Orthodox population from internal European provinces to Asian Russia. Hundreds of thousands of peasants rise from their homes and go mainly to Siberia, settling on its free lands among foreigners and people of other faiths.... In the vast region, hundreds of new Russian settlements arise every year, and dozens of churches, and here there are many such Russian settlements, in the circumference of which there is not a single church for hundreds of miles. Only occasionally do priests stop by for corrections.” Church Bulletin. l896, No. 15 Opinions and reviews. P.1478. Church Gazette 1876, No. 19. Church Gazette, 1896, No. 47. The combination of these two words, as we have heard, is a considerable temptation among common people, especially those instigated by schismatics. Shouldn't it be replaced with a combination more akin to the usual phrase, for example this: Teaching Church (in parallel to the expressions Hospital, Refectory Church). Ufa Diocesan Gazette. 1896, no. 18. Tver Diocesan Gazette. 1896, no. 21. Church Gazette 1896, No. 45. Church News 1896, No. 45.