New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-12-02
therefore, the I'm eror in wise the spirnsl cbisf
Of the Church, can be in any way decide or liter
ers with spiritual doupatie or strictly ecclesiastical


Of the Church nor can be in any way decide or liter
iere with spiritual dogtbatie or strictly ecclesiastical
disciplinary affairs. IN this respect sovereign Of
England Is more a chief Of bis Church than Russian
autocrat q his For instance the Gorham case, lately
decided in England by the sovereign or her council IN
Kuesa could never come ocially before the Emperor
With bis power notwithstanding its intensity, he sn
not touch spiritual theological questions. But IA
a.. other matters the clergy and the hierarchy are
wholly reduced TO DOthnRness and are totally suhect
TO the will Of the Gar Tbs common disciplinary de-
cFons Of the Synod must be submitted to The scye-
reign.
To avoid what the jealousy ofdegpotisn calls scan
dal. or rather 10 cut OF a cOntaninating influences
which might extend vther subjects, free dis
cussiCn Of any matter is reilly allowed TO the Church
The Bishops must be very crcupispec, and CARTONS
in their spiritual and adminstrats action They too
subject 10 the investigation of the secret police or
spies aid may thus easily be rIaed. Saared BY the
Government they kept in absolute subsection, and
these who too spirited receive either directly.
cretly, or officially, through the Synod, friendly
or emphatic admonitons. Any discussion about the
moral power, and influence Of the ChGrch looked
too likely and toe EASILY susceptible to 90 boyoad
bounds thus II is suspected rather prohibited. in
writing as we'll as sSee,h Even the pulpit, that
scsny resource of the Church, Is eaossly waite I'D
over. Thus neither Tho supreme metropolitan, aer
the humblest parson can move freely IN his own
element The mOnasteries under the same press
ure The choice or Selection of the Abbot (Igsnss
must be made by them agreeably 70 The whlns Of
Government. They are under control, as - ever
other corporation and sometimes are treated very
roughly and with great severity With all this tne
sovereign and the whole Official swarm show all the
tenal signs Of Difference 10 the Pope or BGHesa ~
a priest is commonly called
have said above that none, or scarcely any social
intercourse exists between the nobility and the clergy
Tie priests select their wives from among their
class, or from ayong the lower barghers orpeasar y
who not admitted into the society of even the
est nobility Thus the Clergy, being both N the ~
and in the country excluded from the palace anil tho
cbsteap, very naturally fall back upon the other
classes by whom they are treated with respectful
deferepce,
TIE clergy ere far from being satisfied with fbrm;ne
such limited caste For their children they wish very
for a more enlarged horizon from which they
are crowded out as much by the institutions of the
country by its conventional usage Tl'y are, very
dssected and dissatisfied and this dissatis
faction with the existing state ~ things. grows
stronger and stronger in proportion their oppression
and the aspiration for emancipation increase
The only full liberty protection and hrm support
enjoyed by the Clergy under the Goscrnment is in the
persecution of heretcs and dissenters from the or
thOdox church These various secarans have strong
vitality notwithstanding the pressure exercised upon
them. They are equally obnoxious 10 the Church,
ard 10 the Crown; they form various secs composed
of bmghers and peasants with very few mobiles. Some
of them do not believe in any regular clergy at alt aud
these are looked the worst others haze higher
hierarchy beyond their parsons; these are called
SforoeiertSg cid believers others icon0casts, and
st others have various names, DEhOborsy, inspired
Naiakany S.0pfsy ec' They most generally quiet
and active people, but very ianatca Temperate aud
abtemioUs most OF them use spurious liquors what
cver they are thus in good circumstances. by the
law they are excluded from holding elective offices in
municipal or rural communes. where they live mixed
with the orthodox. They really must Ne looked upon
as forming the only true Independents in Russia since
TO their religious id they Join those of political ill.,
dependence Their political notions are republican.
and the Gar as well the nobility, Is odious to them
they are principally averse to the military service
Dispersed and scattered through the Empire they find
the people more tolerant towards them than the Gov
eminent They thus maintain continual social fer
mentation, whose activity is increasing, and may ec
quire a high in portanee in future emergencies.
From all this il results that neither religion IN ITSELF
nor the State Church and Clergy, form such strong
holds and props Of absoutsm, and OF the division into
castles in Russia is perhaps the in other coun
tries Of Europe On the contrary, the clergy and above
all tie monks are rather menacng clond on the au
ocratic horizon, aud the autocracy il aware of this
fact Not that it can be expected that the initiative
of general emancipation will issue from the order
of the priesthood but whenever it shall come, tho
CLERGY will rather foster than oppose it, provided that
it bear what is beyond doubt, national char
acter