The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-07-11

the Sects-Banishment of Leading Priest
Of the Koptxy-The Societies Still Wrapped
In Comparative Mystery.
PARGoLovo Russia, June 10, 1862
We have had trial going on from the beginning
OF the present year, of which did speak to you
until now, when 1t is ended, because I thought 1t
would seem OF more interest to your readers as q
whole than piecemeal, the more that 1t concerns
an aspect OF Russian popular lie perhaps not very
widely known to your readers and which Will make
an Introductory explanation imperativey necessary
The parties concerned are members OF one OF our
strangest and most abnormal religious sects-the
Skoptzy.
do not believe have ever yet approached in my
letters the subject Of our religious dissdents and
sectarians, aud yet 1t is one OF the most inter-
esting and important ones in Russian ancient
and modern history. / have purpOsely drawn a
distinction between 'dissidentsv and ''sectarians"
The former, very numerous and influential In
the lower and merchant classes belong to the identi
cal Greek orthodox faith, which we profess, and
only differ more or less substantially from the gen.
eral officially acknowledged form Of worship and
dogmas few more or less important questions,
manly Of detail; the latter, much less numerous
fortunately much more secret much less tolerated.
have nothing in common with the orthodox church,
save the external practices besides which they
jealousy keep up other hidden ones. Partly from
Ignorance partly from reasons OF policy they assert
that they adhere strictly to the general orthodox
religion and in corroboration thereof regularly
tend church service observe all the lasts, &c. But
that is in public. In private they have their own
religious meetings, wherein the widest dogmata
are eXpounded, in a peculiar mystical Ian
guage, Ineligible TO none but the initiated
and those lovers OF religious and philosophical in
quiry who have made 1t tine study Of life to pene-
trate their mysteres-a study not always unattended
with danger. These meetings are also the scene of
strange and sometimes atr0cious religious rites.
The difference which draw In this sense between
''dlssidents' and "sectarans may be rather appro-
priately illustrated from your own religious expe-
rience. The Presbyterans, Methodists, Anabaptists
and others may be considered dissenting members
Of one and the same Protestant Church: but the
MormOns OF Salt Lake, the Communicates OF
Oneida and the Shakers of Mount Lebanon would
hardly be acknowledged as such by the great
fathers OF Observation-Disclosures ana Calvin
though they pretend to hold the same funda.
mental doctrines, and, like our own 'sectarians'
lin any Of the word), point to the Scriptures
and find in them justification OF their widest
1ancies. shall have early opportunity to give
you a concise sketch OF the origin and progress OF
sivey devoted to our two principal sects, the Cas-
trates and Chiysty, as the trial Of some OF their
members dor an imaginary offence, however, IL APP
pears, after ally AFFORDS me convenient occasion
for so doing.
The fact is that these two sccts are neither more
less than remnants of paganisn Christanized in
FORM OF course by the influence of the times From
this point OF view their widest tenets and religious
excuses are easily and logically explained Nor is
there anything at all Improbable or even as
aware Of the fact that the people were made
Christians of by the Sovereign's order abruptly
en- nsasse without any previous process of gradual
conversion and teaching. Christianity had not the
scarcely Been heard Of eScep by the eher casses
the men who had journeyed TO Constantinope, or
had fought the Greek empire and there shared or
Witnessed something like higher intellectual life.
The people, the real demonstrating, hunting, fishing
and ground uhng people, were and remained heath
ems IN the fervor and candor Of their ignorant
hearts, Creeds not thrown of in day or a
year either. On finding themselves obliged, under
worship, to destroy their idols, to discard
their heather priests and give themselves up to the
spiritual direction OF the Christian they naturally
cess of adaptation, or transformation OF their
heather ldetes ald rites into Christian. Some
OF the strangest and most tenacious popular super
stitions evidently have no other origin, and
the very Language affords the antiauary ample test
mony OF the fact. Slavonic mythology. being one Of
the Oldest Is exceedingly primitive, and Is mainly
confined to the personitlcaton OF natural phenome.
ma. The chief delies are the sum- the earth styled
motner-damp- earth), considered invariably as the
SUMS bride being fertilized by him. the winds, the
frost, the thunder. Now Christ rs the source OF all
good, very became identified with the sun. and
the Virgin Mary as the type OF holy motherhood
with mother earth. St. Nicholas, the saors' favorite
SAINT took the place OF the WIND god, and the Pro-
phet Elias probably In consideration OF his having
been lifted TO heaven on a fiery car was metamor-
phOsed INTO Per0un, the thunder god, and the popu
lar belief Is to this day that when hear the thun-
der rolling the prophet is driving and rafting about
the sky in his fiery car.
an not going to give you treatise on compared
mythology, ami the above Is sufficient as a hint
The prescribed heatnen priests necessarily changed
into wzai Dis and sorcerers, and retained their inlu
ence undated under this new aspect. They 1t was
IN great part, who kept tradition alive, and the
ancient rites retained their ground, as magical in
cantatons until they were ADOPTED as paris OF a
my slerious sort OF sOi-dsdnt Christian worship In
which even human sacrifices found some applca-
ton. You have heard OF female Chrlsis in your
gious annals; our ChIysfy had and Hil have only
male ones but the woman whom they honor with
their choice IA blind choice, however, under revolt
ing circumstances worthy OF the most desperate
bacchanalian with the putting out OF lights, &C.. at
prayer meeting after frantic, mystical dancing and
snglnQ) Is considered holy and worshpped as the
Mother OF God; the child That Is born of her Is
considered "litte Christi II ne be boy, and de-
vouty devoured under peculiar religious soiemn
ties They consider this feast the true mode Ut IN
terpretng Jesus instruction to His disciples to eat
His 1esh and drink HIS blood, and firmly believe that
Their ClrIsts and their offspring are real ones, true
and successive incarnatons OF the Son OF God. The
sls,er sect the Castrates, whose name sufficiently
dicates the substance Of their doctrine has come
pretty much by the same way to more Christian
form Of ascetism, which, however, has found vent
IN the hOrrid tenet OF standardization with view to
the ioils OF the devil MutilatIon Is moi condned to
men alone, but extends to women also in the form
OF such barbarous infections which mind recoils
from. They take their stand on the nineteenth
chapter OF Matthias, and cxpound IL In the sense of
sell humiliation.
These two sects could not but be highly obnoxious
to the government, and most OF both the latter
because the Cnysty had contrived until very tely
to keep the most monstrous Of their rites and
tenets an impenetrable mystery, and even now II Is
more from the uprihg indignation of private scl,O-
lars than from Official sources that the worst IA
known The sect suffered great and cruel persecution
ana OF course proportionatey increased Ia number
anu vehement conviction 1t is now some years,
however that gentler ana sounder policy prevails
with respect TO them. They are no longer perse.
cuted and punished unless II be proved that thes
have ried actively to propagate their dreadful creed
by force, persuasion or cnticement, pecuniary or
other. Ascribing 10 them any political harm is
notion mat mas long since been recognized to be
perfectly iantasiical ana wholly deprived OF founda.
tion until IN tue very last days Of 1868 an attempt
was made to revive the notion.
In tne government OF Iambor In the district
Town OF MorshansK, % locality more than once no.
a la III haa