The Irish standard., 1891-04-25

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he related an Incident that had occurred
in St. Petersburg but short tirae be-
fore my interview. Father W., a
brother Dominican. is religious in
structor in eight schools III St. Peters
burg. He speaks several languages and
having to do with cosmopolitan set
of students, he used his polyglot &C
com plishments to the best advantage
| in their interests With the French
hoy who, knew little of any other
| tongue, the teacher would Of course get
| on better in French; with the German
student. in German. etc, Father VI
having keener eye to the advance
ment of his charges than his own per-
sonal safety, did not even stop at using
Polish in his intercourse with students
who could understand him better in
that language, geough we'll aware that
the use OF Polish IN the schools is for
hidden under severe penalties
Somehow Une police got wind OF what
was going on. and at midnight, in the
Marine school, On Vasili Ostroff, was
heard the ali 10 familiar command to
open, ''ln the name of the Gar" A
nocturnal descent was made on the
school by the secret police. THIS stu
dents were ali tumbted out Of their beds
and questioned in regard to Father
VS. alleged use Of Polish. Be-
tween midnight and morning each of
the other seven schools were il turn
visited in like manner.
The boys were trumps,' said Father
T.. mot a boy in any of the schools
would confess that their tutor had made
use of the interdictsd language"
A sore thorn in the side of ecclesias,
tical authorities of Russia is the ques-.
tion of confessing the Unitas. The
Unitas are the offspring of the attempt
made at the council of Florence to
unite the long-estraBged Eastern and
Western churches. The Orthodox
Greeks claim that their representa-
tives at the council sold them and have
refused to recognize She right Of the
Unitas to 90 to confession to a Catholic
priest.
Mr.. PObedonestzeff, the procureur of
the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Greek
church, and--son1a say NOT excepting
even the CZar--the most powerful and
influential psrson in r lssla, isl "a sort of
nineteenth century lpquisitOr. IF the
spirit Of the age would permit him to
do so. he would probably ba burning
heretics at the stake on the Champs do
Mars of St. Petersburg. Or tying them
in sacks ard poking them down through
holes in the ice On the Neva. He Is
understood to ba the prime moving
spirit in the present reactionary move
ment that is going On in Russia and to
WELD a pernic Gus influence over the
Gar, whose power he turns into an in
strument of punishment against his ad-
versalies He is peculiarly determined
on the question of the Un1ats. whom
he persists in treating as legally Ortho-
dox members Of the state church,
whether they will or no.
Al Catholic churches. where 1t is sus-
pected that Uniats are in the habit Of
going to confession, policemen are STA
toned at the door, with authority to
demand Of all who would enter, pass
port proving that they are Catholics and
not Uniats or Orthodox. The priests
are also required to SEQ the passports of
those who come to them to confess. and
if they confess Uniat Or an Orthodox,
the penalty is Siberia Or the punish
ment monastery of Aglonis.
AgIonis is monastery in d Wretched
ly poor. out of-the world district, a few
hours from Petersburg, where the
monks are IN rags and tatters and bare
" manage to keep themselves from
starving. Recalcitrant Catholic priests
who are not sent TO Siberia are COM
pelied to take up their quarters in AL
,onia, where they lead a wretched ex
stence, subjected to all manner Of an
loying Inconvenience. Among the |
inmates at present is Father Leonard |
zidjik of Lublin. Poland, who was sent |
here for the crime of c0nfessing a
Uniat. For some time he has been suf
'ering with dangerous throat disease
md has begged permission to go to st.
Petersburg for treatment. His requests
nave always been refused.
In st. Petersburg the spirit of perse-
,utlon Is, of course, less brutally naked |
han in the provinces. ST. Petersburg
8 only half Russian IN outward and
7isible particulars, and there the au
horities never forget that all Europe is
ooKing on Here the Orthodox inquis-
tion contents itself with sending spies
% the Catholic and Protestant churches
20 listen to the sermons and to
carefully watching the priests and
parsons in the hope of catching |
hem tripping within the letter Of the |
aW.