The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-11-05
RUSSIANS WORSHIP A NEW SAINT
HIS Remains Said to Be Incorrupti-
bic and Reverenced by the Or
thOH0x

what orthodox Russians regard as a
great event, and one which must have
a curious interest for Frenchmen has
just taken place at Chernigoff. a. town
or about 10000 inhabitants in South
| RUSSIA. 1t is described by the Moscow
correspondent Of the London Standard
| as the officially sanctioned Invention
| or the 1ncorruptible remains of Arch
bishop Theodosius.' who died 200 vaers
| ago.
The Russian Greek church. he saws
recognizes, in addition to the various
Torms of relies familiar to the Roman
Cathoilc faith, symbol of higher sane
uty than any in the so-called "mosh-
chi, word apparently signifying
(Dlvlne) power" These "moshchi''
are TO be found in all the principal
churches throughout the empire. and
are the objects of especial generation
to all pilgrims.
Every traveller in Russia will recall
having seen in the churches a number
OF tombs, usually without lids, but COW
ered with glass, through which may be
ulScerned the figure of q man in rich
Vestments and covered, as rule. from
neao TO 1901. The hands are usually
IOIded on the bosom, and a portion Of
the right hand, with round spot the
SIZE OF shilling on the forehead, are
lett TO appear through the coverings
Tor the devout to kiss as they murnur
their prayer to the sleeping saint that
ne will intercede for them above
These are the 'moshchi''
The Russian church teaches that ,,o,,x,
holy men. during life, may become the
means OF divine proof of the truth of
Christianity after death by the fact
that the corp6es of SUCH however long
they have remained under ground. and
notwithstanding the quality Of the
earth IN which they die, damp or drv
cold or heated, may, even If exnosed
70 the direct action of atmospheric in
huence above ground, be divinely pre-
served from any trace of corruption
Inc garments Of the dead almost invar-
1ably, and the collins sometimes. share
IN this manifestation Of indestructi-
bility. y w
These 'incorruptible remains" are
very numerous throughout Russia hnt
of late years few Of them have heen
found, as The holy synod and the en-
peror now cause more strict inyesti
cation to be made into the details of
each case than was the custom In
former days. For it is not sufficient
tnat these remains should be found
AFTER long periods Of interment, incor-
ruptible but they must have manifest
ed woodworking powers.
me usual order Of things Is for
some deVout believer to see, generally
in a dream. the figure of a. saint who
o1ds him search for his (the saint s.
pody IN certain place. The body is
taken up, and miracles, chiefly of tha
healing kind, at once begin and are
| carefully recorded. with such detail
ana confederation as seem proper to
the local church authorities ON the
srot. After longer or shorter lapse
of time the clergy made application
FOR the canonization Of their saint and
o+i0 20,
OF his 'incorruptible remains" to the
holy synod, which, if the proofs and
miracles are considered satisfactory.
advise the emperor to accede to the
request day is then appointed and
preparations are made for the great
| event
In the present instance the cere-
| monies lasted five days and drew over
| hundred thousand people to the little
town, which is long distance from
any railway. A universal holiday for
a week was declared and two regi-
ments of Infantry, with two squad
rons of Cossacks, were DISPATCHED to
the spot to prevent a possible recur-
renee of the Moscow disaster. The
/ services concluded on Sept q, after a
days prayer for preparatory services.
The ''moshchi' was carried to the
cathedral at o'clock in the evening.
| through crowds of pilgrims, each of
same hour services were held and the
| bells rung in the Moscow churches
and throughout Russia
| The Moscow papers report several
| miraculous cures by the new saint
among the highest classes as well as
| the peasant pilgrims. The saint now
| lies in a silver sarcophague weighing
over 300 pounds and valued at 500. 900.
! This is only one of the numerous and
| costly offerings which were dispatched
| to Chernigoff for the great occasion
| The belief in these "incorruptible re-
mains" is peculiar to the orthodox
| Russian faith. The "old believers" and
| other dissenting Russian sects reject
| 1t and it is not held. for example, by
SO nearly allied faith as that Of the
Armenians 1t is scarcely necessary to
say that in these days not all. even of
| the orthodox, give full credence to this
| marvel, but the vast mass Of the popu-
lation are undoubtedly sincere in the
| deep veneration they pay to these
extraordinary symbols of the cars
| creed.