The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1896-11-07
RUSSIANS Worship NEW SAINT
His Remains Said to Bc Incorruptible and
Reverenced by the Orthodox.

Rcverenced by the Orthodox.
What orthodox Russians regard as a
great event. and one which must have
n curious interest for Frenchmen, has
Just taken place at Chernigoff. town Of
about 10000 inhabitants in soE.h Rus
sis. 1t is described by the Moscow cor
respondent of the London Standard as
"the officially sanctioned invention of
the incorruptible remains of Arch
bishop Theodosius,' who died 200 years
ago"
The Russian Greek church, he says,
recognizes, in addition to the various
forms of relics familiar to the Roman
Catholic faith, symbol of higher sane
tity thnn any in the so-called "moshchi,'
word apparently signifying " CDivine)
lower" These 'moshchi" are 10 b.
found in all the principal churches
throughout the empire. and are the OBJ
jects of especial veneration to all pill
grims.
Every traveller in Russia will recall
| having seen in the churches a number
of tombs. usually without lids, but Gov
cred with glass, through which may he
| discerned the figure of man in rich
,estments and covered. as rule. from
| head to foot The hands are usually
folded on the bosom, and portion OF
the right hand, with round spot the
size of a shilling on the forehead, are
left to appear through tho coverings for
the devout to kiss rs they murmur their
| prayer TO the sleeping saint that he will
| intcrcede for them above. These are
| the "moShchi."
| The Russian church teaches that very
holy men. during life, may become tue
| means of divine proof of the truths of
| Christianity after death by the fact that
! the corpSes of such. however long they
! have remained underground, and not
withstandng the quality of the earth
in which they lie, damp or dry. cold or
heated. may, even if exposed TO the di-
lcct action of atmospheric influence
above ground, he divinely preserved
from any trace of corruption. The gar
ments of the dead almost invariably,
and the collins sometimes. share in this
manifestation Of indestructibiiity.
These ''incorruptible remains" arc
very numerous throughout Russia. but
of late years few of them have been
found. rs the holy synod and the EN-
peror now cause more strict invcstiga
ton TO be made into The details OF each
case than Tas the custom in former
days. For il is not sufficient that thes"
remains should be found. after long
periods Of intermcnt. incorruptbie. but
they must have manifested wonder
working powers.
The usual order of things is for some
dcvout believer 10 see, generally in n
dream. the figure of n saint. who bid;
him search Tor his (the saint's) body in
certain 1iacc. The body is taken up.
and miracles. chiefly Of the healing
Kind, ut on"e begin and are carefully r..
corded, with such detail and corrobora-
ton as seem proper 10 the local church
authorities on the spot. After longer
OF shorter lapse Of time the clergy make
application FOR the canonization Of their
saint and formal sanction for the lin
ven'ion" of his "incorruptiblc remains"
to the holy synod, which. il the proofs
and miracles are considered satisfac
tory, advise the emperor to acr1de ~
the request. \ day Is then appointed
and preparations are made for the great
event.
In the present instance the ceremonies
lasted five days and drew over hum
drcd thousand people to the little town,
which is long distance from any rail
way. \ universal holiday for week
was declared and two regiments OF IN
1antiy. with two Squadrors Of CoSsacks
were dispatched To the spot to prevent
possible recurrence of the Moscow dis.
astcr. The services concluded on Sep
TENDER 81. after days prayer for
preparatory services. The "mo>hchi'
was carried TO the cathedral AT eight
az riIuri,,s b,r, l,or, 4, Ii,rb,,l
,a, q. 49,. 80, 49,. s,,,.,.;.,,,.'N''