The Van Buren press. [volume] (Van Buren, Ark.) 1859-1914, 1896-11-28
RUSSIANS WoRsHIPANEW SAINT
,.,s pemalns said to BE Ineorruptibie ana
Revereneed by the Orthodox.


His Remains said to Be lneorfep'ipio an"
Revereneed by the Orthodox.
What orthodox Russians regard as
ereat event. and one which must nave
crrieps interest for Frenehmen, has
lust taken place at Ghernigoff, a Town Oh
about 3o. 900 inhabitants in south Kus-
sia. II is described by the Moscow cor
respondent of the London Standard us
"the officially sanctioned Invention OF
tbe ineorruptible remains OF Arch-
bishop Theodosius,' who died 2oo years
ago"
The Russian Greek church, he says
recognizes, in addition to the various
FERNS of relics familiar to the homah
Catholic faith. u symbol of higher sane
titv than any in the so-ealled "moshehl'
n word apparently signifying "(DiYine)
I.owern These 'smoshchi' are to be
found in all the principal churches
throughout the empire, and are the OBJ
iects of especial yeneration to all PHI
grims.
Every traveller in Russia will recall
having seen in the churches numper
of tombs, usually without lids, but Gov
cred with glass, through which may be
discerned the figure of man IN fich
1estments and covered, as rule, rom
head TO foot. The hands are usually
folded on the bosom, and portion OF
the RIGHT hand, with a round spot the
size of a shilling on the forehead, arc
left to appear through the coverings for
the devout to kiss as they murmur their
prayer to the sleeping saint that he WIZ
intercede fer them above. These ale
the "moshehi."
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
withstanding the quality of the earth
in which they lie, damp or dry, cold or
heated, may, even if exposed to the di-
rect action of atmospheric influence
above ground be divinely preserved
from any trace of corruption. The gar
ments of the dead almost. invariably,
and the collins sometimes, share in this
manifestation of indestructibility.
These "incorruptible remains are
very numerous throughout Russia, but
of late years few of them have been
found. as the holy synod and the em-
neror now cause more strict investiga
ton to be made into the details of each
ease than was the custom in former
DAYS. For it is not sufficient that these
remains should be found, after long
periods of interment, incorruptible, but
they must have manifested wonder
working powers.
The usual order of things is for some
deyout believer to see, generally in n
dream. the figure of saint. who bios
him search for his (the saints body in
a certain place. The body is taken up,
and miracles. chiefly of the healing
kind, at once begin and are carefully re-
corded. with such detail and eorrobora-
ton as seem proper to the local church
authorities On the spot. After longer
Of shorter lapse of time the clergy MAKE
application for the eanonization of their
saint and formal sanction for tie Tin
eenlion" of his ''ineorruptible remains
to the holy synod, which, if the proofs
md miracles are considered satisfac-
tory, advise the emperor TO accede Ia
the request. \ day is then appointed
pnd preparations are made for the great
event.
In the present instance the ceremonies
lasted five days and drew over a hun
dred thousand people to the little town
which is a long distance from any rail
way. A universal holiday for a week
was declared and two regiments of in
fantry, with two squadrons of Cossacks
we're dispatched to the spot to prevent
n possible recurrence Of the Moscow dis
aster. The services concluded on Sep.
tember 81, after a days prayer for
preparatory services. The "mosheh'
was carried to the cathedral at eight
o'clock in the evening, through crowds
of pilgrims, each of whom bore lighted
taper. AT the same hour services were
held and the bells rung in the Moscow
churches and throughout Russia.
! nv -fANNA1N HHRNiA IL put SEVERE
miraculous cures by the new saint
among the highest classes rs well as the
peasant pilgrims. The saint now lie.
in a silver sarcophague weighing owe,
800 pounds and valued at $4,000, TEis
is only one of the numerous and costly
offerings which were dispatched tC
Chernigotf for the great occasion.
The belief in these ''incorruptible re
mains" is peculiar to the orthodox Rus
sian faith. The "old believers and Other
dissenting Russian sects reject it ant
&; is not held. for example, by so nearl,
allied a faith as that Of the Armcnians
II is scarcely necessary to say that IL
these days not all, even of the orthodox
give full crcdence to this marvel. bu
the vast msss of the population are uu
doubtedly sincere in the deep venera
tion they pay to these extraordinar,
symbols Of the cars creed-N. Y
! Times.
Collapse of an Empire.
The probability of the collapse of tn,
Austrian empire before many years i.
great. The archduke, Franz Ferdi