The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-05-22
TOLsToI ATTACKS CHURCH.
Says Greek Orthodoxy Teaches SUI
persfition and Wftchcraft.
From the Philadelphia RECORD

FROM the Philadelphla Record.
Paris. May 1s.-Count, LIE Tolstoi. the
famous Russian author and reformer,
who was recently excommunicated by the
Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox
suffering from hepatical pains.
The Russian government has ordered
that all kilograms addressed to Tolstoi
be intercepted.
Count Tolstoi has replied to the writ
of accommodation launched at him by
the Holy Eynod He starts by quoting Cole
ridge: He who begins by having Chris
tianity better than truth will proceed by
loving his own sect or church better than
Christianity, and end in loving himself
better than all" That, Tolstoi contends
is exactly the position of his assailants.
He himself has pursued the contrary
course.
Il began by loving the Orthodox Church
more than myself; then l loved Chris
tianity more than the Orthodox Church;
now L love truth more than all else"
accommodation Is Illegal.
He says the writ of communication
is illegal, arbitrary. unjustihable, men
dacious, libelous and calculated to pro-
mote evil sentiments and unworthy deeds;
that its issue has already so stirred the
hatred of bigots that he is daily threat
ened with assassination.
Il have renounced the church that calls
Itself Orthodox" he continues, because
wished to serve God. l followed every
precept of the church and am now con-
WINGED that it's teaching is, theoretically.
an astute and noxious lie, and, practical
ly mixture of gross superstition and
WitChCraft That c WI cd ~a-
quest in my will that no priest should
be allowed to approach my body.
Yes, it is true, 1 deny an incompre-
hensible trinity, and the fable regarding
the fall of man, which is absurd in our
days. 1t is true, deny the sacrligious
story of a God born of a virgin to re-
deem the human race. But God-spirit,
God-love, God the sole principle of all
things do not deny. 1 believe in eter-
nal life, and I believe that man is re-
warded according to his deeds here and
everywhere, now and forever.
Denies All the Sacraments.
1T is said 1 deny all the Sacraments
That is perfectly correct. The marriage
of divorced persons seems to me .n for
NAL contradiction with evangelic teaching
Periodical forgiveness of sins encourages
immortality.
The teaching of Christ is disfgured
transformed into crosses sorcery-ablu-
ton, JUNCTION, movements of the body, in
carnations deglutition of pieces of bread
all of which has nothing to do with that
teaching which only commands men to
love one another, not to render bad for
evil, not to judge others, not to kill.
Yet those who make a business of lies
declare in their books, their newspa pers
and their catechisms that Christ never
forbade swearing 0aking the OATH; that
he never forbade murder Capital punish
ment and war;, and that the doctrine of
non-resistance to evil is an invention, a
Satanic ruse of the enemies of Christ
They behave like the brigand who muir
dered a whole family of five or six per-
sons in order to steal an old clock and 40
kopeks.
IF Christ could come back he would
sweep them out with their ikoms and
other instruments of witchcraft
Il believe that the will of God was
never so clearly, so precisely explained
as in the doctrine of the man Christ; but
one cannot regard Christ as God and Of
fer prayers to Him without committing
the greatest sacrilege. If another doc
trine were to arise that satisfied me bet
ter l should not hesitate to adopt it, for
nothing matters to Goo but truth"