Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1905-05-06
CARS EASTER GIFT
REAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM CON.
UPON HIS SUBJECTS.
A Historic Event of Highest Signif.
cance-Means Millions of Dollars in
Taxes Will Be Abolished to the Peas.
antry-Liberty of Conscience Has
Been Repeatedly Proclaimed.

st. Petersburg, May Real re-
ligious freedom, conferred upon his
subjects by Emperor Nicholas as an
Easter gift, is a historic event of the
highest significance, in comparison
with which the remission of millions
of dollars of taxes to the peasantry, a
long list of decorations and six pages
OF promotions of bureaucratic officials
are hardly worth comment.
Liberty of conscience has been re-
peatedly proclaimed, and Procurator
Pobedonossteff IN his famous reply to
the evangelical petition of 1888, con-
tended that it existed in the empire.
The fact is that as a trysting place all
religions have been tolerated in Rus
STA, but none has been allowed TO tres
pass upon the orthodox faith as
enunciated from the mosque that faces
the church on the Nevsky in st.
Petersburg. People were free to re-
main true to the religion of their faith
ers, but were forbidden to make prose
lytes. Everybody might enter. but
none might leave the orthodox church
without FORGETTING all civil rights in
Guiding the right to inherit crown
property, and in the train of that pol
icy, prosecutions of every conceivable
character were directed against the
RashOlniki or decedent sects, and es-
pecially the old believers. Among the
Raskolniki are numbered a thousand
and one queer and rustic heresies bred
of the great schism caused by reform
OF the ancient liturgy and augmented
by the suppression of the patriarchate
by Peter the Great
The old believers, who chung to the
old liturgy and made the sign of the
cross with three fingers instead of
two, were broken up into numerous
sects, some dscarding priests and sac
raments and some trending toward
free love and immoral practices, while
others instituted an episcopate and
priesthood of their own and dealt with
all innovations of the west as inven-
tons of the anti-Christians, eschewing
the coffee and sugar and considering
shaving wicked. The latter Survived
countless prosecutions for years with
out legal recognition, but nevertheless
became commercially the ablest class
in Russia, Morality and wealth were
the secrets of their strength
The humber dissenters have had a
much harder time, being hunted down
until secretly they gave rise to horde
of strange sects. The Studists and
Molkans of southern Russia, now the
principal nOnconformists, who might
be described as the Quakers of Russia.
have made tremendous progress in re-
cent years in spite of prosecutions
which often have driven them east
ward and made them pioneers of Rus
sian colonization. There are in all.
About 100000 of these dissidents.
The emperor's act will also affect
about 40000000 belonging to alien
faiths such as the Jews, Catholics and
Lutherans of Poland and the Baltic
provinces, the protestants of Finland
and the followers of Islam and Buddha
in the Urals, the Crimea, the eau
casus, Turkestan and Central Asia.
These figures are only approximate.
While the emperOr's approval of the
action of the committee of the minis
ters distinctly holds to orthodox as
the state religion and creates the
usual commission to work out manv
details in connection with the off
spring of mixed marriages during mi
nority, legitimization of marriages and
registration of deaths and births. it
also rescinds number of acts aimed
| specially at various religions and es-
tablishes the principle of absolute free
dom of worship and the right of every
Russian who becomes of age to
change his confession of his faith. It
also contemplates relief of Catholic
and Poles from the present vexatious
restrictions as to preaching the cate
chlsm, the Russian language, etc.
Logically, the emperor's action in
wolves a complete reversal of the Rus
sian policy of seeking national unity
In conquered provinces in religious
unity.
Easter Sunday, which is the occas-
sion in Russia of general inter
change of visits, both official and per-
sonal, and of generous hospitality.
passed off with entire quiet in st.
petersburg, and no disturbances in the
provinces have been reported.
The snake has one great protection
against assailants He appears IN ha