Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-10

has prospered most is that OF the staro- |
vertzi, or Old Believers, most of whom live
they have amassed great wealth and own
most of the business part OF Moscow. They
are called Old Believers because they still
cling to the old-time religion of the Rus
SLAMS. The innovations introduced into the
church three centuries ago they refuse to
accept. When called old-fashioned they
reply that they are proud of remaining true
TO the past And In their social and domes-
tie life as well as their spiritual, they arc
averse to all things new. All eastern GUS
toms they regard as profane. Smoking
they abcmnate, and they can point TO the
Biblical chapter and verse which proves Z
that they are justified in their condemna-
ton OF tobacco smoke The verse they
quote is this: Not that which goeth into ,
the mouth defileth a man. but that which
cometh out" Potatoes. In their minds. are
the fruit of satan. Indeed. they aver that )
II was potato and not an apple which
| caused Eve to fall
The Old Believers obtained the founda-
! ton of their wealth two centuries ago as
the result OF a plague. On account of tho
services which they rendered the pubiio
when the city was stricken with pestilence
they Were rewarded with crtain grants Of
land. At the time they received title to this
real estate IL was in an out-of-the-w way
district and of little value At the present
time it is situated in the heart of the city
There are other Russian sects which MAIN
tain doctrines even fnilder than those OF the
conservative Starovertzi of Moscow. Yet
until recently they have been hunted from
province to province as IL they plotted the
assassination of the emperor. There are
the Sabatniki. or Sabbatarians who have
religion much the same as the Jews In
deed, the sect was founded by a Hebrew,
Zacharias of kiev. who preached that the
Old Testament was the only inspired part
of the Bible; that the seventh day was the
day of rest, and in time there would come
an earthly Messiah The Sabatkini have
been religious factor in Russia ever since
1910
All that Hunger Demands.
Another harmless group of dissenters is
that of the Malakanes. milk drinkers.
AS the Duchobortzi take up arms against
the Icon, so the Malakanes rebel against
the fast days imposed by the orthodox
church. While not disputng the sacredness
of these days. they nevertheless argue that
the body demands nourishment just as
much on one day as another and that the
severe mandates of the church prohibiting
the taking of any food whatsoever on fast
days, except by young children, is an Of
Tense to God, because it Injuries the body
he has made Accordingly, the Malakanes,
when Others go entirely without food drink
all the ''malako" or milk that their hunger
demands.
If the Malakanes, however had confined
their religious activity merely TO the milk
question they would have had far less to
worry about. Ever since 1893 members
of this sect have been waiting for the mill
II.
OF their leaders, announced that he was no
other than Elias and that in thirty months
the millennium would arrive. When the day
OF which he had prophesed came he went
up on a high cliff to ascend to heaven in
chariot of fire. But. though instead of
going up, this modern prophet fell down
and nearly killed himself. the Malakanes
are still looking forward to the coming of
an Utopan era.
Most quiet of all Russian sects is that OF
the Bezslovestni, who on becoming menu
n of tfar
lence for the rest OF their lives The Beg
slovestni, however, in spite of their appar-
ent inoffensiveness. were cruelty prosecuted
In the reign of Catharine ii. On one of her
journeys she Glanced to meet one of these
silent religionfsts and to ask him the way.
obtaining no answer. she had him fiogged
on the spot The knout brought out not a
word. Thereupon the mute was thrown
into prison and tortured. Yet never a syl-
liable escaped his lips. IN have my re-
venge on the whole herd of them was
Catharnes utterance soon she heard
of the prisoners obstinacy, and at her
command officials of the government hunt
ed throughout the whole empire for Beg
sovestni and put them on the rack. Strange
as 1t may seem, no women have ever joined
this silent sect. !
In these days however, sects like the
speechless Bezslovestni are not the ones
which are worrying the Russian govern
ment. The problem with which the cars
officials are struggling is that of suppress
ing the more fanatical dissenters. such as
have already stirred up riot and bloodshed
in the Caucasus. Embossed by the inn
perial promise of government federation.
they have resorted to practices of barbario
fiendishness.
Christian Cannibals.
A sect of this sort is that of the Khlsti,
or fagellants, who believe not only in mu.
tilaton but also in kind of cam ballsm.
Their fiesh-eating rites have been variousy
described, but by one more graphically
than Baron Won HaXthausen, the German
writer. The baron visited Khlst Easter
feast, and his own words In telling of his
experience have been reprinted by John
Henry Blount in his History of Sects" as
follows:
'Qn this night the Khlsti assemble for a
great solemnity the worship of the Mother
of God. A girl whom they have induced
to submit by tempting promises is bound
and placed in tub warm water. Some
old women first cut off a part of her flesh
and staunch the blood in a wonderfully
short time. During the operation a mys-
teal picture of the Holy Spirit is put into
the victims hands In order that she may
be absorbed in regarding 1t. The flesh
which has been cut off is laid on plate
and sliced into small pieces, which are
eaten by all the members of the sect pres
ent. The girl in the tub is then raised upon
altar which stands near, and the whole
ing at the same time. The jumping grows
madden and madden till the lights are sud-
denly eXtinguished.
MY secretary was acquainted with one
of these girls, who were always afterward
regarded as sacred, and he said that at the
age of nineteen twenty they look like
women of fifty. They generally die before
their thirtieth year..
The Story Of Domestic Rebellion.