Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-10
MYSTICAL RUSSIANS
Revival of the Queerest Old
Religious Sects.
EFFECT OF CARS EDICT
Hundreds Of Prosecuted Faiths Come
Out of Hiding.
THEY CARRY ON CANNIBALIsM
Gear Said to Regret Having Granted
So Full Measure of Re-
igious liberation.
THEY CARRY ON CANNIBALIsM
Written for The Star.

Written for The Star
America is regarded by some of its people
| as particularly productive of religious sects
And, indeed, it has given birth to a goodly
family of faiths, such as those of the Nor
mons, the Adventists. the Christian Scien-
| lists, the Dowieites, the Black Hebrews. the
Holy Rollers and the Holy Ghosters Yet
this country is not to be compared with
Russia as source of novel and varied
creeos. Out of mysterious Muscovy there
have emerged in the last eighteen months
! more queer schisms than have sprung from
America since it's discovery. Since the car
promised religious liberty to his subjects
as an Easter gift last year multitude of
"raskolniki," or religious factions, have
arisen, coming to the light out of the seclu-
sion where they have hid from persecution.
Not a few of these sects were thought
| to have died long ago under the knout or in
exile, but they have reappeared all the
stronger as the consequence of repression.
Most of them reveal much that is pagan
In them seem to Turk the shadows of the
Dark Ages. Indeed, the car is said to
have regretted aving granted so fun n
measure of spiritual freedom, because as a
result the more fanatcal ''raskolniki'' have
revived many barbarous practices that have
maze them a menace to the communities
in which they live.
Blessed ones Burn.
Among several of the sects of Russia sui
eide is regarded as a virtue If committed
as a part Of religious ceremony. The
Morelstchiki, for example. believe that who
ever is willing to sacrifice his life in, the
sacred flames is certain of eternal happf-
ness In the life to come The most devout
adherentS of this faith meet in a retired
spot once year. and after digging a deep
pit they fill 1t full of dry wood and leaves.
When the infiammable mass has been set
on hre the most frenZied members of the
assemDiage join hands and in a great ring
they dance around the flames. AS the con-
Migration Increases in fury they leap higher
and higher. and all the time they try to
drown the roar of the flames with shrie,s
ana screams. Indeed, one might think that
the orgy belonged to some ancient age of
scandinavian paganism instead of being en-
acted IN the Christian era and in the heart
| of Christian nation. At last from sheer
| exhaustion, the dancers fall to the ground
and there they wait breathlessly for the
| fearful climax. For a time only the crack
ling of the flames is heard; then, while the
rest raise their faces to the sky in PRAYER
the blessed Ones" as they are called
spring to their feet and with shouts of de-
lirious JOY cast themselves into the fire.
Until recently the Morelstchiki have
sought to escape persecution by hiding in
| remote parts of Siberia, but since the Easter
ukase they have been returning to villages
around Moscow.
in self-immolation is known as the Philip
oftschins, having obtained their name from
Philip, monk who was the founder of their
faith. In some parts of Russia he is also
spoken of as the Saint of the Desert
Some Philipoftschns burn themselves. 9th
ers Starve themselves to death. Still others
among them believe that the most accept
able form of death in the eyes of God is be-
ing buried alive.
Peter Patron.
standardization is preferred to seIf-immo-
laton by the Shoptzi. They believe that
1t is more pleasing in the sight of heaven
for them to cut and hack themselves and
yet still live than suddenly to put them
selves out of the miseries of this life nv
committing suicide. Their patron saint is
Peter III, the murdered husband of Cath
arine and his picture is to be found in the
homes of all devout Shoptzi.1 In all the i'm
ages and portraits of Peter III he is rep
resented as wearing a blood-red handker-
chief tightly bound around the right knee
Peter is to return the true Messiah. saw
tie Shoptzi, and will summon ali the elect
by ringing the great bell of the Church of
the Ascension in Moscow. Many of the
rites OF tits sect would seem to indicate
that it was of foreign origin and had its
beginning among a seafaring people. The
Shoptzf are wont to call their church ship
and the world sea. The nautical turn of
their religion is also shown in their hymns
of which the following one is typical:
Hold together We crew
Let not the ship go down in the storm.
The Holy Ghost is with us.
Fear not the breakers the storm.
Our Father and Christ with
He will come. He will appear.
He will ring the great bell of the Upenski
He will call together the faithful crew.
He will set up masts that never fall.
He will spread sails that never tear
He will set a rudder which steers safely.
He casts anchor in secure harbor.
Now are landed"
In the opinion of the orthodox peasant.
however, no one of the dissenting sects
Is so accursed as that of the Duchobortzi,
or iconoclasts To the peasant who firmly
believes in the doctrines OF the cars church
the icon is almost sacred as the saint
which it represents To him it is a sort of
guardian angel. He always has one near
him, in his hut at home or in his tent on
the battlefield. On the other hand, the
Duchobortzi hate the icon as the work of
the devil. Whatever is material in the
Christian religion they reject. They do not
even believe that the deeds, recorded in the
Bible as having been performed by the
prophets or by Christ and His apostles
really happened. Everything that is men
toned in Holy Writ, they say, is symbol
CAL There was no real Cain, and the story
of his death they regard as merely a par
able Illustrative of the fate of the perse-
cutor of the true faith. Pharaoh and his
Egyptian followers did not actually perish
in the Red sea when in pursuit of the flee
ing Hebrews. Instead. this is merely a
story to picture the eventual defeat of satan
and the escape of humanity from his
temptations.
Wealthy Old Believers.
OF all the dissenting sects the one which