Arizona republican., 1911-12-25

council of Empire in d shape greatly 1 ultierlng from the version passed by | the Duma, and with amendments linn lung somewhat the operation of the principle of equality of religions. it is generally recognized that that prin-
 clple has been satisfactorily sustained i by the upper chamber The bill em- bodies in fit legislative form this prin-
 clple of equality of religions. or of
 liberty of conscience. as proclaimed by | imperial manifesto on April 30, 1905 | which was the forerunner of the Oct
 ober manifesto.
 ! The object of the manifesto was to
 remove the administrative ban upon
 conversions from Charlottesville state
 religion of Russia-to other Christian
 or non-Christian sects. Thirty to forty | thousand nOn- -Russians in the prov-
 lhces of kazan. Simbirsk. and Penza
 returned from Christianity 10 Mo-
 hammedanism and other beliefs in virtue of the right granted bv the
 manifesto. Nearly half million ex- | catholics and eX-Uniates Limited Greeks) who had joined the state
 church under cOmpulsion. at various
 periods of violent Classification. re-
 turned to the fold of the Catholic church Tn virtue of the same right. ana hDerty of passing from one de- nomination to another was taken ad-
 vantage of by all who had felt op- pressed in their religious convictions. The bill deals only with the passage
 from one Christian confession to an-
 other. or from a non- Christian confess sion tO :. Christian IT
 possibility of back sliding from Chris
 tianity. tacitly leaving in force. how
 ever. the paragraph of the manifesto
 giving such unwilling Christians
 chance to escape from it. As the par
 agraphs of the Criminal Code impos-
 ing penalty for defections from Or
 thodoXy were repealed in 1906. the
 situation leaves any Russian subject
 free to follow his religious ideas
 though the state takes cogniZance only
 of declarations of adherence to any one of the constituted Christian con
 gregations.
 These include practically any form of Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant non- conformity. the only requirement. being that the believers shall compose a congregation regularly organized and duly registered bv tine provincial au- thorities, and thus empowered tn keep metrical books Oregisters of births, marriages and deaths). Amen lments providing that the state shall register conversions from Christianity to one of the non Christian religions were re- jected by the Council The view whcn obtained support was the one holding that Russia is q Christian country which man tolerate defections from the ranks of Christianity. bu- can not acknowledge them.
 The bill recognizes the unrestricted right of religious adherence only for persons q! age. Forty days must eIapse | @iter the formal declaration of T | change Of adherence iIom one church | - anot1rr before it can take effect. | Tut this term may be dsreSarded in | tbe case If persons stricken win ser | i"us Hines. Article five of the l-eas- l ure expressly declares that person | passing from ore rcnsion. confession | or creed tD another icts not suffer on | that accD;nt any restriction or ;i.rita- tiCn of lis or a.- personal or l,vil | a'iu pol teal rights i.efnrc tHc law. X fA' Ai'tifAf ttllus1E ttl fe- 1 P:ive deS-rters frc,r Christianity of | the right of hOidinS Siaia office. ac- | ct fred ," inherltei :ank. anJ "f eN- | crcising the right os jury. as well as | active an passive electoral right was | rejected by an overwhelming ma ioritv | e: :he Council.
 Tine most important provisions of | t'e bill deal "ith tho religious al Il ECTerce of persons under age Children | under fourteen remain :n the chlrch l wi''re they Were baptized. unless notn l ra erts or the s.ug'e living parent l pass from one sect to another Ir | that case they may follow their par ents or parent in the new set. if tha | elders desire it Children ger four | teaI' remain in tuoIr former faith. hut | r'ay join their parents oi single 'iv- | ing parents church witi their consent. "a case onlS on Cf the parents cnaE- ges their faith. children under twenty | one remain in the faith professed by 4 the other parent.
 Three important amendments pro posed by r. x. Durnovo. ex-Minister of the interior. and adopted by the Council. provide first that children over fourteen whose parents belong to non-C Christian or heather sect or creed may be converted 10 Christianity before they are of age; second, the children of such parents may be con VeIied to Orthodox Christianity even if they are younger than fourteen. with the consent of their parents, and third. that the consent of the parents may be dispensed with. for important reasons. with the Dermissinn of the Holy Synod in each case.
 The last amendment was adopted by the close vote of 73 to -. These three enable youn; Jews, Mo hamme dans and others (" embrace ChrislIanity without thsir parents Between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one this right includes any Christian denomination. Cn1e.t four teen it is confined solely tO the OrthO- ,;ox state church. either with or with ont the consent of the parents