Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1914-06-18

SEMns WATERFOWL 2.
an Overwhelming majority already
prepared for priesthood do not wish
80 serve their Lords throne And
this Is repeated all over Russia. In
the Arkhangelsk diocese, out Of Isl
graduates only s became priests. that
is, one-third Of the number; In As
trakhan out Of Is. 4 IN Vladimir out
Of 75. 4: IN yologda out Of Az. s; In
vyatka ont Of 1876. in Irkutsk out Of
10, I; in Kazan out Of 50, { In Kali
uga out Of 81. s; in smolensk out Of
81, 2; in Tyer out of s8. II; N Toola
out OF 81, 2 and so forth.
sThis is an offensive and scandalous
attitude toward the church on the part
of the younger generation, which
draws Its life-blood from the clerical
caste and which has received an edu-
cation at the expense Of the church.
This conduct is dishonest, IL not
treacherous: to take everything from
the church, to eat Its bread for over
ten years, Z but as soon as the
course is finished. that is, after get.
ting the diploma, to desert their caste
in masses and become veterinary sur
geons and excise collectors.
Almost half the number Of priests are
men who have received no theologi-
cal education. For FIVE years (19o6
to 1910, in So dioceses there were or
dained 4,795 priests with and 4,125
without a theological education. :
In the Ufa diocese, for example, out
of l31 ordained only 81 were gradual.
ed from a seminary, and "a did not
attend at all. In 1910, out Of the "a
ordained priests only n graduated
from the seminary.
What is still more disgusting. there
are few religious people eve among
those who enter the priesthood. The
students Of the Moscow Theological
Seminary recently circulated among
the seminaries a list Of questions, n
of which was: DO you know many
persons, graduates of the seminary,
who have entered the service of the
church out OF conviction The ans
wer Of the Tobolsk seminarists only
lis published. 1t reads: We do not
know a single one among the grad
uates OF u seminary who has be,
come a priest out Of conviction What
a terrible state! It means that be-
sides those who are openly irreligious
and do not wish to feign piety, there
are among the graduate students a
great many who enter the church for
profit, that is, apostles-Iscariots who
sell Christ every time they. kiss the
Evengely.n
Speaking of the projected reform Of
the seminaries. Mr.. Menshikov re-
marks:
THAT the present theological school
is disgusting, | shall no attempt to
dispute, although / think that 1t was
not worse than either the old, which
gave quite unsatisfactory pastors, or
the new type, which is being introduc-
ed now. The trouble lies not in the
school, but in the atmosphere which
permeates it. When the public were
religious, the priests also We're re
/ ligious, and 80 were their children;
and even the abominable school of the
old type was religious. True
the teachers were ignorant and lazy
3 drunkards and cruel to the point o.
bestiality; their morals were loose ant
/ their poverty y i~ndestructible,
but fundamentally the seminary was
i great school because 1T was a religion.
school. They all believed in God
both old and young, and almost al
prayed fervently. II our Church
authorities let into the theological
garden such a goat as a double num
! Der Of lessons in physics and mathe
mates and an increased study Of thu
E German and French languages, | feai
that the main aim of sum education
is not faith, but a career.-Transla
ton made for The Literary Digest.
DE-. yxT.II NJ