Washington Journal., 1914-12-12

as lar away as the Pacific Coast OF
the Northwest, as neal home as the
mining regions of Pennsylvania. OF
the industrial centers of Paterson OF
Jersey City-from time to time. I re.
peat, and with remarkable frequency
the news of the day includes a brief
story Of a quarrel in some Slav
Church.
THE dispatches describe these con.
gregations as Polish. or Ruthenian.
Hungarian or Slavonic, or what not.
but the substance is always the same
A priest has quarreled with his Bishop,
has been deposed, and has appealed to
the courts. Or a congregation has
locked its spiritual shepherd out of
the church, and risen in revolt against
ecclesiastical authority.
Owing to unavoidable total igno-
rance Of the inside facts, the report &C
printed, has no significance to the
American reader, who most likely
scans it in~differently, reflects a
moment upon the turbulent ways Of
immigrants in religious matters. and
the increasing burden and bother thew
are to this country, and therefore for
gets all about it. What has really
happened is that the Russian Orthodox
Church has succeeded, or perhaps
failed for the moment, in capturing
still another congregation, its material
investment in ediice, charitable work.
&C., all included.
This campaign has been going on
steadily for many years, in fact ever
since the sale of Alaska to this conn
try, when the Russian Orthodox Bishop
OF the territory moved to San Fran
cisco, and there discovered, with The
very active assistance of the Russian
Ambassador of that time, Count Kotze-
bue, that here was a wide Slav fold
for his labors. Orthodox Russians
there were none on the Pacific Coast
at that time, but there were Slavon-
ians, Serbs, R%uthenians, all kinds of
Greek Catholics to be won for the
Russian Orthodox Church, and a con-
vert to the Russian Church was then.
and is now, a convert to the Car of
all the Russias.
In Austria-Hungary, where the bulk
of the Greek Catholics are found, the
term Greek Catholic Church" has the
Church of the Ruthenian Greek
Rite" in union with and subjec to the
authority of the Holy Apostolic See
at Rome. This meaning is recognized
by the Government, the laws of the
land, and the courts. 1t is as specific
and exact as the meaning of the name
Church of England" or Protestant
Episcopal Church"
"The Ruthenians are the Slav peas
antry of Galicia, the Austrian part OF
Poland. They belong to the Greek
Catholic rite, whereas the Poles, who
are the mobiles and landowners, adhere
to the Latin, or Roman, Catholic rite.
ION the surface it looks like nothing
but a religious propaganda, or organ
lied attempt to win the SIavs of the
Western Church over to the orthodox
faith of Russia. But beneath it there
will be found an accompanying cam
paign for the classification of the Slavs
in the United States, which involves
a ~retardation, if not the ultimate pre-
vention of their Americanization.
I'm Russia Church and Government
are one. A soul won for the orthodox
faith is a man won for the Car, its
head. Panslavism is at the bottom of
the ven What Russia is doing
in the Balkans, in Poland, in Austria,
in southern and eastern Hungary, in
Bohemia ever she would also do in
the United States, whose immigration
problems do not vex her in the least.
"Money-Russian Government mon
ey-is spent with incredible ~lavishness
in the United States for this particular
purpose. Certain it is that there are
lot enough orthodox Russians in this
country to support the numerous
churches. chapels. missions, and other
enterprises of their faith here and in
Canada as well. The immigration from
Russia is almost exclusively Jewish.
The Russian Jews. by the way, have
tales to tell of Russian orthodox
methods of conversion, as have the
2rotestants there.
Propaganda Of the Faith.