Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-11-16

generally aware OF IIle Chdi dSNeI VI SSi-
tain religious sects in Russia, which is
considered TO be a country OF orthodoxy
with the Tar at its head, and where
people think there is no room left for
any other religion than the official one
TO develop itself. In reality, things are
very different, and to this day, outside
of the recognized nonconformists, who
have their own bishops and priests, and
whose faith is recognized and acknowl-
edged by the state, there are any
number Of sects, each more SUI
oerstititious and each more powerful
than the other in regard to the influence
which they exercise over their adher-
ents These, though not numerous by
any means, vet are actuated by such
fanaticism that they become apt at GER
tain moments to become subjects OF con-
siderable embarrassment to the author
tiles. Some are inspired by the convic-
tion that the only means to escape from
the clutches of the devil consists in
suicide or in the murder of other peo-
pie.
THE TWO PRINCIPAL "HEREsIEs."
For instance, the Baby Killers, or
Dietoouoitsy. as they are called. think
II a duty TO send to Heaven the souls
OF newborn infants, which they destroy
as soon as they see the light Of the day,
thinking thus TO render themselves
agreeable to the Almighty by snatching
children away from the power or the
evil one Another sect, which goes by
the name Strangers, fully believes that
the doors Of Heaven are only opened be-
fore those who have died violent death
and whenever a relative or friend is dan
gerously i'll they proceed to smother him
under the weight of many pillows SO as
to hasten the end. The Philipowtsy1
preach salvation through suicide, and
the voluntary death of several people
I'm common is considered by them as
meritorious action. Sometimes whole
villages decide to unite themselves In
one immense holocaust and barricade
themselves in a house, which is after
ward set on fire.
An incident that occurred during the
reign OF Alexander II is remembered to
this day in Russia. peasant called
Khodxine persuaded twenty people to
retire together with him into a grotto
hidden in the vast forests OF the gov
eminent OF Perm. where he compelled
them to die of hunger. Two women
having contrived to escape, the fanatics,
fearing that they might be denounced,
killed themselves with the first weapons
which fell under their hand. II was
their terror that they might find them
selves compelled to renounce their sim
ister design, and thus fall again into
the clutches Of that satan for fear Of
whom they had made up their minds TO
encounter an awful death. Even as
ate as the end OF the last century such
acts of fanaticism could be met with
here and there IN the east and center
of Russia In 1888, under the reign of
the father of the present car, a peas
ant in the government of R.azan. call
ed Joukoff, burnt himself to death by
setting fire 10 his clothes. which he had
previously soaked in paraffn, and eX-
0ired under the most awful torments,
singing hymns OF praise to the Lord.
Among all these heresies there are
TWO which have attracted more than the
,.hers the attention of the authorities,
hanks to their secret rites and to their
IMMORAL tendencies. They are the Skop-
isy. of voluntary Eunuchs, about which
2 is useless TO say anything here, and
Tic Khlysty. or Flagellants, which to
his day has n considerable number of
adopts and to which Rasputin undoubt-
adly belonged. to v-l.Ch, in fact, he
openly owned allegiance. This sect,
which calls itself Men of God" has
the strangest rites which human i'm
agination can invent According to Its
Drecepts, a human creature should try
20 raise its soul toward the Divinity
with the help of sexual excuses of all
Ki.ds. During their assemblies they In
bulge IN a kind of waltz round and
round the room, which reminds one of
nothing so much as the rounds of the
Dancing Dervishes in the east. They
dance and dance until their strength
fails them. when they drop to the floor
In a kind of trance or ecstasy, during
which. being hardly accountable for
their actions, they imagine that they
see Christ and the Virgin Mary among
them. They then throw themselves
into the embrace of the supposed divini-
ties.