The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-11-18
n,y w. 7. EIlIs.l

tSy w, II. IgillsD
As this article IL being written, ther
A. An session In Moscow Genera
Council of the Holy Orthodox church
(which the metropolitan OF the city as
,surrd me Is like one OF the great ecu
tmenical councils OF Christendom. sucl
sas An the early centuries of church his
tory determined the doctrine and polio!
.of all Christian oryanizations. tina
imetropoltan. by the way, was for tel
tyears "A priest in San Francisco an,
,Nev York, ami his enthusiasm FOL
America and the ways of the west may
he a factor in the outcome of the pres
ent historic meeting. The council Is tt
last through several weeks. so that
uIan 10 return and deal with its doings
after 1 have gone into the Caucasus
where the tangled religious conditions
are n vital factor in the general situa
ton
+. AS n matter OF news, the mere fact
of this Moscow Conference is OF FIRST
importance. There has been nothing
like IL in two hundred years. its pre-,
decessor did not resemble II IN methou
of creation or in objects, for the mem
hers of this epochal gathering have
Dfen cltCttl Nv tnt NVtto W Wv '''>s',
hers OF the ,c-hu,vhes. and laymen have
an eoual voice with the clergy in de.
termining It's actions. This In itself
marks the uniqueness of the gather
ing: which is accentuated by the fact
that the council has been convened for
the avowed purpose of dealing with the
pey conditions created by the war and
The revolution The aim Is nothing less
than deliberate attempt at reforma-
tion OF the Russian Church from with
In. No careful man Is willing 10 haz'
ard a prediction as to all the major
outcomes OF this radical meeting The
liberal and reforming elements are
hopeful
TO a western world accustomed to
great religious gatherings, from Meth
idist and Episcopal conventions to
Christian Endeavor mass meetings, the
fact that a general council OF Holy
Orthodox church is being held in Mos
COW does not appear very sensational
Since. however the meeting represents
something like ninety million persons
and seventy per cent. of the population
of Russia. and the ecclesiastical body
that contends that it is the one true
and catholic church. successor of the
Apostolic church, the Importance of the
as this meeting is arowediy an effort
to confirm the changeless old church to
the new conditions of democracy. and
20 prevent the loss of the masses to the
church, IL merits the careful attention
If all thoughtful persons.
A Russians Thirty Pieces OF silver.
Before taking look at the peculiar
character and claims of the Russian
Church. il may be well to remind the
reader that whatever the present rell-
gious unrest in Russia, and strainlng
at old ties, there still remains that deep
" religious instinct which is the re-
suit OF centuries Of training. Russia
Is peculiarly religious nation. The
people are respective to religious sug-
gestion Indeed. the surest way to
remedy the present chaotic political
ana military conditions would be for
a few scoreor hundred preaching
rriests to go forth among the people,
arousins them to the hours duty OF
patriotism. The priests are the only
ones who car get 4 c.oser hearing than
the radical socialists.
As Illustrative OF the deeply religious
nature Of the Russian. a story in con
nec:iln with The betrayal of one of the
vpvtern provinces Il ia point. The
ne,pie had been sold out To The Ger
mans by the governor. He himself
left, as the invaders drew near, in his
triyate car with its beautiful salon.
when he went to his desk in the latter.
he found lying before him thirty
roubies These thirty pieces of silver.
without a word accompanying them
Were so eloquent to Ehe traitor. that
as was intended, he followed the ex-
arnple of Judas and killed himself
Gtraightway
Only Russians, with religious wrought
into every fiber of the:- consciousness,
would have conceived of any such dra-
matte way of terminating a great be-
trayal
One has to go all the way back TO
Constantine, the Roman emperor who,
IT the beginning Of the fourth century,
saw in the sky cross, with the legand,
"By This Sign Conquer" in order to
Understand the genius of the Russian
church He rnade christianity the re
iigion Of Rome, and also assumed a 20
sition of superiority 10 the church. The
ilea that the state is ABOVE the church,
so reDugnant to ali western nations
first appears with Constantine, and his
SUCCESSORS often appointed or removed
patriarchs and bishops at their will.
The great church councils which all
christendOm recognizes were every one
summoned by emperOrs. Incidentally
they were all in the East Most of the
church fathers were als1 from the
East. and IL was ia the East that the