The Union daily times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1918-current, 1922-04-04
Aladdin's Cave of Jewels Open

ated Press).-An Aladdin's cave of
cision of the Soviet authorities to
confscate some of the treasures of
the Russian churches and sell them
to feed the famine sufferers.
(The Soviet decree issued Feb. 26
jewels has been opened by the de-
directs the seizure of all precious
metals and stones (which would not
interfere with the interests of the
various cults" 1t has been an
nounccd that the All-Russian Central
Committee will determine what ar
ticles are absolutely necessary for
religious purposes and exempt from
reqIsition.)
Most famous of the church treas
ures, described by the Moscow news
paper Izvestia, is the bejewellcd ikon,
"Our Lady of Kazan," at the Kazan
Cathedral in Petrograd. 1t is n
representation of the Virgin done in
beaten gold, weighing 10 pounds and
decorated with 1,655 larger and l.
1872 lesser diamonds, G38 rubies, seven
sapphires, 1,400 pearls and 155 other
jewels; and hung about the neck of
the Virgin is diamond necklace Of
huge, 8rst water stones.
4 4Sa&eter PauPs cathedral, also in
Petfograd, there is another famous
ikon, known as the Jerusalem Holy
Lady," in solid gold. 1t is about two
feet square, and contains 38 carats
of large diamonds, 13 carats of mid
dle-sized diamonds and IA and one
quarter carats of smaller stones.
Altogether, in this church, says the
lzvestia, there are "a almost equally
valuable ikons.
To st. Isaac's Cathedral, Petro-
grad, were presented on the day it
was opened, total Of 2l5 articles
containing 81 pounds Of gold and A.
1888 pounds of silver and later a
shrine was built Of solid silver weigh
ing 468 pounds. st. ISaac's also has
me ikon, Il inches wide by 28 inches
high, done in gold ovcrlay and bear
ing wide wreath in large diamonds
There are dozen other ikons of tre-
mendous value at st. Isaac's alone.
While these big Petrograd cathed-
rails, which were long favored byy
royalty, probablyy contain the most
valuable treasures of the Greek Or
thodox church in Russia, nearly every
one Of the estimated 900 other
athedrals, monaStcrics, converts and
hurches contain objects in gold and
silver and jeweled ikons are not at
al rare, even in the smaller edifices.
Royal gifts, donations by pious
parishoners and church taxes for CEN
turies went largely into ornamenting
the churches.
Kazan cathedral was the holy of
holies to the Cossacks. The Cossacks
of the Don once sent to it LAO
bounds of silver, asking that it be
made into ikons of four of the
Apostles.
Beyond their value in precious
metal and jewels, some of the objects
might be extremely sought after by
collectors. The Byzanti magnificence
If the jewelled ikons. however, might
impress the Western world as more
ornate than artistic.
With a few scattered exceptions.
wherein some looting of churches
may have occurred during the early
days of the revolution, church treas
ures have been left practically intact.
Patriarch Tikhon, the head of the
Russian church, is understood to con-
tend that, since the church and state
have been separated, the title to the
treasures rests in the hands of the
Pensioners of each church and that,
therefore, it is for each parish to de-
eide what treasures it wishes to sur
render for the famine sufferers.
He advises charity in this respect,
but it is believed in Moscow that the
chuprch as a whole will strenuously
oppose general confscation, while
willing to surrender those objects
which it does not consider particular
ly holy or of essential use in sacra-
mental observances.