The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1922-10-12
HEAD OF CHURCH
SHOT BY SOVIET
Archbishop Accused Of Conspir.
ing Against Red Rule.
RESISTED SOVIET DEGREES
Correspondent Describes Trial and
Execution az Red Page In History
Of Modern Russia-confiseation Of
Church Treasures 10 Cause Of
TroubIe--Witnesses Who Came to
Give Evidence for Accused Are Ar
rested-Friends Are Shut Out.

GIVE 6vioence for ACCUSED arc At
! rested-Friends Are Shut Out.
| The trial and execution Of Arch
bishop benjamin, metropolitan OF
Petrograd, Is a red page In the history
of modern Russia. II Is not every day
that an archbishop Is hailed to prison,
tried as a criminal and shot as con-
Wet | was, SO far as l am aware,
the only foreign writer In Petrograd
at the time Of the trial. Here Is the
story as | learned and saw 1t, writes
+. A. Mackenzie 10 the Chicago Daily
News
The archbishop and large number
Of his advisers and supporters were
| arrested In May. and brought to open
| trial In the hall OF the old Mobiles
, club In Petrograd, the trial starting
on June IL.
Among the prisoners were the arch
mandrte Sergei. the bishop Of Kron-
stadt. the deans of Petrograd's three
/ cathedrals, ST. Isaac's. KaZan and the
Troitsky. Prof. Novitsky, a famous
lawyer and chairman Of the church
council, the Rev. Prof. Ognieff Shein, a
| former member of the duma, and some
| three score others Altogether as dis
tinguished a group of men as you
could find, even in Petrograd. the intel
lectual capital Of Russia.
Resisted DEGREES Of Soviet.
The prisoners had conspired to re-
sist the DEGREES OF the soviet govern
ment When the authorities Informed
Monsignieur Benjamin that the church
treasures were to be taken for famine
relief he replied In formal docu-
ment in which he asked three things,
/ U) proof that the money could not
be raised In any other way, (2) guar
! antees that the money should not be
used for any other purpose than fam
inc relief. and (3) that the consent
Of the patriarch In Moscow should be
obtained. He added to his offense by
at once publishing this document.
! He was summoned to the Smolny In
stitute. the headquarters Of the Mos
COW soviet. He came attended by his
counsel. He withdrew his first and
third points. but chung to the second.
"Give us assurances that our money
will really go for famine relief" he
insisted. On his return home he issued
still another appeal to the people.
Let me describe what followed In
the words Of one OF his bOlshevist ac-
cusers. "As a result of this. a restless
mob demonstrated on March 10. at the
Kazan cathedral. a mob beat the mill
tia In Sennaya street on March l6,
and the soldiers had to be called out,
Stones were thrown at the soldiers at
the church Of Rozhdestvo on April
II, there being alarm, violence and
! mob rule. the mob also throwing
stones at the officials who were col
lecting the church treasures. Similar
violence took place at the Putilov Zas-
tava April q and on May T."
The Putilov Zastava is In the midst
Of one Of the greatest working-class
districts In Petrograd. so perhaps the
authorities had some cause for alarm
Trial Before Tribunal.
The trial 'asted for nearly month.
not ending untn early July. The au-
thorities attempted to prove that Ben
| jamin and his supporters were really
antirevolutionaries, that they were in
touch with the antibOlshevists outside
Russia who had summoned the Karls-
berg conference. and that they were
| plotting to overthrow the government
The chief judge Of the revolutionary
tribunal was Nakovchenko. a techni.
cal engineer
II was wearisome trial. The great
audiences that listened day after day
were carefully drawn from the fac
tories and government offices. Few OF
the friends Of the prisoners could OBJ
tain admission. So they assembled
outside. and when the prisoners were
brought In each morning and left each
night they found crowds Of churchmen
singing hymns, praying and asking
| their blessing. One night cavalry
made their appearance. surrounded
every way out. and made prisoners of
all the crowd.
Reform Priest Hit by Stone.
|
On the opening day when one reform
priest. Vedensky. was leaving the
court. woman threw stone. struck
him on the head and nearly killed him.
Vedsnsky was upposed-falsely, as
he afterward assured me-to have In
stigated the trial Of the archbishop.
Three witnesses had come 70 give
IA la. -
They were then arrested. The friends
OF the prisoners complained that this
so shook the nerves Of the other wit.
nesses that they could not say what
they would The tribunal was not
sympathetic 10 the accused. When Il
considered that II had heard enough,
II refused Ia hear more. II refused
them the right To consult certain ma
terlal documents they demanded.
Al Inst The ordeal drew IN a cIooa