Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-05-23
RUSSIAN CHURCH JEWELS
Russian Government Puts Them Il
Fit Use.


An Aladdin's cave Of jewels has
been opened by the decision of the
Soviet authorities to conflscate some
of the treasures OF the Russian
churches and sell them to feed the
famine sufferers.
(The Soviet decree issutd Feb. 26,
directs the seizure Of all precious
metals and stones (which would not
interfere with the interests Of the va
rious cults" 1t has been announced
that the ll-Russian Central Com
mittee will determine what articles are
absolutely necessary for religious pur-
poses and exempt from, ,requisition)
Most famous Of the church treasures.
described by she Moscow newspaper
Izyestia, is the bejewelled ikon, Our
Lady of Kazan," at the Kazan Cathe-
dral in Petrograd. 1t sa representa-
tion of the Virgin done in beaten gold,
weighing 10 pounds and decorated with
1855 larger and 1852 lesser diamonds,
63S rubies, seven sappbires, 1,400 pearls
and 155 other jewels; and hung about
the neck of the Virgin Is diamond
necklace of huge, first water stones.
At Peter Paul's cathedral, also In
Petrograd there is another famous
ikon, known as the Jerusalem Holy
Lady," in solid gold. 1t is about two
feet square, and contains 3S carats OF
large diamonds, 13 carats Of middle
size diamonds and IA and one quarter
carats of smaller stones. Altogether,
in this church, says the Izvestia, there
are "a almost equally valuable ikons.
To st. Isaacs cathedral, Petrograd,
were presented on the day it was open
ed, a total of 215 articles containing 81
pounds of gold and 4,7SS pounds of
silver, and later q shrine was built OF
solid silver weighing 46S pounds. st.
Isaac's also has one ikon 21 inches
wide by 2S inches high, done in gold
I,overlay and bearing a. wreath in large
diamonds There are a dozen other
ikons of tremendous value at st. Isaacs
alone. ..4.
While these big PetrOgrad cathed-
rails, which were long favored by roy
atty, probably contain the most valu-
able treasures of the Greek Orthodox
church in Russia, neatly every one of
the estimated $1,000 other cathedrals,
monasteries, converts. and churches
contains objects in gold and silver and
jewelicd ikons are not at all rare, even
in the smaller edificcs.
Royal gifts, donations by pious
parishoncrs and church taxes for CEN
turics went largely into ornamcnting
the churches. kazan cathedral was
the holy of hoies to the Cossacks The
| Cussacks of the Don once sent to ii
LAO pounds Of silver, asking that il
be made into ikons Of four OF the
Apostles.
Beyond their value in precious met
al and jewels, some OF the objects
might be extremely sought after by
collectors The Byzantine magnificence
of the jcwclled ikons, however, might
impress the Western world as mole
ornate than artistic.
With q few scattered exceptions,
wherein some looting OF churches may
have occurred during the early days
of the revolution, church treasures
have been left practically intact.
| Patriarch Tikhon, the head Of the
Russian church, is understood to con-
tend that, since the church and the
state have been separated, the title 10
the treasures rests in the hands of the
Pensioners of each church and that,
therefore, it is for each parish to
decide 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
church, as a whole, will strenuously
oppose general confiscation, while
willing to surrender those objects
which it does not consider particularly
holy or of essential use in sacramental
obGervances.