Evening star., 1922-06-04
CH|SELS REMOVE
GOLD AND SILVER
Moscow Government Agents
ForcibIy Loot Treasure
From Church .Ikons.
By the Associated Press.

,
MOSCOW, May 6.-Hammers and
chisels welded in a matter of-fact
manner by employees of the govern
ment committees for reQuisition of
church treasures, have stripped in
few moments the silver or gold
overlays from ikons that took years
to construct Today these sheets of
valuable metal are being weighed
on scales and melted down to be
sold to help feed Russias famine
sufferers.
Here and there throughout Russia
there have been disturbances in con-
nection with the acquisitions. but the
outstanding feature of the campaign
to transform these valuableS into
bread has been the calm manner in
which parishioners have watched the
requisitions.
Loot In Presence of Nuns.
The Associated Press correspondent
spent a morning with the Moscow
requisition committee watching the
work at an ancient church and a
big convent in Moscow. At the lat
ter a few nuns. solemn-face but
uureSiSting. watched the methodical
| work of the requisitioners and even
assisted them by pointing out the
treasures containing genuine dia-
nonds.
Fifteen minutes of work stripped
all of the silver and gold from an
ikon before which Ivan the Terrible
once knelt, and left it a cracked oil
painting. A few snipS of the shears
and a collar of tiny seed pearls.
Weighing perhaps six pounds and
which must have taken months of
patient needlework to construct, was
cut from another ikon and tossed
into a box with silver cups, diamond
studded crosses and communion
lamps of silver and hand-wrought
enamel. which had been carefully
tended and filled with oil and lighted
for centuries, came down just as
quickly and were thrown in heaps
on a wooden bench to be listed and
weighed on the scales.
Most of the Wealth in Overlays.
Most of the wealth of the church
has been placed in the overlays Of
ikons. The Greek Catholic Church
abhors statues, but permits pictures
of the saints. Originally mere oil
paintings. these ikons have been
framed in gold or silver and then
over the canvas. Sometimes only the
faces of the paintings can be seen
under the gold and silver. If the
painting is that of the Virgin. for
example, pearl necklaces are hung
about the overlay that covers the
neck. In some cases garments heavy
with jewels are added. When all
these decorations are torn away,
there remains only an old oil
painting.
The work of the requisitioners was
extremely careful and methodical
Though probably communists them
selves and therefore scorning the
customs of the orthodox, they doffed
their hats upon entering the church.
They did not enter the sanctuary
or other holy rooms. but permitted
the priest or some other person
designated by the faithful to hand
out to them the valuable articles
from these places.
Museum Experts in Party.
Experts from the government mu-
seumg accompanied the acquisitions
crs and if they discovered objects
OF great historical value these were
pronounced museum articles" and
not sold but removed to the museums
or permitted to remain in the
churches.
At the Nikitski convent one ikon
which the nuns particularly valued
was not taken, as the parishioners
agreed to pay over to the famine
fund it's value in silver coin.