Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-06-30
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX
Church COLLAPSED
Greatest Social Institution Has
Gone to Pieces After Con-
turtles Of Potency.

Nv Associated Prces Ia Every Evening.
Mosrow. June 5.--(By Mail -Thc
.rrst Russian Orthodox church, which
Yor centuries wns probably the most inn
r,oYtxnt social factor and one of the most
important politically in Russian HE,
seems 10 have gone To pieces 'iscii
rather than to have any effect upon the
polshevik government, IN its inst direct
conflict with the Soviet regime.
Whatever may have been the under
living purpose Of the. Communist gov
ernment in directing the rcquiStion oil
church trcasurcs for relief OF the famine
rlf1crrrs, the requis,tion itself has sue.
ccsdcd in splitting the church. Scores CT
pyiests arc under arrest and revolutions
AIRY tribunals throughout the country
ARR irving them for counter-revolutlon
or theft and secretion Of church valuahles
without any particular resentment on
the part of the par,shioners tatriarch
1ikon. the head of the church, ahdicatcd
when faced with trial by the civil
courts on the charge of opposing the
rrquisition. One of the men he suggested
rs his possible successor, the Metropoii-
tan BENJAMIN. of Petrograd, is also To he
put on trial. and in the meantime the
control of church affairs has been turned
over 10 group known popularity as the
"red clergy.
This group. pledged To simplify the
church services and 10 work in harmony
with the Bolshevik government already
has taken over q number of churches. IL
is headed by Bishop Antonin, of Moscow,
who early in the conflict that developed
over the rcuuis ition OF treasures, volun-
tccrcd To asis, the Soviet government,
Now Antonin is planning 10 secure close
cc-operation between church and State
bv appointment in the Russian cabinet
OF commissar for church affairs.
The actual value Of church treasures
Of Russia probably was several hundred
million dollars, but the rcquisitioner'
obtained but small proportion of TIM
amount. They secured tons of SILVER
much gold, and thousands of precious
stones, but for every diamond studded
mitre. the reuuisitioners found one 81
two similar articles listed rs stolen 81
missing. For the theft OF these, and io
OPEN agitation against requisltion there
is scarcely a province IN Russia where
churchmen have not been arrested. II
addition 10 the eight priests, one woman
and two laymen sentenced 10 death a
Moscow, and the four sentenced q
Shuva. other death sentences arc hcnl
imposed. Except 81 Shula, however
none has been carried ont, and It IS gen
erallv believed in Moscow that most %
Of those convicted will I've pardoncd q
receive reduced sentences. Genera
BrussilofT, one Of the heroes of IN
Russian war against Germany an'
Austria, has interceded for his daughter
in-law Mrs. Barbara lvanova BrusSlofi
the woman sentenced TO death IN tn
Moscow trial.
Old residents Of Moscow have toll
the correspondent that the arrests q
the clergy were not resented hccauS
Russians ordinarily had very httl
respect for the priests. They wcr
devout in their church worship hut r,
esrded the clergy, particularly IN III
villages, AS men who charged them f
all the services the church rcndere,
making them pay for births, marriage
and deaths