RICHARD CHANCELOR ad. 



1553- 



where goe from one to another, and visite one another, 



and kisse one another with kisses of peace, in token of 

 their mutuall love and Christian concord : and then 

 also they doe more often then at any other time goe 

 to the holy Communion. When seven dayes are past, 

 from the beginning of the fast, then they doe often 

 either goe to their Churches, or keepe themselves at 

 home, and use often prayer : and for that sevennight 

 they eate nothing but hearbes : but after that seven- 

 nights fast is once past, then they returne to their old 

 intemperancie of drinking, for they are notable tospots. 

 As for the keeping of their fasting dayes, they doe it 

 very streightly, neither doe they eate any thing besides 

 hearbes, and salt fish, as long as those fasting dayes 

 doe endure : but upon every Wednesday and Friday, 

 in every weeke throughout the yeere, they fast. 



There are very many Monasteries of the order of S. [I. 254.] 

 Benedict, amongst them, to which many great livings, 

 for their maintenance, doe belong : for the Friers and 

 the Monkes doe at the least possesse the third part of 

 the livings, throughout the whole Moscovite Empire. 

 To those Monkes that are of this order, there is 

 amongst them a perpetuall prohibition, that they may 

 eate no flesh : and therefore their meate is onely salt 

 fish, milke, and butter : neither is it permitted them 

 by the lawes, and customes of their religion, to eate 

 any fresh fish at all : and at those foure fasting times, 

 whereof we spake before, they eate no fish at all : onely 

 they live with hearbes, and cucumbers, which they doe 

 continually for that purpose cause and take order to 

 grow and spring, for their use and diet. 



As for their drinke, it is very weake, and small. For 

 the discharge of their office, they do every day say 

 service, and that early in the mornings before day : 

 and they doe in such sort, and with such observation 

 begin their service, that they will be sure to make an 

 ende of it, before day : and about nine of the clocke 

 in the morning they celebrate the Communion. When 



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