GREEK CHUECH. 



413 



stricted, that we are but imperfectly informed 

 about the progress it has made in the Eussian 

 and the other Eastern Churches. The London 

 " Pall Mall Gazette " has the following remarks 

 on the history of the movement : 



" The project of union, or rather intercom- 

 munion, between the Eusso-Greek and Angli- 

 can Churches, is no new thing. The true au- 

 thor of the scheme was Peter the Great, at 

 whose suggestion the English and Eussian 

 bishops entered into correspondence on the 

 subject. The negotiations were protracted, 

 through the inability of the Eussian bishops to 

 give satisfactory explanations in reference to 

 the national practice of image worship, and on 

 the death of Peter they were discontinued; a re- 

 sult or want of result, which has often been de- 

 plored by the orthodox Eussians, and among 

 them by Mouravieff, the historian of the Eus- 

 sian Church. The revival of the project.of in- 

 tercommunion is due, in a great measure, to 

 the journal which distinguished itself during 

 the Polish insurrection by its enthusiastic sup- 

 port of the historian's brother, the 'hanging 

 Mouravieff,' of Wilna notoriety. Five years 

 ago the present editor of the 'Moscow Ga- 

 zette ' published in the ' Contemporary Leaves' 

 (one of several journals directed by him), a 

 remarkable correspondence between the Eev. 

 Mr. "Williams, Fellow of a college at Cambridge, 

 and Admiral Putiatin, who had then recently 

 arrived from Japan to take the command of the 

 Ministry of Public Instruction. The admiral 

 sent to the ' Moscow Gazette ' a letter he had 

 received from Mr. Williams, pointing out the 

 facility with which Eussians might now send 

 their sons to study at the University of Cam- 

 bridge, and recommending the erection of a 

 Eussian church there, and the appointment of 

 a Eussian chaplain. Since then the ' Moscow 

 Gazette ' has on many occasions urged the de- 

 sirability of bringing about a good understand- 

 ing between the Eussian and English Churches ; 

 and it was this journal that first published the 

 account of the meeting held recently in London, 

 at which Prince Orloff, Father Popoff, and a 

 number of English prelates were present. Ad- 

 miral Putiatin was well known in the Eussian 

 navy for his habits of devotion ; but it is no 

 calumny on Peter the Great to say that, in 

 endeavoring to establish intimate relations be- 

 tween the two Churches, he was actuated less 

 by religious than political motive's. He wished 

 to counterbalance, as much as possible, the in- 

 fluence of the Eoman Catholic Church in Eu- 

 rope, and especially in Poland. The Eussians 

 attach much more importance to the London 

 meeting than really belongs to it ; and a writer 

 in a St. Petersburg journal has come to the 

 conclusion that the English tourists who visit 

 St. Isaac's Cathedral do so from a pious wish to 



make themselves acquainted with the ceremo- 

 nies of the Eussian Church." 



The English Church papers which are in fa- 

 vor of the union movement, assert that the 

 advances toward a union made by the Angli- 

 cans have met with a particularly favorable re- 

 ception on the part of the Greek Bishops of 

 Servia. The " London Churchman " expressed 

 joy at being able to " record another instance 

 of the disposition of the Servian Church to ro- 

 sume that Christian intercourse which is paving 

 the way for complete recognition and intercom- 

 munion. Three clergymen from London, pass- 

 ing through Belgrade recently, were detained 

 in that city on the Sunday. When the Arch- 

 bishop knew this, he placed at their disposal 

 the ante-chapel in his own palace for the pur- 

 poses of holy communion, and supplied them 

 with the necessary elements, altar lights, and 

 other requisites. The Metropolitan expressed 

 at the same time his great regret at not being 

 able to be present in person at the celebration, 

 in consequence of being obliged to go to Eaco- 

 vitza, it being, it would seem, a high festival, 

 but he intrusted the carrying out of the matter 

 to one of the Archimandrites, who remained 

 with them throughout the office.'-' 



The " Levant Herald," an English paper pub- 

 lished at Constantinople, having stated that the 

 Archbishop of Servia had degraded the Archi- 

 mandrite of Studenitza for administering the 

 holy communion to an English clergyman, the 

 " Churchman," of October 5, contradicted this 

 report by the following statement : 



" We are requested by the Eev. W. Denton 

 to state that the report of the censure and deg- 

 radation of the Archimandrite of Studenitza 

 for administering the holy communion to a 

 member of the English Church is wholly un- 

 founded. The Archbishop of Belgrade has re- 

 plied to Mr. Denton's inquiries as to the truth 

 of the assertions in the ' Levant Herald,' and he 

 states that the thought of degrading or censur- 

 ing the Archimandrite had never entered into 

 his mind. We possess information which leads 

 us to believe, that before long the Servian Church 

 will take a more formal step toward inter- 

 communion with the Anglican Church." 



As regards the Church of the kingdom of 

 Greece, a correspondent of the " London Church- 

 man " stated that the Holy Synod was " ready 

 to acknowledge as valid the baptism of the An- 

 glican Church, when intercommunion shall be 

 realized." The " Hemera" (the Day), a journal 

 which has a wide circulation in Greece, the 

 Ionian Islands, Turkey, and Egypt, published, 

 in 1865, a series of letters from Dr. Fraser on 

 the Constitution of the English Church, and on 

 her Synods and Liturgy, which seemed to 

 awaken considerable interest in the question 

 among the Greek people. 



