308 THROUGH RUSSIA ON A MUSTANG. 



Secured in its monopolistic power and position by the 

 strong arm of the Government, the policy of the 

 Church has become that of the dog in the manger. 

 Its intolerance of pronaganda : s only equaled by its 

 lethargy. It will neitner bestir itself to the better- 

 ment of the people who have been given into its power 

 nor permit others to do so. Like any other monopoly 

 that has no fear of competition, it refuses to trouble 

 itself about the quality of the goods it supplies, con- 

 cerning itself solely with the question of warning off 

 infringers of its prerogative. 



In Southern Russia, however, notwithstanding the 

 severe penalties enacted against apostacy, a very large 

 proportion of the people are, either openly or covertly, 

 dissenters. If born outside the province of the Ortho- 

 dox Church, all well and good ; there is no need of 

 concealment ; but if a convert from Orthodoxy, peace 

 and security from imprisonment is usually secured by 

 bribing the priest to make out false certificates of 

 communion, which are, so to speak, " religious pass- 

 ports." This the apostate has to get renewed every 

 year, as every peasant does his civil pas'sport from the 

 police. Selling false eucharistical certificates to back- 

 sliders from the established Church is said to double 

 the income of many parish priests in Southern Russia. 



All dissenting sects are known as heretics. The 

 more numerous are the Stundists and the Molokani, 

 or milk-eaters, so called because they drink milk on 

 fast days. In riding across the steppes of Malo Russia 

 and the Crimea, I used to stumble upon the villages of 

 these dissenters, as well as of German colonists. A 

 most curious thing to me was that you could tell a 



