of drinking shops. One Sunday morning I stood
with about 5,000 people throughout a service in
St. Saviour's Cathedral, which lasted for nearly
three hours. The cathedral is of ghstening white
stone, surmounted by gold-capped domes. It cost
28,000,000 roubles, or nearly £3,000,000. The
interior is lavish beyond description, wonderful
frescoes by famous painters cover the dome, the
walls are rich in vari-coloured marble and gold.
The Bishop's mitre, which he wore at the sacrament,
cost 500,000 roubles. The choir of men and boys,
arrayed in scarlet and gold robes, discoursed Gre-
gorian music that was intoxicating. In its appeal to
the senses the whole service was magnificent. The
prayers, particularly that for the Tsar, were dramatic
in the extreme ; but, like the whole service, it was
in Slavonic — an unknown tongue to all who listened.
It was a wonderful sight to see that vast con-
course of men and women standing on the cold

stone floor through the long service, reverent and
D 33



34 AMONG THE HERETICS

devout, crossing themselves every few minutes,
and at longer intervals pushing the crowd back
while they flung themselves prostrate on the floor
and kissed the pavement. The supreme moment
was the occasion when the deacons closed the front
gates of the altar and drew the curtains to hide the
Bishop from view while he alone partook of the
sacrament. Finally, there was the Benediction,
and then the congregation filed past the Bishop in
front of the altar, kissing first his hand and then the
cross which he held. Generally the people were
poor and unkempt, and of a sad countenance. All
through the service dozens of priests in procession
bearing large salvers suspended from their necks by
brass chains solicited alms for innumerable charities,
and these were mostly piled high with coins, but
they were all copper coins, in no case exceeding
ten kopeks, and for the most part two, three and
five kopeks, which is the humblest of Russian money.
Contrast this with the first meeting of the
Baptist brethren which I attended in St. Petersburg.
It was Saturday night, and the meeting was for
believers only. There were some 300 present — the
sexes being about equally represented ; if anything,
the men predominated. Russia is perhaps the only
country in Europe where more men than women
go to church. As I was early, I stood in the vesti-
bule and watched the people as they came in.
Their faces were good to look upon. They glowed



A STUDY IN CONTRASTS 35

with happiness and cleanUness. The average Russian
does not beheve in soap; the Russian Baptist
plainly does.

These were also poor people, with one or two
exceptions ; but they were all neatly dressed — the
women in simple cotton blouses and dark skirts,
the men in rough tweeds. They were so happy that
it might have been a wedding instead of a religious
meeting more or less under the ban and attended
by spies from the ranks of the secret police.

Five things specially impressed me. Nobody,
whether male or female, wore or carried a hat into
the meeting-room. The Russian people certainly do
not share Paul's idea that it is unbecoming for a
woman to appear in pubhc with her head uncovered.
The majority of the women came either hatless or,
as is most common, wearing a simple handkerchief
or mantilla on the head, which was removed in the
vestibule. Even the men showed a touch of vanity,
for most of them paused in the vestibule, and, taking
a small comb from their pockets, used it quite
caressingly on their hair. The self-respecting Russian
is undoubtedly proud of his hair.

Secondly, every person deposited an envelope
on the rough deal table which stood at the door in
the ante-room. It was the weekly voluntary offer-
ing for the support of the work of God. There was
neither number nor name on the envelope. The
gifts were anonymous. The giving was done cheer-



36 AMONG THE HERETICS

fully and in order, and though I never saw inside
one of those envelopes, I am positive the contents
would by comparison put to shame the average
contribution of English and Australian church-
goers. Every envelope spoke eloquently of sacrifice
and loving generosity. At the cathedral it was
copper ; here, I am sure, it was silver.

Thirdly, every believer came provided with a
Bible and hymn-book. The women brought theirs
in plain black satchets fastened with a button, and
carried in their hands. The men had theirs wrapped
neatly" in paper. The satchet for women and the
portfolio for men are quite an institution in Russia.
Among the poorer people, failing the portfolio, as
in this instance, paper is employed.

Fourthly, the general salutation of brethren and
sisters alike was to kiss each other on the cheek.
There was no hand-shaking. Brethren greeted
brethren and sisters greeted sisters with a holy kiss.
It was my first experience of the apostolic practice,
and not a little embarrassing, though the earlier
experience was as nothing to what followed at the
Congress. I asked one of my lady interpreters
whether this form of salutation was ever general,
and was told that at Eastertide brethren and sisters
were free to kiss each other promiscuously. I said
I was glad it was not Eastertide, or I should not
have been able to look my wife in the face when I
returned home 1 And yet it was no subject for



A STUDY IN CONTRASTS 37

amusement. As I came to know these people I
realised the beauty and sacredness of this salutation.
It was an expression of the love they bore for one
another in the fellowship of the Gospel.

Lastly, nearly every person on entering the
meeting-house, before taking a seat, walked up the
aisle to the preacher's table and deposited a half-
sheet of notepaper. By the time the meeting com-
menced there was a pile of perhaps two hundred
sheets, and the number increased as late comers
arrived. They were requests for prayer. The prac-
tice probably had its origin in the custom of the
Greek Church, where the people hand the priests
the names of their dead with requests for prayer.
These petitions, however, were prayers for the
living.

It was a never-to-be-forgotten experience as
Pastor Fetler, early in the service, took those
requests one by one and read them. They brought
one very near to the heart of these people of God.
There was no scampering of the petitions. Each
was taken reverently and presented at the Throne
of Grace. The character of them touched the
tenderest chords, and many of them, as they were
read out, filled hearts as well as eyes with tears.
Everybody was invited to join in presenting the
petitions. In some cases a dozen or more men and
women rose and prayed aloud simultaneously, with
the whole company praying in more subdued tones



38 AMONG THE HERETICS

as a sort of running accompaniment, as they sat ;
yet there was no confusion. It revealed the spiritual
passion of these people for the souls of their country-
men.

Next came personal testimonies from believers,
not concerning their own spiritual condition or
experience, but as to personal service for Jesus
Christ. One spoke of personal work among some
fifty sailors at the ships in port. A young man had
brought an atheist neighbour whom he had led to
Christ. Interspersed were revival choruses, such as
" The Lion of Judah " and " I beheve in Thy name.
Lord Jesus." As an expression of spiritual fervour
it exceeded any Methodist love-feast or camp
meeting that, as a boy, I had ever witnessed in the
Motherland.

Pastor Fetler gave me my first pubhc welcome
to St. Petersburg, and interpreted what I had to
say in reply. Then the whole company of 300
believers stood and sent their greetings to Austraha.
Afterwards all prayed audibly, as they stood, for
the Christians in Austraha, that they might be
found faithful.

Pastor Pavloff followed with an address on
Christian unity based on the words, "It is good
to dwell together in unity." In 1884, when he
first set foot in St. Petersburg, and three years
before being sent into exile, the friends gave him
railway tickets and told him to get out again as



A STUDY IN CONTRASTS 39

quickly as he knew how. Now he was received and
welcomed without risk of gaol or exile. A pastor
from Siberia told how in fourteen years in his
district about 5,000 believers had confessed Christ.
In the last six weeks before he had left to attend
the Congress 268 souls had joined the church. All
the Siberian villages, he reported, were turning to
Christ.

Soon after ten this meeting came to an end and
every one left the hall. Just before eleven o'clock
they came back, but not alone. They had been
out into the streets and slums of St. Petersburg
looking for the lost, the careless, the indifferent,
and compeUing them to come to what is known as
the weekly midnight meeting. They brought more
than enough to fill the hall.

I have seen many midnight meetings for the
reclamation of the submerged masses, but none that
impressed me with such an overpowering sense of
sadness as this one in St. Petersburg. It repre-
sented the human refuse of the city. Men and
women alike were dissolute, drunken, ill-clad, cold,
and hungry, and they came eagerly in the hope,
at least, of finding warmth and rest. Some of them
found much more than that. A score or so pro-
fessed to have found salvation. The meeting lasted
an hour, and at the stroke of twelve was dismissed,
as the law required. Numbers had waited in the
vestibule, on the stairs, and outside in the streets



40 AMONG THE HERETICS

from seven-thirty till twelve on the chance of get-
ting in.

During the week the priests of the Orthodox
Church had been summoned to confer as to how
best to spoil the influence of the Baptist Congress.
They had done their best to prevent the Congress
being sanctioned by the authorities, and by anony-
mous letters had even threatened the life of the
Minister for the Interior for allowing the Congress
to be held ; but having failed in their purposes
thus far, they met to devise methods to counteract
the effect of the Congress. The plan adopted was
that the priests should attend the public meet-
ings incognito, create disturbances, and take
notes of the addresses in order to controvert them
later.

This was not an original plan of campaign, and
it was doomed to failure at the most vital point.
The Baptists had nothing to tell the people but the
Gospel story, and men in all ages have discovered,
as these priests are finding out, that the man who
attempts to controvert the Gospel of the Grace of
God is up against a hard proposition.

The priests made their first appearance at this
midnight gathering, and when the meeting was
about half through they began to interject. No
notice was taken of them by the leaders. This did
not please the priests, so they began to argue with
Pastor Fetler, who responded by sitting down at



A STUDY IN CONTRASTS 41

the harmonium and starting " All hail," to the tune
" Diadem." Gradually the interruptions got worse,
until half the people present were on their feet
answering one another. Evidently the idea was to
excite such a tumult as would attract the police,
and in this they succeeded. Suddenly a pohce
officer of high rank appeared at the door and marched
up the aisle, leaving several subordinates at the
door to cut off any retreat. Thereupon the priests
waxed bolder, and charged the Baptists with creat-
ing the disturbance ; but that was too much for
the people who had come to hsten, and they stood
up and told the police officer the facts of the case
with such earnestness and eloquence that he was
soon satisfied as to who were responsible for the
row, and gave the priest party one minute to get
out. They went in less ! A lady who was acting
as my interpreter for the occasion kept me posted
in all that transpired ; but it did not need a know-
ledge of Russian or the aid of an interpreter to
realise that a very critical situation had been created
by these jealous priests, and at one time it looked
as though some of the delegates were going to have
a Congress to themselves in gaol. Had the priests
succeeded, it might have resulted in the permission
to hold the Congress being withdrawn. Happily,
the failure of this first attack took their courage
away, and they never openly returned to the assault,
though many of them were present at the evening



42 AMONG THE HERETICS

meetings of the Congress later on and took elaborate
notes.

The secular papers vindicated the Baptists and
championed them against the priest party. This
indicated a significant change of pohcy. When
Pastor Fetler first began work in St. Petersburg the
papers gave space to " these Baptists," as they
called them, described their meetings, reported what
was said, and even printed some of the hymns used
at the services. As a result, people in the country
who had never heard of the Baptists read about
them, went to St. Petersburg to see and hear for
themselves, and were won for Christ. The priests
were quick to notice this, and brought sufficient
influence to bear on the papers to induce them to
discontinue their reports and ignore the Baptists
in their columns. Happily, the Russian newspapers
are now becoming more ahve to the value of religious
liberty, and all of them, except those owned or
controlled by the priests, treated the Congress
generously, sent reporters to every session, and
commended the work and methods.



: CHAPTER V,

IN SESSION WITH THE HERETICS

In the language of the seasons, winter was rapidly
approaching when I arrived in St. Petersburg.
Officially, according to the Greek calendar, Wednes-
day, September ist, 1910, heralded the first day of
the Russian winter season, and prices correspond-
ingly rose 20 per cent, in St. Petersburg. On the
same day there was opened in that city the first
National Congress of Russian baptists, an event
which marked the latest development towards
religious liberty in Russia, and an outcome of the
edict of 1905, proclaiming religious liberty in the
Tsar's dominions.

Prior to 1905 it was not lawful for a Russian to
be a Baptist or the member of any religious denom-
ination outside the Orthodox Greek Church. Ger-
man Baptists went to Russia many years ago, and
made many converts among their own kith and kin ;
but no Russian who became a Baptist — as many
did — dare proclaim himself, unless he wished to
experience the purgatorial penances of a Russian
prison. In the same way the Roman CathoHc and

other Churches have been restricted from making

43



44 AMONG THE HERETICS

Russian converts. Quite recently a Roman Catholic
priest had been sent to gaol for three months for
christening a Russian baby.

Still, the new edict had given hope and courage
to all who do not accept the teachings of the Orthodox
Church and who desire liberty to worship according
to conscience. The difficulty is that the edict, like
everything Russian, is so vague and uncertain that
it needs courage to place any satisfactory interpre-
tation upon it, and still more to give practical effect
to it. Only the year before a Russian Baptist
Congress had been convened to be held in South
Russia (Odessa) with the sanction of the authorities.
About 100 delegates attended, but the proceedings
had not got beyond the president's opening address
when the police appeared on the scene and arrested
the whole of the delegation, who were sentenced to
varying terms of imprisonment up to two months.
As president. Pastor Pavloff received the maximum
term of three months. Singularly enough, his pre-
sidential address had been based on the six words
from the Song of Solomon, " The winter is over
and gone." Before night came he had good reason
to change his view, and in teUing me of the incident
he agreed that it was yet too early to apply Scrip-
tural prophecy to Russia.

From this it will be seen that brave hearts were
required to organise this first Baptist Congress in
the capital of the Empire. Certainly it had been



IN SESSION WITH THE HERETICS 45

authorised by the Minister for the Interior ; but
that meant nothing more than a nominal permission
to the delegates to meet, and that they might enter
the place of meeting openly instead of secretly, as
formerly. Beyond that, there was no guarantee
that the proceedings would get further than the
opening exercises, or that the final session would not
be held in prison, with the delegates manacled and
chained together and herded in one loathsome cell.

Yet of the eighty-six brave Russian men and
women who were attending this Congress and risking
their chances of personal liberty for the cause of
rehgious liberty in the land they love with the
genuine ardour of true patriots, thirty-two men and
two women had already suffered imprisonment or
exile, and some more than once.

Pastor Pavloff, the president of the Congress, as
president of the Russian Baptist Union, had suffered
exile in Siberia for two terms of four years each, and
had been to prison for conscience' sake oftener than
any Free Church passive resister, and under much
worse conditions. At the expiration of his first
term of banishment he returned to Tiflis, when the
police demanded a pledge from him that he would
not preach again. With a heroism characteristic of
the man, he refused to give either his word or his
signature, and in the same year (1891) he was
arrested and sentenced to a further period of banish-
ment.



46 AMONG THE HERETICS

Another delegate, Elder Pramenchoff by name,
had a unique record. In 1885 he was exiled to
Orenburg without trial, and kept there for two years.
In 1893 he was exiled to Elizabethpol (Siberia) ; all
his civil rights were taken away; his property was
confiscated; he was chained hands and feet.
This last was a life sentence, but owing to the birth
of the heir to the throne he was released. During
exile he was called upon to work with the criminal
gangs. For seven months and a half he never had
his chains off, day or night. Altogether, though
only fifty-six years of age, he had been in prison
fifty-two times in twenty-one different prisons,
covering a continuous term of eight years. Twice
his house was destroyed. Three times he was
nearly beaten to death by the police. On leaving
his last exile no shoes were given him, and he had
to walk 264 versts (about 280 English miles) to
Orenburg. On every occasion, directly he was
released, he began to preach again. When I met
him he was still not allowed to return to his native
town, and was practically an exile at large.

Besides Russians, the delegates included eighteen
Germans, five Letts, five Esthonians, four Poles, two
Finns, one Jew, one EngHshman, and one Australian.
They hailed from Siberia, the Caucasus, the Baltic,
the Caspian and Black Seas, from Finland, from
Poland, and the Ural Mountains ; indeed, from
every part of the great empire. All of them were



IN SESSION WITH THE HERETICS 47

poor men and women, who with difficulty were able
to defray the cost of the journey. All had travelled
by slow trains at the cheapest rate, a luxury which
nobody who has travelled in Russia will appreciate.
It was a picturesque company, and together they
presented a galaxy of heroes which any country
might be proud of.

The calling of the roll was no formal matter.
It took about two hours. The identity of every
delegate had to be proved, and this occasioned trouble
in more than one instance. Each delegate's ticket
had to be closely scrutinised. The Congress had
been sanctioned under rigid restrictions, and it was
recognised that the secret police would be watching
every detail. About half-way through the roll-call
there was a flutter of excitement near the door. An
army officer appeared in the doorway, and this was
interpreted to mean that the police had come.
The president, however, was quick to notice that
the officer was wearing the official delegate's metal
badge, and invited him to the front. There he was
identified as a member of a Baptist Church in South
Russia, and a fully accredited delegate to the Con-
gress, and as such was cordially welcomed. He is
an army surgeon.

The Baptist World AlHance was officially repre-
sented by its European Commissioner, the Rev.
Charles T. Byford, who conveyed greetings, and
was received with many affectionate expressions of



48 AMONG THE HERETICS

welcome. Greetings by letter were read from the
Revs. Dr. Clifford, F. B. Meyer, J. H. Shakespeare
and J. W. Ewing, members of the Baptist World
Alliance Executive.

The only other English-speaking delegate was the
representative from Australia. Russians measure
distance by days rather than miles, and the dele-
gates were amusingly curious in their inspection
of a comrade who had travelled forty-two days'
journey by water and three by rail to attend the
Congress, and who told them that their calendars
were fourteen days and their clocks twelve hours
behind those in Australia. At the close of the session
he received more than a cordial welcome. It was
characteristically Russian, and correspondingly
overpowering. These Russian Baptists, who, as I
have said before, follow the example of the early
disciples and apostles, and " greet one another
with a holy kiss," literally fell upon the Australian
and hugged him with the ardour of Russian bears.

Nobody would have suspected from the generally
quiet demeanour of the delegates that they were
met under any sort of ban, and that their proceedings
were being closely watched by the police. There
was no disquieting element at the opening morning
session, but at the afternoon session a Government
architect appeared, and proceedings were delayed
until he had inspected the building (a licensed
public hall, the use of which had already been



IN SESSION WITH THE HERETICS 49

approved) to see if any objections could be taken
to it as a suitable meeting-place for a congress.
Apparently he did not discover anything to warrant
any proscription, and left in solemn grandeur.

On the second day there was another brush with
officialdom. Prayer was offered for the Tsar and
Royal Family, the Ministers of State, and members
of the Duma ; and the president, who led, thanked
God that liberty had been granted to them as
Baptists to meet and discuss their needs. Then it
was resolved to send the following telegram to His
Imperial Majesty, who was at the time in Germany i
" The all-Russian Baptist Congress at St. Peters-
burg, after prayer for the health and prosperity of
Your Royal Highness and the Royal Family, lay
at your feet our loyal greetings." A further sense
of loyalty prompted the delegates to rise sponta-
neously and sing the National Anthem, but instead
of the words " death to his enemies," and " Tsar
of the Orthodox," they substituted " May peace
reign within " and " Tsar of all Russia."

Throughout the Congress the police were in
evidence, taking copious notes, and the guard at
the door was changed promptly every hour.

To EngUsh or Australian eyes and ears the pro-
ceedings of a Congress in Russia are strange indeed.
This first Congress of Russian Baptists was the most
decorous public gathering I, as a newspaper man,
had ever attended — certainly it was the most orderly



50 AMONG THE HERETICS

assembly of Baptists I have known. It was more
like a Quakers' meeting than anything else. There
was no applause. There were no interjections. Any
impression made by the speakers was unobservable
in the faces of the delegates. The effect of a speech
or a discussion was only known when a vote came
to be taken.

There was no competition among delegates to
catch the president's eye. Delegates who wished to
speak on any question before the Congress quietly
rose and remained standing until the president
should name them. There was often the spectacle
of a dozen or more delegates standing and waiting
to be named. If they got tired of waiting, as was
frequently the case, they sat down. Sometimes the
president made up his mind that enough had been
said on a given subject, and everybody standing
resumed his seat without a murmur.

From the opening session to the last on the
eighth day of meeting there was not a ripple of
excitement or disorder concerning anything that
came before the Congress in the shape of business.
Unless one was familiar with the undercurrents,
everything must have appeared stereotyped and dull.
The only occasions for excitement were due to the
presence and conduct of the pohce officers, who
were watching affairs on behalf of the Government.

All congresses and conferences in Russia are of
the same nature. The strict decorum, the unemo-