stacks in its spread. No wonder the State tolerates vice among old and young, and even among children.
Satan has descended upon earth. Sectarians, priests, priestesses, and devil-worshippers all behold him. But is it Satan, Devil, or Beelzebub? …
No! … declare the Orthodox ecclesiastics. It is not he, it is his forerunner—the Antichrist.
This problem was very seriously and at great length discussed and considered during the congresses of the clergy in Novgorod, Moscow, Yaroslav, Kiev, Chernigov, and Omsk in 1919.
The movement was originated by the Bishops Yevdokim and Sylvester and the Metropolitan Makar.
It started with a passionate study of the revelations of the Apocalypse by Saint John the Apostle. His fiery, confused, and mystical words called forth prophecies and predictions. Hazy dates and pictures evoked curiosity and a desire to solve the mystery. I knew men of profound learning who studied for hours the tangled texts of the Apocalypse, which in pre-Bolshevik times they only knew by name.
An immense literature has sprung up of commentaries on the Apocalypse, drawing practical deductions for the realisation of its hazy predictions and prophecies. There is no corner in Russia which this mystical literature has not reached. Nothing appealed more eloquently to the comprehension of the infatuated who wanted to believe ardently in the fulfilment of their cherished dreams.
