A FALSE PROPHET

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVII, Issue 144, 20 June 1913, Page 2

A FALSE PROPHET

RUSSIAN CREDULITY

SUFFERINGS OF; DELUDED

/, FOLLOWERS

Nothing can be more characteristic of modern Russia than the tragicomical story of the religious movement started by a certain Podolian monk named Innocent. This worthy, a Moldavian by birth, and an inmate of the, Theodosiah . monastery at Balta, a town in Podolia, discovered one day in 1910 that a certain priest, Theodosius Levitsky, who had died in 1845 and was buried in the T'heodosian monastery, had been a saint, and that .in consequence his body was a miracle-working relic. The rumor of this startling discovery soon spread all over the neighboring province of Bessarabia, and the monastery became •■ a place of pilgrimage and the scene of miracles, cures, and expulsions of "devils." The superiors of- the monastery and even the authorities of the diocese at first took lt>o the idea as likely to prove a source of revenue. Gradually, however, the thing became more serious. Innocent was not satisfied with the fame of a mere discoverer, but began preaching to the multitude, speaking of the impending end of the world, and of the approaching day of judgment. The authorities then became alarmed, but still refrained from active interference, as the preaching had the unforeseen effect of inducing the faithful not only to leave off drinking and smoking, but also to sell all their belongings, and bring the proceeds to the monastery. Gradually, however, Innocent became still bolder. He now proclaimed himself John the Baptist and the nrophet Elijah rolled into one, surrounded himself with a large following (predominantly female) iny°" duced a new ritual, and worked himself up to the hallucination that he was none other than Jesus Christ i himself. . . . , Then the authorities decided to i intervene. At first the Holy Synod , had an idea of simply unfrocking Innocent and expelling 'him from the monastery, but the practical uselessi ness of tlha-t measure being obvious a decision was taken to transfer him to '. a monastery in a distant part of : Russia. The small monastery of , Murom, on the Lake of Onega, in the province of Olonets, was chosen. It was also decided to send! down missionaries to Padolia and Bessarabia to combat the heresy. This was done at the end of last summer, but the en re proved worse than the disease, for now the' faithful of Bessarabia began' trooping to Murom. Hundreds of families sold all their belongings and set out. on the march to the Lake or Onega, strengthened in their faith in the new Christ by the similarity of the sound Onega with that of Omega m the verso of the Apocalpse, "I am the Alpha and the Omega." By the- end of the year quite a colony of Bassarabian peasants—men, women, and children—had -assembled a.t _the Murom monastery suffering, terribly from hunger, cold, and overcrowding, and no exhortations on the part of the authorities could prevail upon them to go away. Suddenly on February 19 the whole crowd, consisting of some 800 persons of both sexes and all ages, with Innocent -at their head, disappeared. They had set out on foot, bare-headed, without food, money, or warm clothing, and singing psalms, towards the nearest railway station, some 225 miles distant, in order to take the train for the ''New Zion." A hue and cry was instantly raised, and when the crowd entered the province of

Archangel it was met by a detachment of constabulary and escorted to the nearest town, where they were taken in charge by the police. More than 20 children had perished during the march from hunger and frost, and over 50 men and women (had at once to be taken to the hospital for amputation of frost-bitten limbs and general medical assistance. Innocent himself was placed under aa-rest, and he will now not only be unfrocked, but also proceeded against for blasphemy and even for lese mageste, for ho had been declaring that there would be no longer any Tsars in Russia, but himself, and that all the kings on earth would be subject to him except those of China and Japan.—Manchester Guardian.