Now that attention has been drawn to these facts, real and serious efforts are needed to awaken general interest in the matter. This question of the revival of parish life is very serious and important. In the foundation of parishes lies the seed of future economic victory—for, without a parish, there can be neither solidarity nor union of interests, nor any means of utilising to the utmost all the resources of the nation for the benefit of our Church and State.
In view of the rumour that the parish will be renewed, some time ago an ecclesiastical parish meeting was held. The questions debated regarded the parish, and many resolutions were passed. One of the most important was to ask the Metropolitan's consent to renew meetings of clergymen of the whole town, parish churchwardens and representatives of parishioners to discuss and decide parish questions, and by this meeting give a mutual understanding among all concerned in the question on hand.
Here the most prominent of professors should be allowed to express their opinions, as well as a number of other laymen.
In the parish life there are instances known only to the clergyman.
Up to now such instances have been the clergyman's realm of Christian duty which he made his chief care and happiness.
The Russian Slavophils were all supporters of the parish and its prerogatives. These always appealed to our ancient history and our traditions, and to see them appreciated at their real value by a man of such position as the Metropolitan, Pitirim, is certainly an event of great importance in the life of our Church, and especially welcome in our times, where there is decidedly a great religious revival throughout the whole of Russia.
Slavophils always maintained that religion ought to have the upper hand in questions where the temporal power was attempting to interfere. The following is a case in point.
As is well known, the Emperor Nicholas I was a very energetic man, who liked to have his own way. On one occasion he was strongly in favour of a step of which the Church disapproved. At that time we had as Metropolitan of Petrograd a very superior man, by name Plato. I must add that our Metropolitans have no difficulty in obtaining interviews with the Emperor. The Metropolitan, therefore, after putting on all his decorations, went without hesitation to the Palace, where he arrived in great state in his carriage drawn by four or six horses. "Majesty," he said, laying all his decorations before the Emperor on the table, "here are all the gifts I have received from you. I will leave my carriage at your gates and return on foot as a poor monk. But I will never sanction the reform you demand."
The projected reform was abandoned. So do we, old-fashioned Slavophils, always supporting the independence of the Church, now welcome with joy the intention of the Holy Synod and the Metropolitan, Pitirim, to return to the parish system with all its former privileges which have of late years been neglected—indeed, almost forgotten.
In our times, in spite of the difficulties, certain efforts have been made to revive the parish question of ancient days. Thus, for instance, in Kieff, and in the diocese of Kieff, various brotherhoods have been organised which began with the starting of preaching and organising schools. And they soon discovered that in the same province there existed already about one hundred associations of the same kind, though in more limited forms. These were exclusively organised by the clergy. Thus, for instance, in one of the districts, there were already over thirty consumers' stores, started by the initiative of one single clergyman. The brilliant result of this initiative in the year 1913 represented already a considerable balance, which helped to open a second-class school, classes where trades were learned and where there were stalls of agricultural implements. The Brotherhood's Council then organised its own special committee, calling it the Agricultural Committee, whose task it was to "bring help to all ripening agricultural questions and to discuss them in council." Libraries, reading-rooms, moving pictures, choral singing, and sermons on education and other important requirements were thus established. Naturally those grew the most prominent which were already united by faith and prayer.