In the time of their fasts, the neighbours euery where goe from one to another, and visite one another, and kisse one another with kisses of peace, in token of their mutuall loue and Christian concord: and then also they doe more often then at any other time goe to the holy Communion. When seuen dayes are past, from the beginning of the fast, then they doe often either goe to their Churches, or keepe themselues at home, and vse often prayer: and for that seuennight they eate nothing but hearbes: but after that seuennights fast is once past, then they returne to their old intemperancie of drinking, for they are notable tospots. As for the keeping of their fasting dayes, they doe it very streightly, neither doe they eate any thing besides hearbes, and salt fish, as long as those fasting dayes doe endure: but vpon euery Wednesday and Friday, in euery weeke thoughout the yeere, they fast.
There are very many Monasteries of the order of S. Benedict, amongst them, to which many great liuings, for their maintenance, doe belong: for the Friers and the Monkes doe at the least possesse the third part of the liuings, throughout the whole Moscouite Empire. To those Monkes that are of this Order, there is amongst them a perpetuall prohibition, that they may eate no flesh: and therefore their meate is onely salt fish, milke, and butter: neither is it permitted them by the lawes, and customes of their religion, to eate any fresh fish at all: and at those foure fasting times, whereof we spake before, they eate no fish at all: onely they liue with hearbes, and cucumbers, which they doe continually for that purpose cause and take order to grow and spring, for their vse and diet.
As for their drinke, it is very weake, and small. For the discharge of their office, they do euery day say seruice, and that early in the mornings before day: and they doe in such sort, and with such obseruation begin their seruice, that they will be sure to make an ende of it, before day: and about nine of the clocke in the morning they celebrate the Communion. When they haue so done, they goe to dinner, and after dinner they goe againe to seruice, and the like also after supper: and in the meane time while they are at dinner there is some exposition or interpretation of the Gospel vsed.
Whensoeuer any Abbot of any monasterie dieth, the Emperour taketh all his housholde stuffe, beastes, flockes of sheepe, golde, siluer, and all that he hath: or els hee that is to succeede him in his place and dignitie doth redeeme all those things, and buyeth them of the Emperour for money.
Their churches are built of timber, and the towers of their churches for the most part are centered with shingle boordes. At the doores of their churches, they vsually build some entrance or porch as we doe, and in their churchyardes they erect a certain house of woode, wherein they set vp their bels, wherein sometimes they haue but one, in some two, and in some also three.
There is one vse and custome amongst them, which is strange and rare, but yet it is very ridiculous, and that is this: when any man dyeth amongst them, they take the dead body and put it in a coffine or chest, and in the hand of the corps they put a little scroule, and in the same there are these wordes written, that the same man died a Russe of Russes, hauing receiued the faith, and died in the same. This writing or letter they say they send to S. Peter, who receiuing it (as they affirme) reades it, and by and by admits him into heauen, and that his glory and place is higher and greater than the glory of the Christians of the Latine church, reputing themselues to be followers of a more sincere faith and religion than they: they hold opinion that we are but halfe Christians, and themselues onely to be the true and perfect church: these are the foolish and childish dotages of such ignorant Barbarians.
Of the Moscouites that are Idolaters, dwelling neere to Tartaria.
There is a certaine part of Moscouie bordering vpon the countreys of the Tartars, wherein those Moscouites that dwell are very great idolaters: they haue one famous idole amongst them, which they call the Golden old wife: and they haue a custome that whensoeuer any plague or any calamity doth afflict the country, as hunger, warre, or such like, then they goe to consult with their idol, which they do after this manner: they fall down prostrate before the idol, and pray vnto it, and put in the presence of the same, a cymbal: and about the same certaine persons stand, which are chosen amongst them by lot: vpon their cymball they place a siluer tode, and sound the cymball, and to whomsoeuer of those lotted persons that tode goeth, he is taken, and by and by slaine: and immediately, I know not by what illusions of the deuill or idole, he is againe restored to life, and then doth reueale and deliuer the causes of the present calamitie. And by this meanes knowing how to pacifie the idole, they are deliuered from the imminent danger.
Of the forme of their priuate houses, and of the apparell of the people.
The common houses of the countrey are euery where built of beames of Firre tree: the lower beames doe so receiue the round hollownesse of the vppermost, that by the meanes of the building thereupon, they resist, and expell all winds that blow, and where the timber is ioined together, there they stop the chinks with mosse. The forme and fashion of their houses in al places is foure square, with streit and narrow windoes, whereby with a transparent casement made or couered with skinne like to parchment, they receiue the light The roofes of their houses are made of boords couered without with ye barke of trees: within their houses they haue benches or griezes hard by their wals, which commonly they sleepe vpon, for the common people knowe not the vse of beds: they haue stoues wherein in the morning they make a fire, and the same fire doth either moderately warme, or make very hote the whole house.