These miracles of defense have given a vast celebrity to the saint,
who has come to be thought not only holy himself, but a cause of
holiness in others. On the way from Moscow to Troitsa stands the
hamlet of Hotkoff, in which lies the dust of Sergie's father and
mother; over whose tombs a church and convent have been built. Every
pilgrim on the road to Troitsa stops at this convent and adores their
bones. "Have you been to Troitsa before?" we heard a pilgrim ask his
fellow, as they trudged along the road. "Yes, thanks be to God." "Has
Sergie given you what you came to seek?" "Well, no, not all." "Then
you neglected to stop at Hotkoff and adore his parents; he was angry
with you." "Perhaps; God knows. It may be so. Next time I will go to
Hotkoff. Overlook my sin!" A railway has been made from Moscow to
Troitsa, and the lazy herd of pilgrims go by train. The better sort
still march along the dirty road, and count their beads in front of
the wooden chapels and many rich crosses, as of old. St. Sergie has
gained in wealth, and lost in credit, by the convenience offered to
pilgrims in the railway line.
In the centre of this fortress and sanctuary the monks erected an
academy, in which priests were to be trained for their future work. A
young man lives in it under Troitsa rule, and leaves it with the
Troitsa brand. The rector is a man of rank in the church, equal to the
Master of Trinity among ourselves. Until the day when Philaret brought
Father Gorski into office, his post had always been filled by an
Archimandrite. Now Father Gorski was a learned man, a good writer, and
a great authority on points of church antiquity and ceremonial. Great
in reputation, he was also advanced in years. Some objected to him on
the ground that he was not a monk; but his fame as a learned man, his
noticeable piety, and his nearness with the Metropolite, carried him
through. Even the monks forgave him when they found that he lived,
like themselves, a secluded and cloistered life.
They hardly saw how much they were giving up in that early fight; for
this man of monk-like habit had not taken vows; and in one of the
strongholds of their power they were placing the education of their
clergy in charge of a parish priest!
A second step in the line of march has been taken in the nomination of
a married pope to the post of Rector of the Ecclesiastical Academy of
St. Petersburg. Father Yanycheff is this new rector; and Father
Yanycheff's wife is still alive. This call of a married man to such a
chair has fired the Church with hope and fear--the White Clergy
looking on it with surprise and joy, the Black Clergy with amazement
and despair.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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