The Empire of Russia: From the Remotest Periods to the Present TimeAbbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)
History
The Empire of Russia: From the Remotest Periods to the Present Time
Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)
Russia -- History
From this conjunction is to be dated the commencement of the glory of
the reign of Ivan IV. The first endeavor of the reformed monarch was
to quell the tumult among the people. Three days after the
assassination of the Glinskys, a mob from Moscow rushed out to the
village of Vorobeif, surrounded the palace and demanded one of the
aunts of the emperor and another of the nobles who had become
obnoxious to them. The king immediately opened a fire upon mob and
dispersed them. This decisive act restored order. Ivan IV. immediately
devoted all his energies to preparing dwellings for the houseless poor
and in relieving their necessities. His whole soul seemed aroused to
promote the happiness of his subjects, both temporal and spiritual,
and all selfish considerations were apparently obliterated from his
mind. In order to consolidate, by the aids of religion, the happy
change effected in the government and in his own heart, the young
sovereign shut himself up for several days in solitude, and, in the
exercises of self-examination, fasting and prayer, made the entire
consecration of himself to his Maker. He then assembled the bishops in
one of the churches, and, in their presence, with touching words and
tearful eyes, made confession of his faults, implored divine
forgiveness, and then, with the calmness of a soul relieved of the
burden of sin, received the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
With true nobility of soul, he wished his penitence to be as
conspicuous as his sins had been. He resolved to humble himself before
his Maker in the presence of all Russia, that his subjects universally
might understand the new principles which animated his heart, and the
new desires which would enlist his energies. Every city in the empire
received orders to send deputies to Moscow, chosen from all the ranks
of society, to attend to matters of the utmost importance to the
country. The Sabbath morning after their arrival, they were all
assembled, an immense multitude, in one of the public squares of the
city. The czar, accompanied by the clergy and the nobles, left the
palace of the Kremlin to meet the deputies. The solemnity of the
Sabbath hallowed the scene, and the people received their sovereign in
profound silence.
The metropolitan bishop first offered a prayer. Ivan IV. then,
standing on a platform, addressed the bishop in the following terms:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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