Tolstoi and the State Church
The bitter folly and the wickedness of the doings of a State Church are well illustrated in the case of Count Tolstoi, who was recently excommunicated from the Greek Catholic Church, the State Church of Russia. Some months ago the officials of the church were forbidden to perform any funeral ceremonies in case of Tolstoi’s death. The report states that the action of the church was received by Tolstoi without complaint. His wife, however, has written a strong letter to the procurator and bishops protesting against the action. In this connection there is much food for thought in the following extract from the wife’s letter of protest: “As for this document causing the spiritual death of my husband, that is God’s concern, not man’s. The life of the soul, thank heaven, is not within the jurisdiction of the powers that be; but when I see this excommunication delivered by the church to which I belong, established by Christ in order to hallow the solemn acts of man’s life, birth, marriage, and death, whose mission is to proclaim the law of charity, the remission of sins and love of our enemies, whose duty for all is to pray for all, then I am at a loss to understand.” In speaking of the order that no funeral rites be performed by priests of the church at the burial of her husband, she refers to those who gave the orders as having proudly placed themselves at the head of the church, while breaking the law of love and humility and behaving like spiritual executioners. But that is the very thing that State Churches are supposed to do and have done for centuries. It was a proud day for the powers of darkness when the State and Church joined hands, and it will be another proud day for them when these two organizations shall join hands again in the countries where the Church and State shackles had been broken. The saddest part of the unholy transaction is that the tighter the church clings to the State, the weaker grows her hold on God.