MANY of the ups and downs in the story of Bible circulation in Russia read like a romance. The ending details of this story we find in the Kirchenzeitung of Leipzig (No. 51), from which we select and translate the following data:—
In the first decade of the present century the Bible was practically unknown in Russia. It was indeed possible to secure German and Slavonic texts (the latter being the church language of the establishment, but not at all understood by the great majority of the people), and occasionally a copy in the Finnish, Polish, Lithuanian, or Estonian languages could be met with; but in the Russian language there were no copies of the Scriptures to be had. In 1812 Napoleon invaded Russia, and the Russians, defeated in all the battles, were compelled to retreat. The Czar Alexander I. and his advisers were in despair. Only one man among those with whom the emperor associated remained calm and hopeful, and that was Prince Galitzyn. Finally the czar asked him the cause of his good spirits, and the prince drew out of his pocket a small copy of the New Testament, and informed his ruler that this Book was the source of his comfort and joy. The czar wanted to see the Book, but it happened to fall to the ground, and, in falling, opened at the ninety-first psalm, and the czar's eyes fell on the opening words of this psalm. Deeply moved, he asked for the Book, and became a warm lover of the Scriptures.
Soon afterward John Paterson, a representative of the British Bible Society, arrived in St. Petersburg and asked for permission to establish a branch in Finland. The czar not only granted the request, but also contributed 5,000 rubles toward the project, and further issued the order that in Russia proper, even while the French were yet in Moscow, a Bible Society on a large scale should be established, so that all Russian subjects could have a Bible in their own tongue.
In this way the St. Petersburg Bible Society received governmental approval December 6, 1812, and the czar himself became a member. The first meeting was held in January, 1813, when Prince Galitzyn was chosen president. The members were not only adherents of the state or orthodox church, but also Protestants and Roman Catholics. Especially were the Protestants active in the propaganda. In the same year a Bible Society—yet in existence—was established for the German Baltic provinces. In Moscow, too, a similar organization was effected, headed by the archbishop of that metropolis. As early as 1814 the various local societies were united into a general body, the Russian Bible Society, and among the new members were a number of Russian grand dukes. The outspoken object was to have every Russian family in the empire the possessor of a Bible. In order to secure a good translation into the Russian, the czar contributed 30,000 rubles and a stone building in St. Petersburg. In the year 1823 the Bible had already been translated into sixteen dialects of Russia, and 49,000 copies had been imported from abroad in addition to the 805,000 copies issued by the Russian society. There was no lack of funds. In the first ten years of its activity this society expended the sum of 3,687,000 rubles, and yet, as Prince Galitzyn himself declared, the supply was not equal to the demand among the people.
An unexpected change came after the death of Alexander I. in 1825, when Nicholas I. ascended the throne. In the following year the new czar issued an edict dissolving all Bible societies in Russia, and refused to permit private printing concerns to circulate the Scriptures, and ordered that all the copies on hand in the depots should be sent to St. Petersburg, where their fate was to be decided by the Holy Synod, which body alone was to have the right of circulating the Scriptures. This body did practically little or nothing in this direction, and soon the matter rested altogether. In 1845 an English wholesale merchant in St. Petersburg, when requested to furnish a copy of the Russian New Testament, reported that it had been impossible for him to secure a single copy of either the Slavonic or the Russian Scriptures in that city, altho he had offered the highest price for such a Book, and that in Moscow too the supply was nearly exhausted. After a great deal of agitation, the Holy Synod decided that it would print 3,600 copies of the New Testament in the Slavonic language, as it was thought this would supply the actual needs. Nor was more done at that time.
Moorea, Society Islands, one of the most picturesque islands of the South Pacific. Population, 1,400. The Pitcairn visited Moorea upon its first cruise. We have never had a missionary on the island for any length of time. The people have received considerable of our literature, and have asked for help. A coffee planter from New York, whom I met upon the slopes of those mountains, told me that his best help were the confirmed drunkards, as they would work well part of the week in order to have means with which to get drunk the balance of the time. How much they need to be taught habits of temperance and industry, the Lord only knows. E. C. C.
In the reign of Alexander II., Bible societies were again permitted to do their work in Russia, and in 1869 "The Society for the Spread of the Scriptures in Russia" was organized, and this association has in the twenty years of its existence spread more than a million and a half copies of the Bible or parts of the Bible throughout the empire. Headquarters and depots are at St. Petersburg and Moscow, and a network of colporters has been established in all the leading cities. In the year 1898 a Miss Hörschelmann, the daughter of a high officer, devoted herself entirely to the work of distributing the Bible among the prisoners, and has in this way disposed of 60,000 copies. —Literary Digest.
