Bird's Milk

To TIME Correspondent John Scott in Berlin last fortnight, three Russian Orthodox churchmen reported their recent command visit to the Soviet Union and the condition of their church there:

Archbishop Alexander Nemolowsky, 65, Russian Orthodox archbishop of Berlin, his assistant, Archpriest Sergei Tolojewsky, and Father Arkadyi Zakidalsky arose excitedly at three o'clock in the morning. They were going to Moscow. Emigrants from the Soviet Union for more than 20 years, they were about to return as guests of the Patriarch of atheist Russia.

The automobile from the Russian Kommandatura was supposed to come for them at five o'clock. For an hour the three nervous churchmen, their long, greying beards straggling down the breasts of their black gowns, shifted from one foot to the other on their doorstep. The car arrived at 6:30. They still had no passports. In fact, they had never received the written invitation from the Patriarch. But they had had several telephone calls from the Kommandatura's suave Colonel Alexander Tulpanov, telling them that the Patriarch was awaiting them impatiently.

At the Soviet airport, after another delay, a polite, bemedaled Soviet officer handed them their "passports." They were alarmed to find that the Archbishop's read "Soviet citizen Alexander Nemolowsky . . . returning to the fatherland." But the Archbishop insisted that they must go on anyway.

In Moscow they were met by representatives of Minister for Religious Affairs G. G. Karpov; a limousine whisked them straight to the Hotel Savoy (around the corner from the recently reconditioned Lyubyanka--headquarters of the Secret Police).

"Don't be afraid to ask for anything you want," they were told at the hotel, "even if it is bird's milk." Later, the travelers were taken to call on the Patriarch. There they met Archdeacon Gregori Antonenko and others of the Patriarch's entourage, went to see a nearby church which was functioning. Said Father Sergei: "There are some 34 churches now in Moscow, filled to capacity every Sunday. Young people, old people, everybody comes. But somehow Moscow is a crude village. All the time I was there I didn't see a single intelligent face on the streets, nor a single really well-dressed man or woman. They really are subhumans, these new Russians."

Necessary Compromises. But Father Sergei was much impressed with the Patriarch. "He greeted us with great feeling. He is an able man, quiet and good and simple. He has made his compromises with the Soviet state, compromises which were necessary. As a result he lives well, has automobiles, servants, and a chance tp travel wherever he wants to. . .

"Immediately we were given dinner-- an excellent dinner. All sorts of fish, excellent caviar--without end. After dinner we were taken home. Neither that day nor on any other day did we ever get a chance to walk around alone in the streets."

The travelers from Berlin reported that since the unwritten agreement between Stalin and the Patriarch (1942), many church buildings, miters, robes, relics have been restored to the church, together with some monasteries. The Government has permitted the organization of two ecclesiastical seminaries, where several hundred students are now studying for the priesthood. It has also put part of the former Bezbozhnik (Godless) Publishing House, which for 20 years had published atheistic literature, at the disposal of the Patriarch. Hence, official church publications now bear the imprimatur: Tipografia Bezboznika (Godless Press).

The Government's newly organized Ministry for Religious Affairs supplies church leaders with automobiles and gasoline, and protects them from the zealous ardor of the Communist Party and the Secret Police.

The church is almost tax-free (the clergy must pay personal income taxes, but these are comparatively small). Last year Father Fjodor (one of the Patriach's assistants) paid 50,000 rubles ($10,000 at official rate) income tax on an income of 365,000 rubles. On the day Father Sergei visited the Yelokhovski Sobor (Cathedral) in Moscow, 32,000 rubles were collected from the sale of candles alone.

"In many places," said Father Sergei, "particularly in the monasteries, hunger is ever present. We noticed that the fathers in Russia always urged us to order much more than we could eat at every meal. They would always take what was left on the plates to eat later themselves, or for their families. In the monasteries near Kiev the brothers were constantly hungry. When we visited the Kievo-Pecherskaya monastery in Kiev during Sunday services, we found ourselves in the midst of a hungry, harassed-looking multitude. People were milling around outside the church, and voices in the crowd cried to us without fear or shame: 'Save us, save us, dear guests, the time has come.'"

Not Optimistic. Father Sergei is not optimistic about the future of the Church in Russia. "Stalin made a deal with the Church because he had to during the war. He and his men are as staunchly atheistic today as they ever were. Very soon now they will clamp down on the Church, suppress services and take from the Russian people that little grain of solace and hope which the Church today is allowed to bring them." Archbishop Nemolowsky, on the other hand, was much more favorably impressed. He was inclined to feel that the Soviet Government has made a permanent peace with the Church.

But the travelers agreed about the Soviet Government's plans for the Russian Orthodox churches in western Europe. "At dinner Mr. Karpov and his assistant made quite clear to us that we have been invited to the Soviet Union to see for ourselves that the Church was being allowed to function in Russia, in order that on our return to western Europe we could spread the glad tidings to our flocks. Also we found much interest in those Orthodox dioceses still under the authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople. We were asked on our return to Berlin to try to go to Munich, where several dioceses are still under the wing of Constantinople. We were to persuade them to come back under the authority of the Patriarch of Moscow. In order to help us in our work, the Patriarch and Minister Karpov offered to send with us two or three young priests --good persuaders. This offer we declined as politely as we could."

After three weeks in the Soviet Union, the travelers were put on a Berlin-bound plane at the Moscow airport. They still had no passports except the dubious papers declaring them Soviet citizens. Bad weather grounded the plane at Kaliningrad. There MGB (secret police) officials took them off the plane and forced them to spend the night, while they telephoned Moscow for instructions. Next day another plane brought them to Berlin.

Said Father Sergei: "It was very interesting, but I am very glad to be back."

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