3. The Russian Church in New York (Cont.)

By the way, it should be noted that the majority of the Russians here lead lives of poverty and regret the abandonment of the homeland, claiming that they were bitterly mistaken in their hopes for a better life in the New World. This is partly their own fault. It is truly worthy of wonder – the frivolity with which Russians ordinarily decide to migrate to America. Most of them arrive in America not only without having determined a plan for their future life in the country but often with no notion whatever of the actual conditions of life, the customs, and even the language of the country to which they are moving. Considering sufficient those pieces of information picked up in various alluring and at the same time false little books, filled with all sorts of fabulous nonsense from ignorant and superficial travelers to America, Russians come here as to the promised land of free, profitable, and easy labor. Meanwhile, American labor requires such persistent willpower, agility, and skill in specialized crafts, which are inconceivable in Russia. As a result, Russians, even ready craftsmen, cannot withstand competition from Americans, are rejected in the labor market, and are therefore forced to work at half-pay in various disreputable establishments, and very often remain without any work at all. There is no need to mention the dire and helpless position of those Russians who arrive without any knowledge of specialized craft, with only what is called general education. For such people, there is literally no place in America; the local competition crushes them completely, and they are the ones who most often and most need assistance, until they learn some trade. And there is a place to learn. One young Russian with a university education, having arrived in New York without knowledge of a craft, was for a long time in the most dire position until he ended up in the state prison Sing Sing. Prisons in America are put on a practical footing, as are all things among Americans, and represent something in the way of enormous factories, where the prisoners are obligated to work for the benefit of the state. Our countryman was assigned to the hat-making trade, and in six months of his imprisonment became so skilled that upon release he was able to earn his bread by his newly acquired trade. For others, who unfortunately are not few, even this school often passes without effect, and they remain in their helpless state as before.

With such a composition of clergy and parish, the Russian church in New York began its existence ten years ago and exists now. The family element in the parish, mainly Greeks and then Slavs, remains unchanging, as it is firmly settled in America, but the Russians constantly change, except for a dozen also well-established people. Before the establishment of the church, this Orthodox population was in the most abandoned state. More or less wealthy people went to San Francisco, seven thousand versts away, for church services, while others made use of chance visits of Orthodox priests through New York, but for the most part were deprived of all religious consolation, weakened in their devotion to Orthodoxy and, having married American women, became adherents to the confessions of their wives. With the establishment of the Russian church, the Orthodox population began to gather around it, and many Orthodox who had married unbelieving women and had previously had their children baptized in unbelieving churches now had their new children baptized in the Russian Orthodox church. Substantial church services, of course, could not be many given the small number of the parish, and yet in ten years they accumulated a sufficient quantity to justify the existence of the Russian church in New York even from a practical standpoint. From 1870 to 1880, fifty-five baptisms of children of both sexes, twelve marriages, and fourteen burials were performed in it. There were also conversions to the Orthodox church, though few and rather random. In ten years four people were received, one male and three female. Among them the wife and daughter of the priest.

Americans are the most reading people in the world, and every institution, religious or political, can only find its way to their consciousness and win their sympathy through literature. With this goal, the rector of the church has translated and published several works in English, which are mainly designed to introduce the teaching of the Orthodox church to the understanding of non-believers. Every American church or community then has its own literary organ, and it is considered such a necessity here that Americans cannot imagine a church as a living body without it. In light of this, a literary organ was necessary for the Orthodox church as well. Such an organ was founded at the end of 1878 under the name “Journal of the Eastern Church” (Oriental Church Magazine) and now the third year of its existence is being completed. The journal, in these three years, has presented a wealth of interesting material of great importance for acquainting Americans not only with the teaching and rites of the Orthodox church but also with the life of the Russian people in general. It is the only organ from which Americans can obtain direct and impartial knowledge about the Russian people – with their beliefs and life, and it is a powerful refutation of the false lies spread among Americans about Russia by the hostile German-English press. The American press ordinarily receives each issue of it with vivacity and sympathy. Its further existence is undoubtedly a vital necessity for the church.

One of the prominent sides of the life of American churches is their charitable activity. Charity is considered an essential obligation of the church, and in some churches it reaches remarkably broad dimensions. In this regard, the Roman Catholic church especially stands out here. It has so many charitable institutions and such excellent organization that even the government of the State of New York recognized this activity as being of important public significance and, contrary to the legal separation of church and state, makes it considerable monetary assistance and has practically entrusted it with all care for public charity. Each church and community in turn concerns itself with the care of poor members of its parish, and for this each church has its own charitable society and its own collection for the “poor of the parish.” As a result of both this general principle and especially in view of the dire situation of many members of the Russian parish, the need for organizing charity naturally expressed itself at the Russian church. The idea arose long ago, but with a complete absence of any monetary means, it could not be realized until recently. Only at the end of last year, thanks to the assistance of His Excellencies the Russian Minister and General Consul, did the rector manage to gather some monetary funds, relying on which he could establish the “Russian Charitable Society.” The fund was formed from voluntary contributions of the clergy, members of the Embassy and Consulate, and wealthy Americans. The society proved to be extremely useful and even more strongly began to gather the local Orthodox population around the church. Rarely a day passes without some impoverished Russian appearing with a request for assistance. Many come complaining that they have nowhere to sleep and have been hungry for a day or two. To organize more regular and substantial assistance, the priest came to an agreement with wealthy American charitable societies and at a cheap price acquired a whole packet of tickets, giving every holder the right to free use of lodging, meals, and hospital in the institutions of these societies. Every poor man who received such a ticket from him can consider himself secure from hunger and exposure for two or three days. Sometimes direct monetary assistance is also given – as a loan or free – and over the past year the society has already expended more than 200 dollars on charitable needs. Word of the charity spread throughout the entire population that has any contact with the church or even simply with Russia. Often Poles and Jews, who have emigrated from Russia and speak Russian with difficulty, come seeking assistance. Once even a German came, who knew not a word of Russian, but called himself Russian and therefore had a right to assistance, since he had lived in Russia for some time. What a great unifying moral power Orthodoxy possesses can be fully understood and seen only abroad. It unites here into one family people who often have nothing in common – except Orthodox faith. On one of the Sundays, leaving the church after worship, I met at the entrance two swarthy men in Turkish red fezzes. They were hesitantly looking at the golden cross and the inscription beneath it, obviously trying to understand its meaning. Seeing me, they addressed me in French, and from this and from a card they held in their hands, I understood that they wanted to see the Russian priest. It turned out that they were Turkish subjects – Orthodox Arabs from Syria. Having come to America, they found themselves in dire straits in a completely foreign country without knowledge of the English language, and now turned to the Orthodox priest as the only guide, who for them, distant sons of the east, was the only close person on the distant western shore across the ocean.

On Sundays, services are held regularly; on Saturday at 5 p.m., an all-night vigil is served in Slavonic, and on Sunday at 11 a.m., the liturgy alternates between Slavonic and English. The vigil service is seldom sponsored, but at the liturgy there always gathers a fairly large congregation. The gathering is usually quite diverse. There is a Greek millionaire conducting trade in cotton with India and Australia, and a former Russian actor who sells matches on the street; a Russian doctor scraping by with tutoring, and a Moscow University student handling logs at the docks; a runaway sailor serving as a clerk in a toy shop, and a former nobleman’s marshal working as a coffee maker in a restaurant; a merchant’s son who fled military service and struggles along without knowing the language, and a former second lieutenant collecting rags on the streets; an Austrian Serb serving as a Russian interpreter at a hotel, and a Russian radical living on loans he never repays; a Pole calling himself purely Russian, and a Russian Navy lieutenant laboring over making sausage in a German establishment. Usually there are several Americans of both sexes present, and often there are American clergy of various denominations who drop in. Several times various bishops of American churches have been in the chapel. Among distinguished Russian guests, the church has received the Grand Dukes Alexei Alexandrovich and Constantine Constantinovich during their stay in New York, and the Archbishops John and Nestor of Alaska during their passage through New York. On solemn civil holidays there are many representatives of various governments and of the United States government, with Russian official representatives at their head, and a good dozen reporters from various newspapers. All visitors generally come away with a good impression, although there is a constant sense of deficiency in the musical aspect of the service. The entire musical resources of the church consist of a single cantor, and his unison chanting, however well done, presents a meager contrast to the full orchestral and vocal choirs of American churches. During the Slavonic service a simple Russian church melody is ordinarily used, with some selections of melodies from Russian church composers, and for the English service there is a special musical arrangement of the liturgy by Vienna professor of ancient literature Chavarie. This music is very melodious, and Americans prefer it to the Slavonic; but it carries a strong tint of Anglican sacred melodies, particularly, for example, in the “Peace of the world.” At one time a visiting Russian merchant made a donation to the church specifically for a choir, and indeed for a while a small choir existed, but it disbanded when the funds ran out.

At present, as we understand, the Russian government has appropriated a considerable sum for building a proper church in New York, and this will undoubtedly mark a new epoch in the history of the Orthodox Church’s mission on the American continent. It is only necessary that, along with the construction of the church, the dignity of the church service be increased and at least a small choir be established, the absence of which is keenly felt by all visitors to the church.