rational means whereby such people may
secure freedom from a tie which only degrades
them both. The period of marriage which
must elapse before a divorce can be applied
for is six months. This sounds a very short
time, but I am not convinced this is important.
If people find themselves totally unfitted, unsuited
to each other, the sooner it is realised
and acted upon the better. In Russia and elsewhere the Church considers marriage a sacrament
and binding for life ; so do I, but this
cannot be imposed by a law or a Church
ordinance or by a priest saying it is. Only by
the conscious intelligent assent of men and
women is such a decree binding, and the vast
multitude of marriages are just marriages,
sometimes for convenience, sometimes for
love, very very seldom does the question of
religion or sacraments enter in.
So far I have dealt only with the relations existing between the orthodox Church and the Government. Like everywhere else, there is within the Russian Church a revolutionary movement which bids fair to undermine the theories of Lenin and his friends, that religion plays no part in the life of a people. The following statement shows that with the coming of the Socialist republic the dry bones of theology have begun to stir and that once more the teachings of Jesus are going to have a chance. I have verified the truth of the
