report as I give it here and can vouch for its
accuracy. I may say it has been circulated
throughout the whole of Russia, and as is usual
in such cases, the Bishop of Penza and his followers have been excommunicated :
“ An event which will lead to great consequences has occurred in the Russian Church. A Conference of Russian priests took place some months ago at Penza, which was presided over by Bishop Vladimir. At this conference the priests decided to break with the Greek Orthodox Church and establish a new Church on lines, as Bishop Vladimir expressed it, that would more closely approach the purity of the primitive Church and abolish the pomp and glory of the great princes of the modern Church. The significance of this event is that it proves that the Russian revolution is finally rooted in the soil of Russia. The structure of the Church, like the whole superstructure of society, as Karl Marx taught, is based upon the economic foundations of a given society. The development of commerce, which was later to lead to capitalism, was accompanied by a revolt against the Church. One might say that Protestantism is the religious expression of liberalism and commercialism. It is significant, therefore, to observe that what appears to be the beginning of a “ Reformation ” in Russia aims at the primitive Christian Church, which, as is known, preached Communism. It will therefore be quite in keeping with social laws that in so far as the belief in God is still maintained by the Russian people, the worship of this God will take the form that is adapted to the economic conditions of Russia. Communism has come to stay in Russia, and will be expressed in the religious beliefs of the Russian people.”
