“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you. But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” 1 Peter 4:12,1312Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. (1 Peter 4:12‑13).
We must not be surprised to hear that some of those who were called Stundists, and who professed to believe in Christ, had, to escape the fire of persecution, turned back to the orthodox religion of their country. “We should anticipate similar results if persecution, either by Rome, or by the state Church, were to break out in any part of Christendom. The differences which separate Christians are counted so slight, the cry for reunion is growing so loud and becoming so popular, that hundreds would find no difficulty in reconciling it with their consciences to accept the dominant form of Christianity. It is faith, faith in God and in Christ and in the Bible that can enable men to stand alone, and to resist error, whether clothed with attraction or armed with power.
Besides, we live in a soft and luxurious age, in which suffering is feared more than sin. Our nerves are weak, our spirits tender. We need a recreation from above. We need the power of Christ, such as inspired the martyrs of the past. The once potent message of God, ‘I am with thee,’ needs to fill us anew, so that God’s strength may be exchanged for our weakness.”
In the days of the apostle Paul, we read of a Demas who loved this present world better than sharing the prison life of his aged friend, or even his “persecutions and afflictions.” But, thank God, there were many Stundists who still rejoiced to be counted worthy to suffer for Christ’s sake; and we heard lately of some who have been found in their prisons with their Bibles open before them, and their faces shining with joy. In the faroff regions of Transcaucasia and Siberia these banished ones still sought to spread the glad tidings of God’s grace wherever they went, in spite of all the hindrances put in their way; for even out there they were subject to police surveillance, and the very letters they received and sent were all inspected, and often suppressed. This made it difficult to obtain as many details about them as we should have liked.
The following is a letter written from the province of Yeniseisk, in the heart of central Siberia. The writer was banished there for life because he preached the Gospel to his fellow-villagers: “Your souls are saved. Let no act, or word, or thought of yours put your Saviour to shame before the eyes of those who refuse to honour Him. Tell all the brethren that, although so far away from home and wife and child, I am happy, for Christ has filled me with joy unspeakable; and I realize the presence of His Spirit, here in Siberia, as I never realized it before.”
The police surveillance in the Russian provinces still continued with the same rigor, as may be gathered from the following letters, which contained the most recent information to be had. The first is from a peasant in the province of Kief: ―
“Dear Friend, I am glad to say that my family and myself are well, but we are a good deal troubled and in fear. On the 8th the police entered my cottage. There were the prefect and two of his assistants. The prefect commanded me to open a large box standing on the floor. He then began rummaging among my things; but I had taken care to have all my letters removed to a safe place, so he had to satisfy himself by seizing some of my books, among them a psalter and a hymn book. He also seized a little collection of manuscript tracts which I had copied out from books lent me by the brethren. For a long time past my letters have been handed to me, by the police, open, and not as previously by the postman. Everything is read by the police! Please send me no more letters, and tell all my friends not to write to me.”
ILLUSTRATION
“The police and the Elder were coming to seek us”
The next is from a Stundist preacher, also living in the province of Kief, dated January, 1894.
“Last Sunday evening we had a very narrow escape. You know that since brother Ilarion’s house has been watched, we have met from time to time among the sedge on the river. Thank God even for that house of prayer! Well, on Sunday evening we had all assembled at the place by the river (the Dnieper), when Pavl came running up to say that the police and the Elder were coming to seek us. It was very dark, and that enabled us to hide easily. We crept in among the reeds-ten of us. The ice was very thin, and we sank in the water up to our knees. After waiting an hour we heard the police arriving at our meeting-place, and could see them dimly running about looking for us. At last they left to return to the village; and, without leaving the place where we were, I offered up prayer for our deliverance. I have had bad rheumatism ever since, so has Pavl.”
The next is from a Stundist preacher in the district of Elizabethgrad: “The troubles and persecutions in the province of Kief show no signs of abating. I have a report from a village near Uman, that, at a recent meeting of the brethren, a number of them were arrested by order of an orthodox priest, and made to tramp to Uman, a distance of ten miles, where they were kept in jail for fifteen days without any trial, and with just sufficient bread to keep them from starving. An order was then given by the police to shave their heads. This was done; and amid the jeers of the police and of the other prisoners, they were ordered home again. During their stay in prison they were treated like dogs, beaten and cuffed about by the police officer. A good many of the brethren have been sent from here to Transcaucasia. One brother has left a wife and four children in abject want. Another, the whole support of parents, who are nearly eighty years old, has also been banished. The priests are at work among the brethren, tempting them to leave the faith, and to return to the empty forms of orthodoxy; and some weak ones have done so, but not many, thank God!”
“In the world ye shall have tribulation:
Lord Jesus, Thou saidst it of old.
There dark are the desolate mountains,
The night winds are cold.
But safe from the storm and the tempest
My soul hath a cell;
There ever, beside the still waters,
With Jesus I dwell;
There, hushed from the strife and the sorrow,
Alone and apart,
In chambers of peace and of stillness―
That home is His heart.”