EASTER EVE AT ST. PETERSBURGH. THE days when East and West which Easter should fall are over, as far as we are concerned, and the English congregation at St. Petersburgh conforms itself to the practice of the National Church by keeping Easter according to the Eastern and not the Western practice. The Russian mode of ushering in the festival is so different from anything that we are accustomed to in England, that an account of it may interest some readers, especially as it possesses the charm of undoubted antiquity. In England, on Easter Eve, we go to bed as usual, and wait patiently until broad daylight has ushered in the joyful day; but the Russian is not content so to do. He considers it begun as the last stroke of twelve dies on the ear, and is impatient to welcome it. At the Palace some thousand people assemble, late on Easter Eve, for the service in the Imperial Chapel, and while the Gospel is being read, the guns of the fortress sympathetically announce to the whole city that 'Christ is risen;' whilst, after the service, each one of the guests hears the news from his sovereign's lips, and exchanges with him the Easter salute. This has, however, been reduced, in consideration of the number of recipients, from three to two kisses. It is not among the higher ranks alone that Easter morning is thus anticipated, and welcomed with excitement. Every church, from the grandest to the most humble, is thronged with worshippers; and happening to be in St. Petersburgh on Easter Eve, I felt anxious to see the service performed at the Isaak Church, which, from its form and size, may be called the St. Paul's of St. Petersburgh, though vastly superior to the latter in its great magnificence. I had been warned to start early, and accordingly set off at ten o'clock P.M., having about two miles to walk. Even at that early hour, streams of people were to be seen on their way to their respective churches, whilst all along the streets saucers of tallow were placed at intervals on the pave ment, each with its blazing wick diffusing a smoky, greasy smell, which was far from agreeable. Here and there, also, servants were hurrying along, bearing in cloths the Easter cakes, and a kind of cream cheese, that they might be blessed by the priest before being eaten. Towards the great church the largest number was flocking, and as I entered with the throng, a curious scene presented itself to my gaze. Excepting a part railed off in front of the altar, the church was moderately crowded with people of the lower class, chiefly men, whilst along the walls, and around the bases of the columns, were reclining numbers of peasants in their sheepskins, looking somewhat like gipsies under a hedge. These had come early to secure places, and were bivouacking until a quarter to twelve, when the service began, and all had to stand. Each of them held in his hand apparently a slender white wand, which proved, on closer inspection, to be the wax taper, not yet lighted, which it is the custom for everyone to hold during the time of service upon special occasions. The dome, about the size of that of St. Paul's, but unlike it in being decorated with coloured marbles, frescoes, and gilding, was only lighted by four or five groups of votive tapers, which burned on a raised platform in the centre, around a tomb with the figure of the Saviour painted on it, which had remained there since Good Friday. No sound was heard but the buzz of subdued talking, and the voice of those who were taking it in turns to read some portion of Scripture on the platform, which had continued from the time of the afternoon service, any one who liked being allowed to read. Presently those who were admitted by ticket to the reserved portion began to enter, and many pausing, crossed themselves, and stooped and kissed the tomb. The body of the church began also to fill, and an uninterrupted stream of people poured in at the doors. Within the rails of the altar is a magnificent screen, Separating off the Holy of Holies, adorned with immense pictures exquisitely worked in mosaic, and pillars of inalachite and lapis lazulæ. It has three doors; the centre one, or royal gate, was now opened, and the Metropolitan, attended by several bishops and priests, came forth. Before him were borne a triple, a double, and a single candle, emblematic of Christian doctrine, and they walked round the tomb, bowing and swinging censers. gorgeous dresses, jewelled mitres, and flowing beards, seen amidst the smoke of the censers had a most striking effect, and I could almost have imagined myself witnessing some ceremony of the old Jewish worship. After kissing the tomb, the bishops raised it at the corners, and held it resting on the head of the Metropolitan, whose mitre had been previously removed, and in this manner they all retired within the gates, which were again closed. Their And now a curtain was drawn aside which had covered a coloured transparency representing a figure of the Saviour, which appeared over the gates, and at the same moment a flame ran along the cords, which lighted the large chandeliers and a cluster of candles high up in the dome, and from several points the assembled thousands began to light their tapers. I had not provided myself with one, but presently I felt a tap on my shoulder, and some unseen benefactor (for to turn round in the dense crowd was out of the question) supplied my deficiency. This seemed to be a general practice, to judge by the number of tapers I saw handed about. Again the doors opened, not to be closed again during the Easter week, and the procession came forthchoir chanting a hymn announcing the resurrection, whilst candles and banners were borne by some of the train. A passage was with difficulty cleared for them by the officials down the centre of the church, and they moved on, singing, and the proceeded, on leaving the west door, to make the circuit of the building. Whilst they were doing this I had time to look around me. We were packed as closely as possible, each with his flaming taper increasing the otherwise excessive heat, whilst the mass was occasionally convulsed, as fresh comers, with one going before as the point of the wedge, worked their way into it. The heads of the people appeared to have been anointed with something in honour of the occasion which made them glisten in the candlelight, whilst not a few of them got singed in the press, whether purposely or not I could not feel sure. One man I observed with a bright red head of hair, to whose locks a bystander deliberately applied his taper, with an exclamation of disgust at their colour. The odour of the crowd baffles all power of description. In no country is one's sense of smell gratified by an assemblage of the lower orders; but in Russia the peasant wears his sheepskin and boots all through the winter by day and by night, and this in huts closed against ventilation, reeking with the smell of its inmates, their fish and their cabbage; and when it is considered that some thousands of them were crammed together in a building already artificially heated, the state of the atmosphere may be faintly conceived by those who have not experienced the reality. After a time the procession_reentered the church at the same door by which they had left it, and the service was continued; but however impressive it may be to those who understand the language, and are not pinioned in a crowd, to one who enjoys neither of these advantages, the fine music, which, as in all Greek churches, is solely vocal, fails to atone for the discomfort, so I determined to extricate myself, knowing that the service would continue for at least two hours. The task proved easier than I anticipated, and after pushing my way, shoulder first, through the crowd of dirty, good-humoured faces, I reached the door at a quarter |
