The Religious Spirit of the Slavs | Page 7

a noble catholicity. "I believe in the holy catholic
apostolic church." This sentence that you repeat in London, as do the
Roman Catholics in Rome, and we Orthodox in Moscow, has always
two meanings, a sectarian and a universal, or a narrow one and a
sublime one. The first meaning belongs to the people who imagine

Christ standing at the boundary of their Church, turned with his face to
them and with his back to all other "schismatic" peoples. The second
belongs to the people who think that Christ may be also beyond their
own churchyard; that the dwelling of their soul may be too narrow for
His soul, and that their self-praisings and schismatic thunderings are
very relative in His eyes. I propose to speak to-night about the people
of this second category, i.e., of the people who are in the Christian
history like a link connecting the different parts, the different Churches,
into a higher unity. I will limit my considerations in this lecture to Slav
Roman Catholicism. I call my theme of to-night "Slav Revolutionary
Catholicism." Why "revolutionary"?
Why not? Is not Christianity a revolutionary movement from its very
beginning? Is it not the most wonderful and the most noble among the
revolutionary movements in history? Cardinal Newman and many
others spoke about the evolution of Christianity. Revolution is the word
much more applicable to it. The spreading of this revolution from a
poor village in Galilee over all the world--that is the history of the
Church; or, if you like, the evolution of a revolution. As a volcano is an
internal movement of the earth which gives a new shape to the surface,
so the Christian revolution was also an internal movement, which gave
a new form to the drama of human life. The Christian religion seemed
very simple, it was even poor in simplicity, and still--what an
incalculable impression it made! It was simple in aims and in means. It
had but one aim, and there was one way only to it: to attain good only
by good deeds; to fight for justice only with means that were just; to
realise Love only by Love itself; to push darkness away, not by a
greater darkness, but by light; to come to God the Perfect by a perfect
way. Christ preached a new aim and showed a new way--a very
sublime aim and a very limited way indeed. In the pre-Christian world
there were manifold aims and manifold ways and means. In Sparta,
skilfulness in sinning and hiding sins was tolerated and even applauded.
In ancient Rome, till the full sunset of its strength, a good man was
regarded as a weak man. Among the pagan Slavs, a prosperous man
was envied more than a virtuous man. Christianity cleared the spiritual
atmosphere and deepened human life. "Ye cannot serve God and
Mammon." It was very clear. "Narrow is the way which leads unto

life." It was very deep. Through Hell you never will reach Heaven. In
making the devil your companion you will never come to God. And
God is the only aim, Christ the only way to that aim; a very far aim, a
very narrow way.
JAN HUSS'S REVOLUTION.
Your great compatriot, Wycliffe, is rightly considered as the beginner
of the Reformation. Wycliffe spoke, and his word was his great mission
on earth. But his word in Bohemia became flesh--yea, more than
flesh--blood and fire. Human words are never great except when
transformed into a drama--when incarnated into life. Wycliffe was
never so great in England as he became in Bohemia. Christianity in
Bohemia was at that time relatively young, nearly three times younger
than in Rome. But since Prince Borivoj was baptised by the Slav
Apostle, Methodius, never did Bohemian Christianity stand nearer to
the primitive Bohemian paganism than at the time when King
Wenceslas ruled in Bohemia, and Pope John XXIII ruled in Rome, and
Jan Huss served as preacher in a Prague chapel called the Bethlehemian.
The paganism under the style of poor Jesus, against which fought Huss,
was much more obstinate and aggressive than the paganism under the
style of Perun, against which fought St. Methodius. Everywhere was
found a substitute for Christ, everywhere a pretext for an easy life and
for a broad way instead of the narrow one. Sins and virtues had been
equalised by means of money. The Church buildings had been
transformed into public places for the exchange of sins and virtues.
"Repentance, not Money!"--exclaimed Jan Huss. But his voice was
stifled by the piercing sounds of the drums by which the sale of
absolution for sin was announced in the streets. Again exclaimed Jan
Huss: "The whole Bohemian nation is longing after Truth." But the
traders in Christ's blood and tears laughed him to scorn. The doctors