10 it is but a shell, so that the bason is sufficiently large to dip a child. The outside is embellished with four series of ornaments; the lower one is a simple scroll; the next, a kind of hieroglyphical true lover's knot; the third, small Saxon arches, which shew the architecture, intersecting each other; the upper one, a kind of lacing in semicircles, inverted, intersecting one another. All the ornaments are very small, inscription shewn on the cross is in raised characters, that on the reverse rudely engraved. The cross is broken into several pieces. A small cross, in length about nine inches, and in breadth six, let into a square of white marble is mentioned by Mr. Bunce, as having been an object of curiosity to visitors, and as having had the reputation of great antiquity. It appears, however, to have been lost, or surreptiany recoltiously removed, as only one inhabitant of St. Martin has lection of it, and it has not been seen for many years. We do not find any tradition relative to it. Queen Bertha is supposed to have been buried in the porch of St. Martin's Church; that is to say, of The general that part of the edifice which now forms the chancel. opinion seems to be, that this was, if not the original church, at least the spot on which it stood, and was principally constructed from its materials. Ethelbert also is said to have been buried here; but other accounts consider it more probable that he was interred at St. Augustine's, or at Reculver. There are no monuments in the church worthy of notice, unless, perhaps, we may except that of the Lord Keeper Finch, who was created Baron of Fordwich. A school which was kept here appears to have been in high repute, and it excited the jealousy of the City free-school. Radulph, the master of the latter, made a formal complaint to the Archbishop, that scholars beyond the customary number resorted to St. Martin's. The particulars of this "Tweedledum and Tweedledee" controversy are set forth in the appendix to Sumner's Antiquities, and it appears that, after the regular appointment of a commission, the passing of a "definitive sentence," and an appeal by the unfortunate "Syntax" of St. Martin's, he was compelled to reduce his school to the customary number, thirteen. This, of course, acted as an extinguisher upon the prosperity of St. Martin's school, and established the ascendancy of its rival. Of the estimation in which the Church was held on account of its connexion with the revival of Christianity, and of the privileges conferred on it by the first royal convert, a very respectable testimony was given by its being an episcopal see till the middle of the eleventh century. Whether the Archidiaconal office was originally comprehended in that of the Bishop of St. Martin, is a point which I am not concerned to discuss. Sumner, and Parker, and others, have asserted it; and Battely, I must acknowledge, with no little strength of argument and evidence, has disputed it. But clear it is, that till the death of Godwin, the last Bishop, in 1061, as affirmed by the Saxon Chronicle, there were Bishops of St. Martin, who exercised a Chorepiscopal jurisdiction under the Archbishop of Canterbury. At length, owing to a defect which, in the case of others as well as in that of the Bishops of St. Martin, is agreeable neither to the subject of it, nor to those connected with it, the See of St. Martin was dissolved, and its jurisdiction transferred to the Bishop of Rochester. Lanfranc refused to consecrate any more Bishops of St. Martin, and for this reason-their "scandalous POVERTY,". -an unpardonable fault. Sic transit gloria mundi. I shall close my remarks upon this interesting Church with the quaint and charitable valedictory observations of Sumner : "And so I leave St. Martin. Only I wish that the venerable antiquity of the Church, and sometime episcopal estate of the place, things that have much dignified both, it might better flourish in the maintenance of its due rights and respects than I hear it doth." PRESENT STATE OF RELIGION IN RUSSIA. THE CONSTITUTION, REVENUES, AND SOCIAL CONDITION OF THE CLERGY OF BEYOND the energy and gigantic military resources of the government, All the Russians, properly called Roussniaks, the major part of the Lithuanians, and the Finland population united to the first, profess the Greco-Russian religion, which is considered the orthodox religion of the state. The government, however, allows the free exercise of every other form of worship. But this state of things dates but from the year 1702, when the manifesto of Peter the Great proclaimed a general liberty of worship throughout the empire. Nevertheless, although every one may profess the religion of his fathers, no one is permitted to abjure the faith of the Greco-Russian church, neither have parents professing that religion the privilege of bringing up their children in any other. The Russian church universally attributes the introduction of Christianity in that country to the Apostle St. Andrew, whom they style the great Martyr (pervozannii.) All traces of his holy mission it must be confessed were, however, soon obliterated among these people, who relapsed into their ancient idolatry. Christianity reappeared in Russia in the year 864, about the same period that arose the first great schism of the East. But the rise and progress of Christianity in this country, interesting as it would be to inark its gradual advance over the elevated range of the Caucasus, across the steppes of the Tartarean desert, and amid the frozen wilds of Siberia, would lead us beyond the limits of this paper. With the history of the Russian church, with its articles of faith and its schisms, the reader may be well acquainted. This paper will, therefore, confine itself to an exposition of its various sects, its constitution and revenue, with the social condition of the clergy. The dogmas of the Greco-Russian church are yet exactly what they were in the time of Photius, with the exception of some unimportant modifications brought about by the exigencies of time and circumstances; while its external forms powerfully recall to the mind of the spectator the age and country in which it was founded. But difference of opinion on the articles of faith, from the earliest date of Christianity in Russia, produced in that country, as in every other, certain religious sects, the whole of which are denominated, by the orthodox church, by the general name of Roskolniks, heretics or sectarians, although they differ among themselves in their origin and belief, and their numbers are very considerable. The Roskolniks, or heretics, as they are named by the orthodox Russians-or, as they style themselves, Starovertsi, professors of the ancient faith, or oftener Pravoslavnie (orthodox)-maintain that the ancient books, such as they existed previous to their alteration by Nicon in 1659, whom they surname the Antichrist, ought alone to be read in the churches. The Russian priesthood, they assert, are irregularly consecrated, and their original purity is only preserved among those who are unsullied by the heresy of Nicon. The sign of the cross, which by the orthodox Russians is made with the three first fingers of the hand, should, according to them, be made only with the fore and middle fingers; the procession round the pulpit and the baptismal fonts should be made from left to right; the Alleluiah should be only simply repeated in the liturgy, and instead of saying it a third time, as is customary, the words "Praise be to thee, O God" should be substituted. Again, in the prayer of Jesus Christ, instead of the words, "O God, have mercy upon us," they say, "Son of God, have mercy upon us." The name of Jesus is written by them Isous. In the consecration of the Eucharist, the number of loaves they maintain should be five, instead of seven; the ancient images, or those painted by a man of the true faith, are alone admitted into their temples; their cross has also eight points instead of four; the beard is also held sacred; and the true believer will never leave off the Russian caftan; he likewise religiously abstains from the use of tobacco, and will not pollute himself by associating with the ungodly, as all are reputed to be who belong not to his sect. The Roskolniks are divided into a host of sects, some of which, not without reason, were considered by the government as dangerous to the repose of the state and to public morals. The Pomoraines regard as the founder of their sect the deacon Daniel Vi Kouline; they have no priests, abhor churches, and baptize with fire. The sect Andreieftchina abhor the use of money, live in continual fear of the Antichrist, observe several ridiculous ceremonies, and baptize a second time all their Neophytes. The Phillippons are fanatics, and court martyrdom; they forbid marriage, rebaptize their proselytes, and encourage suicide. This sect is estimated at 5000. The Doukhoborstes (wrestlers of the soul) reject the use of the holy images, and use a particular doctrine on the Trinity, which they compare to height, depth, and breadth in the natural world; they have neither priests nor temples; of the Holy Scriptures they admit but the gospels, and have no other prayer than the "Pater." The Bogomiles (lovers of God) give themselves up to all the excesses of the grossest sensuality, and abstain from hard labour in order to be more ready to receive the Holy Ghost, which they pretend is to come and enlighten them. The Molokans (feeders on milk) have some striking analogy to the Quakers; while the disgusting sect of the Origénistes teach that emasculation is commanded even by the founder of our religion: in this sense they interpret the chapter xix. 11, 12, of St. Matthew. "The ceremonies of the Greek worship," says Madame de Stael, are beautiful and imposing, and the music heavenly; every thing leads the mind to meditation; there is about it a poetry and feeling which, it must be confessed, appears better calculated to captivate the imagination than to regulate the conduct. When the priest, dressed in his long and gorgeous robes, with his venerable beard, comes out of the sanctuary, in which he remains shut up while he communicates, the astonished spectator might imagine that the gates of light were opening, while the clouds of incense that surround him, the gold, silver, and precious stones that glitter on his robes, and in the church, seem to come from a country where the sun is an object of adoration." The ceremonies of baptism, of marriage, and of burial, are noble, beautiful, and affecting; some traces of paganism, it is true, may yet be discovered, but only those which, having no connexion with the doctrine, can add only to the impression of those great scenes of our existence-birth, marriage, and death. The In order to guard against any alteration in the articles of faith, preaching is avoided as much as possible in the Greek church. The divine service consists of the mass, of singing, and the reading of certain passages from the writings of the Holy Fathers. "Hospodi poumeloui" (Kyrie, elieson) forms the habitual accompaniment of the religious ceremonies, and its character is both solemn and imposing. The service is performed solely in the Sclavonian tongue, in which are also written the bible and the liturgies. However, in 1819, the holy synod published the first translation of the gospel in the |