Page:Morgan Philips Price - Siberia (1912).djvu/148

 108 icons and a simple nave without seats where the congregation stood. A middle-aged priest, with long flowing hair, large eyes and the restless absent look of the dreamy mystic, sang in clear tenor voice the Pravo-Slavonic chants. AU the while he waved incense jars, and opened and closed the doors behind the altar, giving fitful glimpses of the little chapel beyond. From a group of boys standing by the side of the altar came the responses to the chanting of the priest in rustic harmony, and at each response the standing congregation devoutly crossed themselves. Although there was no particular position assigned to the members of the congregation, it was noticeable that the youths, girls, and older members with children, stood in three groups apart. This I believe is generally the case in other parts of the Russian Empire, especially among the Armenians. The grouping of the congregation according to age and sex appears to be independent of family ties. In fact, in public worship, as in Siberian social life in general, the idea of the community prevails over that of the family. As usual the women were far more strongly represented among the congregation than the men; the latter prefer to rest in their houses after their work in the forests and the fields. To the women, however, a church service comes as a break in the monotony of their lives, when they can see brilliant icons and hear the chanting of the priest and choir.

After service I met the priest, and he showed me with great pride his icons and so-called sacred relics, which looked as if they had been recently ordered from Moscow. He then took me to his house, which was certainly the finest in the whole village. He had