Page:Russian Church and Russian Dissent.djvu/135

120 The measure was calculated to elevate the character of the whole religious body, and, by depriving it of its worldly superfluity, to purify its ranks of the army of parasites and mendicants fattening upon it in sloth and ignorance. It was, however, practically, one of confiscation, and, together with strict enforcement of discipline, it caused very great discontent among the clergy, whose persistent and bitter opposition delayed its thorough execution until the reign of Catherine II. Clerical jealousy was also aroused by the reorganization of the Academy of Moscow, where the introduction of foreign teachers, and of professors from Kiev, was rendered necessary by the incapacity and ignorance of the native clergy.

Yavorsky was indefatigable in his efforts to regenerate and reform the Church, and was at first assured of the friendship and support of the tsar, but he was dismayed at the storm of opposition he encountered, by the clashing of conflicting authorities, by quarrelling between the monastic department and the patriarchal court; he was, moreover, subsequently discouraged by frequent differences with the sovereign, for whom the Church was rather a powerful political lever than an institution of pecullar sanctity. To share and lighten his labors there were, fortunately for Peter's plans, a few noble and disinterested men who could appreciate the wisdom of the changes inaugurated; who could rise above the narrowminded bigotry of their clerical brethren and the prejudices of the day, to become able and zealous coadjutors in the great reformatory work. The archimandrite Dimitri brought to its support his earnest piety, profound learning, and historical research; he is famous in the annals of the Church for his "Lives of the Saints," which is still a religious classic, and has himself been canonized; his writings, aimed especially against the