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Rh schools were as puerile as at the universities of the Middle Ages, Avhere it was discussed whether Jesus, at his ascension, had his clothes on or not; if not, did he appear naked to his apostles? if he had, what became of them? At the Academy of Moscow, divines seriously debated whether angels reason by analysis or by synthesis, and what may be the nature of the light of glory in the future life. The ignorance of the priests was severely reprobated; learned and intelligent professors were appointed in the ecclesiastical colleges, and attendance was strictly enforced.

The morals of the clergy were corrected by the rough discipline of the secular arm; drunkenness and disorder were punished by the lash; scandalous fairs, where dissolute priests and mendicant friars let out their services to the highest bidder, were suppressed, and the priests, who thus degraded their holy office, were sent to the whipping-post. The filthy condition of the sacred images, and of the churches, was stigmatized as a shame, and inspectors were appointed to keep them clean, to maintain decency of appearance among the officiating clergy, and to preserve order and decorum during the services. The necessity of issuing and enforcing regulations against abuses and evils of so gross a nature is sufficient comment upon the deplorable state of things existing in the lower ranks of the clergy, and among the devout, though superstitious, worshippers.

The short reign of Peter III., in 1762, inaugurated an era of toleration and religious freedom, as he felt no especial sympathy for the national faith, which he had embraced, under compulsion, at his accession to the throne. He checked the persecution of Dissenters, and, by promises of protection, and offers of grants of land in Siberia, he encouraged their return from exile. "Mahom-