Page:Russian Church and Russian Dissent.djvu/72

Rh companion of Jesus Christ, but is carried on men's shoulders, as if borne up on a cloud by angels, is no true shepherd, but a wolf in sheep's clothing."

Poissevin's persistence and eloquence were exerted to no purpose; the utmost concession he could obtain was that Catholics, like other heretics, might dwell in Russia without molestation on the score of religion, but the erection of Latin churches and the propagation of their faith were prohibited.

The erudite Dionysius, surnamed "Grammaticus" for his learning, had, during the last years of this reign, by his prudence, virtues, and energy, somewhat restored the dignity of the metropolitan see.

Worn out before his time by the warring of his fierce passions, alternating with fits of remorse and repentance, Ivan, in his latter days, turned again to the Church for relief; he showered rich alms on the holy convents of Sinai and Athos, exhorted his youthful son and heir to rule with mercy and charity for his subjects, and, receiving tonsure from the priest's hands, the "Terrible" Tsar yielded up his soul as the simple monk Jonah.

"He had passed over the land of Russia," says a great poet, "like a blast of divine wrath," and now, on the throne of this "scourge of God," sat a gentle and pious youth, who seemed lost in the gloomy precincts of the Kremlin, a wandering monk who had strayed from his monastery.

Feodor (Theodore) I. was small in stature, weak in health and intellect; he joined to extreme mildness of disposition a timid spirit, excessive piety, and a profound indifference for this world's affairs; he passed his days in listening to pious legends, singing hymns with monks.