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which are, in general, magnificent buildings. Formerly, many of them were of wood, but now they are mostly built of brick; and comparatively few of the wooden churches remain. foreigner, in particular, is forcibly struck with the elegance of these fine edifices, raising their gilded spires amidst the humble izbas, or huts of the peasantry.

Some of the churches are large square buildings, but the most of them are built in the form of a cross. In general, they have five domes, with crosses, which, in monasteries and cathedrals, and even in some parish churches, are gilded, and have a splendid appearance. Adjoining to the church, or near to it, there is always a steeple or belfry, commonly of great height, provided with large bells; and, like the churches, overloaded with decorations.

The church is divided into three parts; first, the Sanctum Sanctorum, called the Altar,* and into which females are not permitted to enter. In

ries, in the 16th century, was so great, that Ioan Vasillivitch was obliged to put a stop to it by an Ukaz. Moscow alone o .ce contained, according to a proverbial expression, her sorok sorokoff, or forty times forty churches!

* Evidently from the Latin altare. However, the word Altar, as used in the Russian rubric, has properly no particular reference to the holy table upon which the Gospels and cross are laid, but means the whole space which is separated from the body of the church by the Ikonostas.

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the middle of the Altar stands the Holy Table, upon which a golden or silver cross, and a richly ornamented copy of the Gospels, are always laid. This part of the church is the east end, so that the congregation always worship with their faces towards the rising sun.

The Altar is separated from the nave or body of the church, by a screen, upon which pictures of our Saviour, the Virgin, the Apostles, and Saints, are always painted. This screen is called the Ikonostas,* in the middle of which are the Royal Doors, which are opened at different times in the course of the service. Upon a platform before the Ikonostas, raised several steps, the readers and singers stand behind a low rail, to separate them from the congregation; and, in the middle, before the Royal Doors, the most of the service is performed.

The second division is the nave or body of the church, which properly may be styled the inner court, where the congregation stand; for there are no seats in the Russian churches, neither do the congregation make any use of books. In some of the new churches in Petersburg and Moscow, there are pulpits erected to elevate the speaker; but they are unknown in the churches

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in other parts of the empire, in which the preacher, while delivering his discourse, usually stands before the Royal Doors, behind a moveable desk.*

The third division is called the Trapeza, which is the west end of the church, and may properly be denominated the outer court. This part is usually as large as the inner court, where the congregation assemble; but, on holidays, both these divisions are generally filled with the worshippers.

The inner walls and domes of the churches are covered with scriptural paintings, which in general represent the most interesting scenes of our Saviour's history. The Ikonostas is always richly gilded and ornamented, and the pictures of the Saints adorned with gold and silver, pearls, and precious stones.

4. The service of the church is contained in upwards of twenty volumes folio, all in the Slavonian language, which, though the ancient language of the country, is not well understood by the greater part of the modern Russians.

Twelve of these volumes, one for every month,

* Most of the Russian preachers keep their manuscript lying before them, while delivering their Sermons, whether they make use of it or not.

contain the particular services and hymns for the festivals of the Saints, who are so numerous in the Greek kalendar, that there are more of them than there are days in the year. These twelve volumes are called the Minoon.*

The Octoechos + compose two volumes, and are divided into eight voices or tones, each of which contains hymns for the days of one week, that are mixed in the service according to the subjects to which the days of the week are appropriated. Thus, Sunday to the Resurrection; Monday to the Angels; Tuesday to John the Baptist; Wednesday to the Virgin; Thursday to the Apostles; Friday to the passion of Christ; and Saturday to the Saints and Martyrs. To these two there is a supplementary volume, containing hymns, to supply the deficiency in the Minoon.

The Psalter and the Hours take up another volume.

The Book of Psalms is divided into twenty parts, one of which is read at a service; so that the whole is read through in the course of a week.

The Book of Prayer contains the ordinary daily prayers and Ectinias for the priest and deacon, in the vespers, matins, and communion service.

The Fast Triods are two volumes, which contain particular services for the great fast before Easter, and for the days of Pentecost, when the hymns in the Octoechos are discontinued.

The four Gospels compose another volume, a portion of which is read at every service.

The Book of Offices contains the rites of baptism, marriage, burial service, &c.

And, lastly, The Book of Regulation, which contains directions how to use the rest.*

The Lives of the Saints are contained in several folio volumes, which are not now read in churches, but are sometimes read in monasteries, at the matins or morning service.

The Russians make no use of a complete copy of the Bible in their churches; they have only extracts from the Old Testament and the Epistles, interspersed throughout the Minoon and Octoechos and even many of the clergy in the country do not possess an entire copy of the Scriptures. Both in monasteries and parish churches, the service is performed three times a day. It begins in the evening of the preceding day, as among the Jews; the vespers at sunset; the matins

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* For a more particular account of the service of the Russian Greek church, see Dr King's valuable work published in London in 1772, On the Rites and Ceremonies of the Greek Church in Russia.