Vladimir Soloviev (1853-1900) was a Russian Slavophile, ecumenist, occultist, philosopher, theosopher, and mystic remained mainly for highly ultramontane and pan-Slavic views and his attempts to end the schism between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. He was critical of the excessively spiritual/contemplative and inadequately corporeal and social nature of the Orthodox Church's life and mission, which he criticized in his
Lectures on Godmanhood, a work unfortunately tainted with a bit too much of the spirit of Schelling rather than the writings of the saints. He was a Slavophile and a friend of Dostoyevsky's, with whom as a young man he had gone on pilgrimages to various monasteries around Russia. He was a strong advocate for Christian unity in
Russia and the Universal Church, a work whose third section with its "proofs" of the Trinity is tainted by rationalistic German idealism. Less known are his Gnostic works on Sophia, explicitly drawing their inspiration from Patristic-era Gnostic writings and sects, sometimes channeled by "Sophia" at Parisian seances and other times revealed in the three visions Soloviev had of the Divine Wisdom, who appeared to him in the form of a woman (once during Divine Liturgy, once in the British Library, and once in the Egyptian desert). Soloviev was always insistent, however, that the gnosis revealed was when properly understood nothing other than Orthodox Christianity, without any heterodoxy or departure from the exoteric teaching given to the masses.
This tale, from his
Three Conversations, represents a mature work, after he had passed from his Gnostic interests and seems to have begun to understood the true and false meanings of Christian unity. Though much of what Soloviev wrote may be doubtful, he is remembered with love by Catholic and Orthodox alike, for his spirit was noble and his intentions holy, and with charity he is judged by his wisdom and not by his errors. This tale represents some of that wisdom. May it serve for the edification and sanctification of us all. The subsequent material - the tale, introduction, and postscript - are taken from the following source:
http://www.goodcatholicbooks.org/antichrist.html
BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION
In the September 2000 issue of "Touchstone" Fr Addison Hart
wrote these words about Soloviev's "Tale of the Anti-Christ":
In the face of the world we live in
right now, it is blindness and sheer folly to be fighting with other Christians
about ecclesiological matters that are daily becoming less defensible. "Catholic
versus Orthodox" polemics would be wrong even in less troubled times, but in the
context of the current cultural situation they are precisely what the devil
ordered. An eschatological perspective ever keeps in mind how imperative it is
"to keep Satan from gaining the advantage over us;" for we are not"--or, at
least, should not be--"ignorant of his designs" (2 Cor. 2:11).
I will conclude by bringing tip the
name of a writer I have always found engaging, though he remains controversial.
Nevertheless, I suggest that we might look to him for a classic presentation of
the eschatological perspective. I refer to Vladimir Solovyov (1853-1900), who
has been accused by some of his Orthodox co-religionists of "cryptoCatholicism,"
and by some Catholics of "gnosticism" and being unhealthily influenced by German
idealism. I will leave such concerns to others, finding Solovyov remarkably
prescient and often prophetic, and never more so than when he testifies to the
essential, underlying, ontological union of Orthodoxy and Catholicism, despite
the historical schism between them.
This union can be asserted because
the Church subsists in Christ himself, as his Body, and her being is not
therefore simply reducible to the historical. I also remind readers of
Touchstone that Solovyov's little masterpiece, "A Short Story of Antichrist,"
was republished in these pages in two installments back in 1990 and 1991. It is
that story that I recommend for us to pick up and read or reread.
And here, we can also address
Protestants as well as Orthodox and Catholics. "A Short Story of Antichrist"
tells how the genuine believers of the Church reunite in the twenty-first
century during the reign of Antichrist. Compromised by well-chosen allurements
offered by the world's ruler and his false prophet, the various churches are
divided between genuine disciples and mere adherents of religion. Both sides of
this division reunite. The orthodox believers from each of the three major
streams, led and represented by Pope Peter II (Catholicism), the Elder John of
Russia (Orthodoxy), and Professor Pauli (Evangelical Protestantism), are last
seen together in the wilderness, following the cosmic sign of the "Woman clothed
with the sun." This is followed by Christ's return in glory, and a united
Christianity following Peter, John, and Paul (the same three figures as above,
now unveiled) approaching Zion to greet him. It is a magnificent conclusion,
reflecting a biblical sensibility, and a vision of the imperfections of this age
giving way ultimately to Christ's kingdom.
So, in place of polemicism, let us
witness to a better way: humility at all times about each of our own Traditions,
charity towards one another now in all our dealings (even in our theological
exchanges), and hope for a future that--like it or not--will put all things in
proper perspective and that we will inevitably share.
The Devil and
Anti-Christ, from The Last Judgment by Luca Signorelli (c.
1450-1502)
A SHORT TALE OF THE ANTI-CHRIST
Pan-Mongolism! The name is wild,
Yet it pleases my
ear greatly,
As if it were full of forebodings
Of the glorious providence
of God.
LADY - Where does this motto come from?
MR. Z. - I think it is the work of the author
himself.
LADY - Well, we are listening.
MR. Z. (reads) - The twentieth century was the
epoch of the last great wars and revolutions. The greatest of these wars had its
distant cause in the movement of Pan Mongolism which originated in Japan
as far back as the end of the nineteenth century. The imitative Japanese, who
showed such wonderful speed and success in copying the external forms of
European culture, also assimilated certain European ideas of the baser sort.
Having learned from newspapers and textbooks on history that there were in the
West such movements as Pan-Hellenism, Pan-Germanism, Pan-Slavism, and
Pan-Islamism, they proclaimed to the world the great idea of Pan-Mongolism --
the unification under their leadership of all the races of Eastern Asia, with
the aim of conducting a decisive war against foreign intruders, that is, against
the Europeans.
Taking advantage of the fact that at the beginning of
the twentieth century Europe was engaged in a final decisive struggle against
the Moslem world, they seized the opportunity to attempt the reaction of
their great plan -- first, by occupying Korea, then Peking, where, assisted by
the revolutionary party in China, they deposed the old Manchu dynasty and put in
its place a Japanese one. In this the Chinese Conservatives soon acquiesced, as
they understood that, of two evils, the lesser is the better, and that "family
ties make all people brothers, whether they wish it or not."
The independence of old China as a state had
already proved unable to maintain itself, and subjection to the Europeans or the
Japanese became inevitable. It seemed clear that the dominance of the Japanese,
though it abolished the external forms of the Chinese state organization (which
anyway had become palpably worthless), would not interfere with the main
foundations of national life, whereas the dominance of the European Powers,
which for political reasons supported the Christian missionaries, threatened the
very spiritual basis of China. The national hatred in which the Japanese were
formerly held by the Chinese had developed at a time when neither one nor
the other knew the Europeans, and consequently this enmity of two kindred
nations acquired the character of a family feud and was as unreasonable as it
was ridiculous.
The Europeans, however, were unreservedly
alien, nothing but enemies, and their predominance promised nothing
that could flatter national ambition, while in the hands of Japan the Chinese
saw the delightful lure of Pan-Mongolism which, at the same time, was
more acceptable to their minds than the painful necessity of assimilating the
external forms of the European culture.
"Will you understand, you obstinate brothers," the
Japanese repeatedly urged them, "that we take weapons from the Western dogs, not
because we like them, but simply to beat them with their own devices? If you
join us and accept our practical guidance, we shall soon be able not only to
drive out all the white devils from our Asia but, also, to conquer their own
lands and establish the true Middle Kingdom over the whole world. You are right
in your national pride and your contempt for the Europeans but you should
nourish these feelings, not only with dreams but with sensible actions as well.
In these latter, we Japanese are far in advance of you and have to show you the
ways of mutual benefit. If you look around, you will see yourselves what little
gains you have obtained by your policy of confidence in yourselves and mistrust
of us, your natural friends and protectors. You have seen how Russia and
England, Germany and France nearly divided you up among themselves, and how all
your tigerish schemes could show only the harmless end of the serpent's
tail."
The sensible Chinese found this argument reasonable,
and the Japanese dynasty became firmly established. Its first care was, of
course, to create a powerful army and fleet. The greater part of the Japanese
troops were brought over to China and served as a nucleus for the new colossal
army. The Japanese officers who could speak Chinese proved much more successful
instructors than the dismissed Europeans, while the immense population of China,
with Manchuria, Mongolia, and Tibet, provided a sufficient supply of good
fighting material.
It was already possible for the first Emperor of the
Japanese dynasty to make a successful test of the power of the new Empire by
driving out the French from Tonkin and Siam, the English from Burma, and then by
adding the whole of Indochina to the Middle Kingdom.
His successor, the second
Emperor, Chinese on his mother's side, combined in himself Chinese cunning and
tenacity with Japanese energy, agility, and enterprise. He mobilized an army
four million strong in Chinese Turkestan, and while
Tsun-li-Yamin was confidentially informing the Russian Ambassador that
this army was intended for the invasion of India, the Emperor with his immense
forces suddenly invaded Russian Central Asia. Here, having raised against us
all the population, he rapidly crossed the Ural Mountains, overrunning
Eastern and Central Russia with his troops.
Meanwhile, the Russian armies, mobilized in all
haste, were hurrying to meet them from Poland and Lithuania, Kiev and Volhyn,
St. Petersburg, and Finland. Having no ready plan of campaign, and being faced
with an immense superiority in numbers, the fighting qualities of the Russian
armies were sufficient only to allow them to perish with honor.
The swiftness of the invasion left them no time for a
proper concentration, and army corps after army corps were annihilated in
desperate and hopeless battles. The Mongolian victories also involved huge
losses, but these were easily made good with the help of the many Asiatic
railways, while the Russian army, two hundred thousand strong and for some time
concentrated on the Manchurian frontier, made an abortive attempt to invade
well-defended China.
After leaving a portion of his forces in Russia, so
that no new armies could form in that country -- and also in order to fight the
numerous bodies of partisan units -- the Emperor crossed the frontiers of
Germany with three armies. In this case the country had had sufficient time to
prepare itself, and one of the Mongolian armies met with a crushing defeat. At
this time, the party of a belated revanche was in power in France, and
soon the Germans found an army of a million bayonets in their
rear.
Finding itself between the hammer and the anvil, the
German army was compelled to accept the honorable terms of peace offered to it
by the Chinese Emperor. The exultant French, fraternizing with the yellow faces,
scattered over Germany and soon lost all notion of military discipline. The
Emperor ordered his army to kill any allies who were no longer useful and, with
Chinese punctiliousness, the order was executed with precision.
Simultaneously, in Paris, workers
sans patrie organized an uprising and the capital of Western culture
joyfully opened its gates to the Lord of the East. His curiosity satisfied, the
Emperor set off to Boulogne where, protected by the fleet that had come round
from the Pacific, transports were speedily prepared for ferrying his army over
to England.
The Emperor was in need of money, however, and so the
English succeeded in buying him off with the sum of one million pounds. Within a
year, all the European States submitted as vassals to the domination of the
Chinese Emperor, who, having left sufficient occupation troops in Europe,
returned to the East in order to organize naval expeditions against America and
Australia.
The new Mongolian yoke over Europe lasted for half a
century. The domain of the inner life of thought of this epoch was marked by a
general blending and mutual interchange of European and Eastern ideas, providing
a repetition on a grand scale of ancient Alexandrian syncretism.
In the practical domain, three phenomena above all
were most characteristic: the great influx into Europe of Chinese and Japanese
workers and the consequent acuteness of social and economic problems; the
continued activity of the ruling classes in the way of palliative attempts in
order to solve those problems; and, lastly, the increased activity of secret
international societies, organizing a great European conspiracy for expelling
the Mongols and reestablishing the independence of Europe.
This colossal conspiracy, which was supported by
local national governments, insofar as they could evade the control of the
Emperor's viceroys, was organized in masterly fashion and was crowned with most
brilliant success. An appointed hour saw the beginning of a massacre of the
Mongolian soldiers and of the annihilation and expulsion of the Asiatic workers.
Secret cadres of European troops were suddenly revealed in various places, and a
general mobilization was carried out according to plans previously
prepared.
The new Emperor, who was a grandson of the great
conqueror, rushed from China to Russia, but his innumerable hordes suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the All-European Army.
Their scattered remnants returned to the interior of Asia, and Europe breathed
freely again. If the half-century of submission to the Asiatic barbarians was
due to the disunity of the European States which had concerned themselves only
with their own national interests, a great and glorious independence was
achieved by an international organization of the united forces of the entire
European population.
As a natural consequence of this fact, the old
traditional organization of individual States was everywhere deprived of its
former importance, and the last traces of ancient monarchal institutions
gradually disappeared. Europe in the twenty-first century represented an
alliance of more or less democratic nations -- the United States of Europe. The
progress of material culture, somewhat interrupted by the Mongolian yoke and the
war of liberation, now burst forth with a greater force.
The problems of inner consciousness, however, such as
the questions of life and death, the ultimate destiny of the world and humanity,
made more complicated and involved by the latest researches and discoveries in
the fields of psychology and physiology these as before remained unsolved. Only
one important, though negative, result made itself apparent. This was the final
bankruptcy of the materialistic theory. The notion of the universe as a system
of dancing atoms, and of life as the result of mechanical accumulation of the
slightest changes in material no longer satisfied a single reasoning
intellect.
Humanity had outgrown that stage of philosophical
infancy. On the other hand, it became equally evident that it had also
outgrown the infantile capacity for naive, unconscious faith. Such ideas as God
creating the universe out of nothing were no longer taught even in
elementary schools. A certain high level of ideas concerning such subjects had
been evolved, and no dogmatism could risk a descent below it. And though the
majority of thinking people had remained faithless, the few believers, of
necessity, had become thinking, thus fulfilling the commandment of the
Apostle: "Be infants in your hearts, but not in your reason."
At that time, there was among the few believing
spiritualists a remarkable person -- many called him a superman -- who was
equally far from both, intellect and childlike heart. He was still young, but
owing to his great genius, by the age of thirty-three he had already become
famous as a great thinker, writer, and public figure. Conscious of the great
power of spirit in himself, he was always a confirmed spiritualist, and his
clear intellect always showed him the truth of what one should believe in: the
good, God, and the Messiah.
In these he believed, but he loved only
himself. He believed in God, but in the depths of his soul he
involuntarily and unconsciously preferred himself. He believed in Good, but the
All Seeing Eye of the Eternal knew that this man would bow down before the power
of Evil as soon as it would offer him a bribe -- not by deception of the senses
and the lower passions, not even by the superior bait of power, but only by his
own immeasurable self-love.
This self-love was neither an unconscious instinct
nor an insane ambition. Apart from his exceptional genius, beauty, and nobility
of character, the reserve, disinterestedness, and active sympathy with those in
need which he evinced to such a great extent seemed abundantly to justify the
immense self-love of this great spiritualist, ascetic, and philanthropist. Did
he deserve blame because, being as he was so generously supplied with the gifts
of God, he saw in them the signs of Heaven's special benevolence to him, and
thought himself to be second only to God himself? In a word, he considered
himself to be what Christ in reality was. But this conception of his higher
value showed itself in practice not in the exercise of his moral duty to God and
the world but in seizing his privilege and advantage at the expense of others,
and of Christ in particular.
At first, he bore no ill feeling toward Christ. He
recognized his messianic importance and value, but he was sincere in
seeing in him only his own greatest precursor. The moral
achievement of Christ and his uniqueness were beyond an intellect so completely
clouded by self-love as his. Thus he reasoned: "Christ came before me. I come
second. But what, in order of time, appears later is, in its essence, of greater
importance. I come last, at the end of history, and for the very reason that I
am most perfect. I am the final savior of the world, and Christ is my
precursor. His mission was to precede and prepare for my
coming."
Thinking thus, the superman of the twenty-first
century applied to himself everything that was said in the Gospels about the
second coming, explaining the latter not as a return of the same Christ, but as
a replacing of the preliminary Christ by the final one -- that is, by
himself.
At this stage, the coming man presented few original
characteristics or features. His attitude toward Christ resembled, for instance,
that of Mohammed, a truthful man, against whom no charge of harboring evil
designs can be brought.
This man justified his selfish preference of himself
before Christ in yet another way. 'Christ,' he said, "who preached and practiced
moral good in life, was a reformer of humanity, whereas I am called to be
the benefactor of that same humanity, partly reformed and partly
incapable of being reformed. I will give everyone what they require. As a
moralist, Christ divided humanity by the notion of good and evil. I shall unite
it by benefits which are as much needed by good as by evil people. I shall be
the true representative of that God who makes his sun to shine upon the good and
the evil alike, and who makes the rain to fall upon the just and the unjust.
Christ brought the sword; I shall bring peace. Christ threatened the earth with
the Day of Judgment. But I shall be the last judge, and my judgment will be not
only that of justice but also that of mercy. The justice that will be meted out
in my sentences will not be a retributive justice but a distributive one. I
shall judge each person according to his deserts, and shall give everybody what
he needs."
In this magnificent spirit he now waited for God to
call him in some unmistakable way to take upon himself the work of saving
humanity -- for some obvious and striking testimony that he was the elder son,
the beloved first-born child of God. He waited and sustained himself by the
consciousness of his superhuman virtues and gifts, for, as was said, he was a
man of irreproachable morals and exceptional genius.
Thus this just, proud man awaited the sanction of the
Most High in order to begin his saving of humanity; but he saw no signs of it.
He had passed the age of thirty. Three more years passed. Suddenly, a thought
leaped into his mind and thrilled him to the core. "What," he thought, "what if
by some accident it is not I, but the other ... the Galilean. What if he is not
my annunciator but the true deliverer, the first and the last? In that case, he
must be alive... But where is he, then? What if he suddenly comes to
me... here, now? What shall I tell Him? Shall I not be compelled to kneel down
before him as the very last silly Christian, as some Russian peasant who mutters
without understanding: 'Lord, Jesus Christ, forgive me, a sinful man'? Shall I
not be compelled like an old Polish woman to prostrate myself? I, the serene
genius, the superman! It cannot be!"
And here, instead of his former reasoning and cold
reverence to God and Christ, a sudden fear was born and grew in his heart, next
followed by a burning envy that consumed all his being, and by an ardent
hatred that took his very breath away. "It is I, it is
I, and not he! He is dead -- is and will ever be! He
did not -- no, did not rise! He is rotting in the grave, rotting as the
lost..." His mouth foaming, he rushed convulsively out
of the house, through the garden, and ran along a rocky path into the silent
black night.
His rage calmed down and gave place to a despair, dry
and heavy as the rocks, somber as the night. He stopped in front of a sharp
precipice, from the bottom of which he could hear the faint
sounds of the stream running over the stones. An unbearable anguish pressed upon
his heart. Suddenly a thought flashed across his mind. "Shall I call him? Shall
I ask him what to do?" And in the midst of darkness he could see a pale and
grief-stained image. "He pities me ... Oh, no, never! He did not rise! He did
not! He did not!" And he leapt from the precipice.
But something firm like a column of water held him up
in the air. He felt a shock as if of electricity, and some unknown force hurled
him back. For a moment he became unconscious. When he came to his senses he
found himself kneeling down a few paces from the brow of the precipice. A
strange figure gleaming with a dim phosphorescent light loomed up before him,
and its two eyes pierced his soul with their painful penetrating
glitter...
He saw these two piercing eyes and heard some
unfamiliar voice coming from inside or outside him -- he could not tell which --
a dull, muffled voice, yet distinct, metallic, and expressionless as a
recording. And the voice said to him: "Oh, my beloved son! Let all my
benevolence rest on thee! Why didst not thou seek for me? Why hast thou stooped
to worship that other, the bad one, and his father? I am thy god and father. And
that crucified beggar -- he is a stranger both to me and to thee. I have no
other son but thee. Thou art the sole, the only begotten, the equal of myself. I
love thee, and ask for nothing from thee. Thou art so beautiful, great, and
mighty. Do thy work in thine own name, not mine. I harbor no envy of
thee. I love thee. I require nothing of thee. He whom thou regardest as God,
demanded of his son obedience, absolute obedience -- even to death on a cross --
and even there he did not help Him. I demand nothing of thee, and I will help
thee. For the sake of thyself, for the sake of thine own dignity and excellency,
and for the sake of my own disinterested love of thee, I will help thee!
Receive thou my spirit! As before my spirit gave birth to thee in beauty, so
now it gives birth to thee in power."
With these words, the superman's mouth opened
involuntarily, two piercing eyes came close to his face, and
he felt an icy breath which pervaded the whole of his being. He felt in himself
such strength, vigor, lightness, and joy as he had never before experienced. At
that moment, the luminous image and the two eyes suddenly disappeared, and
something lifted the man into the air and brought him down in his own garden
before the very doors of his house.
Next day, the visitors of the great man, and even his
servants, were startled by his special inspired air. They would have been even
more startled could they have seen with what supernatural quickness and facility
he was writing, locked up in his study, his famous work entitled The Open Way to Universal Peace and Prosperity.
The superman's previous books and public activity had
always met with severe criticism, though these came chiefly from people of
exceptionally deep religious convictions, who for that very reason possessed no
authority (I am, after all, speaking of the coming of the Anti-Christ) and thus
they were hardly listened to when they tried to point out, in everything that
the "coming man" wrote or said, the signs of a quite exceptional and excessive
self-love and conceit, and a complete absence of true simplicity, frankness, and
sincerity.
But now, with his new book, he brought over to his
side even some of his former critics and adversaries. This book, composed after
the incident at the precipice, evinced a greater power of genius than he had
ever shown before. it was a work that embraced everything and solved every
problem. It united a noble respect for ancient traditions and symbols with a
broad and daring radicalism in socio-political questions. It joined a boundless
freedom of thought with the most profound appreciation for everything mystical.
Absolute individualism stood side by side with an ardent zeal for the common
good, and the highest idealism in guiding principles combined smoothly with a
perfect definiteness in practical solutions for the necessities of life. And all
this was blended and cemented with such artistic genius that every thinker and every man of action, however one-sided he might have been,
could easily view and accept the whole from his particular individual standpoint
without sacrificing anything to the truth itself, without actually rising
above his ego, without in reality renouncing his one-sidedness,
without correcting the inadequacy of his views and wishes, and without making up
their deficiencies.
This wonderful book was immediately translated into
the languages of all the civilized nations, and many of the uncivilized ones as
well. During the entire year thousands of newspapers in all parts of the world
were filled with the publisher's advertisements and the critics' praises. Cheap
editions with portraits of the author were sold in millions of copies, and all
the civilized world -- which now stood for nearly all the globe resounded with
the glory of the incomparable, the great, the only one!
Nobody raised his voice against the book. On every
side it was accepted by all as the revelation of the complete truth. In it, all
the past was given such full and due justice, the present was appraised with
such impartiality and catholicity, and the happiest future was described in such
a convincing and practical manner that everybody could not help saying: "Here at
last we have what we need. Here is the ideal, which is not a Utopia. Here is a
scheme which is not a dream." And the wonderful author not only impressed all,
but he was agreeable to all, so that the word of Christ was fulfilled: "I
have come in the name of the Father, and you accept me not. Another will
come in his own name -- him you will accept." For it is necessary
to be agreeable to be accepted.
It is true some pious people, while praising the book
wholeheartedly, had been asking why the name of Christ was never mentioned in
it; but other Christians had rejoined: "So much the better. Everything sacred
has already been stained enough in past ages by every sort of unacknowledged
zealot, and nowadays a deeply religious author must be extremely guarded in
these matters. Since the book is imbued with the true Christian spirit of active
love and all-embracing goodwill, what more do you want?" And everybody
agreed.
Soon after the publication of "The Open Way," which
made its author the most popular man ever to live on earth, an international
constitutional congress of the United States of Europe was to be held in Berlin.
This Union, founded after a series of international and civil wars which had
been brought about by the liberation from the Mongolian yoke and had resulted in
considerable alteration in the map of Europe, was now menaced with peril, not
through conflicts of nations but through the internal strife between various
political and social parties.
The principal directors of European policy, who
belonged to the powerful brotherhood of Freemasons, felt the lack of a common
executive power. The European unity that had been obtained at so great a cost
was every moment threatening to fall to pieces. There was no unanimity in the
Union Council or "Comite permanent universal," for not all the
seats were in the hands of true Masons.
The independent members of the Council were entering
into separate agreements, and this state of affairs threatened another war. The
"initiated" then decided to establish a one-man executive power endowed with
some considerable authority. The principal candidate was the secret member of
the Order -- "the Coming Man." He was the only man with a great worldwide fame.
Being by profession a learned artilleryman, and by his source of income a rich
capitalist, he was on friendly terms with many in financial and military
circles. In another, less enlightened time, there might have been held against
him the fact of his extremely obscure origin. His mother, a lady of doubtful
reputation, was very well known in both hemispheres, but the number of people
who had grounds to consider him as their son was rather too great. These
circumstances, however, could not carry any weight with an age that was so
advanced as to be actually the last. "The Coming Man" was almost unanimously
elected president of the United States of Europe for life. And when he appeared on the platform in all the glamour of youthful superhuman
beauty and power and, with inspired eloquence, expounded his universal program,
the assembly was carried away by the spell of his personality and, in an
outburst of enthusiasm, decided, even without voting, to give him the highest
honor and to elect him Roman Emperor.
The congress closed amid general rejoicing, and the
great man who had been chosen published a manifesto which began with the words:
"Nations of the World! I give you my peace," and concluded, "Nations of the
World! The promises have been fulfilled! An eternal universal peace has been
secured. Every attempt to destroy it will meet with determined and irresistible
opposition, since a middle power is now established on earth which is stronger
than all the other powers, separately or conjointly. This unconquerable,
all-surmountable power belongs to me, the authorized chosen one of Europe, the
Emperor of all its forces. International law has at last secured the sanction
which was so long missing. Henceforth, no country will dare to say 'War' when I
say 'Peace!' Peoples of the world, peace to you!"
This manifesto had the desired effect. Everywhere
outside Europe, particularly in America, powerful imperialist parties were
formed which compelled their governments to join the United States of Europe
under the supreme authority of the Roman Emperor.
There still remained a few independent tribes and
little states in remote parts of Asia and Africa but, with a small but chosen
army of Russian, German, Polish, Hungarian, and Turkish regiments, the Emperor
set out for a military march from East Asia to Morocco and, without much
bloodshed, brought into subjection all the insubordinate States. In all the
countries of the two hemispheres, he installed his viceroys, choosing them from
among the native nobility who had received a European education and were
faithful to him. In all the heathen countries, the native populations, greatly
impressed and charmed by his personality, proclaimed him as their supreme
god.
In a single year, a real universal monarchy in the true and proper sense of the word was
established. The germs of wars were radically destroyed. The Universal League of
Peace met for the last time, and having delivered an exalted panegyric to the
Great Peacemaker, dissolved itself as being no longer necessary.
On the eve of the second year of his reign, the
World's Emperor published a new manifesto: 'Nations of the World! I have
promised you peace, and I have given it to you. But peace is joyful only through
prosperity. Who in peacetime is threatened with poverty has no pleasure in
peace. I call, therefore, all the cold and hungry ones to come to me, and I will
give you food and warmth!"
Here he announced the simple and comprehensive
program of social reform that had already been articulated in his book and which
now captured all noble and sound minds. Owing to the concentration in his hands
of all the financial resources of the world and all its colossal land
properties, the Emperor could carry into effect his reform in accordance with
the wishes of the poor and without causing much pain to the rich. All now
received according to their capabilities, and every capability according to its
labors and merits.
The new lord of the world was above all else a
kindhearted philanthropist and not only a philanthropist, but even a
philozoist, a lover of life. He was a vegetarian himself, prohibited
vivisection, and instituted strict supervision over the slaughter-houses; while
societies for the protection of animals received from him every
encouragement.
But what was more important than these details, the
most fundamental form of equality was firmly established among humankind, the
equality of universal satiety. This took place in the second year of his
reign. Social and economic problems finally had been settled. But if
satisfaction is a question of primary importance for the hungry, the satisfied
ones crave for something else. Even satiated animals usually want not only to
sleep but also to play - the more so with humanity which has always post
panem craved for circenses.
The Emperor Superman understood what his mob wanted.
At that time a great magician, enwrapped in a dense cloud of strange facts and
wild stories, came to him in Rome from the Far East. A rumor, spreading among
the neo-Buddhists, credited him with a divine origin from the sun god Suria and
some river nymph.
This magician, Apollonius by name, was doubtless a
person of genius. A semi-Asiatic and a semi-European, a Catholic bishop in
partibus infidelium, he combined in himself in a most striking manner
knowledge of the latest conclusions and applications of Western science with the
art of utilizing all that was really sound and important in traditional Eastern
mysticism. The results of this combination were startling. Apollonius learned,
among other things, the semi-scientific, semi-mystic art of attracting and
directing at will atmospheric electricity and the people said of him that he
could bring down fire from heaven. However, though
he was able to startle the imagination of the crowd by various unheard-of
phenomena, for some time he did not abuse his power for any special or selfish
ends.
It was this man who came to the great Emperor,
saluted him as the true son of God, declaring that he had discovered in the
secret books of the East certain unmistakable prophecies pointing to the Emperor
as the last savior and judge of the Universe, and offering him his services and
all his art. The Emperor, completely charmed by the man, accepted him as a gift
from above, decorated him with all kinds of gorgeous titles, and made him his
constant companion. So the nations of the world, after they had received from
their lord universal peace and universal abolition of hunger, were now given the
possibility of never-ending enjoyment of most diverse and extraordinary
miracles. Thus came to end the third year of the reign of the
superman.
After this happy solution of political and social
problems, the religious question came to the fore. The question was raised by the Emperor himself, in the first place, in its application to
Christianity. At the time, the situation of Christianity was as follows: Its
followers had greatly diminished in numbers and barely included forty-five
million people in the whole world; but, morally, it had made a marked progress
and had gained in quality what it had lost in numbers. People who were not bound
to Christianity by any spiritual tie were no longer counted as
Christians.
The various Christian persuasions had diminished
fairly equally in their numbers, so that the proportional relationship among
them remained almost unchanged. As to mutual feelings, hostility had not
entirely given place to amity but had considerably softened down, and points of
disagreement had lost much of their former acuteness. The Papacy had long before
been expelled from Rome, and after long wanderings had found refuge in St.
Petersburg on condition that it refrain from propaganda there and in the
country.
In Russia, the Papacy soon became greatly simplified.
Leaving practically unchanged the number of its colleges and offices, it was
obliged to infuse into their work a more fervent spirit, and to reduce to the
smallest limits its elaborate rituals and ceremonials. Many strange and
seductive customs, though not formally abolished, fell of themselves into
disuse. In all the other countries, particularly in North America, the Catholic
priesthood still had a good many representatives possessed of strong will,
inexhaustible energy, and independent character, who welded together the
Catholic Church into a closer unity than it had ever seen before, and who
preserved for it its international, cosmopolitan importance.
As to Protestantism, which was still led by Germany,
especially since the union of the greater part of the Anglican Church with the
Catholic one -- Protestantism had purged itself of its extreme negative
tendencies, and the supporters of these tendencies openly descended into
religious apathy and unbelief. The Evangelical Church now contained only the
sincerely religious. It was headed by people who combined a
vast learning with a deep religious feeling and an ever-growing desire to bring
to life again in their own persons the living image of the true ancient
Christianity.
Russian Orthodoxy, after political events had altered
the official position of the Church, lost many millions of its sham and nominal
members; but it won the joy of unification with the best part of the "old
believers," and even many of the deeply religious sectarians. The revivified
Church, though not increasing in numbers, began to grow in strength of spirit,
which it particularly revealed in its struggle with the numerous extremist sects
(some not entirely devoid of the demoniacal and satanic element) which found
root among the people and in society.
During the first two years of the new reign, all
Christians, frightened and weary of the number of preceding revolutions and
wars, looked upon their new lord and his peaceful reforms partly with benevolent
expectation and partly with unreserved sympathy and even fervent
enthusiasm.
But in the third year, after the great magician had
made his appearance, serious fears and antipathy began to grow in the minds of
many an Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant. The Gospel and Apostolic texts
speaking of the Prince of this Age and of the Anti-Christ were now read more
carefully and led to lively comments. The Emperor soon perceived from certain
signs that a storm was brewing, and he resolved to bring the matter to a head
without any further delay. In the beginning of the fourth year of his reign, he
published a manifesto to all true Christians, without distinction of churches,
inviting them to elect or appoint authoritative representatives for the world
congress to be held under his presidency.
At that time, the imperial residence was transferred
from Rome to Jerusalem. Palestine was already an autonomous province, inhabited
and governed mainly by the Jews. Jerusalem was a free and now imperial city. The
Christian shrines remained unmolested but, over the whole of
the large platform of Haram-esh-Sheriff, extending from Birket-Israin and the
barracks right to the mosque of El-Ax and "Solomon's Stables," an immense
building was erected, incorporating in itself, besides the two small ancient
mosques, a huge "Empire" temple for the unification of all cults, and two
luxurious imperial palaces with libraries, museums, and special apartments for
magical experiments and exercises.
It was in this half-temple, half-palace that the
world congress was to meet on September 14. As the Evangelical Church has no
hierarchy in the proper sense of the word, the Catholic and Orthodox hierarchy,
in compliance with the express wish of the Emperor, and in order that a greater
uniformity of representation should obtain, decided to admit to the proceedings
of the congress a certain number of lay members known for their piety and
devotion to Church interests. Once, however, these were admitted, it seemed
impossible to exclude from the congress the clergy, of both monastic and secular
orders. In this way the total number of members at the congress exceeded three
thousand, while about half a million Christian pilgrims flooded Jerusalem and
all Palestine.
Among the members present, three men were
particularly conspicuous. The first was Pope Peter II,
who legitimately led the Catholic part of the congress. His predecessor had died
on the way to the congress, and a conclave had met in Damascus, and unanimously
elected Cardinal Simone Barionini, who took the name of Peter. He came of
plebeian stock, from the province of Naples, and had become famous as a preacher
of the Carmelite Order, having earned great successes in fighting a certain
Satanic sect which was spreading in St. Petersburg and its environs and seducing
not only the Orthodox but the Catholic faithful as well.
Raised to the archbishopric of Mogilov and next to
the Cardinal's chair, he was all along marked for the tiara. He was a man of
fifty, of middle stature and strongly built, with a red face, a crooked nose, and thick eyebrows. He had an impulsive and ardent
temperament, spoke with fervor and with sweeping gestures, and enthused more
than convinced his audience. The new Pope had no trust in the Emperor, and
looked at him with a disapproving eye, particularly since the deceased Pope,
yielding to the Emperor's pressure, had made a cardinal of the Imperial
Chancellor and great magician of the world, the exotic Bishop Apollonius, whom
Peter regarded as a doubtful Catholic and a certain fraud.
The actual, though not official, leader of the
Orthodox members was the Elder John, extremely well known among the Russian
people. Officially, he was considered a bishop "in retirement," but he did not
live in any monastery, being always engaged in traveling all over the world.
Many legendary stories were circulated about him. Some people believed that he
was Feodor Kuzmich, that is, Emperor Alexander I, who
had died three centuries back and was now raised to life. Others went further
and maintained that he was the true Elder John, that is, John the Apostle, who
had never died and had now openly reappeared in the latter days. He himself said
nothing about his origin and younger days. He was now a very old but vigorous
man with white hair and a beard tinged with a yellowish, even greenish color,
tall, thin in body, with full, slightly rosy cheeks, vivid sparkling eyes and a
tender, kind expression in his face and speech. He was always dressed in a white
cassock and mantle.
Heading the Evangelical members of the congress was
the very learned German theologian, Professor Ernst Pauli. He was a short,
wizened old man, with a huge forehead, sharp nose, and a cleanly shaven chin.
His eyes were distinguished by their peculiarly ferocious and yet kindly gaze.
He incessantly rubbed his hands, shook his head, sternly knitted his brows and
pursed up his lips; while with eyes all flashing he sternly ejaculated: "So!
Nun! Ja! So also!" His dress bore all the appearance of
solemnity - a white tie and long pastoral frock coat decorated with signs of his
order.
The opening of the congress was most imposing.
Two thirds of the immense temple, devoted to the
"unification of all cults," was covered with benches and other seating
arrangements for members of the congress. The remaining third was taken up by a
high platform on which were placed the Emperor's throne and another, lesser
throne a little below it intended for the great magician -- who was at the same
time cardinal and imperial chancellor -- and behind them rows of armchairs for
the ministers, courtiers, and State officials, while along the side there were
still longer rows of armchairs, the intended occupants of which remained
undisclosed.
The gallery was taken by the orchestra, while in the
adjoining square there were installed two regiments of Guards and a battery of
guns for triumphal salvos. The members of the congress had already attended
their respective services in their various churches: the opening of the congress
was to be entirely civil. When the Emperor, accompanied by the great magician
and his suite, made his entrance, the band began to play the "March of Unified
Humanity," which was the international hymn of the Empire, and all the members
rose to their feet, and, waving their hats, gave three enthusiastic cheers:
"Vivat! Hurrah! Hoch!"
The Emperor, standing by the throne and stretching
forward his hand with an air of majestic benevolence, proclaimed in a sonorous
and pleasing voice: "Christians of all sects! My beloved subjects, brothers and
sisters! From the beginning of my reign, which the Most High blessed with such
wonderful and glorious deeds, I have had no cause to be dissatisfied with you.
You have always performed your duties true to your faith and conscience. But
this is not enough for me. My sincere love for you, my beloved brothers and
sisters, thirsts for reciprocation. I wish you to recognize in me your true
leader in every enterprise undertaken for the well-being of humanity, not
merely out of your sense of duty to me but mainly out of your
heartfelt love for me. So now, besides what I generally do for all, I am about
to show you my special benevolence. Christians! What can I bestow upon you? What
can I give you, not as my subjects, but as my co-religionists, my brothers and
sisters! Christians! Tell me what is the most precious thing for you in
Christianity, so that I may direct my efforts to that end?"
He stopped for a moment, waiting for an answer. The
hall was filled with reverberating muffled sounds. The members of the congress
were consulting each other. Pope Peter, with fervent gestures, was explaining
something to his followers. Professor Pauli was shaking his head and ferociously
smacking his lips. The Elder John, bending over Eastern bishops and monks
quietly tried to impress something upon them.
After he had waited a few minutes, the Emperor again
addressed the congress in the same kind tone, in which, however, there could be
heard a scarcely perceptible note of irony: "Dear Christians," he said, "I
understand how difficult it is for you to give me a direct answer. I will help
you also in this. From time immemorial, you have had the misfortune to have been
broken up into various confessions and sects, so that now you have scarcely one
common object of desire. But where you cannot agree among yourselves, I hope I
shall be able to bring agreement to you by bestowing upon all your sects the
same love and the same readiness to satisfy the true desire of
each.
"Dear Christians! I know that for many, and not the
least among you, the most precious thing in Christianity is the spiritual
authority with which it endows its legal representatives -- of course, not
for their personal benefit, but for the common good, since on this authority
firmly rests the true spiritual order and moral discipline so necessary for
everyone. Dear brother Catholics, sister Catholics! How well I understand your
view, and how much I would like to base my imperial power on the authority of
your spiritual Head! In order that you should not think that
this is mere flattery and windy words I, therefore, most solemnly declare that
it is pleasing to our autocratic power that the Supreme Bishop of all Catholics,
the Pope of Rome, be henceforth restored to his throne in Rome with all former
rights and privileges belonging to this title and chair given at any time by our
predecessors, from Constantine the Great onward.
"In return for this, Catholic brothers and sisters, I
wish to receive from you only your inner heartfelt recognition of myself as your
sole protector and patron. Let those here who recognize me in their hearts and
consciences as their sole protector and patron come up to this
side!"
Here he pointed to the empty seats on the platform.
And instantly, nearly all the princes of the Catholic Church, cardinals and
bishops, the greater part of the laypeople and over half the monks, shouting in
exultation "Gratias agimus! Domine! Salvum fac magnum imperatorem!" rose to the
platform and, humbly bowing their heads to the Emperor, took their
seats.
Below, however, in the middle of the hall, straight
and immovable, like a marble statue, still in his seat sat Pope Peter II. All
those who had surrounded him were now on the platform. But the diminished crowd
of monks and laypeople who remained below moved nearer and closed in a dense
crowd around him. And one could hear the subdued mutter issuing from them: "Non
praevalebunt, non praevalebunt portae inferni." (Latin for: "the gates of hell
will not prevail").
With a startled look cast at the immovable Pope, the
Emperor again raised his voice: "Dear brothers and sisters! I know that there
are among you many for whom the most precious thing in Christianity is its
sacred tradition -- the old symbols, the old hymns and prayers, the icons
and the old rituals. What, indeed, could be more precious for a religious soul?
Know, then, my beloved, that today I have signed the decree and have set aside
vast sums of money for the establishment of a world museum of Christian
archaeology in our glorious imperial city, Constantinople.
"This museum shall have the aim of collecting,
studying, and saving all the monuments of church antiquity, more particularly
Eastern church antiquity; and I ask you to select tomorrow from your midst a
committee for working out with me the measures which are to be carried out, so
that modern life, morals, and customs may be organized as nearly as possible in
accordance with the traditions and institutions of the Holy Orthodox
Church.
"My Orthodox brothers and sisters! Those of you who
view with favor this will of mine, who can in their inner consciousness call me
their true leader and lord, let those come up here."
Here the greater part of the hierarchy of the East
and North, half of the former old believers and more than half of the Orthodox
clergy, monks, and laypeople rose with joyful exclamation to the platform,
casting suspicious eyes at the Catholics, who were already proudly occupying
their seats.
But the Elder John remained in his place, and sighed
loudly. And when the crowd round him became greatly thinned, he left his bench
and went over to Pope Peter and his group. He was followed by the other Orthodox
members who did not go to the platform.
Then the Emperor spoke again: "I am aware, dear
Christians, that there are among you also such who place the greatest value upon
personal assurance of the truth and the free examination of the Scriptures.
There is no need for me to enlarge upon my views on this matter at the moment.
Perhaps you are aware that, in my youth, I wrote a long treatise on biblical
criticism which at that time excited much comment and laid the foundation for my
popularity and reputation. In memory of this, I presume, the University of
Tubingen only the other day requested me to accept the degree of a Doctor of
Theology honoris causa. I have replied that I accept it with
pleasure and gratitude.
"And today, simultaneously with the decree of the
Museum of Christian Archaeology, I signed another decree establishing a world
institute for the free examination of the sacred Scriptures from all points
of view and in all possible directions, and for study of all
subsidiary sciences -- to which institute an annual sum of one and one-half
million marks is hereby granted. I call those of you who look with sincere favor
upon this act of goodwill of mine and who are able in true feeling to recognize
me as their sovereign leader to come up here to the new Doctor of
Theology."
A strange but hardly perceptible smile passed lightly
over the beautiful lips of the great man. More than half of the learned
theologians moved to the platform, though somewhat slowly and hesitatingly.
Everybody looked at Professor Pauli, who seemed to be rooted to his seat. He
dropped his head, bent down and shrank.
The learned theologians who had already managed to
get onto the platform seemed to feel very awkward, and one of them even suddenly
dropped his hand in renunciation, and, having jumped right down past the stairs,
ran hobbling to Professor Pauli and the members who remained with him. At this,
the Professor raised his head, rose to his feet as if without a definite
objective in view, and then walked past the empty benches, accompanied by those
among his coreligionists who had also withstood the temptation. He took his seat
near Elder John and Pope Peter and their followers. The greater part of the
members, including nearly all the hierarchs of the East and West, were now on
the platform. Below there remained only three groups of members, now coming more
closely together and pressing around Elder John, Pope Peter, and Professor
Pauli.
Now, in a grieved voice, the Emperor addressed them:
"What else can I do for you, you strange people? What do you want from me? I
cannot understand. Tell me yourselves, you Christians, deserted by the majority
of your peers and leaders, condemned by popular sentiment. What is it that you
value most in Christianity?"
At this, Elder John rose up like a white candle and
answered quietly: "Great sovereign! What we value most in Christianity is
Christ himself -- in his person. All comes from him, for we know
that in him dwells all fullness of the Godhead bodily. We are ready, sire, to
accept any gift from you, if only we recognize the holy hand of Christ in your
generosity. Our candid answer to your question, what can you do for us, is this:
Confess now and before us the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came in
the flesh, rose, and who will come again -- Confess his name, and we will accept
you with love as the true forerunner of his second glorious coming."
The Elder finished his speech and fixed his eyes on
the face of the Emperor. A terrible change had come over it. A hellish storm was
raging within him, like the one he experienced on that fateful night. He had
completely lost his inner equilibrium, and was concentrating all his thoughts on
preserving external control, so that he should not betray himself inopportunely.
He was making a superhuman effort not to throw himself with wild howls on Elder
John and begin tearing him with his teeth.
Suddenly, he heard a familiar, unearthly voice: "Be
silent and fear not!" He remained silent. Only his face, livid like death,
looked distorted and his eyes flashed. In the meantime, while Elder John was
still making his speech, the great magician, wrapped in the ample tri-colored
mantle that covered nearly all his cardinal's purple, could be seen busily
manipulating something concealed beneath it. The magician's eyes were fixed and
flashing, and his lips moved slightly. Through the open windows of the temple an
immense black cloud could be seen covering the sky. Soon, complete darkness set
in.
Elder John, startled and frightened, stared at the
face of the silent Emperor. Suddenly, he sprang back and, turning to his
followers, shouted in a stifled voice: "Little children, it is
Anti-Christ!"
At this moment, a great thunderbolt flashed into the
temple, followed by a deafening thunderclap. It struck the Elder John. Everyone
was stupefied for a second, and when the deafened Christians came to their
senses, the Elder was seen lying dead on the floor.
The Emperor, pale but calm, addressed the assembly:
"You have witnessed the judgment of God. I had no wish to take any man's life,
but thus my Heavenly Father avenges his beloved son. It is finished. Who will
oppose the will of the Most High? Secretaries, write this down: The Ecumenical
Council of All Christians, after a foolish opponent of the Divine Majesty had
been struck by fire from heaven, recognized unanimously the sovereign Emperor of
Rome and all the Universe as its supreme leader and lord."
Suddenly a word, loud and distinct, passed through
the temple: "Contradicatur!" Pope Peter II rose. His face flushed, his body
trembling with indignation, he raised his staff in the direction of the Emperor.
"Our only Lord," he cried, "is Jesus Christ, the Son of the
living God! And who you are, you have heard just now. Away! You Cain, you
murderer! Get you gone, you incarnation of the Devil! By the authority of
Christ, I, the servant of the servants of God, cast you out forever, foul dog,
from the city of God, and deliver you up to your father Satan! Anathema!
Anathema! Anathema!"
While he was so speaking, the great magician was
moving restlessly under his mantle. Louder than the last "Anathema!" the thunder
rumbled, and the last Pope fell lifeless on the floor. "So die all my enemies by
the arm of my Father!" cried the Emperor. "Pereant, pereant!" exclaimed the
trembling princes of the Church.
The Emperor turned and, supported by the great
magician and accompanied by all his crowd, slowly walked out the door at the
back of the platform. There remained in the temple only the corpses and a little
knot of Christians half-dead from fear. The only person who did not lose control
over himself was Professor Pauli. The general horror seemed to have raised in
him all the powers of his spirit. He even changed in appearance; his countenance
became noble and inspired. With determined steps, he walked up onto the
platform, took one of the seats previously occupied by some State official, and
began to write on a sheet of paper.
When he had finished he rose and read in a loud
voice: "To the glory of our only Savior, Jesus Christ! The Ecumenical Council of
our Lord's churches, meeting in Jerusalem after our most blessed brother John,
representative of Christianity in the East, had exposed the arch-deceiver and
enemy of God to be the true Anti-Christ foretold in Scripture; and after our
most blessed father, Peter, representative of Christianity in the West, had
lawfully and justly expelled him forever from the Church of God; now, before
these two witnesses of Christ, murdered for the truth, this Council resolves: To
cease all communion with the excommunicated one and with his abominable
assembly, and to go to the desert and wait there for the inevitable coming of
our true Lord, Jesus Christ."
Enthusiasm seized the crowd, and loud exclamations
could be heard on all sides. "Adveniat! Adveniat cito! Komm, Herr Jesu, komm!
Come, Lord Jesus Christ!"
Professor Pauli wrote again and read: "Accepting
unanimously this first and last deed of the last Ecumenical Council, we sign our
names" -- and here he invited those present to do so. All hurried to the
platform and signed their names. And last on the list stood in big Gothic
characters the signature: "Duorum defunctorum testium locum tenes Ernst
Pauli."
"Now let us go with our ark of the last covenant," he
said, pointing to the two deceased. The corpses were put on stretchers. Slowly,
singing Latin, German, and Church-Slavonic hymns, the Christians walked to the
gate leading out from Haram-esh-Sheriff. Here the procession was stopped by one
of the Emperor's officials who was accompanied by a squad of Guards. The
soldiers remained at the entrance while the official read: "By order of his
Divine Majesty. For the enlightenment of Christian people and for their
protection from wicked people spreading unrest and temptation, we deem it
necessary to resolve that the corpses of the two agitators, killed by heavenly
fire, be publicly exhibited in the street of the Christians
(Haret-en-Nasara), at the entrance into the principal temple of this religion,
called the Temple of our Lord's Sepulcher, or the Temple of the Resurrection, so
that all may be persuaded of the reality of their death. Their obstinate
followers, who wrathfully reject all our benefits and insanely shut their eyes
to the patent signs of God himself are, by our mercy and presentation before our
Heavenly Father, spared a much-deserved death by heavenly fire, and are left
free with the sole prohibition, necessary for the common good, of not living in
towns and other inhabited places of residence lest they disturb and tempt
innocent, simpleminded folk with their malicious inventions."
When the official had finished reading, eight
soldiers, at a sign from the officer, approached the stretchers bearing the
bodies. "Let what is written be fulfilled," said Professor
Pauli. And the Christians who were holding the stretchers silently passed them
to the soldiers, who went away with them through the northwest gate.
The Christians, having gone out through the northeast
gate, hurriedly walked from the city past the Mount of Olives toward Jericho,
along a road which had previously been cleared of other people by the gendarmes
and two cavalry regiments. On the barren hills near Jericho, they decided to
wait a few days. The following morning, friendly Christian pilgrims came from
Jerusalem and told what had been going on in Zion.
After the Court dinner, all the members of the
congress were invited to a vast throne hall (near the supposed site of Solomon's
throne), and the Emperor, addressing the representatives of the Catholic
hierarchy, told them: that the well-being of their Church clearly demanded from
them the immediate election of a worthy successor to the apostate Peter; that
under the circumstances the election must needs be a summary one; that his, the
Emperor's, presence as the leader and representative of the whole Christian
world would amply make up for the inevitable omissions in the ritual; and that he, on behalf of all Christians, suggested that the Holy
College elect his beloved friend and brother Apollonius, in order that their
close friendship could unite Church and State firmly and indissolubly for their
mutual benefit.
The Holy College retired to a separate room for a
conclave and, in an hour and a half, it returned with its new Pope,
Apollonius.
In the meantime, while the election was being carried
out, the Emperor was meekly, sagaciously, and eloquently persuading the Orthodox
and Evangelical representatives, in view of the new great era in Christian
history, to put an end to their old dissensions, giving his word that Apollonius
would be able to abolish all the abuses of the Papal authority known to history.
Persuaded by this speech, the Orthodox and Protestant representatives drafted a
deed of the unification of all churches, and when Apollonius appeared with the
cardinals in the hall and was met by shouts of joy from all those present, a
Greek bishop and an Evangelical pastor presented him with their document.
"Accipio et approbo et laetificatur cor meum," said Apollonius, signing it. "I
am as much a true Orthodox and a Protestant as I am a true Catholic," he added, and exchanged friendly kisses with the Greek
and the German.
Then he came up to the Emperor, who embraced him and
long held him in his arms. At this time, tongues of flame began to dart about in
the palace and the temple. They grew and became transformed into luminous shapes
of strange beings and flowers never seen before came down from above, filling
the air with an unknown perfume. Enchanting sounds of music, stirring the very
depths of the soul, produced by unfamiliar instruments, were heard, while
angelic voices of unseen singers sang the glory of the new lords of heaven and
earth. Suddenly, a terrific subterranean noise was heard in the northwest comer
of the palace under "Kubbet-el-Aruah," "the dome of souls," where, according to
Muslim belief, the entrance to hell was hidden.
When the assembly, invited by the Emperor, went to
that end, all could clearly hear innumerable voices, thin and penetrating --
either childish or devilish -- exclaiming: "The time has come, release us, dear
saviors, dear saviors!" But when Apollonius, kneeling on the ground, shouted
something downward in an unknown language three times, the voices died down and
the subterranean noise subsided.
Meanwhile, a vast crowd of people surrounded
Haram-esh-Sheriff on all sides. Darkness set in and the Emperor, with the new
Pope, came out upon the eastern terrace -- the signal for "a storm of
rejoicing." The Emperor bowed affably on all sides, while Apollonius took
magnificent fireworks, rockets, and fountains from huge baskets brought up by
the cardinal deacons. Igniting them by a mere touch of his hand, he tossed them
one after another into the air where they glimmered like phosphorescent pearls
and sparked with all the tints of a rainbow. Reaching the ground, all the
sparkles transformed into numberless variously colored sheets containing
complete and absolute indulgences of all sins -- past, present, and
future.
Popular exultation overflowed all limits. True, there
were some who stated that they had seen with their own eyes the indulgences turn
into hideous frogs and snakes. But the vast majority of the people were pleased
immensely, and the popular festivities continued a few days longer. The
prodigies of the new Pope now surpassed all imagination, so that it would be a
hopeless task even to attempt a description of them.
In the meantime, among the desert hills of Jericho,
the Christians were devoting themselves to fasting and prayers. On the evening
of the fourth day, Professor Pauli and nine companions, mounted on asses and
taking with them a cart, stole into Jerusalem and, passing through side streets
by Haram-esh-Sheriff to Haret-en-Nasara, came to the entrance to the Temple of
the Resurrection, in front of which, on the pavement, the
bodies of Pope Peter and Elder John were lying. The street was deserted at that
time of night, as everyone had gone to Hasam-esh-Sheriff. The sentries were fast
asleep.
The party that came for the bodies found them quite
untouched by decomposition, not even stiff or heavy. They put them on stretchers
and covered them with the cloaks they had brought with them. Then by the same
circuitous route they returned to their followers. They had hardly lowered the
stretcher to the ground when suddenly the spirit of life could be seen
reentering the deceased bodies. The bodies moved slightly as if they were trying
to throw off the cloaks in which they were wrapped. With shouts of joy, everyone
lent them aid and soon both the revived men rose to their feet, safe and
sound.
Then said Elder John: "Ah, my little children, we
have not parted after all! I will tell you this: it is time that we carry out
the last prayer of Christ for his disciples - that they should be all one, even
as he himself is one with the Father. For this unity in Christ, let us honor our
beloved brother Peter. Let him at last pasture the flocks of Christ. There it
is, brother!" And he put his arms round Peter.
Then Professor Pauli came nearer. "Tu est Petrus!"
("You are Peter!") he said to the Pope, "Jetzt ist es ja grundlich
erwiesen und ausser jedem Zweifel gesetzt." ("Now it has been thoroughly proven
and put beyond any doubt"). And he shook Peter's hand firmly with his own
right hand, while he stretched out his left hand to John saying: "So also
Vaterchen nun sind wir ja Eins in Christo." ("Now, then, dear father, we are now
one in Christ.").
In this manner, the unification of churches took
place in the midst of a dark night on a high and deserted spot. But the
nocturnal darkness was suddenly illuminated with brilliant light and a great
sign appeared in the heavens; it was a woman, clothed in the sun with the moon
beneath her feet and a wreath of twelve stars on her head. The apparition
remained immovable for some time, and then began slowly to move in a southward
direction. Pope Peter raised his staff and exclaimed: "Here is out banner! Let
us follow it!" And he walked after that apparition, accompanied by both
the old men and the whole crowd of Christians, to God's mountain,
to Sinai ...
(Here the reader stopped.)
LADY - Well, why don't you go on?
MR. Z. - The manuscript stops here. Father Pansophius
could not finish his story. He told me when he was already ill that he thought
of completing it "as soon as I get better," he said. But he did not get better,
and the end of his story is buried with him in the graveyard of the Danilov
Monastery -
LADY - But you remember what he told you, don't you?
Please tell us.
MR. Z. - I remember it only in its main outlines.
After the spiritual leaders and representatives of Christianity had departed to
the Arabian desert, whither crowds of faithful believers of truth were streaming
from all countries, the new Pope with his miracles and prodigies was able to
corrupt unimpededly all the remaining, superficial Christians who were not yet
disappointed with the Anti-Christ.
He declared that by the power of his keys he could
open the gates between the earthly world and the world beyond the grave.
Communion of the living with the dead, and also of the living with demons,
became a matter of everyday occurrence, and new unheard-of forms of mystic lust
and demonolatry began to spread among the people. However, the Emperor had
scarcely begun to feel himself firmly established on religious grounds, and,
having yielded to the persistent suggestions of the seductive voice of the
secret "father," had hardly declared himself the sole true incarnation of the
supreme Deity of the Universe, when a new trouble came upon him from a side
which nobody had expected: the Jews rose against him.
This nation, whose numbers at that time had reached
thirty million, was not altogether ignorant of the preparations for and the
consolidation of the worldwide successes of the superman. When the Emperor
transferred his residence to Jerusalem, secretly spreading among the Jews the
rumor that his main object was to bring about a domination by Israel over the
whole of the world, the Jews proclaimed him as their Messiah, and their
exultation and devotion to him knew no bounds. But now they suddenly rose, full
of wrath and thirsting for vengeance. This turn of events, doubtless foretold in
both Gospel and church tradition, was pictured by Father Pansophius, perhaps,
with too great a simplicity and realism.
You see, the Jews, who regarded the Emperor as a true
and perfect Israelite by blood, unexpectedly discovered that he was not even
circumcised. The same day all Jerusalem, and next day all Palestine, were up
in arms against him. The boundless and fervent devotion to the savior of Israel,
the promised Messiah, gave place to as boundless and as fervent a hatred of the
wily deceiver, the impudent impostor. The whole of the Jewish nation rose as one
man, and its enemies were surprised to see that the soul of Israel at bottom
lived not by calculations and aspirations of Mammon but by the power of an
all-absorbing sentiment -- the hope and strength of its eternal faith in the
Messiah.
The Emperor, taken by surprise at the sudden
outburst, lost all self-control and issued a decree sentencing to death all
insubordinate Jews and Christians. Many thousands and tens of thousands who
could not arm themselves in time were ruthlessly massacred. But an army of Jews,
one million strong, soon took Jerusalem and locked up the Anti-Christ in
Haram-esh-Sheriff. His only support was a portion of the Guards who were not
strong enough to overwhelm the masses of the enemy. Assisted by the magic art of
his Pope, the Emperor succeeded in passing through the lines of his besiegers,
and quickly appeared again in Syria with an innumerable army of pagans of
different races. The Jews went forth to meet him with small hope of success. But
hardly had the vanguard of both armies come together, when
an earthquake of unprecedented violence occurred.
An enormous volcano, with a giant crater, rose up by
the Dead Sea, around which the imperial army was encamped. Streams of fire
flowed together into a flaming lake that swallowed up the Emperor himself,
together with his numberless forces -- not to mention Pope Apollonius, who
always accompanied him, and whose magic was of no avail. Meanwhile, the Jews
hastened to Jerusalem in fear and trembling, calling for salvation to the God of
Israel.
When the Holy City was already in sight, the heavens
were rent by vivid lightning from the east to the west, and they saw Christ
coming toward them in royal apparel, and with the wounds from the nails in his
outstretched hands. At the same time, the company of Christians led by Peter,
John, and Paul came from Sinai to Zion, and from various other parts hurried
more triumphant multitudes, consisting of all the Jews and Christians who had
been killed by the Anti-Christ. For a thousand years, they lived and reigned
with Christ.
Here, Father Pansophius wished to end his narrative,
which had for its object not a universal cataclysm of creation but the
conclusion of our historical process which consists in the appearance,
glorification, and destruction of the Anti-Christ.
POLITICIAN - And do you think that this conclusion is
so near?
MR. Z. - Well, there will be still some chatter and
fuss on the stage, but the whole drama is written to the end, and neither actors
nor audience will be permitted to change anything in it.
LADY - But what is the absolute meaning of this
drama? I still do not understand why the Anti-Christ hates God so much, while he
himself is essentially good, not evil.
MR. Z. - That is the point. He is not essentially
evil. All the meaning is in that. I take back my previous words that
"You cannot explain the Anti-Christ by proverbs alone." He can be
explained by a simple proverb, "All that glitters is not gold." You know all too
well this glitter of counterfeit gold. Take it away and no real force remains --
none.
GENERAL - But you notice, too, upon what the curtain
falls in this historical drama - upon war - the meeting of two armies. So our
conversation ends where it began. How does that please you, Prince? Prince? Good
heaven! Where's the Prince?
POLITICIAN - Didn't you notice? He left quietly
during that moving passage where the Elder John presses the Anti-Christ to the
wall. I did not want to interrupt the reading at that time and, afterward, I
forgot.
GENERAL - I bet he ran away - ran away a second time!
He mastered himself the first time and came back, but this was too much for the
poor fellow. He couldn't stand it. Dear me! Dear me!
THE END
from the Baptistery
of the cathedral of Florence
From the
long, wonderful article by Hans Urs von Balthasar on Soloviev in the Third
Volume of The Glory of the Lord:
"The
Antichrist will blur the edges of the apocalyptic rift between morality and the
cross, between cultural progress and the resurrection of the dead. He will
permit Christianity to merge into this synthesis as one positive element.
'Christ divided men in terms of good and evil; I shall unite them through the
benefits of salvation, which are necessary to good and evil alike. Christ
brought the sword, but I bring peace. He threatened the earth with a terrible
Last judgment; but I shall be the last judge, and my judgment is one of
grace.'
Satan
fills his son with his spirit; his soul is filled with a glacial abundance of
enormous power, courage and effortless skill. He composes a manifesto, The Open
Path to World Peace and Welfare, an all-embracing programme that unites all
contradictions in itself--the highest degree of freedom of thought and a
comprehension of every mystical system, unrestricted individualism and a glowing
devotion to the general good.
He
establishes a European union of states, then a world monarchy, satisfies the
needs of all the poor without perceptibly affecting the rich and founds an
inter-confessional institute for free biblical research. He seeks to be elected
by the general assembly of the churches as head of the Church (from now on
ecumenically united), and receives the approval of the majority.
But
resistance comes from Pope Peter II, John the Elder, leader of the Orthodox and
Professor Ernst Pauli, representing Protestantism: under the pressure of
persecution the three churches in this eschatological situation at last unite.
Peter's primacy is recognized, and the Pauline and Johannine churches come into
the Roman fold. The spokesmen of Christianity are persecuted and killed, but
they rise again; the last Christians journey to the wilderness, the Jews raise a
revolt and the Christians join with them. They are slaughtered; but then Christ
appears, robed in the imperial purple, his hands outspread with the marks of the
nails upon them, to rule for a thousand years with those who are his
own
What is important
in this story (The Tale of Anti-Christ) is not its novelistic features, but the
fact that Soloviev quite unconcernedly surrenders great parts of his philosophy
of cosmic process into the hands of the Antichrist. As regards the fact, of the
process, he has not abandoned a single detail; the only thing he has given up is
the idea that the process comes to perfection within history.
The
harvest of the world is brought home, but not by man; it is brought home by
Christ, who alone lays the whole Kingdom at his Father's feet. He is himself
the integration of all things. And if we believe ourselves capable of
establishing within history some kind of signs of the end--perhaps in the
unification of the world or in this ideal seen as the way in which 'the whole of
humanity gathers itself around in
invisible but powerful focus in Christian
culture' even such indications will never suffice to gain an overview of the
real course of the historical process as it appears from God's own
standpoint.
In this respect,
Soloviev humbled himself before the all-conquering Cross."
