BULGARIAN CHRISTIANITY.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 35, 9 February 1877, Page 4

BULGARIAN CHRISTIANITY.

; In Mr Barkley's recently-published book, " Sport and Travel in Bulgaria," be thus describes his visit to a Greek Church iri' Bulgaria :—" 'Father Vlatt, , I asked one day, ' what time is servioe in the Greek Church at loji Keui ?' 'Service, Tchellaby? Ob, in the morning. This is Sunday, Tchelllaby, and, if you ride off at once, you will be iv time for church ; and should the priest have begun before you get there, just stop and tell him to begin again ; he will do it for a glass !of raki.' 'Well, this is delightful. I have known' a country parson in England who never began service till the squire arrived ; but to "whip off and run a '.oiled-scent " for a stranger is quite :new, 'so I will be off at once.' A gallop of a quarter of a!u hour brought ms to the door of tbe church— a good-sized, 'welj-built, atone edifice, in the shape of 'a barn,, with the whitest of walls aod Reddest of tiles; but tbe door waa shut, ;aud, if service was going on, it was a iQiaker one, for all was silent within. ;At last I caw an old Moldave, au J inquired of him :—'Heie, father, I want to .know about your church ; whan does the service begin ?' 'In the morning, Effendi.' 'This is the morning. I hope it is not over.' 'No, jEffendi, it is not begun yet.' When will it begin ?' 'Ab, who knows V with a shrug of the shoulders. * Why, you should, you old sinner ! lam afraid you don't go to church regularly.' 'Effendi, | I am a very good man and quite pious ; see, I am hung all over with charms I against the evil eye which the priest j sells me, but I don't often go to church— j how can I when there is no service ?' | ' You have no resident priest, perhaps V ' Oh, yes, Effendi, we have, an excellent, wbrhy creature I such a good man, Effoadi, tbat everyone from far and near comes to buy wax candles and charms from him, and each week he makes a |lot of money, which enables him. to get 'so drunk on Saturday night that he is like a dead man all Sunday. He is now lying among the nettles at the back [of the drinking shop there, and will not be able to move till night.' 'Does he often do .this V I asked. 'Well, Effani, I can't exactly say how ofteh, : but this is the fifth Sunday ho has spent among the nettles.' I gave the old i fellow a cigarette, and, declining a , glass of raki he offered me, wended my

way home, meditating on the enormous blessing it : would be if we of the Western Church could amalgamate with the Eastern Christiah Church 1"