Mr. A. J. Slobodehikov, the walla known lawyer, has raised' before the Russian Orthodox Mission in Peiping the important question of the annul ment of Church matriages—particular. ly from the point of view of expenses entailed. At present' many church marriages are brought to an end Chinese courts or, simpler still, in the fice of some lawyer; because Chinese lave, looking upon marriage as an agreement between two parties, Fecognizes that form of divorce, Not so the Orthodox Church, from whose point of view no decision passed "by the Chinese Court can annul a marriage performed by the Church. Foreign consulates recognize a divorce wanted by the Chinese Court and a divorced party may thus marry once more, the marriage being duly regi stered in the consulate concerned. The children of this second marriage. however, would not be considered legitimate by the Orthodox Church.
What, then, makes Russians seek Aivoree without the benefit of clergy?
tly, a church-divorce costs a considerable amount, which, considering the modest income of emigrants, is an impediment to be reckoned with. This arises from the fact that the rules promulgated by the Holy Conclave of the All-Russian Orthodox Church on August 20, 1918, are still in effect. Awain, the war and the revolution gave "birth "to countless "tragedies where wives and husbands have disappeared and during all these years have given no sign of their whereabouts. The Orthodox Church, how-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.