In June, 1959, six leading Australian Churchmen were selected by their denominations (Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and Churches of Christ) to visit Russia, Czechoslovakia and China and to establish contact with our fellow-Christians in those countries. A report from the four Victorian members of the delegation is given in the following pages. To all six, Australian Church people are under obligation for their frank and informative statements.

      It will be remembered that the late Primate of Australia, Archbishop Mowll (formerly a missionary Bishop in China), with other Anglican Bishops and clergymen, went on a similar visit to China a few years ago. The report of the recent delegation may be compared with what the Anglican Church leaders gave on their return, as far as China is concerned. There have also been many visits by European and American leaders from the World Council of Churches to Russia during the past few years as well as a visit by Russian Church leaders to Britain.

      There can be no question about the Christian duty of maintaining fellowship with the Christian Churches which are continuing to function under difficulty in Communist-controlled lands, especially in China. There have been persecutions and hardships in those countries. Limitations in the activities of the Christian Churches are still be found there; but it must be a cause of gratitude to God that Christian people in Russia, Czechoslovakia and China have shown such conspicuous fidelity to Christ through this period. They have gallantly continued their witness for their Lord under difficulties which might well have daunted Australian Christian people.

      These are days of important visits by the leaders of the East and West, including President Eisenhower, the British Prime Minister and the Russian leaders, in the effort to ease and end international tensions. It certainly behooves Christians, as followers of the Prince of Peace, to do everything in their power to establish links with their fellow-Christians in all other lands and to work, as well as pray, for peace on earth. Christians in East and West are the hope of that abiding peace which will fulfil the purpose of Christ Himself who died to break down the middle wall of partition and to make of Himself one "new man," the Christian of every race and clan.

      The idea of a Churchmen's Delegation to visit the Churches in Russia, China and Czechoslovakia originated in a conference organised by the Commission on Peace of the Methodist Church of Victoria and Tasmania.

      The publication of the following statements from the four Victorian members of the delegation is intended to give people the opportunity to read for themselves what the delegates have said on their return.

      The Commission on Peace hopes that these statements will help to clarify the thinking and understanding of those who read them, and will foster sympathy and goodwill between Christians in Australia and those in the countries visited.

      After a brief visit during which we spent one week in each of the countries visited, no member of the Delegation would claim to be an authority on the total situation in Russia, Czechoslovakia, and China. We readily recognise the limitations of our experience; but there are facts and impressions from what we saw and were told which we are glad to share.

Hospitality and Programme.

      In Russia we were received by representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Union of Evangelical Christian Baptist Churches. Accommodation was provided in hotels and we were accompanied at meals and in all our travels by two Orthodox priests and an interpreter who was not a churchman. There were often other churchmen who were attached to the party. Hospitality was exceedingly generous and our programme was conducted with marked efficiency.

      We were asked what we wished to see and our requests were met with the responses: "Your wish is our will." "It will be arranged." So it was. Consequently we visited many places of interest, but our primary concern was contact with Churches and Christians. A number of church services were attended in both Moscow and Leningrad and one day we went to Zagorsk, about fifty miles out of Moscow, where we attended a service. This is the locality of the ancient monastery of St. Sergius and is now the centre of a theological seminary and academy. All was interspersed with a barrage of questions and answers.

Church Statistics.

      No exact statistics on the membership of the Russian Orthodox were given, but it is estimated that there are thirty million members. Other figures are more exact. In round figures there are twenty thousand local congregations or communities, thirty-three thousand clerics and priests, two thousand students, and fifty-five monasteries.

      Outside the Orthodox Church the largest denomination is that of the Union of Evangelical Christian Baptists. These are commonly known simply as Baptists. Their membership is five hundred and forty thousand baptised believers with a constituency of about three million. They are limited in the number of

buildings allowed to them, there being only one in Moscow where there is a membership of four thousand five hundred.

      In the Trans-Carpathian area there is a community of the Reformed Church stemming from Hungarian Calvinists. There are small numbers of Methodists and Seventh Day Adventists, and a considerable number of Lutherans in the Baltic States.

Church Attendances.

      On Thursday in Moscow we attended the Baptist meeting for prayer and Bible study. Each member of the Delegation brought a greeting. The language of the hymns was foreign, but the theme and tunes were well known to us: "Blest be the tie that binds," "I need Thee every hour" "What a Friend we have in Jesus," and finally, "God be with you till we meet again," accompanied by waving of handkerchiefs. The building was packed beyond proper capacity with fifteen hundred people standing in aisles and on stairways. The following Sunday afternoon we attended a Baptist service in Leningrad. The building was similarly crowded with some fifteen hundred people. When we returned to Moscow on Tuesday we unexpectedly attended a service at 6 p.m. for the Communion of the Lord's Supper at the Baptist Church. They had not been able to accommodate all on the previous Sunday and the building was packed again with its over-crowd of fifteen hundred people. It was interesting to note that one large loaf was used and broken into small pieces by the deacons during the service. Small individual cups were not used, but a small number of large community cups.

      Large numbers were seen in the worship services of Orthodox Churches. Most notable were the seven thousand where we attended a service on Saturday evening in Moscow, and three thousand in a service on Sunday, morning in Leningrad.

      The age-old emphasis of the Orthodox Church is upon worship which is conducted with elaborate ritual and liturgy. While we could not understand the language it appeared to us that there was a simple, sincere, and fervent devotion. This devoutness appeared to us in the priests with whom we had close connection and found marked expression when one of them said when we were involved in discussion about the Church: "My grandfather was a priest, my father was a priest; I love my church and would die for it."

      A disturbing fact about the worshipping communities was the great preponderance of older people. There were some young people and notably some young men in uniforms. We were also interested to observe a baptismal service in Leningrad when about twenty babes were brought by their parents for baptism according to the tradition of the Orthodox Church. We were

told that in some churches there are one hundred and fifty to two hundred such baptisms each week. The priests said that great numbers of parents bring their children for baptism, and one of our host priests who was from the Ukraine said that practically all parents in the Ukraine bring their children for baptism.

      We were impressed by the apparent strength of priests whom we met and by the measure of youthful leadership we observed. The number of young men between eighteen and thirty offering for the priesthood is beyond the capacity of the training institutions and competitive entrance examinations are held.

The Position of the Church.

      Church and State are quite separate. There is no established or State Church. It is clear, however, that the Church is under the surveillance of the State for there is a State Council for Orthodox Belief and also one for other religious beliefs. There is a likeness to the position of the early Church under the Caesar's in that each religious community must be registered.

      All land belongs to the State. Church buildings on such land are reserved for the use of the Church with the permission of the State. A group of twenty believers may apply for a church building and if permission is given by the State Council the Church may build at its own cost. Money is raised by the gifts of church members and by the sale of altar candles and oil, etc. The Church does not repudiate profit for a good cause. Candles costing one rouble (about 2/-) are sold for three roubles.

      The Church is allowed to pursue its religious life but must make no direct excursions into politics. The Church as the Church makes no pronouncements on issues outside of its own life. It is left for individual believers to try to bring their influence to bear in the total life of the community. Our impression would be that the Church cannot exercise a prophetic ministry in the sense of declaring the whole counsel of God in its radical application to the whole of life. When we make such a critical judgment we do well to ask at the same time to what extent any Church anywhere in the world would have complete freedom to pursue a completely prophetic ministry. However, our measure of freedom is something for which we should humbly give thanks.

      The religious life of the Church in Russia is confined to worship, teaching, and preaching, within limits. These ministries may be exercised in the church buildings and priests may also go to the homes of believers to teach, and go to homes to give counsel they are invited. All are free to attend churches and others may gather in homes of believers. It is significant

to observe that the initiative must be taken by the people in applying for the erection of a church building, in opening their homes for teaching, and in inviting a priest to give counsel. Church publications may be distributed to worshippers or sent to subscribers through the post. The Church is there for those who want it. They are free to take the initiative. Those who are not baptised in infancy may not be baptised until eighteen years of age. Within these limitations the Church is free to pursue its religious life and individuals are free to ally themselves with Christ and the Church.

      People are not allowed to belittle believers and the priesthood. As we moved about in the general community on railway stations, in trains and shops, and on the street there appeared to be a respect for the priests who were our companions. Atheistic propaganda is not allowed within the precincts of a church building.

      This does not mean that Communism has given up its anti-religious philosophy and its propagation of atheism. As evidence we culled a notice from "Moscow News" of 4th July, published in English. It was headed "Science and Religion," and noted that in September the first issue of a magazine under the above title would appear. Part of the notice read: "It will carry articles subjecting religions ideologies to critical analysis, others devoted to the overcoming of religious prejudices, to the history and theory of scientific atheism, and to methods of carrying on atheistic propaganda, etc."

      There are six million members of the Communist Party and eleven million members of the Komsomol (Young Communists' League) which consists of those between the ages of seventeen and twenty-five years. No Christians are members of these organisations. Christians are not excluded by the organisations, but they do not choose to be included. It is perfectly clear that Christians, even if they accept the socialistic programme of Communism, recognise the basic contradiction between the philosophy of Communism and Christianity. They see that Christianity cannot be identified with Communism in its entirety in the same way as we see that it cannot be identified with Capitalism in its entirety.

      The fact is clear that the Church exists in Russia. It is reasonable to assume that the State has discovered that religion does not easily and inevitably wither away. Indeed, maybe it is like a nail, the harder you hit it the further you drive it in.

      With all its faults and limitations the Church has proved and continues to prove the religious philosophy expressed by Gamaliel: "If this counsel or this work be of men, it come

to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it." (Acts 5:38, 39.)

      Our Christian faith commits us to bear witness to God in Christ under whatever system we have to live out our lives. By that same faith we are committed to reach out hands of fellowship to our brethren in all lands. This we have sought to do and are confirmed in the conviction that this is what we ought to continue to do.

      It ought to be known that, contrary to the general assumption, the Delegation was not invited to China. It left Australia for Russia and Czechoslovakia, with the intention of returning through China if visas for that purpose could be secured. The visas were obtained in Moscow ten days before the party left Moscow for Peking. Leaders of the Church in China were advised of the arrangement and they, very kindly, met the party on arrival at Peking and planned its itinerary. The purpose of the visit was, as in Russia and Czechoslovakia, to make fraternal contact with the Churches in China. The Delegation was not a commission of investigation and is not, therefore, in a position to confirm or deny many things reported to it before and since. We can only tell you what we observed for you to evaluate as you will.

      There is something, however, which ought to be explained which is basic to an understanding of the Christian situation in China to-day. From my long association with missionary administration I know only too well how easy it is for the Church which is brought into being by a foreign missionary society to become a foreign colony in its own land, and, for that reason, to be largely ineffective in its witness. Missionary Societies have long been conscious of this problem and have made earnest efforts to root the Church firmly in the national soil but those efforts have met with only partial success.

Policy of Survival.

      It would seem that there was a Providence of God in a dramatic event of recent history which completely separated the missionary enterprise from the Church in China and cast the Church upon its own resources. The Church was compelled to work out a policy of survival in which two things were inevitable. The first was the surrender of the numerous institutions, hospitals, schools, colleges and universities established by powerful missionary organisations and which the Church was completely incapable of maintaining. These were taken over by the Government and, in many cases, have continued the service for which they were established.

      There were also many Churches which had been partially or entirely maintained by foreign funds and which the congregations

were not able to support. Some of these ceased to function and the properties were taken over by the Government. There may have been other reasons why some Churches ceased to exist, but we are not in a position to report upon that.

The Three-Selfs Movement.

      The second effect of the withdrawal of missionary societies was a "get-together" movement by the Churches. It was clear that they could face their problems better in unity than in division. An organisation came into being which became known as the Three-Selfs Movement, to express the co-operative activity of the Churches. This Movement has also become the medium of communication between the Government and the Churches. As in the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia all religious bodies, whether Christian or other religions, must be registered with the appropriate government department. It is convenient for all concerned to have a medium of communication and the Three Selfs Movement serves that purpose for the Protestant Churches.

      "Three-Selfs" means self-government, self-support and self-propagation, the ideals to be achieved if the Christian Church is to survive in China.

      We had two conferences with the leaders of this Movement, one in Peking and the other in Shanghai. It was evident to us that they sincerely believe that they are defending the Ark of God by the policy which they are pursuing. Some of them impressed us as being men of fine Christian character with whom we could experience authentic Christian fellowship. We know that there are many here and elsewhere who regard this arrangement as one of compromise, who state also that there are many Christians who are suffering acutely because they refuse to compromise. We were not there long enough to investigate these reports.

      This, however, is clear to me. If there are those who have compromised somewhat with the purpose to preserve the Church intact until conditions improve, they need our understanding and sympathy and prayer. Think of ourselves in their situation. What would we do? It is easy to be a hero when one is a long way from the battle. If there are those who are suffering because they have refused to compromise they also need our understanding and sympathy and prayer. I lay upon every Christian man and woman the responsibility to enter into the fellowship of suffering and prayer with every such person of whom they have certain knowledge.

Shanghai.

      We visited five congregations in Shanghai--the Episcopal Cathedral, the Moore Memorial Methodist Church, the Grace

Baptist Church, the Pentecostal Church and the Community Church. With the exception of the Cathedral all the churches were comfortably filled with congregations having a good proportion of young people. The music was good and in some cases was led by well-trained choirs. The worshippers seemed to be relaxed and cheerful; there was no sense of tension or strain. They did not seem to fit into the picture sometimes presented of people being so overworked that they were too tired to go to church. Indeed they looked to be comfortable and prosperous. We listened to a sermon on the text "Beloved of God, and called to be Saints," which was interpreted to us in a whisper. It was a practical Biblical exposition which could well have been given by any evangelical minister in Australia.

Christian Publications.

      We visited the United China Christian Publishers, the successors of the Christian publishing houses which were merged after "The Liberation." They told us of their productions including a Chinese edition of Haydn's "Messiah" which had been rendered by combined church choirs at Easter. I was speaking to a lady in Hong Kong who visited Canton as a member of a concert party at Easter time who heard that performance broadcast whilst she was there. They had recently produced an edition of the Bible in Chinese. They presented us each with a copy. I showed it to specialists in Christian publications in Chinese in Hong Kong and they declared it to be a very good production. This could only have been produced with the consent of the government.

Summing Up.

      I doubt if there is anybody outside China who can give a complete and accurate picture of the Church in that country. There are so many cross-currents of apparently conflicting evidence. One thing I know is that the future of the Church there is not in the hands of men, whether Christian or atheist, but in the Hands of Him whom God raised from the dead to the supreme place in the Universe, putting all things under His feet and making Him Head over all for the Church. There is something going on in China to-day which means far more for Australia than most Australians realise. To state that meaning in terms of present duty--We must cease to give nominal recognition to the Christianity we profess and begin to apply it thoroughly to our individual, civic and national life--and we must begin NOW.

      The delegation spent a week in Czechoslovakia. From Moscow, we flew to Prague--a city redolent with atmosphere and packed with history. It is very beautiful in its setting on the River Molda.

      Professor T. L. Hromadka, Dean of the Commenius Faculty in the University of Prague, met us at the plane. That evening at his home we met several leaders of the Churches in Silesia, Bohemia and Slovakia, the three provinces of the country. The next morning we had a conference with the Ecumenical Council, at which there were representatives of the Lutheran, Moravian Czech-Brethren, Calvinist, Methodist and Baptist Churches. The relative strength of the Churches in the country are as follows:--

      Czechoslovakia is nominally 80 per cent. Roman Catholic.

      Lutheran Church in Slovakia--450,000 members, 30 churches and 40 pastors.

      Lutheran Church in Silesia--52,000 members, 19 churches and 26 pastors.

      Evangelical Church of Czech-Brethren--300,000 members, 300 churches and 300 ministers. (This Church is Presbyterian in its form and has 13 Presbyteries. The Assembly meets every three years and has 100 members. The Moderator holds office for six years or the period between three Assemblies.)

      Reformed Church in Slovakia (Calvinist)--140,000 members, 300 churches and 180 ministers.

      Methodist Church--12,000 members, 20 churches and 13 preaching places, 20 preachers and 8 lay preachers.

      Baptist Church--4,000 members, 26 churches, 21 pastors and 10 lay preachers.

      Moravian Church--14,000 members, 18 churches and 18 pastors.

      The Czechoslovakian Church, which is a break-away movement from the Roman Catholic Church following the Second World War, originally had 1,000,000 members. These have now shrunk to 500,000 members. This Church will not acknowledge the Vatican, but follows the form of the Roman Catholic faith otherwise.

Church and State.

      In 1949 there was an agreement signed between the State and the Church. This separated the Church from the State. The salaries of all priests and pastors are paid by the Communist State. In the Theological Seminaries, a State official must be included on the staff to lecture to the students on the Social Theory of the State.

      The pastors may give Religious Instruction in the Schools for one period each week to those children whose parents register as desiring that such instruction be given their children. The number so registering is declining because of discrimination against them. The people may attend their churches without hindrance.

      The leaders of the Church attending this conference impressed us with their rugged honesty and vital faith. Within the framework of the Communist State it is not easy to maintain the effective witness of the Christian Faith. Yet the body of Christians in the country are sincere in their worship, and where they live and work maintain their Christian ideals, however costly this may be to them personally. Many have left the country but those who remain are devoted to their Lord and there was expressed to our delegation the sense of privilege they feel in being able to serve the Church in the modern Socialist State.

      They feel the challenge to demonstrate the value of Christian citizenship in the new order. The members of our delegation attended in Prague on the Friday evening meetings in the Baptist and Methodist Churches in the city. Three members attended each service and were given the opportunity to speak to those present. At the Baptist Church there were 200 present and a fine service was held. At the Methodist Church, where a former hotel has been converted into a simple yet effective place of worship, the congregation numbered about 80. After the members of the delegation had spoken, questions were invited from those present. They displayed a keen interest in the life of our churches in Australia. It was noticeable that there was, to some small degree, an undercurrent of tension. But one could not doubt the sincerity of those present in their attitude to the Church and the Faith.

      Our delegation was accorded a State dinner of welcome at which the leaders of the Churches whom we had met in conference were present. An official of the Department of Culture and Church Affairs was the host and welcomed us to Czechoslovakia in the name of the Government. Our delegation responded in suitable terms. Present at this dinner was a member of the Lutheran Church who was a Vice-President in the Government.

There is represented in the Government minority groups who are not Communists.

Silesia.

      The delegation spent the week-end in Silesia visiting the Lutheran Church of that province. We met many of the pastors and their wives and families, and were impressed by the close identification of the pastors with the life of their people. Bishop Cymorek, of the Lutheran Church of Silesia, accompanied us from Prague and was with us for the week-end among the people of his churches. We visited eight churches. The buildings were well cared for and the congregations were most interested in our visit to them. Members of the delegation had the opportunity to speak to the congregations during the services we were privileged to attend.

      We were given lunch on the Saturday at a home for elderly folk maintained by the Lutheran Church in the village of Komorni Lhotka. Those who lived there were well cared for and seemed happy and contented. This was the only evidence of Social Service work we saw on the whole of our journey. This is not to say that there is no such service elsewhere, but in our brief visit this was all that we saw personally. The congregations in the churches we visited were large in number, up to 800 in the larger churches. The church at Bystrice where such a congregation was present is a very lovely building with three galleries inside above the ground floor.

      Young people were well in evidence among the congregations. The hymn singing and the singing of the choirs was of a very high standard. Services were conducted with a freedom similar to that of our own Churches. Prayers were offered, the scriptures read and sermons were preached. There was no restriction placed on what members of the delegation wished to say to the congregations. All our utterances were given to the people through an interpreter who was himself a Christian. The people in this province seemed to be relaxed in their worship.

John Huss Film.

      On our return to Prague we were given the opportunity to see, in a private screening the first of three parts of a film on the life of John Huss. This film has been produced by the State and shows the martyrdom of Huss at the hands of the Roman Catholic Church of that day. The remaining parts, which we did not see, show the rise of the Hussite movement and the fight for freedom on the part of the Bohemian people. This was part of the struggle in Europe of the Thirty Years War concluded

by the Peace of Westphalia, which gave Bohemia to the Roman Catholics. To-day the State has re-built Bethlehem Chapel in Prague, the church where John Huss preached. It is now kept as a State Museum. This is all part of the Czech pattern in their struggle for freedom. To-day the State teaches that freedom has been achieved following this long struggle and the final driving out of Czechoslovakia of the Nazi occupation. We were shown Lidice, the village entirely destroyed by the Nazis as a reprisal for the assassination of Heydrich, the Nazi Protector of the country, as being typical of what the occupation meant to the Czech people.

The Church and the Communist State.

      Within this framework the various Churches have to live. Freedom of worship is accorded the Churches so long as they are not reactionary against the policy of the State. The Christians are being forced by the very nature of the conditions under which they live to discover in the Faith the basic realities of God's revealed truth.

      The realisation of this fact and the manner of its acceptance by the Czechoslovakian Church can best be expressed by repeating a statement made to our delegation by one of the young leaders of the Church, who said: "I am glad to be alive in this day. I would rather live in this day than at any other point in history--in this post-Constantinian era." Such a statement demonstrates the virile expectation of the faith of the Church.

      Christians to-day in that country have to walk a very tight road. Their great desire is for Peace and they asked that we should strive for the same end and that in our prayers we would remember them.

      It is to be hoped that the relationships established between these historic Churches and our own Australian Churches may be maintained and extended and a better understanding built between these brave people and ourselves.

      There were many things presented to the notice of the Delegation about which there need be no argument and upon which there need be little conjecture. In Russia and indeed in other Communist States the Government accepts the Church, and the Church accepts the Government. We were guests of the Church, but as we were served by an interpreter who was an official of "Intourist" or some other State Department, and as the best available in accommodation and transport was placed at our disposal, we could not doubt that our visit was made possible by the approval and co-operation of the appropriate Governmental department.

      This may seem a curious relationship, but we should remember the easy acceptance of this partnership by the Church comes after 40 years of learning to live in a Communist State. The Church has a past to live down and a future to make. The State will continue to be concerned with the life of such a vast organisation as the Russian Orthodox Church comprising 20,000 communities, because history has disclosed many instances of corruption and obscurantist and reactionary attitudes within its life. The Church will continue to co-operate in its sincere appreciation of what has been accomplished for the good of the people and to seize every opportunity of showing the nation that in the heart of the Gospel reside the noblest principles of service for all mankind.

Why Let the Church Live?

      We may ask why an atheistic Communist State should allow the Church so many privileges when there would seem to be speedy methods of eliminating it. The official answer is that Communists are realists. Religion is an objective reality in the hearts and minds of people, and cannot be destroyed by any act of Parliament or by intimidation. The Communists are confident that if they allow religion and atheism to grow together, the one will ultimately triumph over the other. It is their intention, by the use of skilful propaganda and the limitation of religious privileges, to achieve their ideological ends.

      The State has a tremendous power of achievement to support its argument that they can get on very well without God. There is everywhere the contrast of old and new orders. Throughout Moscow hundreds of gigantic blocks of flats for the people tower above ancient structures which serve to remind folk of the great strides which have been made. The magnificent reach of Gorki Street and Leningrad Prospect offer a promise of what all Russian cities are to be in days to come. In the great width of Gorki Street opposite the Statue of Dolgoruky, the founder of Moscow, we were shown the headquarters of the Moscow Soviet which in 1938 was moved back several metres in three days without disturbing plumbing, lighting or telephones, as part of the street-widening scheme.

      The people are constantly reminded that these are the achievements of the people. They are the People, and, therefore, they may well have pride in their achievements. We were asked to compare the rentals paid by workers for their flats with the percentage of their wages paid by Australians. The advantage seems to be with the Muscovite until you remember the difference between a flat in a huge tenement and the self-contained Australian suburban cottage with its garden and garage.

Pride in Citizenship.

      There is a constant appeal to this pride which underlies much of the good behaviour of the man-in-the-street. The tube railway system is certainly a remarkable achievement. The stations gleam in all their splendour and no one but a tourist would dream of entering a train or station with a lighted cigarette. Anyone "under the influence" would never be permitted to pass the ticket barrier.

      We witnessed two demonstrations of the readiness of people to co-operate with the police. As we drove through a busy street our driver became very angry at the behaviour of the driver of another car, and presently he stopped beside a policeman and lodged a complaint, with the result that the offender was stopped a little farther on. Ironically enough we were ordered to halt a few miles out of the city by a policeman who obviously meant business. We were told that someone had seen our driver pass a wagon whilst driving through a village, and had phoned ahead to have us apprehended. This is apparently all part of the life into which new generations have grown in which some at least take themselves very seriously as full partners in the programme which is designed to lead onward in perpetual progress. This may account for the power of certain punishments for common offences. Two young lads having a scuffle in the street were being dealt with by a policeman. Our interpreter chuckled

as he explained that they would probably be sentenced to a fortnight of street-sweeping. This is the punishment of a man who becomes drunk and disorderly and most likely he will be sentenced to sweep the street in front of his place of employment. Serious car accidents are photographed and pictures of the guilty party are displayed, with the story of the offence, on street notice-boards.

Culture.

      Another aspect of this secular religion is the encouragement of interest in the history and artistic achievements of the centuries. In The Kremlin, which is the heart of Moscow, and in "The Hermitage," the pride of Leningrad, treasures of fabulous value are displayed for millions of sightseers. There are two themes to be absorbed by the visitors from town and province. These works of art were not created by the rich and powerful nobles and priests who possessed them, but by the skilful craftsmen of the people. The citizens of today may take pride in what their brothers of the past achieved. While the visitors view the matchless beauty of vestments and vessels, once in the possession of the Church, they scarcely need to be reminded that religion became the instrument of the rich and corrupt tyrants who oppressed the poor through the long centuries before the Revolution brought them new life. It is hard to argue against history and the Church can only pursue its purpose of demonstrating its renewed sense of oneness with the people, and its conviction that there is no real fulness of life without God.

      In Czechoslovakia there is the same kind of appeal to the past for pride in the courage and power of the common man, and a similar judgment of history upon the corrupt power of the Church. Who can deny the dreadfulness of deeds perpetrated in the strife of the Counter-Reformation? What a legacy there is in certain parts of the land where it is claimed that the descendants of those who were obliged to become Roman Catholics, but who were never true in their hearts to this allegiance, are now the vast 90 per cent. of secularised citizens who offer no real resistance to atheistic materialism. Here too the Churches are ready to share the pride of achievement at certain levels of life, but their deepest anxiety is to reveal the abiding truth of Christian compassion and loving service so long obscured by religious formalism and antagonisms.

Church and State.

      There appears to be no pretence about this Church-State relationship; but rather, a frank acceptance of the sincerity of

each. The State authorities have made clear their intention to make the philosophy of Marxist Materialism the gospel of the new way of life that will render religious faith so superfluous a superstition that no one will be concerned to follow it. A lecturer in the political philosophy of the State must be given a place in the curriculum of the theological seminary. Teachers in the day schools are recruited largely from the ranks of unbelievers, and it will become more singular than customary for children to register for Religious Instruction. In the days of the Austrian Empire it was essential for State officials to belong to one of the established churches; but to-day that would be more of a handicap than an advantage. Certainly we sat at a reception tendered by the Ministry of Culture, Department for Church Affairs, with a Vice-President of the Parliament who is an active Lutheran and a member of the Ecumenical Council: but his office as one of the several vice-presidents does not denote great political prestige. It rather demonstrates the readiness of the Popular Front Government to accept the existence of minority groups in the community, and to allow them Parliamentary representation not as opposition parties, but as co-operating parties.

      At the same time the Church leaders are just as frank in their intention to be faithful to the Lord of the Church. They will not criticise nor obstruct the plans of the Government; but they will continue to seek opportunities demonstrating the relevance of the Gospel to human need. While they will rejoice in every good thing which has come to the people they will strive to discover more and more elements of a Biblical theology which will root their religious life in the soil of their nation.

      In China we found that Churchmen shared a great enthusiasm for the achievements of the new order which is always referred to as "The Liberation." Their interpretation of history and their view of international affairs would be in harmony with those of the State. They accept the necessity of refraining from all political activities considered to be contrary to the interests of the nation and give no indication that they feel a sense of oppression or repression beyond limits which should be acceptable to every Christian citizen.

      The guides and interpreters who accompanied us on our visits to the Agricultural Commune where we were given a great deal of information regarding this particular organisation involving 10,000 families, were Churchmen. When we visited factory, ancient palace, Buddhist monastery or Youth Centre, the Churchmen moved with easy confidence among the people

and identified themselves with all that they saw of good in the life of the community. Here again we found the same kind of hope for the future. Western eyes may see them as deceived and deceiving for whom there can be no hope. The Delegation saw them as men who were ready to declare their independence of all Western control, direction or assistance, and their certainty that the Holy Spirit was leading them toward a better Church-life than China had ever known. They confessed that, at first, they had expected martyrdom, but had gradually awakened from the dreams and deceptions which had for so long held them enslaved within a Church system which had served the interests of imperialism in the subjugation of the Chinese people.

      In their awakening they felt that God was leading them to an experience of oneness in the Church for which they had prayed for a century. They believed that as Christians they were distinct from Communists; that they had so much to learn of the Gospel for China that purification and consolidation of the Church was their major and immediate concern.

      We can never understand these people by looking at them through our Western eyes. Most folk live in the present while their critics dwell on the past. Whatever remains hidden to the eyes of the visitor, he cannot fail to note the multitudes of healthy teen-agers thronging the streets, roads and countryside. He will hear the new confidence with which the Chinese remind the West of their growing capacity to match the major industrial and scientific achievements of the rest of the world. He will return ready to make a significant place in his thinking for all the nations which are moving out of the memory of the earlier days of revolution and expecting others to forget the great cost of their travail. But the Christian observer will continue to pray that into the Communist State may come a new revelation of the indispensable Way of Christ and that into every national Church may come more of the power of love and patience and courage to make us One.