Hymns of the Russian Church

The Greek Church is little known in the West, and it would seem as if there were little desire on our part to alter that state of things. The causes which have led to this indifference are many and not easily traced, but there are two which may be briefly referred to as being, perhaps, the chief.

The first of these is the inherent peculiarity of temperament which finds its expression in habits of thought and modes of action in the East, against which the spirit of the West frets and for which it has neither sympathy nor toleration. The quiet, meditative restfulness, the satisfaction with past attainment in doctrine and worship, the wistful retrospective gaze upon magnificent accomplishment, which the experiences of centuries of trial have only intensified,--these are totally alien to the active, speculative, hopeful spirit of the West.