worships, conflicts never would arise--but then
neither would Christianity arise.

The modern Church is particular as to its institutions, but not
particular at all as to its spirit. The Roman Emperors never would
persecute the modern Church, for they would easily recognise their own
spirit included in her. Nor would the Pharaohs from Egypt persecute
modern Christianity. Nor would Areopagus or Akropolis be puzzled so much
had St Paul preached to them the modern European Christianity with its
complicated spirit of all kinds of compromises with Heaven and Hell,
compromise with the State, Plutocracy, Nationalism, Imperialism,
Conquest, War, Diplomacy, Secular Philosophy, Secular Science, Agnostic
Parliaments, Tribal Chauvinism, Education, Officialism, Bureaucracy,
etc., etc. All these things have their own spirit, and every such spirit
is partly or wholly included in the spirit of the Church, i.e. of modern
Christianity. None of the Christian Churches of our time makes an
exception as to this inclusiveness of all kinds of spirits. Even
Protestantism, which claims the simplicity of its Christian ritual and
administration, represents a lamentable mosaic of spirits gathered from
all the pagan corners of secular Europe and mixed up with the Christian
wine in the same barrel.

The Church of the East excommunicated thousands of those who crossed
themselves with two fingers instead of using three fingers. The Church
of the West burnt thousands of those who did not recognise the papal
organisation of the Church as the only ark of salvation. Yet there is
rarely to be found in the Church annals an excommunication on the ground
of chauvinism or brutal egoism. No one of the world conquerors--neither
Napoleon nor Kaiser William--have been excommunicated by the Church. It
signifies an extreme decadence of the Church. And this decadence
penetrates and dominates our own time. Speaking on the reunion of the
Churches the peoples of the East are anxious to know--not whether the
Church of the West has preserved the unmixed Christian spirit in its
integrity, but whether this Church still keeps Filioque as a dogma, and
whether she has ikons, and whether she allows eggs and milk in Lent. And
the people of the West are anxious to know whether the Eastern Church
has a screen quite different from their own screen at the altar, and
whether she has been always tenaciously exclusive in teaching, worship
and organisation. Who of us and of you asks abo