Religion: Hath Made Thee Whole

The Soviet Chief of Police reached for the code. He read—Article 120— that imprisonment is the punishment for "exploiting the religious prejudices of the masses against the Soviet government and fostering superstition among the masses." Summoning trusty agents of police, he directed them to the village of Pskoff, to search the doings of Priest Troitski, to bring him to justice. At Pskoff the police heard tales. Troitski had an ikon, a painted image of the Blessed Virgin whose tears, copiously shed, performed miracles. One teardrop, applied to a wound, healed it. By...