John F. Dudikoff

“ You must keep to yourself all you have heard at my home re- garding the money deposited by Dudikoff in Metropolitan Platen's Mission Bank, as well as the money taken of Dudikoff by Platon and Slunin for which they gave him the Oil Field Compaly's shares as security. When you are alone with Dudikoff you must draw him out and report to us what he is planning to undertake against Platon and Alexander in order to get his money back. ”

“ Every soldier takes an oath before joining the army and you have no right to dodge taking one. Here I have Pishchek, Branin, Kistar, and others among my men, and I assure you, with the exception of Mr. Pishchek, who is Bishop Alexander's trusted man and who is entrusted with the carrying out of confidential matters of secondary importance, no one else knows anything about secret matters. Be sure to call on Father Slunin right after you leave me. ”

“ Platon did not receive me, but I was permitted to see Bishop Alexander Nem.olovsky. Alexander listened to my story and asked me to submit a petition. I did as I was told and submitted a petition on November 17, 1921. When I came to him with it, Alex- ander became so enraged that he pounded me on the chest, and shouted : "If you, you Anti-Christ, you, will dare ask His Holiness for money, we will make short shrift of you— this is not Russia. ”

“ Father Slunin answered reassuringly : "Well, don't worry, sleep well. Who among us has not sinned? I shall convey your repentance and request to the Holy Prelates. They are no wolves, they won't eat you."
Soon after our return to New York a complaint was received from Madam Samoseiko who maintained that her husband, Priest Samoseiko, had been caught by her in flagrant delictu with Marpha Terebillo. ”

“ You, too, Ivan Feoktitstowich, whom we may call our own Brother, a mem- ber of our Consistory family — where do you keep your money, eh? With the Sheenies . . . You have money and we have a Mission Bank, but we must have cash. What we need is a new deposit. Give us your money and we will give you a regular bank book. We have none on hand now — they are being reprinted because we have used up the old ones. Until then we will give you as security shares in the Oil Field Co. (one of the richest of Companies) which has its naptha wells between the Caspian and Azov Seas. ”

“ At the sight of such a "motion" picture, Bishop Raphael with- out exchanging greetings with anyone, rushed over to Bishop Alex- ander, caught him by the collar, dragged him off the bed, and ex- claimed : "Don't you fear God, you fool you? What arc you doing, you drunkard, you, in a strange house and in every one's presence. . . "
Alexander Nemolovsky, lying on the floor, shouted: "Get out, you Arab you, get out you accursed monk, with your abstinence!'* Released from under Bishop Alexander, Madam Snegirev first began to cry and then became hysterical. It was a hard job to quiet her. ”

“ It was on the evening of the next day that I met Father Richlov on Chambers Street. Father Ptashchuk was with me. To my question : "When are we going for the money?" Father Richlov answered in Priest Ptashchuk's hearing: "Why are you so uneasy? What else do you want? You received the New Testament and $200.00 and the the balance, $2,600.00, deposited in the bank and $5,000.00 for the shares you will receive to a cent from Metropolitan Platon, You will be assured of a position at $50.00 a week. If you are stubborn,
The summons for the arrest of Nemolovsky. ”

“ They summoned to their aid the police, the administration, etc. If a man did not come to confession for three years in succession, the Father or his deacon would come to him with threats. After that the police would be sent. The man would be dragged from one court to another, etc. All this used to take place in the "good" old, fortunately, never to return, time in Russia.
In America, our missionaries, in order to curry favor with the authorities, made it a point to find out, through the medium of the confessional, how much money one had, what his political views were,
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etc. ”

“ CHAPTER V. Platon Takes My Money For "Safe-Keeping"
The first few days of my probation were over. I was summoned to the "saintly" Prelate who asked me: "Aren't you afraid to carry your money about with you?" I replied that I was indeed afraid at times. The Archbishop then replied : "We are beginning to think quite well of you. I have in my service a very loyal man, whom I entrust with the most confidential matters; he needs an assistant, and I think, after I know you better, I will appoint you confidential In- spector General to work under him. ”

“ Bishop Alexander and Father Kok- hannik repHed: "Thank God, you are still living and don't worry about anything else— we have not forsaken you and shall not lose sight of your interests." Hartz also came and said apologetically that it was impossible to set me free sooner, and he added : "It was all for the best, because together with you the Mission, the Consulate, To my question, as to how I could get along without money, and the Embassy would have been betrayed. Good sport — you knew how to keep your promise." ”

“ He is busy with Ambassador Bakhmetyev and General Semionov. They are discussing very im- portant affairs, requiring immediate attention. I spoke to Platon and to Bishop Alexander. They send you their blessing and this holy Evangel." Richlov put the book into my hands. I took it, opened it, and not finding any money in it, asked Father Richlov whether he was making fun of me. "Where is my money?" I asked. I insisted that Richlov obtain my money for me, as he promised under oath. He went back to the Consistory, and re-appeared in about fifteen minutes. ”

“ CHAPTER XXI. Platon Causes Husband's Death and Seduces Widow
On my arrival in Tiflis I looked up Father Slunin, and asked him to announce me to the Exarch Platon. Slunin answered that the Bishop could not receive me before the next day. On the way to my rooms, I imparted to Father Slunin my reason for coming to Tiflis. He tried to reassure me, stating that the Master was ready to return my money before he left Kishiniev. I gave Slunin my petition to Platon, in which I asked for the return of my money. I mentioned Slunin as a witness. ”

“ Bishop Alexander put a few dollars into my hand, adding that Arch- bishop Eudocimus, who was sent by the Holy Synod to take Platon's place was expected in a few days, and that I would get my money in full. I was puzzled and asked what Bishop Eudocimus had to do with my money. Alexander explained: "It makes no difference, because your money is on deposit in the Mission Bank, and you have nothing to fear." ”

“ Both my witnesses and I herd Platon's ludicrous bragging. In his stories he referred to an American semi-millionaire Carlton and to one F. Pashkovsky. Platon had ordained this Pashkovsky to the rank of Archbishop. He had him appointed to Chicago to take charge of the Illinois Diocese. Two or three weeks later the people drove Pashkovsky out of the Diocese,'pelting him with rotten eggs. Pash- kovsky then ran away to Canada, leaving his mitre with a woman whom he owed $200. In Canada he began to preach to the people, promising them good positions if the Monarchy were restored in Russia. ”

“ It is therefore sheer short-sightedness and unwise 'to destroy by pogrom- methods a book, which chiefly concerns those who are indignant against it. It is no use. The law of moral compensation is still in existence; its rays illuminate far and penetrate into human affairs. ”

“ Both Archbishop Platon and Bishop Alexander were in very good humor, and asked me to make myself at home. Taking a goou look at Dobroff, I recalled having seen him more than once at the "sessions", after which he often helped me to escort home on foot (if the "session" was held not far from the Consistory) or place into closed cars and send home those who could not take care of them- selves. . . . ”

“ But after some time I con- vinced myself that all my money went into the pockets of the lead- ers and fathers of the Church and this money, which by the way was earned by me through hard labor, the Lords of the Church used for drinking-bouts and orgies and to complete this women-prostitutes always played there the "first fiddle." And as if in derision of one's person, of everything that is clean and holy in a human being I was being sent to certain places to get the "goods." ”

“ The murder just described was not the final chapter in Platon' s "exploits." He planned another crime, and if he had been success- ful, he would have stigmatized the entire Jewish people. He got in touch with the notorious hangman Silberman, whose specialty it was to put to death political offenders, many of whom were entirely innocent of any wrong doing. With the help of Silberman, Platon birbed Vera Cheberiak. This Vera Cheberiak, a woman of the Kiev underworld, first killed her own children in order to avoid suspicion. ”

“ In September, 1922, soon after the suit was begun, I was sum- moned to a Referee's chambers, at 1475 Broadway, where Metro- politan Platon with his tricky clique of anarchists, monarchists, ad- venturers, and thieves, was present. To the offer to settle the case peacefully, made me by th Referee, and to Platon's plea that he was a mundane god, I gave this final, brief reply : "There can be no re- conciliation," and I asked the Referee to bring the entire case to the New York Supreme Court as a criminal case, in open court, with a jury. ”

“ You will be arrested and deported to Russia as a dangerous Bolshevik!" That was the reply to my petition that Bishop Alexander Nemolovsky gave me and he must have been well informed about all by Metro- politan Platon. After venting his rage on me, he left the room. The people in the Consistory advised me to go to the well-known people's priest, Father Vladimir Richlov, who lived on Madison Street. "He is a great favorite of both Alexander and Platon," they told me. "He is a Jack of all trades. ”

“ I once saw with my own eyes, how after such an act of Pederasty the Arch- bishop gave Gorbach five one-hundred dollar notes and when I was sent to fetch him the next time and asked him what he had done with the "saintly" Prelate's $500, Gorbach replied : "Do you think that is the only $500 I ever got? I get as much for every visit to Platon. Your friend Alexander, however, is either poorer or more of a miser. He never nays me more than $300 for a massage ”

“ The Clergymen Administer "Justice"
The following were called to the inquest : Vassily Repelo, the defendant and at present priest and provost with the Mission, and Marie Lubkuch, the plaintiff, her father, and a number of witnesses. Father Slunin had them all sworn in, "Consul Rutsky, alias Daniel Gilevitch, cross-examined them, and I took down the testimony. Piatetsky acted as assistant secretary. The inquest made it clear that Vassily Repelo, having lured the girl Marie Lubkuch for a walk on the cemetery, violated her at a headstone representing an angel with a cross in his hands. ”

“ The "Holy Fathers" Celebrate
The next day was Sunday. In accordance with the order of Archbishop Platon, conveyed to me by Father Slunin, I had to offici- ate as Assistant Deacon at Platon's services. After the liturgy, I went home to the apartment of Gorokhov's and the singers of the Cathedral Choir. At about three o'clock guests came to Gorokhov: Bishop Alexander Nemolovsky, Archpresbyter Slunin, Father Sergius
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Snegirev with his wife, Catherine Vassilyevna, and a captain of the Riissian navy whose name I don't know. ”

“ Since the number of people who were interested in obtaining forged documents was large, the income from this "business" was very great and that 'meant a lot of work for me. The money taken in for the forged documents was divided between Bishop Platon, Bishop Alexander and Dobroff. More than once I would have to go to Dobroff at Platon's order, get the cash and bring it to Platon from whom I received nothing but verbal thanks. Not infrequently I had to stay in the Bishops' apart- ments or in the consistory until all hours of the night. ”

“ I asked. To this Metropolitan replied: "We can do no more!" I railed at all of them, including General Semionov and left, although they tried to recall me. I then went to a lawyer and told him the whole story.
When I read through this "confession" I was completely at sea.
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Father Richlov roticing my hesitation remarked: "If you don't sign this before a notary, not only will you lose your money, but we will arrest you and deport you to Russia, and leave your wife here as a hostage, or else. . ." ”

“ He accepted the rank of Kshop, conferred on him by Bishop Stefan, in order to be able to extort the last few cents from poor workmen. He took their money and then escaped to Canada to avoid paying his debts.
Bishop Adam Fillipovsky.
Fillipovsky opened his activity on 7th Street, New York, on the premises of Alexander Chichilla, Platon's former spy and provocateur. The majority of his followers were a clique sent by Platon as pro- vocateurs. Apparently the people, however, refuse to follow Bishop Adam, and in the long run the two Bishops will have to combine and hoodwink the people together. ”

“ To this the monk waved his hand and repHed : "We are plain monks, and poor in the bargain. I have watched the Bishops more than once, but it only caused me annoyance, may the Lord forgive me." The monk made the sign of the cross and entered the church, and I, being only human, and over- come by curiosity, stepped to the door of Alexander's room and peeped through the keyhole. What I beheld was very much like what I had seen in Platon's apartment before this. Bishop Alexander took a sponge and washed the nun between the legs. ”

“ The Chinaman who had hit me with the butt of his gun, was executed. It was my guard who had robbed me and who, having taken out the window-pane, had handed over the valise with the money to his brother. The latter, together with Lubansky, took out the money, filled the valise with sand, replaced the window-pane, and fastening it with fresh putty, made off. ”