The Managing Editor of the Slavic editions of The Herald of Christian Science, Cornelia Schacht, recently made a field trip to Russia and Latvia to record testimonies of healing for the shortwave Herald broadcasts in Russian.

Dr. Schacht was born in Prague, and educated in Czechoslovakia and in Germany, receiving her doctorate in Slavic philology at the University of Munich. She speaks four languages fluently.

During her trip she attended a groundbreaking Christian Science lecture given by Hildegard Arnesen, in Russian, in the Latvian city of Riga, where people all understand Russian but have long resisted using the language of those they view as their former oppressors. Dr. Schacht also attended Christian Science church services in Riga and St. Petersburg.

In a Sentinel interview she described her elation at seeing long-standing ethnic rivalries in these countries crumble in the shared pursuit of more meaningful, God-centered lives.

PREJUDICE OVERCOME

"Just imagine the scene in that youth cultural center in Riga," said Cornelia Schacht. "Sixty or more Latvians eagerly awaiting the arrival of a Russian lecturer whom they had invited. This would have been unthinkable three or four years ago. But deep down those Latvians are an energetic, vibrant, and courageous people. They had prepared well for this special occasion in their spiritual journey, and they were determined to enjoy every moment of it.

"Basically, the lecture was all about spiritual healing," said Dr. Schacht. "How to pray, and how to strengthen their relationship with God. How to distinguish between good and evil.

"The Latvians are great thinkers," she explained. "They love to read widely and question deeply, and thirty-eight copies of Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures were sold—not given away—after the lecture. There was enthusiasm to establish a Sunday School, and many people asked about class instruction in Christian Science."

The lecturer, Mrs. Arnesen, who is a practitioner and teacher of Christian Science, and lives in St. Petersburg for part of each year, stayed over for the Sunday service in Riga that weekend. It was also well attended, and afterward people asked her to participate in an hour of questions and answers. "After all, they had time left over on their rental of the hall and felt they deserved their money's worth," added Dr. Schacht with a smile. "And they certainly got it!"

HUNGER FOR SPIRITUALITY

During her time in Russia, Dr. Schacht perceived an extraordinary hunger for, and reliance on, spirituality. "In what tends to be an unstable environment, these people cannot really rely on what we would regard as normal things," she said. "They have to stand in line for staple items of food, to exchange money, or an hour or more for an ordinary train ticket. You cannot be sure of accomplishing any daily task, so the only way you can get by in Russia is to pray nonstop!"

Dr. Schacht pointed out that study materials are not easily available to students of Christian Science. "Imagine trying to select readings for a Christian Science testimony meeting without a Concordance to Science and Health or to the Bible! If you don't know some English, you're lost. But what an incentive to learn English! You'd be amazed how many new Christian Scientists are making the effort; and it's an effort that's strengthening their worship of God.

"One thing I have learned during several visits to Russia and from my study of their literature," Dr. Schacht continued, "is how consistently people there, unlike many people in the West, prefer to talk about how something is done—not what material benefit they expect to get from it; how they structure their thinking; how, as they would put it, they fortify the pillars of their soul.

"I have observed firsthand among Christian Scientists there how this approach deepens and strengthens their prayers and contributes to the quick healings they told me about. They spend very little time debating and evaluating others' shortcomings. They are learning about self-government that is spiritual and not willful; how to love themselves; and how to do their work with a sense of responsibility.

"This is not to suggest for a moment that the Russians don't have problems," Dr. Schacht added. "Alcoholism, for example, is widespread. Organized crime has invaded many cities. But I felt a great sense of hope among the churchgoers I talked to. I always felt that I was among people who were striving to embrace the Christ, and, because of the intensity of their focus on the truths they were uncovering, they were allowing themselves to be led every step of the way."

EXTRAORDINARY RESOURCEFULNESS

Cornelia Schacht told the Sentinel that the Russians she met are amazingly resourceful, coming home to care for their families even after long hours spent coping with two jobs or more. If a Reader in a Christian Science group is unable to handle a worship service, there is always another Christian Scientist to help out even at short notice.

Also, she observed, although it would be easy for them to offer the excuse that the paucity of Christian Science literature makes spiritual progress difficult, in their study and prayers they are content to work with just one sentence—one truth—at a time, if necessary. They have the enthusiasm and patience to work with what they have. As Dr. Schacht put it, "They don't expect the seal of perfection on their own knowledge before sharing it with others. I met one woman who was not more than a third of the way through her first reading of Science and Health and she had already recommended it to three others!

THE WAY TO SPIRITUALITY

"I love the innocence, purity, and depth shown by the Christian Scientists I met and worked with," Dr. Schacht continued. "This is how they explained it: 'We have this Science. All we need to do is allow it to fall into the wells of our hearts, and then step back and allow it to work. Every step of our lives, we connect with God,' they said. 'It's a continuous, direct line to God, and through it our lives begin to ring!'

"I've learned so many wonderful lessons from those explorers," concluded Dr. Schacht. "They have reminded me that only through grateful, sharing hearts can the truth be effectively communicated. Through our expression of the qualities of God, we touch and kindle the purity and joy in others. And this is natural. This is how we are meant to live. We share ourselves. So many of us are longing to discover the individual beauty in others. We don't need to impose the features of the rose on the tulip, nor the features of the tulip on the rose. Acknowledging beauty is the way to beauty. Spirituality leads to spirituality."

ISAIAH

The wolf ... shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid. ... They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah 11:6, 9