Harvard’s Stinginess with Bells Shows Greed

To the editors:

What can I say? You must be selfish and godless (Editorial, “Our House, Our Bells,” Dec. 13). You obviously know nothing about Russia or Orthodoxy. You most certainly know nothing about what those bells would mean to the Russian people.

I am not Russian (I’m American), but I am furious at your lack of compassion. There have been offers made to help raise the godless dollars needed; other offers have been made to compensate Harvard for its loss. Requests from the United States president have been made for 15 years to return what does not belong to Harvard. Possession does not imply ownership.

Some of those bells rang for hundreds of years in unison with the then 1,600 churches of Moscow, most of which no longer exist. I thought the students and faculty of Harvard were educated, but I guess they are just greedy. Who knows if there is justice; maybe the Lord will send down a pestilence upon you for greed. Your editorial echoes the party line; it reeked of greed, and greed is a sin! May God have mercy on your souls.

David S. Savage

Tuscon, Ariz.

Dec. 13, 2002

The writer is a graduate student in the Russian department at the University of Arizona.