SIR.-In your issue of August 13 you carry a letter from Mr. B. Allen, of Stockport, who quotes an item from the New York Times which states that the Church of St. Louis, Moscow, is " the only functioning Roman Catholic place of worship in all Russia." Mr. Allen produces this in contradiction to a statement in a pamphlet published by Russia To-day, entitled Religion in the U.S.S.R., where it states that " them ate 1,744 Roman Catholic churches and 2,309 priests" in the U.S.S.R.
I sec no reason why one should accept the New York Times version as being correct, • as the figures in our pamphlet are taken from the official figures of the Soviet Information Bureau, which is surely in a position to know how many churches of any given denomination are functioning in the U.S.S.R. • Mr. Allen says possibly the readers of our pamphlet " are not interested in minor details." Mr. Allen himself is apparently not particularly interested in details, because the pamphlet in question is written by the Rev. Stanley Evans, not the Rev. Stanley James, as stated by Mr. Allen in your correspondence columns.
R. Biseoe.
Editor, Russia To-day.
[The Soviet -Information Bureau Is doubtless in a position to know. . --EDITOR C.H.]