Chapter 1 leads into Chapter 2 as the strange foreigner, a Professor who claims to be in Moscow to decipher text of black magic, starts the tale of Jesus and Pontius Pilate, which is where the Chapter begins.
Names changed but clearly recognizable, the tale tells of the bringing in of the prisoner,Yeshua (Jesus), before Pilate for the final decree of life or death for the crime of inciting riots and denouncing Caesar subject to God as King. Pretty much follows the basics as I recall my religious instruction and bible, the reluctant Pilate recognizing Yeshua as possibly a healer and philosopher, and more innocent than the other prisoners brought scheduled to be executed that day. But one must be freed, and Pilate does his best to convince the religious leader to free Yeshua as he himself cannot do so without being seen guilty of treasonous behavior.
I’m not sure how one story relates to the other yet, and though it seems obvious that Berlioz the editor and Ivan the poet are atheist in belief, amid the setting of Russia they are secure. It is the stranger who appears to surprised by their openness, yet though he is of questionable substance–having "appeared" from out of nowhere–he does not strike me as a particularly good character and therefore I peeked at the back cover to find–he is the devil!
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology