UDC

930:348

Authors

Pavlushkov Aleksandr Rudolfovich
Vologda Law and Economics Institute of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia
2 Shchetinina St., Vologda, 160002, Russian Federation;
e-mail: apavlushkov@yandex.ru

Abstract

The article presents an overview of the debate that unfolded within the Russian Orthodox Church about the place and role of the ecclesiastical court after the introduction of church statutes. It also names the reasons for the church proceedings reform. The author provides a general description of the state of the ecclesiastical court prior to the discussion of the church reform. The author comes to the conclusion that the feeble attempts to bring church proceedings in line with the state ones, which began with the Synod reform, failed to produce any significant changes. Serious shortcomings not only affected the work of church authorities but also hindered the development of Russian judicial system in general. The dialogue between the state and the Russian Orthodox Church gradually gave way to mutual accusations that indicated a serious crisis in their relations. This paper analyses the views of the parties involved on the practicability and general aspects of possible transformations. The author specifically focuses on the reasons why these reforms were turned down. Inside the church environment there had emerged two major parties with contrasting views on the future ecclesiastical court. Their common weak point was inconsistent maintaining of their opinions. Too much compromise and contradictory public speeches eventually reduced both approaches to nothing. Corporate interests and desire to follow the established tradition indicated that the Russian Orthodox Church was behind in terms of adaptation and responding to new challenges. As a result, the reform project for the most important church institution practically failed. The second part of the article considers a 1870 project of ecclesiastical proceedings, which was aimed to bring the court procedures in line with the uniform state requirements. The author comes to the conclusion that the failure to implement the ecclesiastical court reform further aggravated the crisis within the Russian Orthodox Church.

Keywords

church proceedings, judicial and administrative church authorities, reasons for the ecclesiastical court reform, church reformation, church-state relations, 1870 ecclesiastical court project, church crisis

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