Russian Orthodox Church: history, governing bodies. Russian Orthodox Church Modern structure and governance of the Church
The Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church defines the Russian Orthodox Church as “a multinational local autocephalous church in doctrinal unity and prayerful and canonical communion with other local Orthodox churches.” According to the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, the highest bodies of church power and administration are the Local Council, the Council of Bishops and the Holy Synod, headed by the Patriarch, having legislative, executive and judicial powers - each in its own competence.
The Local Council decides all issues relating to the internal and external activities of the Church and elects the Patriarch.
A council of bishops is a local council in which only bishops participate. It is the highest body of hierarchical governance of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Holy Synod, according to the current charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, is the highest “governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church in the period between Councils of Bishops.” It consists of a chairman - the Patriarch, nine permanent and five temporary members - diocesan bishops.
The Patriarchate is the primate of the Church and has the title “His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.” He holds the “primacy of honor” among the episcopate of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Supreme Church Council is a new executive body operating since March 2011 under the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is headed by the Patriarch and consists of the leaders of the synodal institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Structural staircase modern Russian Orthodox Church can be represented in the following form:
1. Episcopate (bishopric). In the black clergy this includes: patriarch, metropolitan, archbishop, bishop.
2. Presbytery (priesthood). In the white clergy: protopresbyter, archpriest, priest (presbyter, priest). In the black clergy: archimandrite, abbot, hieromonk.
3. Diaconate. In the white clergy: protodeacon, deacon. In the black clergy: archdeacon, hierodeacon.
The lower clergy (clerics) are outside this three-tier structure: subdeacon, readers, singers, altar servers, sextons, church watchmen, etc.
3.2 . Relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the state.
The widespread construction and revival of churches, the growth of authority and influence of the Russian Orthodox Church have become a sign of our time.
Today the church is one of the guardians of traditional spiritual values in Russia and has a significant influence on the formation and development of its statehood and culture. This is the socio-historical role of the Russian Orthodox Church - the equality of religions and religious associations before the law.
In the union of Church and state, as it developed in the West, the Church was historically a more senior partner than the European states. Their union was expressed by a concordat - a legal document. The church, despite complete unity with the state, was an independent social union and had its roots in the public, and not in the state. This made it easier for the Church at the end of the 19th century to emerge from the tutelage of the state and recognize itself as an independent institution of civil society.
Having separated from the state, the modern Church, represented by its clergy, defended and defends in its relations with the authorities the constitutional right of believers to profess their religious beliefs and influence the life of society. Moreover, the state guarantees equality of rights and freedoms of man and citizen, regardless of his attitude to religion. Any form of restriction of the rights of citizens on grounds including religious affiliation is prohibited.
On the one hand, the state no longer aims to protect and support Christianity. However, the state must support and protect the religious and cultural forms of life of its citizens. Today Christianity is no longer the dominant religious force. On the other hand, despite the fact that the state independently, without the participation of the Church, has become a secular force, the Church cannot abdicate its religious responsibility for the situation of society.
Society can make good or bad decisions, being the bearer of decisions, society at the same time depends on values that it needs to invent and then follow them by the sweat of its brow if it wants to become a responsible society.
A responsible society requires the Church, society and the state to behave accordingly and create appropriate structures. Firstly, it is maintaining dialogue. After all, the Church does not receive its authority in the state automatically - just because it is the Church, but only if it offers what people consider useful for the well-being of their existence. Only in this case will an unbeliever or a person of other faiths see that behind the intentions, ideas and goals of the Church lies something that is also important for him. In this dialogue, the Church, society and state meet at the same level.
The state especially respects religious traditions if the culture of the people and society has been shaped by religious heritage. At the same time, the state must also protect the rights of religious minorities. The state responds to the churches’ readiness for dialogue by transferring certain social spheres under the responsibility of the Church. Based on the principle of subsidiarity from Latin, the state transfers to the church some areas of responsibility in the field of secondary and higher education, health care, etc., and also provides the Church with appropriate funding.
Thus, under the auspices of the Church, unique islands arise on which it has the opportunity to clearly demonstrate its concern for the welfare of man. Of course, the Church must follow certain government regulations in force in these social spheres.
In turn, clergy are obliged to respect the relevant requirements associated with military service, but are given ample opportunities to provide spiritual support to their followers, conduct dialogue and provide assistance to everyone.
Thus, churches receive a unique opportunity, working in public institutions, to actively serve people and society in the spirit of Christianity. They help the state by creating internal islands where Christian moral values are practiced in a special way. Christian and other faiths (Jews, Muslims), as well as other organizations, in particular the Red Cross, can receive the status of a public law corporation and carry out their activities under conditions of support and protection from the state.
Chapter:
CHURCH PROTOCOL
4th page
ADMINISTRATIVE-TERRITORIAL STRUCTURE
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
Spiritual guidance for those truly established in the holy Orthodox faith:
- questions of believers and answers of holy righteous people.
To understand what the principles of Orthodox church etiquette are based on, it is necessary to have an idea of the organizational structure of the Russian Orthodox Church.
A. Administrative structure of the Russian Orthodox Church
The life of the Russian Orthodox Church is determined by its Charter. The current Charter includes such a concept as a canonical division (clause 1.2).The canonical divisions of the Russian Orthodox Church are the following entities:
- Self-governing Churches;
- Exarchates;
- dioceses;
- Synodal institutions;
- deaneries, parishes;
- monasteries;
- brotherhood and sisterhood;
- Theological educational institutions;
- missions, representative offices and farmsteads.
The Russian Orthodox Church (another official name is the Moscow Patriarchate) has a hierarchical governing structure.
The highest bodies of church power and administration? are the Local Council, the Council of Bishops and the Holy Synod, headed by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.
The highest authority in the field of doctrine and canonical structure of the Church belongs to the Local Council, consisting of diocesan and vicar bishops, representatives of the clergy, monastics, and laity. Decisions at the Council are made by a majority vote. His prerogative is to elect the Primate of the Church.
In addition to resolving internal church issues, the Local Council defines and adjusts the principles of relations between the Church and the state. In exceptional cases, such a Council may be convened by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' (or the Locum Tenens) and the Holy Synod, but usually the timing of its convening is determined by the Council of Bishops.
The Council of Bishops is the highest body of hierarchical governance of the Russian Orthodox Church and consists of diocesan bishops, i.e. bishops who administer individual dioceses.
Members of the Council of Bishops are also vicar bishops who head Synodal institutions and Theological academies or have canonical jurisdiction over the parishes under their jurisdiction.
The competence of the Council of Bishops includes the resolution of fundamental theological, canonical, liturgical, pastoral and property issues, the canonization of saints, maintaining relations with Local Orthodox Churches, control over the activities of Synodal institutions, approval of new church-wide awards, monitoring the implementation of the decisions of the Local Council.
The Council is convened by His Holiness the Patriarch and the Holy Synod at least once every four years and on the eve of the Local Council, as well as in emergency cases.
The Holy Synod, headed by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', is the governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church in the period between Councils of Bishops. The Greek word Συνοδος (synod) translated means a meeting in general, but is mainly used in the sense of “small, permanent council.”
Already in ancient times, synods of bishops were formed under the eastern Patriarchal Sees, which collectively participated in resolving the most significant church-wide issues. The first of these arose was the Synod of the Church of Constantinople (Συνοδος ενδημουσα), consisting of metropolitans and bishops, who sometimes spent a long time in the capital of the Byzantine Empire on the affairs of their dioceses.
In Russia, such a system of church government appeared twenty years after the death of the tenth Patriarch of Moscow and all? Rus Adrian. His successor with the title of “Exarch, Guardian and Administrator of the Patriarchal Table” was Metropolitan Stefan (Yavorsky) of Ryazan.
Forced to stay close to the Russian autocrat in the new northern capital of St. Petersburg, Metropolitan Stefan in 1718 filed a complaint with the Tsar about being overburdened with affairs with a request to release him from St. Petersburg to Moscow, for more convenient management of the Patriarchal region.
The resolution of Emperor Peter I to this petition, containing a number of reproachful remarks, ended with the conclusion: “For better management in the future, it seems that there will be a Spiritual College, so that it would be more convenient to correct such great things.”
Soon, at the beginning of 1721, by the highest command, the Spiritual College was formed, later renamed the Synod.
The independence of the new structure of church governance was limited to an official appointed by the emperor - the chief prosecutor, who represented the interests of the state in the Synod and whose rights were gradually expanded up to complete control over church life (under K. P. Pobedonostsev).
The Primates of the Eastern Local Churches recognized the College as a permanent cathedral body, equal in power to the Patriarchs and therefore received the title of “Holiness”.
The Synod had the rights of the highest administrative and judicial power in the Russian Church. Initially, it consisted of several bishops, one of whom was called the “first”, as well as representatives of the black and white clergy. Subsequently, the composition of the Synod became exclusively bishops.
The Holy Synod, as the body of the highest church authority, existed for almost two hundred years. Only in 1917 did the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church decide to restore the Patriarchate in Rus'. At the same time, two collegial bodies were formed under the chairmanship of the Patriarch to govern the Church in the period between Local Councils: the Holy Synod and the Supreme Church Council, which was later abolished.
According to the Regulations on the Governance of the Russian Orthodox Church, adopted at the Local Council in 1945, the Metropolitans of Krutitsky, Kiev and Leningrad were included in the number of permanent members of the Holy Synod. The Council of Bishops in 1961 introduced into the Synod on a permanent basis the Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations.
Currently, in accordance with the changes introduced by the Jubilee Council of Bishops in 2000, the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church includes its Chairman - the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', seven permanent and five temporary members. The permanent members of the Synod are: by department - Metropolitans of Kiev and All Ukraine; St. Petersburg and Ladoga; Krutitsky and Kolomensky; Minsky and Slutsky, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus; Chisinau and all of Moldova; by position - Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations and Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate, who is the Secretary of the Holy Synod.
Meetings of the Synod are held in two sessions: summer - from March to August, and winter - from September to February.
Temporary members of the Synod become diocesan bishops, who are called to attend one session, according to the seniority of episcopal consecration (the time of elevation to the episcopal rank).
Decisions are made by the general consent of all members participating in the meeting or by a majority vote, in the event of equality of which the Chairman’s vote is decisive.
The responsibilities of the Holy Synod include consideration of a wide range of intra-church (doctrine, canonical, disciplinary, financial and property) issues, the election, appointment and transfer of bishops, the formation and abolition of dioceses, the maintenance of inter-church, inter-confessional and inter-religious contacts, the formation of church-state relations.
The Holy Synod may address special messages to the flock of the Russian Orthodox Church. As a governing body, the Synod has a stamp and a round seal with the inscription “Moscow Patriarchate - Holy Synod”.
It should be noted that the activities of Synods of other Local Orthodox Churches may be structured according to different principles and they have different powers. The number of members of the Synod also varies, but it always includes the First Hierarch of the Local Church, who is the chairman of this collegial body.
The Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Constantinople has a permanent composition. The Patriarch and members of the Synod are traditionally citizens of Turkey, therefore other dioceses and diasporas within the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate, for example American, Australian, etc., are not represented in the Synod. The Synod has its own secretary, but at the same time it includes the archigrammatevs (from the Greek αρχι - chief, γραμματευς - secretary) - General Secretary of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, whose position corresponds to the Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate.
The members of the Holy Synod of the Church of Alexandria are all ruling diocesan bishops with the rank of metropolitan (currently there are fifteen of them), and the Chairman of the Synod is His Beatitude the Patriarch. The Synod meets twice a year.
Members of the Holy Synod of the Church of Jerusalem, like all the monastic clergy of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem, are members of the brotherhood of the Holy Sepulchre. As a rule, they are all ethnic Greeks. In addition to Greek citizenship, many of them have Jordanian citizenship. The Synod includes from fifteen to seventeen members, most of them bishops, usually titular, as well as several of the most famous archimandrites who permanently reside in Jerusalem. The right to elect a candidate to the Patriarchal throne belongs to the Holy Synod, but the chosen one must be approved by the government authorities of Jordan, Israel and the National Palestinian Authority.
To the Holy Synod of the Serbian Church, except His Holiness Patriarch, four bishops enter. Vicar bishops cannot be members of the Serbian Synod. Every two years there is a rotation of two “synodal” bishops, who are replaced by the next pair in seniority of consecration. The Holy Council of Bishops is composed of all diocesan bishops under the chairmanship of the Patriarch, and its decisions are recognized as valid if, when they are adopted, more than half of the diocesan bishops are present at the meeting of the Council.
The Holy Synod of the Romanian Church consists of all bishops. In the absence of the Patriarch in the Synod, his functions pass to the metropolitan of the largest (after Wallachia, which is ruled by the Patriarch himself) ecclesiastical region - Moldova and Suceava; in the absence of the Patriarch and all metropolitans, the functions of the chairman are performed by the oldest bishop by consecration.
The Holy Synod of the Hierarchy of the Church of Greece, which includes only diocesan bishops, is the collegial bearer of the highest ecclesiastical authority.
If we draw an analogy with the structure of the Russian Orthodox Church, then the Holy Council of the Hierarchy corresponds to the Council of Bishops.
The body of church governance is the Permanent Holy Synod, whose members are re-elected once a year, so that all the bishops of the Greek Church participate in its work with a certain periodicity.
The Permanent Holy Synod consists of twelve bishops and is headed by the Archbishop of Athens.
The functions and terms of reference of the Permanent Holy Synod are identical to the powers of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, but its members meet much more often than their Russian counterparts - twice a month.
The Holy Synod of the Albanian Church includes all ruling bishops, as well as the titular suffragan Bishop of Apollonia.
Members of the Church People's Assembly of the Orthodox Church of Finland are all three of its bishops, six clergy and six laity.
The synods of the Georgian, Bulgarian, Polish, Czech, American and Japanese Churches consist of all diocesan bishops, each of whom has a casting vote.
The Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church is in charge of the management of Synodal institutions. Each such institution is in charge of a range of general church affairs within its competence and coordinates the activities of the relevant institutions in the dioceses.
Currently, the Synodal institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church are:
- Department of External Church Relations;
- Publishing Council;
- Educational Committee;
- Department of Catechesis and Religious Education;
- Department of Charity and Social Service;
- Missionary department;
- Department for interaction with the Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies;
- Department of Youth Affairs;
- Church and Scientific Center " Orthodox Encyclopedia»;
- Commission for the Canonization of Saints;
- Theological Commission;
- Commission for Monastery Affairs;
- Liturgical commission;
- Biblical Commission;
- Commission on Economic and Humanitarian Affairs;
- Synodal Library.
They are headed by persons appointed by the Holy Synod.
The structure of the Moscow Patriarchate, as a Synodal institution, includes the Administration of the Moscow Patriarchate.
Synodal institutions are the executive authorities of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' and the Holy Synod. They have the right to authoritatively represent the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' and the Holy Synod in their areas of activity.
Clergy and laity cannot apply to the authorities state power and to the civil court on issues related to intra-church life, including canonical administration, church structure, liturgical and pastoral activities.
Judicial power in the Russian Orthodox Church is exercised by church courts of three levels:
- diocesan court (of first instance), which has jurisdiction only within its diocese;
- a general church court (of second instance) with jurisdiction within the Russian Orthodox Church;
- the court of the Council of Bishops (the highest authority) with jurisdiction within the Russian Orthodox Church.
Proceedings of cases in all church courts closed. Only a presbyter can be a member of the diocesan court. The chairman of the court is a vicar bishop or a person in presbyteral rank. The Church-wide court consists of a Chairman and at least four members in the rank of bishop, who are elected by the Council of Bishops for a period of 4 years. Decrees of the general church court are subject to execution after their approval by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' and the Holy Synod.
B. Territorial structure of the Russian Orthodox Church
Territorially, the Russian Orthodox Church is divided into Self-Governing Churches, Exarchates and Dioceses.Self-governing Churches that are part of the Moscow Patriarchate carry out their activities on the basis and within the limits provided by a special Patriarchal Tomos (letter), issued in accordance with the decisions of the Local or Bishops' Council. The decision on the formation or abolition of the Self-Governing Church is made by the Council of Bishops, which also determines its territorial boundaries and name.
The bodies of ecclesiastical power and administration of the Self-Governing Church are the Council and the Synod, headed by the Primate of the Self-Governing Church in the rank of metropolitan or archbishop.
The Primate of the Self-Governing Church is elected by its Council from among candidates approved by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' and the Holy Synod. His Holiness the Patriarch and the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church also approve the Charter, which guides the Self-Governing Church in its internal life.
On the canonical territory of the Russian Orthodox Church there are only four of them - the Latvian Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Church of Moldova, the Estonian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which is Self-governing with the rights of broad autonomy.
The exarchate is a union of dioceses on a national-regional basis. Such an association is headed by an Exarch with the rank of archbishop or metropolitan, elected by the Holy Synod and appointed by Patriarchal Decree. He is commemorated at the Liturgy in all churches of the Exarchate after the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. The Exarch heads the Synod of the Exarchate, which holds the highest ecclesiastical authority in the Exarchate.
Until 1990, the Russian Orthodox Church included several Exarchates - Western European (England, Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland), Central European (Austria and Germany), North and South America (after the granting of autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in America in 1970 - Central and South America) and East Asian (until 1956).
At the Council of Bishops in 1989, the Belarusian Exarchate of the Moscow Patriarchate was created, at the Council of Bishops in 1990 (January 30-31) - all foreign Exarchates that existed at that time were abolished (the dioceses included in them were directly subordinate to His Holiness the Patriarch and the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church) . Finally, at the Council of Bishops in 1990 (October 25-27), in connection with the granting of Self-Governing status to the Ukrainian Church within the Moscow Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Exarchate was also abolished.
Thus, currently the Russian Orthodox Church includes only one Exarchate - the Belarusian Exarchate, located on the territory of the Republic of Belarus.
A diocese is a structural division of the Russian Orthodox Church, headed by a person in the rank of bishop. It includes parishes, diocesan monasteries and monastic farmsteads, diocesan institutions, theological schools, brotherhoods, sisterhoods, and missions.
It is divided into dean districts headed by deans appointed by the diocesan bishop. A dean is a clergyman in presbyteral rank, the rector of one of the parish churches of the deanery. His duties include supervision over the proper performance of divine services, the internal and external condition of churches and other church buildings, as well as the correct conduct of parish affairs and the church archive, and care for the religious and moral state of believers. The dean is fully accountable to the ruling bishop.
The body of collective governance of the diocese is the Diocesan Assembly, consisting of clergy, monastics and laity living in the territory of the diocese and representing the canonical divisions that are part of it.
The jurisdiction of the Diocesan Assembly, which is chaired by the ruling bishop, includes control over the activities of all structures of the diocese. The Assembly also elects delegates to the Local Council.
The governing bodies of the diocese include the Diocesan Council, headed by the diocesan bishop. The Council consists of at least four persons of presbyteral rank, half of whom are appointed by the bishop, and the rest are elected by the Diocesan Assembly for three years.
The Chairman of the Council is the diocesan bishop.
The Council considers issues of liturgical practice and church discipline, and also prepares Diocesan meetings.
The executive and administrative body of the diocese is the Diocesan Administration, which is under the direct supervision of the diocesan bishop. The diocesan administration has an office, accounting, archive and special departments that ensure the conduct of missionary, publishing, social and charitable, educational, restoration, construction, and economic activities.
The Secretary of the Diocesan Administration is a person appointed by the ruling bishop (usually in the rank of presbyterate). The secretary is responsible for the records management of the diocese and assists the bishop in the management of the diocese and in the management of the Diocesan Administration.
Members of the Russian Orthodox Church may belong to a monastic or parish community.
A monastery is a church institution in which a male or female community lives and operates, consisting of Orthodox Christians who have voluntarily chosen the monastic way of life for spiritual and moral improvement and joint confession of the Orthodox faith.
Monasteries are divided into stauropegial, which are under the canonical control of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', and diocesan, the canonical control of which is entrusted to diocesan bishops.
At the head of the monastery is a rector with the rank of hieromonk, abbot or archimandrite.
In large and ancient monasteries there may be several persons with such a rank, but only one of them is the abbot.
Women's monasteries are headed by abbess, usually with the rank of abbess, whose privilege is to wear a pectoral priestly cross. Sometimes the abbess of a convent is a nun, who is also blessed to wear a pectoral cross according to her position.
Candidates for abbots and abbess of diocesan monasteries are approved by the Holy Synod on the proposal of the ruling bishops. The Stavropegic monastery is governed by a viceroy, “substituting” for the abbot - His Holiness the Patriarch, called the Holy Archimandrite or the Holy Abbot of the monastery.
According to the current Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, in a diocesan monastery, a member can be excluded from the monastic community or a new monk (nun) accepted into it only with the consent of the ruling bishop.
Any monastery can have a courtyard - a kind of branch of the monastery located outside its borders. Usually the courtyard is a temple with adjacent residential buildings and subsidiary farms. The activities of the monastery are regulated by the Charter of the monastery to which the monastery belongs, and by its own Charter. The metochion is under the jurisdiction of the same bishop as the monastery.
If the metochion is located on the territory of another diocese, then the names of two bishops are exalted during the service in the church of the metochion. The first to be commemorated is the bishop ruling in the diocese where the monastery itself is located, the second is the one whose canonical jurisdiction includes the territory where the monastery is located.
The parish is the smallest territorial canonical division of the Russian Orthodox Church. It is a community of Orthodox Christians, consisting of clergy and laity, united at the church (in addition to the main church building, the parish may have attached churches and chapels in hospitals, boarding homes, nursing homes, military units, prisons, cemeteries, as well as in other places).
The clergy of the temple consists of clergy: a priest and a deacon, called clergy (in small parishes the clergy may consist of one priest, in large ones - of several priests and deacons).
The clergy are their assistants who participate in the services - the psalm-reader, readers, singers, altar servers. The election and appointment of clergy and clergy, who together form the clergy of the parish, belongs to the diocesan bishop (in practice, clergy are appointed as rectors of churches with the blessing of the bishop).
At the head of each parish is the rector of the church, appointed by the diocesan bishop for the spiritual guidance of the believers and the management of the clergy and parish. The rector is responsible for the statutory performance of divine services and the religious and moral education of parish members. He is also in charge of economic and financial issues of the activities of the parish community and the institutions that exist within it.
The bodies of parish government are the rector, the parish meeting, the parish council and the audit commission. The parish meeting is the highest governing body of the parish, headed by the rector.
The Parish Council is the executive and administrative body of the Parish Assembly. It includes a chairman - the church warden (with the blessing of the diocesan bishop, the rector can be elected chairman of the Parish Council), his assistant and the treasurer, responsible for maintaining financial records.
The council is elected for three years from among the members of the parish assembly.
The Audit Commission, consisting of three elected members, controls the financial and economic activities of the parish.
The funds of the Russian Orthodox Church are formed from contributions from dioceses, stauropegial monasteries, parishes of the city of Moscow, donations from individuals and legal entities, income from the distribution and sale of church utensils, literature, audio-video recordings, as well as from deductions from the profits of enterprises established by canonical church divisions.
What an Orthodox Christian should know:
THE MOST NEEDED ABOUT THE ORTHODOX FAITH IN CHRIST
Anyone who calls himself a Christian must fully and without any doubt accept with his whole Christian spirit Symbol of faith and truth.
Accordingly, he must know them firmly, because one cannot accept or not accept what one does not know.
Out of laziness, ignorance or unbelief, one who tramples and rejects proper knowledge of Orthodox truths cannot be a Christian.
Symbol of faith
The Creed is a brief and precise statement of all the truths of the Christian faith, compiled and approved on the 1st and 2nd Ecumenical Councils. And whoever does not accept these truths can no longer be an Orthodox Christian.
The entire Creed consists of twelve members, and each of them contains a special truth, or, as they also call it, dogma Orthodox faith.
The Creed reads like this:
1. I believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible. |
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The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) is the largest religious association within the Russian Orthodox tradition, one of 16 local Orthodox churches. From the 10th to the 15th centuries it existed as metropolis(ecclesiastical region) Patriarchate of Constantinople; since 1448 actually independent(as a result of refusal to support the union of Constantinople with Roman Catholic Church); in 1589 autocephaly The Russian Orthodox Church is officially recognized by the Eastern Patriarchates and established Moscow Patriarchate, which takes fifth place in a diptych of local Orthodox churches.
In 1721, the patriarchate in the Russian Orthodox Church was abolished and a state body was established Russian Empire for church administration affairs - Holy Governing Synod, the formal head of which was the Emperor. The Patriarchate was restored in 1917, when the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church elected Tikhon (Belavin) Patriarch. After his death in 1925, the authorities prevented the convening of a new Council for the election of the Patriarch, allowing them to be held only in 1943 at the Council of Bishops, consisting of 19 people. Currently, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church is Patriarch Alexy II, elected at the Local Council on June 10, 1990. He is the 15th Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'. The Patriarch has three residences- official (in the St. Daniel Monastery), work (in Chisty Lane in the center of Moscow) and suburban (in Peredelkino). Chairs of the Patriarch located in three capital cathedrals - the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin, the Epiphany Cathedral in Yelokhov and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The Russian Orthodox Church has 128 dioceses in Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan (these countries are considered the “canonical territory” of the Russian Orthodox Church), as well as in the diaspora - Austria, Argentina, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany, Hungary, USA and Canada. There are parishes, representative offices and other canonical divisions of the Russian Orthodox Church in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, Thailand, Australia, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, South Africa, Brazil and Mexico. The Russian Orthodox Church nominally includes Japanese Autonomous Orthodox Church, which is governed by an independent Metropolitan of All Japan, elected at the Council of this Church, and Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church, which currently does not have its own hierarchy. The highest doctrinal, legislative, executive and judicial power in the Russian Orthodox Church belongs to To the local council, which includes all ruling (diocesan) bishops, as well as representatives from the clergy and laity of each diocese. According to the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, which was in force from 1988 to 2000, the Local Council was to be convened every five years, but in practice this requirement was not fulfilled: from 1990 to the present there has not been a single Local Council. In August 2000, the Council of Bishops adopted a new Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church , which does not stipulate the frequency of convening the Local Council, the exclusive competence of which only includes the election of the new Patriarch. The real fullness of ecclesiastical authority has been transferred Bishop'scathedral, which includes permanent members of the Holy Synod and ruling bishops. According to the Charter, in force since August 2000, the Council of Bishops is convened by the Synod at least onceevery four years(the previous Charter required its convening at least once every two years). The list of powers of the Council of Bishops is very wide. Even during the work of the Local Council, which theoretically can cancel the decisions of the bishop, all full church power belongs to Bishops' Conference, consisting of bishops - members of the Council. If a majority of the members of the Local Council votes for a particular decision, but this decision does not receive a majority of votes of the members of the Bishops' Council, it is considered adopted.
In the period between Councils of Bishops, the Church is governed by the Patriarchs Holy Synod, which is considered an advisory body under the Patriarch. In practice, the Patriarch makes the most important administrative decisions only with the consent of the Synod. The Holy Synod includes, in addition to the Patriarch, seven permanent members(Metropolitans of Krutitsky and Kolomna, St. Petersburg and Ladoga, Kiev and All Ukraine, Minsk and Slutsk, Chisinau and All Moldova, as well as the Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate and Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations - DECR MP) and six temporary summoned by the Synod itself to participate in meetings during only one synodal session. The meetings of the Synod are divided into two sessions - spring and autumn, each of which consists of two or three meetings, usually lasting two days. As a rule, the Holy Synod hears reports on the most important events in church life that took place between its meetings (such events include visits of the Patriarch, visits to the Russian Orthodox Church by heads of other local Churches, participation of official representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church in major events of an all-Russian or international scale), and also establishes new dioceses, appoints and moves bishops, approves the opening of new monasteries and the appointment of their governors and abbess, opens and reorganizes theological educational institutions, opens new canonical structures of the Russian Orthodox Church in foreign countries and appoints their clergy. In exceptional cases, the Synod issues Messages that reflect the point of view of the church leadership on certain significant social problems (the last such Message was devoted to the problem of Taxpayer Identification Number and, more broadly, digital identification of citizens).
Over the past 10 years, the number of dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church has doubled, and parishes almost tripled. According to information announced by Patriarch Alexy II at the Jubilee Council of Bishops in August 2000, the Russian Orthodox Church includes more than 19,000 parishes And about 480 monasteries.Pastoral service in the Russian Orthodox Church is carried out by more than 150 bishops,17,500 priests, 2,300 deacons. The dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church, headed by the diocesan bishop, are directly subordinate to the Patriarch and the Holy Synod (the Patriarch has his own diocese on the territory of Moscow, which is actually governed by his vicar). In the management of dioceses, bishops are assisted by the diocesan council and deans(priests who head church districts, usually uniting churches of one or more neighboring districts of a large city or region). For example, the territory of Moscow (more than 400 churches) is divided into 11 deaneries. Some large dioceses have vicars- auxiliary bishops, on whom the ruling bishop entrusts part of his responsibilities. There is a slight difference in the titles of diocesan and suffragan bishops - the diocesan bishop has a “double” title (for example: “Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga”), and the suffragan has a “single” title (for example: “Archbishop of Istra”). The Moscow diocese has the most vicars – about 10. This is due to the fact that some of them are titular bishops holding administrative positions in the central church apparatus (for example, heads of Synodal departments).
The hierarchy of the Orthodox Church is called “three-order” because it consists of three main levels: diaconate, priesthoodand bishops. Depending on their attitude towards marriage and lifestyle, the clergy is divided into two categories - "white"(married) And "black" (monastic). Deacons and priests can be either married (but only in their first marriage) or monastics, and bishops can only be monastics. Deacons They are assistants to bishops and priests during divine services, but they themselves cannot perform any of the seven main church sacraments. Priests only by the authority of their bishops and on their “instructions” can they perform all the sacraments, except for the priesthood - that is, ordination to the priesthood (this is performed only by the bishop). The bishop himself is ordained by several bishops, according to the decision of the Holy Synod. Bishops possess full sacramental and administrative-canonical power in the Church, therefore their persons are surrounded with special honor, and their divine services are performed according to a special, solemn rite (it is customary for bishops to address "lord", and to deacons and priests, as well as to monastics who do not have a hierarchical rank - "father"). Representatives of the “white” and “black” clergy have their own structures of honorary titles, which are awarded for “length of service” or for special services to the Church. These structures can be represented in the form of a table.
Hierarchical degree |
"White" (married) clergy |
"Black" (monastic) clergy |
Deacon |
Hierodeacon |
|
2. Priesthood |
Priest (=priest) |
Hieromonk |
3. Bishopric |
Bishop |
Monasticism has its own internal hierarchy, consisting of three degrees (belonging to them usually does not depend on belonging to one or another hierarchical degree itself): monasticism(Rassophore), monasticism(small schema, small angelic image) and schema(great schema, great angelic image). The majority of modern monastics belong to the second degree - to monasticism proper, or the small schema. Only those monastics who have this particular degree can receive ordination to the rank of bishop. To the name of the rank of monastics who have accepted the great schema, the particle “schema” is added (for example, “schema-abbot” or “schema-metropolitan”). Belonging to one degree or another of monasticism implies a difference in the level of strictness of monastic life and is expressed through differences in monastic clothing. During monastic tonsure, three main vows are made - celibacy, obedience and non-covetousness, and a new name is assigned as a sign of the beginning of a new life.
In the modern Russian Orthodox Church, monasteries are managed by viceroy in the rank of archimandrite (less often in the rank of abbot or hieromonk; the vicar of one monastery has the rank of bishop), who “represents” in it rector- diocesan bishop. The largest and most famous monasteries, as well as monasteries of the capital, are "stauropygial"- their abbot is the Patriarch himself, represented in the monastery by the viceroy. Women's monasteries manages abbess having an honorary title abbess(less often the abbess is a simple nun). In large monasteries An advisory body operates under the governor - Spiritual Cathedral. Monasteries may have their own farmstead(representative offices) in cities or villages, as well as monasteries and monasteries, located at some distance from the main monastery. For example, the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius has Gethsemane and Bethany monasteries, and metochions in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
In addition to the clergy who belong to one of the three levels of the church hierarchy, the Russian Orthodox Church also has clergy, or lower clergy, - subdeacons and readers. The former almost exclusively serve the bishop, while the latter read in the choir or perform sexton functions in the altar.
Under the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church there are a number of “branch departments” - Synodal departments, the most important of which is DECR MP(Chairman: Metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad Kirill (Gundyaev)). The DECR MP itself defines the range of its tasks as follows: “Carrying out the hierarchical, administrative and financial management of dioceses, monasteries, parishes and other institutions of our Church in the far abroad; making decisions by the clergy concerning church-state and church-public relations; maintaining relations with the Russian Orthodox Church with local Orthodox churches, heterodox churches and religious associations, non-Christian religions, religious and secular international organizations, state, political, social, cultural, scientific, economic, financial and other similar institutions and organizations, the media." The chairman of the DECR MP, Metropolitan Kirill, is considered the most influential hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.
In most cases, future clergy receive a “professional” education in theological educational institutions, a network of which is led by Educational Committee Moscow Patriarchate (chairman - Archbishop of Vereisky Evgeniy (Reshetnikov)). Currently, the Russian Orthodox Church operates 5 spiritual academies(before 1917 there were only 4), 26 theological seminaries, 29 theological schools, 2 Orthodox universities And Theological Institute, women's religious school, 28 icon painting schools. The total number of students in theological schools reaches 6000 people. Patriarch Alexy II and diocesan bishops began to increasingly pay attention to a new alarming trend that has appeared in the system of theological education of the Russian Orthodox Church: only a small percentage of graduates of theological educational institutions continue their service to the Church in the priesthood.
Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis(Chairman - Hegumen John (Ekonomtsev)) runs a network of educational institutions intended for the laity. This network includes Sunday schools at churches, circles for adults, groups for preparing adults for baptism, Orthodox kindergartens, Orthodox groups in state kindergartens, Orthodox gymnasiums, schools and lyceums, Orthodox catechist courses.
Under the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church there are also Department of Church Charity and Social Service(acting chairman - Metropolitan of Solnechnogorsk Sergius (Fomin)), Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies(acting chairman - Archpriest Dimitry Smirnov), Missionary department(chairman - Archbishop of Belgorod and Stary Oskol John (Popov)); Youth Affairs Department(chairman - Archbishop of Kostroma and Galich Alexander (Mogilev)); Publishing Council(chairman - Archpriest Vladimir Silovyov; he is also the editor-in-chief Publishing houses of the Moscow Patriarchate, issued by the official organ of the Russian Orthodox Church - "Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate"), a number of temporary councils and commissions. Current administrative affairs are handled Case Management(headed by Metropolitan Sergius (Fomin) of Solnechnogorsk) and office(headed by Archpriest Vladimir Divakov) of the Moscow Patriarchate. The Patriarchate is under direct control (and is considered the main source of its income) Artistic and production enterprise of the Russian Orthodox Church "Sofrino" And hotel complex "Danilovsky".
The Russian Orthodox Church is the largest autocephalous church in the world. Its history dates back to apostolic times. The Russian Church survived the schism, the fall of the monarchy, years of atheism, war and persecution, the fall of the USSR and the formation of a new canonical territory. We have collected theses that will help you better understand the history of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Russian Orthodox Church: history
- The history of the Russian Orthodox Church begins in apostolic times. When Christ's disciples left to bring the Word of God to people, the territory of future Rus' turned out to be the path of the Apostle Andrew. There is a legend that the Apostle Andrew came to the Crimean land. The people who lived there were pagans and worshiped idols. The Apostle Andrew preached Christ to them.
- Nevertheless, from the time when the apostle walked through the territory of future Rus' until the Baptism of Rus', nine centuries passed. Many believe that the history of the Russian Church began in apostolic times, for others the “reference point” is the Baptism of Rus' in 988, and still others believe that the Russian Orthodox Church was born in the 4th century. In 1448, the first Autocephalous church organization appeared, its center was located in Moscow. Then the Russian bishops for the first time elected Metropolitan Jonah as the Primate of the Church without the participation of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
- In 1589-1593, Autocephaly was formally recognized and the Church gained independence. Initially, under the Patriarch there was no functioning Council of Bishops - the Holy Synod, which distinguished the Russian Orthodox Church from other Churches.
- The Russian Orthodox Church has also survived difficult pages of its own history. Namely, church reform, when the term “Old Believers” appeared.
- During the time of Peter I, the Holy Synod became the state body performing the function of church-wide administration. Due to the Tsar's innovations, the clergy became a rather closed society, and the Church lost its financial independence.
- But the most difficult times for the Russian Orthodox Church came during the years of fighting against God after the fall of the monarchy. By 1939 the Church was practically destroyed. Many clergy were convicted or killed. Persecution did not allow believers to openly pray and visit temples, and the temples themselves were desecrated or destroyed.
- After the collapse of the USSR, when repression of the Church and the clergy ceased, the “canonical territory” of the Russian Orthodox Church became a problem, as many former republics separated. Thanks to the act of canonical communion, local Churches remained “an integral self-governing part of the Local Russian Orthodox Church.”
- In October 2011, the Holy Synod approved the reform of the diocesan structure with a three-level management system - Patriarchate - Metropolis - Diocese.
Russian Orthodox Church: structure and management
Order Church hierarchy in the modern Russian Orthodox Church it looks like this:
- Patriarch
- Metropolitan
- Bishop
- Priest
- Deacon
Patriarch
The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church since 2009 is Patriarch Kirill.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' was elected to the Primate's ministry at the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church on January 27-28, 2009.
Structure of the Russian Orthodox Church (metropolises, dioceses)
There are more than three hundred dioceses in the Russian Orthodox Church, which are united into metropolitanates. Initially, in the Russian Orthodox Church, the title of metropolitan was awarded only to the Primate. Metropolitans still decide the most important issues in the Russian Orthodox Church, but its head is still the Patriarch.
List of metropolises of the Russian Orthodox Church:
Altai Metropolis
Archangel Metropolis
Astrakhan Metropolitanate
Bashkortostan Metropolis
Belgorod Metropolitanate
Bryansk Metropolis
Buryat Metropolis
Vladimir Metropolis
Volgograd Metropolis
Vologda Metropolis
Voronezh Metropolitanate
Vyatka Metropolis
Don Metropolis
Ekaterinburg Metropolis
Transbaikal Metropolis
Ivanovo Metropolis
Irkutsk Metropolis
Kaliningrad Metropolitanate
Kaluga Metropolis
Karelian Metropolis
Kostroma Metropolis
Krasnoyarsk Metropolis
Kuban Metropolis
Kuzbass Metropolis
Kurgan Metropolis
Kursk Metropolis
Lipetsk Metropolis
Mari Metropolis
Metropolis of Minsk (Belarusian Exarchate)
Mordovian Metropolis
Murmansk Metropolitanate
Metropolis of Nizhny Novgorod
Novgorod Metropolis
Novosibirsk Metropolitanate
Omsk Metropolis
Orenburg Metropolis
Oryol Metropolis
Penza Metropolis
Perm Metropolis
Amur Metropolis
Primorsky Metropolis
Pskov Metropolis
Ryazan Metropolitanate
Samara Metropolis
St. Petersburg Metropolitanate
Saratov Metropolis
Simbirsk Metropolis
Smolensk Metropolis
Stavropol Metropolis
Tambov Metropolis
Tatarstan Metropolis
Tver Metropolis
Tobolsk Metropolis
Tomsk Metropolis
Tula Metropolis
Udmurt Metropolis
Khanty-Mansi Metropolis
Chelyabinsk Metropolis
Chuvash Metropolis
Yaroslavl Metropolis
As has already been said, the cornerstone of the canonical structure of the Orthodox Church is the monarchical episcopate, operating at the level of the “local Church,” i.e. that church unit, which in modern language is called a “diocese” (the Church of one region, country, territory, headed by one bishop). In modern Orthodox usage, the concept of “Local Church” is assigned to larger church entities - groups of dioceses united in Patriarchates, metropolises or archdioceses. At this level, the principle of monarchical episcopate gives way to collegial forms of government. In practice, this means that the Primate of the Local Church is “first among equals,” the first among the bishops of his Church: he does not interfere in the internal affairs of the dioceses and does not have direct jurisdiction over them, although he is assigned coordinating functions in matters beyond his competence a separate diocesan bishop.
The rights and duties of the primate in different Local Churches are defined differently, but in no Local Church does the primate have supreme power: everywhere and everywhere the Council has supreme power. So, for example, in the Russian Orthodox Church, the highest dogmatic authority is assigned to the Local Council, in which, in addition to bishops, clergy, monks and laity participate, and the highest form of hierarchical government is the Council of Bishops. As for the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', he governs the Church together with the Holy Synod in the intervals between Councils, and his name is raised in all dioceses before the name of the ruling bishop. In the Greek Orthodox Church there is no Local Council with the participation of the laity; the highest power belongs to the Synod of Bishops, the chairman of which is the Archbishop of Athens and all Greece; in churches during divine services, however, the Synod, and not the archbishop, is commemorated.
Currently there are fifteen Local Orthodox Churches, each of which has its own primate in the rank of patriarch, metropolitan or archbishop:
Church name | Official number of believers | Canonical territory |
Patriarchate of Constantinople |
7 LLC LLC | Türkiye, Thrace, Aegean Islands, diaspora |
Patriarchate of Alexandria |
1 LLC LLC |
Egypt and all of Africa |
Patriarchate of Antioch | 1 5OO LLC | Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, diaspora |
Jerusalem Patriarchate |
156 LLC |
Palestine, Israel, Jordan |
Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) |
160 LLC LLC |
Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Baltic countries, Central Asian countries, diaspora |
Georgian Orthodox Church | 3 LLC LLC | Georgia |
Serbian Orthodox Church | 8 LLC LLC | Serbia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Croatia |
Romanian Orthodox Church | 20 LLC LLC |
Romania, diaspora |
Bulgarian Orthodox Church | 8 LLC LLC | Bulgaria, diaspora |
Cypriot Orthodox Church | 5OO LLC | Cyprus |
Greek Orthodox Church |
1O LLC LLC | Greece |
Polish Orthodox Church |
1 LLC LLC | Poland |
Albanian Orthodox Church | 7OO LLC | Albania |
Orthodox Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia | 74 LLC | Czech Republic, Slovakia |
Orthodox Church in America | 1 LLC LLC | USA, Canada, Mexico |
The combined membership of these Churches is approximately 227 million. The majority of believers in twelve European countries belong to the Orthodox tradition: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, Cyprus, Macedonia and Georgia. In many other European countries - in particular, in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Albania - Orthodox Christians constitute a significant minority. The largest number of Orthodox believers live in Eastern Europe. Of the Western European countries, two are Orthodox - Greece and Cyprus.
The Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches bear the titles “Holiness” (in the case of the Patriarchs of Constantinople, Moscow, Serbia and Bulgaria), “Holiness and Beatitude” (in the case of the Georgian Patriarch), or “Most Beatitude” (in other cases). The full title of the primates of some ancient Churches bears traces of the former greatness of these Churches, but does not always correspond to modern realities. So, for example, the full title of the Patriarch of Constantinople is “Archbishop of Constantinople, new Rome, and Ecumenical Patriarch,” and of Alexandria is “Pope and Patriarch of the great city of Alexandria, Libya, Pentapolis, Ethiopia, all Egypt and all Africa, father of fathers, shepherd of shepherds, bishop of bishops, thirteenth apostle and judge of the whole universe."
In addition to the autocephalous ones, there are several autonomous Churches, independent in government, but maintaining a spiritual and jurisdictional connection with the more ancient and larger autocephalous Churches. The Finnish Autonomous Orthodox Church is under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, the Autonomous Church of Sinai is under the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem Patriarchate, and the Japanese Orthodox Church is under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate. Several other Churches within the Moscow Patriarchate have rights of broad autonomy (which will be discussed in more detail below, in the section devoted to the Russian Orthodox Church).
The canonical dependence of the autonomous Church on its Mother Church is expressed primarily in the fact that the election of its primate, carried out by its own Council (Synod), is approved by the primate and the Synod of the Mother Church. Besides, autonomous Church receives holy chrism from the primate of the autocephalous Church. Otherwise, in its life and activities, the autonomous Church is independent, guided by its Charter and governed by its bodies of supreme ecclesiastical authority.
There is an opinion according to which the Orthodox Church, structurally, is a kind of Eastern analogue Catholic Church. Accordingly, the Patriarch of Constantinople is perceived as an analogue of the Pope of Rome, or as an “Eastern Pope”. Meanwhile, the Orthodox Church has never had a single primate: it has always consisted of autocephalous Local Churches, in prayerful and canonical communion, but deprived of any administrative dependence on one another. “First among equals” among the primates of the Local Orthodox Churches is recognized the Patriarch of Constantinople, who since Byzantine times bears the title “Ecumenical”, however, neither this title nor the primacy of honor gives the Patriarch of Constantinople any jurisdictional rights outside the boundaries of his own Patriarchate.
The absence of a single administrative center in the Orthodox Church is due to both historical and theological reasons. Historically, this is due to the fact that none of the primates of the Local Orthodox Churches, either in the Byzantine or post-Byzantine era, had the same rights as the Pope of Rome had in the West. Theologically, the absence of a single primate is explained by the principle of conciliarity, which operates in the Orthodox Church at all levels. This principle presupposes, in particular, that each bishop governs the diocese not independently, but in agreement with the clergy and laity. In accordance with the same principle, the Primate of the Local Church, being, as a rule, the chairman of the Synod of Bishops, governs the Church not individually, but in cooperation with the Synod.
This management structure - at the level of the Universal Church - gives rise to a number of inconveniences, one of which is the absence of a supreme arbiter in cases where disagreement or conflict arises on church-political issues between two or more Local Churches. The Patriarchate of Constantinople could perhaps become such an authority if other Local Churches agreed to entrust it with similar functions. However greatest number Intra-Orthodox conflicts are currently associated precisely with the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which, by virtue of this alone, cannot play the role of the supreme arbiter. In the absence of a mechanism that would ensure the settlement of disagreements between two or more Orthodox Churches, in each specific case the issue is resolved differently: sometimes an inter-Orthodox conference is convened, the decisions of which, however, are only advisory in nature and do not have binding force for one or another Local Churches; in other cases, two Churches in a state of conflict seek a solution through bilateral negotiations or involve a third Church as a mediator.
So, in the Orthodox Church on a global scale there is no external mechanism for ensuring conciliarity, there is no external authority - whether in the person of one person or in the form of a collegial body - that would guarantee the unity of the Church in ecclesiastical and political issues. This, however, does not mean that conciliarity in the Orthodox Church exists only in theory and not in practice. In practice, conciliarity at the inter-Orthodox level is expressed, firstly, in the fact that all Local Orthodox Churches have Eucharistic communion with each other. Secondly, the Orthodox Churches are concerned about preserving the unity of doctrine, for which, in necessary cases, inter-Orthodox conferences are convened. Thirdly, the primates or official representatives of the Churches meet with each other from time to time to discuss important issues or exchange messages. Thus, even in the absence of a Pan-Orthodox Council, the Orthodox Church on a worldwide scale retains its unity, its conciliar, catholic character.
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