Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, ROC, also Moscow Patriarchate, MP — the principal Christian church of the Russian Federation. The largest religious association in Russia by number of holdings and government preferences.

An autocephalous local Orthodox Church. It occupies fifth place in the diptych of the world's autocephalous local Churches.

It regards as the legal basis of its structure and activity the Divine commandments contained in Holy Scripture, as well as Holy Tradition. The latter includes the canons, liturgical texts authorized by the Church, the writings of the holy fathers, the lives of the Saints, and the customs of the Church. It professes the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed.

Chief officer in charge: Gundyayev Vladimir Mikhailovich, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.

The Essence of the Phenomenon

It considers itself the sole legitimate successor of the Local Russian Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Russian Church, and the Kiev Metropolis within the Patriarchate of Constantinople. It is the largest religious association in Russia, in Ukraine (by number of parishes), in Belarus, and in Moldova.

It regards itself, and is recognized by other local churches, as the only canonically legitimate, administratively independent Orthodox church on the territory of the former Soviet Union, excluding Georgia within the borders of the Georgian SSR, and Armenia.

Structural Divisions

As of December 2008, the Russian Orthodox Church comprised 29,263 parishes and 804 monasteries, including, in Russia, 234 for men and 244 for women; in other CIS and Baltic countries, 142 for men and 153 for women; and in other neighboring countries, 3 male and 3 female monasteries under the ROC. The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia oversees 16 monasteries for men and 9 for women. In addition, the Russian Church has 203 monastic metochia (podvoriya) and 65 sketes. ROC churches run 11,051 Sunday schools for adults and children.

There are 87 theological schools, including 5 theological academies, 3 Orthodox universities, 2 theological institutes, 38 theological seminaries, 39 theological colleges, and also pastoral courses of the Krasnoyarsk diocese.

Historical Background

The name Russian Orthodox Church had long been used, but was adopted as official only in the autumn of 1943. At that, the ROC did not receive the status of a legal entity, which was granted in full on the territory of the RSFSR on 30 May 1991, on the basis of the USSR Law of 1 October 1990 "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations," when the Ministry of Justice of the RSFSR registered the Civil Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church[12]. Canonical subdivisions located on the territory of states other than the Russian Federation may be registered as independent legal entities under other names in accordance with the legislation in force in each country.

Features of Worship

The Russian Orthodox Church, on the whole, follows the Julian calendar in its liturgical life and the Alexandrian Paschalion for calculating the date of Easter. In worship, the Typikon of the Church of Jerusalem has been in use since the late 14th century.

The principal liturgical language is Church Slavonic. In the 19th century, partesnoye (part) singing became universally widespread in parish practice, and znamenny chant nearly fell out of use. By the end of the Synodal period a number of distinctive features had formed in liturgical and pastoral practice, which became established in the 20th century: the serving of Vespers, Matins, and the First Hour as a single service held in the evening, the effective abolition of Small Compline, and mandatory confession for communicants immediately before receiving the Holy Mysteries, or the day before.

Legal Status and Economic Activity of the ROC

Every structural unit under the canonical authority of the Russian Orthodox Church is registered with Rosregistratsiya as an independent legal entity (a religious organization).

Data on the central church budget (the Patriarchate's budget) have not been disclosed since 1997.

According to research by N. A. Mitrokhin, the Moscow Patriarchate derives its main profit from transactions in government securities (the purchase of government short-term bonds) and from two commercial enterprises (a workshop producing church items in the settlement of Sofrino, Moscow Oblast, and the Danilovskaya Hotel in Moscow), while contributions from diocesan administrations toward church-wide needs amount to a small sum — according to a report by Patriarch Alexy II at the Bishops' Council in October 2004, 6 % of all receipts and 22 % of the contributions made for these purposes by the churches of Moscow.

According to research by N. A. Mitrokhin and M. Yu. Edelstein, the income of a typical ROC parish amounts to several thousand dollars a year and consists of four main components: proceeds from the sale of candles; donations for private rites and commemorations; plate-and-tray collections (donations taken during services); and income from the sale of religious items and books.

From the report of Patriarch Alexy II at the Bishops' Council on 24 June 2008: "In the period since the 2004 Bishops' Council, the expenditure side of the church-wide budget has increased by 55 %. The main expenses relate to the upkeep of theological educational institutions — 46 % — while diocesan contributions cover only 29 % of these expenses, or exactly half of the annual budget of the MTA&S."

By a decree of the Holy Synod of 31 March 2009, the Financial and Economic Administration of the Moscow Patriarchate was established (it had first been organized in 1946 and abolished on 17 February 1997).

In a report at the Bishops' Conference on 2 February 2010, Patriarch Kirill noted the sphere of finance and economy "as one of the problematic aspects of our church life"; the Patriarch expressed "bewilderment" over the sums remitted to the Moscow Patriarchate by "a number of dioceses of 100, 200, or 300 thousand," which, in his words, "correspond to the annual remittances to the Moscow Patriarchate of the least well-off parishes of Moscow"; the Patriarch also noted a decrease in 2010 in the funding of restoration work on historical and architectural monuments of federal significance under the Federal Target Program "Culture of Russia (2006—2011)."

From a taxation standpoint, Russian legislation treats the structures of the Church, like those of other religious associations, as non-profit organizations. The Russian Orthodox Church provides the Federal Registration Service with financial reporting in the simplified form prescribed for religious associations, and enjoys a number of tax benefits.

According to the newspaper Argumenty i Fakty, Orthodox real estate agencies currently operate in Russia.

Property

In March 2007, a government commission headed by First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev approved a concept for transferring property of religious purpose into the ownership of the Church, instructing the Ministry of Economic Development to prepare a corresponding bill. On 13 January 2010, the Government Commission on Religious Associations reviewed a new version of the law "On the Transfer to Religious Organizations of Property of Religious Purpose": under it, structures of the ROC were to be given objects held in both federal and regional ownership. At the same time, the Moscow Patriarchate "will not raise the question of restitution, but welcomes steps by the state to return church buildings."

On 30 November 2010, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the law on the transfer to the Church of religious-purpose property held in federal or regional ownership.

The Russian Orthodox Church has had a number of property disputes with the state, religious organizations, and private individuals; some of the disputes attracted public attention. According to Valery Nazarov, head of the Federal Agency for State Property Management, property disputes between the state and religious organizations most often arise over museums and monuments of history and culture.

Education

The main educational institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church:

  • Moscow Theological Academy
  • Saint Petersburg Theological Academy
  • Kiev Theological Academy
  • Saint Sergius Orthodox Theological Academy
  • Saint Tikhon's Orthodox Humanitarian University)
  • Russian Orthodox University
  • Russian Orthodox Institute of St. John the Theologian
  • Ryazan Theological Seminary
  • Saint Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute
  • St. Philaret's Orthodox Christian Institute
  • Volga Orthodox Institute
  • Saint Petersburg Orthodox Institute of Religious Studies and Church Arts
  • Ss. Cyril and Methodius Church-Wide Postgraduate and Doctoral School
  • Tsaritsyn Orthodox University of St. Sergius of Radonezh

Official Websites

ROC Video Channel on YouTube

See Also