Imperial Russia’s Canonists and the Issue of Church and State

Abstract

The study of canon law as a distinct academic discipline made its initial appearance in Russia only in the mid-nineteenth century. The subject was first taught as a science separate from theology and civil law in 1835, although it may have been considered worthy of special examination in a systematic way as early as the reign of Alexander I. After receiving encouragement from some influential hierarchs, Filaret of Moscow among them, a chair for the study of church law was at last established by the Holy Synod at the St Petersburg Theological Academy in 1842.1 It was not until 1863, however, that the University of Moscow introduced a new program into its curriculum to address this topic exclusively on its own merits, and only in 1884 was its presence given official recognition by imperial statute. The first literary account of Russian ecclesiastical law was published in 1848 by I. M. Skvortsov, an Orthodox priest and faculty member at the Kiev Theological Academy. The first thorough treatment of the entire topic came in the form of a two volume textbook by Bishop Ioann of Smolensk (V. S. Sokolov). It appeared in St Petersburg in 1851.2