Shaping a New Russian Ecclesiasticism: Society, Power, Law

Abstract

On the one hand, the popularity of religious teachings and practices in Russia, as well as the high percentage of population’s self-identification as Orthodox evidence the sustainability of so-called post-secular trends; on the other hand, negative media coverage of the Orthodox church over the past years poses the question of the beginning new secular stage in relation to traditional religious institutions. The Russian state is obviously an active participant of these processes. At the same time, neither issues of pre-Revolution property of the church, nor the legal framework of various communities’ religious activity is properly regulated yet, while the authorities not only support conventional religious institutions but also impede the activity of peripheral faiths like Jehovah Witnesses and others. To conceptualize these processes, the paper briefly explores the genesis of Christian practices, taking into account their dialectic duality, and the impact of state power and society on the church. Seven provisional historical stages of Christian practices development from their origins to our times are identified; the special significance of the Christian practices’ modus aimed at implementing the essence of its teaching for the contemporary age is substantiated. However, the essence of Christian faith is embodied in a different way in every historical period. Based on the current challenges, the author identifies a relevant model of ecclesiasticism and highlights the opportunity to optimize law enforcement in relation to religious practices.