Synod is the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. Synod establishment

14.10.2019

December 24, 2010 at the working Patriarchal residence in Chisty lane under the chairmanship His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will host a regular meeting of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Holy Synod (translated from Greek as "meeting", "cathedral") is one of the highest bodies of church administration. According to Chapter V of the current Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church, "The Holy Synod, headed by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (locum tenens), is the governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church in the period between Councils of Bishops."

After the abolition of the patriarchal administration of the church by Peter I, from 1721 to August 1917, the Holy Governing Synod established by him was the main state body of church and administrative power in the Russian Empire, which replaced the patriarch in the field of general church functions and external relations. In 1918, the Holy Synod as a state body was liquidated de jure by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars "On Freedom of Conscience, Church and Religious Societies."

After the patriarchate was restored at the Local Council of the Orthodox Russian Church, in February 1918 the Holy Synod began its work as a collegiate governing body. However, by decree of Patriarch Tikhon of July 18, 1924, the Synod and the Supreme Church Council were dissolved. In 1927, Sergius (Stragorodsky), Locum Tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, established a Provisional Patriarchal Holy Synod, which worked as an auxiliary body with an advisory vote until 1935. The activities of the Holy Synod were resumed at the Local Council of 1945.

The “Regulations on the Administration of the Russian Orthodox Church” adopted at the Local Council determined the order of work and the composition of the Holy Synod. The synodal year is divided into two sessions: summer from March to August and winter from September to February. The Synod is chaired by the Patriarch, and the permanent members are the Metropolitans of Kyiv, Minsk and Krutitsy. The Council of Bishops in 1961 expanded the composition of the Synod, including among the permanent members the Administrator of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations, and the Council of Bishops in 2000 added the Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga and the Metropolitan of Chisinau and All Moldova. Five temporary members of the Synod from among the diocesan bishops are called to the semi-annual session in turn, according to the seniority of the episcopal consecration - one from each of the five groups into which the dioceses are divided.

Currently, the permanent members of the Holy Synod are:

Chairman: His Holiness Patriarch Kirill (Gundyaev) of Moscow and All Russia;

Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine Volodymyr (Sabodan);

Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga Vladimir (Kotlyarov);

Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus Filaret (Vakhromeev);

Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna Yuvenaly (Poyarkov);

Metropolitan of Chisinau and all Moldova Vladimir (Kantaryan);

Metropolitan of Saransk and Mordovia, manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchy Varsonofy (Sudakov);

Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate Hilarion (Alfeev);

As provisional members for the winter session 2010/2011. take part in:

Metropolitan Lazar of Simferopol and Crimea (Shvets);

Metropolitan Hilarion of Eastern America and New York (Corporal);

Archbishop of Simbirsk and Melekessky Proclus (Khazov);

Bishop of Baku and the Caspian Sea Alexander (Ishchein);

Bishop of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Kuril Daniil (Dorovskikh);

The participation of permanent and temporary members in the meetings of the Holy Synod is their canonical obligation. Sessions are convened by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (or the locum tenens of the patriarchal throne) and, as a rule, are closed.

The duties of the Holy Synod include:

1. Care for intact storage and interpretation Orthodox faith, norms of Christian morality and piety;

2. Service to the internal unity of the Russian Orthodox Church;

3. Maintaining unity with other Orthodox Churches;

4. Organization of the internal and external activities of the Church and the solution of issues of general church significance that arise in connection with this;

5. Evaluation of the most important events in the field of inter-church, inter-confessional and inter-religious relations;

6. Coordination of the actions of the entire Russian Orthodox Church in its efforts to achieve peace and justice;

7. Maintaining proper relations between the Church and the state in accordance with this Charter and current legislation;

8. Establishing the procedure for the possession, use and disposal of buildings and property of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Holy Synod elects, appoints, in exceptional cases transfers bishops and dismisses them for retirement; appoints the heads of Synodal institutions and, at their request, their deputies, as well as the rectors of the Theological Academies and Seminaries, rectors (priests) and vicegerents of monasteries, bishops, clerics and laity to undergo responsible obedience abroad.

At present, the following synodal institutions are accountable to the Holy Synod: the department for external church relations (existed from 1946, until 2000 - the department for external church relations); publishing council; study committee; department of catechesis and religious education; department for church charity and social service; missionary department; Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Agencies; department of youth affairs; department for relations between church and society; synodal information department; Department of Prison Ministry; committee for interaction with the Cossacks; financial and economic management; managing the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate; Synodal Library named after His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II. The following commissions also exist under the Holy Synod: the Biblical-Theological Commission; commission for the canonization of saints; Liturgical Commission; commission for monasteries.

The Holy Synod forms and abolishes dioceses, changes their boundaries and names, with subsequent approval by the Council of Bishops; approves the statutes of the monasteries and exercises general supervision over monastic life. Matters in the Holy Synod are decided by the general consent of all the members participating in the meeting or by a majority of votes. In case of equality of votes, the Chairman's vote is decisive. In accordance with the Charter of the ROC, the Synod is responsible to the Council of Bishops and, through the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, submits to it a report on its activities during the inter-council period.

The work of the Holy Synod is carried out on the basis of the agenda presented by the Chairman and approved by the members of the Synod at the beginning of the first meeting. If, for any reason, the Patriarch is temporarily unable to exercise chairmanship in the Synod, he is replaced by the oldest permanent member of the Synod by hierarchical consecration. The secretary of the Synod is the manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, who is responsible for preparing the materials necessary for the Synod and compiling the journals of the meetings.

§ 2. Establishment of the Holy Synod

After the failure with Metropolitan Stefan, Peter I better understood the mood of the Kyiv learned monasticism. Looking for the executors of the planned reform, he now chose from this environment people of a special spirit - opponents of the Latin, "pape" direction, from whom he could expect sympathy for his species. In Novgorod, Peter drew attention to a native of Little Russia, the archimandrite of the Khutyn monastery Theodosius (Yanovsky), who fled there from Moscow during the “persecution of Cherkasy” under Patriarch Adrian. Metropolitan Job, who gathered pundits around him, sheltered the fugitive, brought him closer to him and made him one of his main assistants. Theodosius was the son of a gentry and was distinguished by arrogance and arrogance. He charmed Peter with aristocratic manners and the art of secular conversation. In 1712, Peter appointed him archimandrite of the newly created Alexander Nevsky Monastery and the ruler of church affairs in the St. Petersburg region, and in 1721, five years after the death of Metropolitan Job, he was placed in the rank of archbishop at the Novgorod cathedra. The new bishop, however, did not become a serious church leader. He was a man not particularly learned, masking the gaps in education with the brilliance of secular eloquence. Among the clergy and the people, temptations arose from his more magnate than hierarchical way of life, from his greed. It became clear to Peter that it was impossible to place a special stake on this conceited ambitious man.

Another resident of Kiev - Feofan (Prokopovich) conquered Peter's heart. The son of a Kyiv merchant, in baptism he was named Eleazar. After successfully graduating from the Kiev-Mohyla Academy, Eleazar studied in Lvov, Krakow and at the Roman College of St. Athanasius. In Rome he became the Basilian monk Elisha. Returning to his homeland, he renounced the Uniatism and was tonsured in the Kiev Brotherhood Monastery with the name of Samuel. He was appointed professor of the Academy, and soon, as a reward for success in teaching, he was honored with the name of his late uncle Feofan, the rector of the Mohyla Academy. From Rome, Prokopovich brought a disgust for the Jesuits, for school scholasticism, and for the whole atmosphere of Catholicism. In his theological lectures, he used not Catholic, as was customary in Kyiv before him, but Protestant expositions of dogma.

On the day of the Poltava battle, Feofan congratulated the king on his victory. The word he uttered during worship on the battlefield shocked Peter. The speaker used the day of victory on June 27, which falls on the memory of St. Samson, to compare Peter with the biblical Samson, who tore the lion apart (the coat of arms of Sweden consists of three lion figures). Since then, Peter could not forget Theophan. Going on the Prut campaign, he took him with him and put him at the head of the military clergy. And at the end of the campaign, Feofan was appointed rector of the Kyiv Academy. In 1716, he was summoned “to the line” to St. Petersburg, and there he delivered sermons that he devoted not so much to theological and church topics as to the glorification of military victories, state accomplishments and Peter's transformative plans. Feofan became one of the candidates for the bishop's chair. But among the zealots of Orthodoxy, his theological views caused serious concerns. The rector of the Moscow Academy, Archimandrite Theophylact Lopatinsky, and the prefect, Archimandrite Gedeon Vishnevsky, who knew him well in Kyiv, ventured back in 1712 to openly accuse Theophan of Protestantism, which they discovered in his Kyiv lectures. After Archimandrite Theophan was summoned to Petersburg, his accusers were not slow to send a new denunciation against him, sending it to Peter through the locum tenens, who added his opinion to the report of the Moscow professors that Theophan should not be made a bishop. But Theophan was able to justify himself so cleverly in the accusations raised against him that Metropolitan Stephen had to ask him for an apology.

In 1718, Theophan was consecrated Bishop of Pskov, however, so that his residence was Petersburg. Unlike his less fortunate rival in the struggle for closeness to the king, Theodosius, Bishop Theophan was an educated scientist, theologian, writer, a man of clear and strong mind. He managed to become an adviser and indispensable assistant Peter I not only in church, but also in state affairs. He served Peter as an inexhaustible source of the most diverse knowledge, his living "academy and brain." It was Theophanes who became the main executor of the church reform conceived by Peter, and to him, more than anyone else, it owes its Protestant tinge. Much in the actions and views of this hierarch confirmed the correctness of the accusations of non-Orthodoxy leveled against him. On his opponents, the zealots of Orthodoxy, Theophanes from the church pulpit accused the monarch of hidden enmity: - or they will see wonderfully, cheerfully, great and glorious ... And these most of all do not tremble with dishonor and do not have any worldly power not only for the cause of God, but they are imputed to an abomination.

In the essay “The Truth of the Will of the Monarchs,” written on behalf of: Peter, Bishop Theophanes, repeating: Hobbes, formulates the absolutist theory of state law: “There is a basis for the power of the monarch ... that the people of the ruling will have put off” and transferred this will to the monarch. “All civil and ecclesiastical rites, change of customs, the use of clothes, building houses, ranks and ceremonies in feasts, weddings, burials, and so on and so forth, belong here.”

In the "Search for the Pontifex", playing with the etymology of words, Theophan raises the question: "Can Christian sovereigns be called bishops, bishops?" - and without embarrassment answers that they can; moreover, sovereigns are "bishops of bishops" for their subjects.

1) description and guilt of the synodal administration;

2) cases subject to it;

3) the office and strength of the rulers themselves.

About the "Regulations" it was aptly said that "this is a reasoning, not a code." It is more of an explanatory note to the law than the law itself. He was soaked with bile, filled with passion political struggle with antiquity. It contains more evil denunciations and satire than direct positive judgments. The “Regulations” proclaimed the establishment of the Spiritual College instead of the sole power of the patriarch. The grounds for such a reform were given differently: the collegium can resolve cases more quickly and impartially, it allegedly has more authority than the patriarch. But the main reason for the abolition of the patriarchate is not hidden in the “Regulations” - the collegium is not dangerous for the power of the monarch: “The common people do not know how the spiritual power differs from the autocratic one, but surprised by the great high shepherd with honor and glory, they think that such a ruler is the second sovereign, autocrat equal to or greater than him, and that the spiritual rank is a different and better state. And so, in order to humiliate the spiritual power in the eyes of the people, the Regulations proclaim: “the collegium of the government is under a sovereign monarch and is appointed by the monarch.” The monarch, with the help of a seductive play on words, instead of the usual name "anointed" is called in the "Regulations" "Christ of the Lord."

The document was submitted for discussion to the Senate and only then was brought to the attention of the consecrated Council of those who found themselves in St. Petersburg - six bishops and three archimandrites. Under pressure from the secular authorities, the spiritual dignitaries signed that everything was "perfectly done." In order to give the "Regulations" greater authority, it was decided to send Archimandrite Anthony and Lieutenant Colonel Davydov to all parts of Russia to collect signatures from bishops and "degree monasteries of archimandrites and abbots." In the event of a refusal to sign, the Senate’s decree bluntly, with frank rudeness, prescribed: “And if someone does not become a signer, and take him by the hand, which, for the sake of this reason, is not a signer, so that he shows his name.” For seven months, the messengers traveled all over Russia and collected the fullness of signatures under the "Regulations".

On January 25, 1721, the emperor issued a manifesto on the establishment of " The Spiritual College, that is, the Spiritual Council Government". And the next day, the Senate submitted for the highest approval the states of the college being created: the president of the metropolitans, two vice-presidents of the archbishops, four advisers of the archimandrites, four assessors of the archpriests and one of the "Greek black priests." The staff of the collegium was also proposed, headed by the president-metropolitan Stefan and the vice-presidents-archbishops Theodosius of Novgorod and Theophan of Pskov. The tsar imposed a resolution: “Having called upon them to the Senate, declare them.” The text of the oath was compiled for the members of the collegium: “I confess with an oath the extreme judge of this Spiritual Collegium to be the most All-Russian monarch of our most merciful sovereign.” This anti-canonical oath, which offended the hierarchal conscience, lasted almost 200 years, until 1901.

On February 14, after a prayer service in the Trinity Cathedral, the opening of a new collegium took place. And immediately a bewildered question arose of how to make a prayerful proclamation of a new church government. The Latin word "collegium" in combination with "most holy" sounded incongruous. Various options were proposed: “assembly”, “cathedral”, and finally settled on the Greek word “synod” acceptable to the Orthodox ear - Holy Governing Synod. The name "collegium", proposed by Archbishop Feofan, was also dropped for administrative reasons. The colleges were subordinate to the Senate. For the highest ecclesiastical authority in an Orthodox state, the status of a collegium was clearly indecent. And the Most Holy Governing Synod, by its very name, was placed on a par with the Governing Senate.

A year and a half later, by decree of the emperor, the post Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, to which "a kind man from among the officers" was appointed. The chief procurator was to be in the Synod "the eye of the sovereign and a lawyer for state affairs." He was entrusted with control and supervision over the activities of the Synod, but by no means its head. On the very day of the opening of the Synod, the question arose of raising the names of the Eastern Patriarchs at the service. It was not resolved right away. Archbishop Theophan spoke out against such an elevation. He needed from people's memory the title of patriarch itself disappeared, and his arguments boiled down to seductive sophistry: he referred to the fact that in the acts of any sovereign the names of monarchs allied to him do not appear, as if a political union is similar to the unity of the Body of Christ. The opinion of the compiler of the "Regulations" triumphed: the names of the patriarchs disappeared from divine services in Russian churches. An exception was allowed only in those cases when the first-present member of the Synod celebrated the Liturgy in the house Synodal Church.

The President of the Synod, Metropolitan Stefan, who was not present at the meetings during the discussion of this issue, submitted his opinion in writing: “It seems to me that both can clearly be included in the litanies and offerings of the Church. For example, like this: about the Most Holy Orthodox Patriarchs and about the Most Holy Governing Synod. What is the sin in this? What a loss of glory and honor to the Most Holy Russian Synod? What madness and obscenity? Moreover, it would be pleasing to God and the people would be very pleased.”

At the insistence of His Grace Theophan, this opinion was rejected by the Synod precisely because it "would be very pleasing to the people." Moreover, the Synod adopted the resolution drawn up by Feofan. “Those questions-answers (that is, the remarks of Metropolitan Stefan) seem to be unimportant and weak, even more unhelpful, but very nasty and tormenting the world of the church and harmful state silence ... keep in the Synod under dangerous storage, so as not just to the public, but also to testify didn't happen."

The president of the Synod, pushed aside and almost removed from control, had practically no influence on the course of synodal affairs, where the favorite of the emperor Theophanes was in charge of everything. In 1722, Metropolitan Stefan died. After his death, the office of president was abolished.

In September 1721, Peter I addressed the Patriarch of Constantinople with a message in which he asked him to "deign to recognize the establishment of the Spiritual Synod for the benefit." The answer from Constantinople was received two years later. The Ecumenical Patriarch recognized the Holy Synod as his "brother in Christ", having the power to "create and complete the four Holy Apostolic Patriarchal Thrones." Similar letters were received from other patriarchs. The newly established Synod received the rights of the highest legislative, judicial and administrative power in the Church, but it could exercise this power only with the consent of the sovereign. All resolutions of the Synod until 1917 were issued under the stamp "By decree of his imperial majesty." Since the residence of the Synod was St. Petersburg, the Synodal Office was established in Moscow. As the legal successor of the patriarchs, the Synod was the diocesan authority for the former patriarchal region; the organs of this power were: in Moscow, the dicastery, transformed in 1723 from the patriarchal Spiritual order, and in St. Petersburg - the Tiun Office under the command of the spiritual Tiun.

At the opening of the Holy Synod in Russia, 18 dioceses and two vicarage. After the abolition of the patriarchate, bishops ceased to be bestowed with the titles of metropolitans for a long time. The powers of the diocesan authorities extended to all church institutions, with the exception of stauropegial monasteries and the court clergy, placed under the direct command of the royal confessor. In wartime, the army clergy also came under the control of the field chief priest (according to military regulations 1716), and the naval - under the control of the chief hieromonk (according to the maritime charter of 1720). In 1722, an "Addition to the Regulations" was published, which contained rules related to the white clergy and monasticism. This “addition introduced states for clergy: for 100-150 households, a clergy of one priest and two or three clergymen relied, for 200-250 - double states, for 250-300 - triple.

The establishment of the Holy Synod opened a new era in the history of the Russian Church. As a result of the reform, the Church lost its former independence from secular authorities. A gross violation of Canon 34 of the Holy Apostles was the abolition of the primatial rank, replacing it with a "headless" Synod. The causes of many ailments that have darkened church life for the past two centuries are rooted in the Petrine reform. The synodal reform, adopted by the clergy and the people for the sake of obedience, confused the church conscience of spiritually sensitive hierarchs and clerics, monks and laity.

The canonical defectiveness of the system of government established under Peter is undoubted, but humbly accepted by the hierarchy and the people, recognized by the Eastern Patriarchs, the new church authority became the legitimate church government.

The Synodal period was an epoch of unprecedented outward growth of the Russian Orthodox Church. Under Peter I, the population of Russia was about 20 million people, of which 15 million were Orthodox. At the end of the synodal era, according to the 1915 census, the population of the empire reached 180 million, and the ROC already numbered 115 million children. Such a rapid growth of the Church was, of course, the fruit of the selfless asceticism of the Russian missionaries, who were burning with the apostolic spirit. But it was also a direct consequence of the expansion of Russia's borders, a consequence of the growth of its power, and in fact, for the sake of strengthening and elevating the power of the Fatherland, Peter conceived his state reforms.

In the Synodal period, there is an upsurge in education in Russia; already in the 18th century, theological schools were strengthened and their network covered the whole country; and in the nineteenth century there was a real flowering of Russian theology.

Finally, in this epoch in Russia a great host of ascetics of piety was revealed, not only already worthy of church glorification, but also not yet glorified. As one of the greatest saints of God, the Church honors Reverend Seraphim Sarovsky. His deeds, his spirit-bearing holiness is the most firm and reliable evidence that even in the synodal era the Russian Church was not depleted of the grace-filled gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Controversial opinions were expressed about Peter's church reform. The deepest assessment of it belongs to the Metropolitan of Moscow Filaret: in his words, "The spiritual college, which Peter took over from the Protestant ... the providence of God and the church spirit was turned into the Holy Synod."

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), is the governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church in the period between Bishops' Councils.

The Holy Synod is responsible to the Council of Bishops and, through the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, submits to it a report on its activities during the inter-council period.

The Holy Synod consists of the Chairman - the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (Locum Tenens), seven permanent and five temporary members - diocesan bishops.

Permanent members are: in the department - Metropolitans of Kyiv and all Ukraine; St. Petersburg and Ladoga; Krutitsky and Kolomensky; Minsk and Slutsky, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus; Chisinau and all Moldova; ex officio - chairman of the Department for External Church Relations and manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Temporary members are called to attend one session, according to the seniority of the episcopal consecration, one from each group into which the dioceses are divided. The call of a bishop to the Holy Synod cannot follow until the expiration of the two-year term of his administration of the given diocese.

Permanent members of the Synod by department and ex officio

- Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine
- Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna (Moscow region);
- Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarchal Exarch of Belarus;
- Metropolitan of Chisinau and all Moldova;
- chairman of the Department for External Church Relations;
- manager of affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Permanent Members (personal composition) of the Holy Synod at the present time

Vladimir (Sabodan) - Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine
Yuvenaly (Poyarkov) - Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna
Vladimir (Kotlyarov) - Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga
Filaret (Vakhromeev) - Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus
Vladimir (Kantaryan) - Metropolitan of Chisinau and all Moldova
Varsonofy (Sudakov) - Archbishop of Saransk and Mordovia, acting. manager of affairs of the Moscow Patriarchy
Hilarion (Alfeev) - Archbishop of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate

Commissions and departments

The following Synodal departments are accountable to the Holy Synod:

Publishing Council;
Study Committee;
Department of Catechism and Religious Education;
Department of Charity and Social Service;
Missionary Department;
Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Institutions;
Department of Youth Affairs;
Department for Relations between the Church and Society;
Information department.

Also under the Synod there are the following institutions:

Patriarchal Synodal Biblical Commission;
Synodal Theological Commission;
Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints;
Synodal Liturgical Commission;
Synodal Commission for Monasteries;
Synodal Commission for Economic and Humanitarian Affairs;
Synodal Library named after His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II.

During the synodal period (-)

As such, he was recognized by the Eastern Patriarchs and other autocephalous Churches. The members of the Holy Synod were appointed by the emperor; Emperor's representative in the Holy Synod was Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod.

Establishment and functions

The Patriarchal orders were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Synod: Spiritual, Treasury and Palace, renamed into synodal, the Monastic order, the order of church affairs, the office of schismatic affairs and the printing office. In St. Petersburg, a Tiun office (Tiunskaya Izba) was established; in Moscow - the spiritual dicastery, the office of the synodal government, the synodal office, the order of inquisitorial affairs, the office of schismatic affairs.

All institutions of the Synod were closed during the first two decades of its existence, except for the Synodal Chancellery, the Moscow Synodal Office and the printing office, which lasted until.

Chief Prosecutor of the Synod

The Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Governing Synod is a secular official appointed by the Russian Emperor (in 1917 they were appointed by the Provisional Government) and who was his representative in the Holy Synod.

Compound

Initially, according to the "Spiritual Regulations", the Holy Synod consisted of 11 members: the president, 2 vice-presidents, 4 advisers and 4 assessors; it included bishops, abbots of monasteries and white clergy.

Last years

After the death of the leading member of the Synod Anthony (Vadkovsky) and the appointment of Metropolitan Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky) to the St. Petersburg cathedra, the political situation around the Synod became much more aggravated, which was due to G. Rasputin's intrusion into the affairs of church administration. In November, by the Highest Rescript, Metropolitan Vladimir was transferred to Kyiv, albeit with the preservation of the title of the first member. The transfer of Vladimir and the appointment of Metropolitan Pitirim (Oknov) was painfully perceived in the church hierarchy and in society, which viewed Metropolitan Pitirim as a "rasputinist." As a result, as Prince N. D. Zhevakhov wrote, “the principle of the inviolability of hierarchs was violated, and this was enough for the Synod to find itself almost in the vanguard of that opposition to the Throne, which used the aforementioned act for general revolutionary purposes, as a result of which both hierarchs, Metropolitans Pitirim and Macarius, were declared “Rasputinists.”

The main task of the Synod was the preparation of the All-Russian Local Council.

Notes

Literature

Kedrov N.I. Spiritual regulation in connection with the transformative activity of Peter the Great. Moscow, 1886.
Tikhomirov P.V. The Canonical Dignity of Peter the Great's Reforms on Church Administration. - Theological Bulletin, 1904, No. 1 and 2.
Prot. A. M. Ivantsov-Platonov. On Russian Church Administration. SPb., 1898.
Tikhomirov L. A. Monarchic statehood. Part III, Ch. 35: Bureaucracy in the Church.
Prot. V. G. Pevtsov. Lectures on Church Law. SPb., 1914.
Prot. Georgy Florovsky. Ways of Russian theology. Paris, 1937.
I. K. Smolich Chapter II. Church and State From History of the Russian Church. 1700-1917 (Geschichte der Russische Kirche). Leiden, 1964, in 8 books.

Links

A. G. Zakrzhevsky. The Holy Synod and Russian Bishops in the First Decades of the “Church Government” in Russia.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

Holy Governing Synod
Holy Governing Synod

See what the "Holy Synod" is in other dictionaries:

Holy Synod- The Holy Synod was established in 1721. The reasons for replacing the patriarchal administration with the synodal one are indicated in the Spiritual Regulations and are, among other things, as follows: 1) the truth can be found out much better by several persons than by one; 2)… … Complete Orthodox Theological Encyclopedic Dictionary

Holy Synod- HOLY, oh, her. An integral part of the title of some patriarchs, as well as the Pope. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

HOLY SYNOD- (Greek synodos assembly) one of the highest state bodies in Russia in 1721-1917. He was in charge of the affairs of the Orthodox Church (interpretation of religious dogmas, observance of rituals, issues of spiritual censorship and enlightenment, the fight against heretics and ... ... Legal Encyclopedia

Holy Synod- Holy Synod, Holy Synod (Greek Σύνοδος "assembly", "cathedral"), according to the current Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, the highest "governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church in the period between Bishops' Councils." Contents ... Wikipedia

Holy Synod- see Synod ... encyclopedic Dictionary F. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron

HOLY SYNOD- (Greek synodos assembly) one of the highest state bodies in Russia in 1721-1917. was in charge of the affairs of the Orthodox Church (interpretation of religious dogmas, observance of rituals, issues of spiritual censorship and education, the fight against heretics and ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Economics and Law

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The query "Theological College" is redirected here. This topic needs a separate article. This article is about the body of church and state administration of the Russian Church in 1721-1917. For the current governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church, see the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.

(Holy Governing Sonod (Russian doref.)) - supreme body church-state administration of the Russian Church in the synodal period (1721-1917).

1 Legal status
2 Functions
3 History
- 3.1 Last years (1912-1918)
4 Composition
5 Chief Procurator of the Synod
6 Preeminent members
7 See also
8 Notes
9 Links

Legal status

According to the Fundamental Laws of the Russian Empire, the Synod was defined as “a conciliar government, which has all kinds of supreme power in the Russian Orthodox Church and is in relations with Orthodox churches abroad, through which the supreme autocratic power, which established it, operates in church administration.”

As such, he was recognized by the eastern patriarchs and other autocephalous churches. The members of the Most Holy Governing Synod were appointed by the emperor. The Emperor's representative in the Synod was Chief Prosecutor Holy Synod.

Upon the abolition by Peter I (1701) of the patriarchal administration of the church, from 1721 until August 1917 (nominally existed until February 1 (14), 1918) established by him was the highest state body of church-administrative authority in the Russian Empire, replacing the patriarch in parts of general church functions and external relations, as well as councils of all bishops of the local church, that is, the Local Council: 236.

The building of the Senate and Synod in St. Petersburg

The Governing Synod acted on behalf of the Emperor, whose orders on church matters were final and binding on the Synod:237.

Functions

The Governing Synod was the highest administrative and judicial body of the Russian Church. He had the right (with the consent of the supreme authority) to open new cathedras, elect and appoint bishops, establish church holidays and ceremonies, canonize saints, and censor works of theological, church-historical and canonical content. He owned the right of the court of first instance in relation to bishops accused of committing anti-canonical acts, and the Synod also had the right to make final decisions on divorce cases, cases of defrocking clerics, and anathematizing the laity; questions of the spiritual enlightenment of the people were also within the jurisdiction of the Synod:238.

Story

On October 16, 1700, Patriarch Adrian died. Tsar Peter I appointed the educated Little Russian Metropolitan of Ryazan Stefan (Yavorsky) exarch, that is, guardian of the patriarchal throne. Peter withdrew personnel and administrative matters from his competence. In 1701, the Monastic order, abolished in 1667, was restored, and the management of all church estates was transferred to its jurisdiction.

In 1718, Peter I expressed the opinion that "for better governance in the future, it seems to be convenient for the spiritual college"; Peter instructed Bishop Feofan Prokopovich of Pskov to draw up a charter for the future collegium, which was called the Spiritual Regulations.

During 1720, the signing of the Regulations took place by the bishops and archimandrites of the sedate monasteries; the last, reluctantly, was signed by the exarch, Metropolitan Stefan (Yavorsky).

On January 25, 1721, a Manifesto was issued on the establishment of the Theological College. Stefan Yavorsky became the President of the Synod. In the same year, Peter I turned to Patriarch Jeremiah III of Constantinople with a petition for the recognition of the Holy Synod by the Eastern Patriarchs. In September 1723, the Patriarchs of Constantinople and Antioch recognized the Holy Synod as their “brother in Christ” with equal patriarchal dignity by a special letter.

On February 14, 1721, the Theological College, which received the name of the Holy Governing Synod, was officially opened.

Under Catherine I, the Synod ceased to be called "Governmental" for some time, and received the name "Spiritual":239.

Until 1901, the members of the Synod and those present in the Synod, upon taking office, had to take an oath, which, in particular, read:

I confess, with an oath, to the extreme Judge of the Spiritual Council of the Life of the All-Russian Monarch of our most merciful Sovereign.

Until September 1, 1742, the Synod was also the diocesan authority for the former Patriarchal Region, renamed Synodal.

The patriarchal orders were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Synod: spiritual, state and palace orders, renamed into synodal orders, a monastery order, an order of church affairs, an office of schismatic affairs and a printing office. Petersburg, the Tiun office (Tiunskaya Izba) was established; in Moscow - the spiritual dicastery, the office of the synodal government, the synodal office, the order of inquisitorial affairs, the office of schismatic affairs.

All institutions of the Synod were closed during the first two decades of its existence, except for the synodal office, the Moscow synodal office and the printing office, which lasted until 1917.

Last years (1912-1918)

After the death of the leading member of the Synod Anthony (Vadkovsky) in 1912 and the appointment of Metropolitan Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky) to the St. Petersburg cathedra, the political situation around the Synod became much more aggravated, which was due to the intrusion of G. Rasputin into the affairs of church administration. In November 1915, Metropolitan Vladimir was transferred to Kyiv by the Highest Rescript, although he retained the title of the first member. The transfer of Vladimir and the appointment of Metropolitan Pitirim (Oknov) in his place was painfully perceived in the church hierarchy and in society, which viewed Metropolitan Pitirim as a “Rasputinist”. As a result, as Prince Nikolai Zhevakhov wrote, “the principle of the inviolability of hierarchs was violated, and this was enough for the Synod to find itself almost in the vanguard of that opposition to the throne, which used the aforementioned act for common revolutionary purposes, as a result of which both hierarchs, metropolitans Pitirim and Macarius were declared "Rasputinists".

Former member of the Synod in the pre-revolutionary years, Protopresbyter Georgy Shavelsky, while in exile, assessed the oldest members of the Synod of that time and the general situation in it:<…>in a certain respect characterized the state of our hierarchy in the pre-revolutionary period.<…>The synod was dominated by a heavy atmosphere of distrust. The members of the Synod were afraid of each other, and not without reason: every word openly spoken within the walls of the Synod by Rasputin's opponents was immediately transmitted to Tsarskoye Selo.

At the end of 1915, the discussion in the Synod of the “Varnavin case” (see John of Tobolsk #Tobolsk scandal) acquired a scandalous character, as a result of which A. D. Samarin was forced to resign from the post of chief prosecutor. About the situation in church administration by the end of the reign of Nicholas II, Protopresbyter Shavelsky wrote: “At the end of 1916, Rasputin’s henchmen already actually held control in their hands. Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod Raev, his comrade Zhevakhov, head of the office of the Holy Synod Guryev and his assistant Mudrolyubov were Rasputinites. Metropolitans Pitirim and Macarius professed the same faith. Whole line diocesan and vicar bishops were Rasputin's clients."

On March 1, 1916, according to the report of the Chief Prosecutor of the Synod of Volzhin, the emperor “was pleased to command that in the future the reports of the Chief Prosecutor to His Imperial Majesty on matters relating to the internal structure of church life and the essence of church administration should be made in the presence of the primordial member of the Holy Synod, for the purpose of their comprehensive canonical coverage. The conservative newspaper Moskovskiya Vedomosti, calling the Supreme Command of March 1 “a great act of trust,” wrote: “It is reported from Petrograd that in church circles and in the Synod the great act of royal trust is experienced as a bright holiday, that A. N. Volzhin and Metropolitan Vladimir receive greetings and expressions of gratitude from everywhere.

In April 1917, a member of the State Council, a member of the Council of the Russian Assembly, Professor-Archpriest Timofey Butkevich wrote in the editorial of the official publication of the Holy Synod "Tserkovny Vestnik" about the state of the top management of the Russian Church in last years reign of Nicholas II:<…>The influence of Rasputin on the tsar in the life of the Orthodox Church was especially hard.<…>And the church was managed, in fact, by Rasputin. He appointed chief prosecutors of the Holy Synod from among those who licked his hands. He elevated his like-minded people to metropolitan (m. m. Pitirim and Macarius) and archiepiscopal sees.<…>»

After the fall of the monarchy, on April 14, 1917, the Provisional Government issued a decree dismissing all members of the Synod, with the exception of Archbishop Sergius (Stragorodsky), and calling new members to the summer session. The meaning of the dissolution was to remove from the Synod persons who were then perceived by society as Rasputin's proteges: Moscow Metropolitan Macarius (Nevsky) and Petrograd Pitirim (Oknov). The decree was read to the Synod by Chief Procurator V. N. Lvov on April 15 (O.S.); Archbishop Sergius (Stragorodsky) agreed to enter the new composition of the Synod, "although he promised his brother-bishops that he would not go to the new composition of the Synod formed by Lvov."

By the decision of the Holy Synod of April 29, 1917, No. 2579, a number of questions were withdrawn from the Synod’s records “for final permission to the diocesan administrations”: on the removal of the priesthood and monasticism upon petition, on the establishment of new parishes at local funds, on the dissolution of marriages due to the inability of one of the spouses, on the recognition of marriages as illegal and invalid, on the dissolution of marriages for adultery - with the consent of both parties, and a number of others that were previously within the competence of the Synod. on the same day, the Synod decided to form a pre-conciliar council to prepare issues to be considered at the "Church Constituent Assembly"; the main task was the preparation of the all-Russian local council.

On July 25, 1917, V. N. Lvov was replaced as chief prosecutor by A. V. Kartashev, the last to hold the post of chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod.

On August 5, 1917, the Ministry of Religions was established, headed by Kartashev; the chief prosecutor's office was abolished.

On February 1 (14), 1918, in accordance with the decision of the Council of January 31, the powers of the Holy Synod were transferred to the patriarch and collegiate bodies - the Holy Synod and the Supreme church council. Determinations on behalf of the Holy Synod were published until January 18 (O.S.), 1918.

It was liquidated de jure as a state body by a decree of the Council of People's Commissars of January 20 (O.S.) 1918 "On Freedom of Conscience, Church and Religious Societies" (On the separation of church from state and school from church).

Compound

Initially, according to the Spiritual Regulations, the Synod consisted of 11 members: the president, 2 vice-presidents, 4 advisers and 4 assessors; it included bishops, abbots of monasteries and white clergy.

Since 1726, the president of the Synod was called the first member, and the rest - members of the Holy Synod and simply present.

In later times, the nomenclature of the Synod changed many times. At the beginning of the 20th century, a member of the Synod was a title awarded for life, even if the person was never called to sit in the Synod. At the same time, the metropolitans of St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Moscow, and the exarch of Georgia were, as a rule, permanent members of the Synod, and the metropolitan of St. Petersburg of them was almost always the first member of the Synod:239.

Chief Prosecutor of the Synod

Main article: Chief Prosecutor

The Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Governing Synod is a secular official appointed by the Russian emperor (in 1917 they were appointed by the Provisional Government) and who was his representative in the Holy Synod. The powers and role differed in different periods, but in general, in the XVIII-XIX centuries there was a tendency to strengthen the role of the chief prosecutor.

First Members

Stefan (Yavorsky), President of the Synod (February 14, 1721 - November 27, 1722), Metropolitan of Ryazan
- Theodosius (Yanovsky), First Vice-President of the Synod (November 27, 1722 - April 27, 1725), Archbishop of Novgorod
- Feofan (Prokopovich), First Vice-President of the Synod (1725 - July 15, 1726), Archbishop of Novgorod
Feofan (Prokopovich) (July 15, 1726 - September 8, 1736), Archbishop of Novgorod
- By 1738, only one bishop sat in the Synod, besides him there were archimandrites and archpriests
Ambrose (Yushkevich) (May 29, 1740 - May 17, 1745), Archbishop of Novgorod
Stefan (Kalinovsky) (August 18, 1745 - September 16, 1753), Archbishop of Novgorod
Platon (Malinovsky) (1753 - June 14, 1754), Archbishop of Moscow
Sylvester (Kulyabka) (1754-1757), Archbishop of St. Petersburg
Dimitry (Sechenov) (October 22, 1757 - December 14, 1767), Archbishop of Novgorod (from 1762 - Metropolitan)
Gabriel (Kremenetsky) (1767-1770), Archbishop of St. Petersburg
Gabriel (Petrov) (1775 - October 16, 1799), Archbishop of Novgorod (from 1783 - Metropolitan)
Ambrose (Podobedov) (October 16, 1799 - March 26, 1818), Archbishop of St. Petersburg (from 1801 - Archbishop of Novgorod)
Mikhail (Desnitsky) (1818 - March 24, 1821), Metropolitan of St. Petersburg (since June 1818 - Metropolitan of Novgorod)
Seraphim (Glagolevsky) (March 26, 1821 - January 17, 1843), Metropolitan of Novgorod
Anthony (Rafalsky) (January 17, 1843 - November 4, 1848), Metropolitan of Novgorod
Nikanor (Klementievsky) (November 20, 1848 - September 17, 1856), Metropolitan of Novgorod
Grigory (Postnikov) (October 1, 1856 - June 17, 1860), Metropolitan of St. Petersburg
Isidore (Nikolsky) (July 1, 1860 - September 7, 1892), Metropolitan of Novgorod
Pallady (Raev-Pisarev) (October 18, 1892 - December 5, 1898), Metropolitan of St. Petersburg
Ioanniky (Rudnev) (December 25, 1898 - June 7, 1900), Metropolitan of Kyiv
Anthony (Vadkovsky) (June 9, 1900 - November 2, 1912), Metropolitan of St. Petersburg
Vladimir (Bogoyavlensky) (November 23, 1912 - March 6, 1917), Metropolitan of St. Petersburg (since 1915 - Metropolitan of Kyiv)
Platon (Rozhdestvensky) (April 14, 1917 - November 21, 1917), Archbishop of Kartal and Kakheti, Exarch of Georgia (since August 1917 - Metropolitan of Tiflis and Baku, Exarch of the Caucasus)

Notes

St. Zach. Main vol. 1, part 1, art. 43
1 2 3 4 5 Tsypin V.A. Canon law. - Ed. 2nd. - M.: MIPT, 1996. - 442 p.
Memoirs of Comrade Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, Prince N. D. Zhevakhov, Vol. 2, Chapter 51 The attitude of Russian tsars to the church. Archived from the original on November 28, 2012.
GI Shavelsky Russian Church before the Revolution. Moscow: Artos-Media, 2005 (written in the mid-1930s), pp. 78, 87.
XIX. Church affairs. The Tobolsk scandal.. Archived from the original on November 28, 2012. Chapter from the book "Memoirs of the last protopresbyter of the Russian army and navy" by Georgy Shavelsky.
Shavelsky G.I. Russian Church before the Revolution. Moscow: Artos-Media, 2005, p. 486 (original spelling).
Cit. by: "Government Bulletin". March 5 (18), 1916, No. 52, p. 2.
Great act of trust. // Moscow News. March 6 (19), 1916, No. 54, p. 1.
The Orthodox Church and the coup d'état. // "Church Bulletin, published by the Missionary Council under the Holy Synod." 1917, April - May 14, No. 9-17, stb. 181-182.
"Church Gazette published under the Holy Governing Son". April 22, 1917, No. 16-17, p. 83 (general annual pagination).
Gubonin M.E. Contemporaries about Patriarch Tikhon. M., 2007, Vol. II, p. 220 (Note).
"Bulletin of the Provisional Government". 3 (May 16), 1917, No. 46 (92), p. 1.
"Church Gazette". 1918, No. 3-4 (January 31), p. 22.
Moscow Church Gazette. 1918, No. 3, p. 1.
Statehood of Russia. M., 2001, book. 4, p. 108.
On the separation of the church from the state and the school from the church (Decree of the Council of People's Commissars). Archived from the original on November 28, 2012.
Culture of the Leningrad region

Holy Governing Synod Information About

Chapter Five of the Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church reads:

The Holy Synod, headed by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (Locum Tenens), is the governing body of the Russian Orthodox Church in the period between Bishops' Councils.

The Holy Synod is responsible to the Council of Bishops and, through the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, submits to it a report on its activities during the inter-council period.

The Holy Synod consists of the Chairman - the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia (Locum Tenens), seven permanent and five temporary members - diocesan bishops.

Permanent members are: in the department - Metropolitans of Kyiv and all Ukraine; St. Petersburg and Ladoga; Krutitsky and Kolomensky; Minsk and Slutsky, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus; Chisinau and all Moldova; ex officio - chairman of the Department for External Church Relations and manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Temporary members are called to attend one session, according to the seniority of the episcopal consecration, one from each group into which the dioceses are divided. The call of a bishop to the Holy Synod cannot follow until the expiration of the two-year term of his administration of the given diocese.

Permanent members of the Synod by department and ex officio

- Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine
- Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna (Moscow region);
- Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarchal Exarch of Belarus;
- Metropolitan of Chisinau and all Moldova;
- chairman of the Department for External Church Relations;
- manager of affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Permanent Members (personal composition) of the Holy Synod at the present time

Vladimir (Sabodan) - Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine
Yuvenaly (Poyarkov) - Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna
Vladimir (Kotlyarov) - Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga
Filaret (Vakhromeev) - Metropolitan of Minsk and Slutsk, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus
Vladimir (Kantaryan) - Metropolitan of Chisinau and all Moldova
Varsonofy (Sudakov) - Archbishop of Saransk and Mordovia, acting. manager of affairs of the Moscow Patriarchy
Hilarion (Alfeev) - Archbishop of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate

Commissions and departments

The following Synodal departments are accountable to the Holy Synod:

Publishing Council;
Study Committee;
Department of Catechism and Religious Education;
Department of Charity and Social Service;
Missionary Department;
Department for Cooperation with the Armed Forces and Law Enforcement Institutions;
Department of Youth Affairs;
Department for Relations between the Church and Society;
Information department.

Also under the Synod there are the following institutions:

Patriarchal Synodal Biblical Commission;
Synodal Theological Commission;
Synodal Commission for the Canonization of Saints;
Synodal Liturgical Commission;
Synodal Commission for Monasteries;
Synodal Commission for Economic and Humanitarian Affairs;
Synodal Library named after His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II.

During the synodal period (-)

Establishment and functions

All institutions of the Synod were closed during the first two decades of its existence, except for the Synodal Chancellery, the Moscow Synodal Office and the printing office, which lasted until.

Chief Prosecutor of the Synod

Compound

Last years

The main task of the Synod was the preparation of the All-Russian Local Council.

Notes

Literature

Kedrov N.I. Spiritual regulation in connection with the transformative activity of Peter the Great. Moscow, 1886.
Tikhomirov P.V. The Canonical Dignity of Peter the Great's Reforms on Church Administration. - Theological Bulletin, 1904, No. 1 and 2.
Prot. A. M. Ivantsov-Platonov. On Russian Church Administration. SPb., 1898.
Tikhomirov L. A. Monarchic statehood. Part III, Ch. 35: Bureaucracy in the Church.
Prot. V. G. Pevtsov. Lectures on Church Law. SPb., 1914.
Prot. Georgy Florovsky. Ways of Russian theology. Paris, 1937.
I. K. Smolich