Features of the System of «Church Jurisprudence» in the Writings of Bishop John (Sokolov)

MATERIALS OF THE ALL-RUSSIAN POKROVSK ACADEMIC SCIENTIFIC THEOLOGICAL CONFERENCE

Abstract

In the presented article, the author analyzed the state of the theological discipline of “canon law” in the higher ecclesiastical institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church in the 19th century, using the example of the study of the system of “church jurisprudence” authored by the Right Reverend John (Sokolov). Canon Law was the youngest academic discipline among the entire spectrum of theological subjects. The nineteenth century for the higher spiritual education of the Russian Orthodox Church is marked by fundamental changes, namely, the differentiation and specialization of theological disciplines. By the middle of the 19th century, several a uthor’s church legal systems had come out, among which it is necessary to highlight the research experience of Bishop John (Sokolov). The initial stage in the development of “canon law” is associated with the development of the scientific methodology of this discipline, as well as the study of church law sources. His Grace John (Sokolov) adhered to the theological direction in the formation of “canon law”. This trend was characterized by theological problems, reflected in the form of church laws, norms, regulations. The theme of church-state relations, the legal status of religious organizations, the interaction of the Church with public institutions, etc., became fundamental for Russian canonists in the middle of the 19th century. His Right Reverend John (Sokolov) defined a threepart structure for subsequent experiments in the presentation of the discipline of “canon law”. A qualitative breakthrough in the field of “canon law”, noted in the middle of the nineteenth century and produced by the efforts of bishop. John (Sokolova), arch. Gabriel (Voskresensky), prot. John Skvortsov, predetermined the highest level of textbooks and scientific monographs by the beginning of the twentieth century. By this time, domestic researchers of church law successfully competed with Western European canonists.