«Disunity or Schism?» — The Main Ideas of S. V. Troitsky’s 1932 Book in the Current Ecclesiastical Context

Abstract

The article analyses Prof. S. V. Troitsky's views on the ecclesiological and canonical foundations of church polity as expressed in his book «Disunity and Schism» (1932). The main ideas of the book are examined both in the context of the time of its writing and in a contemporary context. According to Troitsky's conviction, dogmatically and canonically necessary for the structure of the Church is an independent metropolitan district uniting several (at least three) dioceses with the first-ranking bishop at their head. All other forms of ecclesiastical centralisation have a temporary significance, dictated solely by the good of the Church in the fulfilment of its main mission — the salvation of human souls. In the changed conditions in which the Russian Church found itself in the post-revolutionary years, for the unity of the Russian Church and the good of its flock, administrative "disunity" became more useful, which should not be identified with schism. Troitsky sees a solution in the temporary division of the Russian Church into several independent metropolitan districts, not bound together by higher administrative authority, but spiritually united. He sees the canonical basis for such a transformation in the 1917–1918 Moscow Council's definition of church districts and the "Resolution No. 362" of St. Patriarch Tikhon in 1920. Drawing parallels with modern times, the author of the article concludes that some recent divisions in the Russian Church can be seen, following Troitsky's logic, not as schisms, but as a temporary "separation" forced by political circumstances, which does not divide dogmatically, ecclesiologically, prayerfully and spiritually the parts of the Russian Church at home and abroad. After the interruption of normal administrative relations, the fullness of the unity of the Russian Church can again be restored.