Retrospective review of the stages of formation of the concept of relations of the Russian Orthodox Church to non-orthodox

Abstract

This article is a retrospective review of the development of the practice of receiving rites for non-Orthodox people in the Russian Orthodox Church. This topic is of research interest due to the increased activity of various kinds of sectarian movements and the general globalization of religious relations, which together lead to the dispersion of the attention of Orthodox believers, who should steadfastly adhere to the undistorted teachings and Tradition of the Church. The result of the analysis was evidence of the variability of a number of practices, which is associated with changes in the perception of the degrees of falling away of different denominations (first of all, these fluctuations are noticeable in the example of relations between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church), and not so much in the plane of studying the theology, but under influence of historical and political factors. In addition, there is a dissipation characteristic of early church canonical practice regarding the principles of receiving non-Orthodox people, expressed both in the absence of proper established terminology and in the personal criteria of individual priests.