Contribution of bishop John of Smolensk and Dorogobuzh (Sokolov) to the development of canonical science in Russia

Abstract

In Russia, the study of church law since ancient times was associated with practical issues of the life of Christians, and did not have a special place among other sciences. Only at the end of the 18th century the Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna Platon (Levshin) compiled an instruction on the study of the “Pilot Book” and developed the methods of interpreting the canons contained in it. The Holy Synod saw the benefits in this initiative and decided to introduce the study of the “Pilot book” in all theological academies. Later, as a result of the reform of the theological schools in 1808, a new subject was introduced into the academic curriculum of academies - canon law. From this period began the systematic study of canon law in Russia. However, it was only after several decades that truly significant scientific works began to be published on this subject. The role of the pioneer in this case deservedly belongs to His Grace John (Sokolov). Thanks to his monograph - “Experience of a course on church jurisprudence”, published in 1851, a deep scientific analysis of the church law system was initiated. It was Bishop John who proposed the methodology of canon law, its sources and place among a number of other ecclesiastical disciplines. To fill the deficiency that existed in his own canonical system, Bishop John wrote a number of articles that were published in the jounals Christian Reading and Orthodox Interlocutor. It must be admitted that these were only the first serious steps towards the formation of a national school of church law, but it was these steps that enabled subsequent researchers to go further along the path outlined by Bishop John.