Religious Prerequisites of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church

Abstract

An important role in the life of believers is played by issues of relations between Church and state, including those affecting pressing social problems. Modern society is characterized by a tendency to increase the importance of the religious factor in socio-political life. Despite the availability of publications on this issue, in many states people are very concerned about the problems of leveling national identity and the processes of globalization. The search for resources to counteract this traditionally begins with its own cultural, historical and religious roots, and is not possible without the development of documents reflecting a church-wide view of the problems of modern society and issues of church-state relations in particular. Such a document was the Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church, developed by a working group created by the Holy Synod. When developing the Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church, it was important to cooperate with experts in various fields of knowledge, who, in order to reach agreement, used exactly the way to solve the issue that is rooted in the church tradition. Namely, the comparison of expert opinions by Divine revelation. The purpose of this study is to identify the religious prerequisites for the development of the Social Concept of the Russian Orthodox Church. To study the problem, a theoretical analysis of the fundamental documents of the Russian Orthodox Church, Sacred Books was carried out. The results obtained contribute to understanding the specifics of Church ministry and the position of the Church in secular society.