Scientific Approaches to Defining the Concept of Church Law

Abstract

At the present stage of development and functioning of the law of the Russian Orthodox Church, regulating its canonical activities and interaction with the state, the definition of the concept of “church law” is of particular importance. This is related to the reevaluation of legal, political, cultural phenomena and traditional spiritual and moral values in contemporary conditions. The increasing role of canon law norms in the life of Russian society has led to a growing interest in it as a social regulator with centuries of historical experience in this capacity. Despite numerous scientific works on various aspects of ecclesiastical and canonical law, there are few studies devoted to a critical assessment of current approaches to defining the concept of “church law” and their systematization. The purpose of this study is to clarify and concretize the existing concepts of church law in legal and church law science and, as a result, to improve its definition. In the course of the study, various points of view of Russian scientists on this issue are analyzed, which allows us to talk about several scientific approaches to the definition of the concept of “church law”. The works of pre-revolutionary Russian canonist scholars, dedicated to the issue of the relationship between ecclesiastical and canonical law, have been reviewed. The results obtained contribute to the development of the theory of modern church law and the theory of law in general. The author's version of the definition of “church law” is proposed.