The canonical right of the Orthodox Church

The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), being autocephalous, ranks fifth in the world among the local churches. At the head of it stands now the Primate Patriarch Kirill. The Russian Orthodox Church unites believers who live on the territory of Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Estonia, Uzbekistan.

The history of Russian Orthodoxy is from the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The legal basis for the device of the ROC is the Divine commandments, which contain the Scriptures and Tradition. Later here were included canons of the Orthodox Church, liturgical texts authorized by the Church, Lives of the Saints, creations created by the Holy Fathers, and Church customs.

Russia, as the successor to the Byzantine Church, adopted from her along with Christianity the Church canons and church-civil decrees. Translations from the Greek language were borrowed from Bulgaria, or partially translated into Russia. Greek Nomocanons formed the basis of a collection containing texts of church canon law in Russia. The book of church administration was called the helmsman.

Slavic Pilot Books contained not only canon law, but also civil rulings, borrowed from Byzantine sources. This was done in order to familiarize the ruling authorities with Byzantine citizenship. Sometimes the Russian Pilot Books introduced the statutes of the princes, concerning the church. Also included here were liturgical and canonical articles.

By composition, the Pilot Books were very diverse. Later, from the XIII century, two of their editorial offices - Ryazan and Sofia - began to serve as prototypes for subsequent lists. The Ryazan Pilot Book is a list from the Slavic, which was received by Metropolitan Kirill II from Yakov Svyatoslav, the Bulgarian despot. It lists the canons with interpretations of Aristen and in abbreviated form.

In the Sofia Pilgrim's book rules were added, adopted by the Vladimirsky Cathedral, Russian Truth, articles from the statutes of Vladimir, Yaroslav and other texts. Moreover, in this book the canonical right is represented not by abridged texts, but by their full edition, in accordance with the translation of nomocanon. The first edition of the printed helmsman was made in 1650 under Patriarch Joseph. The Ryazan list was taken as a basis. Under Patriarch Nikon in 1652, the publication of the book in revised form was issued. Later, already in the XVIII century, the Pilot Book nov came under revision, and was printed in 1787. From it were made subsequent editions containing the canonical right of the ROC.

In its well-established form, the Pilot Book contains two parts. The first except historical articles includes extracts from the Apostolic Resolutions, the Councils - local and universal, the Rules of the Holy Apostles, St. Fathers. All texts are presented in abbreviated form and make up forty-one chapters.

In the second part, state civil Byzantine legislation is presented. In addition, there are texts that were created on the basis of the Greek canonists: "On the mystery of marriage" and "On marriages of lawless". There are several articles on church discipline, worship and other topics that are touched upon by their authors - Greek patriarchs and church teachers. The second part consists of twenty-nine chapters. Each of them is equipped with a subject index.

As Russia developed its own canon law, the second part of the book lost its significance. Gradually, they developed their charters, regulations and rules, which were designed to reflect the daily, earthly aspect of the church's activities. In general, legislation in the sphere of church governance is called upon to be a good tool for settling conflicts, conducting legal proceedings and streamlining its life.

The pilot's book is not the only one for church legislation. There were other sources of canon law in the Russian Orthodox Church, and such include liturgical books (booklets, charters, service books), which included canonical rules and various collections.