The Council of Bishops adopted a number of documents on the internal life of the Church

From February 2 to February 5, 2013, the Bishops' Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church. The bishops adopted a number of documents concerning the inner life of the Church.

In particular, changes were made to the Charter of the ROC. Main of them - the expansion of the powers of the Bishops' Council and the curtailment of powers Local (it is attended not only by bishops, but also by ordinary clergy, and also laymen). The new version of the Charter, in fact, reduces the functions of the Local council to the election of a patriarch, the granting of autocephaly and a number of minor issues, the remaining functions are transferred to the Council of Bishops. At the same time, the terms of the convocation The local council is not regulated. Thus priests and laity were left out of the question of Church administration.

However, some of the functions of the Council of Bishops, in turn, was transferred to the patriarch and the Synod. The Council of Bishops now only approves decisions on issues that were previously under his jurisdiction, and now under the jurisdiction of the patriarch and the Synod: for example, the reorganization of dioceses and synodal institutions.

According to the deputy manager of the affairs of the Moscow Patriarchy of Archimandrite Savva (Tutunov), amendments to the Charter "fixed the situation that has taken place since the adoption of the Charter of the Russian Church in 1988. New the version of the Charter that we have now simply speaks of what is already there. There was simply some discrepancy between life and the Charter, and now it " smoothed out .

The Council of Bishops also approved the election procedure patriarch. Members of the Local Council by secret ballot elect one of the three candidates presented by the Council of Bishops (the Local Council may nominate a candidate).

In addition, the Council of Bishops approved the "Regulations on material and social support of the clergy, clergymen and employees of religious organizations of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as members their families." The document refers to the need to provide the mentioned persons with the provided legislation social guarantees - payments on temporary disability, pregnancy and childbirth, child care, as well as annual vacations (with the exception of the inhabitants of the monasteries).

The diocese is instructed to create special trustee commissions, who will deal with these issues, as well as charitable foundations (cash mutual assistance). Financial support for elderly clergy is assigned to the parishes where they served before they retired, as well as to social centers created in the dioceses. Questions about financial support families of defrocked or banned clergy are considering diocesan bishop, and to the clergymen themselves who have committed a fine in support, in fact denied.

Sources

• Report of Metropolitan Varsonofy of Saransk and Mordovia on the draft amendments and additions to the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church in connection with the clarification of the powers of the Local and Bishops' Council // Patriarchy.ru. 2013. February 3.
• Regulations on the election of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' // There. February 5th.
• On the adoption of a new edition of the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church // There.
• Regulations on the material and social support of clergymen, clergymen and employees of religious organizations of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as members of their families // There. February 4th.
• Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church: unanimity of 300 hierarchs // RIA News. 2013. February 6.