following conclusions: the institution of religion in the modern world cannot avoid
participation in settlement of political processes. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a
mechanism for implementation of constitutional principles for the ties between the State and
the Church.
Keywords: state, church, religion, spiritual development, Russia.
Introduction
The beginning of the XXI century is characterized as a difficult and challenging time in
all areas of society. It also includes the spiritual area, as over the past decades the process of the
revival of Christianity has been outlined. Religious norms and Church dogmata are becoming
fundamental in the life of the population. However, the atheistic era of the last century does not
fully allow the formation of the spiritual revival of Russia. And, nowadays, the spiritual and
moral crisis in the mindset of the country’s citizens has not yet been overcome. Russian lawyer
and philosopher I.A. Ilyin defined the relationship between the state and the Church: “The
Church and the state are mutually alien – in establishment, in spirit, in dignity, in purpose, and
in mode of action. The state, which tries to appropriate the power and dignity of the Church,
creates blasphemy, sin and vulgarity. The Church that tries to usurp the power and sword of the
state loses its dignity and changes its purpose... The Church should not take the sword - not for
the propagation of faith, not for the execution of a heretic or a villain, not for war. In this sense,
the Church is “apolitical”; the task of politics is not its task, the means of politics are not its
means; the rank of politics is not its rank” (Ilyin, 1993). According to A. Nikolin, the state from
the point of view of the Church is not only a means of organizing the life of the people, but at
its core it is “a Union of spiritually solidary or spiritually co-belonging people, Nations,
peoples” (Nikolin, 1997). The State and the Church must become the fundamental elements in
the revival of Russian people’s spirituality. As modern scholars have noted, “the Church as an
organization should not participate in politics, but in a State governed by the rule of law, there
should be no obstacles to uniting citizens according to religious principles of the world outlook”
(Alontseva, 2011).
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia stressed in one of his addresses: "we all enjoy
freedom − such as has not been in the entire history of the Russian Church. We determine what
the Church needs, and no one interferes in the decision-making of Church Councils, synods or
hierarchs. This freedom is given to us as a kind of respite − we must be prepared for the fact
that something may change in the future" (Patriarch Kirill, 2012). The Church remains loyal to
the state and its authorities. But it has certain limits. If the government forces Orthodox
believers to deviate from the faith and their Church, as well as to “sinful, spiritual acts, the
Church must refuse to submit to the state” (Archpriest Vladislav Tsypin, 2001). According to
Revista de Investigación Apuntes Universitarios
ISSN 2312-4253(impresa)
ISSN 2078-4015(en línea)