Church Judge. Church judgment, mercy and faith. Church Court in Ancient Rus'

2. An appeal against the decision of the diocesan court must be filed within ten working days from the date of direct delivery to the parties (or from the day they receive by mail) a written notice of the resolution of the diocesan bishop.

If the deadline for filing an appeal is missed, the General Church Court of Second Instance has the right to leave the appeal without consideration.

3. The appeal must contain:

information about the person who filed the complaint, indicating his place of residence or, if the appeal was filed by a canonical division of the Russian Orthodox Church, his location;
information about the appealed decision of the diocesan court;
arguments (proper substantiation) of the appeal;

If an appeal is filed without complying with the requirements provided for in this paragraph, the secretary of the General Church Court proposes to the person who filed the appeal to bring it into line with the established requirements.

4. The general church court of second instance leaves the appeal without consideration in the following cases:

the appeal is signed and filed by a person who, in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article, does not have the authority to sign and present it;
non-compliance with the conditions for appealing against the decision of the diocesan court, provided for in paragraph 5 of Article 48 of this Regulation.

1. If the appeal is accepted for consideration, the chairman of the General Church Court sends to the name of the diocesan bishop:

a copy of the appeal against the decision of the diocesan court;
a request for submission to the General Church Court of the appealed decision of the diocesan court and other materials of the case.

2. The diocesan bishop (within ten working days from the date of receipt of the request) sends to the General Church Court:

response to the appeal;
appealed decision of the diocesan court and other materials of the case.

Article 55

At the discretion of the General Church Court of Second Instance, the case may be considered with the participation of the parties and other persons participating in the case (according to the rules provided for in Chapter 5 of this Regulation) or without the participation of the parties and other persons participating in the case (by examining the available case materials on the basis of the relevant Report of the Secretary of the General Church Court).

The case may be considered by the All-Ecclesiastical Court of Second Instance with the participation of the relevant diocesan bishop.

Article 56

1. The general church court of second instance has the right:

leave the decision of the diocesan court unchanged;
make a new decision on the case;
cancel the decision of the diocesan court in whole or in part and terminate the judicial proceedings in the case.

2. The decision of the General Church Court of Second Instance is adopted and formalized by the judges who are members of the court in this case, in the manner prescribed by paragraphs 1, 2 of Article 45, as well as Article 46 of this Regulation.

3. If a court session is held with the participation of the parties and other persons participating in the case, the decision of the General Church Court of second instance is brought to the attention of the parties in the manner prescribed by paragraph 3 of Article 45 of this Regulation.

4. Decisions of the All-Ecclesiastical Court of Second Instance come into force from the moment they are approved by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod.

The relevant resolution of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod is brought to the attention of the parties in the manner prescribed by paragraph 4 of Article 49 of these Regulations.

5. Decisions of the All-Ecclesiastical Court of Second Instance are not subject to appeal.

Article 57

1. On behalf of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', the General Church Court, by way of supervision, requests from the diocesan bishops the decisions of the diocesan courts that have entered into legal force and other materials on any cases considered by the diocesan courts. The relevant materials must be submitted by the diocesan bishops within the period established by the General Church Court.

2. Supervisory proceedings in the General Church Court shall be carried out in accordance with the rules provided for in Articles 55-56 of this Regulation.

Chapter 7

Article 58

1. An appeal against a decision of the General Church Court of First Instance that has entered into legal force is sent by the accused person for consideration by the nearest Bishops' Council in accordance with the rules provided for in paragraphs 5 and 6 of Article 50 of this Regulation.

2. The appeal is signed by the person who filed the complaint. An anonymous appeal is not subject to consideration at the Council of Bishops.

3. An appeal must be filed with the Holy Synod no later than thirty working days from the date of direct delivery to the parties (or from the day they receive by mail) a written notice containing information about the resolution of the Holy Synod or the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

If the deadline for filing an appeal is missed, it may be left without consideration.

4. The appeal must contain:

information about the person who filed the complaint, indicating his place of residence;
information about the appealed decision of the All-Ecclesiastical Court of First Instance;
arguments of the appeal;
the request of the complainant;
list of attached documents.

5. An appeal is not subject to consideration if the conditions for appealing against the decision of the General Church Court of First Instance, provided for in paragraphs 5 and 6 of Article 50 of this Regulation, are not met.

Article 59

1. The Council of Bishops has the right:

make their own decision on the case;
leave the decision of the lower ecclesiastical court unchanged;
cancel the decision of the lower ecclesiastical court in whole or in part and terminate the judicial proceedings.

2. The decision of the Council of Bishops enters into force from the moment it is adopted by the Council of Bishops and is not subject to appeal. A person convicted by a Council of Bishops has the right to send a petition addressed to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or to the Holy Synod for consideration at the next Council of Bishops of the issue of easing or canceling the canonical ban (punishment) in relation to this person.

Article 60

The order of ecclesiastical legal proceedings at the Council of Bishops is determined by the regulations of the Council of Bishops. The preparation of relevant cases for consideration at the Council of Bishops is entrusted to the Holy Synod.

SECTION VI. FINAL PROVISIONS.

Article 61. Entry into force of this Regulation.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the date of its approval by the Council of Bishops.

Article 62. Application of this Regulation.

1. Cases of ecclesiastical offenses, which are a canonical obstacle to being in the clergy, are considered by ecclesiastical courts in the manner prescribed by this Regulation in the event of the commission of these ecclesiastical offenses both before and after the entry into force of this Regulation, provided that the relevant ecclesiastical offenses were deliberately hidden by the accused person and in this regard were not previously considered by the bodies of church authority and administration.

Cases on other ecclesiastical offenses are considered by ecclesiastical courts in the event of the commission of the relevant ecclesiastical offenses after the entry into force of this Regulation.

2. The Holy Synod approves the list of ecclesiastical offenses subject to consideration by ecclesiastical courts. If it is necessary to transfer to the diocesan court cases on ecclesiastical offenses not provided for in this list, diocesan bishops should apply to the General Church Court for clarification.

3. The Holy Synod approves the forms of documents used by ecclesiastical courts (including calls to the ecclesiastical court, minutes, court decisions).

3. On the proposal of the chairman of the General Church Court, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' approves and brings to the attention of the diocesan bishops the clarifications (instructions) of the General Church Court on the application of this Regulation by diocesan courts.

The clarifications (instructions) of the General Church Court, approved in accordance with the established procedure, are binding on all diocesan courts.

4. Explanations (instructions) on the application of this Regulation by the General Church Court shall be approved by the Holy Synod.

5. The General Church Court responds to requests from diocesan courts related to the application of this Regulation, and also draws up reviews of judicial practice, which are sent to diocesan courts for use in legal proceedings.

_____________________

Church judge's oath

I, the one named below, assuming the office of an ecclesiastical judge, promise Almighty God before the Holy Cross and the Gospel that with the help of God I will strive to pass my upcoming service as a judge of an ecclesiastical court in everything in accordance with the Word of God, with the canons of the Holy Apostles, Ecumenical and local councils and holy fathers, and with all church rules, regulations and institutions.

I also promise that when considering any case in the church court, I will strive to act according to my conscience, fairly, imitating the Righteous and Merciful Ecumenical Judge Our Lord Jesus Christ, so that the decisions made by the church court with my participation protect the flock of the Church of God from heresies, schisms, discords and outrages and helped those who transgressed the commandments of God to come to the knowledge of the Truth, to repentance, correction and final salvation.

Participating in the adoption of judicial decisions, I promise to have in my thoughts not my honor, interest and benefit, but the glory of God, the good of the Holy Russian Orthodox Church and the salvation of my neighbors, in which may the Lord help me with His grace, prayers for the sake of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary and all saints.

In conclusion of this promise, I kiss the Holy Gospel and the Cross of my Savior. Amen.

Witness oath

The text of the oath of a witness belonging to the Orthodox Church:

I, first name, patronymic and last name (the cleric also indicates his rank), giving testimony to the church court, before the Holy Cross and the Gospel, I promise to tell the truth and only the truth.
The text of the oath of a witness who does not belong to the Orthodox Church:

I, first name, patronymic and last name, giving evidence to the church court, promise to tell the truth and only the truth.

In the plot:

July 17, 2008, 11:47 AM MEDIA MONITORING: The Council was looking for answers. A new schism arose in the Russian Church
July 11, 2008, 02:45 pm
10 July 2008, 15:00

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Coursework in the discipline:

"Canon law"

Church courts

Plan

Introduction

1) General provisions on ecclesiastical court

2) Church punishments

3) Church court at present

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

The judicial system of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), hereinafter referred to as the “Russian Orthodox Church”, is established by the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, adopted by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church on August 16, 2000, referred to in the following text of this Regulation as the “Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church”, as well as these Regulations and is based on the sacred canons of the Orthodox Church, referred to in the following text of these Regulations as “sacred canons”.

The topic of my work is “Church courts”. The purpose of the work: the study and consideration of church courts. Having its own laws and independently establishing the internal order of its life, the Church has the right, through its court, to protect these laws and order from their violation by its members. To judge believers is one of the essential functions of ecclesiastical authority based on divine right, as the Word of God shows.

1.Generalpositions in the church court

cercomclear sumd- a system of bodies under the jurisdiction of a particular Church, exercising the functions of the judiciary on the basis of church legislation (church law). The Orthodox Church has, within its borders, three branches of government: 1) the legislative branch, which issues laws to carry out the successful evangelical mission of the Church in this world, 2) the executive branch, which takes care of the implementation of these laws in the lives of believers, and 3) the judicial branch, which restores violated rules and statutes of the Church, resolving various kinds of disputes between members of the Church and morally correcting violators of the gospel commandments and church canons. Thus, the last branch of power, the judiciary, contributes to the preservation of the sanctity of church institutions and the divinely established order in the Church. The functions of this branch of power in practice are carried out by the ecclesiastical court.

1. Judicial power in the Russian Orthodox Church is exercised by ecclesiastical courts through ecclesiastical legal proceedings.

2. The judicial system in the Russian Orthodox Church is established by the sacred canons, this Charter and the “Regulations on the Church Court”.

3. The unity of the judicial system of the Russian Orthodox Church is ensured by:

a) observance by all ecclesiastical courts of the established rules of ecclesiastical legal proceedings;

b) recognition of the obligatory execution by canonical divisions and all members of the Russian Orthodox Church of judicial decisions that have entered into legal force.

4. The court in the Russian Orthodox Church is carried out by church courts of three instances:

a) diocesan courts having jurisdiction within their dioceses;

b) a general church court with jurisdiction within the Russian Orthodox Church;

c) the highest court - the court of the Council of Bishops, with jurisdiction within the Russian Orthodox Church.

5. Canonical bans, such as a life-long ban on priestly service, defrocking, excommunication, are imposed by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or a diocesan bishop, with subsequent approval by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

6. The procedure for empowering judges of ecclesiastical courts is established by the sacred canons, this Charter and the "Regulations on the ecclesiastical court."

7. Lawsuits are accepted for consideration by the ecclesiastical court in the manner and on the terms established by the "Regulations on the ecclesiastical court."

8. Decrees of ecclesiastical courts that have entered into legal force, as well as their orders, demands, assignments, challenges and other instructions, are binding on all clerics and laity without exception.

9. Proceedings in all church courts are closed.

10. The diocesan court is the court of first instance.

11. Judges of diocesan courts may be clergymen who have been empowered by the diocesan bishop to administer justice in the diocese entrusted to him.

The chairman of the court may be either a vicar bishop or a person in the rank of presbyter. Members of the court must be persons in the rank of presbyter.

12. The diocesan court shall consist of at least five judges of episcopal or priestly rank. The chairman, deputy chairman and secretary of the diocesan court are appointed by the diocesan bishop. The diocesan assembly elects, on the proposal of the diocesan bishop, at least two members of the diocesan court. The term of office of diocesan court judges is three years, with the possibility of reappointment or re-election for a new term.

13. Early recall of the chairman or member of the diocesan court is carried out by decision of the diocesan bishop.

14. Church legal proceedings are carried out in a court session with the participation of the Chairman and at least two members of the court.

15. The competence and procedure of legal proceedings of the diocesan court are determined by the "Regulations on the Church Court".

16. Decisions of the diocesan court come into force and are subject to execution after their approval by the diocesan bishop, and in the cases provided for in paragraph 5 of this chapter, from the moment of approval by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

17. Diocesan courts are financed from diocesan budgets.

18. As a court of first instance, the General Church Court considers cases of ecclesiastical offenses of bishops and heads of Synodal institutions. The General Church Court is a court of second instance in cases of church offenses of clerics, monastics and laity, under the jurisdiction of diocesan courts.

19. The General Church Court consists of the Chairman and at least four members in the rank of bishop, who are elected by the Council of Bishops for a term of 4 years.

20. Early recall of the Chairman or member of the general church court is carried out by the decision of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' and the Holy Synod, followed by approval by the Council of Bishops.

21. The right to appoint an acting Chairman or a member of a general church court in the event of a vacancy shall belong to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' and the Holy Synod.

22. The competence and procedure of legal proceedings of the general church court are determined by the “Regulations on the church court”.

23. Decisions of the general church court are subject to execution after their approval by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' and the Holy Synod.

In case of disagreement of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' and the Holy Synod with the decision of the general church court, the decision of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' and the Holy Synod comes into force.

In this case, for a final decision, the case may be referred to the court of the Council of Bishops.

24. The General Church Court exercises judicial supervision over the activities of diocesan courts in the procedural forms provided for in the “Regulations on the Church Court”.

25. The general church court is financed from the general church budget.

26. The Court of the Council of Bishops is the ecclesiastical court of the highest instance.

27. Judicial proceedings are carried out by the Council of Bishops in accordance with the "Regulations on the Church Court."

28. Ensuring the activities of ecclesiastical courts is carried out by the apparatus of these courts, which are subordinate to their chairmen and act on the basis of the "Regulations on the ecclesiastical court."

Becoming a member of the Church, a person freely assumes all rights and obligations in relation to it. Thus, in particular, he must keep its dogmatic and moral teachings pure, and also follow and obey all its rules. Violation of these obligations constitutes the immediate subject of the ecclesiastical court. It follows from this that crimes of members of the Church against faith, morality and church charters are subject to ecclesiastical court. The Church, as a human society, is assimilated judicial power in relation to its members. During the legal proceedings, the bishop was assisted in considering complaints by authorized persons from the church clergy. However, even here the factor of fallen human nature could manifest itself. The judicial system of the Russian Orthodox Church includes the following ecclesiastical courts:

· diocesan courts, including those of the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Self-Governing Churches, Exarchates that are part of the Russian Orthodox Church, with jurisdiction within the respective dioceses;

· the highest ecclesiastical-judicial instances of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, as well as the self-governing Churches (if these Churches have higher ecclesiastical-judicial instances) - with jurisdiction within the respective Churches;

· General Church Court - with jurisdiction within the limits of the Russian Orthodox Church;

· Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church - with jurisdiction within the Russian Orthodox Church.

Peculiarities of the ecclesiastical judiciary and judicial proceedings within the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, as well as within the Self-Governing Churches, may be determined by internal regulations (rules) approved by the authorized bodies of ecclesiastical authority and administration of these Churches. In the absence of the above internal regulations (rules), as well as their inconsistency with the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church and this Regulation, the church courts of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and Self-Governing Churches must be guided by the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church and this Regulation. Church courts are intended to restore the disturbed order and structure of church life and are called upon to promote the observance of the sacred canons and other institutions of the Orthodox Church. The judicial power exercised by the General Church Court stems from the canonical authority of the Holy Synod and the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', which is delegated to the General Church Court. Diocesan bishops independently decide on cases of ecclesiastical offenses if these cases do not require investigation. If the matter requires investigation, the diocesan bishop refers it to the diocesan court. The judicial power exercised in this case by the diocesan court stems from the canonical authority of the diocesan bishop, which the diocesan bishop delegates to the diocesan court. The unity of the judicial system of the Russian Orthodox Church is ensured by:

observance by church courts of the established rules of church legal proceedings;

· Recognition of the obligatory execution by all members and canonical divisions of the Russian Orthodox Church of the decisions of church courts that have entered into legal force.

A person accused of committing an ecclesiastical offense cannot be subjected to a canonical ban (punishment) without sufficient evidence establishing the guilt of this person. When imposing a canonical ban (punishment), one should take into account the reasons for committing an ecclesiastical offense, the way of life of the guilty person, the motives for committing an ecclesiastical offense by him, acting in the spirit of ecclesiastical economy, which implies indulgence towards the guilty person in order to correct him, or, in appropriate cases, in the spirit of ecclesiastical acrivia, allowing the application of strict canonical prohibitions against the guilty person for the purpose of his repentance. In the event that a cleric submits a clearly slanderous statement about the commission of an ecclesiastical offense by a diocesan bishop, the applicant is subject to the same canonical ban (punishment) that would have been applied to the accused person if the fact of committing an ecclesiastical offense had been proven. The diocesan council carries out ecclesiastical legal proceedings in the manner prescribed by this Regulation for diocesan courts. Decisions of the Diocesan Council may be appealed to the All-Ecclesiastical Court of Second Instance or reviewed by the All-Ecclesiastical Court by way of supervision in accordance with the rules provided for by this Regulation for decisions of diocesan courts. With regard to clerics and other persons appointed by the decision of the Holy Synod or by decree of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' to the position of heads of Synodal and other general church institutions, the General Church Court considers only those cases that are related to the official activities of these persons in the relevant institutions. In other cases, these persons are within the jurisdiction of the respective diocesan courts. On behalf of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', the Deputy Chairman of the General Church Court may temporarily act as Chairman of the General Church Court. Bishops temporarily acting as chairman or judges of the General Church Court have the rights and bear the duties provided for by this Regulation, respectively, for the chairman or judges of the General Church Court. Cases accusing bishops of committing ecclesiastical offenses are considered by the General Church Court in its entirety. The General Church Court considers other cases in the composition of at least three judges headed by the Chairman of the General Church Court or his deputy. The decision of the diocesan court on the case must be taken no later than one month from the day the diocesan bishop issues an order to transfer the case to the diocesan court. If a more thorough investigation of the case is necessary, the diocesan bishop may extend this period at the reasoned petition of the chairman of the diocesan court. The Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod determine the terms for the consideration of the case in the General Church Court of First Instance. The extension of these terms is carried out by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod at the reasoned petition of the chairman of the General Church Court. If a person under the jurisdiction of the All-Ecclesiastical Court of First Instance is accused of committing an especially grave ecclesiastical offense, entailing a canonical ban in the form of defrocking or excommunication, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod has the right, until the All-Ecclesiastical Court of First Instance makes an appropriate decision temporarily release the accused person from office or temporarily ban the priesthood. If the case received by the General Church Court is subject to the jurisdiction of the diocesan court, the secretary of the General Church Court shall report information about the church offense to the diocesan bishop of the diocese in whose jurisdiction the accused person is located.

2. Church punishments

church court orthodox punishment

The task of the ecclesiastical court is not to punish the crime, but to contribute to the correction (healing) of the sinner. In this regard, Bishop Nikodim Milash writes: “The Church, using coercive measures against its member who has violated any church law, wants to induce him to correct and reacquire the lost good, which he can find only in communion with her, and only in extreme cases, deprives him of this communication altogether. The means used for this by the Church may be strong, depending on how much it can benefit her and her dignity. As in every society, so also in the Church, if the crimes of individual members were not condemned and the power of the law were not restrained by the power of law, then such members could easily drag others along with them, and thus widely spread evil. Moreover, the order in the Church could be violated and her very life could be endangered if she did not have the right to excommunicate bad members from communion with herself, thereby protecting good and obedient members from infection. Thoughts about the need to apply corrective sanctions against those who sin in order to affirm the good of the entire Church and preserve its dignity in the eyes of "outsiders" we find in the sixth canon of St. Basil the Great. He calls for the greatest strictness in relation to the “consecrated to God” who fall into fornication: “For this is also useful for the establishment of the Church, and will not give heretics an opportunity to reproach us, as if we were attracted to ourselves by the tolerance of sin.” Church punishment is not imposed unconditionally and can be canceled if the sinner repents and reforms. The Church accepts into her communion even those persons from the laity who have been subjected to the most severe punishment - anathema, if only they bring the appropriate repentance. Only the defrocking of persons who have received the sacrament of the priesthood (bishop, priest or deacon) is unconditional, and thus has a punitive character. In the ancient Church, serious crimes entailed excommunication from the Church. For a repentant expelled from the Church, who wished to be accepted into the Church again, there was only one way possible - a long, sometimes even lifelong, public repentance. Somewhere in the 3rd century, a special order was established for the return of the penitent to the Church.

It was based on the idea of a gradual restoration of church rights, similar to the discipline by which new members were admitted to the Church, passing through various degrees of catechumens. There were four degrees of repentance: 1) crying 2) listening 3) kneeling or kneeling and 4) standing together. The length of stay in one degree or another of repentance could last for years, everything depended on the severity of the crime committed against the Church and its moral and theological teachings. The penitents during the entire period of repentance had to perform various deeds of mercy and carry out a certain fast. Over time, the practice of public repentance in the East gave way to penance discipline. The system of gradual repentance was reflected in the sacred canons of the Church. Until 1917, grave crimes of members (laity) of the Russian Orthodox Church were subject to an open ecclesiastical court and entailed the following types of ecclesiastical punishment:

1) church repentance (for example, in the form of a penance performed in a monastery or at the place of residence of the guilty person, under the guidance of a confessor);

2) excommunication from the Church;

3) deprivation of a church burial, appointed for suicide committed "with intent and not in madness, insanity or temporary unconsciousness from any painful seizures."

The punishment for clerics is different from that for the laity. For the very crimes for which the laity are excommunicated, the clergy are punished by defrocking. Only in some cases, the rules give clerics a double punishment - both expulsion and excommunication from church communion. The eruption from the clergy means in the church rules the deprivation of all rights of a sacred degree and church service and reduction to the state of a layman, without the hope of returning the lost rights and title. In addition to this highest degree of punishment for clerics, many other punishments are indicated in church rules, less severe, with very diverse shades.

For example, the deprivation of the right to serve forever, leaving only the name and honor; the prohibition of the priesthood for a while, leaving the right to use material income from the place; deprivation of any one right connected with sacred service (for example, the right to preach, the right to appoint clerics); deprivation of the right to production in the highest degree of priesthood, etc. Beginning with the fifth century, when the building of monasteries spread throughout the world, clergy prohibited from priestly service were usually placed in the monastery for a time or permanently.

At cathedrals there were special rooms for delinquent clerics. Until 1917, the Rules of the Spiritual Consistories, which guided the diocesan courts of the Russian Orthodox Church, included the following punishments for clerics: 1) defrocking clergy, with exclusion from the spiritual department; 2) deprivation of dignity, with the retention in the spiritual department in lower positions; 3) temporary prohibition in the priesthood, with removal from office and with the definition of a clerk; 4) a temporary ban on priestly service, without removal from the place, but with the laying of penance in the monastery or on the spot; 5) a temporary trial in a monastery or in a bishop's house; 6) renunciation of the place; 7) exception for the state; 8) aggravation of supervision; 9) penalty interest and monetary recovery; 10) bows; 11) strict or simple reprimand; 12) remark. The Statute of the Consistory sets out in detail the order for which crimes of clerics this or that punishment follows.

3. Church Court at present

Clause 9 of Chapter 1 of the Statute of the ROC of 2000 prohibits “officials and employees of canonical divisions, as well as clerics and laity” from “applying to state authorities and civil courts on issues related to intra-church life, including canonical administration, church organization, liturgical and pastoral work. On June 26, 2008, the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church approved the "Regulations on the Church Court of the Russian Orthodox Church" and the proposed changes to the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church of 2000, according to which the judicial system of the Russian Orthodox Church includes 3 instances: diocesan courts, the General Church Court and the Court of the Bishops' Council, as well as the highest ecclesiastical courts of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and Self-Governing Churches. Position provides for the delegated nature of ecclesiastical legal proceedings: “The judicial power exercised by the General Church Court stems from the canonical authority of the Holy Synod and the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', which is delegated to the General Church Court” (Clause 1); “The judicial power exercised in this case [if the diocesan bishop refers the case requiring investigation to the diocesan court] by the diocesan court stems from the canonical authority of the diocesan bishop, which the diocesan bishop delegates to the diocesan court” (Clause 2). “The consideration of cases in the ecclesiastical court is closed” (Item 2 of Article 5). The application for an ecclesiastical offense is left without consideration and the proceedings are terminated, in particular, if the alleged ecclesiastical offense (the emergence of a dispute or disagreement) was committed before the entry into force Regulations(Article 36), excluding cases of ecclesiastical offenses, which are a canonical obstacle to being in the clergy (Item 1 of Article 62). On the proposal of the Presidium of the Council of Bishops (2008), the following persons were elected to the General Church Court for a period of four years: Metropolitan Isidor (Kirichenko) of Ekaterinodar and Kuban (chairman), Metropolitan Onuphry of Chernivtsi and Bukovina (deputy chairman), Archbishop Evlogy of Vladimir and Suzdal ( Smirnov); Archbishop of Polotsk and Glubokoe Theodosius; Bishop Alexander of Dmitrov (Secretary). According to Archpriest Pavel Adelheim (ROC) and others, the public legal status of the established court of the ROC is unclear, the existence and functioning of which in the proposed form contradicts both the current Russian legislation and church law.

On May 17, 2010, the first meeting of the All-Church Court of the Moscow Patriarchate took place in the refectory chambers of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior; the decisions were approved by the Patriarch on June 16, 2010.

Conclusion

In its essence, the ecclesiastical court can concern (as already mentioned) all open violations of the rules of faith, the charters of decency, moral Christian laws and the internal order of the church organization - especially those violations that are accompanied by the temptation or obstinacy of the guilty.

Since most of the crimes, not only against moral laws, but also against faith or the Church, are also prosecuted by the secular court of the state, the activity of the church court, in relation to such crimes, is limited to what the church authorities impose on the guilty, after the sentence of the secular court, appropriate ecclesiastical punishments, in addition to criminal penalties, and, in addition, transfers to the secular court crimes prosecuted by the state, which are discovered in the proceedings in the spiritual, and sometimes in the secular department.

Indicating the types of crimes that subject the guilty person to the church court, negligence in the performance of Christian duty, violation of an oath, blasphemy, disrespect for parents, parents' neglect of the religious and moral upbringing of children, illegal marriages, sacrilege and fornication of all kinds, attempted suicide, failure to help the dying, unintentional infliction death to someone, forcing children by parents to enter into criminal laws do not rank among them many crimes, for which, however, church laws impose penance, sometimes severe for these crimes, criminal punishment is considered sufficient; cleansing the conscience of the condemned is provided by private pastoral measures; the same measures should be used to correct those acts contrary to the religious and moral rules that are not specified in the criminal laws.

Listliterations

1. Lectures on Church Law by Honored Professor Archpriest V.G. Pevtsova.

2. Bulgakov Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna. Orthodox dogmatic theology. M., 1999.

3. Pavlov A.S. Church law course. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, 1902.

4. Bolotov V.V. Lectures on the history of the ancient Church. M., 1994, book. III,

5. Milash Nikodim, Bishop of Dalmatia and Istria. Canon law.

6. Official website of the Moscow Patriarchate / Chapter 7. Church Court.

7. E.V. Belyakova. Church court and problems of church life. M., 2004.

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control work, added 11/16/2009

The Church as a source of its law, divine law and church legislation. State laws concerning the Church. General and special sources, interpreters of the canons. Features of the doctrine of the sources of church law in the Roman Catholic Church.

term paper, added 06/24/2010

Supreme courts of the republics, regional and regional courts, courts of federal cities, courts of the autonomous region and autonomous districts. Their place in the judiciary. Composition, structure, competence, procedure for the formation of the apparatus of the court, the judicial board.

test, added 11/18/2009

The concept of the judiciary Russian Federation, system organization. Competence of the constitutional court. Statutory courts of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, their internal organization. The system of courts of general jurisdiction. District and world courts. Cassation Board of the Supreme Court.

term paper, added 05/09/2012

Normative legal regulation of the activities of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation. Courts of general and arbitration jurisdiction as initiators of constitutional proceedings. Determination of the place of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation in the Russian judicial system.

thesis, added 08/17/2016

General features judiciary in the Russian Federation. Signs of the judiciary and their characteristics. Composition, apparatus and competence of the district court. The procedure for entering the state civil service in the court apparatus and qualification requirements.

term paper, added 01/06/2017

The legal nature of canon law, its study from the standpoint of modern legal understanding. Features of the doctrine of the sources of church law in the Roman Catholic Church and in Protestant communities. Fixation and boundaries of the volume of Byzantine law.

term paper, added 12/03/2012

The concept of the judicial system, its links, lower and higher courts as its links. Stages of development of the judicial system in the Republic of Belarus. Implementation of justice in the court in the procedural form provided for by law in a particular case.

abstract, added 03/11/2011

jurisdiction of the district court. Tasks of preliminary investigation. Courts of general jurisdiction of the judicial system of Russia. Define the terms "link of the judicial system" and "court". The sequence of criminal cases of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Links of the judicial system of the Russian Federation.

The regulation was adopted at the plenary session of the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church on June 26, 2008. At the Bishops' Council in 2017, the text of the Regulations was (see the 2017 edition), and therefore this version of the document has become invalid.

SECTION I. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

Chapter 1

Article 1. The structure and canonical foundations of the judicial system of the Russian Orthodox Church.

1. The judicial system of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), hereinafter referred to as the “Russian Orthodox Church”, is established by the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, adopted by the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church on August 16, 2000, referred to in the following text of this Regulation as the “Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church”, as well as these Regulations and is based on the sacred canons of the Orthodox Church, referred to in the following text of this Regulation as “sacred canons”.

2. The judicial system of the Russian Orthodox Church includes the following church courts:

diocesan courts, including those of the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Self-Governing Churches, Exarchates that are part of the Russian Orthodox Church, with jurisdiction within the respective dioceses;
the highest ecclesiastical-judicial instances of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, as well as the Self-Governing Churches (if these Churches have higher ecclesiastical-judicial instances) - with jurisdiction within the respective Churches;
the General Church Court - with jurisdiction within the Russian Orthodox Church;
Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church - with jurisdiction within the Russian Orthodox Church.

3. The ecclesiastical courts of the Russian Orthodox Church exercise judicial power guided by the sacred canons, the Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church, this Regulation and other regulations of the Orthodox Church.

4. The ecclesiastical courts of the Russian Orthodox Church, hereinafter referred to as "church courts" in the text of this Regulation, have jurisdiction over cases in relation to persons under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church. Ecclesiastical courts do not accept cases concerning deceased persons.

Article 2. Purpose of ecclesiastical courts.

Church courts are intended to restore the disturbed order and structure of church life and are called upon to promote the observance of the sacred canons and other institutions of the Orthodox Church.

Article 3. Delegated nature of church legal proceedings.

1. The fullness of judicial power in the Russian Orthodox Church belongs to the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, hereinafter referred to as the "Council of Bishops" in this Regulation. Judicial power in the Russian Orthodox Church is also exercised by the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, hereinafter referred to as the “Holy Synod” in this Regulation, and by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

The judicial power exercised by the General Church Court stems from the canonical authority of the Holy Synod and the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', which is delegated to the General Church Court.

2. The fullness of judicial power in the dioceses belongs to the diocesan bishops.

Diocesan bishops independently decide on cases of ecclesiastical offenses if these cases do not require investigation.

If the case requires investigation, the diocesan bishop refers it to the diocesan court.

The judicial power exercised in this case by the diocesan court derives from the canonical authority of the diocesan bishop, which the diocesan bishop delegates to the diocesan court.

Article 4. Unity of the judicial system of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The unity of the judicial system of the Russian Orthodox Church is ensured by:

observance by church courts of the established rules of church legal proceedings;
recognition of the obligatory execution by all members and canonical divisions of the Russian Orthodox Church of the decisions of church courts that have entered into legal force.

Article 5. Language of ecclesiastical legal proceedings. The closed nature of the consideration of cases in the church court.

1. Church legal proceedings at the Council of Bishops and at the General Church Court are conducted in Russian.

2. Consideration of cases in the ecclesiastical court is closed.

Article 6 Conciliation procedure for settling disputes.

1. A canonical ban (punishment) should induce a member of the Russian Orthodox Church who has committed an ecclesiastical offense to repentance and correction.

2. When imposing a canonical ban (punishment), one should take into account the reasons for the commission of an ecclesiastical offense, the way of life of the guilty person, the motives for committing an ecclesiastical offense by him, acting in the spirit of ecclesiastical economy, which implies indulgence towards the guilty person in order to correct him, or, in appropriate cases, in the spirit of church acrivia, which allows the application of strict canonical prohibitions against the guilty person for the purpose of his repentance.

In the event that a cleric submits a clearly slanderous statement about the commission of an ecclesiastical offense by a diocesan bishop, the applicant is subject to the same canonical prohibition (punishment) that would have been applied to the accused person if the fact of committing an ecclesiastical offense had been proven (II Ecumenical Council 6 canon).

3. If during the trial the church court comes to the conclusion that there is no fact of a church offense and (or) the innocence of the accused person, it is the duty of the church court to conduct a conciliation procedure in order to resolve the differences that have arisen between the parties, which should be recorded in the minutes of the court session.

Chapter 2. Powers of Judges of the Church Court.

Article 7. Powers of the Chairman and Members of the Church Court.

1. The chairman of the ecclesiastical court sets the time for the sessions of the ecclesiastical court and conducts these sessions; exercises other powers necessary for ecclesiastical legal proceedings.

2. The deputy chairman of the church court, on behalf of the chairman of the church court, conducts meetings of the church court; carry out other assignments of the chairperson of the church court necessary for ecclesiastical legal proceedings.

3. The clerk of the ecclesiastical court shall receive, register and submit to the appropriate ecclesiastical court statements of ecclesiastical offense and other documents addressed to the ecclesiastical court; keeps minutes of meetings of the church court; sends summons to the church court; is responsible for maintaining and maintaining the archive of the church court; exercise other powers provided for by these Regulations.

4. Members of the ecclesiastical court participate in court hearings and other actions of the ecclesiastical court in the composition and in the manner prescribed by this Regulation.

Article 8

1. The powers of a judge of an ecclesiastical court shall be terminated early in accordance with the procedure established by these Regulations on the following grounds:

a written request from a church court judge for dismissal from office;
inability, for health reasons or other valid reasons, to exercise the powers of a judge of an ecclesiastical court;
death of a judge of an ecclesiastical court, declaration of his death or recognition as missing in the manner prescribed by state legislation;
the entry into force of the decision of the church court on the accusation of the judge of committing an church offense.

2. The powers of a judge of an ecclesiastical court shall be suspended if the ecclesiastical court accepts for consideration a case on accusation of this judge of committing an ecclesiastical offence.

Article 9

1. A judge of an ecclesiastical court cannot consider a case and is obliged to withdraw himself if he:

is a relative (up to 7th degree) or relative (up to 4th degree) of the parties;
is in direct service relations with at least one of the parties.

2. Persons who are related to each other (up to the 7th degree) or by property (up to the 4th degree) cannot be members of the ecclesiastical court considering the case.

3. If there are grounds for self-withdrawal provided for by this article, the judge of an ecclesiastical court shall be obliged to declare self-withdrawal.

4. Motivated self-withdrawal must be declared before the start of the trial.

5. The issue of self-recusal of a judge of an ecclesiastical court shall be decided by the composition of the court considering the case, in the absence of the judge being challenged.

6. If the ecclesiastical court satisfies the self-withdrawal declared by the judge, the ecclesiastical court replaces this judge with another judge of the ecclesiastical court.

Chapter 3. Persons participating in the case. Summons to the Church Court.

Article 10

1. The persons participating in the case are the parties, witnesses and other persons who are involved in the case by the ecclesiastical court.

2. The parties in cases of ecclesiastical offenses are the applicant (if there is a statement of an ecclesiastical offense) and a person accused of committing an ecclesiastical offense (hereinafter referred to as the accused person).

The disputing parties act as parties in cases of disputes and disagreements within the jurisdiction of church courts.

Article 11

1. A subpoena to the church court may be served on the persons participating in the case against receipt, sent by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt, by telegram, by facsimile, or in any other way, provided that the call is recorded.

2. Summons to the church court are sent in such a way that their addressee has sufficient time to appear in time in the church court.

3. A summons to the church court shall be sent to the place of residence or service (work) of the addressee in the canonical division of the Russian Orthodox Church. The persons participating in the case are obliged to notify the ecclesiastical court of the change of their address. In the absence of such a message, the call is sent to the last place of residence or place of service (work) of the addressee in the canonical division of the Russian Orthodox Church known to the church court and is considered delivered, even if the addressee no longer lives or does not serve (does not work).

Article 12

A subpoena to the church court is drawn up in writing and contains:

the name and address of the ecclesiastical court;
indication of the time and place of appearance in the church court;
the name of the addressee summoned to the church court;
indication as to whom the addressee is called;
necessary information about the case on which the addressee is called.

Chapter 4. Types, collection and evaluation of evidence. The terms of the ecclesiastical proceedings.

Article 13. Evidence.

1. Evidence is information obtained in the manner prescribed by these Regulations, on the basis of which the ecclesiastical court establishes the presence or absence of circumstances relevant to the case.

2. This information may be obtained from the explanations of the parties and other persons; witness statements; documents and physical evidence; audio and video recordings; expert opinions. The receipt and dissemination by an ecclesiastical court of information constituting a secret of private life, including family secrets, is allowed only with the consent of the persons to whom this information relates.

3. The collection of evidence is carried out by the persons participating in the case and the church court. The Church Court collects evidence by:

receiving from the persons participating in the case, and other persons with their consent, objects, documents, information;
questioning persons with their consent;
requesting characteristics, certificates and other documents from the canonical divisions of the Russian Orthodox Church, which are obliged to provide the requested documents or their duly certified copies based on the request of the church court.

4. The ecclesiastical court verifies the reliability of evidence by establishing their sources and methods of obtaining. The Church Court comprehensively examines and evaluates the evidence.

5. The ecclesiastical court has no right to give preference to one evidence over others and must evaluate all the evidence in the case in their entirety. It is not allowed to use as evidence the explanations of the parties and the testimony of a witness based on conjecture, assumption, hearing, as well as the testimony of a witness who cannot indicate the source of his knowledge.

6. Evidence obtained in violation of the requirements of this Regulation cannot be used by church courts.

Article 14

1. The circumstances established by an ecclesiastical court decision that has entered into legal force in a previously considered case are binding on all ecclesiastical courts. These circumstances are not proven again.

2. The circumstances established by the verdicts (decisions) of state courts that have entered into legal force, as well as protocols on administrative offenses, are not subject to verification and proof.

1. The Church Court, if it is necessary to obtain evidence that is at the disposal of the canonical divisions of the Russian Orthodox Church, or evidence that is in another diocese, sends a corresponding request.

2. The request briefly sets out the essence of the case under consideration and the circumstances to be clarified.

3. While the request is being fulfilled, the consideration of the case in the ecclesiastical court may be postponed.

Article 16

1. Explanations of the parties and other persons involved by the ecclesiastical court to participate in the case, about the circumstances of the case known to them, can be given both during the preparation of the case for consideration, and at the session of the ecclesiastical court in oral or written form. These explanations are subject to verification and evaluation by the ecclesiastical court along with other evidence.

2. An oral explanation is recorded in the minutes and signed by the party that gave the appropriate explanations. The written explanation shall be attached to the case file.

3. The applicant is warned about the canonical liability for a knowingly false denunciation of an alleged church offense.

Article 17. Documents.

1. Documents are written materials on paper or electronic media (including records of examination of physical evidence) containing information about relevant circumstances.

2. Documents are submitted in the original or in the form of a copy.

Copies of documents requiring notarization according to state legislation must be notarized.

Copies of documents issued by a canonical division of the Russian Orthodox Church must be certified by an authorized person of this canonical division.

The originals of the documents are submitted when the case cannot be resolved without these originals or when copies of the document are presented, which differ in their content.

3. The originals of the documents available in the case shall be returned to the persons who submitted them after the entry into force of the decision of the ecclesiastical court. At the same time, copies of these documents, certified by the secretary of the church court, are attached to the case file.

Article 18

1. A witness is a person who knows any information about the circumstances relevant to the case.

2. A person petitioning to summon a witness must indicate what circumstances of the case can be confirmed by the witness, and inform the church court of his last name, first name, patronymic and place of residence (service or work in the canonical division of the Russian Orthodox Church).

3. If witnesses are called by an ecclesiastical court, there must be at least two of them (Apostolic canon 75; II Ecumenical Council canon 2). The following shall not be called as witnesses:

persons who are outside church communion (with the exception of cases on charges of committing ecclesiastical offenses against neighbor and Christian morality (Canon of Carthage 144; Apostolic Canon 75; II Ecumenical Council 6 rule);
persons incompetent in accordance with state legislation;
persons convicted by an ecclesiastical court for knowingly false denunciation or perjury (II Ecumenical Council 6 rule);
clergy according to circumstances that became known to them from confession.

4. A person who agrees to act as a witness appears in the church court at the appointed time and gives evidence. Oral evidence is recorded in the minutes and signed by the witness who gave the relevant evidence. Written testimonies are attached to the case file. When testifying, the witness is warned of canonical liability for perjury and takes an oath.

5. If necessary, the ecclesiastical court may repeatedly obtain the testimony of witnesses, including in order to clarify contradictions in their testimony.

Article 19

1. Material evidence is things and other items, with the help of which the circumstances of the case are clarified.

2. When preparing a case for consideration in an ecclesiastical court, physical evidence is examined at the place of its location. If necessary, physical evidence can be delivered to the church court for examination. The inspection data is recorded in the protocol.

3. Material evidence, after the entry into force of the decision of the ecclesiastical court, is returned to the persons from whom it was received, or transferred to persons who have the right to these items.

4. If it is necessary to examine (deliver to the church court) material evidence located on the territory of the diocese, the chairman of the church court, in agreement with the diocesan bishop of the corresponding diocese, sends an employee of the apparatus of the church court to this diocese for inspection (delivery to the church court) of the necessary material evidence. An employee of the apparatus of the church court draws up a protocol for examining material evidence and, if necessary, takes photographs (video recording).

At the request of the chairman of the ecclesiastical court, the diocesan bishop may send for inspection (delivery to the ecclesiastical court) the necessary material evidence of the dean of the deanery on whose territory the material evidence is located. In this case, the Dean is instructed to draw up a protocol for examining material evidence and, if necessary, to take photographs (video recording).

Article 20 Audio and video recordings

A person who submits audio and (or) video recordings to the church court on electronic or other media is obliged to indicate the place and time of the audio and (or) video recordings, as well as information about the persons who made them.

Article 21

1. If issues arise during the consideration of a case that require special knowledge, the ecclesiastical court appoints an expert examination.
An expert may be a person who has special knowledge in matters that are considered by the ecclesiastical court. The examination may be entrusted to a specific expert or several experts.

2. The expert gives a reasoned written opinion on the questions put to him and sends it to the church court that ordered the expert examination. The expert opinion must contain detailed description the study, the conclusions drawn as a result of it and the answers to the questions posed by the church court. An expert may be invited to a meeting of an ecclesiastical court, involved in obtaining, examining and examining material and other evidence.

3. If it is established that the expert is interested in the outcome of the case, the ecclesiastical court has the right to entrust the conduct of the expert examination to another expert.

4. In cases of insufficient clarity or incompleteness of the expert's opinion, as well as in connection with the presence of contradictions in the opinions of several experts, the church court may order a repeated examination, entrusting it to be carried out by the same or another expert.

Article 22

1. The actions of the ecclesiastical court and the persons participating in the case are carried out within the time limits established by the ecclesiastical court, unless otherwise provided by these Regulations.

2. For persons who missed the deadline due to reasons recognized by the ecclesiastical court as valid, the missed deadline (at the discretion of the ecclesiastical court) may be restored. An application for the restoration of the missed deadline is submitted to the relevant church court.

Section II. diocesan court.

Article 23

1. Diocesan courts are established by decision of the diocesan bishop (Chapter VII of the Statute of the Russian Orthodox Church).

2. As an exception (with the blessing of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'), the functions of the diocesan court in the diocese may be assigned to the diocesan council.

In this case, the powers of the chairman of the diocesan court shall be exercised by the diocesan bishop or a member of the diocesan council authorized by him; the powers of the deputy chairman of the diocesan court and the secretary are assigned, at the discretion of the diocesan bishop, to the members of the diocesan council.

The diocesan council carries out ecclesiastical legal proceedings in the manner prescribed by this Regulation for diocesan courts. Decisions of the Diocesan Council may be appealed to the All-Ecclesiastical Court of Second Instance or reviewed by the All-Ecclesiastical Court by way of supervision in accordance with the rules provided for by this Regulation for decisions of diocesan courts.

Article 24

The Diocesan Court considers:

in relation to clergy - cases on charges of committing ecclesiastical offenses, provided for by the list approved by the Holy Synod and entailing canonical prohibitions (punishments) in the form of dismissal from office, dismissal for the state, temporary or life ban on priesthood, defrocking, excommunication from the Church ;
in relation to laity who belong to the category of church officials, as well as monastics - cases on charges of committing church offenses provided for by the list approved by the Holy Synod and entailing canonical prohibitions (punishments) in the form of dismissal, temporary excommunication from church communion or excommunication from the Church;
other cases that, at the discretion of the diocesan bishop, require investigation, including cases on the most significant disputes and disagreements between clergy, as provided for in Article 2 of these Regulations.

Article 25

1. The diocesan court shall consist of at least five judges of episcopal or priestly rank.

2. The chairman, deputy chairman and secretary of the diocesan court are appointed by the diocesan bishop. The remaining judges of the diocesan court are elected by the Diocesan Assembly on the proposal of the diocesan bishop.

3. The term of office of diocesan court judges is three years, with the possibility of reappointment or re-election for a new term (without limiting the number of reappointments (re-elections).

4. All judges of the diocesan court before taking office (at the first court session) take an oath in the presence of the diocesan bishop.

5. Early termination of the powers of judges of the diocesan court on the grounds provided for in Article 8 of this Regulation is carried out by the decision of the diocesan bishop. In the event of vacancies that have arisen, the right to appoint temporary acting judges of the diocesan court (until the appointment or election of judges in accordance with the established procedure) belongs to the diocesan bishop. On behalf of the diocesan bishop, the deputy chairman of the diocesan court may temporarily act as chairman of the diocesan court. Persons temporarily acting as chairman or judges of the diocesan court have the rights and bear the duties provided for by this Regulation, respectively, for the chairman or judges of the diocesan court.

6. Cases on accusation of clerics of committing ecclesiastical offenses entailing canonical prohibitions in the form of a life ban on priestly service, defrocking, excommunication from the Church are considered by the diocesan court in its entirety.

Other cases are considered by the diocesan court composed of at least three judges, including the chairman of the diocesan court or his deputy.

Article 26

1. Ensuring the activities of the diocesan court is entrusted to the staff of the diocesan court, whose employees are appointed by the diocesan bishop.

2. The diocesan court is financed from the diocesan budget.

3. Cases considered by the diocesan court shall be stored in the archives of the diocesan court for five years from the date of completion of the proceedings. After this period, the cases are transferred for storage to the archives of the Diocese.

SECTION III. CHURCH-WIDE COURT.

Article 27

The general church court is created by the decision of the Council of Bishops.

Article 28

1. The general ecclesiastical court considers as an ecclesiastical court of first instance:

in relation to bishops (with the exception of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia) - cases on charges of committing ecclesiastical offenses, provided for by the list approved by the Holy Synod and entailing canonical prohibitions (punishments) in the form of release from the administration of the Diocese, dismissal, temporary or life ban in the priesthood, defrocking, excommunication from the Church;
in relation to clerics appointed by the decision of the Holy Synod or by decree of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the position of heads of Synodal and other general church institutions - cases on charges of committing ecclesiastical offenses provided for by the list approved by the Holy Synod and entailing canonical prohibitions (punishments) in the form of exemption from position, temporary or life-long ban on priesthood, defrocking, excommunication from the Church;
in relation to other persons appointed by the decision of the Holy Synod or by decree of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the position of heads of Synodal and other general church institutions - cases on charges of committing ecclesiastical offenses provided for by the list approved by the Holy Synod and entailing canonical bans (punishments) in the form of release from office, temporary excommunication from church communion or excommunication from the Church;
other cases in relation to the above persons referred by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod to the General Church Court of First Instance, including cases on the most significant disputes and disagreements, disputes between bishops, provided for in Article 2 of this Regulation.

With regard to clerics and other persons appointed by the decision of the Holy Synod or by decree of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' to the position of heads of Synodal and other general church institutions, the General Church Court considers only those cases that are related to the official activities of these persons in the relevant institutions. In other cases, these persons are within the jurisdiction of the respective diocesan courts.

2. As an ecclesiastical court of second instance, the general church court considers the following cases:

reviewed by diocesan courts and sent by diocesan bishops to the General Church Court for final resolution;
on appeals of the parties against decisions of diocesan courts;
considered by the highest ecclesiastical courts of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia or Self-Governing Churches (if these Churches have higher ecclesiastical courts) and submitted by the primates of the respective Churches to the General Church Court;
on appeals of the parties against decisions of higher ecclesiastical courts of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia or Self-Governing Churches (if these Churches have higher ecclesiastical courts).

3. By order of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod, the General Church Court has the right to review, by way of supervision, decisions of diocesan courts that have entered into legal force.

Article 29

1. The General Church Court consists of a chairman and four members in the rank of bishops, who are elected by the Bishops' Council on the proposal of the Presidium of the Bishops' Council for a term of four years with the right to be re-elected for a new term (but not more than three terms in a row). The Deputy Chairman and Secretary of the General Church Court are appointed by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' from among the members of the General Church Court.

2. Early termination of the powers of the chairman or members of the General Church Court on the grounds provided for in Article 8 of this Regulation is carried out by the decision of the Holy Synod headed by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', with subsequent approval by the Council of Bishops. In the event of vacancies that have arisen, the right to appoint temporary acting judges of the General Church Court (until the judges are elected in accordance with the established procedure) belongs to the Holy Synod headed by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', and in cases that do not require delay, to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

On behalf of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', the Deputy Chairman of the General Church Court may temporarily act as Chairman of the General Church Court.

Bishops temporarily acting as chairman or judges of the General Church Court have the rights and bear the duties provided for by this Regulation, respectively, for the chairman or judges of the General Church Court.

3. Cases accusing bishops of committing ecclesiastical offenses are considered by the General Church Court in its entirety.
The General Church Court considers other cases in the composition of at least three judges headed by the Chairman of the General Church Court or his deputy.

Article 30 Archive of the General Church Court.

1. Ensuring the activities of the General Church Court and the preparation of relevant cases for consideration is entrusted to the apparatus of the General Church Court. The number and composition of the employees of the apparatus of the General Church Court is determined by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' on the proposal of the Chairman of the General Church Court.

2. The General Church Court is financed from the funds of the general Church budget.

3. Sessions of the General Church Court are held in Moscow. With the blessing of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', the General Church Court may hold visiting sessions on the territory of the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church.

4. Cases considered by the General Church Court shall be kept in the archives of the General Church Court for five years from the date of completion of the proceedings. After this period, the cases are transferred for storage to the archives of the Moscow Patriarchate.

SECTION IV. THE COURT OF THE BOARD OF BISHPS.

Article 31

1. The Council of Bishops considers, as an ecclesiastical court of first and last instance, cases of dogmatic and canonical deviations in the activities of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

2. The Council of Bishops considers, as an ecclesiastical court of second instance, cases against bishops and leaders of Synodal and other general church institutions:

considered by the General Church Court of First Instance and sent by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod to the consideration of the Council of Bishops for a final decision;
on appeals of bishops or heads of Synodal and other general church institutions against decisions of the All-Ecclesiastical Court of First Instance that have entered into force.

The Holy Synod or the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' has the right to send for consideration to the Council of Bishops other cases that are within the jurisdiction of lower church courts, if these cases require an authoritative judicial-societal decision.

3. The Council of Bishops is the highest court for the bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Self-Governing Churches and Exarchates of the Russian Orthodox Church.

4. The Council of Bishops has the right:

review by way of supervision the decisions of the General Church Court that have entered into legal force;
consider, on the proposal of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod, the issue of easing or canceling the canonical ban (punishment) against a person convicted by a previous Bishops' Council (if there is a corresponding request from this person).

Article 32

If it is necessary to consider specific cases of ecclesiastical offenses, the Council of Bishops forms the Judicial Commission of the Council of Bishops, consisting of a chairman and at least four members in the rank of bishops, who are elected by the Council of Bishops on the proposal of the Holy Synod for the period of the corresponding Council of Bishops. The Secretary of the Judicial Commission of the Council of Bishops is appointed by the Holy Synod from among the members of this commission.

The Judicial Commission of the Council of Bishops studies the materials of the case, draws up a certificate containing a canonical (using the norms of church law) analysis of the circumstances of the case, and submits to the Council of Bishops a corresponding report with the necessary documents attached.

SECTION V. ORDER OF CHURCH JUDICIAL PROCEEDINGS.

Chapter 5

1. Acceptance of the case for consideration.

Article 33 Deadlines for the case.

1. A case requiring investigation is referred by the diocesan bishop to the diocesan court if the following grounds exist:

report of church offense received from other sources.

On the transfer of the case to the diocesan court, the diocesan bishop issues an appropriate order, which he sends to the diocesan court along with an application for an ecclesiastical offense (if any) and other information about an ecclesiastical offense.

The decision of the diocesan court on the case must be taken no later than one month from the day the diocesan bishop issues an order to transfer the case to the diocesan court. If a more thorough investigation of the case is necessary, the diocesan bishop may extend this period at the reasoned petition of the chairman of the diocesan court.

In the event that the case is not subject to the jurisdiction of the diocesan court of a given diocese, the diocesan bishop shall communicate information about the ecclesiastical offense to the diocesan bishop of the diocese in whose jurisdiction the accused person is.

2. The general church court of first instance accepts the case for consideration on the basis of the order of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod. The case is transferred to the General Church Court of First Instance if there are the following grounds:

statement of ecclesiastical wrongdoing;
a message about a committed church offense received from other sources.

The Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod determine the terms for the consideration of the case in the General Church Court of First Instance. The extension of these terms is carried out by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod at the reasoned petition of the chairman of the General Church Court.

If a person under the jurisdiction of the All-Ecclesiastical Court of First Instance is accused of committing an especially grave ecclesiastical offense, entailing a canonical ban in the form of defrocking or excommunication, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod has the right, until the All-Ecclesiastical Court of First Instance makes an appropriate decision temporarily release the accused person from office or temporarily ban the priesthood.

If the case received by the General Church Court is subject to the jurisdiction of the diocesan court, the secretary of the General Church Court shall report information about the church offense to the diocesan bishop of the diocese in whose jurisdiction the accused person is located.

Article 34

1. An application for an ecclesiastical offense subject to consideration by a diocesan court must be signed and filed by a member or canonical division of the Russian Orthodox Church addressed to the diocesan bishop of the diocese in whose jurisdiction the accused person is located.

An application for an ecclesiastical offense, subject to consideration by the diocesan court, is submitted (or sent by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt) to the diocesan administration.

2. An application for an ecclesiastical offense by a bishop, subject to consideration by the General Church Court, must be signed and filed in the name of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus':

in relation to a diocesan bishop, by any bishop or by a clergyman (canonical subdivision) under the jurisdiction of the corresponding diocesan bishop;
in relation to a vicar bishop, by any bishop or cleric (canonical subdivision) of the diocese in whose jurisdiction the respective vicar bishop is located;
in relation to bishops who are at rest or outside the state - by the diocesan bishop of the diocese in whose territory the ecclesiastical offense was committed.

An application for an ecclesiastical offense by the head of a Synodal and other general church institution appointed by a decision of the Holy Synod or a decree by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' must be signed and filed in the name of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod by at least three responsible employees.

An application for an ecclesiastical offense, subject to consideration by the General Church Court, is submitted (or sent by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt) to the Moscow Patriarchate.

3. Applications received from the following persons are not accepted for consideration:

those who are outside church communion (with the exception of cases on charges of committing church offenses against neighbor and Christian morality (Canon of Carthage 144; Apostolic Canon 75; II Ecumenical Council 6 rule);
incompetent under state law;
convicted by a church court for knowingly false denunciation or perjury (II Ecumenical Council 6th rule);
from persons openly leading a vicious lifestyle (Canon 129 of the Council of Carthage);
clerics - according to the circumstances that became known to them from confession.

Article 35

1. An application for an ecclesiastical offense must be signed by the applicant. An anonymous statement about an ecclesiastical offense cannot serve as a reason for considering the case in an ecclesiastical court.

2. An application for an ecclesiastical offense must contain:

information about the applicant indicating his place of residence or, if the applicant is a canonical division of the Russian Orthodox Church, his location;
information about the accused person known to the applicant;
what is the ecclesiastical offense;
the circumstances on which the applicant bases his allegations and the evidence supporting those circumstances;
list of documents attached to the application.

Article 36

The ecclesiastical court leaves the application for an ecclesiastical offense without consideration and terminates the proceedings if the following circumstances are established at the stage of preparing the case for consideration or during the consideration of the case:

the accused is a person who is not subject to ecclesiastical court;
the application is signed and submitted by a person who, in accordance with Article 34 of this Regulation, does not have the authority to sign it and present it to the church court;
the obvious absence of an ecclesiastical offense (or a dispute (disagreement) within the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical court);
the obvious non-involvement of the accused person in a church offense;
the commission of a church offense (the emergence of a dispute or disagreement) before the entry into force of this Regulation, subject to the rules provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 62 of this Regulation.

Article 37

If an application for an ecclesiastical offense is filed without complying with the requirements provided for in Article 35 of this Regulation, the clerk of the ecclesiastical court invites the applicant to bring the application in line with the established requirements.

2. Consideration of the case.

Article 38

1. The preparation of a case for consideration in an ecclesiastical court is carried out by the apparatus of the ecclesiastical court in cooperation with the secretary of the ecclesiastical court and includes:

clarification of relevant circumstances;
drawing up a certificate containing a canonical (using the norms of church law) analysis of the circumstances relevant to the case;
determination of the composition of persons participating in the case;
collection of necessary evidence, including (if necessary) questioning of the parties and other persons participating in the case, which is carried out by the apparatus (secretary) of the church court with the permission of the chairman of the church court;
control over the timely direction of calls to the church court;
other preparatory activities.

2. At the request of the chairman of the ecclesiastical court, the diocesan bishop may instruct the dean of the deanery in whose territory the ecclesiastical offense was committed to assist the ecclesiastical court in preparing the case for consideration.

Article 39

1. The consideration of the case takes place at a meeting of the ecclesiastical court with the obligatory preliminary notification of the parties about the time and place of the meeting. At the discretion of the ecclesiastical court, other persons participating in the case may be summoned to the session. If, during the preparation of the case for consideration, the applicant was interrogated in the manner prescribed by paragraph 1 of Article 38 of this Regulation, the ecclesiastical court has the right to consider the case in the absence of the applicant.

2. During the meetings of the church court, the Holy Cross and the Gospel are placed on the lectern (table).

3. The session of the church court begins and ends with a prayer.

4. When considering a case, the Church Court examines the materials prepared by the staff of the Church Court, as well as the available evidence: hears explanations from the parties and other persons participating in the case; testimony of witnesses; gets acquainted with the documents, including protocols of inspection of material evidence, and expert opinions; examines material evidence delivered to the meeting; listening to audio recordings and watching video recordings.

At the discretion of the ecclesiastical court, the explanations of the accused person may be heard in the absence of the applicant and other persons participating in the case.

When the General Church Court of First Instance considers cases against bishops, the explanations of the accused person are heard in the absence of the applicant and other persons participating in the case, unless the accused person insists on giving explanations in the presence of these persons.

5. The hearing of the case takes place orally. The session of the ecclesiastical court in each case is held without interruption, except for the time appointed for rest. Simultaneous consideration of several cases at one court session is not allowed.

6. The consideration of the case takes place with the unchanged composition of the judges of the ecclesiastical court, except for the cases provided for in Articles 8 and 9 of this Regulation. In case of replacement of judges, the case is considered anew (if necessary, with the summons of the parties, witnesses and other persons participating in the case).

Article 40

1. Persons summoned to the church court, participating in the case, who are not able to appear in the church court, are obliged to notify the church court of the reasons for their failure to appear and provide evidence that these reasons are valid.

2. If both parties, notified of the time and place of the session of the ecclesiastical court, did not appear at this session, the ecclesiastical court postpones the consideration of the case up to two times if the reasons for their absence are recognized as valid.

3. The ecclesiastical court has the right to consider the case in case of non-appearance of any of the parties notified of the time and place of the ecclesiastical court session, if they do not provide information on the reasons for the non-appearance or the ecclesiastical court recognizes the reasons for their non-appearance as disrespectful.

4. If the nature of the case referred to the ecclesiastical court may entail a ban on priestly service or defrocking, the ecclesiastical court, in the event of failure to appear at the meeting of the accused person, postpones the consideration of the case up to two times. If the accused person does not appear at the court session for the third time (despite the fact that the reasons for non-appearance turn out to be disrespectful), the ecclesiastical court considers the case in the absence of the accused person.

5. If other persons participating in the case fail to appear at the session of the church court, the church court, at its own discretion, regardless of the reasons for the absence, decides on the possibility of considering the case in their absence.

6. If the parties or other persons participating in the case left the session of the ecclesiastical court without valid reasons during the consideration of the case, the ecclesiastical court shall consider the case in their absence.

Article 41

1. Consideration of a case may be postponed at the discretion of the ecclesiastical court, including in the following cases:

if necessary, obtain additional evidence;
failure to appear at the meeting of the church court of the persons participating in the case;
the need to involve other persons in the case;
the impossibility of considering this case until the resolution of another case being considered by an ecclesiastical or state court or body;
replacement of judges of an ecclesiastical court on the grounds provided for in Articles 8 and 9 of this Regulation;
the whereabouts of the accused person is unknown.

2. The consideration of the case shall continue after the elimination of the circumstances in connection with which the ecclesiastical court adjourned the consideration of the case.

Article 42

1. Issues that arise during the consideration of a case by an ecclesiastical court are decided by the judges of an ecclesiastical court by a majority of votes. In case of equality of votes, the chairperson's vote is decisive.

2. A judge of an ecclesiastical court has no right to abstain from voting.

Article 43

During each session of the church court, as well as in other cases provided for by these Regulations, a protocol is drawn up, which must reflect all the necessary information about the consideration of the case or the commission of a separate action by the church court.

Article 44

1. The minutes of the session of the ecclesiastical court are kept by the secretary and must contain all the necessary information about the consideration of the case.

2. The minutes of the session of the ecclesiastical court must be signed by the presiding judge and the secretary of the ecclesiastical court no later than three working days after the end of the session.

3. The minutes of the session of the ecclesiastical court shall indicate:

date and place of the meeting;
the name and composition of the ecclesiastical court considering the case;
case number;
information about the appearance of persons participating in the case;
explanations of the parties and other persons participating in the case, signed by them;
testimony of witnesses signed by them;
information about the disclosure of documents and expert opinions, data from the examination of material evidence, listening to audio recordings, viewing video recordings;
information about the conduct of the conciliation procedure by the church court, provided for in paragraph 3 of Article 6 of this Regulation;
date of the protocol.

3. The decision of the church court.

Article 45

1. When making a decision, the ecclesiastical court considers the following issues:

establishing the fact of a church offense;
establishment of the fact of committing an ecclesiastical offense by the accused person;
canonical (using the norms of ecclesiastical law) assessment of an ecclesiastical offense;
the guilt of the accused person in the commission of this church offense;
the presence of circumstances mitigating or aggravating guilt.

If it is necessary to bring the accused person to canonical responsibility, the canonical ban (punishment) against the accused person, which is possible from the point of view of the ecclesiastical court, is determined.

2. The decision of the ecclesiastical court is taken by the judges who are members of the ecclesiastical court in this case, in the manner prescribed by Article 42 of this Regulation.

3. After the adoption and signing of the decision by the ecclesiastical court, the presiding judge at the session of the ecclesiastical court announces to the parties the adopted decision, explains the procedure for its approval, as well as the procedure and conditions for appealing. In case of absence of any of the parties at the session of the ecclesiastical court, the secretary of the ecclesiastical court (within three working days from the date of the relevant session) informs the party absent from the session of the decision.

Article 46

1. The decision of the ecclesiastical court must contain: the date of the decision; the name and composition of the ecclesiastical court that made the decision; description of the merits of the case; a conclusion about the guilt (innocence) of the accused person and a canonical (using the norms of church law) assessment of the act; recommendation of a possible canonical ban (punishment) from the point of view of the ecclesiastical court if it is necessary to bring the accused person to canonical responsibility.

2. The decision of the ecclesiastical court must be signed by all the judges of the ecclesiastical court who took part in the session. A judge of an ecclesiastical court who does not agree with the decision made may state in writing his dissenting opinion, which is attached to the case file, but when the decision of the ecclesiastical court is announced to the parties, it is not announced.

Article 47

1. The decision taken by the diocesan court, together with the minutes of court sessions and other materials of the case, is submitted by the chairman of the diocesan court for consideration by the diocesan bishop no later than five working days from the date of the decision.

2. The diocesan bishop approves the decision of the diocesan court by his resolution, which must contain:

an indication of the type and term of canonical ban, punishment (if the accused person is brought to canonical responsibility) or an indication of the release of the accused person from canonical responsibility;
signature and seal of the diocesan bishop;
date of the resolution.

Decisions of the diocesan court (with the exception of repeated decisions taken in the manner prescribed by Article 48 of this Regulation) are approved by the diocesan bishop not earlier than fifteen working days from the date of their adoption.

3. Decisions of the diocesan court come into force from the moment they are approved by the diocesan bishop, and in the cases provided for in paragraph 4 of this article, from the moment the relevant canonical prohibitions (punishments) are approved by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod.

4. The Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' approves the canonical prohibitions imposed by the diocesan bishop in the form of a life-long ban on priestly service, defrocking, or excommunication from the Church.

The Holy Synod, headed by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus', imposes punishment on the superiors (abbots) of diocesan monasteries in the form of dismissal from their positions.

Decisions of the diocesan court in such cases, with the relevant preliminary resolution of the diocesan bishop and case materials, are sent by the diocesan bishop (within five working days from the date the diocesan bishop issues a resolution) for approval by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod.

5. In the absence of a diocesan bishop, including in the case of the widowhood of the diocese, consideration of the issue of approving the decision of the diocesan court is postponed until the return (appointment to office) of the diocesan bishop or until the duties of temporary administration of the diocese are assigned to the diocesan bishop of another diocese.

6. Within three working days from the day the diocesan bishop issues a resolution on the case, the secretary of the diocesan court delivers to the parties against receipt (sends by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt) a notice signed by the chairman of the diocesan court containing information about the resolution of the diocesan bishop.

Article 48 Conditions for appealing against decisions of the diocesan court.

1. If the diocesan bishop is not satisfied with the results of the consideration of the case in the diocesan court, the case is returned to the diocesan court for a new consideration.

In case of disagreement with the repeated decision of the diocesan court in this case, the diocesan bishop makes his own preliminary decision, which takes effect immediately. The corresponding case is sent by the diocesan bishop to the General Church Court of Second Instance for a final decision.

2. The case may be returned by the diocesan bishop to the diocesan court for a new trial also in the following cases:

upon discovery of significant circumstances of the case, unknown to the diocesan court at the time of the consideration of the case and which are the basis for its review;
submission to the diocesan bishop of a properly motivated written petition of the party for reconsideration of the case.

3. A party's request for a review of the case is filed (or sent by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt) to the diocesan administration addressed to the diocesan bishop within five working days from the date the diocesan court makes the relevant decision.

In the event that the deadline for filing an application established by this paragraph is missed, the diocesan bishop has the right to leave the application without consideration.

4. The review of the case is carried out by the diocesan court in the manner prescribed by sections 2-3 of this chapter. The request of the party to review the repeated decision of the diocesan court is not accepted for consideration.

5. Decisions of the diocesan court containing the resolution of the diocesan bishop may be appealed by the parties to the General Church Court of Second Instance only in the following cases:

non-observance by the diocesan court of the order of ecclesiastical legal proceedings established by these Regulations;
in case of duly motivated disagreement of the party with the repeated decision of the diocesan court, adopted at the request of the party for a review of the case.

Decisions of the diocesan court are appealed in the manner prescribed by Chapter 6 of this Regulation. Decisions of the diocesan court containing the resolution of the diocesan bishop on the release of the accused person from office or on the transfer of the clergy to another place of service are not subject to appeal.

Article 49

1. The decision taken by the All-Ecclesiastical Court of First Instance, together with the minutes of court sessions and other materials of the case, is submitted by the Chairman of the All-Ecclesiastical Court (within five working days from the date of the decision) for consideration by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

The decisions of the All-Ecclesiastical Court of First Instance, which provide as a possible canonical ban (punishment) are sent to the Holy Synod for consideration (within five working days from the date of the decision):

release of the accused person from the position to which this person was appointed by the decision of the Holy Synod;
other canonical prohibition (punishment), which has as its inevitable consequence the release from the position to which the person was appointed by the decision of the Holy Synod.

2. Decisions of the General Church Court of First Instance come into force from the moment they are approved by the resolution of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

3. Decisions of the General Church Court of First Instance submitted for consideration by the Holy Synod shall enter into force from the moment they are approved by the resolution of the Holy Synod. Before the consideration of the case by the Holy Synod, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' (if necessary) has the right to make a temporary decision, which takes effect immediately and is valid until the moment the Holy Synod passes the corresponding resolution.

4. Within three working days from the date of the adoption by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod of a resolution on the case, the secretary of the General Church Court shall hand over to the parties against receipt (send by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt) a notice signed by the chairman of the General Church Court containing information on the resolution of the Patriarch Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod.

Article 50 Conditions for appealing against decisions of the All-Ecclesiastical Court of First Instance.

1. If the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod are not satisfied with the results of the consideration of the case in the All-Ecclesiastical Court of First Instance, the case is returned to this court for a new consideration.

In case of disagreement with the repeated decision of the General Church Court of First Instance in this case, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod shall make their own preliminary decision, which shall enter into force immediately. The relevant case is sent to the next Bishops' Council for a final decision.

2. The case may be returned by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod to the General Church Court of First Instance for a new trial also in the following cases:

upon discovery of significant circumstances of the case, unknown to the General Church Court of First Instance at the time of the consideration of the case and which are the basis for its review;
submission to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or to the Holy Synod of a properly motivated written petition of the party for a review of the case in connection with the non-observance by the General Church Court of First Instance of the procedure for church proceedings established by these Regulations.

3. The party's request for a review of the case is filed (or sent by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt) to the Moscow Patriarchate within five working days from the day the relevant decision was made by the General Church Court of First Instance.

In the event that the deadline for filing a petition established by this paragraph is missed, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod shall have the right to leave the petition without consideration.

4. The review of the case is carried out by the All-Ecclesiastical Court of First Instance in the manner prescribed by Sections 2-3 of this Chapter. The petition of the party to review the repeated decision of the All-Ecclesiastical Court of First Instance is not accepted for consideration.

5. Bishops who are parties to the case may appeal at the next Bishops' Council (in the manner prescribed by Chapter 7 of this Regulation) the decisions of the General Church Court of First Instance that have entered into force, made in relation to the bishops and providing for:

prohibition in the priesthood;
release from the management of the Diocese (without transferring the diocesan bishop to the corresponding position in another diocese);
other canonical prohibition (punishment), which has as its inevitable consequence the release from the administration of the Diocese (without transferring the diocesan bishop to the corresponding position in another diocese).

Other decisions of the General Church Court of First Instance made in relation to bishops (including decisions providing for the transfer of a diocesan bishop to an appropriate position in another diocese) are not subject to appeal.

6. Persons, including clerics, appointed by the decision of the Holy Synod or by decree of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the position of heads of Synodal and other general church institutions, may appeal at the next Bishops' Council (in the manner prescribed by Chapter 7 of this Regulation) the decisions of the General Church Court that have entered into legal force first instance, providing for the excommunication of these persons from the Church or the defrocking of clerics.

Other decisions of the All-Ecclesiastical Court of First Instance issued in respect of the said persons shall not be subject to appeal.

Chapter 6 Supervisory proceedings in the General Church Court.

Article 51 Terms of consideration of appeals against the decision of the diocesan courts.

1. The General Church Court of Second Instance accepts for consideration cases considered by diocesan courts and referred by diocesan bishops to the General Church Court for final resolution in the manner prescribed by Article 52 of this Regulation.

2. Appeals against decisions of diocesan courts containing a resolution of a diocesan bishop are accepted by the All-Ecclesiastical Court of Second Instance for consideration solely by order of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod.

The decision on the appeal must be made no later than one month from the date of issuance by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod of the relevant order to transfer the appeal to the General Church Court of Second Instance. The extension of this period is carried out by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod at the reasoned petition of the chairman of the General Church Court.

Article 52

1. The petition of the diocesan bishop for the final resolution of the case, considered by the diocesan court in the manner provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 48 of this Regulation, is sent to the General Church Court with the application of the materials of the case, as well as a repeated decision of the diocesan court, with which the diocesan bishop does not agree. In the petition, the diocesan bishop must indicate the reasons for his disagreement with the decision of the diocesan court, as well as his own preliminary decision on the case.

2. If the petition of the diocesan bishop is filed without complying with the requirements provided for in paragraph 1 of this article, the secretary of the General Church Court proposes to the diocesan bishop to bring the petition in line with the established requirements.

Article 53

1. An appeal against a decision of a diocesan court is filed in the name of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or to the Holy Synod by the accused person or by the applicant, upon whose application the relevant diocesan court considered the case. The appeal must be signed by the person who filed the complaint. An anonymous appeal cannot serve as a reason for the consideration of the case in the General Church Court of Second Instance.

An appeal is filed (or sent by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt) to the Moscow Patriarchate.

If the deadline for filing an appeal is missed, the General Church Court of Second Instance has the right to leave the appeal without consideration.

3. The appeal must contain:

information about the person who filed the complaint, indicating his place of residence or, if the appeal was filed by a canonical division of the Russian Orthodox Church, his location;
information about the appealed decision of the diocesan court;
arguments (proper substantiation) of the appeal;

4. The general church court of second instance leaves the appeal without consideration in the following cases:

the appeal is signed and filed by a person who, in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article, does not have the authority to sign and present it;
non-compliance with the conditions for appealing against the decision of the diocesan court, provided for in paragraph 5 of Article 48 of this Regulation.

1. If the appeal is accepted for consideration, the chairman of the General Church Court sends to the name of the diocesan bishop:

a copy of the appeal against the decision of the diocesan court;
a request for submission to the General Church Court of the appealed decision of the diocesan court and other materials of the case.

2. The diocesan bishop (within ten working days from the date of receipt of the request) sends to the General Church Court:

response to the appeal;
appealed decision of the diocesan court and other materials of the case.

Article 55

The case may be considered by the All-Ecclesiastical Court of Second Instance with the participation of the relevant diocesan bishop.

Article 56

1. The general church court of second instance has the right:

leave the decision of the diocesan court unchanged;
make a new decision on the case;
cancel the decision of the diocesan court in whole or in part and terminate the judicial proceedings in the case.

4. Decisions of the All-Ecclesiastical Court of Second Instance come into force from the moment they are approved by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod.

5. Decisions of the All-Ecclesiastical Court of Second Instance are not subject to appeal.

Article 57

2. Supervisory proceedings in the General Church Court shall be carried out in accordance with the rules provided for in Articles 55-56 of this Regulation.

Chapter 7

Article 58

2. The appeal is signed by the person who filed the complaint. An anonymous appeal is not subject to consideration at the Council of Bishops.

If the deadline for filing an appeal is missed, it may be left without consideration.

4. The appeal must contain:

information about the person who filed the complaint, indicating his place of residence;
information about the appealed decision of the All-Ecclesiastical Court of First Instance;
arguments of the appeal;
the request of the complainant;
list of attached documents.

Article 59

1. The Council of Bishops has the right:

make their own decision on the case;
leave the decision of the lower ecclesiastical court unchanged;
cancel the decision of the lower ecclesiastical court in whole or in part and terminate the judicial proceedings.

Article 60

SECTION VI. FINAL PROVISIONS.

Article 61. Entry into force of this Regulation.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the date of its approval by the Council of Bishops.

Article 62. Application of this Regulation.

Cases on other ecclesiastical offenses are considered by ecclesiastical courts in the event of the commission of the relevant ecclesiastical offenses after the entry into force of this Regulation.

3. The Holy Synod approves the forms of documents used by ecclesiastical courts (including calls to the ecclesiastical court, minutes, court decisions).

The clarifications (instructions) of the General Church Court, approved in accordance with the established procedure, are binding on all diocesan courts.

4. Explanations (instructions) on the application of this Regulation by the General Church Court shall be approved by the Holy Synod.

_____________________

Church judge's oath

In conclusion of this promise, I kiss the Holy Gospel and the Cross of my Savior. Amen.

Witness oath

The text of the oath of a witness belonging to the Orthodox Church:
I, first name, patronymic and last name (the cleric also indicates his rank), giving testimony to the church court, before the Holy Cross and the Gospel, I promise to tell the truth and only the truth.
The text of the oath of a witness who does not belong to the Orthodox Church:
I, first name, patronymic and last name, giving evidence to the church court, promise to tell the truth and only the truth.

Press Service of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2008

One of the topics to be considered by the Council of Bishops will be the theme of the ecclesiastical court. Legal Counsel of the Moscow Patriarchate K.A. Chernega analyzed the main features of church legal proceedings in comparison with state legislation.

I. Features of the ecclesiastical judiciary and the status of judges of ecclesiastical courts.

The Council of Bishops will adopt several documents in the field of ecclesiastical legal proceedings:

"Regulations on the Church Court of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)" (hereinafter - the Regulations);
"The oath of a judge of an ecclesiastical court" and "The oath of a witness of an ecclesiastical court."

These documents will replace the "Temporary regulation on diocesan courts and diocesan councils performing the functions of diocesan courts", which was adopted by the Council of Bishops in 2004.

It is also important to emphasize that, since the norms of the Regulations on the Church Court supplement and specify certain provisions of Chapter VII of the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, adopted by the Council of Bishops in 2000, it is proposed to make appropriate changes and additions to this chapter.

Two more documents on church legal proceedings have been approved by the Holy Synod. These are the “Indicative List of Church Offenses Subject to Consideration by Church Courts” and “Sample Forms of Judicial Documents”, which include, respectively, samples of summons to the church court, decisions of the church court, minutes of court sessions.

The judicial system of the Russian Orthodox Church includes the following ecclesiastical courts:

diocesan courts, including those of the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Self-Governing Churches, Exarchates that are part of the Russian Orthodox Church, with jurisdiction within the respective dioceses;
the highest ecclesiastical-judicial instances of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, as well as the Self-Governing Churches (if these Churches have higher ecclesiastical-judicial instances) - with jurisdiction within the respective Churches;
the General Church Court - with jurisdiction within the Russian Orthodox Church;
Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church - with jurisdiction within the Russian Orthodox Church.

The diocesan court consists of at least five judges of episcopal or priestly rank. The General Church Court consists of five judges in the rank of bishop.

The main difference between the ecclesiastical and state judiciary is as follows.

1. According to Part 1 of Art. 118 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, justice in the Russian Federation is carried out only by the court. No other bodies and persons are entitled to exercise judicial powers (clause 1, article 1 of the Federal constitutional law "On the judicial system of the Russian Federation").

In accordance with the sacred canons, the right to judge in the Church belongs to the episcopate, which simultaneously exercises legislative and supreme executive power in the Church (Canon I of the Ecumenical Council).

Thus, in the Russian Orthodox Church, the fullness of judicial power belongs to the bodies of church power and administration (that is, administrative bodies), namely:

the Council of Bishops, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' and the Holy Synod - within the Russian Orthodox Church;
diocesan bishops - within the dioceses.

The judicial power of the General Church Court and the diocesan courts is of a delegated nature, that is, it stems from the canonical authority of the aforementioned administrative bodies, which, exercising ecclesiastical authority, endow them (to a certain extent) with ecclesiastical courts.

The highest judicial instance in the Church is the highest body of hierarchical administration - the Council of Bishops.

2. For the judiciary of the Orthodox Church, the principle of the independence of the judiciary and its independence from the legislative and executive authorities, provided for by state legislation, is unacceptable (clause 2, article 1, clause 1, article 5 of the Federal Constitutional Law “On the Judicial System of the Russian Federation”). Church courts are subordinate to the administrative bodies of church power and administration and are called upon to assist them in the administration of justice.

Thus, cases are referred to the diocesan court for consideration by the bodies of church authority and administration - diocesan bishops, and to the General Church Court - by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod.

Decisions of ecclesiastical courts come into force, that is, become binding for execution, from the moment they are approved by the bodies of ecclesiastical authority and administration. Thus, the decisions of the diocesan court come into force from the moment they are approved by the diocesan bishops, and in cases provided for by the Regulations, from the moment they are approved by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod. Decisions of the General Church Court come into force from the moment they are approved by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod.

Church courts have no right to impose canonical bans (punishments) on the guilty person. They only recommend concrete measures of canonical penalties to the organs of church authority and administration. The decision on the imposition of a canonical ban (punishment) remains with the administrative bodies of the Church, which determine the specific type and term of punishment or may release the accused person from canonical responsibility.

The appeals of the parties against the decisions of the church courts are sent to the bodies of church authority and administration - addressed to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod, who decide on the transfer of complaints to the appropriate higher church courts.

Let us consider the main features of the status of judges of church courts.

1). Judges of federal courts are appointed, respectively, by the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation or by the President of the Russian Federation (Article 6 of the Law of the Russian Federation "On the Status of Judges in the Russian Federation"). Justices of the peace and judges of arbitration courts are appointed (elected) to their positions in accordance with the established procedure.

The ecclesiastical judiciary presupposes a combination of the principle of the appointment of judges with the principle of their election.

Thus, the chairman, deputy chairman and secretary of the diocesan court are appointed by the diocesan bishop; the remaining judges of the diocesan court are elected by the diocesan assembly on the proposal of the diocesan bishop.

Judges of the General Church Court are elected by the Council of Bishops. The Deputy Chairman and Secretary of the General Church Court are appointed by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' from among the members of the General Church Court.

2). The powers of judges of secular courts are not limited to a certain period, with the exception of cases provided for by federal laws (clause 1, article 11 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Status of Judges in the Russian Federation”).

The powers of judges of ecclesiastical courts are limited:

three years (for judges of diocesan courts);
four years (for judges of the General Church Court).

Appointment (election) of judges for a new term is allowed:

to diocesan courts - without limiting the number of reappointments (re-elections);
to the General Church Court - no more than three terms in a row.

Acts of state legislation provide for the possibility of terminating the powers of judges on grounds, an exhaustive list of which is established by federal law.

The regulation also allows early termination of the powers of a judge of an ecclesiastical court on the following grounds:

a written request from a church court judge for dismissal from office;
inability, for health reasons or other valid reasons, to exercise the powers of a judge of an ecclesiastical court;
death of a judge of an ecclesiastical court, declaration of his death or recognition as missing in the manner prescribed by state legislation;
the entry into force of the decision of the church court on the accusation of the judge of committing an church offense.

In addition, the powers of a judge of an ecclesiastical court are suspended if the ecclesiastical court accepts for consideration a case on accusation of this judge of committing an ecclesiastical offense.

The regulation allows the self-withdrawal of a judge of an ecclesiastical court if he:

is a relative (up to the 7th degree) or relative (up to the 4th degree) of the parties;
is in direct service relations with at least one of the parties.

The composition of the ecclesiastical court considering the case cannot include persons who are related to each other (up to the 7th degree) or property (up to the 4th degree). One of these persons must declare self-withdrawal.

At the same time, the Regulations do not provide for the right of the parties to challenge the judges of the ecclesiastical court.

3). The principles of independence, inviolability of judges of ecclesiastical courts, as well as any prohibitions on filling other positions by them are not provided for by the Regulations on the ecclesiastical court.

II. Sources of ecclesiastical law that guide ecclesiastical courts. Church offenses and punishments (prohibitions).

The Church Courts of the Russian Orthodox Church exercise judicial power guided by the sacred canons, the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Regulations on the Church Court of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) and other institutions of the Orthodox Church.

It is important to note that the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Regulations govern the issues of church judiciary and legal proceedings.

Types of church crimes and misdemeanors, as well as measures of canonical responsibility for them, are not provided for by the Regulations.

An approximate list of ecclesiastical offenses subject to consideration by ecclesiastical courts has been approved by the Holy Synod. This list includes five categories of cases, namely ecclesiastical offenses: against the faith; against the neighbor and Christian morality; against the rules on monasticism; offenses of bishops and other clerics against the hierarchical order and, accordingly, against pastoral service.

If it is necessary to transfer to the diocesan court cases on ecclesiastical offenses not provided for in this list, diocesan bishops should apply to the General Church Court for clarification.

The types of canonical prohibitions (punishments) for these offenses are determined by the sacred canons. At the same time, the Regulation establishes the following basic rules for imposing canonical prohibitions (punishments):

1) Presumption of innocence. A person accused of committing an ecclesiastical offense cannot be subjected to a canonical ban (punishment) without sufficient evidence establishing the guilt of this person.

2) The moral purpose of church prohibitions (punishments). Canonical prohibition (punishment) should encourage a member of the Russian Orthodox Church who has committed an ecclesiastical offense to repentance and correction.

3) The use of church economy and acrivia when imposing a canonical ban (punishment). When imposing a canonical ban (punishment), one should take into account the reasons for committing an ecclesiastical offense, the way of life of the guilty person, the motives for committing an ecclesiastical offense by him, acting in the spirit of ecclesiastical economy, which involves indulgence towards the guilty person in order to correct him, or, in appropriate cases, in the spirit of ecclesiastical acrivia which allows the application of strict canonical prohibitions against the guilty person for the purpose of his repentance.

4) Responsibility of a cleric for an obviously slanderous denunciation of a diocesan bishop. In the event that a cleric submits a clearly slanderous statement about the commission of an ecclesiastical offense by a diocesan bishop, the applicant is subject to the same canonical prohibition (punishment) that would have been applied to the accused person if the fact of committing an ecclesiastical offense had been proven (II Ecumenical Council 6 canon).

5) Mandatory conduct of a conciliation procedure by an ecclesiastical court (in order to resolve disagreements that have arisen between the parties), if during the trial the ecclesiastical court comes to the conclusion that there is no fact of an ecclesiastical offense and (or) the innocence of the accused person.

III. Rules on the jurisdiction and jurisdiction of cases to church courts.

These rules are as follows.

The Diocesan Court considers:

in relation to clergy - cases on charges of committing ecclesiastical offenses, provided for by the list approved by the Holy Synod and entailing canonical prohibitions (punishments) in the form of dismissal from office, dismissal for the state, temporary or life ban on priesthood, defrocking, excommunication from the Church ;
in relation to laity who belong to the category of church officials, as well as monastics - cases on charges of committing church offenses provided for by the list approved by the Holy Synod and entailing canonical prohibitions (punishments) in the form of dismissal, temporary excommunication from church communion or excommunication from the Church;
other cases that, at the discretion of the diocesan bishop, require investigation, including cases on the most significant disputes and disagreements between clergy.

The general ecclesiastical court considers as an ecclesiastical court of first instance:

in relation to bishops (with the exception of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia) - cases on charges of committing ecclesiastical offenses, provided for by the list approved by the Holy Synod and entailing canonical prohibitions (punishments) in the form of release from the administration of the Diocese, dismissal, temporary or life ban in the priesthood, defrocking, excommunication from the Church;
in relation to clerics appointed by the decision of the Holy Synod or by decree of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the position of heads of Synodal and other general church institutions - cases on charges of committing ecclesiastical offenses provided for by the list approved by the Holy Synod and entailing canonical prohibitions (punishments) in the form of exemption from position, temporary or life-long ban on priesthood, defrocking, excommunication from the Church;
in relation to other persons appointed by the decision of the Holy Synod or by decree of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the position of heads of Synodal and other general church institutions - cases on charges of committing ecclesiastical offenses provided for by the list approved by the Holy Synod and entailing canonical bans (punishments) in the form of release from office, temporary excommunication from church communion or excommunication from the Church;
other cases in relation to the above persons referred by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod to the General Church Court of First Instance, including cases on the most significant disputes and disagreements, disputes between bishops.

The General Church Court considers, as an ecclesiastical court of second instance, cases:

reviewed by diocesan courts and sent by diocesan bishops to the General Church Court for final resolution;
on appeals of the parties against decisions of diocesan courts;
considered by the highest ecclesiastical courts of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia or Self-Governing Churches (if these Churches have higher ecclesiastical courts) and submitted by the primates of the respective Churches to the General Church Court;
on appeals of the parties against decisions of higher ecclesiastical courts of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia or Self-Governing Churches (if these Churches have higher ecclesiastical courts).

By order of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod, the General Church Court has the right to review, by way of supervision, decisions of diocesan courts that have entered into legal force.

The Council of Bishops considers, as an ecclesiastical court of first and last instance, cases of dogmatic and canonical deviations in the activities of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

The Council of Bishops considers, as an ecclesiastical court of second instance, cases against bishops and leaders of Synodal and other general church institutions:

considered by the General Church Court of First Instance and sent by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' or the Holy Synod to the consideration of the Council of Bishops for a final decision;
on appeals of bishops or heads of Synodal and other general church institutions against decisions of the All-Ecclesiastical Court of First Instance that have entered into force.

The Council of Bishops is the highest court for the bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, Self-Governing Churches and Exarchates of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The Council of Bishops has the right to review, by way of supervision, decisions of the General Church Court that have entered into legal force.

IV. The main features of church legal proceedings in comparison with state legal proceedings.

1. State legislation allows for the sole consideration of cases by judges. In particular, civil cases in the courts of first instance are considered by the judges of these courts alone, with the exception of cases provided for by federal law (Article 7 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).

Ecclesiastical courts may hear cases with at least three judges; moreover, individual cases can be considered by ecclesiastical courts only in full composition. For example, diocesan courts should consider in their entirety cases on accusations of clerics of committing ecclesiastical offenses that entail canonical bans in the form of a life ban on priestly service, defrocking, excommunication from the Church.

The general ecclesiastical court considers in its entirety all cases on accusations of bishops of committing ecclesiastical offences.

2. State courts are characterized by the principle of publicity (openness) of the trial. Hearing a case in camera is allowed only in cases provided for by federal law (Part 1, Article 123 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation; Article 9 of the Federal Constitutional Law "On the Judicial System of the Russian Federation").

In church courts, the proceedings are closed. The Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Regulations do not provide for exceptions to this rule.

Moreover, according to the Regulations, the personal presence at court sessions of the parties, witnesses and other persons participating in the case is not a mandatory rule. In particular, the ecclesiastical court may consider the case in the absence of:

of the accused person - if he did not twice appear without good reason at the court session in the case of deprivation of dignity or excommunication from the Church - paragraph 4 of Art. 40 Regulations;
the applicant (if he was interviewed by the court apparatus at the stage of preparing the case for consideration) - paragraph 1 of Art. 39 Regulations;
both parties, if they did not appear twice at the court session - paragraph 2 of Art. 40 Regulations;
one of the parties (the applicant or the accused), if they did not provide the reasons for the absence or these reasons are disrespectful - paragraph 3 of Art. 40 Regulations;
parties, witnesses and other persons participating in the case - when considering appeals against decisions of diocesan courts by the General Church Court of Second Instance - Art. 55 Regulations.

Meanwhile, state legislation does not allow trial in absentia of criminal cases, except for the cases provided for by federal law (Part 2, Article 123 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation).

In addition, the trial of criminal cases in secular courts is subject to the principles of immediacy and orality, which oblige the court to hear all the testimony of witnesses and parties, and not be limited to their testimony given during the investigation of the case (Article 240 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation).

According to the Regulation, if during the preparation of the case for consideration the applicant was interrogated by the court apparatus in accordance with the established procedure, the church court has the right to consider the case in the absence of the applicant, with the obligatory announcement of the protocol of the applicant's questioning at the court session.

3. According to Part 3 of Art. 123 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, proceedings in secular courts are carried out on the basis of competitiveness and equality of the parties. Secular courts cannot give preference to any bodies, persons participating in the process, the parties, depending on their status or on other grounds not provided for by federal law (clause 2, article 7 of the Federal constitutional law "On the judicial system of the Russian Federation").

Thus, the secular court does not perform the functions of defense or prosecution, but acts as an organ of justice (arbiter). Accordingly, the prosecution and defense are carried out by parties with equal rights. The court is not responsible for collecting evidence.

The principle of procedural equality of the parties has a number of exceptions in ecclesiastical legal proceedings.

For example, in the General Church Court in a case where the applicant is a cleric and the accused person is a bishop, only the bishop has the right to file an appeal against the Council of Bishops. The cleric, although he is a party to the case (the applicant), does not have the right to appeal against the decision of the General Church Court made against the bishop (clause 1, article 50 of the Regulations).

Also, the decision of the General Church Court in the case against the head of the Synodal institution has the right to appeal only the head. The applicants (three employees of the Synodal Institution) are not entitled to file an appeal against this decision.
The principle of the adversarial nature of the parties is also not fully observed, which, in particular, implies the implementation of the function of collecting evidence by the parties themselves. The collection of evidence is carried out not only by the parties, but also by other persons participating in the case, and by the church court, which has the right to send relevant requests to obtain evidence in the manner prescribed by the Regulations.

4. In accordance with Art. 3 of the Federal Constitutional Law “On the Judicial System of the Russian Federation”, the unity of the judicial system of the Russian Federation is ensured by recognizing the mandatory execution throughout the territory of the Russian Federation of judicial decisions that have entered into force.

In order to guarantee the implementation of these norms of state legislation, the Federal Bailiff Service operates under the Ministry of Justice of Russia. In addition, special acts of procedural legislation (in particular, the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation) provide for measures of procedural coercion in relation to a suspect or accused (obligation to appear, bringing, detention, undertaking not to leave, detention, etc.). The criminal law establishes criminal liability for the refusal of a witness or victim to testify (Article 308 of the Criminal Code). The regulation on the church court does not provide for the institution of bailiffs (executors).

Also, the above measures of coercion in relation to the parties, witnesses and other persons participating in the case are not provided for by the Regulations.

Explanations of the parties and testimonies of witnesses in the church court can be obtained only with their consent.

It is important to note that for perjury, as well as for knowingly false denunciation of an allegedly committed church offense, canonical (and not criminal) liability is provided, about which witnesses and parties are previously (before receiving explanations and testimony from them) are warned by the church court.

5. State legislation determines the procedural time limits, including the time limits for considering a case, for the adoption and entry into force of court decisions, for filing appeals and cassation complaints against court decisions.

According to the Regulations on the Church Court, the actions of the Church Court and the persons participating in the case are carried out within the time limits established by the Church Court, unless otherwise provided by the Regulations.

For example, for diocesan courts, the following deadlines are set:

consideration of the case by the diocesan court - 1 month (clause 1, article 33 of the Regulations);
submission of a written petition of the party for review of the case by the diocesan court - 5 working days from the date of the decision (clause 3, article 48 of the Regulation);
sending the parties a written notice of the resolution of the bishop on the court decision - three working days from the date of the resolution (clause 6, article 47 of the Regulations);
filing an appeal against the decision of the diocesan court - 10 working days from the date of receipt by the party of a written notification of the bishop's resolution (clause 2, article 53 of the Regulations).

Specific deadlines for the performance of procedural actions are also provided for the General Church Court.

6. Unlike acts of state legislation, the Regulations do not regulate the procedure for conducting a court session (the sequence of speeches, filing motions, etc.). This procedure is determined by the church courts independently, taking into account a number of rules provided for by the Regulations.

For example, it is necessary to observe the rule on the continuity of the court session, according to which the session of the ecclesiastical court in each case is held without interruption, except for the time appointed for rest; Simultaneous consideration of several cases at one court session is not allowed.

7. The rules for the entry into force and appeal of decisions of ecclesiastical courts differ significantly from those provided for by state legislation.

In particular, the decisions of the diocesan court come into force from the moment they are approved by the resolution of the diocesan bishop. However, if this resolution provides for canonical bans in the form of a life ban on priesthood, defrocking, or excommunication from the Church, the decision of the diocesan court comes into force from the moment the corresponding canonical ban is approved by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus'.

In addition, if the resolution of the diocesan bishop provides for punishment in the form of dismissal of the rector (abbot) of the diocesan monasteries from her position, the decision of the diocesan court comes into force from the moment the Holy Synod approves the corresponding punishment.

It is allowed to appeal to the General Church Court of Second Instance only those decisions of the diocesan court that contain the resolution of the diocesan bishop.

The relevant resolution should contain:

an indication of the type and term of canonical ban, punishment (if the accused person is brought to canonical responsibility) or an indication of the release of the accused person from canonical responsibility;
signature and seal of the diocesan bishop;
date of the resolution.

The decisions of the diocesan court containing the resolution of the diocesan bishop may be appealed by the parties only in the following cases:

in case of duly motivated disagreement of the party with the second decision of the diocesan court, adopted at the request of the party to review the case;
non-observance by the diocesan court of the order of church legal proceedings established by the Regulations.

Decisions of the General Church Court of First Instance can be appealed only by the accused person (that is, the bishop or the head of the Synodal and other general church institution).

The regulation establishes a closed (exhaustive) list of grounds for appealing against these decisions.

In conclusion, I would like to note that, according to the Regulation, cases of ecclesiastical offenses, which are a canonical obstacle to being in the clergy, are considered by church courts in the manner prescribed by this Regulation in the event of the commission of these ecclesiastical offenses both before and after the entry into force of this Regulation - provided that the relevant ecclesiastical offenses were deliberately hidden by the accused person and, in this regard, were not previously considered by the bodies of ecclesiastical authority and administration.

Cases on other ecclesiastical offenses are considered by ecclesiastical courts in the event of the commission of the relevant ecclesiastical offenses after the entry into force of this Regulation.

In this case, it is envisaged to apply the Regulation "with retroactive effect" when considering cases of ecclesiastical offenses, which are a canonical obstacle to being in the clergy.

According to Art. 53 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, a law establishing or aggravating liability does not have retroactive effect. However, the Statute of the Church Court is not state law.

In addition, this Regulation does not establish liability (punishment) for committing a church offense. The types of responsibility (punishment) of the perpetrators are established, as already noted above, by church canons. The regulation, defining the order of ecclesiastical legal proceedings, does not introduce new canonical rules (on the types of ecclesiastical offenses and responsibility for them).

The cited rule on the application of the Regulation with “retroactive effect”) means that church courts must consider cases of church offenses that prevent being in the clergy, in the manner prescribed by the Regulation, regardless of when the church offense was committed - before or after the entry into force of this Regulation .

For example, if an ecclesiastical offense preventing the stay in the clergy was committed by a priest in 2005, and was discovered in 2008 after the Regulations on the Church Court came into force, the diocesan court must consider the case in the manner prescribed by the Regulations on the Church Court (and not "Temporary regulation on diocesan courts and diocesan councils performing the functions of diocesan courts", which was in force in 2005).

It is worth noting that at the present stage of the development of legislation, the “immutable legal principle”, according to which “the law has no retroactive effect”, has many exceptions.

For example, Federal Law No. 104-FZ of July 6, 2006 (which abolished the right of clergy to defer military service) was adopted on July 6, 2006, and entered into force on July 1, 2006 (Article 7 of the law). Another example is according to Art. 11 of the Federal Law “On the Enactment of Part One of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation” dated November 30, 1994 No. 52-FZ, Article 234 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (acquisitive prescription) also applies to cases where ownership of property began before January 1, 1995 (that is, before the entry into force of part 1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) and continues at the time of entry into force of part one of the Code.

K.A. Chernega, legal adviser of the Moscow Patriarchy

REGULATIONS ON THE CHURCH COURT OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH ABROAD

(Approved by the decision of the Council of Bishops

Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on October 3/16 and 4/17, 1956)

FIRST DEPARTMENT.

A. GENERAL.

1. The judicial power of the Orthodox Church has its basis in the will of the Divine Founder of the Church of Christ, expressed in Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition and Church practice.

2. The purpose of the Church Court is:

a) to preserve the unity, holiness and integrity of the Divine teaching of the Holy Orthodox Church, the sanctity of Church sacraments, the holiness and inviolability of other general Church institutions, including the hierarchical conciliar structure of the Church, as the only canonical form of Church government and the foundations of Church life;

b) to restore in the Church the truth of Holy Orthodoxy, distorted by apostasy, or the violated order and structure of Church life, the purity, unity and holiness of the latter, as well as the strength and inviolability of Church rules, laws and customs and the established normal Church-legal relations based on them;

c) to destroy all kinds of misunderstandings and disputes among members of the Church, and

d) subject the guilty to measures of correction, punishment, and sometimes even complete excommunication from the Church as the Body of Christ, and in cases of correction, restore them partially or completely in their lost rights and titles.

3. The Church Court of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia exists in three instances:

a) Diocesan Court;

b) the Court of the Synod of Bishops; And

c) The Judgment of the Council of Bishops.

4. The main norms of the Church Court in all its instances should be:

a) Holy Scripture

b) Holy Tradition;

c) the teachings and dogmas of the Holy Orthodox Church;

d) church canons and general church legislation of the Holy Ecumenical Orthodox Church;

e) the church legislation of the Russian Local Orthodox Church, its statutes and customs;

f) resolutions of the Councils of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and the Synod of Bishops and the statutes and rules approved by them;

g) Decree of His Holiness the Patriarch, the Holy Synod and the Supreme Church Council of the Russian Orthodox Church of November 7/20, 1920 No. 362;

h) Regulations on the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, approved by the Council of Bishops in 1956;

i) local state laws that do not contradict the teachings and spirit of the Holy Orthodox Church, and

j) the present Regulations on the Church Court.

B. DIOCESAN COURT. (On persons and cases under the jurisdiction of the Diocesan Court.)

5. The Diocesan Court is the first instance of the Church Court. Subject to the Diocesan Court are persons belonging to the composition of the members of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia of both spiritual and secular ranks, who have fallen into unbelief, heresy, schism and constitute an unauthorized gathering, who have fallen away from the Holy Orthodox Church for other reasons, who slander her and her hierarchy or cause obvious harm to the Church.

6. Regardless of this, the Diocesan Court has jurisdiction over clerics:

a) for misdemeanors and crimes against office, deanery and good conduct;

b) on mutual disputes of clerics and on disputes over the division of income, the use of movable or immovable church and parish property;

c) according to complaints of clergy and secular persons about insults inflicted on them by persons of clergy;

d) on complaints about violation by clerics of indisputable obligations and on requests for inducement to pay indisputable debts;

e) in cases of insulting by words or actions of individuals:

e) slander, and

g) for appearing in a state of intoxication or in a form inappropriate for a clergyman in public places.

7. Persons of a clergy may not apply to a civil court, bypassing a spiritual court, with any kind of claims against other persons of a clergy in cases arising from the performance of their duties, or regarding the performance of such.

8. Persons of the clergy are subject to ecclesiastical court if they commit state or criminal offenses that entail ecclesiastical condemnation and punishment, regardless of whether they are brought to justice in a civil court.

9. Cases of misdemeanors and crimes of persons of clergy against office, deanery and good conduct, as well as cases of crimes referred to in par. 6th, can be started:

a) by order of the Supreme Church Authority, i.e., the Synod of Bishops, or its Chairman;

b) by order of the Diocesan Bishop;

c) at the suggestion of the Diocesan Council;

d) as reported by civil institutions and officials;

e) according to the reports of the deans or members of the clergy;

f) on the complaints of private secular persons, parochial councils and parishioners;

g) according to information that can somehow reach the Diocesan Bishop, and

h) by his own admission.

10. Persons of secular rank are subject to the ecclesiastical diocesan court not only on the grounds indicated in par. 6th, but also:

a) in cases on the recognition of marriages illegal and invalid and on the dissolution of marriages;

b) in cases where certification of the validity of the event of marriages and births from legal marriages is required;

c) for various misdemeanors and crimes that subject the perpetrators to church penance, restriction of church rights or excommunication from the Church.

11. Persons of the parish administration, such as the rector, church warden, members of parochial councils and revision commissions, and other responsible persons from parish organizations for wrong or illegal actions committed by them, may be judged by the Diocesan Church Court, if these actions serve to harm and damage the diocese or parish, or to undermine the authority of the Holy Orthodox Church and its Hierarchy, as well as cause material or moral damage to the parish, church, church clergy property or individuals who have appealed the illegal or incorrect actions of the parish administration to the church power.

B. CHURCH COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE. (The Bishops' Court directly and the Collegiate Court.)

Court of Bishops.

12. Litigation directly Bishops are subject to:

a) misdeeds of ignorance and inadvertence of the clergy and clergy, requiring the correction and purification of their conscience by the hierarchical action of the Bishop, inconveniently exposed to publicity and the forms of an ordinary court;

b) misdemeanors against the position and good behavior seen in the clergyman, whose previous behavior was impeccable, not connected with obvious harm and temptation;

c) complaints brought about the wrong actions of a clergyman with the aim of correcting him with Bishop's influence and edifying informal office work.

13. The Diocesan Bishop may entrust directly from himself to the dean or another trusted clergyman the production of a secret inquiry to establish the justice of the accusation, and if such is confirmed, he summons the accused to himself for a test of his conscience and, depending on the misconduct and signs of repentance, releases him directly. to the place with archpastoral admonition, or imposes on him a decent penance with passing it on the spot, or at the bishop's house, or in another place, up to 2 weeks, in some cases he transfers the guilty person to another place of service for the benefit of the Church and service, or forbids him to perform certain sacred rites or official functions.

14. In dioceses with large geographic areas, where summoning in the above cases is sometimes not convenient due to remoteness, the Bishop instructs the accused to be admonished to one of the trusted clergy, or subjects him to penance, with removal for a time (up to two weeks) from the priesthood.

15. No appeals are allowed against Bishops' Courts, directly brought by bishops, and the very facts of the proceedings of the Bishops' Court against clergy are not included in the formulary lists of the latter.

16. In the event of clergymen refusing to appear before the Diocesan Bishop without a sufficiently good reason for explaining the complaints filed against them, such clergymen are subject to more severe penalties than those indicated in paragraphs. 13 and 14, with the form of their punishment entered in the formulary lists.

Collegiate Court (Diocesan).

17. The Diocesan Court, under the Diocesan Bishop, consists of the Chairman and two members of the Court, from among the clergy not lower than the rank of presbyter.

18. The Chairman of the Diocesan Court is appointed and dismissed by the Diocesan Bishop, and the members of the Court and their deputies are elected in equal numbers every three years by the Diocesan Bishop. One of the members of the Court is its secretary, if the Diocesan Administration does not have a deliberate secretary of the Court who is not a member of it.

Note: In case of illness or absence of any member of the Diocesan Court, the Diocesan Bishop temporarily appoints another person to replace the absent Chairman, and calls one of the elected deputy members of the Court to replace the absent member.

19. All cases in the Diocesan Court are decided by a majority of votes after a thorough confession and analysis of the case and the interrogation of interested persons and their witnesses, when required; moreover, the decisions of the Diocesan Court come into force only upon their approval by the Diocesan Bishop.

20. In case of disagreement in the decision of the case, a member of the Court who disagrees with its decision declares to the court in its general presence about his disagreement and intention to submit a separate opinion within three days for application and submission together with the decision of the Court to the Diocesan Bishop.

21. If the Diocesan Bishop does not agree with the decision of the Diocesan Court, then the entire case with the resolution of the Diocesan Bishop is returned back to the Court for reconsideration of the entire case on the merits or only part of it within the time period specified by the Bishop. If, even after a second consideration of the case, the decision of the Diocesan Court is unacceptable to the Diocesan Bishop, then the latter either decides the case himself, in which case the decision is enforced by law for the interested persons whose case was examined, an appeal to the Synod of Bishops, which must be done by them a statement to the Diocesan Bishop or the Court within 7 days after the announcement of the hierarchal decision of the case, or the Diocesan Bishop, with his special report, submits the entire case for an authoritative and final decision to the Synod of Bishops.

22. The Diocesan Court considers and decides all cases concerning spiritual and secular persons, which are sent by the Diocesan Bishop to this Court and about which a public inquiry must be made, or has already been made, with the questioning of witnesses or a formal investigation. This includes all cases relating to marriages and the issuance of certificates of the validity of the events of marriages, and births from legal marriages.

23. In cases of dissolution of church marriages, the Diocesan Church Court is guided, except for those indicated in par. 4 of this Regulation of the basic norms of the Church Court, the decision of the Holy Council of the Orthodox Russian Church on the grounds for the termination of the marriage union, consecrated by the Church, of April 7/20, 1918 and August 20/September 2, 1918 and the Provisional Rules for Proceedings on the termination of the marriage union, approved by the decision of His Holiness the Patriarch and the Holy Synod in the united Presence with the Supreme Church Council on December 7/20, 1918. No. 471, as well as special definitions and additions of the Councils of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia and clarifications of the Synod of Bishops of the same Church.

24. In all litigation, including litigation in cases of divorce, the Diocesan Court interrogates the litigants and their witnesses, if the Court finds it useful for clarifying the case.

25. If any difficulties arise for the Diocesan Court in resolving certain court cases that require competent explanation, the Diocesan Court, with the knowledge and blessing of the Diocesan Bishop, may seek advice and information from knowledgeable persons.

26. In all cases decided by the Diocesan Court, the decisions of which have already been approved by the Diocesan Bishop or re-adjudicated by him in the order of paras. 20-23, but do not satisfy the interested persons (plaintiffs or defendants), the latter declare their disagreement or dissatisfaction within 7 days after the announcement of the decision of the Court or the Diocesan Bishop and have the right to appeal it in an appeal before the Synod of Bishops in 30 ty days after the announcement of the decision of the Court.

27. Appeals to the Synod of Bishops are submitted by all means through the Diocesan Bishop, who, within 30 days, submits them to the Synod along with his response on the content of the appeal.

28. The Synod of Bishops leaves appeals without consequences:

a) if they contain reproachful or indecent expressions,

b) if the complaint does not have a handwritten signature of the complainant, or, if the latter is illiterate, there is no signature of the persons who wrote the complaint and their exact addresses are not indicated, and

c) if the complaints relate to cases directly and categorically decided by the Diocesan Bishops.

29. An appeal received directly by the Synod is sent by the latter to the Diocesan Bishop for submission to him of his revocation within 30 days.

30. Persons who are dissatisfied with the decision of the Diocesan Court, when filing appeals with the Synod of Bishops, have the right to demand that they be given a copy of the court ruling and that they or their authorized representatives be given the opportunity to read their case in the presence of a member or secretary of the court.

D. PENALTY.

31. A clergyman accused of a crime upon complaint, or whose crime is discovered in the course of an investigation, depending on the circumstances and his previous behavior, may be temporarily removed from office or prohibited from priestly service pending trial at the discretion of the Diocesan Bishop.

Note: Laymen who hold administrative positions and are put on trial for abuse of their position may be suspended from office pending trial by order of the Diocesan Authority.

32. Persons of the clergy, by decision of the Diocesan Court, may be subject to the following measures of correction and punishment:

a) remark;

b) reprimand;

c) a monetary fine;

d) severe reprimand;

e) severe reprimand with a fine;

f) strengthening supervision;

g) temporary probation at bishop's houses or monasteries;

h) temporary ban on priestly service without removal from office;

i) dismissal from office and transfer to another place;

j) temporary prohibition in the service of the priesthood and removal from office with the appointment of a clerk;

j) removal from office and dismissal for the staff;

k) deprivation of the holy dignity, and deprivation of the priestly dignity and monasticism with exclusion from the lists of the clergy;

l) excommunication from church fellowship, and

m) excommunication from the Church and anathematization of the Church.

Note: Penalties, starting with a severe reprimand, are included in the track record.

33. According to the Diocesan Court, laymen are subject to the following penalties:

a) remark;

b) reprimand;

c) severe reprimand with a warning;

d) giving public repentance;

e) deprivation of the right to hold any position in the parish or to bear any duties at the church;

f) standing in the porch of the temple (temporary);

g) deprivation of the right to be christening recipients;

h) deprivation of the right to marry;

i) deprivation of Holy Communion;

j) deprivation of Christian burial and burial in an Orthodox cemetery;

j) excommunication from church fellowship, and

k) excommunication from the Church with public anathema on the Sunday of Orthodoxy.

34. When, in the course of the consideration of cases within the Diocesan Court, crimes subject to criminal trial are discovered, the civil authorities shall be notified of this.

35. Clergymen who do not keep the secrets of confession, if they are convicted of this crime, are subject to a ban on priestly service for a period of 3 years, and in the event of a repetition of this crime, they are expelled from the priesthood. , if, during the analysis of the case of an illegal marriage, it was discovered that the clergyman decided to perform an illegal wedding for selfish purposes, then he is still subject to a fine in favor of the Charity Fund at the Synod of Bishops. The clerk who knowingly participated in this crime is removed from his post.

36. A clergyman, having dared in the church, or outside it, in a sacred vestment, to perform Divine service while drunk, if he is convicted of this crime, for the first time renounces his place and is prohibited from serving until repentance and correction; in the repetition of this crime, the clergyman who committed Divine Liturgy in a state of intoxication ejaculates from the dignity.

37. A clergyman, daring to beat someone with his hands or with some tool in the church during the service, is deposed from his rank and reduced to the clergy, and the clerks who are guilty of such an act are removed from office. Likewise, clergymen and clerks are subject to the same penalties if they, by their obscene words or actions during the Divine Service, cause temptation or confusion, from which a halt in the Divine Service will follow. A clergyman convicted of beating in all other cases is subject to a strict canonical ban up to and including eruption, depending on the degree of his guilt.

38. Priests and clerks who, outside the temple, showed disrespect for the temple, shrine and sacred objects of the temple by their indecent words or actions - for the first time are punished with a severe reprimand, sometimes with the imposition of penance, depending on the quality of the offense; the second time they go to the monastery for repentance for up to 3 months and the most difficult obedience, and the third time they completely renounce the place and the clergy are prohibited from serving until sincere repentance and complete correction.

39. Priests convicted of serious criminal offenses are deposed, and those guilty of the same clerks are deprived of the right to take Holy Communion up to 10 years of age with dismissal from their positions without the right to receive such at any time in the future.

40. Priests and clerics of all degrees who are convicted of fornication, adultery, unlawful cohabitation and other vices against the 7th Commandment are subject to defrocking or from their degree. The clerks who are guilty of the above crimes are dismissed from their positions and are subjected to prolonged feats of repentance and deprivation of the right to proceed to Holy Communion until their full repentance and correction.

41. Priestly monks are subject to the same measures of punishment as all clergymen for the corresponding offenses and crimes committed by them. Ordinary monks are punished for their misdeeds and crimes, according to the charter of the monastery.

42. Persons who deviated from Orthodox faith and those who have converted to another confession, as well as those who have embarked on the path of preaching unbelief, heresy and schism and causing confusion and division in the Church of God for the sake of worldly benefits and goals, in cases of stubbornness and non-correction of them by sufficient exhortation, are subject to the following punishments: clergymen - eruption from priesthood, clerks and officials at the church - dismissal from office and excommunication from the church, and ordinary laity - excommunication from the Church.

43. Presbyters and deacons who neglect their lawful bishops and voluntarily separate from them and without their permission and blessings organize liturgical meetings, or build covens against their lawful bishops, in cases of impenitence and non-correction, after their exhortation, are subject to deposition from their ranks.

44. Clergy who are convicted of extorting payment for the sacraments or performing rites are held accountable, up to and including removal from office.

45. A priest who, due to negligence in the performance of his duties, allowed an infant to die without holy baptism, or who died without the parting words he asked for, is brought to strict liability, up to and including removal from office.

46. Priests and clerks who, according to complaints from parishioners, are found guilty of malfunctioning in the performance of divine services and services, as well as non-peacefulness, are subject to penalties at the measure and discretion of the Diocesan Bishop or the Diocesan Court.

47. Decisions of the Diocesan Court on the defrocking of clergy are carried out after their approval by the Synod of Bishops. In the event that such decisions are appealed within the legal time limit in the appeal procedure to the Synod of Bishops, the execution of the decision of the Diocesan Court is suspended until the final decision of the case by the Synod of Bishops, and the latter is enforced immediately.

48. Decisions of the Diocesan Court concerning a person of lay rank, regardless of whether or not they are officials in the parish, are also enforced if the convicted persons did not submit their appeals against decisions by which they were dissatisfied. If they have submitted their appeals, then the final decisions of the Synod of Bishops are put into effect.

49. In order to establish the authority of the Church Court and prevent biased decisions of this Court, the parties (plaintiffs or defendants) brought to the Court are given the right to challenge church judges in the event that the latter are in one way or another involved in the case decided by the church court, or are with the plaintiffs or defendants in such close degrees of kinship or properties as are usually an obstacle to the conclusion of church marriages.

Note: For the same reasons, plaintiffs or defendants may demand the removal of persons conducting an inquiry or investigation.

50. In order to strengthen the authority of the ecclesiastical court and protect against false and unfair accusations or malicious slander against persons of clergy or church officials found innocent of the crimes they are accused of, complainants or accusers may be held accountable by the ecclesiastical authorities before the ecclesiastical court and the last they may be subjected to the same punishments, or punishments corresponding to them, which the persons accused by them would have been subjected to if the crimes accused by the latter had been proved.

E. ABOUT PRIVATE CLAIMANTS OR PROSECUTORS, ABOUT CERTAIN RIGHTS OF RESPONDENTS OR ACCUSED AND WITNESSES IN A CHURCH COURT.

51. On church matters, as well as on personal matters of clergy concerning their position and behavior, they should not accept complaints and denunciations from all private individuals without investigation, but should first investigate public opinion about them (IV Ecumenical Council, 21 canon). Charges against clergy in the above cases are not accepted:

a) from infidels, Jews, heretics (Council of Carthage, canon 144, Apostolic canon 75, II Ecumenical Council, canon 6),

b) from convicted and deposed clerics, or excommunicated laity, also from the defendants and from those who themselves were denounced (II Ecumenical Council, 6 right, Council of Carthage, 143 canon),

c) from the defamed and ill-behaved (Carthage Council, 8 and 28 canon),

d) from those who have considered the same case before or were present during its consideration and from their households (Council of Carthage, canon 7),

e) from those whom civil laws do not allow denunciations (Council of Carthage, rule 144),

f) from persons on whom the stain of dishonor lies, such as: from disgraceful, from those involved in shameful deeds, from those who are in illegal and non-church cohabitation (Council of Carthage, 144 rule),

i) from whistle-blowers who have one of the many accusations brought by them has already been investigated and remains unproven (Council of Carthage, canon 145),

h) from minors, and

i) from the insane.

52. A private complaint against the clergy, for example in the claim of their property or in any other offense, must be accepted from any person (II Ecumenical Council, 6th rule).

53. The accusers and the accused, as well as the witnesses indicated by them for interrogation by the court, shall be notified in advance of the day of the trial and the place of its place by special summons.

54. On the basis of the obtained investigative material, in writing, the diocesan ecclesiastical-judicial authority presents in advance to the person accused, or the defendant, precisely formulated accusations, to which he has the right, for the purpose of his defense, to give answers with explanations in writing before the trial and oral responses during the trial. Written responses, however, do not exclude the defendant's attendance at the hearing, and the summons of the court always indicates whether or not the defendant's personal presence at the hearing is mandatory.

55. The person accused (or the defendant) may ask the Church Court for the necessary time for his defense (rights of St. Cyril of Alexandria, Canon I), but in cases requiring speedy resolution, depending on the circumstances, the time for defending the accused may be limited by the decision of the Church Ships.

56. If the personal appearance of the defendant at the court hearing is recognized as obligatory and this was indicated in the invitation summons of the court, then the failure to appear in court of the defendant (or the accused), without a sufficiently good reason, aggravates the measure of his guilt, and the Court, after certifying the fact that he received a summons, considers him the case in absentia, on the basis of the materials and data of the inquiry or formal investigation that preceded the trial, as well as oral statements of the accuser or accusers and witnesses who arrived at the trial (Apostolic Canon 74, Carthaginian Canon 28).

57. The personal appearance of the defendants at the hearing may be optional in all cases where the court and the defendant are not located in the same country and there are obstacles for the defendant beyond his will to appear at the hearing. In such cases, the court makes its decision on the basis of the investigative material, the written answers of the defendant and other data that it may have.

58. The trial may be adjourned at the request of both parties or only one party, for particularly good reasons, as determined by the Court.

59. The Court may itself postpone the final consideration of the case if, in order to fully clarify it, additional data are required that can be delivered to the Court after an additional investigation has been carried out on the spot, or if, in the process of adjudication, it becomes necessary to supplement the investigative material with new data hitherto unknown to the court.

60. The Church Court can not condemn anyone and subject anyone to this or that punishment without sufficient evidence establishing the guilt of the accused (Theophilus of Alexandria 6 canon). The accusatory testimony of only one person without other evidence is insufficient for a guilty verdict.

61. If the accusers, being invited by subpoenas to attend the trial in person, during the consideration of the case deliberately disappeared or discredited themselves in some way, then the accusation is not taken into account and the case itself is terminated (Canon 28 of the Council of Carthage), if it does not have the character criminal case.

62. If during the trial it turns out that the accusation is clearly slanderous, then the accuser or accusers who belong to the composition of the members of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia are subject to various forms church penance, depending on the nature of the slander, the persons on whom the slander was erected and the degree of temptation that it could produce. Malicious slanderers who seek to undermine the authority of the Church may be punished by excommunication from the Holy Orthodox Church until full repentance and correction.

63. For the purpose of asserting the authority of the Church Court and protecting clerics from unfair accusations, persons who have made unfair and unfounded accusations may be subjected by the Church Court to the same or equivalent punishments that the accused would have been subjected to if the crimes imputed to them were proven at the Court.

64. Witnesses in ecclesiastical and personal matters of clergymen, concerning their position and behavior, in ecclesiastical courts cannot be:

a) infidels, pagans, Jews (Canon 144 of the Council of Carthage),

b) heretics (Apostolic canon 75 and II Ecumenical Council 6 canon),

c) schismatics

d) cast out for guilt from the clergy from the category of the laity and excommunicated,

e) themselves previously subjected to denunciation and not yet cleared of the accusation (II Ecumenical Council 6 canon),

f) discredited (canons 7, 8, 28 of the Council of Carthage), even an orthodox, if he is alone (Apostolic canon 75 and III Ecumenical Council 2 rights),

g) those persons from whom it is not supposed to accept denunciations,

h) informers from their home,

i) minors below 14 years of age (Canon 146 of the Council of Carthage),

j) those who have themselves judged the case in which they are called to testify,

j) insane, and

k) being at enmity with one of the litigating parties.

65. Witnesses of the parties, as well as witnesses involved by ecclesiastical judicial authorities, before interrogations in court (as well as during the production of formal investigations) are sworn in, before which they are pastorally exhorted to testify to the pure truth in court with the awareness of their responsibility before civil law and God at His Last Judgment.

66. Testimony of adult witnesses - eyewitnesses for an ecclesiastical court is of greater importance than the testimony of minor witnesses or witnesses who convey this or that information in the case from the words of third parties who were or were not eyewitnesses of what they testify to.

67. Disqualification of witnesses by the parties is allowed if it has sufficient legal grounds, which are mentioned in paragraph 64 of this Regulation.

SECOND DEPARTMENT.

ABOUT THE CHURCH COURT OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOP.

68. The Court of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church is divided abroad:

A. To the ecclesiastical court of first instance,

B. To the ecclesiastical court of second instance, and

B. To the ecclesiastical court of third instance.

A. THE COURT OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS OF FIRST INSTANCE.

69. Subject to the Court of the Synod of Bishops in the first instance:

a) Diocesan and Vicar Bishops, as well as Bishops who are at rest and outside the staff (except for the First Hierarch, who is under trial only by the Council of Bishops);

b) clergy of the presbyter and deacon rank of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia in cases concerning their deprivation of the clergy by the Diocesan Court, since the deprivation of their clergy is associated with the consent and approval of the Synod of Bishops;

c) clergy officials and laity who are in the service of the Synod of Bishops or in other institutions directly subordinate to the Synod of Bishops;

d) persons of clergy and laity in matters relating to their complete excommunication from the Orthodox Church, which is also associated with the consent and approval of the Synod of Bishops, and

e) persons of clerical, monastic and lay rank, who are in parishes or outside them, in ecclesiastical missions, monasteries and synodal residences, directly to the Chairman of the Synod of Bishops of subordinates.

70. Bishops are subject to the ecclesiastical court of the Synod of Bishops, as the first court instance:

a) for public speaking from a church pulpit, in the press, in public or private meetings, as well as for tempting personal written and oral judgments contrary to the teachings of the Orthodox faith and Christian morality,

b) for an important violation of church discipline and church order,

c) for offenses, misdemeanors and crimes ex officio,

d) for abuse of power;

e) for personal misbehavior and activities, or activities that do not correspond to their high spiritual dignity and serve to undermine the authority of the hierarchal rank and the Orthodox Church itself;

f) for personal criminal offenses, etc., at the same time, persons of the hierarchal rank, in cases of revealing their guilt in certain misconduct or crimes at the church court, are subject to strict penalties according to church canons in more than a clergyman of other degrees of the priesthood, especially in cases of their stubborn non-repentance and non-correction.

71. All complaints and reports directed against the bishops must be submitted to the Chairman of the Synod of Bishops, who, depending on their content, nature and importance, either considers them and resolves them administratively through appropriate measures, or leaves them without consequences, or or submits them for consideration to the Synod of Bishops, which decides the matter in an administrative manner, or decides to consider it in a judicial manner. In the latter case, the Synod of Bishops is guided by general rules church court proceedings.

Note: This does not include complaints or responses filed in the name of the Synod of Bishops or its Chairman - the First Hierarch on the decisions and actions of the Diocesan authorities and the Diocesan Court in the appellate procedure.

72. According to church canons, complaints and reports with accusations against bishops from persons listed in paragraph 52 of this regulation are not accepted for proceedings in the Church Synodal Court, except for cases of criminal charges or civil claims (for example, for non-payment of debt obligations ). These same persons, deprived of the right to accuse, cannot be witnesses in ecclesiastical courts in the accusations of bishops on ecclesiastical matters.

73. In the production of an ecclesiastical trial of bishops, the following procedure is observed: if the case does not require an urgent decision, but, on the contrary, needs time for a thorough and complete examination of it, then the Synod of Bishops in its usual composition, after a preliminary acquaintance with the case submitted by the Chairman of the Bishops The Synod, depending on the nature and circumstances of the case, first makes a preliminary decision on whether to conduct an inquiry or a formal investigation on the spot, or to confine itself to requesting exhaustive detailed explanations from the accused on the points of accusation proposed by the Synod of Bishops. One or the other, i.e. investigative material with the responses of the person who conducted the inquiry or formal investigation, or only the explanations of the accused, are submitted to the Synod of Bishops, which, in its usual composition, having heard the whole case, as well as additional oral explanations of the accused, makes its decision, which is announced to the defendant and carried out.

74. If the case brought against a bishop contained such grave accusations that, after being confirmed in court, could entail the removal of the convicted person from office with his retirement, or a ban on priestly service, or deprivation of the priesthood, or even complete excommunication from Church, the Chairman of the Synod of Bishops convenes the latter for a regular or extraordinary session in an expanded composition, which hears the case in a special court session with all the investigative and judicial material and reviews, listens to oral explanations of the accused, and in some cases the accusing party and witnesses, if this is necessary. circumstances, it is necessary and possible, and then, having thoroughly discussed the whole case, makes his decision, which is announced to the defendant and carried out.

75. If the accusation is proven, the defendant shall be removed from his position or prohibited from serving in the priesthood, in accordance with the sentence, but the deprivation of dignity or excommunication from the Church shall not be carried out if, within 14 days after the announcement of the court decision to him, the defendant announces to the latter about his intention to file an appeal to the Bishops' Council, such an appeal will be filed within the specified period.

76. If the matter required an urgent decision or the urgent removal of the bishop from his position, then the Chairman of the Synod of Bishops first makes all the necessary orders of a preventive nature, including, in an exceptional case, the temporary removal of the Right Reverend, and then, if necessary, instructs one of the bishops to conduct a secret or public inquiry, and in some cases a formal investigation on the spot in an expedited manner so that all the materials obtained by the investigation on the spot, together with the reviews of the bishop who investigated the case, were submitted by the day of the urgent emergency meeting of the Bishops appointed by the Chairman of the Synod of Bishops The synod, which, depending on the nature and circumstances of the case, is convened in the usual or expanded composition of its members. The Synod of Bishops in the court session, having heard the whole case and the oral explanations of the accused, if it is possible due to the circumstances, makes its decision.

Note: The personal appearance at the Court of the parties and their witnesses is optional if it refers to persons residing outside the country where the Synod of Bishops has its residence, and if their arrival at the Court is impossible. Such persons may submit their written explanations or statements in addition to statements or explanations made by them earlier during the inquiry or investigation.

77. Bishops judged by the court of the Synod of Bishops have the right, within 6 months after the announcement of the court's decision to them, to appeal this decision in an appeal procedure before the Supreme Court of the next regular Council of Bishops. They must declare their intention to file an appeal no later than 2 weeks after the announcement of the court decision.

78. In court cases of particular importance concerning bishops, the term for filing explanations of the accused may be extended by the Synod of Bishops up to 3 months, and in some exceptionally valid cases up to 6 months, if this is followed by the accused with a corresponding motivated request having basis in the circumstances of the case. The Synod of Bishops shall notify the accused of the extension of the term for submission of explanations, and in the same way, it shall notify him also in the case when the request for a delay is denied.

79. In the event of particularly serious accusations against a bishop (for example, in crimes against the Orthodox Faith, an important violation of church discipline, immoral behavior, etc.), the Synod of Bishops, even before the decision of the church court, may temporarily remove the person put on trial from the performance of his office, and in some cases to ban him from the priesthood.

80. In the case of clearly slanderous slander being erected against the bishop by the accusers, the latter, according to the 6th right. II Ecumenical Council, are accordingly subject to the same measure of punishment as the accused would have been subject to if his crime had been proven by them.

81. Personal disputes and misunderstandings between bishops may be settled by the High Hierarch, to whom the bishops may apply as an arbitrator. Its decisions in this case are binding on both parties.

82. If serious misunderstandings and disputes arise between bishops, which serve or may serve in the future as a great temptation for the faithful and undermine the authority of the hierarchy of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, its First Hierarch should take vigorous measures to put an end to the disputes and misunderstandings that have arisen. In case of failure of such, the Primate submits the case for consideration and decision of the Synod of Bishops in a judicial proceeding.

On the trial of the Synod of Bishops as the first ecclesiastical judicial instance over persons of spiritual, monastic and lay rank directly subordinate to the Synod of Bishops; also over persons sentenced to deprivation of the priesthood and complete excommunication from the church.

83. All spiritual, monastic and lay persons who are in parishes, or outside them, in monasteries, in monastic or Synodal Metochions in different countries Russian diaspora, directly subordinate to the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, in litigation are subordinate to the court of the Synod of Bishops in its small composition (Chairman and 2 members of the Synod of Bishops), as the first court instance in all cases of church and church discipline, including cases of church marriages and divorces, using the procedure for legal proceedings that is used in the Diocesan Courts .

84. The persons indicated in the previous paragraph have the right to file appeals against judicial decisions of the Synod of Bishops in its small composition, as the first judicial instance, within the established time limits.

85. Appeals of those dissatisfied with the decisions of the court of first instance are submitted to the Chairman of the Synod of Bishops and are considered in court sessions of the Court of Appeal with the normal full composition of the Synod of Bishops, if, moreover, new materials are submitted for consideration: pointing to new or changed circumstances.

Note: In the absence of any of the members of the Synod, he is replaced by one of the deputy members of the Synod.

86. Penalties or punishments by the Court of the Synod of Bishops, acting as a court of first instance, apply the same as those indicated earlier in the section of the Diocesan Court in Section "D" of this Regulation.

87. Officials of a spiritual and lay rank, who are in the service of the Synod of Bishops, and who have revealed themselves to be defective in their service or have committed certain abuses with the infliction of material or moral damage to the institution in which they served, or its employees, in addition to imposing various administrative penalties up to and including dismissal and bringing them to the state civil or criminal court, may also be brought to the church court of the Synod of Bishops in the first instance under the usual procedure for ecclesiastical investigation and legal proceedings, if, in addition to faults and abuses in service, they carry out harmful and destructive work against the Russian Orthodox Church abroad, or if they do not obey their superiors, or are guilty of indiscretion, or in criminal offenses punishable by state law, as well as in anti-religious and anti-moral crimes.

Note: With regard to the servants of the Synod of Bishops of the clergy, the same rules on accusers and witnesses are observed, which apply to all other clergy who are brought before the church court.

B. ON THE COURT OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOP IN ITS SECOND INSTANCE: THE COURT OF APPEALS.

88. The Court of Appeal, being the second ecclesiastical judicial instance, is within the competence of the Synod of Bishops in its usual composition.

89. The Court of Appeal is held in the court session of the Synod of Bishops and has as its purpose the review of all judgments of the courts of first instance legally appealed by the parties to the Synod of Bishops.

90. The Court of Appeal is made only upon a written complaint of the party remaining dissatisfied with the verdict of the first court instance, and within the limits indicated by the complaint.

91. Dissatisfaction with the decision of the court and the desire to file an appeal must be declared within two weeks from the date of the announcement of the decision, and a reasoned appeal must be submitted within 30 days, calculated from the same day.

92. At the hearings of the Court of Appeal, at the request of the latter, in addition to the complaints themselves and all the investigative and judicial material, oral statements of the parties may also be heard.

93. If the Court of Appeal of the Synod of Bishops, when considering a case, found that the Court of First Instance did not have sufficient investigative and other materials at its disposal, or if the case was not fully and comprehensively examined, then it could either return the entire case to the first court instance, demand that the existing at the disposal of the court of the material with new data, reconsider the whole case again, according to the given instructions from the Court of Appeal and make a decision on it, which is to be submitted for consideration and final opinion of the Court of Appeal, or, without returning the court case of first instance, the Court of Appeal may request from the first court missing investigative or judicial data, and himself, without any intermediary of the court of first instance, re-adjudicate the case, and pass a final verdict on it.

94. During the second hearing of a court case in the first instance at the request and instructions of the Court of Appeal, the participation of the parties and witnesses to give additional evidence, or new witnesses who can provide new data on the case, is necessary if deliberate instructions were made about this with side of the Court of Appeal.

95. Cases in the sessions of the Court of Appeal of the Synod of Bishops are resolved by a simple majority of votes, with the Chairman's vote prevailing in the event of a division of votes.

96. Reports of court cases before the Court of Appeal and drafting of decisions of the latter are entrusted to the Registrar of the Court.

97. Cases in the Court of Appeal may be terminated by mutual consent of the parties, subject to change, as well as the absence of circumstances that could cause moral damage to the Church or its hierarchy.

98. The judgments or decisions of the Court of Appeal of the Synod of Bishops replace the judgments or decisions of the first ecclesiastical court appealed against are final, unless a cassation appeal has been filed against them.

C. THE COURT OF CASSATION OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOP AS THE THIRD CHURCH-JUDICIAL INSTANCE.

99. The Synod of Bishops issues court rulings on appeal on appeals aimed at obtaining the annulment of objectionable decisions of the courts of first instance on purely formal grounds related to the violation of church laws and other grounds on which church legal proceedings are based, as well as the very rules for conducting church legal proceedings.

100. Acting on cassation, the Court of the Synod of Bishops, having examined the contested decisions of the lower ecclesiastical judicial instances from a formal point of view, i.e. their compliance or non-compliance with ecclesiastical and civil laws, the foundations of ecclesiastical court and the rules of ecclesiastical legal proceedings, confirms or completely cancels previous decisions; in the latter case, by returning the case for a new consideration to the court of first instance in the same or new composition. The decisions of the Court of Cassation are considered final and are not subject to any re-decision; therefore, upon their announcement, they immediately enter into legal force.

101. Persons whose cassation complaint was left without consequences by the court can no longer initiate the aforementioned cases before the ecclesiastical court and the ecclesiastical authorities should not accept from them for new proceedings such cases that have already passed through the highest cassation instance.

102. Reports and proceedings on cases passing through the Court of Cassation are made under the direction of the chairman of the court by the secretary of the court.

THIRD DEPARTMENT.

ABOUT THE CHURCH COURT OF THE BOARD OF BISHPS.

103. The Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia is the highest ecclesiastical judicial authority for all members of this Church. His judgments are final.

104. The judgment of the Council of Bishops is of two kinds:

A. Trial in first and final ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and

B. The court is mediocre - like the second Appellate Instance, also final.

A. THE DIRECT COURT OF THE BOARD OF BISHPS.

105. Subject directly to the Court of the Council of Bishops are:

a) First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia,

b) every bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, if the actions imputed to him have not yet been the subject of consideration in the Synod of Bishops, or if the last one or another decision regarding them has not yet been made,

c) persons of clergy, monastic and lay rank, belonging to the composition of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, in cases first initiated at the council, and not causing the need for a preliminary study of them on the ground, but requiring an authoritative judicial-societal decision, as for example. cases of their obvious deviations from the Orthodox faith and the Church, the open dissemination of heretical or godless teachings orally, in writing, by printing or in any other way, shameful anti-moral behavior that clearly corrupts the religious and church life and good morals of Orthodox Christians, combined with the stubborn disobedience of repeatedly calling them to the correction of church authority, and, finally, any open anti-church activity that contributes directly or indirectly to the breakdown of church administration and the disintegration of church life in the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

106. The trial of the First Hierarch is carried out by the entire composition of the members of the Council of Bishops under the chairmanship of the oldest bishop - a member of the Council on the initiative of at least one third of its members who have submitted specific accusations to the Council, or by a reasoned decision of the Synod of Bishops under the chairmanship of its oldest member.

107. None of the bishops brought before the Court of the Council of Bishops may be deprived of the right to make personal reports in court, or to give personal explanations in their defense before the Court, to present documentary evidence and to have their witnesses interrogated by the court or to give explanations to it.

108. Since, according to the present Regulations on the Church Court, the Synod of Bishops and the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia are subject only to the Council of Bishops, the only ecclesiastical judicial instance for it, then, in cases of condemnation of it and dissatisfaction with this court, they must submit to the decision of the Council; but due to the lack of a canonical connection with the hierarchy and administration of the Local Russian Orthodox Church, he has the right to apply for his rehabilitation to the heads and Councils of those Orthodox Local Churches that are in prayerful communion with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.

B. THE MEDIATORY COURT OF THE BOARD OF BISHPS.

THE COURT OF APPEALS, AS A SECOND CHURCH-JUDICIAL INSTANCE.

109. The Court of the Council of Bishops is the second, i. Appellate, church-judicial instance, firstly for all bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia; those tried by the Court of the Synod of Bishops, if they remained dissatisfied with the court of the latter and submitted their appeals through the First Hierarch within the prescribed period; secondly, for all persons of a spiritual, monastic and lay rank, condemned by the direct court of one of the previous Councils of Bishops, who would like to justify themselves before the Church due to the changed circumstances of their life and behavior and their full repentance.

110. Persons convicted directly by the court of a Council of Bishops, for whatever reason, have the right to petition the next regular Council of Bishops for lightening the punishment imposed on them, or penance, or for their complete abolition.

111. Applications for easing or canceling the penances imposed by the Court of the Bishops' Council are considered by the Council only if, together with their petitions, they submit to the Council approval certificates from local confessors and local spiritual authorities; Moreover, the filing of such applications is not limited in time.

112. A person of the rank of Bishop who has submitted his appeal or response within the established time limit has the right to defend himself in the Court of Appeal and personally give the necessary explanations. It shall receive notification from the Synod of Bishops in advance of the time and place of the appointment of the court.

113. Although the leadership of the court belongs to its Chairman, but the members of the Council, as members of the court, have the right, with the knowledge and permission of the Chairman, to put questions to the judged person during the pleading.

114. All cases in the Cathedral Court of Appeal are decided by the general consent of all members of the Council. If this is not possible, then by a simple majority of votes; moreover, in case of equality of the divided votes, the vote of the Chairman is decisive.

115. Reports and proceedings on cases passing through the Court of Appeal of the Council of Bishops are made, on the instructions of the chairman of the court, by the secretary of the court.

THE COURT OF THE MEDIOUS BOARD OF BISHPS.

THE COURT OF CASSATION, AS THE THIRD CHURCH-JUDICIAL INSTANCE.

116. The Cassation Court of the Synod of Bishops considers applications or complaints filed on behalf of persons dissatisfied with lower court decisions, confirmed by the Court of Appeal of the Synod of Bishops on formal grounds.

117. Cassation complaints or applications are submitted to the Bishops' Council through its Chairman signed by the person on whose behalf the cassation complaint is received.

118. Since the purpose of a cassation complaint or statement is to achieve the cancellation of objectionable decisions of previous instances by protesting formal violations of church laws and the rules for the lawful conduct of church legal proceedings, the court of the Bishops' Council in the cassation procedure, without examining the case on the merits, considers it and the decision on it with a formal -legal side, i.e. from the point of view of conformity or inconsistency with church laws, on what grounds he either confirms the previous decisions of the lower courts, or cancels them completely, returning the case to a new consideration.

119. Decisions or judgments of the Cassation Court of the Bishops' Council are not subject to any further revision, are considered final and, after their announcement, according to their affiliation, enter into legal force.

120. Reports and proceedings on cases of the Cassation Court of the Bishops' Council under the leadership of the Chairman of the Court are made by the secretary.