Separation of church and state is the principle of mutual relations between two social institutions, which presuppose the refusal of the second from any interference in the affairs of the first. There comes the freedom of all citizens from religion, everyone chooses what to believe in and how to express their love for God. And also after the separation, all functions assigned to the church are canceled.
History
Before the overthrow of the monarchy in Russia, there was such a system of the state church, in which it was called the dominant one. Of course, this order was not invented in Russia, it was borrowed from the Protestants by Peter the Great in 1721. According to this system, the Patriarchate was abolished, and the Holy Synod was created instead. Such changes assumed that all three branches of government would belong to the church. And so it happened.
Peter the Great during his reign introduced such a position asChief Prosecutor of the Synod. The emperor explained that this person should be the eyes of the sovereign and an attorney in all his affairs. This system was created to subjugate the church to the empire, but still put it on a level higher than the people.
Documentary evidence
The separation of the church from the state allowed not only to choose any faith for each person, but also allowed not to dedicate strangers to religious affairs. And until 1917, in the passport of the citizens of the Russian Empire, it was assigned to which church they belonged. However, this record did not always reflect reality. Many were afraid to admit that they worshiped another religion or became atheists.
In 1905, a decree was issued to strengthen religious tolerance, in which it was allowed to change their religious beliefs, but only in favor of Christianity. It was still impossible to become a Buddhist, a Catholic, or an atheist.
Freedom of conscience
The dependence of legal status on religion existed in Russia until July 1917. It was the law on freedom of conscience that made it possible to choose one's religion from the age of 14, while this choice did not in any way affect the decision of the trial, if it happened. The Synod was against such changes, it believed that only at the age of 18, upon reaching the civil age, a person can carefully decide which confession he wants to belong to.
The Freedom of Conscience Act was one of the first steps towards the separation of church and state. But still, until January 1918, the status of an Orthodox institutionremains privileged.
Christianity at the end of the 17th year of the XX century
In August, the Local Cathedral opened in Moscow, which will play one of the most important roles during the separation of church and state. The decision to create it was made by the Provisional Government, which just at that time came to power.
Already on October 28, 3 days after the capture of Petrograd by the Bolsheviks, the Local Council restored the patriarchate in Russian temples and churches. This move was made in order to become mediators in the uprising that took place in Moscow.
In late 1917 - early 1918, the authorities created a commission for the protection of cultural and artistic monuments, which worked in the Moscow Kremlin. And this party included three representatives of the clergy: Archbishop Mikhail, Protopresbyter Lyubimov and Archimandrite Arseniy.
And also at this time in Georgia, the self-leaders confiscated all church property and overthrew part of the clergy. This was done because the authorities claimed the ownership of the temples. These steps contributed to the development of the principle of separation of church and state. In addition, there is another direction in which there have been major changes.
Education
The separation of school from church and church from state happened at about the same time. Although changes in educational institutions began much earlier than the Bolsheviks came to power.
In June 1917, the Ministry of Public Education received all the church-parochial schools that existed at the expense of the state treasury. But at the same time, the subjects taught did not change much, the clergy remained the main bias.
And in December of the same year, the “Law of God” lost its primacy in educational institutions and became an optional subject for those who wish. The order with this requirement was issued by People's Commissar A. M. Kollontai.
Closing temples
Even before the decree on the separation of the church from the state, the authorities closed all spiritual institutions associated with the royal family. And there were enough of them, the most famous are the church in Gatchina, the church of the Anichkov Palace, the Cathedral of Peter and Paul, as well as the Great Church at the Winter Palace.
In January 1918, Yu. N. Flaxerman - to replace the Commissioner for State Savings - signed a decree in which it was written that all the court clergy, who used to belong to the royal family, was abolished. The property and premises of employees were confiscated. The only thing left for the priests is the opportunity to hold services in these buildings.
Development of a decree on the separation of church and state
Historians are still arguing about who initiated this document. Most researchers are inclined to believe that he was the rector of the church in Petrograd, Mikhail Galkin.
It was he who in November 1917 wrote and sent a letter to the Council of People's Commissars, in which he complained about the official church and asked to involve him in active work. The letter also contained a number of measures that could allow religion to go out.to a new level. First of all, Michael asked to confiscate church valuables in favor of the state, as well as to deprive all the clergy of benefits and any privileges.
The possibility of concluding a civil marriage instead of a religious one, as well as the introduction of the Gregorian calendar and much more was proposed in a letter from the rector of the church in Petrograd. The Soviet authorities liked such recommendations and already in December of the same year a number of Mikhail's measures were published in the newspaper Pravda.
State Decree
The development of the project by the Council of People's Commissars took place in December 1917. The head of the People's Commissar of Justice, Pyotr Ivanovich Stuchka, a member of the board of the Commissariat, Anatoly Lunacharsky, as well as the well-known lawyer Mikhail Reisner and many others, created a special commission to resolve issues related to the separation of church and state in Russia.
On New Year's Eve, December 31, the decree was published in the SR newspaper Delo Naroda. The result of the party's work is a draft decree on the separation of church and state, the year of which is the subject of controversy by many historians.
Article content
The published material contained several chapters that were devoted to religious worldviews. Firstly, the decree provided for the establishment of freedom of conscience, that is, each person could decide for himself which faith to relate to. And now marriage in heaven has been replaced by a civil official ceremony, while registering in churches is not prohibited.
The next part of the decree of the separation of church and state of 1918 was written,that teaching of any subjects related to Christianity is stopped in all educational institutions of Russia.
All members of the church were banned from owning any property and legal status after the release of the material. And all the property that had been accumulated before 1918 was transferred to the possession of the state.
Public reaction
After the release of the newspaper with the decree, there were different opinions from people all over the country. The most famous response letter, which was written in the Council of People's Commissars, belongs to Metropolitan Benjamin of Petrograd. It said that the existence of the 1917 (1918) declaration on the separation of church and state threatened the entire Orthodox people, and therefore the whole of Russia. The priest considered it his duty to warn the government that this decree would do no good.
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin read Benjamin's appeal, but did not give an answer, instead he ordered the People's Commissariat to expedite the preparation of the document.
Government publication
The official date of the declaration of the separation of church and state is January 2018. On the evening of the 20th, at a meeting of the Council of People's Commissars, Lenin made a number of additional corrections and additions. On the same day, it was decided to approve the final edition and release it.
After publication in the media, 2 days after the meeting, the Russian government body confirmed the legality of this decree.
Content of law
- Church separates from state.
- It is forbidden to restrict the freedom of conscience by any local laws and decrees. Also, you cannot discriminate based on religion.
- Every citizen of Russia has the right to choose any faith, including becoming an atheist. If earlier a person who was not a Christian could not find a normal job and even in court was automatically found guilty, then according to the declaration "Separation of Church and State" of 1918, such measures were prohibited.
- The activities of state and legal institutions are no longer accompanied by any religious ceremonies and rituals.
- Just as no one can be deprived of their rights, so it is forbidden for everyone to evade their duties, referring to their religion and worldview.
- The oath taken by doctors, the military and even politicians now does not include spiritual oaths.
- Civil acts are now registered exclusively in state institutions. That is, at the birth of a person or at the conclusion of a marriage, entries were no longer made in the house church book.
- The school separated from the church authorities. Now teachers of the clergy could not teach children in public and state schools. At the same time, any citizen had the right to study religion, but only in a private way.
- The Church could no longer count on help from the government. All subsidies and benefits have been abolished. In addition, it was forbidden to take mandatory taxes from Russian citizens in favor of the clergy.
- Any employees of religious communities have no right to own property and be legalface.
- All church property since 1918 belongs to all citizens, that is, it has become public property. Items that were created for liturgical purposes were transferred to the local authorities. It was she who allowed the priests to rent them for free.
List of signatories
First of all, the decree was approved by the head of the Communist Party, V. I. Ulyanov (Lenin). And also the document was signed by people's commissars: Trutovsky, Podvoisky, Shlyapnikov and so on. Like all other decrees in the Council of People's Commissars, this one was signed by all members of the Council of People's Commissars of Russia.
Date of separation of church and state
By 1917, the education system, which included religious education, became the norm for all residents of Russia. Therefore, when the decree abolished the main basis of teaching - the "Law of God", many ambiguously assessed this. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, many people became atheists, but no one officially declared this. But still, most Russians believed that the preservation of religious education was necessary. This mood in Russia lasted a very long time and survived even after the February Revolution.
Struggle against spiritual education
After the decree of 2018 was issued, schools began to change the format of their education. But many opposed such changes, so a number of innovations followed. So, in February, a new order of the People's Commissariat of Education was issued, in which such a position as a teacher of the law was officially abolished.
The same month, a new decree was issued that bannedto teach in public schools such a lesson as religious creeds. And it was also forbidden to conduct any rituals related to the clergy in educational institutions.
And although all the property had already been taken away from the church, in August a decree was issued that stated that it was necessary to transfer all house churches at educational institutions to the people's commissar of property.
Prohibitions after the decree
Despite the fact that the public school has already been deprived of everything spiritual, such a lesson as the "Law of God" was forbidden to be taught in any way - both in temples and even in private. Only from the age of 18, voluntarily and consciously, one could begin to study religion.
Naturally, all Orthodox Russians reacted very negatively to such changes. Every day, the Local Council received letters with an appeal to return everything to its original places and negative statements about the Russian government.
