The Church in the Kingdom of Serbia

The beginning of its independence dates back to the end of the twelfth century; its first archbishop was St. Sava (son of Tsar Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the Serbian kingdom). Her autocephaly was recognized by Constantinople. Patriarch. In the XIV century (under Tsar Stefan Dušan) it became a patriarchate, under the name of the Ipek Patriarchate (after the name of the monastery where the Patriarch lived). In the 18th century (1766), the Serbian Church lost its independence and was annexed to the Patriarchate of Constantinople (and all the bishops from the Serbs were removed from their sees). Its independence was restored only in 1862, together with the formation of the Serbian Principality. The supreme administration of it belongs to the Metropolitan of Serbia (Archbishop of Belgrade) and the Council of Bishops. Under the eparch. Bishops, Consistories were established from among the clergy. There is a Great Spirit. The court consists of a presiding bishop, an archimandrite and one archpriest (archpriest) from each diocese, elected for 3 years.

Churches in Austria-Hungary

In these Churches, the government is the same. The supreme authority in spiritual matters (teaching, divine services, spiritual judgment) belongs to the Council, convened once a year from bishops or authorized by them, and to the metropolitan. Mitre. Karlovichsky sometimes complains from the Emperor with the title of Patriarch, without appropriating patriarchal power. To resolve questions and all matters of church administration, with the exception of purely spiritual ones (subject to the jurisdiction of the Council of Bishops), a national Congress is convened once every three years (for 6 weeks) consisting of all bishops, deputies from the clergy of all dioceses and from the people (the number of deputies from the laity is twice as large as the number of deputies from the clergy), under the chairmanship of the metropolitan. The Commissioner of the Austrian Government shall be present at the meetings of the Congress. The congress elects the metropolitan, decides on the boundaries of administrative districts and parishes, on the establishment or closure of monasteries, on the organization of church-government institutions and schools, issues decrees concerning church property and economy, and controls them. Local church administration is organized according to a general model. In dioceses, it is carried out through the Consistory (composed of clergy under the chairmanship of the bishop) and through the diocesan Assemblies, consisting of spiritual and secular elected representatives from each archpriest (dean) district. Likewise, in each parish, church and economic affairs are managed by a community parish Committee from among those elected from the parish.

The Church in the Kingdom of Romania

Having gained political independence, Romania also declared itself ecclesiastically independent of the Patriarch of Constantinople (1882). After unsuccessful protests, the Patriarch and his Synod recognized (in 1885) its autocephaly. It is governed by the Holy Scriptures. The Synod, under the chairmanship of the Metropolitan.

Churches in Montenegro, Sinai and Cyprus

Independence is also enjoyed by: a) the Montenegrin Church, under the administration of the Metropolitan; b) the Church on the island of Cyprus, under the administration of the Archbishop, and c) the Church of Sinai (on the Sinai Peninsula) with its Archbishop.

Administration in the Churches of the Other Faiths

Independence is also enjoyed by: a) the Montenegrin Church, under the administration of the Metropolitan; b) the Church on the island of Cyprus, under the administration of the Archbishop, and c) the Church of Sinai (on the Sinai Peninsula) with its Archbishop.

The Structure of Governance in the Roman Catholic Church

In the structure of its administration, the Roman Catholic Church has much in common with the Orthodox. 1) Pope (Pontifex maximus? Vicarius Christi). The main and essential difference between the Roman Catholic Church, in this respect, and the Orthodox Church is that the Roman Catholics recognize the Roman high priest as the supreme ruler, visible as its head, who has been given the title of Pope (father). He possesses all the fullness of spiritual authority, he is the bishop of bishops; the other organs of church administration derive their authority from him. He is the supreme legislator of the Church, can issue binding decrees concerning all matters of church life and church administration, repeal previous church laws, allow dispensations (the termination of the binding nature of the general law for individuals and cases), and grant privileges (rights that cannot belong to a person or institution according to the general structure and law). To him belongs the supreme power of the final judgment in the whole Church, the supreme right of supervision and administration in it. The authority of the Pope is not subject to limitation by the bishopric or by an ecumenical Council, whose decrees become valid after the confirmation of the Pope. There is no judgment over him, and he is responsible for his actions only before God and his conscience. By virtue of this position of the Pope, there can be no local autocephalous Churches in the Roman Catholic Church. Politically, the Pope is independent of secular power, as the head of the Roman Catholic world, and is considered equal to the crowned heads. The pope is elected by the cardinals present in Rome within 12 days after the death of his predecessor, and from among the cardinals, and some monarchs of the Catholic powers may remove one cardinal each from the election. The election is made in a strictly guarded building, the conclave, and is made either by a majority of votes (2 × 3) given in sealed notes, or unanimously, on someone's proposal, or by a commission entrusted with the election. 2) Cardinals (cardinalis - chief). This is the name of the highest ecclesiastical positions, persons at the papal throne, who are the closest advisers to the Pope and his assistants in administration. Their appointment depends solely on the Pope. They are chosen from all three degrees of priesthood. The staff is supposed to have 70 cardinals: 6 from bishops, 50 from presbyters and 14 from deacons. They bear the title of eminence, subordinate and subject only to the Pope. All the cardinals together constitute the sacred College, presided over by the cardinal, the bishop of the city of Ostia (their dean). Their assembly, presided over by the Pope himself, forms the Consistory of the Cardinals. When the papal throne is vacant, the College administers the entire Church and the papal Court. 3) Roman Curia. This is the name given to the set of auxiliary institutions through which the Roman Catholic Church is governed. It consists of several congregations under different names, permanent or extraordinary; they are ruled by cardinals. Such, for example, are the congregations for the propagation of the faith (de propaganda fide), the examination of books and the inclusion of harmful ones in the list of forbidden readings for Catholics (indicis librorum prohibitorum), the consideration of newly arising errors (inquisitionis), etc. 4) Metropolitans and Archbishops. The Roman Catholic Church is divided into metropolitan districts, which consist of several dioceses. The bishop of one of these dioceses, ruling it with the rank of archbishop, has the right of supreme supervision over the administration of the other dioceses in the entire metropolis and bears the title of their Metropolitan. In other ecclesiastical districts, the first bishops bear the honorary title of patriarchs and primates. There is only one metropolitan district in Russia: Mogilev. The central administration of the affairs of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia and Finland is concentrated in a special institution called the Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Collegium, established at the end of the 18th century (in St. Petersburg). It consists, under the chairmanship of the Archbishop of Mogilev (Metropolitan of the Roman Catholic Churches in Russia), of two members (a bishop and a prelate) and several assessors elected by the cathedral chapters, one from each diocese for a term of three years, from among the prelates or canons. Cases received by the Collegium from the Metropolitan's diocese and decided by him personally are considered and decided in the Collegium without his presence. The Collegium consists of the Prosecutor and the Office. All cases requiring consideration or decision by the secular government are submitted by the Collegium to the Minister of Internal Affairs, who, through its prosecutor, supervises the progress of the cases, makes his proposals to her and gives her conclusions. The Collegium communicates with the Governing Senate through reports only on judicial cases and receives decrees from it; it communicates with the Ministers of Internal Affairs and Justice by representations. 5) Bishops. Bishops are at the head of church administration in dioceses. The ordinary and normal election of a bishop is performed by the cathedral chapters. But there are also appointments of candidates for the episcopacy in various other forms, for example, from the Supreme Authority in the state or from the Pope; in any case, the bishop elected in one way or another is confirmed by the Pope. To assist the bishop of the Chapter, suffragan bishops are elected and appointed, corresponding to our vicar bishops. Sometimes such bishops receive the right to succeed their diocesan superior (bishop coadjutor). Another main assistant to the diocesan bishop is the Cathedral Chapter. This is the College of Clergy at the Cathedral, which constitutes the Council or Senate of the Bishop (the Presbyterian Council in the ancient universal Church). The Chapter consists of a certain number of prelates (i.e. first members), canons and vicar priests. Prelates and canons are appointed by the bishop, with the approval of the civil government, from among the local clergy who have an ecclesiastical degree not lower than a subdeacon and a theological academic degree. The chapter must participate in the hierarchal service, give the bishop advice in the management of diocesan affairs or give its consent (in some matters, for example, concerning the chapter itself or church property, this consent is obligatory for the bishop). When the episcopal cathedra is vacant (if there is no coadjutor bishop in it), the Chapter elects a vicar temporarily administering the diocese, until the time of the appointment of a successor to the deceased or resigned bishop. In addition, in Russia, each Roman Catholic diocese has a spiritual Consistory, for the preliminary consideration of certain diocesan cases (administrative, disciplinary, economic, judicial, matrimonial, etc.) subject to final bishop's decision; the scope of its powers is similar to that of the Orthodox Consistories. The consistory has only an advisory vote and the bishop is not even obliged to explain the reasons for his decisions if they differ from its conclusions. It consists of the official (chairman), his assistant, the visitor of the monasteries and assessors; they are appointed and dismissed by their bishop. The Consistory has a chancellery with a secretary and officials who enjoy the rights of civil servants. The peculiarity of the Consistory is that the term of office of its members ends with the death or resignation of the bishop or vicar administrator of the diocese; the new bishop or his temporary successor, taking over the administration of the diocese, immediately re-forms the Consistory (however, always with the consent of the secular government). For the immediate supervision of the well-being of parish churches and the clergy serving under them, the bishop appoints deans in the districts of the diocese, corresponding to our deans. 6) Parish priests have almost the same duties in the parish and the same relations with the diocesan authorities as in the Orthodox Church. Where there is no right of patronage or where it is temporarily suspended, the parish priest is appointed by the diocesan superior, with the consent of the government, after a preliminary test and competition between candidates. In Russia, the rector of the parish for the management of the church economy is limited to the participation in this matter of patrons and elected persons from the parish. it is acquired either by the construction of a church, by donating land for it, by assigning maintenance for it and for the clergy, or by transferring this right from one person to another (e.g., by inheritance or by buying an estate on which patronage rests; sometimes, which is rare) it is granted by the Pope. parish affairs (he is the chairman of the parish council). The rector of the church sometimes has an assistant in the rank of vicar. All Christians of the Roman Catholic faith from among Russian subjects, whether spiritual or secular, are in contact with the Roman (papal) court on matters of their confession only through the Minister of the Interior. Affairs, which notifies the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. No papers, epistles, or instructions of the Court of Rome (the Pope) may be put into effect in the Empire or in the Grand Duchy of Finland without the Highest permission requested by the Minister of the Interior. After preliminary assurance that these acts do not imply anything contrary to States. decrees and priests. the rights and privileges of the Supreme Autocratic Power (Statutes of Foreign Powers, Articles 3, 8, 9).

The Structure of Administration of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia

Its church structure is based on the parish community and its pastor. A pastor, according to the teaching of the Protestant Church, is a person who serves as an expression of the religious consciousness of society, and, by virtue of this function, is authorized by society to preach the Word of God (church teaching), to perform public worship and to perform the sacraments. In principle, the pastor should be chosen by the society itself from among the persons capable of discharging his duties; But in practice, this principle is not always adhered to. In Russia, there are different types of pastoral appointments in different places; In any case, no preacher can be appointed against the wishes of the parishioners, when they have good reasons for expressing such a desire. A candidate for pastor must be at least 25 years old, have a theological education (have completed a course at the theological faculty of the university) and, in addition, pass specially established examinations in the Consistory for a certain period. The first test is for the right to preach (pro venia concionadi), the second for the right to receive a parish (pro ministerio). Each pastor can admit the one who has passed the first test to preach in his church. After the second test, the candidate is assigned for a year as an assistant to the pastor (adjuncts). Certificates issued after the second test remain valid only for the period corresponding to the certifications obtained, after which an additional test in the form of a conversation (colloquium) is required; The latter condition is also observed when the candidate is looking for a place in another ecclesiastical district. In addition to preaching and liturgical duties, the pastor is charged with the duty of supervising church discipline in the parish and the religious life of parishioners, parish schools, caring for the poor and visiting the sick, keeping church documents, and directly participating in all parish affairs (charitable, economic, etc.). Note. The titles of bishops, archdeacons, deacons, etc. in the Protestant Churches they do not indicate the degrees of priesthood (which are not recognized there), but various ecclesiastical and public positions. Lower church ministers (kisters and organists) are not counted among the clergy and serve for hire.