Right law

Being a kingdom of heaven on earth and having the God -human nature, the Church of Christ is different from all other human societies, including religious and philosophical. The church is a divine institution in which the Holy Spirit gives people gracious forces for spiritual revival, salvation and deification. The Church of Christ is the kingdom not from this world (John 18,36), at the same time it is a kingdom, apparently revealed in this world. On the human side, it is, according to the authoritative definition from the “catechism” of St. Filaret, “a society of people connected by the Orthodox faith, the Law of God, the Holy Principles and the Sacraments”. As the body of Christ, the church is infinitely superior to all earthly and is not subject to any earthly laws, but as human society it obeys the general conditions of the earthly order: in particular, enters into certain relations with states and other public formations. This circumstance is already introducing it into the field of law. However, the field of law concerns not only the status of the church in the state and its relations with other public entities. It covers intra -church life, the structure of the church, the relationship between church communities and institutions, as well as between individual members of the church.