Relevant problems of studying church law (intermediate results of the work of the Barsov society)

The article summarizes the results of the activities of one of the areas of the Barsov society - the study of law. Progress is shown in the disclosure of several scientific problems identified by the Society: 1) the distinction between ecclesiastical and canon law, the definition of their essence; 2) questions of the internal and external system of church law; 3) sources and principles of church law; 4) teaching church law; 5) the “women’s question” in church law; 6) the church court; 7) punishments in church law; 8) systematization of canonical and church-legal norms. The features of the “scientific style” of the Barsov Society are revealed: 1) the study of “cross-cutting” topics on the concrete historical material of individual stages in the formation of church law; 2) constant correlation of theoretical constructions with factual material collected and systematized independently of the members of the Society by a wide range of researchers participating in the activities of the Society; 3) search for contradictions both in the studied material and in the theoretical constructions developed by the Society itself; 4) the desire for a sharp and deep discussion on the discussed problematic issues with the involvement of the widest possible range of participants and specialists from different fields of knowledge; 5) establishing the influence of material grounds, the importance of which in the literature is often critically underestimated. The article was written on the basis of a report made by the author at the 6th Barsov Readings (St. Petersburg, December 14, 2022).