“Without any influence from roman law”: participant in the Local Council of 1917-18. prof. P. A. Prokoshev on the ecclesiastical court of the ancient church

The article continues the series of publications devoted to various aspects of the discussion around the report “On the Structure of the Church Court” at the All-Russian Local Council of 1917-18. The subject of consideration is the issues raised in the report of the representative of the Perm diocese A. G. Kulyashev: the moral foundations of the church court and the role of Roman law in the structure of the court of the Ancient Church. Following Kulyashev, the author turns to the book of a member of the Council, Professor of Tomsk University P. A. Prokoshev “Church proceedings during the period of Ecumenical Councils (Accusatio) and the influence of Roman-Byzantine procedural law on it”. According to P. A. Prokoshev, in the first three centuries the church court was built on moral principles - love, meekness, mercy, pastoral care. The Church avoided borrowing from the Roman process. After the Edict of Milan, the influence of Roman-Byzantine law on ecclesiastical justice is undeniable. The following conclusions are drawn: a) the arguments about Roman law in the speech of A. G. Kulyashev have no direct relation to the question of the principles of reforming the church court; b) the moral principles considered by P. A. Prokoshev are of great importance for the church court and need in-depth study; c) in general, the scientific works of P. A. Prokoshev require study by modern canonists.