Orthodoxy in the context of state-confessional relations in the People's Republic of China

This article examines the urgent problem of the revival of the Chinese Autonomous Orthodox Church (CAOC). The state of Orthodoxy in the People’s Republic of China is viewed from a historical perspective through the prism of state-confessional relations. The analysis of these relations reveals the reasons for the decline of the CAOC, as well as the opportunities and obstacles to its revival. The reasons for the decline were the changed social system in China and the internal disorders in the Church, and this process was completed by the Cultural Revolution, which destroyed the religious sphere in the PRC. The liberalization of the regime during the period of “reforms and openness” created opportunities for the revival of religions, but the contradiction between canon law and the legislation of the PRC prevents the restoration of the CAOC.