Problem Fields in the Science of Canon / Church Law. On the Issue of the Activities of the Barsov Society at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy in 2019–2023

The article discusses problem fields in the science of canonical / ecclesiastical law, identified during the work of the Society for the Study of Church Law named after. T. V. Barsov (the Barsov Society) at the St. Petersburg Theological Academy of the Russian Orthodox Church in 2019–2023. Two areas of research — “Church Law: Theory and History”, “Church Court: History and Modernity” — demonstrate extensive areas of research in need for further development. In theory, these are: the problem of defining concepts in Church law, identifying the principles of ecclesiastical law and their comparison with the principles of secular law, the validity of using legal presumptions and fictions in Church law. In the ecclesiastical court, these include: identifying the principles of Church legal proceedings and their comparison with the principles of secular procedural law, studying the activities of the modern Church (primarily diocesan) court, the possibility of further reforming or improving ecclesiastical court. A special direction, gradually emerging in the Society’s activities, is the study of Church law in general and the court in particular in the Soviet period, including the problems of teaching canon law in the theological schools of the time. At the same time, the problem of attracting new participants to the activities of the Barsov Society, including from various fields of scientific knowledge, remains unresolved. The article is written based on the report read by the author at the 4th All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference “Justinian Readings” (Moscow Theological Academy, November 27, 2023).