A contemporary parish of Russian orthodox church and the trends of its functioning

The article considers a contemporary parish as a primary social group in the organizational structure of Russian Orthodox Church in the framework of social philosophy. The author discusses the functional changes of the parish in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet period. The paper describes the features of social work of contemporary congregation, which is the most successful when there is a bright personality of a dean. The author describes some socio-political movements, acting as representatives of the Church without its permission, which strain the social life. It is concluded, that the modern parish is the problem field of the civic engagement.