Church and state at the crossroads of epochs: the Declaration of metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) in the context of the relationship between the Earthly City and the Heavenly City

Abstract

Abstract. Apparently, until now, researchers have not paid attention to the fact that the “Declaration” of Met. Sergius Stragorodsky (1927) contains an almost direct quotation from Blessed Augustine's “De civitate Dei”, which speaks of the common joys and sorrows that in this life unite the citizens of the heavenly city and the citizens of the earthly city. As a consequence, the question arises as to what extent this borrowing could be, as well as whether this parallel legitimizes the ecclesiological (church-state) concept of Metropolitan Sergius. Evidently, Blessed Augustine was not among his favorite and even frequently quoted authors. This could result from the critical attitude towards the Bishop of Hippo, which was revealed even before 1917 by representatives of the “new theology”, whom Met. Sergius belonged to. However, since at the beginning of the 20th century “De civitate Dei” was too often the subject of church and public discussions, Met. Sergius, with his well-known erudition, could not be completely unfamiliar with it. At the same time, the conducted research shows that the position of Met. Sergius on the issue of church-state relations was changing throughout his life due to changing historical circumstances. Nevertheless, we can say for certain that his position was constant in the idea of the inviolability of the canonical structure of the local Church. This idea is formed against the background of the struggle for the restoration of the patriarchate. It considers the autocephalous local Church (not the diocese, as it was in ancient times) as a structural unit of the universal Church. Consequently, it implies the need to maintain a single church organization throughout the USSR. This, in turn, required the legal functioning of the Church, and, as a result, had a much greater dependence on the earthly city than blessed Augustine supposed.