Church and State and the Conflict over the Erosion of Morals in 18th-Century Russia

Abstract

At the beginning of the 18th century, sexual crimes, which until then were considered only a sin and were subject to ecclesiastical punishment, became crimes also subject to secular courts. Henceforth, the Orthodox Church and the state now had to interact in the fight against violations of the norms of people’s sexual behavior. The article analyzes how this interaction took place in practice and shows that there was a kind of competition between the Church and the state for power over emotions and bodies. At the same time, the state personified by secular officials appeared to be more sensitive to the changes taking place in Russian society and, in fact, was gradually ousting the Church from this sphere.