The concept and types of real estate property for religious purposes of the Russian Orthodox Church

Questions regarding the legal regime of immovable property objects designated for religious purposes by the Russian Orthodox Church are among the most relevant issues in both church law and civil law sciences, which underscores the necessity for a comprehensive theoretical and practical understanding of the social relations concerning such objects. One of the significant problems that define the complexity of regulating the property relations of religious organizations is the uncertainty of legislative terminology. The aim of this article is to identify the relationship between the concepts of "property for religious purposes," "property for worship purposes," and "cult property" within the legal relations of the Russian Orthodox Church regarding immovable property. The object of the study is the property relations of the Russian Orthodox Church and its canonical subdivisions, registered as legal entities concerning immovable property. The subject of the research is the norms of current Russian legislation regulating the property relations of religious organizations. By applying general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, analogy, etc.) and special legal methods (formal-legal and comparative-legal), the author concludes that it is impossible to define the identified property categories without considering the internal regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as an appropriate level of church law culture. The article analyzes the aforementioned concepts and defines their interrelation; it reveals the characteristics that allow attributing particular immovable objects to the identified groups; and it formulates a definition of the concept "property for worship purposes." By applying general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction, analogy, etc.) and special legal methods (formal-legal and comparative-legal), the author arrives at the conclusion that it is impossible to determine the identified property categories without taking into account the internal regulations of the Russian Orthodox Church, as well as a proper level of church law culture. The cult nature of the religious property dictates its special legal regime, which necessitates specific legal regulation of property relations.