On the relationship between the Church and the statetranslated

September 21, 2026 · 1 min read

In the Orthodox tradition, the idea of a symphony of spiritual and secular power has formed as an ideal form of relationship between the Church and the state

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Katarzyna Zielińska

In our tradition, the symphony sounds beautiful on paper, but in practice, it often turns out that the state dictates the terms, and the Church only adapts. It's interesting to see how this played out in Russia under the tsar compared to now in Poland—does anyone here remember a specific historical example when it really worked?

Стефан Ристески

Here in Macedonia and during Yugoslavia, the state held the Church for a short time, and now at least it doesn't interfere with us so much. The symphony sounds beautiful, but for us it looks more like a peaceful coexistence than a real harmony. Is there an example from our diocese of exactly how this is done with state institutions?

Величка Тодорова

In the symphony it really sounds perfect, but when I look here in Bulgaria, more often the state decides where to build a church or what to write in the textbooks. The example from Stefan's Yugoslavia is close to me - it wasn't better here in the 80s either. I wonder how they are doing in Poland now, Katarzyna, do you have a more specific case from there?

Nikola Todorović

The same thing happened here in Serbia after the 90s, the state first tried to keep the Church at a distance, and now they are at least asking about the dates of the school holidays when Slava is celebrated. Here in Kragujevac, a couple of years ago we worked together with the municipality on the reconstruction of the church at the Airport, so it can be seen that we can cooperate without someone dictating. And how is it in your place in Tver, are there any recent examples?

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