The departure of clergy from the Russian Orthodox Church as an internal and external challenge: a provincial case study
This study examines the issue of priests refusing to serve, a pressing issue for the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. The starting point is a local case of a cleric leaving the jurisdiction of the Perm Diocese and establishing an independent religious community. The aim of the study is to identify the specifics of priests leaving the official church, with the primary objectives being to identify the root causes of escapism, establish the typical and specific features of this process, and place it within the canonical and intra-church context. Methodologically, the author draws on K. Dobellar's concept of “patchwork” religiosity, R. Kisala's theory of rational choice, and T. Asad's concept of the fixation of religion in the individual consciousness. The methods chosen for analyzing the data obtained include a biographical method, which allows for the identification of individual motives, and an objective hermeneutic approach based on sequencing analysis, which allows for the most objective interpretation of narratives. The study's sources included materials obtained through a series of in-depth interviews with the subject, semi-structured interviews with his colleagues, participant observation, and analysis of speeches by Perm bishops and media publications. An analysis of the subject's biography in relation to the realities of church life in the Perm Metropolitanate revealed that the case under study is typical in terms of its underlying causes and circumstances. The trigger for the unfolding of the described situation is the priest's personal and professional crisis, arising from a combination of pressure from church authorities, a large volume of liturgical and economic activities, intense psychological stress, and a low standard of living. An additional incentive for leaving the affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church (MP) is the specific nature of contemporary culture, which allows for independent development of the path of spiritual search and the characteristics of religious behavior. Existence outside the church as a system is determined not by the crisis of the church as an institution, but by the psychological characteristics of the individual and their readiness for an independent religious life.
Riazanova, S. V. (2026), “The departure of clergy from the Russian Orthodox Church as an internal and external challenge: a provincial case study”, Research Result. Sociology and Management, 12 (3), 4- . DOI: 10.18413/2408-9338-2026-12-3-1-4.
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The study was carried out as part of the state assignment No. 124021400020-6, “Multilevel Policy: Institutional and Sociocultural Dimensions”.