Abstract The purpose of the article is identification of the specifics of political and religious institutional interaction of Russian Orthodox Church and the state. Speaking about institutional interaction of church and state, the author focuses attention on the degree of religious institutes integration into political system. The main content of the research is the analysis of the institutionalization of the Russian Orthodox Church’s (ROC’s) political and religious interaction with the modern Russian state. The methodological basis for the research is the institutional approach. In the course of the research the attention is focused on the concept “secular” as a norm within which there is a standard regulation of political and religious interaction. Following the results of the research the authors draw the following conclusion: the ROC is a part of the political system and the specific actor of the political process. Using the category “secular” the authors managed to update the perspective of the analysis of the political-religious interactions.