THE RELATIONS OF CHURCH AND STATE IN BYZANTIUMS AND RUSSIAS SOCIO-POLITICAL THOUGHT

Abstract

In 1453 the great Byzantine Empire became extinct. The Byzantine Empires and
Russias historical fate, including modern Russian reality, are closely connected. The article
describes the church-and-state relations in the Byzantine Empire, the theory and practice
of their implementation, the concept of the authorities symphony. The authors intention is
to examine the grounds for the necessity of church-and-state interaction. According to the
Byzantian doctrine, the Greek orthodox world was to be ruled by two heads - the patriarch
and the emperor; the accord between the Church and the State was to be the basis of the
Greek orthodox society.