The incomes of the clergy largely depend on the generosity of the parishioners, but Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin notes that “people have become much poorer and tightfisted”
“The money that is donated in the temple ends up in piggy banks. These piggy banks can be targeted donations, they can be general: for candles, notes. Every last Sunday of the month, our audit committee - there is one in every church - writes a corresponding act. This money is taken to the bank and deposited into our church account. The priest, as a rule, has a salary, let's say in secular terms, which is determined depending on the income of the parish. Our parish, frankly, is not very rich. This is the minimum wage in the Moscow region - 14,200 rubles.
If there are several priests in the state of the temple, then the amount of salary is determined by the rector at his own discretion. It is clear that it is very difficult to live on a bare salary. But the priest also has an additional income. These are donations for trebes, such as a funeral service or the consecration of an apartment. Often these funds make up the bulk of income. It happens that parishioners give gifts - food, things, household items. But this is rare and not much. If there is a wealthy donor - lucky.
In the village, the priests have household plots. Many combine church service with secular work - most often they teach in schools, and not the word of God, but, for example, history or the Russian language. There are those who work as a taxi driver or a programmer.
Cleric rewards are not the same and can vary greatly. It all depends on where the church is located and how many parishioners it has, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, rector of the Moscow church of St. Theodore the Studite, told Business FM:
“In the city, temples are usually a little more affluent or much more affluent than in the countryside. There is, of course, a big difference depending on how many people there are in one temple. If, for example, a temple is in a village, but there is only one per district, then, of course, there are more people there. And if in a small town there are 10-20 operating churches, then, of course, they will all be beggars. Maybe apart from cathedral, which stands in the very center. In general, the drop in cash receipts is going on in literally all church communities. This applies even to the rich Moscow outskirts. Well, in the center, the temples gradually go into the minus. People have become much poorer and much more stingy.”
Father Vsevolod Chaplin says that he receives 20 thousand rubles a month. At the same time, the rector of the temple has many duties, and worship of them takes only a third. This is the solution of issues related to the management and maintenance of the temple, interaction with authorities, reporting, and so on.
As for the rewards of the higher clergy, as one of the priests near Moscow, there is a completely different story, but he did not disclose the details.
Photographs of people in cassocks in luxury cars and with Rolex watches periodically pop up in the media. It is also known that for misdeeds a cleric can be sent to a small parish and his income will drop sharply. They can also be fired, especially after the scandalous stories that get into the press.
Parishes outside of Russia are usually very poor, and priests live on a token allowance. Many of the pastors Orthodox churches abroad, they also work in secular work, and worship services are held in their free time.
Q Why study and heal when you can pray?
Why study and heal when you can pray?
2019-05-22 10:59:00
The conflict over the square in Yekaterinburg raised the important issue of financing the rapid growth in the number of parishes and churches belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church and other legal denominations in Putin's Russia.
I remind you that since 2000, about 20,000 new Orthodox parishes have appeared in the country. This incredible increase is very embarrassing against the background of the fact that the church is formally separated from the state, and even more embarrassing that this is happening against the background of the so-called. optimization of education and medicine, during which 27 thousand schools and 11.5 thousand polyclinics and hospitals were liquidated. That is, since 2000, 1.5 closed social facilities have accounted for one newly opened church!
That is, the authorities believe that Russian women do not need free hospitals and schools, but prayer houses. Why study and heal when you can pray? The cynicism of this situation strains any person who is not zombified by propaganda.
The aspect of financing is also important. Where does the money for such active temple construction come from? Indeed, in almost every hole forgotten by the state, a huge pompous temple has now been built or is being built. And the cost of such an object at a glance significantly exceeds the cost of building a school or clinic. But the state has no money for schools and hospitals, but for some reason there is a temple?
Active believers who visited my blog these days believe that these temples are being built with donations from parishioners. Let me doubt it, and here's why. Firstly, there are not so many parishioners who really believe and regularly attend churches relative to the entire population. Secondly, for the most part, these are poor people - pensioners and others. I think that the donations of such a flock are not enough even for the current maintenance and subsistence of the priests themselves.
The content of social objects is another matter. Although they are formally free for Russian citizens, they are financed and maintained by our taxes, which are deducted from our salaries: personal income tax - 13% and compulsory medical insurance - 5%. That is, each of us monthly "donates" 18% of our salary to the local social program. You get 20-30 thousand rubles a month and immediately give 4-6 thousand rubles to the "temple" of education and medicine. And the state still does not have enough of this huge amount of money to maintain schools and hospitals, which, at the same time, it actively closes by the thousands a year.
So why do believers get the idea that their modest donations are enough for the construction of thousands of churches a year and the maintenance of 40 thousand churches throughout Russia? Of course, it is not enough - this is understandable to any reasonable person.
So who's banking all this crazy temple building? We finance everything. A striking example is yesterday's with the new residence of Patriarch Kirill near St. Petersburg:
The area is 3.5 thousand square meters. From the chambers will open a picturesque view of the Fedorovsky Cathedral, the park. In addition to Orthodox amenities, a billiard room and an elevator will be placed inside. Installation of the "smart house" system is provided. All interior decoration- furniture, plumbing, decorative items and the rest - will be purchased separately. The state allocates 2.8 billion rubles for the restoration and reconstruction of an already completed facility alone. The final amount can double. And all this at our expense. By saving on closed schools and hospitals.
And there is another type of funding. This is when the ROC returns the former cult object, in which all these years there was a museum, a club, an educational institution or even a planetarium. Naturally, the local budget owes for the museum, educational institution or planetarium to build a new building. But this is not all: the wrung out object is being restored and restored to meet the needs of the Russian Orthodox Church, also at the expense of the budget, i.e. at the expense of us. It turns out in general a double burden on the budget.
Or take such a typical type of construction financing, which we see in Joburg with the church of St. Catherine. Which is being built at the expense of donations from local oligarchs, who at one time squeezed out huge pieces of Soviet property - UMMC and something else. That is, it is also at our expense. It was we who were robbed in the 90s, and the cunning Altushkins grabbed all this and now they are fattening left and right - including, like, donating to the temple. Supposedly they repent of sins. But in fact, not praying, but covering up the construction of commercial facilities in the neighborhood with this topic.
In general, it is clear at whose expense the banquet at the oligarchs and the kept women from the Russian Orthodox Church who joined them, who actively milk us through the state and through numerous Altushkins.
Photo by Pixabay.com
At the disposal of "NG" was allegedly a reporting document on the work of the Financial and Economic Department of the Russian Orthodox Church (FHU ROC) for 2018. According to this text, drawn up as a document of the Moscow Patriarchate, the Russian Orthodox Church now needs almost 12 billion rubles for various repair and restoration work on objects of cultural significance for religious purposes, including 17 stauropegial monasteries and patriarchal farmsteads in 96 dioceses of the country. At the same time, it is noted that the limit of state funding within the framework of the federal target program "Development of Culture and Tourism 2013-2020" for 2019 is only 900 million rubles. It is noted that about another 1 billion rubles Orthodox Church will receive from the so-called "target limits" of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. It is from them that the repair and restoration work of the Novodevichy and Solovetsky monasteries will be paid. “Target funds allocated in 2019 for the restoration of the Solovetsky and Novodevichy monasteries amount to 490 million rubles and 532 million rubles, respectively,” the document says. At the same time, there is such a phrase: “As of January 15, 2019, state contracts were concluded for a total amount of just over 3 billion (3,084.04 million) rubles, including 1.4 billion for the objects of the Novodevichy Convent ( 1,384.93 million) rubles and the Solovetsky Archipelago - 477 million rubles.
The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, in response to a request from NG to finance ROC facilities under various target programs, emphasized that since “a Memorandum of Cooperation on the implementation of the Program has been concluded between the Ministry of Culture of Russia and the ROC” (state program “Development of Culture and Tourism” for 2013 -2020 - "NG"), then "financing is carried out in relation to the objects presented in the list approved by the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill."
At the same time, the figures of the cultural and spiritual departments do not coincide in everything. The Ministry of Culture claims that “the Novodevichy Convent is provided with federal funding in 2019 in the amount of 1.2 billion rubles. For the comprehensive restoration of the ensemble of the Solovetsky Monastery and individual structures of the Solovetsky Archipelago by the Government Russian Federation The Foundation for the Preservation of the Solovetsky Archipelago was created. For 2019, the Fund is expected to provide the Ministry of Culture of Russia with a subsidy in the amount of 490.0 million rubles.”
These figures are fully justified, Olga Zamzhitskaya, head of the Scientific Department of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Central Scientific and Restoration Design Workshops", researcher at the State Institute of Art History, assured NG. “Each monument is like an old person who must undergo a medical examination every year and undergo supportive rehabilitation procedures every few years. According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, even after a complex restoration, either a cosmetic restoration or a supporting restoration is carried out every few (from five to seven) years. Restoration is a process that must be repeated constantly,” the expert noted. Zamzhitskaya also stressed that, including due to the fact that at one time Novodevichy was on fire, and even more so with the recent fire in Notre Dame in Paris, fire safety requirements have now been increased for cultural objects. “Now it is necessary to have a modern fire extinguishing system, and video surveillance, and telephony, and computerization, and much more. In the same Novodevichy, now all this is being carried out anew, and in a sense, for the first time, because the monastery did not have such protective equipment before. All this requires funding.”
However, it is not yet a fact that the ROC will receive these funds in full. Back in December 2018, within the framework of the XXVII International Christmas Educational Readings, summing up the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church in the federal target program "Culture of Russia (2012-2018)", representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate complained that they did not always receive the money allocated to them by the state budget.
And according to the alleged report of the FHU, within the framework of the Federal Target Program "Culture of Russia 2012-2018" for 2018, about 3 billion (2,695 million) rubles were allocated from the federal budget for the restoration of church facilities, including the buildings of the Novodevichy Convent - 1.3 billion rubles and Solovetsky - 350 million rubles. By the beginning of 2019, the total volume of paid work under all state contracts concluded amounted to only 1.1 billion rubles. Among the reasons that influenced the incomplete development of the limits of funds allocated under the FTP are “personnel changes in the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation”, “repeated changes in the heads and staff of the organization”, “liquidation of the state order”, “late publication of competitive events for the selection of contracting organizations” and "a lengthy consideration of the results of the competition to make a decision on the possibility of making contact with the Federal Antimonopoly Service."
In order to somehow resolve this problem, Patriarch Kirill, back in mid-2018, applied to the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation with the initiative to create a Fund to support the preservation of cultural heritage sites of the Russian Orthodox Church. With the support of the Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky of the Russian Orthodox Church, a letter was sent to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a proposal to create such a resource. It was assumed that the fund, which should be organized by the ROC FHU, would be filled from public funds with an annual budget of 2 billion rubles for the restoration of church monuments. But the government's decision on the creation of such an organization has not yet been received.
However, apparently, the ROC has its own quite effective mechanisms for obtaining the necessary additional subsidies. As the same supposed FHU document says, for 2018, Patriarch Kirill approved a list of church objects to be included in the organizational and financial plan of the FTP "Culture of Russia 2012-2018". The list provided for the "development of design estimates and work on 61 church sites", among which was the Novodevichy Convent. However, “at the request of the patriarch,” funds from the monastery’s facilities in the amount of more than 370 million rubles were transferred to the restoration of other church buildings, “in the amount of 12 objects.” And "the limit of funds directed to the Novodevichy Convent remained unchanged due to the allocation of funds from the reserve fund of the government of the Russian Federation."
In the Financial and Economic Department of the Russian Orthodox Church, NG's request for comment was denied.
A religious organization has benefits, but every one of them is key. It is completely exempt from:
That is, in fact, the ROC pays nothing at all to the budget.
The tax code of the Russian Federation clearly stipulates: the exemption is only from religious activities, and all commercial, even carried out by the ROC, is subject to mandatory taxation. Therefore, according to reports, the church does not conduct commercial activities at all. According to a high-ranking Russian official, in fact, they simply do not want to get involved with the church.
Chronicle of economic activity
2019: Seminar on project management, fundraising and crowdfunding
2018
Purchasing paraphernalia in China
Diocese assets: factories, computer centers, construction companies
JSC "Ritual Orthodox Service"
According to the SPARK database, the patriarchate was a co-owner of CJSC Orthodox Ritual Service. For 2016, the company was closed, but at that time the “daughter” established by it, OJSC “Ritual Orthodox Service”, operates (revenue for 2014 - 58.4 million rubles).
2015: Donations are less (4.03 billion rubles), and incomes grew by 27% to 1.79 billion rubles
On June 7, 2016, it became known about the growth of the income of the ROC from ritual and ceremonial activities by 27%, and the volume of donations slightly decreased.
Income of religious organizations from "performing rituals and ceremonies", "sales of religious literature and religious items" grew by 27% in 2015 and reached 1.79 billion rubles, media reported, citing statistics from the Federal Tax Service.
The amount of donations from citizens and organizations "for the conduct of statutory activities" decreased slightly - by 3%, to 4.03 billion rubles.
In 2014, the Russians donated more. Donations amounted to almost 4.2 billion rubles, but income from the sale of candles and icons, rituals reached 1.4 billion rubles.
The vast majority of these incomes correlate only with the Russian Orthodox Church, since it is not customary in Islam to conduct religious rites similar to those held in Russian churches. Therefore, donations from parishioners of other faiths do not fall into the official statistics.
2012: Annual income of $100-150 million. Scheme of legal entities
2003-2010: 25% share in BMW Russland car dealer
Between 2003 and 2010 ZAO Vital, controlled by the Russian Orthodox Church, owned a quarter of BMW Russland, but in 2010 the company was liquidated, and BMW Russland Trading LLC was registered in its place.
2000: 55% of income - commercial enterprises
In 2000, Archbishop Kliment, in an interview with the Kommersant-Dengi magazine, for the first and last time, will say what the church economy is made up of:
- 5% of the budget of the patriarchate - deductions from the dioceses,
- 40% - sponsorship donations,
- 55% comes from the earnings of commercial enterprises of the ROC.
1997: Deposits, government bonds and business ventures
On Bishops' Cathedral In 1997, Patriarch Alexy II reported that the Russian Orthodox Church received the bulk of the money from “managing its temporarily free funds, placing them in deposit accounts, acquiring government short-term bonds” and other securities, and from the income of commercial enterprises.
1990s: Cigarette imports and vodka trade
In the 1990s, structures of the Russian Orthodox Church carried out duty-free importation of cigarettes and trade in vodka.
Olga Panfilova
Updated: 2019.09.01
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After a public scandal with a watch for 30,000 euros on the patriarch's hand, people became interested: how much does Patriarch Kirill earn? No, this information is well hidden by the religious person and the church itself. This is because the church is a non-profit organization and there should not be any income from this activity. Also, the patriarch himself does not have the right to own any property - everything must belong to the church. But why does a religious organization need its own plane, Swiss watch and fleet of vehicles?
The basis of the state of the patriarch appeared in the 90s of the last century. In 1993, with his participation, a tobacco company was created, which distributed cigarettes throughout the country at market prices.
A few years later, when Vladimir Gundyaev (Patriarch of Moscow) decided to withdraw from the business, the organization had about $50 million worth of production left.
In 1996, Gundyaev took up the export of oil. Moreover, at the request of his predecessor, Patriarch Alexy II, the business was exempted from duties. A year later, the approximate fortune of his company was approaching $ 2 million.
In the 2000s, attempts were made to engage in the seafood trade, which in the end also brought the businessman several million US dollars.
Before joining the high priesthood financial condition Vladimir Gundyaev was estimated at $4 billion.
Income Growth Dynamics
The increase in the patriarch's own capital began around 2004, when an analysis of the shadow economy of the Russian Orthodox Church showed that Metropolitan Kirill controls assets worth $1.5 billion. And after 2 years, their value has increased by 2 times.
Since 2009, when Vladimir Gundyaev received the status of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus', his income began to grow. Since those years, he has acquired 3 mansions, an apartment, several cars, an airplane, etc.
All information relating to the income of the main religious figure in Russia is carefully concealed and not made public.
Main income items today
To date, it is not clear whether the patriarch is involved in his old business of selling tobacco, seafood and exporting oil. If this is so, then the religious person has more than one billion dollars on this.
Since, according to the rules of the church, the servants of God cannot have any income, there is no information on them. Monthly transfers to the patriarch's personal pension account are made to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, but their amount in rubles is unknown.
One can only guess how much Kirill earns if he can afford a private jet, world-class cars, palaces and a Swiss watch for 30 thousand euros.
Total annual income
As of 2019, it is known that the Russian Orthodox Church, represented by Patriarch Kirill, controls the activities of several commercial organizations and receives a percentage of their income. This brings the ROC about 600 million rubles a year. The church also owns assets worth 2.5 billion rubles a year.
We cannot give a specific number of the patriarch's total annual income, but we can assume that he receives far from 1 million rubles a year.
Also, do not forget about the voluntary contributions of the people of the church, which start from 5 rubles and can reach up to 500 thousand rubles per person.
As mentioned above, Patriarch Kirill has personal property, which consists of:
- villas in Switzerland;
- several penthouses in Peredelkino, Troitse-Lykovo, Solovka, Gelendzhik and Rublyovka;
- apartments in the "House on the Embankment";
- personal aircraft;
- fleet, the favorite car of the Patriarch - an elongated and armored Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse Pullman;
- personal land plot of almost 3 hectares.
Yacht "Pallada" of the Patriarch
Around all this, scandals are increasingly arising, people began to accuse the patriarch of violating church rules.
For example, one house of Vladimir is a three-story building on a land area of almost 3 hectares. In this building you can find several bedrooms, living rooms, a home church, its own wellness complex and a huge dining room with a kitchen. Moreover, the land on which this palace stands previously belonged to the Forest Fund and now the patriarch is accused of illegal cutting down forest plantations.
There are also rumors that in order to build several of his palaces, several residential buildings of ordinary people had to be demolished. And his apartment in the "House on the Embankment" has 5 rooms.
From time to time, the Patriarch gets tired of such a hard life and sets sail on exquisite yachts worth up to 7 million US dollars. One can only imagine how much it costs to rent such a property.
For all questions about it past life businessman, today's expensive property and luxurious lifestyle, the patriarch does not answer.
