Church and State and the Conflict over the Erosion of Morals in 18th Century Russia

Russian History. 2021. Vol. 48. P. 169–186.

Kamenskii A. B.

At the beginning of the 18th century, sexual crimes, which until then were considered
only a sin and were subject to ecclesiastical punishment, became crimes also subject
to secular courts. Henceforth, the Orthodox Church and the state now had to interact
in the fight against violations of the norms of people’s sexual behavior. The article analyzes
how this interaction took place in practice and shows that there was a kind of
competition between the Church and the state for power over emotions and bodies. At
the same time, the state personified by secular officials appeared to be more sensitive
to the changes taking place in Russian society and, in fact, was gradually ousting the
Church from this sphere.

Keywords: Church, judicial system, sexual behavior

Publication based on the results of: Deviant behavior and combating it in early modern Russia and France (2021)