Those who regularly attend church have noticed that during each service, grandmothers walk among the worshipers with plates in their hands. They ask anyone to put as much sacrifice in it as they can the temple Some are annoyed by these “beggars”, others begin to condemn: “these priests are completely greedy! They’re asking for money for a new car!” and disgustedly turn away from those collecting donations, not bothering to put in even a penny. But where do these funds actually go? Do I need to donate to the temple? These pressing questions interest many parishioners.
Why is there a need for a sacrifice at the temple?
The temple is a house of prayer, the house of God. Grace is found in it; Angels serve invisibly. Even Jews were called to sacrifice at the temple in the Old Testament. During the construction of Solomon's Temple, a decree was issued that each tribe of Israel would make a certain contribution. The command was carried out strictly, and the temple was built in a short time. It was magnificent, and if the Jews had spared their money for construction, it would hardly have been built.
Believers are still called upon today for this good cause - improving the external and internal appearance of the temple But many shrug their shoulders incredulously and spare money. Everyone knows what the October Revolution did to our country. What did she turn the temples into, those that remained undestroyed? Temples were turned into “vegetable storage” as predicted by the prophet, into gas stations, clubs, cinemas, bakeries, etc.
And, of course, considerable funds are needed for the restoration of churches. Patriarch Kirill diligently monitors and advocates the active construction of new churches. It’s good when there are more and more Orthodox churches in Russia. But this requires considerable funds, but where to get them? This is a pressing question. Of course, there are many wealthy philanthropists in our country, and this is encouraging. But still this is often not enough.
Why help churches?
Your soul asks for good. Help people. Make life better.
How many are lonely, despondent, and unable to find a place in life today? If you want to help a hungry person, give him not a fish, but a fishing rod. If you want to make life brighter, help people find faith. Therefore, you help the construction and restoration of temples. What is important to you is not the walls or the gold on the domes. What matters are teenagers who find the meaning of life in God, not in drugs. Children who will be born and not killed by abortion. Old people who will be taken care of by brothers in faith. Mature people who have found harmony in their lives. Those who have learned that earning money is worth it not for its own sake, but for the opportunity to do good.
Temples are not built by the state, and the Patriarchate does not reconstruct them. The state can allocate land. Patriarchy - to bless and call for construction or restoration. But ordinary people donate funds. Why can’t the Patriarch repair destroyed churches? – He physically does not have the opportunity to help 40,000 churches located in the vastness of our Motherland. Speeches about super-incomes of the episcopate and clergy, as a rule, are unscrupulous rumors.
Where does the money on the plate actually go?
In the Old Testament, in the commandments given to Moses by God, there was a command about tithing. This meant that every believer must give God a tenth of his income, whether from harvest or otherwise. The tithe was given to the temple and went towards the maintenance of the temple and the priests, who, as you know, did not work in the field, did not plant anything, but were only engaged in serving God.
These days, priests receive salaries, albeit small ones. So why do they need our tithe? Few people know about the taxes imposed on the Church. It is separated from the state and must pay considerable taxes, which are measured not in thousands of rubles, but sometimes in millions. Therefore, each parish must pay a tax to the diocese. It is different for each parish, but does not depend on the income of the church.
How rubbish was donated to the temple - and how the priest reacted
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes.
One of my priest friends, whose grandchildren in the church already help their grandfather-rector in the altar, told me a story. A former professional builder, he built more than fifteen churches in his diocese. And then one day he was completing the construction of another church. The interior decoration was already underway and it was necessary to buy three new street doors, and suddenly, as often happens, all the priest’s money ran out.
He prayed to the Mother of God and went to visit a businessman he knew who had a company that sold doors. He said that building a temple is God’s work, and he will definitely help. Just in case, the priest, who is experienced in such matters, clarified that we don’t need any kind of doors, but street ones, because in the winter they have serious frosts.
After some time, the doors were actually brought directly to the construction site near the temple. But when the boxes were opened, it turned out that they were of the most disgusting quality, as the priest said, “literally made of paper, you could pierce it with your finger!” When one accidentally fell to the ground, it was crushed by the impact. Naturally, they didn’t install them anywhere; they bought others.
I listened, shook my head, was indignant, and asked: “I hope you returned them to this man who lives by the principle “God take it, what is of no use to me”? The priest laughed.
“That’s what I wanted to do at first,” he says. And then I remembered the story from the patericon about the stingy rich man who walked through the market, loaded with purchases. A beggar followed him and began to loudly ask him to give him something, but the rich man pretended not to hear. And when he couldn’t bear to listen to the beggar, the rich man turned around and threw bread at him. He did not intend to feed him, he simply had his hands full, and instead of a stone, the rich man threw bread at the beggar. After some time, the rich man fell ill and, unconscious, saw how the demon and the angel were suing for his soul. Throwing bread at the beggar turned out to be the only good deed he did. But when the angel put this bread on the scales, it outweighed all the evil deeds of the rich man. When he came to his senses, what he saw amazed him so much that after that he changed, began to help the poor and died in peace with God and people.
And I thought: “Who am I to judge this man? Maybe these thin doors donated to the temple are the kindest thing he has done in his life? God be his judge!
I called him and thanked him, although he perfectly understood that he had given us rubbish. And after some time, he came to our church to baptize his grandson. Now their family comes to us on all holidays, prays, whatever happens, and helps people.” This is the story.
Photo by Chris Alban Hansen
What is donation in 2021
Based on the information contained in Article 582 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, a donation is any gratuitous donation of property or property rights made by one party in favor of another for generally beneficial purposes.
At the same time, the benefactor has the right to independently choose not only the object/subject of the donation agreement to a religious organization, but also the form of this agreement. Thus, in 2021, he can make a donation in one of the following ways:
- Top up your piggy bank with cash;
- draw up a corresponding written agreement;
- transfer money by sending an SMS to the organization’s short number;
- transfer funds to the bank account of a religious organization.
It is worth noting that regardless of the chosen donation option, the temple or church must keep tax and internal accounting records for such donations.
Does the Church provide paid services?
The church does not provide any services - neither paid nor free. The Temple of God has nothing to do with the service sector at all; this is a place of serving God and each other, a place where a person meets the Lord and is sanctified by God's grace. Grace is a “good gift” - the saving influence of God on a person, which cannot be sold, bought, or generally assessed by any human standards. As the Apostle Paul writes: by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8).
Therefore, there is no and cannot be any “tax” for what is done in the Church. Christ Himself once and for all forbade His disciples - and therefore their successors, bishops and priests - to demand anything from people for the distribution of those grace-filled gifts that the disciples themselves received in the sacrament of the Priesthood through the laying on of hands and the prayer of the bishop. Freely you have received, freely give (Matthew 10 :8) - only this way and no other way. And when the sorcerer Simon offered the apostles Peter and John money so that they would lay hands on him, he heard an angry rebuke from Peter: Let your money perish with you, because you thought to receive the gift of God with money (Acts 8 : 20). Since then, simony - the sale of sacred positions for money - has been considered one of the most serious sins in the Church.
Apostle Peter and Simon Magus, Avanzino Nucci, 1620
It is generally very dangerous to talk about providing any services in the Church: this is a direct path to spiritual disaster, a dangerous replacement of spiritual life and faith with purely human relationships built on the principle “you - to me, I - to you.” Whatever the priest does - perform a divine service, baptize, preach, bury the deceased, consecrate an apartment - all this is in one way or another connected with distributing to people those grace-filled gifts that he received from the Holy Spirit. And these gifts cannot in any way be the subject of trade.
Grounds and procedure for canceling a donation agreement to a temple or church
Cancellation of a donation is possible only on the grounds established in paragraph 5 of Art. 582 of the Civil Code, i.e. in the event of a violation by a religious organization of the intended purpose of the property transferred by the donor or an unauthorized change of such purpose in violation of the procedure defined in paragraph 4 of Art. 582 Civil Code. Grounds for cancellation of donation established by Art. 578 of the Civil Code are not applicable to donations, which is dictated by the general usefulness of the transaction, since it takes into account the interests of not only the donee, but to a greater extent the mass of other entities, provided that it is used for its intended purpose.
Important
The right to cancel a donation is given not only to the donor himself, but also to his heirs and assigns in the event of his death or liquidation of the legal entity. faces. To cancel a donation, they must have clear evidence that the donated property and funds were used for other than the previously established purpose.
Cancellation of a donation is possible only in court . Thus, having discovered evidence of misuse of a donation by a religious organization, the donor must file a claim in court at the location of the religious organization to cancel the transaction (Article 28 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation). At the same time, he must convince the court that such misuse was committed by the temple or church intentionally .
The burden of proving misuse lies solely with the donor , since it is he who demands cancellation and refers to the existence of grounds for it. We also note that any method of alienation by a church or temple of property or money donated to it, or its actual non-use during the period established by the contract or an adequate period of time, can be recognized as misuse.
In case of cancellation of the donation, clause 5 of Art. 578 Civil Code. According to it, the church or temple must return all remaining property to the donor . The unpreserved part is subject to compensation on the basis of Art. 1105 of the Civil Code, as unjust enrichment (Article 1102 of the Civil Code).
Legal meaning of donation in church in 2022
After concluding a donation agreement in favor of the church, events can develop in one of the following ways:
- if a donation is accepted without an agreement (for example, by placing money in a piggy bank or transferring funds from a mobile account), the donor cannot demand reporting on the use of the donation;
- if a donation agreement is concluded between the donor and a religious institution in simple written form, the beneficiary is obliged to provide the donor with a report on the use of the gift, completing it at the request of the benefactor.
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As you can see, a written agreement, although not a mandatory part of the donation, acts as a guarantee that the donation will be used for its intended purpose. And in case of improper use of money, things, real estate or rights, nothing will prevent the benefactor from terminating the donation agreement and returning the gift to his property.
Simply put, a donation agreement drawn up in simple written form acts as a limiting factor for the beneficiary, limiting his actions in using the donation he has accepted.
Donation or payment for a service - what's the difference if the meaning is the same?
No, the meaning is different. If you go to a store to buy a TV and say that you don’t have money, they won’t sell it to you. Maybe you will take it home, but only along with the loan, which will then have to be repaid in double amount.
If you bring your car to the workshop, but you don’t have the amount needed for repairs, the mechanic won’t even talk to you.
And the Church will not refuse you in any case. Yes, it is customary here to donate to the temple, but if a person does not have money, he will always receive what he came for for free. That’s why it’s a donation, because it’s always voluntary and not one-time.
People donate more than just money to the Church. Someone brings food to the general tea party after the service. Some people use lamp oil. Someone teaches children in Sunday school for free. Someone is clearing snow around the temple...
But you can also donate money. Firstly, it is easier than going out and buying what the parish needs (for example, frames for new icons or coal for lighting a censer). Secondly, the parish itself needs money to buy candles, prosphora, pay for electricity, provide for the lives of priests and their families, and pay for the work of various parish workers.
In the Ancient Church, everything that was required for the performance of worship - bread, wine, oil, candles - was brought to the temple by the Christians themselves, who at that time were very few in number. In this way, they participated directly in the service and maintenance of the life of the community. It is no coincidence that the main divine service of Christians is called liturgy, in Greek - “common cause” (λειτουργία).
Today, when there are often dozens and even hundreds of parishioners in churches, people have to do it differently. The laity donate money - and the church servants themselves will purchase and prepare everything necessary for performing the service (and more). The form of donation has changed, but not the essence.
General rules for donating to the temple in 2021
As many of you have noticed, in recent years, more and more charitable foundations have been organized in the Russian Federation, the main goal of which is the restoration of temples, churches and monasteries, as well as maintaining their normal operation.
As we mentioned above, the donation agreement, in this case, can be concluded either in simple written or oral form. However, there are cases when the agreement is drawn up only in writing. In 2022, these cases include:
- the benefactor does not transfer the donation immediately, but promises to do so within a specified period or a certain date;
- a legal organization acts as a donor, while the value of the donation transferred by it exceeds 3,000 Russian rubles.
Today, any legal entity or individual can make a donation for generally beneficial purposes in favor of a religious organization. Please note that at the time of registration of the donation agreement, each party develops its own responsibilities and rights.
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At the same time, the main responsibility of the benefactor is, in fact, the obligation to transfer the donation specified in the contract. Lawyers include the following basic rights of this person:
- control over the use of donated property, funds or rights, according to the purpose specified in the donation agreement (as a rule, control is carried out by studying the relevant report provided by the recipient);
- changing the purpose of the direct purpose of the donation;
- cancellation and/or termination of the agreement if it is determined that the donation is not used for the intended purpose established in the agreement.
In turn, the recipient has many more responsibilities. Their list in 2022 includes:
- maintaining internal accounting records of all transactions that are in any way related to donated property, funds or rights;
- use of the donation strictly for the purpose specified by the benefactor;
- execution and provision of an appropriate report on the direct use of the donation within the period established in the agreement, or on any day (at the request of the second party);
- obtaining an agreement to use the donation for purposes other than the purpose specified in the agreement.
So, does the Church have to do without money at all?
No, this is an incorrect conclusion. The apostolic community gathered by the Lord Jesus Christ already had means - this is clear from the Gospel.
The Lord never took any payment from people - neither for conversations, nor for healings, nor for bread, which He miraculously multiplied and distributed to His hungry listeners who found themselves far from home (see Matthew 14 : 13-21, Matthew 15:32 –39, etc.). He did everything absolutely unselfishly and commanded his disciples to do the same.
At the same time, sending his disciples to preach the Gospel in cities and villages, Jesus Christ taught them to stop wherever they were invited and to enjoy the hospitality of their hosts, for the worker is worthy of food (Matt. 10:10).
The Apostle John the Theologian writes about what kind of money the Savior and His disciples lived on when he mentions that the traitor Judas, while he was among the apostles, had a cash box with him and carried what was put there (John 12 :6). It was a donation box into which people who came to listen to Christ or ask Him for help could then throw a coin. The apostles bought bread with this money, and they themselves shared this money with the poor. It’s not for nothing that Judas, who saw a woman pouring precious myrrh on the feet of Christ, a precious fragrance with which it was customary to anoint the bodies of the departed, burst out with an exclamation: Why not sell this ointment for three hundred denarii and give it to the poor! (John 12 :5).
Among the people who turned to Christ or asked Him for help, there were both poor and wealthy people. One can also recall the leaders of the Jews, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, who came to talk with Christ, and after His Crucifixion, they took His body from the Cross and laid it in a cave (John 3 :1-21; John 7 :50-52; John 19 :38-42) . And the Pharisee Simon, who invited Christ and his disciples to his house for a meal (Luke 7 :36-50). And Zacchaeus, chief of the publicans in the city of Jericho (Luke 19 :1-10). And the ruler of the synagogue, Jairus, whose daughter was raised by the Savior (Mark 5 :22–24, 35–43). And those women who followed Christ and His disciples, serving Him with their substance (Luke 8 :1-3). These were rich Jewish women who donated part of their savings to the needs of the apostolic community, explained Blessed Theophylact of Bulgaria, a famous Byzantine writer and theologian, interpreter of the Holy Scriptures. He lived in the second half of the 11th century - the beginning of the 12th century.
These and many other people wanted to make their contribution to the work of saving the gospel to the world, they wanted to protect the Lord and His disciples from worries associated with finding funds. The above-mentioned formula - the worker is worthy of food - became a kind of economic basis for the existence of the original apostolic community.
Likewise, in the Church, which grew out of the apostolic community, there is no “. And there is the personal sacrifice of a Christian.
Accounting for donations in the church in 2022
Since any religious community is, first of all, a legal entity, it is obliged to keep separate records of the donations it accepts, no matter what exactly is the subject of the donation.
As practice shows, most of the donations in 2022 will go to the church through piggy banks, which are located in the temple itself or on its territory. At the same time, given the specifics of such a donation, it is not possible to identify benefactors.
Expert opinion
Oleg Ustinov
Practicing lawyer, author of the website “Legal Ambulance”, one of the co-founders of the “Our Future” foundation.
We remind you that the official document that confirms the donation is the act of accepting a donation or the act of opening a piggy bank for accepting donations, which are drawn up by members of a specially formed commission.
Let's now look at the points that are mandatory when filling out the act of opening the piggy bank. So, this list includes:
- information about the persons involved in drawing up the act;
- date and place of opening of the piggy bank;
- date and actual number of the receipt order;
- the exact amount of money and the ratio of currencies found when opening the box;
- the date of the decision, as well as the number of the decision, on the basis of which the piggy bank was installed on the territory of the temple;
- signature of each member of the commission.
Thus, when withdrawing donated funds, it is necessary not only to issue a cash receipt order, but also to record this operation in a cash book specially established for such operations.
If a donation to a church or temple comes from a specific benefactor (that is, not anonymously), at the cash desk of this institution you need to draw up a cash receipt order with the exact details of the benefactor (full name of the donor, as well as the registration address and all important passport data), recording this operation to the cash book.
