By decree of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin dated November 22, 2023, was made a decision to declare 2024 - the Year of the Family.
The family is an important social institution that retains its significance at all stages of human development, closely connected with the spiritual traditions of society. Traditional family values reflect the historical experience passed down from generation to generation.
In the “Fundamentals of state policy for the preservation and strengthening of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values” (Decree of the President of the Russian Federation № 809 of November 9, 2022), among the goals and objectives of state policy is highlighted: “preservation, strengthening and promotion of family values (including the defense of the institute of marriage as a union of a man and a woman)”1.
In contrast to the directions of Russian government policy in this area, modern Western social culture is increasingly changing approaches to traditional family values. In the legislative system of a number of European countries, same-sex marriage is being legalized, the concept of the institution of marriage as a union between a man and a woman is being abandoned, justifying such approaches by the principles of freedoms and human rights. For example, “The European Court of Human Rights ordered Romania to adopt a law recognizing same-sex marriage. The court concluded that the country's laws violate the European Convention on the Protection of the Right to Privacy." This decision was made in May 2023. In the USA, a law allowing same-sex marriage was passed in December 2022.
It seems reasonable to point out that one of the reasons for this loss of the traditional meaning of the family institute can be considered the secularization of European society and the gradual abandonment of Christian values in life.
In Russian realities, a rethinking of the social experience of family relations of the previous generations leads to the relevance of studying the formation of marriage and family relations in the Old Russian state. A brief excursion into the history of Ancient Rus' indicates that after the adoption of Christianity, changes occurred in the understanding of the essence of marriage and family relations, in contrast to the pagan practices that existed before. Researchers note that “since the 10th century, the regulation of marriage and family relations was carried out according to Byzantine legislation, which found its expression in the Nomocanon and the Helmsman's Book, which was widespread in Rus'. The engagement of the bride and groom, having received religious sanctification, became indissoluble and equal in power to the wedding in church”2. The issues of marriage procedure, property and inheritance rights were regulated in detail by the Charter of Prince Yaroslav “On Church Courts,” which is the codex of Family and Marriage Law of the Old Russian State.
Church marriages contributed to the strengthening of moral principles, including the questions of parents fulfilling their responsibilities in raising children, in matters of children's supporting their parents in old age, in questions of care and mutual respect, and what is especially important, is in the final transition to a monogamous family form.
So in Ancient Rus', under the influence of the Christian religion, important foundations were laid for the formation of spiritual traditions of the family and family relationships, which were preserved and developed at subsequent historical stages in the development of Russian statehood.
_________________________________________________
1 Decree of the President of the Russian Federation № 809 of November 9, 2022 “Fundamentals of state policy for the preservation and strengthening of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values”
2 Dementieva, Tatyana Yurievna Family and inheritance law in Kievan Rus (IX - XII centuries): the dissertation ... The master of laws: https://www.dissercat.com/content/semeinoe-i-nasledstvennoe-pravo-v-kievskoi-rusi-ix-xii-vv
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: frank mckenna/Unsplash