--"The Church lives on donations. This is commonplace, and everyone knows that this is the case. Therefore, all financial resources handed over to the Church must be treated precisely as donations, that is to say, as funds selflessly handed over. No one is forcing anyone to make donations: please, come in to church, pray, confess, receive communion, without spending a kopeck of your money. Furthermore, not a single priest has the right to refuse to perform any religious rite free of charge. However, this priest needs to eat and drink; the parish in which he serves needs to be repaired and maintained. People understand this and make donations to the church. Some donate selflessly, others selflessly serve--such is the ideal, and such an ideal we realize under one condition: church tithing. Let each Orthodox person give a portion of his income to the Church, and She could survive altogether, develop Her social initiatives, engage very broadly in charity, and distribute candles left and right to every needy person. --And how does the Church spend its money? - I can answer this question as the rector of one of the city’s churches. More than half of our expenses are the wages of our parish employees (along with all the accompanying taxes). Yes, the Church pays taxes to the state, feeds it. A third of its expenses are for various purchases: those very "candles," as well as icons and literature, which are subsequently offered for distribution during collection of donations. A significant portion of the church budget goes to utility bills, and further, comparable to this "piece" is the cost of maintenance of the charitable refectory, and besides that, Sunday School. Add to this the necessary repairs, upkeep of communication networks, office and other expenses, and you will see that church money escapes like water into sand. Furthermore there is charity, and payments for general church needs. Try to find in the church budget a gap the size of the price of a Mercedes! That would be something from the realm of science fiction. In any case, this is in the context of my parish--a central city parish. " pravoslavie.ru/english/63502.htm
Posted on: Wed, 28 Aug 2013 01:42:55 +0000
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