§ 128. Parish Committees (Epitropies)

Every church possesses some property, however small that property may be. The administration of that property belongs to him who is the administrator of church property in the whole eparchy, that is, the bishop. But just as the bishop does not himself directly administer the eparchial church property, but does so by means of organs established for that purpose, so too the bishop does not directly administer the property of a given parish church, but does so by means of his deputy in the parish, that is, the lawful parish priest. The lawful administrator of the property of the parish church is therefore the parish priest. And just as the handling of eparchial property is entrusted to designated organs, so the handling of the property of the parish church is entrusted, under the supervision of the competent parish priest, to a particular organ, that is, the parish committee (epitropy).

The parish committee for the handling of church property developed out of those elders (γέροντες) to whom this was entrusted in the respective church communities from the earliest times of the church’s existence (§ 59). These parish committees have, through the centuries, undergone various changes according to the circumstances of time and place, and today they are organized, in the existing autocephalous churches, by particular statutes, according to which those committees handle the property of the respective parish churches.

1. In all the Eastern autocephalous churches, parish committees are organized on the model of the Kanonismos of 1868, which today applies to the parishes of the patriarchate of Constantinople. By that Kanonismos, the conduct of all administrative business of every parish is entrusted to a committee (ἐπιτροπή) of three to five persons, elected at the general assembly from among the most respected parishioners for one year, and the same committee is confirmed by the eparchial bishop. The committee has its own particular seal, which consists of as many parts as there are members of the committee, and this seal is affixed to the principal documents concerning parish business, especially property contracts. For the conduct of the current administrative business of the parish, the assembly elects one respected person, enjoying the confidence of all the parishioners, who is called the μουχτάρης. He too has his own particular seal (τὴν μουχταρικὴν σφραγίδα), but he may not affix it to any document without the knowledge of the committee.[1]

2. In the Kingdom of Greece, the church property in the parish in question is handled by designated epitropi, from three to five, who are elected each year from among the most respected members of the parish. These epitropi are confirmed by the eparchial bishop, to whom they are obliged to submit annual accounts for review and approval, just as they are obliged to draw up, for each year, an estimate of the expenses necessary for the church, the clergy, the parish school, and so on. The chairman of the parish committee is the parish priest in question, who in this capacity is regarded as the bishop’s deputy.[2]

3. In the Kingdom of Serbia, the tutors [tutori] in question handle the movable and immovable property of the parish church.[3] The church accounts are to be kept by the priests with the assistance of the tutors, whom the priests are obliged to assist in every respect and to give, as needed, the necessary explanations.[4]

4. In Russia, the handling of the parish church property is carried out by the “church elder” [tserkovnyi starosta], who is elected from among themselves by the parishioners together with the clergy of the church in question, for three years, and is confirmed by the eparchial bishop.[5] The concern for the increase of church property in the parish, for the proper remuneration of the clergy, and likewise for the elementary instruction of children and for the maintenance of charitable institutions in the parish, belongs to the “parish board of guardians” [prikhodskoe popechitel’stvo].[6] This board of guardians is elected by the general assembly of all the parishioners, for a fixed term, from among the most respected parishioners. The parish priest is a regular member of the board of guardians, as are likewise the church elder and the head of the civil commune. The chairman is one elected, more respected layman, and at meetings, when the chairman is prevented from attending, he is replaced by the parish priest. The activity of the board of guardians is subject to the control of the eparchial church authority.[7]

5. In the Bulgarian exarchate, the church property of the parish is handled by the “tsrkovno nastoyatelstvo”, made up of 3 to 5 committee-members under the chairmanship of the parish priest in question. The committee is elected every year. For its activity the committee is responsible to the central eparchial authority, to which it submits a detailed report on its yearly work.[8]

6. In the Karlovci Metropolitanate, the handling of church-and-school affairs, as well as of property affairs, is regulated by the rescript of 1868. In every locality—even if it contains more than one parish—there legally exists one local church community, made up of the body of the clergy, families and individual persons of the Orthodox faith, joined together for the purpose of caring for the good and the needs of their church and school. For the conduct of the community’s church-and-school business there exist, in the community, two organs: the local church assembly and the local church committee. The local church assembly is the community’s representative body and the control [oversight body] of the local church committee, while the latter is the community’s governing body, which represents the community in its external relations and directly administers the community’s affairs, except for those which pertain to the parish priest as such. The number of assembly-members of the local church community runs from 50 to 120, according to the number of souls in the community. The priests are, by virtue of their very office, permanent members of the assembly. The chairman of the assembly is elected by the assembly itself from among its own members, unless the parish priest in question has been elected chairman upon the assembly’s invitation; likewise the assembly elects a vice-chairman and a secretary. The assembly meets regularly twice a year. The chief business falling within the assembly’s competence is the property affairs of the church community. The minutes of the assembly’s sessions are submitted to the eparchial consistory for information, or for approval, as the case may be. The local church committee consists of a chairman, a vice-chairman, and no fewer than 8 and no more than 24 members, not counting the parish priest or priests, who are already, by virtue of office, members of the committee. The committee-members, apart from the parish priest, are elected by the local church assembly from among its own members. The chairman, vice-chairman and secretary of the church assembly are the same persons in the church committee as well. The committee’s competence includes: carrying out the resolutions of the church assembly; watching over good order at divine service; assisting the parish priest in the maintenance of church discipline and morals in the community; caring for the church, parish, and school buildings; appointing church and school servants; caring for orphans, widows, and the poor; keeping and caring for church and school property; further, it sees to it that harmful customs, ruinous and morally and materially injurious to the people, are rooted out in the community; it elects the epitropi who keep the current accounts in the community; it elects the guardians of orphans and the poor, who look after orphans and the poor in the community and who collect voluntary contributions for them and provide them with the necessary support; and lastly the same committee elects the head-master and the other organs necessary for the community schools. The committee’s sessions are held on the first week of every month, and the minutes of the sessions are submitted, upon request, to the district protopresbyter at the time of his canonical visitation.[9]

7. In the Hermannstadt (Sibiu) Metropolitanate, under the organic statute of 1869, there exist, for the conduct of church, school, and endowment [zaklada] affairs in every parish, three organs: the parish assembly, the parish committee, and the parish epitropy. The parish assembly, made up of all members of the parish who are of age, independent [self-supporting], and of unimpeachable conduct, has within its competence the election of the parish clergy and teachers; care for the maintenance in good order of the church, of church and school buildings; care for the founding and advancement of church, school, and charitable endowments; care for the support of the clergy, teachers and other personnel; and the election of delegates to the eparchial assembly and to the national church congress. The assembly submits its resolutions, through the protopresbyter, for the consistory’s approval. The chairman of the assembly is the local parish priest, except in the case where a parish priest is to be elected, in which case the district protopresbyter presides over the assembly. The assembly meets regularly in January of every year. The parish committee is elected from among the members of the parish assembly, for the purpose of representing the church community in external affairs and of conducting and overseeing the economic affairs concerning the church, the school, and the endowments. The committee consists of 10 to 30 members, elected for three years. The parish priest is a permanent member of the committee. The committee elects its chairman and secretary from among its own members. The committee holds its sessions regularly twice a year, in May and in December. To the parish epitropi is entrusted the property of the parish church and school and of their endowments. The epitropi are elected by the parish assembly from among the most respected parishioners; there are two to four of them in every parish, according to the number of souls in the parish, and they are elected for three years. The task of these epitropi is to keep safe all the movable and immovable property of the church and school and to administer it according to the resolutions of the parish assembly, or of the parish committee, as the case may be. Where several church communities jointly maintain one or more schools, there exists a school committee and a school epitropy, made up of a corresponding number of members of the respective parish committees.[10]

8. In the Kingdom of Romania, the conduct of business concerning church property in the parish is entrusted, by the law of 1893, to a board of guardians consisting of three persons: the priest, one member appointed by the civil authority, and one member elected by the parishioners for five years. This board of guardians is subject to the control of the respective civil communes in the towns, and to that of the respective village headship in the villages.[11]

9. In Bukovina, for the purpose of assisting the parish priest in keeping the church and the buildings belonging to the church community in good condition, in providing for orphans and widows with what is necessary for their living, and likewise for the administration of church property, there exists at every parish a committee of six to twelve respected parishioners, elected by the people, under the chairmanship of the parish priest in question. This committee elects from its own members two epitropi, whose duty it is to conduct the current business of the parish administration. The committee convenes, at fixed times, the church assembly, to which it reports on its activity, and which has the right to elect the committee itself.[12]

10. In the eparchy of Dalmatia, for the administration of church property and of the endowments and charitable foundations attached to it, there has existed, since August 1895, a separate statute. According to that statute, in every church community there is a church-communal council of 6 to 14 councillors. The priest, as the lawful representative of the supreme eparchial authority in church property matters, is always a member by right of the church-communal council. The councillors are elected by the parishioners concerned, and approval of the election and confirmation of those elected depends on the eparchial consistory. The members of the council elect a chairman from among themselves. Their term lasts three years. The council elects from among its members three persons who constitute the church guardianship, which conducts all the affairs of the church property. The priest is by right the fourth member of the guardianship, and the chairman of the guardianship is the same person as the chairman of the council. At the end of each year the guardianship submits the church accounts to the council for review, and the council submits them to the consistory for approval.[13]