In St. Petersburg, trade is organized at every church, even a small one. In addition to icons, crosses, and Orthodox literature, church shops sell postcards with views of churches, stickers for Easter eggs, CDs, souvenirs, etc. There are about 150 such outlets in the city. Most often, the profit received from the existence of the shop is used to restore the temple on the territory of which it operates. However, this does not mean that since the shop is located next to the temple, its activities are non-commercial.

A branch of the Moscow art and production enterprise "Sofrino", owned by the Russian Orthodox Church, has been operating in St. Petersburg for 12 years. The store of church utensils, located next to the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, rents premises from KUGI and sells finished textile products, candles, crosses, icons, etc. Lyudmila Isaeva, director of the branch, said that the company provides up to 80% of all Orthodox goods cities. Sofrino's main customers are churches, and all income from the St. Petersburg store goes to the development of the church.

“Our task is to provide the churches of the city and the North-West with utensils,” she notes. Lyudmila Isaeva believes that there is competition in the church niche: Ukrainian and Belarusian entrepreneurs bring icons, crosses, textiles, and literature to St. Petersburg.

Despite the fact that market participants are reluctant to talk about their income, some figures can still demonstrate the profitability of their business.

In particular, the porcelain production of Skudelnik LLC, operating since 1994, was initially a small workshop where two foundries cast no more than 50 molds per day, but today the company produces more than 1000 products per day. In 2002, the company developed a new type of product - building porcelain. The customers of the products are St. Petersburg churches.

For example, tiles for the dome were made by order of the Church of “Joy of All Who Sorrow.” Many churches and monasteries have their own workshops. They make church utensils and vestments for church ministers, candles, icons, Easter gifts and much more.

By lighting a candle, a parishioner makes his contribution to the restoration of the parish and helps church business.

I have an opinion

Priest Alexander,

Rector of the Resurrection Church of the Cadet Missile and Artillery Corps:

“Trade in the church and outside it develops according to different laws. A strict hierarchical structure has developed in the church, and the parish rector can give a blessing for trade. I don’t think that the activities of church shops can be of a commercial nature. Rather, these are donations from parishioners, because usually the profits go towards rebuilding the temple.

It is not commercial activity that takes place through church shops, but the popularization of church culture, which helps St. Petersburg residents navigate issues of faith. The main thing is that the trade in candles and other utensils does not interfere with parishioners to pray and focus on the main thing. Unfortunately, not all churches have the opportunity to separate the premises for trade from the worship process. But such an opportunity is available to large enterprises that themselves are engaged in the production and sale of church goods. There are very few large stores in the city, and I believe that this direction is promising for St. Petersburg entrepreneurs. This is most important for revival."

Most of the inhabitants of Russia are Orthodox Christians, and many of them regularly visit churches to light a candle and try to adhere to the basic Christian tenets and fasts. Almost every church has church shops where believers can buy icons, candles, candlesticks, Christian literature and audio recordings, crosses, chains, lamps, souvenirs and other religious goods.

But, unfortunately, not in all Russian cities the number of churches and temples corresponds to the real need for them, so very often there are not enough church shops. In this case, opening a store with goods of a religious nature can be useful for society and a very promising option for business.

Studying the market, getting a blessing

As with any other business, you should start by carefully studying the market. Assess whether your city (district, town, etc.) really needs another church shop, or whether the existing ones more than cover the existing demand.

Before opening an Orthodox store, it is advisable to consult with local priests who are well versed in religious specifics and will always help with advice. And in general, obtaining a blessing from the local diocese in organizing this type of business activity will be as necessary as registering an individual entrepreneur with the state tax authorities.

Otherwise, opening a church shop is not much different from opening a regular store.

We register an individual entrepreneur, select premises

The first step is to register as an individual entrepreneur. This is not difficult to do, since in recent years the procedure for registering an individual entrepreneur has been significantly simplified.

Then you need to find a suitable room. This should be a passable place with a large flow of people - near metro stations, next to grocery supermarkets, shopping centers, markets, etc.

The retail outlet should be decorated in colors that best match the Orthodox style - brown, gold and yellow.

We select suppliers of church products

Today, finding suppliers of products for a church shop is not difficult - just type the appropriate request in a search engine, however, in this type of business you need to take into account the special specifics. It is better to purchase goods from those manufacturers with whom church shops operating at churches cooperate.

The entire assortment must comply with Orthodox dogma, and, if possible, must be approved by local clergy.

We are looking for a seller for a church shop

This issue also requires a special approach. Of course, anyone can serve goods from a shelf to a buyer, accept money from him and count out the change, but not everyone can answer the questions that buyers often ask.

Only someone who is well versed in religious topics can cope with this role. Therefore, a deeply religious person who can give a comprehensive answer to any visitor’s question should be hired as a salesperson.

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Once upon a time, Jesus Christ expelled merchants from the Jerusalem Temple in disgrace, but now times have changed and businessmen, along with politicians, themselves work in the temple.

Indeed, the church has turned into a political instrument of influence on the people, a kind of profession, like a teacher or an accountant. This phenomenon is not new at all: at all times, this institution has often pursued selfish goals, chasing power and money. Even in the Middle Ages, the church often announced a hunt for people disliked by the authorities. At this time, the Bible was often banned, and only its interpretation, set forth by the clergy, who actively used it to achieve their goals, was considered the truth.

The church also acted as the strongest instrument of political pressure on the state. Proof of this is the crusades carried out by Western European powers, which, under the slogan of liberating Christian shrines, often created chaos, killing civilians and conquering fertile Eastern lands. Slavic priests were not known for such violence, but they organized considerable extortions from peasants and merchants, without even being embarrassed. The role of religion has not lost its relevance. On the contrary, in recent years religion has begun to be literally imposed. They introduce theology classes, open theology departments... But for what? Are God-fearing people beneficial to the country? Many skeptics believe that churches that are emerging at a high rate are not created for faith, but for making money.

How is the church financed? It is largely supported by state funds, donations from the flock and investments from wealthy businessmen. The Russian Orthodox Church also has its own business, and it is quite developed. What kind of business is this, what are the relationships? state and church, how do church incomes add up, and where are all the funds earned spent? Let's find out!

Governmental support

The Russian authorities significantly support the church, perhaps more than any other institution. Thus, for 2012 - 2015, the Russian Orthodox Church received at least 14 billion rubles from the Russian state budget. And for 2016, the state budget has already budgeted 2.6 billion rubles.

Financial support from the state also includes contracts for church leaders on the government procurement website and the provision of grants. For example, the Orthodox Encyclopedia church-scientific center, founded by the Patriarchate, is a fairly large recipient of various contracts on the government procurement website. This publishing house produces a 40-volume volume, which is published under the editorship of Patriarch Kirill himself, rector of the Russian Orthodox Church. From 2012 to the present, state universities and schools have spent about 250 million rubles on the purchase of this book. The center’s subsidiary, the Orthodox Encyclopedia Foundation, received 56 million rubles from the Ministry of Culture for the filming of the films “Snake Bite” and “Sergei of Radonezh.”

In addition to direct funding for the church, Orthodox organizations received 256 million rubles in presidential grants, albeit indirectly. These projects were created by Orthodox authors, but it is doubtful that there was no lobbying for their interests. There is also an Orthodox grant program called the Orthodox Initiative. It is funded by Rosatom and has been running since 2005. In total, during its operation, the organization invested about 568 million rubles. Often these grants receive vague applications, often it is not clear from them what the applicants want, but grants are still awarded.

The Russian government provides funding for flights for Patriarch Kirill and those close to him and other transport support. Thus, for the patriarch’s recent tour, during which he, accompanied by a hundred people, carried out fateful negotiations with the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Cuba, went to Chile, visited Paraguay, Brazil, landed on Waterloo Island off the coast of Antarctica, the state allocated government aircraft Il 06-300. This aircraft is used by the Special Flying Squad called "Russia". This enterprise serves only the top officials of the state! How much money did this tour cost? One can only guess!?

But the government’s assistance does not end with the provision of transport. The President of Russia, in one of his first orders, allocated personal state security to the patriarch, as the most important state person. In addition, the state provided the church with three of the four available residences - in Peredelkino, Danilov Monastery and in Chisty Lane (Moscow).

Church property

Government support has led to the fact that the number of churches is increasing at a frantic pace; they are growing like mushrooms in the forest. Thus, since 2009, over five thousand churches have been built and reconstructed throughout Russia. The Federal Property Management Agency gives objects to churches in two ways: under an agreement for free use, or the property is transferred into ownership. Over the past four years, the Orthodox Church has received 265 properties in 45 regions: 165 for free use, 100 for ownership. The area of ​​only 45 of them was about 55 thousand square meters. m. The largest object is the ensemble of the Trinity-Sergius Hermitage.

When transferring ownership of real estate, the parish also receives a plot of land adjacent to the church, on which it is possible to build various church premises, such as: a clergy house, an almshouse, a utensils shop, a Sunday school, etc. It is prohibited to build economic facilities.

By choosing free use, Russian Orthodox Church can count on government support: subsidies and funding for the restoration and maintenance of churches. The church is responsible for its own property independently.

Church leaders complain that they are often offered destroyed buildings, the restoration of which requires a considerable amount of money, but they want to receive entire good buildings. This is confirmed by the fact that in 2015, the Federal Property Management Agency gave the church the opportunity to take 1,971 objects, but applications were received for only 212 such buildings. They are so capricious!

The Church is a giant corporation

Sociologist Nikolai Mitrokhin believes that the Russian Orthodox Church can rightfully be called a gigantic corporation, which includes many (tens of thousands) independent or partially independent agencies. As you might have guessed, these are monasteries, parishes and even individual priests.

His words have some truth: each individual parish is registered as a religious NPO or legal entity. Church income is not taxed. That is, all funds from ceremonies, donations, sales of religious books and other activities remain at the disposal of the Russian Orthodox Church. In 2014, according to the year-end declaration, the church’s income, which was not subject to income tax, amounted to about 5.6 billion rubles.

Mitrokhin estimated the annual income of the church received in the 2000s at $500 million. Back in 1997, Patriarch Alexei II, speaking at the Council of Bishops, said that most of the funds received by the Russian Orthodox Church came from managing their temporarily free money, placing it on deposits, purchasing various securities, including short-term government bonds and from the profits of commercial enterprises.

In 2000, Archbishop Clement, during an interview with Kommersant-Dengi magazine, said: How does the church make money? He said that the economy of the church is as follows: 55% from the earnings of Russian Orthodox Church enterprises, 40% from donations from sponsors, and only 5% from deductions from the diocese. This was the first and only mention of the economy of the Russian Orthodox Church; the church no longer spoke about financial matters.

At present, according to Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin (who until December of last year headed the department of relations between society and the church), donations from sponsors have decreased, and deductions from dioceses can now amount to a third or even half of church income.

Church economics

The economy of the church is a rather complex thing, in which there is a strict system of subordination. Thus, in Russia there are 293 dioceses and more than 34.5 thousand churches. These churches (except for those under construction and restoration) allocate to the dioceses a certain percentage of the donations received (from 10 to 50%) in cash or by bank transfers. Higher bishops report to the Patriarchate about the money collected and deduct 15% of what they receive. It is not known exactly how much money this amounts to. What is certain is that the 30 largest dioceses transfer to the patriarchate from 10 to 20 million rubles a year each.

How does the money of the parishes add up? From donations for services (weddings, baptisms, consecration of apartments, cars and other items) and services (reading akathists, pardons). In all these operations, candles play a big role, from which the church earns considerable money. The Russian Orthodox Church has dozens of workshops for casting candles not only from new material, but also from cinders collected from the same churches. The price of these candles during production and sale differs many times. For example, it costs 25 kopecks to produce the most popular four-gram candle, but it sells for 20 rubles.

The income of churches in Russia varies dramatically: from 5 thousand to 3 million rubles. Many priests complain that the percentage of deductions increases every year. This is mainly due to the increase in the number of dioceses. For churches in the periphery, these deductions are very difficult. If, for some reason, churches refuse to donate funds, they may be hinted that it is not difficult to change the rector for failure to fulfill his duties. That is, what is important here is not how competent the priest is in his religious activities, but how much money he was able to collect. Some abbots complain that in addition to deductions, the bishop also has to give money in an envelope, a kind of bribe, on each of his visits.

Income from enterprises

Also, one of the significant sources of church income is income from enterprises. The most important of them are Sofrino (Artistic and Production Enterprise - KhPP), as well as the Danilovskaya Hotel.

The KhPP has been operating in the village of the same name for more than 40 years, and the land for its construction was allocated by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union, Alexei Kosygin, back in 1972. Since the late 80s, it has been continuously led by Evgeniy Parkhaev. The company produces church furniture, icons, tombs, candles (paraffin and wax), bowls, providing up to half of Russian churches with its goods. In addition, the diocese forces churches to order Sofrino products. Until June 2014, Sofrino Bank, which was also headed by Parkhaev, was also operating, until the Central Bank revoked its license. This bank allocated about 60 million rubles for the restoration of churches.

Parkhaev also manages the Danilovskaya Hotel. This is a comfortable and modern institution, in whose conference hall meetings of priests, peacekeeping and religious conferences, and concerts are held. The cost of a single room in a hotel with breakfast on weekdays is 6,300 rubles, for an apartment - 2 times more (13 thousand). The establishment offers a number of additional services - a bar, a sauna, organizing events and car rental. The hotel's income in 2013 amounted to 137.4 million rubles, in 2014 = slightly less, 112 million rubles. Not bad for a church establishment, isn't it?

Parkhaev came to the diocese in 1965, he participated in the restoration of the famous Trinity-Sergius Lavra. Now he lives very immodestly, enjoying privileges that even major priests are deprived of. For example, he celebrated his anniversary 4 years ago in a very pompous way: in the hall of the Church of the Savior. Afterwards, the guests went to his dacha in the Moscow region, where, in addition to the giant cottage, there is a tennis court and even a pier with boats.

Business ROC

The Russian Orthodox Church is interested in everything: jewelry, medicines, renting out conference rooms, the funeral services market, and even agricultural business. Thus, the Patriarchate is a co-owner of OJSC Ritual Orthodox Service, whose revenue in 2014 amounted to 58.4 million rubles.

The Catherine diocese had the Granit quarry (a large granite quarry), as well as the security company Derkava. The Vologda diocese owned a reinforced concrete structures plant, and the Kemerovo diocese is the owner of Kuzbass Investment and Construction Company LLC, as well as a co-owner of the Europe Media Kuzbass agency, Novokuznechny Computer Center.

But the Danilovsky Monastery in Moscow has several retail outlets on its territory: the Danilovsky Souvenir store, the monastery shop. Here you can buy Orthodox literature, T-shirts with Christian prints, leather wallets, and various church utensils.

The Sretensky Monastery on its territory has the “Sretenie” store, the “Unholy Saints” cafe, and the main source of income for the monastery is a publishing house. The monastery also owns the lands of the Voskresny agricultural cooperative. The profit of this place for 2014 amounted to about 14 million rubles.

And since 2012, church structures have owned the building of the Universitetskaya Hotel on the outskirts of Moscow. The hotel is a pilgrimage center for the Russian Orthodox Church. The price of a standard single room is 3 thousand rubles. The hotel is designed to accommodate ordinary people; there is also a large conference room for holding various events.

Financial matters, church affairs

The ROC owns 36.5% of Peresvet Bank, and another 13.2% belongs to the Sodeistvie company, which is close to the ROC. As of January 1, 2015, the bank's profit amounted to 2.5 billion rubles. ROC funds were also available in the banks Ergobank and Vneshprombank, whose licenses were revoked in January of this year due to “holes” in their balance sheets. These banks were not chosen by chance: in the first of them, the shareholder (owning 20% ​​of the shares) was an Orthodox businessman who helped the Russian Orthodox Church, Valery Meshalkin. The chairman of the board of the second bank was Larisa Marcus, close to the leadership of the patriarchate. The church had 1.5 billion rubles left in Vneshprombank; the Russian Orthodox Church managed to withdraw its funds from Ergobank before its closure. The salaries of the patriarchate's employees are transferred to Sberbank and Promsvyazbank.

Engaged in ROC and venture investments. In particular, Peresvet Bank invests funds through the Sberinvest company (the bank owns 18.8% of the company’s shares). And to finance joint projects with Sberinvest, the international Nanoenergo fund was created in 2012. Peresvet invested $50 million in it, and Rusnano invested the same amount. In 2015, a criminal case was initiated against the Peresvet company, initiated by the Rusnano Capital S.A. FUND, a subsidiary of Rusnano. The lawsuit states that the company illegally transferred funds to the accounts of Russian companies opened in Peresvet from the accounts of Nanoenergo. The director of Peresvet claims that he and Rusnano have good energy projects and he does not understand the reason for the litigation.

What the money is spent on is unknown

What are the earned funds of the Russian Orthodox Church spent on? This economy is not transparent: the church does not appear in government procurement, does not announce tenders, and does not hire contractors for church activities.

Undoubtedly, part of the money goes to maintaining theological seminaries, providing charitable assistance to orphans and other socially vulnerable groups of the population, and all synodal departments are financed from the money of the Russian Orthodox Church. For example, the average cost of maintaining the St. Petersburg and Moscow theological seminaries is estimated at 60 million rubles. in year. The salary is also spent on servicing the secular staff of the Patriarchate, which is about 200 people (the average salary for their labor is 40 thousand rubles per month).

What happens to the rest of the money? Unknown! Only one thing is clear: among other churches it is also not customary to talk about their expenses and income.

The exception, perhaps, is the German diocese of the Roman Catholic Church. And then, they began to compile reports on their activities after a loud scandal over the construction of a new residence for the Bishop of Lamborg. Thus, in 2010, the construction cost was estimated at 5.5 million Euros, and in 2013 this amount almost doubled, amounting to 9.85 million Euros. The church budget consists of revenues from property, donations and church taxes, which are necessarily collected from parishioners. The Diocese of Cologne is rightfully considered the richest. In 2014, its total income amounted to 772 million Euros, of which the lion's share (589 million Euros) came from tax revenues. But the overall costs were also high. For example, in 2015 they amounted to about 800 million Euros.

In 1942, the Vatican Bank was created to manage the finances of the Holy See. The bank published its first financial report in 2013. It states that the bank's profit in 2012 amounted to 86.6 million Euros, and in 2011 - 20.3 million Euros. Income from trading activities - 51.1 million Euros.

The financial pyramid of the Russian Orthodox Church abroad is structured like this: parishes pay 10% of their income to dioceses, which in turn transfer 5% to the Synod. But the main income comes from renting out 20% of the Synod building with an area of ​​4 thousand square meters. m. private school in Manhattan. Rental income is about $500 thousand. Also an important source of financial income is the Kursk Root Icon, which is taken all over the world and shown for money. The Church also owns half of the Garden of Gethsemane and other valuable plots of land, but the Russian Orthodox Church does not help them financially. This church is more modest, but their prices for services are higher than in Russia.

In general, a rather dark situation has arisen with the expenditure item of the church budget, which some justify by saying that everything goes to holy causes, so reporting is not required here. Perhaps a large share is coming, but, as we see, the church has considerable investments in new business; a lot of money is spent on deposit investments. The human factor also plays an important role. “Priests,” priests and other church workers are people just like us. They are doing their job. They often have large families, many children who need to be provided for. But there are also sincerely believing church ministers who devote themselves to their work so much that, at times, they forget about themselves. Of course, they are a minority. And, given that such people are quite principled, they rarely end up at the top.

But it must be remembered that when occupying such a position, church ministers are obliged to set an example for parishioners. And this is not facilitated in any way by extortion, assistance only to solvent parishioners (although there are exceptions here, when services to the poor are provided free of charge), indecent behavior (there have been many incidents when “priests,” not being completely sober, knocked people down on the street and disappeared from the place incidents), pomp and pretentiousness (church workers often drive around in foreign cars, build new villas and cottages, some have personal yachts). And the question arises: do such people have holiness? Unfortunately, many people remain atheists precisely because they see such behavior of church ministers. For others, their faith is so fanatical and blind that they are ready to give their last money to the church. I agree, every person can be a true believer, even religious, and observe the biblical commandments that preach the right things: decency, honesty, mercy, helping others, caring for one’s neighbor. But you can do this without visiting churches, without intermediaries in the form of wicked church leaders, at home. After all, the more holiness there is in a person’s soul, the fewer sins he has committed, the less need there is to atone for them, paying a lot of money for it.

Most of the inhabitants of Russia are Orthodox Christians. Therefore, the demand for icons, crosses, icon cases, Orthodox books, audio and video recordings always exists. Church shops are often organized at churches, but do not always fully satisfy all consumer needs.

You will need

• - business plan;
• - registration documents;
• - premises;
• - trade equipment and goods;
• - outdoor advertising;
• - father's blessing.

Instructions

To open a church shop, like any other type of business, you need to calculate investments and profits. To solve this issue, draw up a business plan. It may also be useful in the future when applying for a loan from a bank to open or develop a store.

Be sure to register with the tax authority. It will be enough to register as an individual entrepreneur.

Find a retail space. It is advisable that it be located near a large temple. Pay special attention to the renovation and decoration of the sales area. Use browns, golds, and soft yellows. Take care of dim lighting. Choose furniture made from natural wood. Use icons, lamps, candles, lace tablecloths and napkins as decorative elements.

Negotiate with suppliers. The main manufacturer of church utensils in Russia is the Sofrino art and production enterprise. You can purchase most of the assortment there. But this shouldn't limit your imagination. Discuss with icon painters the possibility of selling their products in your church shop, try to negotiate deliveries from Jerusalem.

Find good employees for the church shop. Often a person is embarrassed to ask the priest any question in church, but in a regular store it will be much easier to do this. Therefore, behind the counter there should be a sincere believer who knows and observes Orthodox customs and traditions.

Helpful advice

There are many believers on the global network. Therefore, you can open an online store, delivering church goods by mail.

Photos on the topic

Most of the inhabitants of Russia are Orthodox Christians. Therefore, the demand for icons, crosses, icon cases, Orthodox books, audio and video recordings always exists. Church shops are often organized at churches, but do not always fully satisfy all consumer needs.

Just follow these simple step-by-step tips and you will be on the right track in your business.

What you need to have

Business plan;
- registration documents;
- premises;
- trade equipment and goods;
- outdoor advertising;
- father's blessing.

Brief Step-by-Step Business Guide

Step - 1

To open a church shop, like any other type of business, you need to calculate investments and profits. To solve this issue, draw up a business plan. It may also be useful in the future when applying for a loan from a bank to open or develop a store.

Step - 2

Be sure to register with the tax authority. It will be enough to register as an individual entrepreneur.

Having done this, move on to the next steps.

Step - 3

Find a retail space. It is advisable that it be located near a large temple. Pay special attention to the renovation and decoration of the sales area. Use browns, golds, and soft yellows. Take care of dim lighting. Choose furniture made from natural wood. Use icons, lamps, candles, lace tablecloths and napkins as decorative elements.

Step - 4

Negotiate with suppliers. The main manufacturer of church utensils in Russia is the Sofrino art and production enterprise. You can purchase most of the assortment there. But this shouldn't limit your imagination. Discuss with icon painters the possibility of selling their products in your church shop, try to negotiate deliveries from Jerusalem.

Having done this, move on to the next steps.

Step - 5

Find good employees for the church shop. Often a person is embarrassed to ask the priest any question in church, but in a regular store it will be much easier to do this. Therefore, behind the counter there should be a sincere believer who knows and observes Orthodox customs and traditions.

Step - 6

A church store, like any other, needs advertising. A sign is a must; you can install pillars and signs near the shop. An excellent move would be to publish an article in the local newspaper about how the priest of a neighboring church consecrated your shop at the opening and gave his blessing.

Additional information and useful tips from a Business Expert

There are many believers on the global network. Therefore, you can open an online store, delivering church goods by mail.