The regulation of the Council of the Church of Unity

Working translation. Synchronized with the Russian corpus as of 2026-10-25. Canonical formulas are binding only in the Russian original; publication — after human review.

General provisions

The status of the Council

The Council is a coordination organ of the Church of Unity.

Each Council has no administrative power over communities or lower Councils. Its function — coordination, cooperation and representation.

The Council acts in accordance with the Charter of the Church of Unity, the Canon, the Covenant and this Regulation.

The activity of the Council is based on the principles:

• of the autonomy of communities;
• of publicity and transparency;
• of the collectivity of making decisions;
• of respect for the will of each community;
• of freedom and responsibility;
• of keeping the Dunbar barrier (about 150 people).

The Council of the maximal level is the highest coordination organ of the Church of Unity.

The Head of the Church

The Head of the Church — a minister of unity and a keeper of the correspondence of decisions to the Canon and the Charter.

Election. After the Founder's departure the Council, within forty days, elects the Head from its composition — by the procedure "The transition of the Head of the Church" (see below).

The right of veto. The Head has the right to approve or reject the decisions of the upper council in the cases of their contradiction of the Canon or the Charter. In rejecting a decision the Head is obliged to explain exactly which provision of the Canon or the Charter it contradicts; without an explanation the veto is invalid. The Council may overcome the veto — unanimously, with the full composition.

Replaceability. All heads except the Founder are replaceable: the Head may be removed if two thirds of all members of the upper council vote for it.

The fund of distribution of the Head of the Church

Communities allocate 10% of the treasury's income for the year to the level of the Head of the Church (from the income itself, not from profit — profit can be hidden, income is visible in the report). What is collected — funds for distribution, not for personal spending: the Head distributes the fund to the representatives of the next level of the hierarchy, laying on each target tasks; the financing follows the task. The unfulfilled returns to the upper level. The full rules — the financial charter, Art. 4а.

The goals of the Council

The main goals of the Council are:

• the coordination of cooperation between communities;
• the resolution of questions concerning all communities;
• the protection of the common interests of the Church;
• the support of communities in their development;
• the representation of the Church in external relations.

The Council does not interfere in the internal affairs of communities if this does not touch the common interests of the Church.

The hierarchical system of Councils

The principles of the hierarchy of Councils

The Councils form a hierarchical system built on the principle of delegating representatives.

Each Council is the totality of all communities or lower Councils entering the given Council.

At the exceeding of the Dunbar barrier (about 150 members of the Council) the Council is obliged to divide into two or more Councils.

Each divided Council allocates one representative to the Council of a higher level.

The representative of a Council of a higher level is elected from among the members of the given Council by a majority of two thirds of the votes.

The hierarchy of Councils may have any number of levels depending on the scale of the Church.

The mechanism of the division of a Council

The division of a Council happens when the total number of its members (representatives of communities or representatives of lower Councils) exceeds the Dunbar barrier — about 150 people.

The initiative of division may come from any member of the Council or from the majority of its members.

The decision on division is made by public discussion and a vote by a majority of two thirds of the votes.

At the division the territorial or other principle of the formation of new Councils is determined.

After the division each new Council is registered in the registry of Councils.

Each new Council allocates one representative to the Council of a higher level.

The delegation of a representative to a Council of a higher level

The representative of a Council of a higher level is elected from among the members of the given Council by a majority of two thirds of the votes.

The representative is obliged:

• to transmit the will of the Council exactly;
• to inform the Council about the activity of the Council of a higher level;
• to keep the decisions of the Council of a higher level;
• not to make decisions contradicting the will of the Council.

The Council may recall its representative at any time by the decision of a majority of two thirds of the votes.

The term of the representative's powers is determined by the Council but may not exceed three years. The limit of the mandate — protection from the turning of representation into a status: a representative — a role of transmitting the will, not a position; after the term expires the Council puts forward a new one or re-elects the same one.

The composition of the Council

The representatives of communities

Every community allocates one representative to the Council of the first level.

The representative must be a member of the core of the community, have its trust and certification in his ministry (a course with group discussions and an examination; without certification a representative is not nominated — the community nominates the qualified). The transitional period — until the course's personnel appear (the personnel policy, Art. 10.6).

The representative is elected by the core of the community by a majority of two thirds of the votes.

The term of the representative's powers is determined by the community but may not exceed three years.

The community may recall its representative at any time by the decision of a majority of two thirds of the votes.

The representatives of Councils

Each Council of a level above the first consists of representatives delegated by the Councils of the lower level.

Every community or Council of the lower level allocates one representative to the Council of the immediately higher level.

The representative of a Council is elected from among the members of the Council by a majority of two thirds of the votes.

The representative of a Council has the same rights and duties as a representative of a community, with regard to the Council he represents.

The powers of a representative

The representative has the right:

• to take part in the sittings of the Council;
• to express an opinion on behalf of his community;
• to transmit the will of the community;
• to offer decisions;
• to vote on the questions concerning his community.

The representative is obliged:

• to transmit the will of his community exactly;
• to inform the community about the activity of the Council;
• to keep the decisions of the Council;
• not to make decisions contradicting the will of the community;
• to keep the principles of the Church of Unity.

The representative has no right:

• to make decisions on behalf of the community without its consent;
• to use his position for personal benefit;
• to hide information from his community;
• to act against the interests of the Church.

The replacement of a representative

In case of the representative's impossibility to perform his duties, the community appoints a temporary representative.

A temporary representative has the same powers as the main one, for a term of up to one month.

If a representative systematically violates his duties, the community may recall him and appoint a new one.

The sittings of the Council

The regularity of sittings

The Council holds regular sittings no less than once every three months.

Extraordinary sittings may be convened:

• on the initiative of no fewer than a third of the representatives;
• at the demand of one of the communities;
• in emergency situations.

Of the time and place of the sitting all representatives are notified no less than seven days in advance.

In emergency cases the notification may be reduced to one day.

The order of holding sittings

The sitting is opened by the secretary of the sitting — it is led by the Council's Scribe (or a member appointed for the sitting); the secretary of the sitting — a service role of a concrete sitting, not a position.

The secretary leads the sitting, ensures the keeping of the Regulation and the order of discussion.

The sitting begins with the approval of the agenda.

The agenda is formed on the basis of the representatives' proposals and is approved by a majority of the votes.

Everything considered is discussed publicly.

The discussion must be honest and respectful. Lies, insults, bad-faith influence are inadmissible.

The quorum

A sitting of the Council is considered competent if no fewer than two thirds of the representatives are present.

If the quorum is not reached, the sitting is postponed to another date.

At the postponement of the sitting all representatives are notified no less than three days in advance.

The making of decisions

The procedure of making decisions

The decisions of the Council are made in the following order:

• the offering of a decision;
• public discussion;
• the clarification of the proposal;
• the vote;
• the announcement of the decision;
• the documentation.

The proposal may be made by any representative.

The discussion includes questions, the expression of opinions, the search for compromises.

The clarification of the proposal takes into account the opinions of the participants of the discussion.

The vote

The vote is held openly unless otherwise decided by the Council.

Each representative has one vote.

The decisions of the Council are made by a majority of two thirds of the votes of the representatives present.

On especially important questions (a change of the Charter, reorganization, liquidation) a majority of two thirds of the votes is required.

At the equality of votes the question returns for repeated consideration.

The obligatoriness of decisions

The decisions of the Council are obligatory for all communities and their representatives.

A community that does not agree with a decision may appeal it at the next sitting of the Council.

Until revision the decision must be carried out.

The decisions of the Council must not contradict the Canon, the Covenant and the Charter of the Church.

The competences of the Council

The questions within the Council's purview

The Council considers the questions concerning all communities:

• the coordination of cooperation between communities;
• the approval of the Church's constitutive documents;
• the resolution of common property questions;
• the representation of the Church in external relations;
• the resolution of conflicts between communities;
• the questions of the reorganization and liquidation of the Church.

The Council does not consider questions belonging to the internal life of communities if they do not touch the common interests.

The restrictions of powers

The Council has no right:

• to interfere in the internal affairs of communities;
• to appoint or remove the leaders of communities;
• to dispose of communities' property without their consent;
• to make decisions contradicting the Canon and the Covenant;
• to limit the autonomy of communities.

Any decision of the Council violating these restrictions is considered invalid.

Responsibility and discipline

The responsibility of representatives

A representative bears responsibility before his community for his actions in the Council.

A representative is obliged to inform the community about his activity in the Council.

A representative systematically violating the Regulation or acting against the interests of the Church or the community that sent him must be recalled by the community.

Disciplinary measures

To representatives violating the Regulation the following measures may be applied:

• a warning;
• the demand of the representative's recall by the community.

The measures are applied by the decision of the Council by a majority of two thirds of the votes.

The representative has the right to defend himself and explain his actions.

The documentation of decisions

The protocols of sittings

Every sitting of the Council is drawn up in a protocol.

The protocol must contain:

• the date and place of the sitting;
• the list of those present;
• the agenda;
• the brief content of discussions;
• the decisions made;
• the results of the vote;
• the signatures of the secretary of the sitting (the Council's Scribe or an appointed member).

The protocol is drawn up within seven days after the sitting.

The protocols are kept in the Council's archive and are accessible to all communities.

The decisions of the Council

Every decision of the Council is drawn up as a separate document.

The decision must contain:

• the number and date;
• the formulation of the decision;
• the grounds;
• the term of carrying out;
• the responsible persons.

The decisions are signed by the secretary of the sitting and sent to all communities.

The transition of the Head of the Church

The death or inability of the Head

Only the original Head is irremovable — the Founder: removal by two thirds does not apply to him; his powers expire only with his death or the voluntary laying down of powers. A successor elected after him does not enjoy irremovability: he may be removed by two thirds of the Council (see above), and his powers expire with death, voluntary laying down or removal. The transition of power happens in the following cases: the death of the Head, his voluntary laying down of powers or his recognized inability (grave illness, confirmed by the Council; the recognition — by the Head's own statement or by the Council's unanimity).

The Head of the Church is not infallible. In the Council's opinion, this is a person who understands the teaching more deeply than anyone; her word on doctrine — the final instance while she lives, not because she cannot err, but because she assembled the construction of the teaching and answers for it.

The forty days

From the first day after the send-off of the Head (or after the recognition of inability):

1. The freezing of direction. The Canon is not changed or supplemented in any part. The Council decides only the current questions of the communities' life.
2. The ordinary rhythm. Gatherings, tables, evenings go as they went: the teaching does not depend on who holds the direction.
3. The notification of the network. All communities are notified in the first week; each has the right to send its representative to the Council.

The election of a successor

The Council of Representatives is obliged to gather within forty days and elect a successor. The forty days — not mysticism but a term: enough for all the communities of the network to arrive, and short enough that the question does not hang.

The successor is elected by the Council from its composition. The requirements to the successor: knowledge of the whole corpus, the recognition of the communities, the readiness to guard the construction from distortions. The successor need not be of the founder's blood, the nearest comrade or the most noticeable person: elected is the one who understands the construction and is able to hold it.

The election — by the general rule of making decisions of the Council; the result is announced to all communities immediately.

The institution of succession

The successor accepts the Headship until the stabilization of the teaching (the landmark — thirty–fifty years from the founding, determined by the elected Head himself). The abolition of the institution of the Head is inadmissible: without a guarded core the teaching spreads into sectarianism. After stabilization the question of the further structure is decided by the Charter.

The send-off of the Head

The liturgical frame — "The order of the sacraments," ch. 6.7.

Final provisions

Making changes to the Regulation

Changes to this Regulation are made by the decision of the Council by a majority of two thirds of the votes.

A proposal of a change must be considered at a public sitting of the Council.

The changes must not contradict the Charter of the Church, the Canon and the Covenant.

The interpretation of the Regulation

The interpretation of this Regulation is carried out by the Council.

In case of a contradiction between the Regulation and the Charter, the Charter has priority.

Coming into force

This Regulation comes into force from the moment of its acceptance by the Council.

All previously accepted regulations contradicting this one lose force.

The keeping of the Dunbar barrier

The obligatoriness of division

No Council may exceed the Dunbar barrier (about 150 people).

At reaching 150 members the Council is obliged to make a decision on division within three months.

The decision on division is made by public discussion and a vote by a majority of two thirds of the votes.

The division of a Council does not touch the autonomy of the communities or Councils entering it.

After the division each new Council continues to perform its functions within its competence.

The exceptions

Temporary associations of the members of a Council are permitted (the arrival of guests, collective processions, joint festivities) which may exceed the Dunbar barrier.

Temporary associations do not create new permanent structures and do not affect the Council's obligation of division.

Temporary associations must be limited in time and have a clearly defined goal.

The mechanism of control over the keeping of the barrier

The Council is obliged to keep the accounting of the number of its members and renew the registry monthly.

At reaching 140 members the Council is obliged to notify all members of the approach to the Dunbar barrier.

The Regulation is accepted by the Council of the Church of Unity in accordance with the Charter and the principles of the Church of Unity.

The journal of changes (12.10.2026)

• The contradiction about replaceability is resolved: irremovability — a personal property only of the original Head (the Founder) and expires with his death or voluntary laying down of powers; it does not pass to successors. A successor is removed by two thirds of the upper council. The line "may be removed" (the article about the Council) remains true for successors.