Marriage, not family should be defined as union between man and woman in Russian Constitution - Russian Orthodox Church
MOSCOW. Feb 3 (Interfax) - If the Russian Constitution defines family as a union between a man and a woman, it should talk specifically about marriage, not family, the Moscow Patriarchate said.
"In the current Russian legislation, legal consequences are generated by a registered marriage. Specifically, common property of spouses arises in marriage, decisions on which of the spouses will have custody of the common underage children, as well as decisions on support for spouses and children are made after the marriage is terminated. Therefore, marriage, not family should be defined as a union between a man and a woman," Hegumeness Ksenia (Chernega), the head of the legal department of the patriarchate, told Interfax on Monday, commenting on the proposal made by Konstantin Malofeyev, deputy head of the World Russian People's Assembly, and Andrei Klishas, chairman of the Federation Council's Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Development, that the Russian Constitution should define the concept of family as a union between a man and a woman.
A family can consist of a mother and a child, a grandfather and grandchildren, she said. "But marriage in Russia is a union between a man and a woman. Therefore, if mention of such a union is to be inserted in the Russian Constitution, it is appropriate that this applies to marriage, not family," she said.