THE CIVIL CHARTER Parish St.

Paul the Apostle Russian Orthodox Church (the Moscow Patriarchy) adopted by the constituent assembly of Parish on May 3rd, 2003 with changes adopted on January 13, 2013
I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Parish of St. Paul the Apostle is the religious association being primary structural division of Russian Orthodox Church (the Moscow Patriarchy). Being stavropegic, it is under the spiritual guidance of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia and is accountable to him in its religious and administrative activity. 2. The Parish shall be formed by voluntarily consent of the believing citizens and with the blessing of the Patriarch of Moscow and of All Russia. 3. The Parish of St. Paul the Apostle has been formed on May 3rd, 2003. 4. The Parish shall be a united community of Orthodox Christians living in the Republic of Malta with the sole purpose of promoting the freedom of worship and to introduce an orthodox belief, and also for the purpose of being in charge of religious-moral values education. In order to be able to promote all mentioned above, the Parish will be engaged in the following activities: divine services, rites, processions, and sermons; promotion of religious faith directly or through the mass media, including its own; missionary activity; beneficent and charitable activities, religious education, training and upbringing; other activities which are in conformity with the rules and traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church. 5. The Parish in its civil and legal activities shall observe the Charter of the Russian Orthodox Church, the legislation of the country of its location and also the chapters of this Civil Charter. 6. The Parish shall reserve the rights to receive any state grants according to the legislation of Malta. 7. The Parish shall reserve the rights to petition for such form of registration, which will give it additional rights provided by Maltese legislation to conclude marriages, to receive grants, the right to organize its own cemetery and the right to certify the death. Besides the entire mentioned above, Diocesan Bishop shall have the right independently, without the presence of a lawyer to disclose the data on the number of members of the Parish, as well as the data of any official nature. The Parish shall be registered under the name Parish St. Paul the Apostle of (Russian Orthodox Church) Russkoj Pravoslavnoj Tserkvi (the Moscow Patriarchy). 8. The activities of the Parish shall be guided by the initial Charter of Russian Orthodox Church, resolutions of Autonomous Orthodox Church clergy congress; Archpriests

congress; the Sacred Synod and decrees of the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia and the Chairman DECHR MP. 9. Supreme church authority exercises its jurisdiction over the Parish through the Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate for foreign institutions. 10. The Parish of St. Paul the Apostle shall reserve the rights as a legal person in the frameworks determined by the present Charter and the Charter on management of the Russian Orthodox Church.

II. SUBJECT OF MEMBERSHIP.

11. Any person of Orthodox faith, be it an adult or a child can become a member of the Parish of St. Paul the Apostle, provided that he is not a member of any other orthodox parish within another jurisdiction on the territory of the Republic of Malta. 12. All baptized and converted in Orthodoxy within the Parish of St. Apostle Paul persons can become its members provided that there shall not be any obstacles of any kind. Any person can become a member of the Parish at its own consent provided that he informs the Registrar of the Parish, responsible for the registration of the membership, on the subject. Children younger than 15 years of age could be registered as members with the consent of parents/trustees if parents/trustees or any one of them are members of the Parish. 13. The membership register bookkeeping shall be managed by the prior/priest or chairman of the Parish, if Parish has no prior/priest permanently living in Malta.

III. STRUCTURE AND MANAGEMENT OF THE PARISH

14. Bodies of parish management shall be as follows: Parish meeting headed by the prior, Parish Council accountable to the prior and Parish Meeting, and an Auditing commission accountable to the Parish Meeting. 15. The Parish Meeting shall include the clergymen of the Parish and the laymen who regularly participate in the liturgical life of the parish and who are worthy to take part in the solution of Parish matters due to their commitments to Orthodoxy, their moral standing and experience of life. They shall be over 18 years, not under suspension or standing any trial by an ecclesiastical or civil court. The Parish Meeting shall be convened no less than once annually by the prior; Parish Council with the blessing of the Chairman of DECHR MP. All the members that are older than 18 years of age shall receive all the information on Parish Meetings (the invitation to the Meeting and the agenda, and all the information on the assembly conclusions after its dissolution) in written form. All the members that have no objections to all mentioned here above should have the right of voice within Parish Meeting. All the new members shall be introduced by the Chairman of the Meeting to the Meetings existing members. 16. Parish Meeting in accordance with the initial Charter of Russian Orthodox Church shall be responsible for: electing Parish Council and the Auditing commission; submitting the candidature(s) of the Chairman of the Parish Council to the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia (the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia shall reserve the right to appoint as a Chairman of the Parish Council the dean of the parsh himself). Parish Meeting shall then appoint as a Chairman of the Parish Council one of the proposed and confirmed by the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia candidates; 2

 determining the procedure of Parish Council activities; planning financial and economic activities of the Parish; adopting the plans of expenditures, including the amount of assignments for charity and religious educational purposes and submitting them; approving the plans and examining the design and budget documents for construction and repair of church buildings; viewing and submitting all the financial and other auditing reports of Parish Council and reports of the Auditing commission for the approval of the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia. approving the list of Parish Meeting members; defining the contents to the members of clergy of the parish and the Parish Council; determining the order of disposal of the property of the parish under the conditions stipulated by the present Charter and the Charter on the management of the Russian Orthodox Church, discussing and receiving petitions, and submitting them to the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia and to the governmental and management bodies; viewing complaints on to the members of the Parish council and on the clergy of the parish. All the complaints on to the prior shall be viewed in the presence and under the presidency of the archpriest. 17. The Parish Council shall be an executive and managerial body of the Parish Meeting and shall be accountable to the Parish Meeting. The Parish Council shall consist of the Chairman, his assistant, the treasurer and two other members. Parish Council is elected out of the clergy and out of the active members of the Parish laymen on the grounds of competence, moral authority and loyalty to the Russian Orthodox Church shown, for the period of 2 years without any restriction to numbers of re-elections. 18. The Parish Council within the conformity of the initial Charter on the management of the Russian Orthodox Church shall: implement the decisions of the Parish meeting; summon Parish meeting together with the prior; submit the plans of economic activities, annual plans of expenditures and financial reports to the Parish meeting for consideration and approval; In the period between sessions of the Parish meeting the Parish Council shall: be responsible for the safety and proper maintenance of the church and other buildings, constructions, premises and adjacent territories belonging to the Parish and all the property which the parish owns or uses and keep records; resolve all current economic matters; manage all finances and carries out inventory; provide the Parish with the necessary property; provide the Parish clergy members with accommodation when necessary; appeal to the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia with requests and suggestions to fill the vacancies of Parish clergy members; in agreement with the prior and in accordance with the list of staff hire workers and employees; take care for safety and the beauty of the church, for maintaining decent order during the divine services and processions; 3

 maintain contacts with the bodies of state authority, local government, public associations and citizens; act in capacity of civil rights representative, conclude agreements on behalf of the Parish, enter into legal obligations, represent Parish in court. 19. The Chairman of the Parish Council shall represent the Parish Council in business, financial, economic and administrative matters as well as in court and shall issue powers of attorney in case of necessity. All official outgoing documents shall be signed by the prior and the Chairman of the Parish Council. In the event of the prior being the Chairman of the Parish Council, the treasurer shall be the second signatory. All the duties of the assistant to the Chairman of the Parish Council shall be determined by the Parish Meeting. Duties of the two members of the Parish Council shall be determined by the Parish Council. The responsibilities of the treasurer shall include the discounting and keeping of the sums of money and other donations, the keeping of account-books, carrying out of financial operations at the instruction of the Chairman of the Parish Council within the limits of the budget and compiling the annual financial records. 20. The head of the Parish shall be the prior appointed by the Patriarch of all Russia. The prior shall be: supervising Parish clergy members; revising the list of the members of the Parish meeting; duly represents the Parish in such matters as public domain, catechetical, charitable and educational activities of the Parish; convening and chairing the sessions of the Parish Meeting;; having the right to impose "veto" on decisions of the Parish Meeting and the Parish Council with the subsequent forwarding this matter to the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia; able to participate in Parish Council every day duties; duly representing the Parish with the bodies of state authority, local government bodies; appointing persons, participating during divine services (except of the Parish clergy members) and any other activities in connection with main church duties fulfillment according to the official list of staff; maintaining the official church correspondence, issuing certificated of baptism and marriage; keeping a liturgical journal and parish archive; supervising the state of church building, its decoration and the availability of all the objects necessary for the divine services in accordance with the requirements of the liturgical rubrics and instructions of the Church authorities; submits to the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia through the Secretariat of the Moscow Patriarchate for foreign institutions the annual reports on the state of the Parish; 21. The Parish clergy shall be determined in the following composition: priests, deacons and psalm-readers. The number of the clergy can be determined by the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia. Members of the clergy are appointed by the Patriarch of all Russia. 22. The Auditing commission shall be responsible : 4

 for regular audit, including the inspection of the availability of money, legality and regularity of the expenditures and money transfers and the keeping of the expenses book by the Parish; for the supervision of the property of the Parish; for carrying out annual inventory; for keeping control for the collect boxes and donations etc. 23. The Auditing commission shall compile acts on the auditing and present them to the Parish Meeting. 24. In the event that the Parish Council is re-elected or the Chairman of the Parish Council is re-elected or dies, the Parish Meeting shall set up a commission out of three members, which shall draw up a statement on the availability of the property and financial resources. The Parish Council shall accept material assets on the basis of this statement.

IV. PARISH ESTABLISHMENTS

25. The Parish may establish under written permission (blessing) solely owned or as a joint venture (including foreign partners) establishments for conducting charitable, educational, publishing, art, restoration and other economic activities, and also societies, brotherhoods and other voluntary associations of citizens of the orthodox faith, acting in accordance with the needs and purposes of the Parish. The Parish establishments can operate as a part of the Parish, and also as independent legal persons. 26. The Parish has the right to establish schools for religious education of children and adults and also to carry out training in other forms. In those cases any solely owned premises; premises, provided by the governmental or public organizations or any private persons on an agreement basis could be utilized. Public schools and other public education units could be used at a sole consent of the administration. 27. All the decisions by the Parish to establish parish schools stipulated by the present Charter, should be confirmed by the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia. 28. The Parish can possess or own land in order to create auxiliary activities or to establish any agricultural enterprises. Immovable property must be purchased and disposed of, only with the prior written permission (blessing) of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

V. SOURCES OF FINANCIAL MEANS AND PROPERTY RELATIONS IN PARISH

29. The sources of financial means in the Parish shall be as follows: state and municipal grants; donations from citizens, stately, public and other enterprises, funds, establishments and organizations; testaments; monetary donations as a result of divine services; sales of the literature of religious origin necessary for participation in religious services; incomes from parish establishments; 5

 any other means provided they come from legitimate origin. 30. The Parish Council shall be managing all financial means of the Parish. 31. The Parish transfers all necessary for general church needs money according to the agreement with the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia. 32. All the buildings, premises, subjects of a cult, objects of social, charitable and economic assignments, money resources, literature, other property acquired by the Parish, established by the Parish at its own expense, donations from citizens, enterprises, establishments and other organizations, transferred by the state, and also purchased on legal grounds shall remain the sole property of all Russian Orthodox Church (the Moscow Patriarchy), as dedicated to God. 33. As a structural division of Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchy) the Parish reserves the right to manage all cult establishments belonging to the Parish established as a right to property by the Sacred Synod. Parish can dispose of any buildings and the premises belonging to the Parish on the grounds of sole ownership or lease, with the written consent of the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia. Possession and utilization of all the above mentioned properties is the subject to canonical, legal and financial subordination to the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia. 34. As the subject of civil law, Parish independently answers according to its obligations. Claims of creditors cannot be inverted on Church property and subjects. 35. Voluntary donations and other kinds of monetary entries, including those received as a result of divine services, sales of religious literature and any other religious objects are subject to tax declaration as stipulated by the laws of Malta. 36. All the profits received as a result of auxiliary activities of Parish establishments are subject to tax declaration as stipulated by the laws of Malta. 37. The Parish can open accounts in stately, commercial and other banks in order to be able to conduct financial activities, carry out payments and to keep its money. 38. In case of the Parish dissolution or liquidation, all the property shall be transferred into the sole disposal of the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia.

VI. CONCLUDING POSITIONS

39. The Parish shall not grant premises or buildings being in its possession on a sole ownership grounds or on lease basis for any assemblies, meetings or any other manifestations of any political character. 40. Audits of financial and economic activities of Parish and Parish establishments shall be carried out according to the initial Charter of Russian Orthodox Church and the legislation of Malta. 41. Upon approval and blessing by the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia this present Charter shall be forwarded for the registration according to the laws of Malta. 42. Any changes and additions to the present Charter, and also any amendment or additions to the contract on cult buildings management, shall be carried out by the Parish extremely at the consent of the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia. 6

43. Parish can terminate its activity or be subject to liquidation according to the procedure determined by the initial Charter of Russian Orthodox Church, and upon approval by the Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia of such decision. 44. Parish shall have a stamp and a seal with its name.

PARISH ADDRESS Villa Tatiana, Triq Wied Ghollieqa, Kappara, San Gwann, SGN08, MALTA

TELEPHONE 21 374887 21 377114 fax