The attitude to clergymen in the world is completely different, therefore, the remuneration of their labor is different, and the amount of taxes and pension are different. Let's see how and how much priests from different countries earn?
Italy
So, in Italy there is a church fund specially created for this. His responsibilities include:
- Management of all contributions of members of Catholic and other religious institutions throughout the country.
- Organization of pensions to Catholic priests and clergy of other faiths.
- The Fund is administered by the Social Security Institution, which operates on the basis of the Priest Pension Regulation System Agreement. This agreement has been confirmed by the Conference of Bishops of Italy.
- The budget of the Fund is formed from: voluntary donations of citizens and voluntary tax deductions in favor of the Vatican.
In 2000, priests who did not have Italian citizenship but worked in the diocese of the country entered the Foundation.
The priests of Italy go on well-deserved rest at the age of 68 years. The average pension is 1,100 euros.
Germany
Germany equates priests with civil servants. Therefore, the approach to the payment of pensions to German clergy is the same as officials, only there the state pays, and here the church pays. The only pension fund of the church is in no way connected with the pension provision of the country.
The church budget for salaries and pensions includes exclusively its own funds. To understand how much priests earn, it is important that church income is made up of church tax, which is levied on members of a religious community. Its size is approximately 8-9%, depending on the federal state.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the approach to providing clerics is somewhat different. Here, this category of church workers refers to the general. Anglican pastors and Catholic priests are literally obliged to pay taxes. If they have privileges, then they are also standard. Government subsidies also do not apply to either the state Anglican or Catholic Church.
The proceeds from the funeral and wedding processions, the baptism of children, etc., are consolidated and sent to the wage fund. In the event that there is an additional income received from training or journalism, it is declared a spiritual worker and is also taxed.
How much a priest earns depends entirely on his age and length of service. The size of his income determines subsequent pension payments.
Spain
The Spanish approach to the payment of pensions to priests is similar to the English. Here it is also paid by the church and is formed from monthly deductions from the salaries of clergymen. The state allocates subsidies that are used for:
- content of the diocese;
- administrative expenses.
At the end of the 70s of the XX century, an agreement was signed in Spain, which regulates the economic activity of the church. Every month, the state allocates about 12 million euros from the country's budget for the maintenance of the diocese. In addition, funds come from donations from parishioners. Also in 2007, the possibility of transferring to individuals 0.7% income tax to the Catholic Church was introduced. This amount is estimated at 150 million euros per year.
So how much do priests earn in the church of Spain? Their approximate monthly income is as follows:
- archbishop - 1200 euros;
- bishop - 900 euros;
- priest - 700 euros.
There is also a bonus system for chaplains, as well as clergymen at hospitals - 140 euros, for canons - a maximum of 300 euros.
If a priest teaches or works as a nurse in state or private institutions and receives wages for his work, then he does not receive anything from the parish. The employer is the one who pays the salary to the priest in this case.
Pensions from representatives of the clergy are minimal.
Czech
Calculation of the pension of clergy in the Czech Republic is no different from the state. That is, it is based on the calculation of the average wage of an employee over the past 30 years. As such, the clergy 's pension fund is absent in the Czech Republic, and the pension is regarded as a kind of bonus from the state.
Priests are considered public servants of the public sector. But as much as the priest earns on average, not a single official receives - the income of the clergy is 30 percent lower and amounts to about 600 euros.
France
France at the beginning of the twentieth century strictly divided religion and state. Therefore, the entire income of the church here is formed solely from donations.
How much do priests earn in this country? According to media reports, the average monthly amount of money is about 950 euros (with a minimum wage of 1100 euros), housing is allocated to the clergy, but meals are paid for by themselves.
Both Catholic priests and Islamic imams, Buddhist monks - all receive state pensions. The average monthly pension is about 900 euros.
Belgium
And how much does a priest earn in Belgium? Unlike France, Belgian priests are paid monthly by the state. It depends on the position, with the bishop it ranges from 1600-8400 euros. The clergy of Catholics, Protestants, Anglicans, Orthodox and Jews receive a salary.
Also, every year the state pays bonuses: in the summer and winter periods, from the monthly calculation of the last wage.
Priests can rent premises, and often the local government covers rental costs.
The preservation and restoration of cultural religious buildings is administered by the state together with the church. In addition, activities related to the practice of faith are financed from the state budget. For example, wine for parishioners during the service.
Despite government support, religious institutions are required to pay property taxes.
USA
In the United States of America, a clergy pension directly depends on how much a priest earns during a period of working capacity. Consists of the following monthly payments:
- state (from the priest paid to the state taxes to the social insurance fund) - often less than $ 1,000;
- church (from the income of priests from pastoral work) - about $ 2,000;
- additional individual.
Russia
In Russia, priests receive both a salary and a pension.
The salary is actually assigned by the abbot, and most often it is calculated from the total income of the parish.
How much the priest earns depends on the following points:
1. First of all, from the size of the tax of parishioners. The more money the parish collects, the higher the salaries of church workers.
2. Plus, the salary includes a certain part of the income from the sale of candles, icons, crosses and other church goods, as well as donations for baptism, weddings, funeral services, prayers, funeral services, etc. All church activities are not taxed.
3. Liturgy, matins or vespers - all this is a common worship, besides this there are private ones, at the request of the parishioners - they are called trebs and are paid extra.
4. Additional subsidies from the patriarchy and diocese. In 2013, according to the document adopted by the Orthodox Church, priests in need receive financial assistance from the dioceses, and the size is determined by a specially created commission.
5. Support for sponsors (in salaries, repairs, temple maintenance, etc.).
Thus, if the priest’s wages are small, then his work is bad, few believers are willing to buy church products, order trebes, and simply donate to the church.
Monthly, deductions from the parishes for each clergyman are received in the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation, subsequently, pensions are paid from the fund to church workers.
All economic issues of the Russian Orthodox Church are headed by the Financial and Economic Department of the Moscow Patriarchate.
This department developed the Regulation on the material support of clergy, according to which the wages of priests should be guided by the average wage of social workers (teachers, psychologists, medical staff, educators, etc.) in the region.
Of course, all the clauses of this Regulation are more of a purely recommendatory nature, and their implementation largely depends on the current state of affairs, therefore it is rather difficult to answer the question of concern to everyone: “But in reality, how much do priests earn in Russia?”