Department of Religious Education
The Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Moscow City Diocese was formed by a decree of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' dated March 5, 2013. At the Diocesan Meeting on December 22, 2016, the Department of Religious Education.
The objectives of the department are to strengthen the relationship between secular and church education systems in the field of spiritual and moral education of children and youth, disseminate the best education systems, stimulate the creativity of teachers and educators of educational institutions and encourage them for the high quality of their work results.
The department supports the teaching of the module “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture” in a secular school and trains teachers in this discipline; supervises the work of Sunday schools and educational groups, as well as Orthodox schools and gymnasiums in the capital.
In order to preserve traditional values, the department carries out various programs, projects and competitions for the spiritual education of the younger generation.
In its activities, the department affects all levels of education, from preschool to joint projects with universities.
Department composition:
- Hieromonk Onisim (Bamblevsky) - chairman
- Teplov A.O. - secretary
- Oshovsky V.M.
- Didenko I.V.
- Kotova L.A.
- Chepur O.A.
- Teplova E.F.
Contact details
Address: 115409, Moscow, Kashirskoe highway, 64, building 1.
Department opening hours: Mon-Fri from 10.00 to 18.00 (reception hours coincide with opening hours).
Religious education
As in previous years, the task of primary importance for the department is to increase the percentage of choice of the “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture” module in the capital’s schools, as well as to concentrate efforts on ensuring its high-quality teaching. In the 2017/2018 academic year, the number of Moscow schoolchildren who chose the module increased by 7.88 percentage points and reached 48% of all 4th grade students. In the reporting year, an increase in the share of “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture” was observed in all vicariates of the Moscow diocese, with the exception of the vicariate of the New Territories. The best results were achieved in the North-East (+11.59) and South-West (+11.69) vicariates.
Since September 2017, advanced training courses in the direction of “Content and teaching methods of the module “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture”” were transferred from the Moscow Institute of Open Education to the City Methodological Center, which made it possible to organize classes in a more convenient format for teachers, as well as to ensure close contact teachers and services of public methodologists.
Work continues on consulting parents of schoolchildren on choosing the module “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture.” Representatives of the clergy and public methodologists attended parent meetings throughout the year in order to provide parents and teachers with objective information about the content of the module. In all vicariates, consultations are held for teachers teaching OPC and other modules of ORKSE, and there are permanent seminars and teaching rooms.
Employees of the diocesan department of religious education and catechesis took part in the preparation and holding of the First All-Russian scientific conference “Theology in the humanitarian educational space” as part of the work of the Council for Theological Education of the Moscow City Diocese. Cooperation is maintained with the All-Russian Methodological Association for ORKSE at the Academy for Advanced Studies and Professional Training of Education Workers. In the reporting year, a lot of work was done to prepare a professional development program (144 hours) “Current issues in teaching the course “Fundamentals of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics (ORKSE).” The program is recommended for use by the Department of State Policy in the Sphere of General Education of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science.
In addition to regular activities in 2017, the department implemented a number of new projects:
- The Moscow education system has introduced positions of advisors to the chairmen of Interdistrict Boards of Directors in the amount of 35 people from among public methodologists from each district. Starting from November 2017, they will take part in meetings of interdistrict councils with the right to put issues on the meeting agenda.
― Electronic lessons have been created on the defense-industrial complex module for use in metropolitan schools (the lessons are uploaded to the Moscow Electronic School system).
- Seminars on the prevention of extremism were held. A series of scientific and practical seminars for educational organizations “The role of education in the prevention of extremism and the involvement of youth in the activities of religious sects and radical groups” was held on a regular basis. Its audience expanded to include students from Moscow universities - Moscow State Pedagogical University and Russian State University. Kosygina.
— Assistance was provided to the opening of the Department of Theology at Moscow State Pedagogical University. The department was created by decision of the Academic Council on August 28, 2017.
- Since the spring of 2017, accreditation of public methodologists has been carried out in the Western, Eastern, North-Eastern and North-Western vicariates. Until the end of the 2017/2018 academic year, public methodologists in all remaining vicariates will undergo this procedure.
In the process of ongoing interaction with the Moscow Department of Religious Education, four universities expressed a desire to open a temple on their territory: Russian State University named after A.N. Kosygin, MARKHI, MADI, MGHPA im. S.G. Stroganov.
In 2017, cooperation was established with the Russian University. A.N. Kosygin and Moscow Pedagogical State University.
During the period from September 2016 to the first week of January 2017, the vicariates of the city of Moscow held district educational readings on the topic “1917-2017: lessons of the century.” More than 2,000 people took part in them: defense industry teachers, methodologists, Sunday school teachers, parish catechists.
Sunday schools
As of December 1, 2017, the total number of certified Sunday schools in Moscow is 336. Of these, according to certification inspections, 170 schools received the status of an educational group and 166 received the status of a Sunday school. By May 2018, it is planned to issue the status of an educational group to another 15 Sunday schools that were not previously certified.
As of October 2017, the number of students in Sunday schools for children under the age of 16 was 16,861 people, of which 11,370 were certified and 5,491 were volunteer students. The overall increase in the number of children enrolled compared to last year was 1,824 people, adults - 67 people.
The objectives of the department remain unchanged and are aimed at attracting new students to Sunday schools, as well as improving the quality of education. Based on a survey of Sunday school leaders, it was revealed that in order to implement high-quality involvement of students in the educational process, the main condition is necessary: the creation for children and parents (including unchurched ones) of a favorable environment in the parish, helping them to harmoniously become involved in the activities of the parish community. To achieve these goals in 2017, priority was given to the following forms of activity:
― Expansion of the additional education system in Sunday schools (circles, sections, interest clubs), allowing to cover the maximum number of children and adolescents studying.
- Involving children in charity work. The department organizes visits by Sunday school groups to orphanages, hospitals and nursing homes with festive concerts, as well as by organizing charity fairs and other similar events.
― Expanding cooperation between Sunday schools and city structures and general educational institutions. Sunday school teams participate in various regional and city events. In 2017, representatives of Sunday school students contributed to the “Slavic Gift” festival, took part in the interregional competition “Wonderful City, Ancient City,” as well as in the Christmas and Easter festivals together with students from the Institute of Slavic Culture of the Russian State University. them. Kosygina.
Considerable attention is paid by the employees of the department of assistance to parishes in the creation of youth organizations, which are a natural continuation of the activities of the Sunday school. The interaction of older youth with school students plays a large role in the informal inclusion of students in parish life and increases their interest in acquiring new knowledge about Orthodoxy.
At a meeting of the Holy Synod on March 9, 2017, new regulatory documents were approved: “Standard of educational activities in Sunday schools (for children) of the Russian Orthodox Church” and “Regulations on the activities of Sunday schools for children of the Russian Orthodox Church”, which are based on variable approach to organizing the activities of Sunday schools. The approval of these documents opened up the opportunity for Sunday schools to reconsider some aspects of the organization of the educational process, taking into account the individual characteristics of the school. With the introduction of new standards, schools will be able to approach the tasks assigned to them more creatively.
Through the efforts of the department, certification of Sunday schools continues, which has a beneficial effect both on the administrative organization of schools and directly on the educational process. Since the 2017/2018 academic year, the key task of the department’s employees is to gradually rebuild the principles of work and curricula, taking into account the requirements of the above-mentioned standard. One of the positive factors of accreditation is the systematization of information about Sunday schools in the capital.
Employees of the Department of Religious Education of the Moscow Diocese provide constant advisory support on issues of maintaining documentation in Sunday schools, the certification procedure, and implementation of the Standard. Work is underway to attract students from Orthodox and pedagogical higher educational institutions to undergo internships in Sunday schools in Moscow.
As last year, a significant event in the life of Sunday schools was the liturgy for children, which was led by the first vicar of His Holiness the Patriarch, Metropolitan Arseniy of Istra on January 14, 2017. On this day, the combined children's choir of Sunday schools sang during the service, performing all the hymns of the Divine Liturgy. About 4,000 people prayed during the service.
Orthodox schools and gymnasiums
During the reporting year, the number of Orthodox schools and gymnasiums did not change and amounted to 31 institutions. Nine gymnasiums that did not have one last year received religious representation.
As in 2016, instructive and methodological meetings of heads of Orthodox schools and gymnasiums in Moscow continue to be held on the basis of the Moscow Institute of Open Education and Moscow Pedagogical State University. At the meetings, topical issues were discussed aimed at creating conditions for school teaching staff to master new provisions of pedagogical science, developmental psychology, methods of teaching subjects, to familiarize themselves, study and implement the best teaching experience in school practice. Meetings are held periodically once per academic quarter.
In addition to the annual competitions “The Beauty of God’s World” and “For the Moral Deed of a Teacher,” a number of events were held with the assistance of the department. Among them, we can note the Moscow regional stage of the children's creativity competition as part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Patriarchal enthronement of St. Tikhon of Moscow and the All-Russian Church Council (over 200 works were submitted from Orthodox educational organizations), as well as the Moscow city student creativity competition “Alexander Nevsky - name Russia" (over 300 works were submitted, of which 284 were from secular educational organizations).
Spiritual education
In 2017, in five theological educational institutions of the city of Moscow: Moscow Theological Academy, St. Tikhon's Orthodox Humanitarian University, Sretenskaya, Perervinskaya (bachelor's degree only), Nikolo-Ugreshskaya theological seminaries, future clergy continue to be trained in undergraduate educational programs in accordance with the Unified Curriculum , as well as master's degrees. The postgraduate program is implemented at the Moscow Theological Academy.
In the past 2016/17 academic year, 227 graduates completed their studies, of which 83 were graduates in holy orders (36%); including: 139 people. graduated from the bachelor's program, 67 people. - master's program, 21 people. - postgraduate studies. 54 graduates (24%) were sent for training from the Moscow diocese.
In the current 2017/18 academic year, 1,633 students continue to study in religious educational institutions in Moscow, of which 1,186 are undergraduate students (including Preparatory Course students), 335 are undergraduates, and 112 are graduate students.
Of these, 995 students study full-time, 86 students study part-time, and 552 students study part-time.
18% of the total number of students (297 students) are in the priesthood. 22% of the total number of students were sent to theological schools (359 people) from the Moscow diocese.
January 25, 2010 at the State Kremlin Palace grand opening took placeXVIII International Christmas Educational Readings “Practical experience and prospects for church-state cooperation in the field of education.” He made presentations at the opening of the Readings Bishop of Zaraisk Mercury, chairman Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Russian Orthodox Church, head of the organizing committee of the Christmas readings.
| Photo: Patriarchia.Ru |
The current church-public pedagogical forum is being held for the eighteenth time, which is evidence of the constant attention of the Russian Orthodox Church to issues of education, and each time it is attended by hundreds of teachers and educators who are not indifferent to the spiritual and moral issues of modern life and school.
The beginning of 2010 is the Year of the Teacher. By doing this, state leaders emphasize the importance of the education sector for the country and the key role of the teacher for its further development. President of the Russian Federation D.A. Medvedev, opening this year in St. Petersburg, noted that the main thing now is to increase the prestige of teaching work and not to lose the experience that has already been accumulated by the Russian education system. The highest spiritual and moral dignity of the title “teacher” is indicated by the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ is called Teacher. A very correct and precise definition of the teaching vocation was given by His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus'. He said: “The very concept of “teacher” presupposes: this is a person who transmits the wisdom, knowledge, experience of previous generations... And without the formation of a moral principle in a modern person, no educational process can exist... Today, as perhaps never before, the moral dimension of feat teacher, the ministry of the teacher, is obvious and absolutely necessary.”
Unfortunately, the domestic teacher has not yet been placed at the height appropriate to his role in our society, however, it largely depends on him whether Russia will become a prosperous democratic state or will again reap the bitter fruits of moral savagery, which is the main brake on its development.
Last year was difficult for the people of Russia. The economic crisis has aggravated many problems, but once again demonstrated the critical importance of spiritual and moral dominance in the lives of most people. The unshakable values of faith, patriotism, sacrifice, hard work, honesty, nobility, decency continue to hold our huge country together. The future of Russia largely depends on whether we are able to pass on this knowledge and experience of previous generations to young people. Therefore, the issues of spiritual and moral education of the younger generation are the highest priority for our country.
The past year was also fateful for the Russian Orthodox Church. The Local Council, with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, unanimously elevated His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' to the Throne of the First Hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church. This historical Council, highly appreciating the works that, by the grace of God, our Church has brought to the Lord over the past eighteen-plus years, considered the most important task for the Russian Orthodox Church to be nationwide Orthodox education, determining that the spiritual and moral education of individuals, especially children and youth, should stand at the center of church-wide activities and called on pastors and Orthodox laity to make every effort to ensure that people were not cut off from their traditions, “knew the foundations of the Orthodox faith, participated in the Sacraments and worship, and were guided in their personal and public life by the moral norms of the Gospel of Christ " “Only following the eternal and unchanging moral values given in Divine revelation will allow us to overcome the internal crisis of the individual, discord in the family and disorder in society... That is why today we should be able to freely reach out to the younger generation - through preaching, school, and the media.” , says the Message of the Local Council, which called for the development of dialogue with the surrounding society, including the world of science and culture.
Modern life is changing rapidly, and accordingly the tasks facing the Church are changing and becoming many times more complicated. According to His Holiness the Patriarch, today, when the lines between good and evil are blurred in the world, and often evil is even put at the forefront in place of good, all people must hear the word of the Gospel in order to orient their lives towards it. “The task of the Church,” says His Holiness, “is to make modern humanity understand: the existence of civilization largely depends on how much people accept God’s truth into their minds and hearts.” It was precisely this main task, set before the Church by life itself, that entailed the need in new conditions to raise the activities of the Synodal institutions to a higher level in order to develop and improve the church-wide work of enlightening our people with the light of Christ. In accordance with this task, the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church at the end of March last year decided to change the structure of some Synodal departments, and in particular the Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis.
Over the past time, in accordance with the new directions of work, the structure and personnel composition of the Department has changed. The sector responsible for catechetical work was strengthened with new personnel, and a sector of Orthodox education was created, which included the Scientific and Methodological Expert Council on Orthodox Education. Since the activities of the Department largely depended on how favorable church-state relations would be, it was necessary to bring cooperation between the state and the Church in the field of education to a new stage, characterized by the versatility and seriousness of the common work. Due to these tasks, a church-scientific commission was created under the Department on the teaching of Orthodox culture and spiritual and moral education in Russian schools, which included the First Deputy Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, specialists from educational authorities, scientists from the Russian Academy of Education and leading universities in Moscow and the regions, representatives of the dioceses of the Russian Orthodox Church. This commission is designed to coordinate the current work and practical interaction of church structures, representatives of educational and scientific institutions, the parent community in the field of spiritual and moral education, as well as issues of teaching the fundamentals of Orthodox culture.
The urgent need of citizens to study the origins of their traditional religious culture, the constant concern of the Russian Orthodox Church and other traditional religions about negative phenomena in our society, largely initiated the decision taken last July by the country's leadership and personally by the President of Russia Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev to introduce teaching in schools of six educational subjects of spiritual and moral content, which were included in an experimental comprehensive course entitled “Fundamentals of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics.” One of the components of this course was the educational subject “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture,” which is currently taught as a regional component course in a number of subjects of the Federation or as a school component course of the curriculum in many secondary schools throughout Russia.
Thus, from this year, as an experiment for now, the educational subject on the fundamentals of Orthodox culture should reach the federal level. The implementation of this project will take place in several stages: the first stage covers a group of 19 regions, the second - the entire territory of Russia. However, the implementation of this complex task, which must be solved in a harmonious combination of organizing the educational process at the federal and regional levels, is impossible without the active participation in it of the Russian Orthodox Church and its educational structures - both the Synodal Department and the diocesan departments of religious education, without close interaction with scientific, pedagogical, parent communities in the regions. At the same time, we still have to overcome the remaining elements of alienation in relations between church and state educational structures, especially at the regional level, due to the long-term inertia of outdated ideology, establish open, trusting dialogue and cooperation, work out mechanisms for specific interactions to satisfy the educational requests of citizens of our country to study them children of Orthodox culture, familiarization with Orthodox Christian spiritual and moral values and traditions in the process of receiving general secondary education, studying in a Russian secondary school.
Today we already have the first visible fruits of this collaboration. In July 2009, the chairman of the Synodal Department of Religious Education was introduced to the Council of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation on federal state educational standards, and in November 2009 he joined the newly created Interdepartmental Coordination Council for the implementation of an action plan for testing a new comprehensive training course “Fundamentals of Religious Cultures” and secular ethics."
Within the framework of this Council, we are building a church-state dialogue on the issue of the presence in the new Standard of General Education of a full-fledged opportunity for the free and voluntary introduction of Russian schoolchildren to the values of Orthodox culture and the teaching of the academic subject Orthodox culture.
In October last year, a new Federal State Educational Standard (FSES) for primary general education was approved. In the process of working on it, specialists from the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis repeatedly expressed their comments on its text, insisting that spiritual and moral culture, educational subjects on traditional religious cultures and ethics should be studied in all years of study in a secondary school, paying attention to this at least would be 1 hour per week starting from 1st grade. Only such a full-fledged study can have a beneficial effect on the development and formation of a free and responsible personality of the student, open up to him a world of enduring values, and help him understand the meaning of human life. At our suggestion, the final version of the Standard for Primary General Education included a subject area called “Fundamentals of the Spiritual and Moral Culture of the Peoples of Russia.” The program of spiritual and moral development and education of students is now included in the main educational program of primary general education. It is obvious that the introduction of the same subject area, purposefully focused on the task of systematic spiritual and moral education of children, taking into account the ideological and cultural characteristics and needs of their families, is necessary both in the standard of basic general education for grades 5-9 and in the standard of secondary (complete) general education education for grades 10-11. This will allow free continuation of the teaching of the Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture where it is already being carried out, and will also become evidence of compliance with democratic norms in domestic education, ensuring free choice by students and their parents to study their traditional religious culture in a secular school, in accordance with international and European standards in field of human rights.
We hope that the voice of the Church will be heard and our proposals will be taken into account. It is very important that the new Basic Curriculum for primary schools be adopted in collaboration with the Russian Orthodox Church and other traditional confessions in Russia. This will more fully ensure that the interests and educational needs of the population are taken into account. If it does not provide for the possibility of studying educational subjects on religious cultures and ethics in all years of study in its main part, within the framework of the maximum permissible teaching load, then this will certainly devalue the experimental project that is to be implemented in the next two years. This will be a step back in the development of conditions for the spiritual and moral education of Russian schoolchildren. At the very least, it will not create favorable conditions for the development of such education. After all, it is obvious that neither in 35, nor even in 70 hours of study, a schoolchild will not be able to comprehend the spiritual and moral culture of Orthodoxy, as well as Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, and even more so will not be able to be introduced to it, brought up in it. The educational need of a significant part of our society, Russian citizens, for their children to study Orthodox culture and Orthodox upbringing will remain unsatisfied. The presence and growth of this need and interest in studying Orthodox culture in Russian secondary schools is evidenced, for example, by the fact that if 7 thousand schoolchildren participated in the All-Russian Olympiad of schoolchildren in Orthodox culture in 2008, then in 2009 their number immediately increased to 40 thousands of people. No school subject Olympiad has demonstrated such rapid growth.
In recent years, both society and the state have expressed the need for a qualitative update in the education of students in Russian schools. Accordingly, the draft standard of general education of the second generation includes a number of program materials on the topic of the content of education of schoolchildren, in particular the Concept of spiritual and moral development and education of the personality of a citizen of Russia.
However, it should be said that the text currently presented needs a comprehensive and serious discussion by the scientific and pedagogical community, the Russian Orthodox Church and other traditional confessions of Russia. The discussions that have already taken place indicate the need for significant refinement of this material. First of all, this concerns the need to reflect both the existing experience of confessional-religious spiritual and moral education and the upbringing of children in a Russian secular school, and its further development in accordance with the latest decisions of the leadership of our country and the leaders of Russian confessions.
The Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis continues and will continue to adhere to the position that all educational materials intended for teaching students and schoolchildren positive knowledge about Orthodox culture should be developed or reviewed with the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church. We hope to continue constructive work both with the Ministry of Education and Science and with the developers of new educational standards on the practical implementation of the decisions made by the country's top leadership.
In the process of church-state cooperation, good working and fruitful relationships have developed between the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. Today, from this high rostrum, I would like to thank the Minister of Education and Science Andrei Aleksandrovich Fursenko and his first deputy Isaac Iosifovich Kalina for this.
This collaboration is expressed in the development of technologies for our interaction with government agencies, in the coordination of procedures for joint training of teachers of Orthodox culture, the development and examination of teaching aids, and the normative consolidation of the principles of our interaction. It is also very important that this common work will significantly develop and expand, through participation in the project, open and friendly cooperation with other Russian religious denominations. The training of so-called tutors and teacher-trainers has now begun on the comprehensive training course “Fundamentals of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics” for the first stream, the first seven regions on the basis of the Academy for Advanced Training and Professional Retraining of Education Workers in Moscow. The second cohort began training from today. Understanding how important the teacher is in the process of transmitting tradition, we would like greater involvement of the Russian Orthodox Church in this process.
The most important area of work of the renewed Department is catechesis. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill has repeatedly noted that the main task of the Russian Orthodox Church is to enlighten our people with the light of the faith of Christ. Today the catechetical activity of the Church, i.e. The implementation of spiritual and educational work with the aim of introducing people who turn to the Church and join it to the norms of Christian life is in the 21st century, along with missionary, social, and charitable activities, the most important, integral area of church service, the implementation and development of which, in no small part, degree, the spiritual state of the members of the Church, parishes, communities and our entire society depends.
We understand catechesis, first of all, as getting rid of religious illiteracy. For the first time, “Catechesis and the Sacraments in the Church” were presented in the Christmas readings as a separate area. It will pay special attention to modern forms and methods of its organization.
Unlike the practice of the Ancient Church, catechesis today includes not only the catechism of those preparing for Baptism, but also the preparation for the Church Sacraments of those already baptized. It is necessary to churchize the people who come to church, to make their lives consciously Christian. Therefore, we consider catechesis, first of all, as the full participation of people in the life of the Church, its Sacraments, familiarization with the practical experience of prayer, church public service, and not just as familiarization with a body of theoretical knowledge about the faith.
We have to create an integral church-wide system of catechesis, including appropriate structures and measures for its development at the diocesan level, in deaneries and in parishes. It should cover all age categories of potential parishioners whose hearts have sought a living faith in God: children and their parents, youth and adults. It is also important to develop common principles and the most effective forms for people of different ages. However, it must be remembered that the best teacher is the one who teaches by example, and therefore it is very important that the word of the catechist does not conflict with his life.
The problems of catechesis cannot be solved even in isolation from the way of life of the parish - this is a matter for the entire church community. Family, youth, historical, local history, and patriotic clubs that can hold cultural, educational, sports and other events should become commonplace in the parish.
Experience shows that catechesis is quite successful when the Church implements socially significant programs and projects that help overcome the consequences of such social ills as alcoholism, drug addiction, involvement in destructive sects, so that people suffering from them can not only receive various types of support, but also hear the word Christ's Truth.
In every parish, it should be common practice for a catechist to work with people who come to church. One of the main difficulties in introducing a long-term catechesis program in parishes is the lack of trained personnel in dioceses. This task must be solved not only and not so much at the parish, but, above all, at the diocesan level.
Each diocese should have practical catechesis courses and a methodological center for the purpose of training and improving the qualifications of parish catechists from among the laity. In order to increase the effectiveness of catechetical activities, catechesis schools should be organized in each deanery. It is necessary to develop methodological recommendations for practical types of catechesis based on the modern experience of the Russian Orthodox Church, taking into account the various capabilities and conditions of parishes.
On the initiative and with the participation of the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis, a textbook was prepared for courses on training catechists, missionaries and church educators “Catechesis in the Russian Orthodox Church at the present stage.” This year we plan to develop new methodological materials on the implementation and organization of catechetical activities, on the employment of catechists and Sunday school teachers, and on the organization of parish counseling. The Synodal Department and diocesan Departments of Religious Education will conduct a review of methods, teaching aids and programs for Sunday schools and catechetical activities. All educational institutions for training catechists and Sunday school teachers must undergo licensing and church accreditation.
Today, the implementation of the catechetical activity of the Church is completely impossible without the creation of a modern Catechism. The need for it is very great; it is impossible to talk with people living in the 21st century in the language of the 19th century. By resolution of the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church, last year a Commission was created for the preparation of a new complete Catechism of the Russian Orthodox Church, which included the chairman of the Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis. The Church’s need for a modern Catechism is long overdue, and it should provide theologically accurate answers to the most important questions about Orthodoxy.
In his message to the Federal Assembly on November 12 last year, Russian President Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev outlined his vision of education reform. In particular, he proposed to legislate the equality of state and non-state educational institutions. For the Russian Orthodox Church this is a very important issue. If it is resolved, it will be possible to include Orthodox educational institutions as full-fledged subjects in the country’s unified educational space. Today, with equal requirements for the level of education, Orthodox schools lag behind in terms of material security for the educational process, and such inequality must be overcome. This would make the development of Orthodox schools more effective, and would contribute to a general increase in the level of education in the country and the process of democratization of the educational sphere. It is gratifying that the state is ready to meet halfway.
How are things going with the Orthodox education system today? Let's touch on its first link - preschoolers. Unfortunately, the number of Orthodox kindergartens in our country is extremely small - according to the Department, there are only 9 kindergartens in the entire vast country! There are, of course, also Orthodox groups and clubs in state and municipal kindergartens, but there are very few of them throughout Russia. We can say with regret that here we have not even come close to fulfilling the definitions of the Council of Bishops in 1994, which ordered each diocese to have its own exemplary kindergarten. It seems that the fault in this situation is not so much the Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis, because the methodological side of the issue by its specialists was quite well developed. All developments were published, distributed to dioceses, and those who wished could also receive them at the annual Christmas readings. Apparently, the reason is that the dioceses themselves did not pay enough attention to preschool education, limiting themselves to conducting lessons for children in Sunday schools.
It should be noted that in approaches to resolving this issue there is no necessary assistance from educational authorities. Thus, the current “Model Regulations on a Preschool Educational Institution”, approved by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of September 12, 2008, makes it difficult to carry out work in kindergartens on the spiritual and moral education of children, since it does not contain the task of the spiritual and moral development of the child’s personality in accordance with the Law “On Education”. In this document - in the list of types of preschool educational institutions with priority implementation of activities of different directions - neither spiritual, moral, nor ethnocultural areas are not only included as priorities, but are not even mentioned at all. It seems that such a imbalance in the upbringing of preschool children should certainly be eliminated, so the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis considered it possible to send a letter to the Minister of Education and Science with a request to amend the “Model Regulations on a Preschool Educational Institution”, which will help correct the current position.
However, there are also positive examples of spiritual and moral education of preschool children. I note that all of them were achieved in close cooperation with regional authorities and education authorities. Currently, in a number of dioceses - Moscow, Kostroma, Belgorod, Kursk - there is an experimental testing in kindergartens of the program “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture” (The World is a Beautiful Creation), developed by the laboratory of the Russian school of Kursk State University, and has received recognition in more than 30 regions of the country program for preschoolers “Origins”, implementing a sociocultural systematic approach to the origins in education, also based on the traditional spiritual and moral values of Russia.
It cannot be said that we are fully satisfied with the development of the middle level of the Orthodox education system. According to information available from the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis, we have only 113 Orthodox secondary educational institutions throughout the country. Limited material resources hinder the opening of new gymnasiums, lyceums, and schools. In many dioceses, due to the difficult financial situation associated with high rent for premises and exorbitant utility bills, Orthodox educational institutions experience difficulties and are unable to fully develop the educational process.
In his speech at the Diocesan Assembly of Moscow, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' highlighted the main tasks, the solution of which is necessary for the successful functioning and development of the Orthodox general secondary education system. This is, first of all, a determination of the ecclesiastical and legal status of Orthodox general education institutions. His Holiness the Patriarch blessed that “the founders of all schools, gymnasiums and lyceums that call themselves Orthodox should be either the Patriarchate, as the sole founder, or together with monasteries, parishes, public organizations or individuals, but certainly on the terms when the Church has more than 50% " “Only in this way,” in the opinion of His Holiness, “can we achieve responsible monitoring of the educational and educational process, capable of ensuring that a given educational institution meets the definition of “Orthodox.” It would be logical to grant the status of “Orthodox-oriented educational institutions” to those educational institutions that, due to the composition of their founders, cannot claim the status of Orthodox, but implement educational programs in religious disciplines in the educational process.”
With the blessing of His Holiness, the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis began compiling a unified register of Orthodox secondary educational institutions and determining their ecclesiastical legal status in order to strengthen their responsibility before the Church. This year it is planned to re-certify all Orthodox schools. The Department has currently developed a Regulation on the issuance of confessional statements to Orthodox and Orthodox-oriented educational institutions that fall within the scope of the Department’s competence and implement preschool, primary and secondary general, primary and secondary vocational, additional education for children and other educational programs. We hope that this document will be considered and adopted at the meeting of the Holy Synod as a church-wide document. This will strengthen the relationship of the Church with its schools, increase the requirements for the educational and educational process, placing the teaching of religious and general education disciplines at the proper level, and facilitate the introduction of uniform educational materials and teaching aids into Orthodox educational institutions.
The need to develop standards for Orthodox primary and secondary education in all religious disciplines is seen as very significant for the Department. It is necessary to combine the efforts of the Synodal Department and the achievements of the dioceses in this direction in order to determine in the near future common methodological approaches, principles of standardization of Orthodox education, structure and minimum content. An important aspect of these developments is the determination of requirements for the level of training of students. Work will also be carried out to improve educational and methodological support for Orthodox education. We are talking about the development of a series of new textbooks on the Law of God for all classes of Orthodox primary, basic and full secondary schools. Currently, the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis, together with the Publishing House of the Moscow Patriarchate, is working on the alphabet and textbooks for grades 5-6 in the Church Slavonic language. ABC is included in the Publisher's plan for 2010. A concept for teaching this subject has already been developed and a collection of programs labeled by the Department has been published. There are intentions to provide educational materials for such educational subjects as church singing and church arts. As a matter of fact, this is also a very important part of Orthodox culture, which we take care of, and it has enormous educational potential.
As for providing Orthodox secondary educational institutions with the necessary premises, it is impossible to do without the assistance of the state. We are grateful to the Moscow Government, which in 2005, with the personal assistance of the mayor of the capital, Yuri Mikhailovich Luzhkov, transferred the rented premises to Moscow Orthodox schools for free use for 10 years.
Currently, the Department also takes care of church shelters. With the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch, a permanent Commission on church shelters and issues of church care for children is being created, which will carefully study and analyze the activities of existing shelters. A complete register of them will be compiled and uniform requirements for such educational institutions will be developed. The commission is called upon to monitor the implementation of current legislation by church shelters that “determines the living conditions, upbringing and education of children, the protection of their health, rights and interests, and preparation for adult independent life.” She will also provide methodological and practical assistance to church shelters in improving the educational process.
As for Orthodox higher educational institutions, Orthodox universities and departments of theology are transferred from the jurisdiction of the Synodal Department of Religious Education to the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church. Such subordination will contribute to better coordination and control of the educational process in higher education, which is part of the Orthodox education system, and will allow this segment of the Orthodox system to be more effectively integrated into the Russian educational space.
The Orthodox education system also includes Sunday parochial schools. There are currently a little more than 11 thousand of them, approximately one school for three parishes. Of course, not all of them are equal, just as the parishes of our Church differ from each other. It is necessary to increase their number, raise the educational level, find additional sources of funding, and improve the material conditions of training. In accordance with the instructions of His Holiness the Patriarch, the Synodal Department of Religious Education began work on systematizing the existing educational and methodological material and manuals for Sunday schools.
Unfortunately, even today many clergy do not want to understand the importance, first of all, of educational and educational activities, which greatly contribute to the fact that the temple becomes a spiritual and cultural center for the people living in the parish, which can constitute a healthy alternative to lack of spirituality.
Sunday schools, for the most part, are attended by children of primary and secondary school age. Therefore, the next stage of parish education must be carefully considered - a program for young people, which require their own forms of work. Adolescence is a difficult age - it requires special attention and support. Particular emphasis should be placed on volunteer projects to work with youth. It is at the temple that young people should unite for good deeds, and the priest or a leader blessed by him should set the tone.
In light of the development of church-state relations and the prospect of including our schools in the unified educational space of Russia, it would be right and fair for the best Sunday schools to receive the status of institutions of additional education, since in most of them children are taught singing, fine arts, literature, and local history , organize pilgrimage trips for them, introducing them to the great Russian culture, in a word, give them full cultural development and education, additional to the general school one.
The experience of developed countries indicates that the system of religious education is everywhere an area of social partnership between the state and culture-forming faiths. The norm is state funding of theological programs, while control over the content of education and the qualifications of teachers falls under the responsibility of the culture-forming religion. This is the experience of Great Britain, Germany, France, Austria, Italy, Spain, Greece, Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Estonia and other European countries. The same is true for Islamic theology in Turkey, Bahrain, Libya, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia.
Orthodox education in our country is just beginning to receive government support, and we hope for further systematic interaction between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian state in this area. A good example for us in this area can be the effective interaction of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation with the Council of Muftis of Russia on the implementation of the state program for the development of Islamic education in Russian secular schools and state Jewish schools, in which the spiritual and moral education of students is established on the basis of religious moral traditions of Judaism.
Currently, by order of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Education and Science, together with other ministries, has developed a draft Federal Law “On Education in the Russian Federation”. It seems that such a significant bill for Russia, including its Orthodox citizens, should undergo the widest possible discussion. In light of our cooperation with the state in the field of education, the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis hopes that we will be given the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the draft law before its consideration by the State Duma. After all, it is absolutely obvious that both the state and the Church are interested in children being raised as decent, moral, responsible people who respect the cultural characteristics of Russian peoples and religions. Achieving such a result is possible only if they turn to traditional spiritual values, and the new law must meet these needs of our society.
The most important tasks of church-state interaction in the field of education cannot be solved without cooperation between diocesan and regional authorities, in isolation from the diocesan departments of education and catechesis, without close interaction with the pedagogical community in the regions.
A good example of fruitful and multilateral cooperation can be the holding in September last year of such a significant church-state forum as the Educational Readings of the Central Federal District on the topic: “Interaction between family, school and the Russian Orthodox Church in the spiritual and moral education of children and youth.”
The readings were organized by the Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Office of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Central Federal District, the Departments of Religious Education and Catechesis of the dioceses located in the Central Federal District, the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church and the Administration of the city of Sergiev Posad. Teachers from 18 regions of the Central Federal District took part in the Readings. Within their framework, the winners of the All-Russian competition of works in the field of pedagogy, education and work with children and youth “For the moral feat of a teacher” in the Central Federal District were awarded.
Since 2008, the Ministry of Education and Science, together with the Moscow Patriarchate, with the support of the Plenipotentiary Representatives of the President of the Russian Federation, has been holding this competition annually in all seven federal districts. Last year, 702 works took part in the first stage of the competition, and 339 took part in the second, final, which was held in December at the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis. The awards ceremony for the winners of the competition traditionally takes place at the Christmas educational readings.
This year we will be holding the Fifth Anniversary All-Russian competition of works in the field of pedagogy, education and work with children and youth “For the moral feat of a teacher.” It seems that the high authority of this competition and its significance in the development of scientific and pedagogical experience in the spiritual and moral education of students in the domestic education system can become the basis for it to receive the status of a federal educational event of the Ministry of Education and Science. We count on the support of this proposal by the Minister of Education Andrei Aleksandrovich Fursenko.
I note with regret that at present the level of interaction between diocesan structures of religious education and educational authorities in such large cities as Moscow and St. Petersburg, with their traditionally high scientific and pedagogical potential, leaves much to be desired.
Meanwhile, the introduction since 2012 at the federal level of a comprehensive course “Fundamentals of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics” implies the development of a system of scientific and methodological support for teaching knowledge about religions, including Orthodoxy: both in the Moscow and St. Petersburg education systems, which presupposes their active interaction with the Russian Orthodox Church in the field of preparation for teaching the subject “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture. We also have to work together to expand the practice of organizing training and advanced training for teachers of Orthodox culture, and we need to be more active in this direction.
One can accept with optimism the wish of the leadership of the Moscow Department of Education to expand the participation of the city’s educational institutions in the All-Russian competition in the field of pedagogy, education and work with school-age children and youth for the award “For the moral deed of a teacher.” This is a good sign.
His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' blessed the creation of a department of religious education and catechesis for the city of Moscow, which I was entrusted to head, combining my work in the Synodal Department. The emergence of such a structure will contribute to the further strengthening of relations between the Church and the Department of Education of the city of Moscow, will help jointly, more effectively, solve pressing problems of the spiritual and moral education of children and youth in the Mother See, and a unified leadership will ensure the formation of a unified church approach to education and the capital and in the dioceses.
Speaking about strengthening cooperation with scientists, methodologists, specialists in the field of pedagogy and education, it should also be noted that a scientific and methodological expert council on Orthodox education is beginning to work under the Synodal Department. The main task of the Council is to conduct an examination, including for the purpose of assigning the Department's stamp to educational and methodological publications, spiritual, moral and cultural-educational literature of an Orthodox orientation, intended for use in all types of educational institutions. In the near future, lists of experts will be formed for such sections as religious subjects, Orthodox pedagogy, Orthodox culture, Church Slavonic language, church arts and crafts, humanities, and natural sciences. Specialists in the field of pedagogy, professional theologians, and qualified teachers of religious and general education subjects will be involved in work in this area.
The procedure for church and pedagogical examination of textbooks on Orthodox culture for schools remains to be discussed with the Ministry of Education and Science and the Russian Academy of Education. The activities of this Scientific and Methodological Expert Council should become an integral part of a unified system of expert activities of the Russian Orthodox Church, including being consistent with the activities of the Publishing Council, which is currently engaged in building a system of church-wide examination of all Orthodox publications.
In order for the Synodal Department to be able to submit to the Ministry of Education and Science a complete list of textbooks and manuals officially approved by the Church, all textbooks and manuals that are already used today in Russian schools to study Orthodox culture - and this is already more than a hundred titles - must undergo the appropriate church examination .
Last December, a meeting of the Expert Council at the Department was held, which recommended a textbook on the Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture, developed by a group of teachers under the general leadership of MDA Professor Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev, for teaching this subject within the framework of the federal experimental project 2010-2012. A series of textbooks developed by Professor Lyudmila Leonidovna Shevchenko is recommended as additional educational literature.
It was decided to prepare a curriculum and teaching aid for teachers for this experimental course “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture.” Currently, the Department is working to develop educational and methodological support for teaching Orthodox culture in secondary schools, including the preparation of new manuals and complete educational and methodological sets for all years of study. For this purpose, a Methodological Office of Orthodox Culture will be created in the Department, on the basis of which a corresponding group of church and secular specialists and scientists will be able to work.
Due to a number of reasons beyond our control, the majority of dioceses from the 19 regions selected for the implementation of the project at its first stage do not have a developed practice of studying Orthodox culture in secondary schools. The Synodal Department of Religious Education is now trying to provide all possible consulting, methodological assistance and support to these dioceses, in which the interaction between the diocese and the authorities in the field of education is not as developed as in those regions where Orthodox culture has long been successfully taught. In order to disseminate the positive experience of cooperation between dioceses and regional educational authorities and institutes for advanced training of teachers, it is necessary, first of all, to establish close cooperation between the dioceses participating in the project and the Synodal Department. It will be easier for diocesan education departments to interact with each other through a structure that coordinates and controls Orthodox education in the country.
Last October, the Synodal Department held a meeting on teaching the Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture in secondary schools as part of an experiment to introduce a new subject area, “Fundamentals of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics.” The meeting was attended by representatives of dioceses, educational authorities, institutes for advanced training of teachers, and the Russian Academy of Education. Together we managed to develop the basic methodological principles for the participation of the Church in the experiment at the regional level.
To implement church-state agreements in the regions and monitor their implementation, it was recommended to create Coordination Councils of dioceses and a regional education management body, as well as a diocesan commission for the project, the appointment of a project curator in the diocese, personally responsible for the conduct of all work on it and for interaction with specialists from our Synodal Department. It would be justified to conclude an additional agreement between the dioceses and regional educational authorities on the implementation of this project.
The diocesan commission, responsible for the implementation of the project, is called upon to actively participate in each stage of the project: in the selection of schools and the free choice of educational subjects of a spiritual and moral orientation in them by parents of schoolchildren, in the selection of teachers and their training with the participation of specialists of the diocese, working out the procedure for receiving church recommendations for them . A methodological association of teachers of Orthodox culture should be created in each diocese, and, if possible, in districts (deaneries) and cities. Diocesan commissions also need to oversee the organization of courses for teachers who will soon teach this subject, and, if necessary, provide all possible assistance. In resolving all these issues, we recommend relying on the provisions of the Model Agreement on cooperation between the educational management body of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation and the Diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, previously agreed at the federal level. This agreement was sent to regional education authorities in 2007 (letter from the Director of the Department of State Policy and Legal Regulation in Education of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia I.I. Kalina dated July 13, 2007 No. 03-1584). The implementation of new projects, the development of state-church interaction in the field of education, teaching of Orthodox culture must, of course, be carried out on the basis of the principle of continuity, reliance on the achieved positive potential and results.
Diocesan commissions are called upon to monitor the situation with the federal experiment and have objective and complete information on all issues. It is necessary to establish interaction with the media to cover the pilot project, with the public, with other traditional faiths in the region, and project participants. It is very important to organize outreach work with parents of students, to familiarize them with the approximate content of the subject on Orthodox culture (both the experimental course and in general for all years of study), the basic requirements for knowledge and practical skills of students. We must not lose sight of the organization of church and public monitoring of the progress and results of the federal project at the regional level in interaction with other traditional faiths.
Methodological recommendations were prepared for the meeting participants with detailed coverage of all these and other issues related to the diocese’s participation in the project. As you understand, all this enormous work is carried out with the aim of minimizing various risks during such a significant experiment.
Once again, I especially want to say about the importance of interaction between the Synodal Department and the diocesan departments of religious education and catechesis. This work needs to be given a new powerful impetus, caused by the urgent need to intensify church-educational and catechetical activities and, of course, participation or preparation for participation in the project of introducing an experimental course “Fundamentals of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics” in Russian schools. The tasks set before the Church in the field of education cannot be solved without the interest of the diocesan education departments; without them, the Synodal Department simply will not be able to fully work on this project. The Synodal Department is called upon to provide general management and coordination of the activities of diocesan education departments, and in order to achieve positive results there must be a willingness to communicate on both sides.
Taking this opportunity, today I would like to once again address my fellow archpastors with a respectful request: to understand the importance of the new spiritual and educational tasks facing our Church, which we simply must solve in the interests of the Orthodox people, citizens of our country, families, parents, children and of all the versatility of their archpastoral cares, classify the outlined range of tasks in the field of education as paramount and priority tasks.
Particular attention in the work of the Department will be paid to the legal support of the Orthodox education system. We have to develop a modern legal framework for the activities of the Department in the field of education in the following areas:
Church accreditation of Orthodox educational institutions;
Scientific and methodological examination and assignment of the stamp of the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Russian Orthodox Church to Orthodox-oriented educational literature;
Development of standard charters of Orthodox educational institutions;
Preparation of standard forms of agreements between dioceses and various structures on cooperation in the field of education, spiritual, moral, cultural and educational activities, and patriotic education.
It became necessary for the legal service of the Department to provide consultations on legal issues for heads of educational institutions, provide the necessary assistance in drawing up documents, as well as monitor compliance with the law in the implementation of educational activities by Orthodox educational institutions.
The diverse activities of the Synodal Department of Education require information support and public support. It is known that information plays a key role in the modern world, and we attach great importance to the information support of Orthodox education. The Department's website has been updated, its structure has been improved, it has become not only interesting, modern, lively and colorful, but also more meaningful and detailed. The site will develop and in the near future will become a source of complete and up-to-date information on issues of religious education in the country. We really hope that the official website of the Department will be of interest not only to specialists in the field of Orthodox pedagogy, but also to children and their parents. We will be grateful to everyone whose good ideas and suggestions can make it better.
At present, interaction with the media, public and religious organizations has already been established and will be further developed in order to timely inform the public about the most important events in the field of Orthodox education and the activities of the Department.
It is clear that the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis will not be able to solve such large-scale church-wide tasks only on its own, without interaction with other synodal departments of the Russian Orthodox Church. We realize that the many aspects of church service are links in one chain. And the more closely we interact, the stronger it will be. Our cooperation is not limited only to the Christmas readings, in the preparation and work of which - more than ever - all Synodal Departments took part this year, for which I would especially like to thank their leaders and employees.
Together with the Synodal Information Department, we are ready to solve common problems related to the educational activities of the Church. Today it is extremely important to reveal the meaning of the church’s position on such issues as the teaching of religious culture and ethics in secular schools, to explain the need to support the spiritual and moral traditions of the people. Our general plans also include the creation of educational and educational television and radio programs.
Close working interaction is carried out both with the Synodal Department for Youth Affairs, and with the Synodal Department for Relations between Church and Society, whose activities, like our Department, are at the forefront of church-state relations, and with the Publishing Council of the Russian Orthodox Church. At the same time, here we should establish more complete and regular mutual information about events, initiatives, speeches in the field of education and closer coordination in order to avoid duplication and increase the overall effectiveness of our activities.
In conclusion of my speech, I would like to express my deep gratitude to all the organizers and participants of this forum - first of all to its Chairman, our Great Lord and Father - His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Kirill, for his high Primate attention and daily care, as well as to the archpastors, pastors , to the laity, government and public figures, scientists, teachers, educators, mentors of the younger generation, who perform their daily, great and noble moral feats, and, prayerfully wishing us all good and useful results from our labors, ask for the blessing of the Holy Lord on them: bless and pray for all of us, Your Holiness!
Thank you for attention.
| Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis | |
|---|---|
| Address | 127051 Moscow, st. Petrovka, 28с5. Vysoko-Petrovsky Monastery. |
| Type of organization | Synodal Department of the Moscow Patriarchate |
| official languages | Russian language |
| Managers | |
| Chairman | metropolitan Rostovsky and Novocherskassky Mercury |
| Base | |
| Date of foundation | February 1, 1991 |
| pravobraz.ru | |
Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Russian Orthodox Church (SOROiK) - one of synodal departments Moscow Patriarchate.
Story
The immediate predecessor of the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis was the educational sector created in October 1990 Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods. According to Archpriest Vladimir Vorobyov, “Very soon it became clear that of all the sections of the Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods, only two were successfully developing: the educational section and, thanks to the flow of humanitarian aid from the West, the charity section, therefore the chairman of the union is Abbot John (Ekonomtsev) proposed to Patriarch Alexy to create two new synodal departments: charity and religious education and catechesis."
February 1, 1991 by decree of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' Alexia II and the Resolution of the Holy Synod.
A significant part of the book by Deacon Andrei Kuraev: “Occultism in Orthodoxy” is devoted to criticism of the actions of the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis in the 1990s:
I have to travel a lot to dioceses. And not once in any of the dioceses have I heard stories about what wonderful help OROC provided us, what wonderful textbooks and methods they wrote and sent to us, how cleverly they were able to expose the sectarian methodology and stop the implementation of such -sects into our schools... On the contrary, everywhere I hear the same groan: “What is the Department of Religious Education doing?! Where are the textbooks for schools (both in ecclesiastical and secular disciplines) written by the Department? Where are the new versions of the “Law of God”? Where is the church version of “History of Russia”? Where are the manuals for teachers? Where are the collections of advice for catechists and missionaries?” Perhaps this sad result (more precisely, the lack of result) is also due to the fact that too much energy is spent on the search for a “new spirituality” and the development of “ecological-Orthodox thinking.”
On October 2, 2013, the Holy Synod approved the charter of the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis.
SOROiK is the Synodal institution of the Russian Orthodox Church. Synodal institutions are executive authorities of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' and the Holy Synod and have the exclusive right to represent the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' and the Holy Synod within the scope of their activities and within the limits of their competence.
The department operates jointly with other synodal institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church, higher Orthodox educational institutions, as well as the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation and other countries of the canonical presence of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Russian Academy of Education, the Department of Education of the city of Moscow and other government bodies and public organizations.
Activity
Areas of activity of the department:
- religious instruction in Sunday schools of all types at religious organizations of the Russian Orthodox Church;
- preschool Orthodox education in kindergartens and nurseries;
- education in Orthodox gymnasiums and lyceums (since 1998, the board of directors of Orthodox secondary educational institutions in Moscow and the Moscow region has been operating);
- education in higher Orthodox educational institutions that train Orthodox teachers and catechists, as well as Orthodox specialists in the field of science and culture.
The department is also involved in publishing and reviewing Orthodox educational literature. Published a quarterly magazine for teachers
Coordination of church educational activities in the Moscow diocese, interaction with the state and other education systems is carried out by the Diocesan Department of Religious Education and Catechesis. It has a library and a website www.eorok.ru; information about the activities of the department can be found in the monthly “Orthodox School Newspaper”, which is published by the parish of the Trinity Church in Lyubertsy and distributed free of charge throughout the Moscow diocese. The department also has a methodological office.
To train parish youth and social workers, catechists and missionaries, the Kolomna Orthodox Theological Seminary operates two-year Diocesan Missionary and Catechetical Courses. Many of the course graduates have already been appointed to full-time parish positions as catechist, missionary, social worker or youth worker.
In the 2015/2016 academic year, 316 people are enrolled in courses in 7 departments: 171 people are enrolled in the 1st year of study, 145 people are enrolled in the 2nd year of study. The courses are taught by 104 people, both priests of the Moscow diocese and lay people.
In 2013, Biblical and theological courses named after St. Sergius of Radonezh. Their task is to familiarize the laity with the Holy Scriptures, with the fundamentals of Orthodox doctrine and worship. For the convenience of teachers and students, courses operate according to a system of departments in deaneries. The curriculum is designed for two years of study. In total, 2,940 people are enrolled in courses in 78 departments. The courses are taught by 186 people, both priests of the Moscow diocese and lay people.
To help those engaged in educational activities in parishes, the Missionary Department of the Moscow Diocese, in collaboration with the Diocesan Department of Religious Education and Catechesis, published the book “Organization of educational activities in parishes of the Moscow Diocese.”
In 2015, in the Moscow diocese, in 776 parishes and monasteries, there were 723 children’s and 499 adult Sunday schools, where 28,152 people studied and 3,272 teachers taught.
According to the accepted system of church-wide classification of Sunday schools, in the Moscow diocese 228 children's schools are Sunday schools that do not have the status of a legal entity. 483 children's Sunday schools have the status of an educational group. The largest and most successful Sunday schools in our diocese operate at the Trinity Cathedral in the city of Podolsk, at the Assumption Church in the city of Krasnogorsk, at the Grebnevsky Church in the city of Odintsovo, at the St. George Church in the city of Vidnoye.
Most parishes have church libraries. In 2015, the volume of collections of 793 Orthodox parish libraries amounted to 791,080 publications.
To improve the level of teaching in Sunday schools, thematic seminars for teachers are held quarterly in all deaneries.
Various educational events were also held throughout the year: round tables, seminars, readings, pilgrimages, etc.
The centers of spiritual upbringing and education are Orthodox gymnasiums and schools, of which there are 14 in the Moscow diocese. 2,340 people study in them, 393 teachers teach.
On June 25, the third general diocesan graduation of Orthodox gymnasiums and schools of the Moscow diocese took place. Among the 44 graduates who gathered that day at the Kolomna Theological Seminary, there were 3 medalists.
Last year, as part of the church-wide celebration of the 1000th anniversary of the repose of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Grand Duke Vladimir, thematic lessons and cultural and educational events were held in parish schools and Orthodox gymnasiums.
Cooperation in the matter of spiritual and moral education with the Ministry of Education of the Moscow Region is developing successfully and fruitfully, the basis of which is a cooperation agreement signed in 2001. There is a functioning Coordination Council for interaction between the Ministry of Education and the Moscow Diocese. Agreements have been concluded between deaneries and municipal education departments. In a number of deaneries there are methodological classrooms under the education departments and there are associations of teachers teaching the subject “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture”. The result of all this work is that the opportunity has opened up to teach in secular educational institutions the subject “Spiritual Local History of the Moscow Region” and the optional course “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture”, which are studied in 14 universities, 911 schools, 162 kindergartens. Spiritual and moral disciplines are taught in 40 technical schools, colleges and vocational schools in various forms. 1,925 people are involved in teaching. The number of students was 107,053 people. Advanced training courses for teachers in the subject “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture” are regularly held at the Moscow State Regional University, the State Social and Humanitarian University, the Academy of Social Management, courses at the Moscow Theological Academy and a number of other educational institutions.
The Moscow diocese takes an active part in the All-Russian competition in the field of education, pedagogy, work with children and youth “For the moral feat of a teacher.” On January 22 of this year, within the framework of the XXIII International Christmas educational readings, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' presented a 1st degree diploma to the director of the Spiritual and Educational Cultural Center named after. Cyril and Methodius, Professor, Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences Lyudmila Leonidovna Shevchenko for the work “Educational and methodological set for the 700th anniversary of St. Sergius of Radonezh” Spiritual and moral culture. Fundamentals of Orthodox culture."
For several years now, the Moscow Diocese has been participating in the All-Russian drawing competition “The Beauty of God’s World,” which is held by the Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis.
On February 5 of this year, a regional Olympiad in Spiritual Local History of the Moscow Region was held at the Spiritual and Educational Cultural Center named after Saints Cyril and Methodius. On February 6, the regional stage of the All-Russian Olympiad in the subject “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture” was held there.
During the reporting year, the Moscow Diocese and the Ministry of Education of the Moscow Region jointly organized and held various events. In cities and villages, Christmas trees have already become traditional, organized jointly by priests and local authorities. During Christmas time, children from Sunday schools stage performances and holiday performances in orphanages and shelters, hospitals and other social institutions.
In 2015, the governor's Christmas tree was held for the thirteenth time, which took place on January 14 in the city of Chekhov. At this Christmas children's party, held at the Olympic Sports Palace, 3,000 children gathered. Together with Metropolitan Yuvenaly, the celebration was led by a member of the Federation Council Committee on Science, Education and Culture Lidiya Nikolaevna Antonova.
March 13 at the Central Palace of Culture named after. Kalinin in the city of Korolev, the traditional regional parent meeting “Moscow Spring. The road to the temple."
This event was attended by the Minister of Education of the Moscow Region Marina Borisovna Zakharova, the Chairman of the Diocesan Department of Religious Education and Catechesis, Bishop Konstantin of Zaraisky, members of the Coordination Council for interaction between the Ministry of Education of the Moscow Region and the Moscow Diocese, heads of educational authorities, class teachers of educational institutions, class teachers Sunday schools, parents.
On March 20, in the assembly hall of the Kolomna Theological Seminary, the Founding Conference of the Association of Teachers of Spiritual and Moral (Orthodox) Culture took place, and on November 26, the solemn signing of a cooperation agreement between the Moscow Diocese and this Association took place.
On March 25, in the Spassky Cathedral of the Ascension of David, a traditional meeting of Metropolitan Juvenaly took place with the leadership of the Ministry of Education of the Moscow Region and the heads of secondary and preschool educational institutions of the Moscow Region.
As part of the celebration of Holy Easter, Easter festivals were held in all districts of the Moscow region, organized by the Moscow Diocese together with the regional Ministry of Education.
In May, events were held to coincide with the celebration of the Days of Slavic Literature and Culture. Schoolchildren took part in essay and drawing competitions, and were given thematic lessons and excursions dedicated to Saints Cyril and Methodius. Conferences and seminars were held in a number of deaneries.
On May 14, at the Lyubertsy sports complex “Triumph”, as part of the International Day of Slavic Literature and Culture, an annual scientific and practical conference and a regional open lesson “Spiritual Springs of the Moscow Region” were held. The events took place under the auspices of the Ministry of Education of the Moscow Region and the Moscow Diocese and were dedicated to the 1000th anniversary of the repose of Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir.
The culmination of the educational year was the XIII Moscow Regional Christmas Educational Readings, which took place from November 26 to December 10 and were dedicated to the theme “Tradition and Innovation: Culture, Society, Personality.” For the first time, readings were held both as part of the interaction between the Moscow Diocese and the Ministry of Education of the Moscow Region in all deaneries, and as part of the activities of all diocesan departments. Also for the first time, as part of the Readings, a round table was held in the Moscow Regional Duma on December 1, in which the Chairman of the Duma I. Yu. Bryntsalov, many heads of ministries and departments of the Moscow Region, deputies, and heads of diocesan departments of the Moscow Diocese took part.