St. Tikhon's Orthodox. Orthodox St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University

UNIQUENESS OF PSTGU While studying at PSTGU, students have the opportunity to simultaneously develop in different directions, taking into account individual needs. On the one hand, the University offers 52 training programs in the field of humanities education in popular specialties at 9 faculties with the issuance of state-recognized diplomas. On the other hand, the offered programs allow you not only to obtain a current specialty, but also to expand your range of competencies by studying foreign languages ​​and obtaining several professions.INTERNSHIPS IN LEADING UNIVERSITIES IN EUROPE PSTGU creates opportunities to gain first professional experience through internships and internships. The university has partnerships with 12 universities in Europe and the USA, where PSTGU students can undergo training and practice under exchange programs. Thus, each student can build an individual development trajectory, which may include obtaining several specialties at once, good language and theological training. CRITERIA FOR EDUCATION QUALITY The quality of education is an important criterion for assessing the activities of PSTGU, which is achieved through the university’s scientific activities, its own methods, the high level of qualifications of teachers and famous invited specialists. PSTGU teachers are high-level experts in their fields, often speaking at Russian and international scientific conferences, as well as giving lectures at other universities. Students from Europe and the USA also undergo training and internship within the university. PSTGU AND SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES For those wishing to devote themselves to scientific activities, the university provides the opportunity to continue their studies in master's and postgraduate studies, publish works in PSTGU publications, work in scientific centers, and participate in conferences.STUDENT LIFE The university has an active and diverse student life and hosts numerous scientific and cultural events. MATERIAL AND TECHNICAL BASE OF PSTGU The good material and technical base of the university allows the use of modern technologies in the learning process. Students can also use libraries, electronic resources, canteens, and even a coworking studio to prepare for classes and relax. A dormitory is provided for non-resident students. AVAILABILITY OF BUDGET PLACES AND HOSTELS In 2018 the university offers applicants 375 “budget” places, some of which are financed from the state budget, partly from own funds, as well as 392 places on a paid basis. During their studies at PSTGU, young men of military age are granted a deferment from the army. Studying at PSTGU requires students to be purposeful, hard-working and willing to learn. Only in this case, all the opportunities that the university provides will allow you to get a good base and advantages necessary for further employment.PSTGU is waiting for its students!

Year of foundation: 1992
Number of students studying at the university: more than 2600
Cost of studying at the university: Full-time - free; Evening, correspondence and second higher education from 18,000 rubles. in year

Address: 115184, Moscow, st. Novokuznetskaya, 23, building 5

Telephone:

Email: [email protected]
Website: pstgu.ru

Open days

• 14.05
• 15.05
• 21.02
• 13.12
• 13.12
• 07.12
• 15.03
• 15.03
• 18.05
• 09.03

University news

• 29.03 The Faculty of Pedagogy hosted the “Week of Russian Literature and Methods of Teaching It at School”
• 28.03 Happy birthday to Father Rector!
• 24.03 Associate Professor of the Faculty of Philology of PSTGU I. E. Melentyeva made a presentation at the All-Russian scientific conference at MPGU
• 22.03 Associate Professor of the Faculty of Philology Marina Ivanovna Alekhina died
• 21.03 Professor S.G. Ter-Minasova gave a lecture at PSTGU on the domestic tradition of teaching foreign languages

About the university

The spiritual and moral revival of the peoples of Russia, and consequently, overcoming the general crisis that has engulfed Russia, requires an early return to the historical spiritual and cultural roots of national and state life, to Orthodoxy.
One of the events of national and church-wide scale and significance was the creation of the Orthodox St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University (Theological Institute) in Moscow.

The Orthodox St. Tikhon Humanitarian University was created with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' in 1992 and was honored to bear the name of the holy Patriarch of All-Russian Tikhon. The university has state accreditation in five educational areas - Theology, Religious Studies, Pedagogy, Philology and History, as well as in the specialties - Historical and Archival Studies, Art History, Primary Education Methods, Social Pedagogy, Conducting, Painting, Decorative and Applied Arts.
For the first time in the last 80 years, the theological school of the Russian Orthodox Church can issue state diplomas to its graduates, which opens up wide opportunities for Orthodox specialists to work in government institutions.

Students study at 9 faculties: theological, missionary, historical, philological, pedagogical, church arts, church singing, social sciences, and additional education. There is a full-time department (at all faculties except the faculty of additional education), an evening department (at the faculties of theology, missionary, pedagogy, church singing, theoretical department of the faculty of church arts, faculty of additional education), correspondence department (at the faculties of theology, missionary, pedagogical, social sciences, additional education).

The University has state accreditation in five educational areas - Theology, Religious Studies, Pedagogy, Philology and History." For the second year, the University has received state accreditation in the direction of "Musical Art" (bachelor's degree).

The university is the first higher educational institution in the history of Russia to provide theological education for the laity (until now, theological disciplines were studied only in theological schools aimed at training clergy). Students of all faculties receive basic theological and humanitarian education. The list of theological subjects and their content correspond to the programs adopted in higher theological educational institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church. The main humanitarian disciplines are also studied: world and Russian history, foreign and Russian philosophy, modern and ancient languages. Students undergo liturgical practice in the temples of the university.

During its existence, the university has developed training in many government areas and specialties. Within its walls you can receive higher theological, humanitarian, and pedagogical education. St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University trains specialists in the field of Orthodox theology and Church history, teachers of the Law of God, theological and church historical disciplines, missionaries, catechists, and lecturers. A high level of humanitarian and pedagogical education (recognized by the state) allows one to obtain professional qualifications in the field of history, Russian language and literature, foreign languages; a university graduate can become a primary school teacher, an Orthodox gymnasium or secondary school teacher, a specialist in the translation of patristic heritage and works of church writers Christian East. Those who wish to serve the Church through the acquisition of a creative profession can become specialists in the field of Christian art, icon painters, monumentalists, restorers, masters of church sewing, regents, choristers, teachers of church singing schools.

The evening department of the University was formed on the basis of evening Theological and Catechetical Courses, which successfully worked for two years on a voluntary basis. The full-time department began its work in September 1992, and the correspondence department (externship) in October 1993. All faculties of the University have preparatory departments.

Education at the Theological and Missionary faculties is built on the principle of combining traditional theological education with the humanities. The curriculum includes all major theological disciplines. At the same time, world and Russian history is taught, and a large course on the history of foreign and Russian philosophy is taught. Much attention is paid to ancient and new foreign languages; junior students spend up to 40% of their study time studying languages. All students of humanities faculties study a foreign language. Studying the Church Slavonic language is compulsory for all full-time and part-time students. In total, 12 languages ​​are taught at the University in different departments.

Lectures and seminars are held at Moscow State University, and in the University buildings on Novokuznetskaya Street, on the territory of the Nikolo-Kuznetsky Church, Trinity Church on Pyatnitskaya Street, on Ozernaya Street and on Poklonnaya Hill. Some classes are held in the premises of the Church of the Resurrection in Kadashi and St. Nicholas in Klenniki (not counting classes in art workshops and individual classes at the faculty of Church singing). The university has 6 icon painting workshops, 2 mosaic and fresco workshops, 3 church sewing workshops, 1 icon restoration workshop. The library fund is 54,000 items.

University students undergo practical training in their specialty. Students of the Faculty of Education undergo teaching practice in gymnasiums and parish Sunday schools in Moscow and the Moscow region, as well as in secondary schools, orphanages and reception centers. For example, summer practice in 1998 was organized in 5 dioceses (Novosibirsk, Kursk, Volgograd, Yaroslavl, Moscow), where students worked as educators, assistant educators, and shift supervisors. Students of the Faculty of History and Philology mainly do internships in secondary schools. Theological and Missionary students undergo internships on mission trips.

Students of the Faculty of Church Singing undergo liturgical practice in two university churches, participate in Patriarchal services, and perform concerts. The faculty has a department of secondary specialized education - the Choral School, where training is conducted in the specialty: "Choral conducting" (qualification "Leader of a choir and creative group, teacher of choral disciplines; artist of a choir, ensemble"). The school has state accreditation. Admission to the school is carried out after the 9th, 10th and 11th grades.

The Faculty of Church Arts organizes trips to ancient Russian cities (Novgorod, Pskov, Rostov the Great, Kyiv, St. Petersburg). In the summer, student icon painters undergo on-site practice in icon painting, copying and clearing murals (the villages of Bogoslovo and the villages of Kharinskoye, Yaroslavl region, Pskov, Rostov the Great), future specialists in monumental art copy frescoes and help with wall paintings in Pskov and Optina Pustyn. Student restorers undergo field practice in the conservation and restoration of icons in Yaroslavl, Rostov the Great, Novgorod, Tutaev (in just three years, students saved more than 60 icons from destruction). The department of church sewing is practiced at the Epiphany Anastasia Convent in Kostroma, in Rostov the Great.

Senior studies involve participation in scientific work. A significant place in the scientific life of the University is occupied by research work on the history of the Russian Orthodox Church of the 20th century. Based on the results of these studies, several books have been published, including a collection of documents “Acts of His Holiness Patriarch Tikhon:”, a reference and biographical publication “Victims for Christ”, “Investigation Case of Patriarch Tikhon”.

Every year the University takes part in several dozen conferences, both national and international. The university's Annual Theological Conference has become widely known, in which teachers and staff of St. Tikhon's Humanitarian University, as well as other theological educational institutions of the Russian Orthodox Church and fraternal Orthodox Churches, representatives of academic institutes, universities, archives, libraries, and specialists in church art take part.

The assembly day of the Orthodox St. Tikhon Humanitarian University is traditionally held on November 18 - the day of the election of St. Patriarch Tikhon to the Patriarchal throne. On this day in the University Church of the Life-Giving Trinity on Pyatnitskaya Street. The bishop's service is being performed at the Solemn Act within the walls of Moscow State University. Lomonosov, guests of PSTGU speak, diplomas are awarded to graduates.

The University's extensive international connections allow the best students to undergo internships in foreign educational institutions.

Orthodox St. Tikhon's University for the Humanities celebrates its 20th anniversary of its founding. The rector, Archpriest Vladimir VOROBYEV, recalls how the university was created

People were thirsty for a word about faith

When perestroika began and freedom came, several Moscow priests - Father Dimitry Smirnov, Father Arkady Shatov (now Bishop Panteleimon), Father Alexander Saltykov, Father Valentin Asmus and myself - began to give short lectures in different places in Moscow. At first they gathered in cinemas. As soon as the announcement was posted, the cinemas were packed. People listened to the lectures eagerly, asked questions - it was lively, intense communication.

After some time, we were offered to teach a year-long course. We agreed to rent a magnificent hall in the Central House of Culture of Railway Workers on Komsomolskaya Square, and for a whole year, every week, we held lectures there. Several more priests were attracted, including Father Gleb Kaleda, who was then still hiding his priesthood and came simply as a professor, doctor of sciences.

The performances continued to attract many people: all of Moscow became aware of them. Entry was free. We spent two years like this. In the spring, when the lectures ended, they began to ask us to open courses - people wanted to get at least a small theological education.

At this time, Orthodox brotherhoods were created, usually initiated by priests and laymen. The highest church authorities, due to the instability of the political situation, were in no hurry to respond to the new opportunities that time generously offered. Seeing this indecision, the laity united on their own. We also created the Brotherhood of the All-Merciful Savior, which held lectures.

The Patriarchate decided to create the Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods so that the fraternal movement would not leave the Church.

In the Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods, fifteen sectors were organized according to areas of activity. Everyone was asked to choose which sector someone would work in. We, of course, chose the educational sector. They decided to open catechetical theological courses and elect Father Gleb Kaleda as the rector of these courses, in order to help him legalize his priesthood. Father Gleb was secretly ordained Metropolitan of Yaroslavl and Rostov John(Wendland) back in 1972, and Metropolitan John did not put a date on the protege’s letter for safety. When Father Gleb later brought this letter to the Patriarchate, it was not accepted because there was no date. We thought that the rectorship would help Father Gleb in this situation.

Father Gleb Kaleda became the rector of the courses. He very quickly found a room, we sat together, drew up a curriculum, distributed lectures. In February 1991, the courses began to operate.

The second sector that became active was the charity sector. In those years, a large flow of humanitarian aid came from the West to Russia, and it had to be distributed among different parishes, monasteries, and schools. Father John Economtsev proposed to His Holiness Patriarch Alexy to create two synodal departments: the first for religious education and catechesis, the second for charity.

Our courses worked successfully, and Father Gleb was taken to the new synodal department. Father John asked His Holiness the Patriarch for Father Gleb, and the Patriarch accepted him into the clergy, our goal was achieved.

But in the spring of the same year, Father Gleb, who, apparently, was already ill, said that it was difficult for him to fulfill all his duties: he was the rector of the courses, and headed the main sector of the synodal department, and was a parish priest with a large flock. He was sorry to leave the courses, but he asked to replace him as rector. Then I was chosen as the course rector.

From courses to institute

It soon became clear that the courses needed to be turned into an institute. This was requested by students for whom two years seemed insufficient to receive a religious education. The academic council of the courses voted in favor, and in March 1992 we registered the theological institute, the founders of which were Patriarch Alexy and the Holy Synod.

In the fall of 1992, we had a presentation of the theological institute. A joint founding agreement was signed by Patriarch Alexy and the rector of Moscow State University V.A. Sadovnichy. But the Ministry of Justice said that a state university cannot act as a founder of a religious educational institution, even together with the Patriarchate.

At the request of the academic council, the institute was named after St. Patriarch Tikhon. In the early years, Father Gleb Kaleda taught a course in scientific apologetics, which he loved very much. But his strength weakened, he stopped teaching. And in 1994, Gleb’s father passed away.

Some of our students spent the night at train stations

Our students were students of the Catechetical courses who moved on to the second and third years of the new institute, and for the first we recruited parishioners of our church (St. Nicholas of Myra in Kuznetsy) and other Moscow churches. At first there were only evening students - many good priests later emerged from these students. We didn't have enough teachers, we didn't have money. It has happened that a capable student is studying in his third year, but in the first two he is already teaching. The student teachers were future priests Oleg Davydenkov and Alexander Prokopchuk. Teachers had to work almost or completely for free.

There were cases when students who came from afar and did not have the opportunity to find a place to live spent the night at train stations and came to lectures in the morning. To support their existence, we opened a charity canteen. The commission, which was organized by the DECR, was able to receive a grant from the World Council of Churches, for which we installed a dining room from several trailers behind the altar of the St. Nicholas Church. We took food from humanitarian aid - we fed the students American mashed potatoes, which were diluted in water, or rice without oil. The students were even grateful for such food.

It was difficult, but joyful! There was even jubilation: “we have a theological institute, we can study, we can listen to educated, cultured, Orthodox people who know much more than us!” After a long period of Soviet rule, the opportunity to receive a theological education seemed like a miracle. The fact that you can go to Church together, pray together, perform liturgy together and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, read the Gospel, listen to lectures on Orthodox theology, on our church history, was amazing!

Last lectures of Archpriest John Meyendorff

One day, in the spring of 1992, during a Sunday all-night vigil, when the canon was being read, a watchman came to the altar and said: “You are being called to the telephone. Some priest John from America” (there were no mobile phones then). I immediately realized who this priest John from America was, and ran to the guardhouse. I pick up the phone and hear the voice of Father John Meyendorff on the phone: “Father Vladimir, I’m in Russia! How can I help you?" This was another miracle. Father John was not allowed into Russia for a long time. And suddenly he arrives at the moment when we organized our first conference - “Readings in memory of Archpriest Vsevolod Shpiller”, and even offers us his help! Of course, I asked him to take part in our readings. He came and gave us several lectures.

The readings took place in the Church of St. Tsarevich Demetrius at the 1st City Hospital; we had no other place. They placed chairs right in the church, Father John came, spoke, talked, and answered questions. It was such a precious communication! Father John said that he wants to leave the post of rector of St. Vladimir's Academy in New York, come to Russia, and give lectures at the Moscow Theological Academy and at our institute, which has just opened, to translate his books into Russian so that they become available Here.

Communication with Father John Meyendorff was so wonderful, warm, wonderful - it’s hard to put into words! On the last day of his stay in Moscow, we gathered at our house, young priests arrived, and we had an unforgettable conversation with Father John. Everything was somehow especially blessed... But after returning to America, he died two months later from transient cancer. It turned out that the lectures he gave with us were the last in his life...

Thanks to the fact that Father John showed such attention and participation to us, Patriarch Alexy also came to us, also spoke with us, and the institute received a certain recognition in the eyes of the church people. And in the image of our Shpiller readings, the future Father Cyprian (Yashchenko), who then worked in the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis, organized the Christmas readings.

Do you want to compete with theological schools?

At first, the Patriarch's blessing was received in absentia. Then I came to His Holiness the Patriarch when it was necessary to re-register the charter in connection with the change of name. I remember a warm conversation with His Holiness the Patriarch, he asked me with a smile: ‘Do you want to compete with theological schools?’ I answered him that healthy competition is useful and will help the development of theological schools too.

He agreed with this and signed our charter.

Competition is a good thing if there is no envy in it. There must be fraternal cooperation. If a friend is successful in something, and you look at him and want to keep up with him, then everything will work out well.

Moscow theological schools looked at us, and we looked at them. We decided to organize theological education according to the university type, and in theological schools there was a traditional closed type education. Closed education has its strengths and weaknesses, just like open education.

20 years

I think that the existence of our institute has helped the reform of theological schools.

The first religious standard in Theology was developed at the St. Tikhon's Institute (at that time it did not yet have the status of a university). Then we managed to get it approved by the state. Without this standard, licensing of religious schools and the law on their accreditation, which was recently adopted, would be impossible. The creation and approval of a state multi-confessional standard in theology is an important milestone in the development of theological education in Russia. Moreover, in development it is denominational education, not atheistic or agnostic. Our university, it seems to me, has made a significant contribution to overcoming Lenin’s decree “On the separation of the Church from the state and the school from the Church.”

Russian legislation is still not free from the influence of Soviet laws. According to the law on freedom of conscience, there is secular education and religious education. Religious education, as defined by law, is aimed at training clergy; these are theological schools. All other education is secular. Secular education in our country is still carried out in the vast majority of schools in accordance with the standard (or previously, state curricula) on the basis of an atheistic worldview.

The law says nothing about this, but in fact it is so. When we at the Ministry of Education said that the theology standard, approved then by the ministry and written in the context of scientific atheism, did not suit us at all, because it was a parody of theology, we were told: “Write another standard.” We replied: “Do you understand that the theological standard cannot be atheistic, it can only be confessional”? We were told that there are many faiths in the country, and they suggested making one standard for all religions. Naturally, we said that this is impossible, because it is impossible to combine Christian theology and, for example, Mohammedan. They told us: “Do you want to make a lot of standards? So that the entire list of standards would be taken up by theological standards: Catholic, Islamic, Protestant? This is impossible!" Then we proposed to create a single multi-confessional standard, arranged like a “bundle” of standards that have a common basis - humanitarian, economic, sociological, and natural science blocks. And each religion writes confessional blocks for itself.

This was done, but the ministry was in no hurry to approve the standard, saying that according to our constitution, education is secular in nature and this standard allegedly violates the constitution. It took several years to prove that teaching theology and, in general, education based on a religious worldview can be secular, that “secular” does not necessarily mean “atheistic.” It took a lot of effort and time, but the work was crowned with success.

As a result of this victory, religious education began to develop very quickly. Today, there are already about fifty theological departments in Russia, and more than half of them are open at state universities. The vast majority of them are Orthodox, there are also Muslim and Jewish ones.

The standard was the first legitimate act that legitimized cooperation between Church and state. Such cooperation had happened before in other areas, but there was no legal justification for it. The standard stated that teachers of religious disciplines should be hired on the recommendation of the Church. This means that from now on the school is not separated from the Church, because religious education without the Church is impossible.

Many other new initiatives have been carried out over the years, “but if we talk about them in detail,” our conversation will not end soon.

Recorded by Alexander Filippov

Photo by Yulia Makoveychuk, Mikhail Moiseev and from the PSTGU archive

The university was founded in 1992 by His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Rus' as a Theological Institute. In the same year, at the request of the Academic Council, he was given the name of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.

The first name of the university is “Orthodox St. Tikhon’s Theological Institute” (PSTI).

In 2004, the institute received state university status and a new name “Orthodox St. Tikhon’s Humanitarian University” (PSTGU).

The assembly day of the institute was the day of the election of St. Tikhon to the Patriarchal throne - November 5/18.

Since its foundation, the rector of the university has been Archpriest Vladimir Vorobyov, elected by the Academic Council and appointed by decree of His Holiness the Patriarch.

The university has state accreditation, all graduates receive state diplomas.

Since 1997, the University has had an Academic Council for the defense of candidate and doctoral dissertations for academic degrees in theology and church history.

The university developed and in 2001 approved by the Ministry of Education a second-generation state educational multi-confessional standard in the educational direction “Theology”, and a year later - in the specialty “Theology”. The Orthodox component of the standard is being implemented at St. Tikhon's University.

PSTGU has become the largest educational institution of the Russian Orthodox Church. It has about 3,000 students.

The university employs more than 500 teachers, including 60 priests and deacons. Among the teachers, 230 have doctoral and candidate of science degrees, 16 are graduates of MDAiS, 110 are graduates of Moscow State University, 160 are graduates of PSTGU and PSTBI. Doctors of theology, church history - 9 people, candidates of theology - 15 people.

There are departments: full-time, part-time (evening), part-time, distance learning (online learning), preparatory.

Faculties:

• Theological
• Pedagogical
• Church arts
• Church singing
• Philological
• Historical
• Additional education
• Social Sciences
• Computer Science and Applied Mathematics

There is a Choir School at the university, where training is conducted according to the secondary vocational education program.

In all faculties, in addition to the main curriculum, students take an additional course in Fundamentals of Theology, focused on professional training at the faculty; In addition to the main diploma, students receive a certificate of professional retraining in the theological program.

PSTGU was created in the organizational and legal form of a private institution. In order to provide the necessary training for students who wish to subsequently take holy orders, the Theological Institute was reopened at PSTGU, which has the organizational and legal form of a religious educational institution, similar to theological schools. Future proteges study here in parallel with their studies at PSTGU and receive a diploma from a theological school modeled on the Russian Orthodox Church.

Professional training of students is carried out in the following specialties and areas of higher professional education:

• Theology, Religious Studies, History, Philology (Foreign languages: classical philology; ancient languages ​​of the Christian East; Romance language; English. Domestic philology: Russian language and literature with knowledge of the modern Slavic language; applied philology; teaching philological disciplines, Russian language and literature with in-depth study of the modern European language), Cultural studies, Tourism, Social work (social work with youth; social work in the system of non-profit organizations and development of the volunteer movement; information technology in social work), Pedagogical education (primary education; preschool education; religious culture, ethics , cultural, educational and volunteer activities at school), Painting (Restoration of tempera painting. Iconography. Monumental art), History of art, Decorative and applied arts and folk crafts (Church sewing), Conducting an academic choir, Artistic direction of an academic choir, Sociology, Economics , Mathematical support and administration of information systems.

• Theology, including the full use of distance technologies, Religious Studies, History, Philology, Pedagogical Education, Art History, Economics.