Publications
St. Sergius of Radonezh is commemorated by the Russian Orthodox Church twice a year: July 18 and October 8. The exact birth date of Sergius, the greatest saint of ancient Rus, in the opinion of Russian philosopher Georgy Fedotov, is unknown. And while a majority of historians agree on the year 1314 – though some arguments exist in favor of 1318 and other years – the month and date remain obscure. Sergius (his secular name was Bartholomew) was baptized on June 11, on the day of his heavenly patron.
And because babies were baptized on the fortieth day after their birth in those times, it is not hard to count that he...
For most Russians Easter remains more a cultural than ecclesiastical event and during the first years of perestroika and in the 1990s it was more like a carnival and an educational holiday. At best people just ate their Easter cake like they did on other holidays. Thus the return of Easter to people's conscience and everyday life after complete oblivion in times of the USSR began with the most joyful feast, Easter games and culinary delights. A little daughter of my friends came up with a very accurate definition of the new Easter: “This is like New Year celebrations, but only in spring, right?” Not quite, but very...
The Russian Orthodox Church has formulated its position regarding the crisis in Ukraine and voiced it through Patriarch Kirill who appealed to members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church on March 2, 2014. In his message, the patriarch called to unity, prevention of deaths of the people standing on different sides of the barricades, fostering the fraternal ties between the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarussian nations. While it does not befall the Church to interfere in the political strife, its voice is in increasingly high demand at this turning point of history, especially in the Ukraine. Head of Synodal Information Department of the Russian...
Head of the Department of External Church Relations and Chairman of Bible and Theology Commission Metropolitan Hilarion stated the other day that translating the text of the Bible into contemporary Russian would be timely and even desirable. This statement, as was reported by the Russkiy Mir Foundation, was made by Hilarion at the conference "Modern Bible Studies and Church Tradition". In other words, it was meant for experts rather than broad public.In the opinion of Metropolitan Hilarion, the new translation would give people a chance to get to know the true Christian tradition better. And the main agent, to be sure, is the classic Russian...
On October 23, 2013, Metropolitan Hilarion, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Russkiy Mir Foundation read a lecture at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (university) (MGIMO University) under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Before the lecture, he, in his capacity as rector of the Ss Cyril and Methodius Institute of Post-Graduate and Doctoral Studies, and Dr. Anatoly Torkunov, Rector of MGIMO University, signed a cooperation agreement between the two educational institutions.Being in the walls of the country’s leading diplomatic institute, I would like to share with you my thoughts about the place and role of...
On July 17 the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast Day of Andrei Rublev. It is not known exactly when and where the renowned icon painter was born. And in general we are rather short on facts about his life. We do not even know Rublev’s common name – the name Andrei was assumed when he was tonsured as a monk at the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius under Nikon of Radonezh. It is general believed that he was born in the late 1370s either in the Principality of Moscow or in Novgorod.
The life of Andrei Rublev is closely tied to two monasteries: the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius and Andronikov Monastery in Moscow. Rublev’s...
