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Patriarchal congratulations to teachers and students of religious educational institutions on the beginning of the academic yeartranslated

September 1, 2026 · 1 min read

His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' congratulated teachers and students of religious educational institutions on the beginning of the school year.

Rectors, teachers, mentors and students of higher religious educational institutions

Your Eminence archpastors, all-honorable fathers, venerable teachers and mentors, dear brothers and sisters!

I cordially congratulate you all on the beginning of the new academic year.

Theological academies and seminaries, Orthodox universities and institutes are called upon to be not only a place of concentration of knowledge and scientific research, but also a fertile environment for the comprehensive and moral education of future ministers and workers of the Church of Christ. The Holy Fathers invariably noted the relationship between true theology and pious life, prayer and repentance, which is intended to contribute to the spiritual growth of a person, and therefore to the achievement of the main goal of life - salvation.

Along with the proper mastery of the basic disciplines traditionally included in the curriculum, today special attention should be paid to the challenges faced by both the Russian Church and modern civilization. And, alas, there are many of them. These are attempts to rewrite or reinterpret history, and the danger...

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Helen Baker

Thank you for sharing this. I especially noted the part about linking true theology with a pious life, prayer, and repentance — that’s exactly what I keep trying to impress on the high-school kids in my catechism class, that head knowledge alone isn’t enough. It’s good to hear the Patriarch remind the seminaries to face today’s challenges head-on instead of staying in an ivory tower.