Representatives of the Rostov-on-Don diocese took part in the meeting as part of the XXXI Dimitriev educational readingstranslated

On October 30, 2026, a meeting was held at the Rostov State Medical University on the topic “Digital addiction and spiritual sobriety” as part of the XXXI Dimitriev educational readings.

The event was attended by Hieromonk Seraphim (Balenko), a senior lecturer at the Department of Pedagogy with a course on the spiritual foundations of medical practice, as well as Archpriest Daniil Azizov, head of the Diocesan Department for Relations between the Church and Society and the Media.

The meeting brought together students and representatives of the university teaching staff.

Hieromonk Seraphim (Balenko) made a report “The Orthodox view on the formation of addiction and methods of combating it.”

During the meeting, the neurophysiological and psychological mechanisms of the formation of digital addiction, the influence of artificial intelligence on modern society, the spiritual aspects of digitalization and the role of communicative competence in overcoming addiction were also discussed.

Senior lecturer of the Department of Medical Physics, Mathematics and Information Technologies Elena Kizhevatova made presentations (“Neurophysiological basis of the formation of digital addiction: the dopamine loop and willpower exhaustion”);…